"Okay. Should we take the metals over there now and figure it out?"

"Yep. Let's get to work. It'll be fun."

To the workshop, then. He brings the metal in the bag the junk came in.

The workshop already contains most of the tools that were on the one in his ship, and a bunch of other freshly-purchased things besides.

They get to work right away. They break a lot of stuff along the way, but they manage a semi-reliable battery, a pair of very crude radios that can only transmit in morse code, an electric pulley, a crude but functional air conditioner, and a couple of lightbulbs by nightfall.

"If I were an investor I'd be impressed. What time's the meeting tomorrow?"

"Ten 'o clock, couple of hours after sunrise. Want to come along?"

"Of course."

"Well, better wake up early tomorrow, then. Maybe we can finish something else in the morning, before the meeting."

"Sure, see you in the morning."

It's not too late for a little more looking around today, right? Maybe there's a restaurant somewhere close.

There are lots of restauraunts! It's kind of hard to judge them from the outside except by the smells and how clean they look.

Well, since there aren't any death mages around and he's new here he'll just pick whichever one looks cleanest.

A waitress seats him and welcomes him warmly and presents him with a menu!

...This place is kind of expensive. Not ridiculously so, but the food had better be good.

The menu comes with delicious-sounding descriptions of the items on it. Most of the named items are mysterious. Does he want Specialty Turkey Chili? Spicy Chipotle Chicken Wrap? Chocolate Ice Cream? Roast Duck In Honey Sauce? Creamy Mushroom Soup? Tri-Color Pesto Pasta?

Yes, those are pretty mysterious. He knows what ducks and honey are and he knows what roasting is, which makes the roast duck the only thing on this menu he can make any guesses about. He gets that.

They give him water and "breadsticks" (though they almost seem to be more butter than bread), free, while he waits for his duck to be cooked.

The roast duck in honey sauce comes with a side of glazed vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy, and it's delicious.

It is! Everyone should get to have this. He can't do anything about the people in Har who don't get anything this nice but there are people in Cloudbank who might be in the same shape he was before he found Kar and he can maybe save them all.

...If tomorrow doesn't go well he's probably not eating here again for a while, though.

The service is flawlessly courteous as he finishes and pays and leaves.

It's nighttime, now. Probably time to head back to the apartments.

Nik knocks on his door early the next morning. "Up and at 'em, sunshine!"

Ha.

He's ready fast. "You still want to try to make something else before the meeting?"

"I think we can manage to whip up a shiny case for the radios, at least. Presentation is important."

Off they go.

"That would be good, yeah. ...I was thinking about how we could make a flameless radiant heating system. Stick it in an oven and bake things with a little less chance of setting the kitchen on fire, maybe. I'm not sure if it'd really work how I'm imagining it working."

"Ooh, certainly an option. Kitchen safety is a big issue. Let's try and sketch it out when we get there."

By the time they get there he's got a pretty clear idea but it still needs some refining.

When they arrive he sketches out what they have and notes the problems that remain.

"We can consult my books to see if they have anything to say on the matter after the meeting. For now, we can make a shiny case for some of what we did yesterday. Doubles as a chance to practice metalworking skills."

"Yeah, I bet someone's figured something like that out already."

Metalworking! He's attentive and careful but not much good at it.

Nick is not much better at it.

Soon enough, it's time for the meeting. Nick tidies up the place a bit, but not too much, it needs to feel worked-in, and greets two men and two women at the door. "Welcome, welcome! I know I made some big promises, so I'm very grateful you all came down to see me today! I'm Nicholas Vauners, and this is my assistant, Valanda."

He grins and looks each of them in the eye briefly and tries hard to look local.

He'll just let Nick handle talking to them, though. For now.