Finishing some more construction work, Ridge walked over to the ship again, making his way leisurely to the laboratory. It didn't take long before he entered and was quickly surprised by a deer-like creature, the carib, jumping towards him.
Ryan, chasing after it, shouted out, "Grab that little troublemaker, Commander!"
Startled, Ridge caught it and instinctively held it tight against his suit, making sure it couldn't run out of the room. Chuckling, Ryan walked up with Hopi, who had come up from hiding behind a desk, pretending like she wasn't scared only moments ago.
"Despite being artificially raised, it looks like this thing still has its instincts intact. That's good. Bring him over to my lab where the Vat is; I made some space that it can use for now," he said, whilst petting the carib who was still clearly trying to pull away from both Ridge and him.
This carib was surprisingly strong, so much so that Ridge had to concentrate while holding, otherwise if he slipped up for even a fraction of a second it would likely jump out of his arms and escape once more.
Walking to the laboratory room where the vat was located, Ridge saw that besides the vat itself, everything else had seemingly been moved out.
Ryan followed in close behind, and Hopi, who was just behind him, closed the door without entering, instead ensuring that thing couldn't escape again.
Paying no mind to her actions, Ryan walked up to a monitoring machine.
"You can put it down for now, Commander," he said without looking back. Ridge loosened his grip, and just as predicted, the animal used all its strength to jump away and move all over the room. Eventually settling in the opposite corner, attempting to make itself appear smaller, as if trying to hide.
"I have certain equipment installed within this subject that allows me to monitor the information needed for further improvements to stabilize the genome and also add other benefits given time," Ryan said, working away at the machine. Ridge was still watching the Carbi, but eventually walked on over to the machine as well.
"What's up with it now that you need to change it?" he asked curiously.
"Well, realistically nothing, besides the changes to its appearance we made, it seems to be relatively stable and clear for mass production, provided we get more vats, which will happen in time once the dome is done," Ryan answered before typing one last bit of information to whatever file he was using to record the data on.
Turning now to Ridge and the Carib, he continued, "What I'm mostly talking about in terms of changes is seeing if we could somehow make the animal increase its meat density for consumption. This would make it bigger but probably sacrifice some longevity as well as other benefits like its speed and overall agility. None of which is important for us, so I think it's doable, but need more time as usual."
Ridge understood most of what he was saying and, although internally agreed with most of it, felt it would be in the best interest of the base to just get these animals mass-produced right away.
"I understand; for now, just focus on preparing for mass production using the current template you have. Once we have an abundance of food, then you can go crazy with your modifications," he replied.
Nodding, Ryan was slightly disappointed, but knew the crew was in dire need of solving their food problems, so he agreed.
"Okay, no problem. By the way, tomorrow morning or maybe the next morning after that I should have the full schematics for the artificial dome completed. This also includes sort of implanting the plants for the caribs' consumption. Though if I'm being honest, that might take a while since we don't really have soil to work with," Ryan said while leaving the room. Ridge followed while keeping an eye on the Carib, who was likewise watching them back.
"Got it. Within that time, the framing should be complete as well; as for the soil, is it possible to take some of the materials from the asteroid itself? I know theoretically there were proven studies that it was possible back in the federation," Ridge asked as they exited the lab.
"Yes, we actually can. Thanks for reminding me," Ryan said, somewhat surprised. In fact, Ridge was also surprised that he even remembered such a thing, but perhaps it was because he had considered the problem of food while on a voyage in space all the time, so he retained some information when researching the topic on his days off.
"This asteroid is large enough that it's capable of carrying a large assortment of water ice, but also some organic compounds and spots here and there full of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are generally key agricultural nutrients. With some work, we can synthetically create some type of dirt or similar material from the asteroid itself and grow the plants on them after modifying some of their traits and genes to adapt better to said soil," Ryan muttered while starting blankly into space, a habit shown only when he was in deep thought.
"Send the schematics to me when you can, and I'll let you know when the exterior of the dome is done," Ridge said, before preparing to leave.
Ryan had become completely engrossed in his thinking and didn't bother bidding him farewell. Hopi was also busy at work, so she likewise didn't see him out.
Not bothered by such attitudes, Ridge returned to his simple routine of rest, washing himself, eating, and work.
A few more days later, and it was the start of the next month, to be more specific, the first of the fifth month. The base was still much the same, though the biggest difference besides the now completed HQ was that the artificial dome, its exterior at least, had been completed and so far was the largest building on the asteroid's surface. Rivaling even that of the battleship itself, which was around two hundred meters in length. The glass was not transparent, so it also reflected quite a bit of light from the stars, giving the base the equivalent of a bright flashlight turned on at all times until the asteroid itself rotated. Slightly bothersome, but nothing that would stop the work needing to be done.
Besides buildings, the base itself now also featured nicely carved roads covered with metal. With eight machines all designated to constantly mine and refine materials, Ridge figured it would be best to use that surplus constantly growing in the stockpile while they were building the dome to make the transportation path far smoother for the vehicles transporting said materials.
After all, the asteroid wasn't exactly flat land; there were constant dips from meteor impacts and even cliffs, which, despite the weak gravity on the asteroid, could lead to the death of the crew if they accidentally fell.
The water pipes were also under construction, but because he wanted it to be buried, Caroline had to finish the HQ before starting on that project.
Once it was finished, she had gathered the engineers and came up with a plan to replicate her previous machine design and create a few larger ones, essentially creating an entire production line for every component they could possibly need. So long as they had the right materials and designs for said components, of course.
She had then brought this plan to Ridge, who had enthusiastically agreed to have it implemented. As such, the east part of the base now featured a couple of factories, though only the outside of them were completed. The inside, much like the artificial dome, was pretty empty aside from the first machine they had brought down and a second one currently under construction. Unfortunately, it was rather delicate work, so the engineers had to take their time with setting it up.
The primary reason for all the planning in the first place on increasing their manufacturing capability was also because when Ridge had proposed for the water pipes to be constructed, Caroline thought of an excavating machine that would be perfect for such a job. It would also lessen the difficulty of needing to dig a large tunnel by hand all the way from the water station's current location.
At any rate, during the days that he last talked to Ryan, Ridge saw the production lines reach completion and eventually saw more and more parts leaving from said factories to slowly assemble into a rather large tunnel boring excavator, or for short, a tunnel digger. It was powered by a rather large battery pack that Caroline charged using the aetherite generator at night when most of the systems weren't as active, meaning the battery charging wouldn't significantly impact anything.
He was happy to see such progress being made, and in fact, on the first day the machine was put to work, he stopped working on the dome to watch it set off and reminisce about the progress of their base so far. At least compared to their old base, this new one was advancing at a much more rapid pace in his view.