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Ramblings of an Argon Nephew (Page 3 of 35)
Written by TTD
I wake up next "morning" feeling refreshed. Now where was I? Ah yes..Terracorp HQ. Now how much credits have I got? 25,994 credits. Huh? Hot chocolate and room for the night...free? Oh well, I guess they hope to make good profit out of me. Now where' that Equipment shop?I'm sure I passed it somewhere last night.
...Oh here it is."Best traders equipment this side of Siezewell", where ever that is. Somehow that name runs shivers down my spine.
Now let's see...Best Buys Locator 22460cr, Best Selling Price Locator 19652cr Hmm...
I think I know a bargain when I see one,but knowing where to sell them would be useful. BSPL then. That leaves me with 6,342cr... OK not enough for the trading System Extension. Maybe next time. For now I'm off to Julian's Cafe to wake up a bit before I board my Merc. While they are fitting my new piece of eq, I'll chat with passing traders. See if I can pick up some unintentional leaks.
Well that was interesting...Just south of here there is an ore mining industry. I'm told that if I am lucky I could buy ore for 50cr per unit and sell in other systems for over 200cr! I think I'll try that out. Then I'll be back for more of the good stuff here.
First off, try the standard remote camera. I want a keep-sake of me leaving Terracorp for my first real bit of trading.
I went through the south gate....Note to self,don't leave the control station after going through gates if you have not been there before. nearly had my first bit of ship damage. Goodness! All those minerals floating in space just waiting for me to collect.
Now to find something to buy. This looks good. A mine. That will do. I ask for info. But it does not give the price. Just shows a bar graph that indicates it has more than half it's silos full. That means they will sell for less than average price, whatever that is.
I think this will work well for me. The price was 61 cr per unit of ore. I bought 103 units and that left me with 59 cr. As an added bonus I have had my passport amended again. I am now a Federation Associate....Maybe if this keeps up I might get our family name back. Now chatting to those traders back in Julian's cafe,it was recommended that I go East. I'll just scan while I go that way. I might find some useful trade info.
DUM.DUM ! Equipment was bare bones. It needs the trading system extension. There was one back at the Terracorp HQ but my funds were not high enough. Oh well ,I'll have to do another trade by instinct and some more until I have the credits. Maybe I should have bought them the other way round.
There are icons on my HUD. They are repeated on my local sector map. I highlight one. and make a call. Someone at the station has sector maps for sale. Now that would be useful. I can replace some of the data the Teladi took from my computer...and it would be more up to date. Alas,I do not have enough funds yet,but these icons could help me make money. Just click on the right one at the right time and I could even get a transport job.
Well, with the engine tuning my ship does 100m/s. Plenty fast enough in a small sector,but time drags when you want to get somewhere, Thankfully the Teladi wanted my Uncle out the way as quick as possible so they left SETA on board. This little device speed up relative time,or slows it down ,depending on who you are looking at. So I press [J] as soon as I have located the east gate and set course. Pressing [SHIFT]+[A] engages auto pilot to go through the gate. So I do that first and watch. Sometimes you need manual over-ride. Pressing the [BACKSPACE] key will disengage and apply the "brakes". Adjusting the direction thrusters with the [arrow] keys has a similar effect.
I enter and search for some likely offers. There are two stations requiring ore. One has about half it's silos full but the Tomahawk Missile Manufacturing plant is just over one quarter full. I decide to go there. Just as I thought. 103 ore at 166 per unit gave me 17,098 credits + the 59 I already had equal 17157 cr. Thank you very much. Now back to Terracorp.
The great thing about the on-board navigation system is that if you use auto pilot, it will take you the shortest route, even if you have not been through the systems between you and where you are going. The bad thing is, it will take you through enemy territory without asking you, so be careful. Luckily it takes me through the now deserted President's End. There are still relics of the last major battle here.
Well got the Trading System Extension for 8984 credits,leaving me with 8,173 for my next haul...so I set auto pilot to take me back to that ore mine. Using just my recent purchase I can see prices at each station I select,instead of the row of question marks. It also tells me how many units are in stock .I might be able to do some trading without leaving the sector for a while, I'll get back to you if I decide to upgrade a bit more,or if something happens worth mentioning.
...OK,so I have got 42,938 credits for two trade runs in Ore Belt. Back to TerraCorp for coffee and the Best Buys Locator. OK...Now to test the Best Buys Locator...Press [6] As you can see,It shows the current state of the economy complete with what I am not allowed or unable to trade in. Now I can see that Plutarch has software in stock too. The Best Sell can be toggled from here or by pressing [5] and tells you what you have in stock and if you can sell it anywhere in-sector
Now that looks interesting .Using these two bits of software , I realize I could start making some kind of trade loop... Always carry something you can sell,as my Uncle used to say. I can buy Ore for just under average. Sell it at the low-yield side arms at just over average. Then buy fire arms well below average and sell them in Herron's Nebula at the Marine Training Barracks .... Hopefully for more profit. Well that proved satisfactory. Only two units of low yield side arms but even though I sold for average price, I still made a reasonable gain.
Now I am back in CBSE. My Best Buys tells me I can purchase a Duplex scanner from the EQ Dock there. That will enable me to see(on my sector map) stations outside my normal scan range. So sell my ore and get one. While there I will look at what there is. Well that was useful. I found two more ore mines,one of which was selling for 50cr per unit. I filled my cargo hold to maximum and still have 15,454 credits surplus. So I need to expand my cargo space. So back to CBSE where I can sell for good profit but first to the EQ dock to upgrade my cargo space as much as I can with what I have spare. I shall continue in this fashion until I have maximum storage facility for this ship. More space = more profit potential. Or as a Split I met at Julian's said "More credits...Maybe".
Upon my return to CBSE, heading for more cargo space, I hear explosions. Looking around I see a small fleet of Argon taking exception to some Yaki....This could prove lucrative. I get my extension and look about...
I think I'll go and collect. I now have some missiles,ammunition and warheads. What are they worth?
Some pilots save missiles just in case they come in useful. I don't like having too much equity tied up in stock,especially in an undefended TS. So I intend to make a bit of free profit . What is useful is that the best sell is not totally accurate. You can sell things at the EQ Dock if it is not in a normal list of stock. A bottomless pit of income,if you think about it. So I sold all three items and increased my storage even further. Now to continue with sell buy sell etc.
Here is an example of missed opportunity.
I did not have enough spare credits. Even a basic version would have netted me over 200,000 credits if I had been able to repair it with my suit's repair laser. Oh well, maybe next time.
Of course basic economics out here is based on supply and demand. I have flooded CBSE with ore and the prices are not so good now. Time to explore CBSW....
Another trick for finding stations in poor viability is look to see where other TSs are going. I spot two heading SW and I follow the lead ship. Ah Ha! a nice little SPP with e-cells at 14 cr. Well not low enough for me at the moment,but I have seen a few requests for e-cells to be delivered. Now I know it's there I could take one of those missions.
Well not much trade in ore down here. Fighter drones Mk II could be a good haul if I had the cargo space. I'll head north if I can't barter at the Trading Station as no one wants Ore..I'm told you can make money this way exchanging for goods or credits.
Well no bartering but I can sell my ore Red Light and buy some Crystals. They may be needed at the SPP I saw earlier. Hmmm...
Luck was on my side this time. Before I had chance to buy the crystals I saw this offer, Now to collect and repair.
Now to inspect my 2nd hand ship. Get into my suit ERM..Spacesuit,that is. Now where's the door-lock? Ah I see it. "To safely eject from airlock for external repairs or in an emergency,press[E] That does it.
Looks nice. Now to fire up my repair laser. Gon'er take a while...
Back to the station,give some shielding from my Merc and tell to follow me in my Merc to Argon Prime Shipyard. Then I will decide what to do. At full speed it is slightly slower than the Merc, But it's maximum cargo 2000 higher than what my Merc will go to.
Well, here I am back in Argon Prime and checking the prices.
That's 174,591 credits profit. I might get more from a 3-eyed pious Paranoia's Shipyard ,as it is of their design, But I won't risk a lengthy journey on a possible maybe. I saw two other 2nd hand ships where I got this one. I'll head back to Ore belt,the long way and see if I can make any more deals like this.
So far my ranking is getting better. Apprentice Trader. Argon Confirmed Friend. Dealer. Master Dealer. Entrepreneur.