Casino Grand Bay - No Deposit Bonus Codes

RoyalRoad
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I ended up splitting off some of 8 into 9 based on feedback. The story I've thought of will end on 10, and then it's back to the drawing board for me. I'm not sure if I would continue with this universe or come back with another idea, let me know if you have an opinion either way.
I'll start posting these onto a site I found called RoyalRoad in addition to reddit. I won't take donations, but it does seem like it has nice utilities to manage all the stories even if the audience is smaller. Any advice on this welcome too.
And as always, I'm still a new writer trying to improve. Feedback about the story or my writing are all very welcome, and I read every one of them.
Galactic Credits weren't technically a currency yet. They had a lot of GCs in the bank, but as the aliens would say, that's just numbers on a screen. You couldn't pay rent and taxes with GCs, not yet.
As some human traders switched to exclusively buying goods from the market, they paid hard earned Dollars in exchange for virtual GC, and that became the revenue stream. This revenue balanced out almost perfectly with sellers who were instantly cashing out.
For every Dollar that someone paid GC to convert to credits, only about 95 cents would be asked to be paid out by a seller trying to withdraw their GCs for cash.
The transaction fees that GC made on every transaction can be visualized as credits disappearing into an untouched locked account. This was effectively a profit for GC, because it meant less credits that had to be exchanged for $. That 5% margin was a steady Dollar revenue stream that they could safely cash out.
But because all the humans needed to pay bills and taxes, they would withdraw their money almost immediately, which meant that they would always be stuck around that 5% margin. Unlike a regular bank, they couldn't make a lot of investments.
That's when the universe decided to give them a break.
Or rather, their interests had aligned with the self interest of some very rich people who had just started paying attention.
At first, the financial systems on Earth did not care much about GCs. They were used in spaceports all around Earth, and space was very exciting, but it was inaccessible to most people and the actual trade volume was a small percentage of total businesses done on Earth.
The aliens directly made a few people very, very rich, mostly traders and GC. But what were of more interest to financial institutions were the reverse engineered alien technology products that they predicted were coming shortly. At the same time Sarah and her friends were trying to fix a famine, the human economy was booming.
Like GC, banks were in the business of selling gold prospecting equipment, not looking for gold themselves.
Naturally, banks started allowing deposits and withdrawal of GC. This wasn't unusual. Banks have no issues holding onto cryptocurrency and non-USD currencies for customers' savings accounts. That was their business, after all. There were some costs, but it was generally a good business: fat transaction fees led to fat profit margins.
In the case of GC, banks needed to charge their customers a high transaction fee because GC itself charged a high transaction fee. This was bad for business. Not many people kept their credits in other banks because GC itself was a bank and they kept their money in there just fine without having to pay an even higher transaction fee.
They were understandably unhappy about several of their wealthier customers keeping a lot of money in another bank, but not enough to want to choke out GC's business. That would be killing their golden goose that is the booming alien knockoff economy.
So when GC decided to raise liquidity, as they would need to do to continue to bankroll a multi-planetary relief mission indefinitely, the banks saw an opportunity. Or rather, VISA did.
It was an incredibly generous offer: VISA would treat Galactic Credits like Dollars and allow full convertibility on their own network, in exchange for GC waiving their entire transaction fee for bank transfers. Their lawyers didn't want GC to go ahead and print money without limits, so they put a contingency that allowed them to cut off GC whenever they wanted and clauses that allowed for regular auditing.
Sarah and her friends thought about it, but not for very long.
Galactic Credit became no longer the only bank that could deal in credits.
Credits were now freely transferable between banks.
Now, you could pay taxes in credits converted to USD.
Which meant people stopped withdrawing their Dollars from GC immediately, and GC could "borrow" that money to pay for supplies, equipment, and then use some to invest in companies on Earth.
It was like a limited run of fractional reserve banking.
The aid operation to Gak continued.
"Isn't this technically a blatant violation of minimum wage laws?" Asked Sarah over the FTL video comms, the crisp and quick quality of which was a testament of how much human infrastructure had been shipped into Gakrek orbit, "doing some quick maths with the average fuel and maintenance costs here… it looks like we're basically paying the space traders only about $10 for every hour of shipping they do for us."
Kathleen Bryce, GC's head counsel shifted uncomfortably in a conference room chair 50 light years away, though her immediate reply indicated she had indeed thought the problem through, "Not if anyone asks."
She continued, "the short story is nobody has tested the courts to see if aliens working for us in space are subject to California employment and labor regulations, or federal minimum wage laws, or perhaps, even no laws."
"What's the long story?" Jen asked, slightly interested.
"We're pretty sure they're at most contractors, definitely not employees. Cali Prop 22 took care of that. The spaceport is probably considered international territory, or else the traders would be considered 'illegal aliens' every time they landed," Kathleen did a little chuckle at that most unoriginal pun around the GC legal team watercooler, "In which case, the lower federal minimum wage applies. Or maybe it's not even international territory, maybe it's some new thing. Too many edge cases to descri-"
"Ok," Sarah said after a moment, "it'll probably look bad though."
"What will?" Jen countered, rolling her eyes, "that they're being asked to voluntarily work just above cost to help save a billion hungry aliens, a problem that, let's not forget, most people in the galaxy think they helped create in the first place? Give me a break. There's fifty thousand Red Cross workers working for free on Gakrek and you're telling me we-"
"Ok, ok, we'll save this discussion for later, interesting as the implications are," Stearns interrupted, "until the labor board starts sniffing around, we'll let Legal deal with it. The other item I wanted to get to today is what we're going to do for Gak in the medium and long term."
"Right, the immediate crisis is over, but the moment we pull our people out and stop sending food constantly, the Gaks are back to square one in two months," Sarah returned to her presentation, "over the past two weeks, our models keep having to be revised down on the future of Gakrek farming. Their climate system has been dramatically spiraling downwards for decades now. With this disaster: the out of control burning and flooding, the trashed ecosystems, and the Gaks literally selling off their farming tools to squeeze out some more fruits from traders, they added up to one conclusion: traditional subsistence agriculture is no longer viable on Gakrek."
Here she put up a chart on screen. There were two lines. There's a straight horizontal line, marking the average calories that healthy Gaks needed, and then there's a quickly plummeting line denoting the drastic decrease of Gak agricultural productivity over time. They crossed about ten years ago. The meaning was clear.
"It's increasingly obvious that all Gak food will need to be shipped in from offworld sources until we completely overhaul their agricultural economy," Sarah continued.
"What kind of overhaul are we even talking about?" Benny chimed in. He owned a good portion of the company, but rarely came to these executive meetings. Today, he was making an exception for his son Benny Jr, who was on the view screen with the rest of the offworld team on Gakrek.
Stearns replied, "in a word: industrialization."
"The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race," wrote Ted Kaczynski, known more famously as his press nickname, the Unabomber. When this was published in the Washington Post in 1995 in response to a threat, a number of people thought he was making a lot of sense.
It made all the headlines, inspired countless hours of political debate, and gave a major boost to anarcho-primitive ideas in the academic sphere.
But as many historians knew, his ideas were not wildly original. Industrialization, like every major economic change, created winners and losers. Sometimes there were more of one, and sometimes the other.
In human society, previously skilled workers, usually guild craftsmen who made up the upper-middle class of late feudal Europe, became the biggest losers of industrialization as their labor was replaced by machines that could do what they did at hundreds if not thousands of times faster. Without skill, without rest, and without emotion. Some of them were so angry, they even went out and smashed the machines, but mechanization continued anyway.
The biggest winners of the Industrial Revolution were the subsistence farmers who made up the vast majority of lower class workers in feudal Europe. They went into cities, to work mind-numbingly boring jobs, doing the same thing day after day, on risky and dangerous assembly lines for excruciatingly long hours. Many got injured. Some died. A few were even children.
And yet mostly, they did so willingly.
That's not because they were all tricked, under some grand illusion that factory work was comfortable, safe, and enriching.
It was because subsistence farming on its worst day was a hecking nightmare.
The Gaks were living it.
"Why can't we just build a tractor factory there then?" Sarah demanded.
In her mind, tractors were synonymous with food. She'd been on a road trip through the American Midwest once, on the way to the Yellowstone. There, she'd seen rows of gigantic tractors plowing fields, endless food from horizon to horizon. To Sarah, the massive scale of the corn fields of America was just how industrialization was done.
"Because tractor factories depend on a thousand different parts. Who's gonna make the tires? Who's gonna make the motors? Who's gonna make the onboard computer?" Stearns explained, "and who's gonna bring them gasoline to keep running? And each of those components have a thousand factories to make them, and each have dependencies on thousands of other factories! It would literally be easier to move Los Angeles onto Gak than it would be to help them mass manufacture tractors."
Sarah made a facepalming gesture, but Stearns cut her off before she launched into despair, "there actually is a much easier solution to this problem."
"On Earth, most economists agree that the most efficient way to send foreign aid to areas that consistently couldn't produce enough food is not to send them food; it's to send them money so they can buy food, or if they have good soil, they can buy some tools to grow their own," said Stearns, leading Sarah to the obvious conclusion.
"But they don't use money here, we can't just send them money!"
"Exactly. So let's talk about that."
Gordorker's family had finally cleaned up his house from the dust storm. The broken roof was re-tiled as best as he could. His children had helped on some of the menial tasks, but that's what children were for.
It was nice to have purpose again.
The humans had said that their mission would be here for months, maybe years, but Gordorker was not so naive to believe that he wouldn't have to work for food again. He was certainly not so stupid to take this to mean he should be lounging around all day.
Winters on Gakrek were not bad in terms of freezing people to death, but the dry winds would not allow crop planting until spring again.
Next time, he would have 21 mouths to feed, not including his, and he'd have to get the fields plowed without poor Grunger. He was lucky he had so many children.
Traders Only
New Thread: Bohor spaceports have just banned bartering!
Body: If your friends want to do any business at Bohor, they better get themselves a GC Terminal fast! The Bohor are banning barter at their main port. You will only be able to conduct trades by credits starting in a few days!
Comment: Whaaaaat? Are you crazy??? Only two of my friends have Terminals. How is everyone else supposed to make a living?!
Comment: Get a Terminal lol
Comment: We told you guys last week this was gonna happen if you assholes keep holding up the line with your obnoxious rare fruit peddling. Newsflash, we don't care about how exotic your stuff is on Bohor. Just unload it. We weigh it, read the price list for food items, do the math, you get your credits, and you're out of there in minutes. You want air filters? We've got air filters for 2,800 GCs, no haggling, no bartering. If you don't like it, someone else will take it. Don't waste our time! -- Bohor Spaceport Management Team
Comment: Hey Bohor, have you considered maybe getting a Terminal yourself so that everyone else don't all need to get one just to get some fuel?
Comment: I'm selling air filters for 3,000 GCs in orbit above Bohor for traders who don't have Terminals.
"Our plan for the leasing model for the Terminals is not going to work," Sarah observed.
"Yup, the famine crisis on Gakrek is forcing our hand," admitted Stearns, "and we'd expected a much slower rollout to bring the aliens on board over the course of years, not weeks. In hindsight, it was obvious how this was different to how humans popularized credit and debit cards in the 1970s. We were replacing cash, which was just slightly inferior to a card, but with the aliens, we're replacing their entire dumpster fire of an economy. We earned a lot of goodwill with our relief effort and the galaxy is buying in."
"So what, we just abandon the original timeline and move to phase two immediately?" Asked Sarah.
"Exactly right. When the iron is hot, you gotta strike it," replied Stearns, "we'll give the merchants already with Terminals an option to opt out of their lease and switch to the new devices, but I doubt most will. Our internal data shows that they've universally been getting their money's worth out of those."
"Are our manufacturers even ready to handle the inevitable barrage of orders?" Asked Jen, eager to move onto the logistics and technology discussion.
They were not.
Version two of the offworld trading terminals were actually a downgrade to the original Terminals. The originals were prototypes, modified out of consumer tablets that cost hundreds of dollars to produce.
The new ones, branded Mini Terminals, were basic card readers with pin pads and a tiny OLED display, attached to a now mass produced FTL antenna you could get at RadioShack for $3.99. There wasn't even a thermal printer for receipts.
The whole device costs no more than $20 to make on a mass production line in Vietnam. GC was going to sell it at cost in credits.
Galactic Credit had prepared supply lines to ramp up production, ready to start rolling them out in a couple years. They've made a test batch of tens of thousands of units sitting in storage, but did not expect to need to start actually selling them for a while.
Carefully made plans were abandoned, schedules were expedited, employees in SE Asia worked overtime, and the company took on extra cost to push the schedule up.
It still wasn't enough.
On day one, all reserve units sold out. Some of the well connected human traders, unburdened with a strong conscience or ethics, bought them by the truckload as they were leaving their warehouses. They sold them at a large markup at the spaceport.
That was not very cash money of them.
GC sent a representative to the spaceport to let traders know that they were out of stock, but more would be made available shortly. Customers should just wait a week for the prices to come down.
The scalpers instantly sold out anyway. The alien traders lucky enough to be on the non-relief landing pads filled their cargo with the Mini Terminals.
Then, those traders sold them at a markup at other ports. And so on.
By the time the Mini Terminals reached average spaceport merchants on the other side of the galaxy, they were being sold for almost half the price of the original tablet Terminals.
By the end of the week, the craze died down. These electronics really were cheap and easy for human factories to make, and many of the production lines just needed time to start the machines. Prices returned to normal, and the average merchant could afford them with a bit of honest work and savings.
The Gakrek Spacelift was slowing down. The turnaround time had been increased to a leisurely 10 minutes, and the Livermore space traffic controller was occasionally allowing non-relief traders to land at open pads, which Zikzik was doing now.
Zikzik needed to refuel, but apparently that was still only allowed for the landing pads that had been designated for relief. He called up the Livermore port manager, pointed to his number one position on the relief pilot leaderboard, but she just shrugged her shoulders and said apologetically, "rules are rules".
Oh well, he could always refuel at Olgix on the way.
As he landed in Olgix, he realized this was the first time he landed at a non human or Gak port for at least a week.
He greeted the Olg who was running a reactor fuel line to his ship with a nod, and asked, "how much fruit to full?"
The Olg took one look at the sign on his booth, and said, "you know we also take credits on Olgix now, right?"
A little surprised, Zikzik took out his card and terminal and allowed the Olg to swipe his. He'd used his Terminal when doing exchanges with other traders, but this was the first time he'd been to a non-Earth port where goods and services could be paid for using his credits.
"That's 295.50 GCs, pleasure doing business with you."
Grob was one of the wealthier Gaks in the world. The famine had affected everyone, but he and his wife did not have to go hungry because the spaceport management made sure to keep feeding the people that kept the mobs at bay.
Everything else stopped working though. He used to pad his income by making sure that the vendors at the spaceport knew exactly who was protecting their livelihoods. Only very rarely did new ones not cooperate.
Grob really wasn't a bad Gak, but he did what everyone else in his position also did. This was just how business was done on Gakrek. You didn't get to survive to become a security guard family if you didn't do that. Another Gak would come along, take your place, and do what you didn't want to do anyway.
When the humans arrived, things changed. They started peddling these credits business, which he'd seen some of the traders used.
Of course, he didn't think much of it. Instead of getting goods, you just get a card, and use the card to trade for food and items? Seems unnecessarily complicated.
He'd heard that they charged a cut just for you to use the card, a concept that he was intimately familiar with and in no hurry to be subjected to. The humans had insisted on giving one to him and setting it up. Which he had to do because they were in charge now, but that was fine by him. Just because he had a card didn't mean he had to use it right?
A few days later, when he was on a patrol route at the spaceport, checking off the vendor stands, one of the luxury item vendors asked him if she could pay her next cycle's fee with her card because she had traded away all her wares.
"You gotta make sure to save wares for me next time," he'd told her, "but I'll take it this time." He ruffled through his backpack to find the card, handed it to her, and she inserted it into her machine, typed in her code, and showed him that it had deposited 18 GC into his account.
Hoping that she didn't stiff him, he went on with his route.
"Let me say this again," Zarko said at the edge of his patience limit, "you can trade these credits for food on Earth. Lots of food, shiploads of food. So much food, everywhere."
"But I don't have a ship," whined the spare parts vendor at the spaceport, "why don't you just bring food with you next time you want my parts?"
"You can exchange credits for food from some of the other traders that come down here too! Some of them have the new Terminals now, look, that guy over there, he takes GC," Zarko was almost shouting while pointing at a fellow Zeepil food merchant who had a I ❤️ GC sign on his booth across the spaceport.
This was frustrating. Every time he came across one of these less traveled planets he had to explain himself to these yokels all over again.
The vendor looked over skeptically and said, "how do I know that you two aren't working some scam together?"
That was it for Zarko. It had been a long day, this guy wasn't making it any shorter, and he had just been accused of being a dishonest trader. It was probably because of his species. Just because he was a Zeepil didn't mean he was a scammer!
He internally cursed the unjustified stereotype of his people and blew up at the racist:
"Listen to me very carefully. You're going to give me the secondary fuel modulator. You're going to walk over to the food merchant over there. Then you're going to swipe this card over here, on his machine. He's going to give you at least a month's worth of food. And if you don't, I'm going to leave a one star review on your spaceport on Traders Only, and nobody is going to come back here to trade anything with you ever again, got it?"
The vendor whined some more under his breath, but eventually relented. The threat had sounded real.
He got plenty of food. Whatever scam these Zeepils were running, they didn't rip him off this time at least. Whatever.
Zarko was fuming as he took off. Didn't these ignorant primitives know that a liquid currency to facilitate free and fair exchange of goods and services was obviously the bedrock upon which a modern economy needed to be built?
When Grob got home from work, he handed his wife the credits card saying, "hey darling, one of the luxury traders gave me her protection share using the card. I trusted her because she normally always pays on time. Did I get scammed?"
His wife was a teacher at a nearby school. Ever the practical one, she asked, "oh, how much did she put on it?"
"It said 18."
She did some math in her head and replied, "yeah that sounds about right," and to his surprise, she pulled out a card and said, "I got one from the humans at the school too, and I used it to buy a new pair of shoes for you!"
He tried them on. They weren't very fitting shoes, but neither were his previous pair so he couldn't complain. They did seem very well made even though the little holes in them seemed to be a design choice.
Pretty soon, he noticed that the other guards at the spaceport started extracting their share of protection fees using cards too. Oh well, if everyone else was taking fees with a card, he supposed it couldn't hurt if he did it too. It somewhat lightened his load on patrols, which he didn't mind at all.
Besides, his blue shoes were really pretty. He was not sure why there was a big check mark on its side though.
"They're doing what?!" Sarah asked, her temper threatening to go off.
"It's a protection racket. A practice as old as time. The security guards have basically been taking a percentage of the vendors' wares, and recently switched onto using cards to take payment. It's been going on forever and it's probably just how they do things there. Using cards is pretty innovative of them, I'll give them that," Jen said, "but it made it pretty easy for us to track down all of them. Should we revert the transactions?"
"No, probably not," Sarah said, calming down and seeing a slight head shake from her head counsel Bryce, "but we need to make it clear to them that they can't be allowed to do that anymore."
Grob wasn't sure how to feel about the cards anymore.
The humans had found the practice of protection fees distasteful, and they'd warned that anyone caught doing it again would face severe consequences. They made their point pretty clear when one of the other guards was made an example of: her card stopped working. She had to get a new one that didn't have any of her credits in it!
On the other hand, the humans also made the spaceport authorities start paying them with credits, which was good because now they were being paid on time and Grob knew he didn't have to worry about not being paid as long as the humans were there.
His wife had been buying them new clothes with credits she was getting paid as a teacher too. One of his human friends had giggled when she saw his shirt, which apparently said "2016 NBA Champions Golden State Warriors". He wasn't sure what was so funny about that, but it was a very comfortable shirt.
Maybe this whole credits thing wasn't as ridiculous as he thought at first.
By the universal inheritance path known as "dibs", Gordorker inherited his neighbors Gyuotin and Gyuovin's farmable land and possessions. They didn't have much.
Trinkets, gadgets, and a bunch of junk. It was mostly items that couldn't be traded for food during the worst periods of the shortage. With his immediate food needs taken care of by the relative abundance of food items the humans have brought, Gordorker thought perhaps he should go buy a stasis box with the trinkets he got from his deceased neighbors.
When he arrived at the offworld market, he saw a high end luxury merchant proudly displaying some fresh new wares from offworld, including a number of stasis boxes. These were apparently new ones made by humans. These were slightly bigger than the ones he'd have before, but he'd brought his neighbors' life possessions, so he thought maybe he'd be able to trade for one of those with some haggling.
Gordorker started laying out his items on the table, but the trader cut him off, hastily saying the weirdest thing he'd ever heard from a trader in his life, "no barter, credits only." The merchant then pointed him towards a human tent.
A human volunteer, his nametag said Marco, asked his name and gave him a shiny card, then told him to memorize 6 numbers. "As the head of your household, you have also been given a small stimulus by the GC corporation," he said.
Then Marco took him to a junk trader stall, where he gave the trader all his items. Marco showed an increasingly confused Gordorker how to insert his card into a small machine slot to "receive payment".
Marco guided him back to the merchant selling stasis boxes. Gordorker was instructed on how to insert his card and enter his pin code, which he mastered with no difficulty.
Marco then took him to a farm tools stall, where Gordorker repeated the same process with a steel plow, a small box of "semi-dwarf wheat seeds", a long garden hose, and a hand pump, all loaded onto a brand new wooden wheelbarrow.
"BAL: 12.50," the small screen had read.
Gordorker was not sure what unnatural ritual he had taken part in, but he was in possession of the most farm tools he had ever been in his life and he had the stasis box he was looking for.
"Alright, that should be enough. Make sure to keep the card safe and remember your 6 digit code. Ask a volunteer if you need to know what the tools do.."
Gordorker put his card in his stasis box. Then, being the prudent Gak he was, he wrote down his pin code and put it in the box as well.
Whatever else it did, he was sure one of his descendants could probably find a use for it in an emergency one day.
In hindsight, there were obvious economic side effects for Earth becoming a mass producer of everything from food to cheap consumer electronics, the reverse engineering of millions of years of alien tech, and ripping down the barriers that the barter based economies of the galaxy had erected.
A young forward thinking economist wrote a whole journal article about it with a typical economic study title: "Development Osmosis: Capital Outflow, Argentina, and Extreme Poverty in Offworld Economies".
Three other economists read the pre-print as part of the peer review, who all sent him an email saying something along the lines of "wow, this gave me a lot to think about. Somebody important should read this!"
Nobody else did, for a while.
It didn't make the news.
The reference to high yield semi-dwarf wheat seeds in the story refers to the research of Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Norman Borlaug. Borlaug noticed that stalks of wheat that are too high yield would bend and then break their stalks, so he solved that problem by breeding these plants with dwarfed plants. Shorter stalk, supports more wheat. His work in improving food security in developing nations is credited with saving the lives of over a billion humans. A real life HFY.
The next chapter's working title is:
Rising Tide
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It's been another bizzaro month of 2020 but I return with another possible story to follow up on! At the moment it's between Apotheosis Seized from the TWWC universe, Pawn from the Material Differences universe, and this one from a totally new universe straight from my exhaustion riddled brain! Let me know which you like most! As always I hope you enjoy my latest!
Debtless!
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“It is known then that the universe is made up of three categories under which all else falls. Quintessence, which conjoins light and dark. For even luminous and ink are both forms of Quintessence greatly deviant though they may be. It is across Quintessence we travel on, the currents of which are felt at all times. Then there is of course Terrestrial which brings us the mantles, earth, minerals, and biomes which bring us life, wealth, and creation. Precious as the terrestrial is, finite and limited we then come on the third force. Debt. Debt binds the other two together, achieving order out of chaos to form a system neither real or unreal, yet ideal. For it is a category of thought and ideas pure and putrid as determined by the consciousness observing and understanding it. But for existence to prevail Debt must be upheld and maintained. It is a force more powerful than any other as it is unbound by friction or limit and can even grow in compound form. This then is the nature of the universe and its three categories which must all be observed and understood.” - Quilmar the first Observer, founder of the Law, creator of the Lexicon, Architect of Order, Surveyor of the Currenseas, and the first Supreme Creditor.
“Listen, I’ll take the air and the dirt. But you can fucking keep the debt bud.” - Dron the first debtless.
Nick carefully reread his letter for perhaps the fifth time, pencil twirling between his fingers as he tried to think if he wanted to change anything, or remove anything. “Human, if you’re not ready to send the letter, decide swiftly. The courier ship leaves shortly.” Nick glanced up at the six armed Ruvea dangling from the ceiling and finally folded his letter to stuff it in an envelope.
“I’m ready.” He insisted, more to himself than to the lanky postmaster.
“Wax color?” The Ruvea asked next as he held out several steaming bowls with multiple colors.
“Cheapest.” Nick replied and waited for the postmaster to pour out a small dollop of grey wax before he carefully pressed his signet to the wax to seal it. Once that was done he let out a heavy sigh and relaxed his shoulders feeling a weight lifting off of him.
“Debt code?” The Ruvea asked next as it picked up the letter, gently wafting it over an ice tube to help the wax cool faster.
“None.” Nick’s comment made the Ruvea pause and inspect him a bit more carefully. Though he wasn’t troubled by the mag carbine connected to his rig. Being armed wasn’t unusual. But he doubted the Ruvea knew much of the intricacies of the artwork spread across his pressure suit telling of his life. No, the postmaster’s eyes were looking for much more obvious signs of something else. Marks of piracy. Nick answered early to save him time. “Just a Debtless. How many spools?” He asked next, pulling a pouch off the belt of his rig.
“One silver spool, or a quarter gold.” The Ruvea held out a delicate long fingered hand as Nick tugged a gossamer silver spool free of his pouch to hand off. “Favorable journeys to you Debtless.” The Ruvea nodded and then began to move back into the post office, his tails pulling him from rung to rung along the ceiling. With that done Nick turned to head out of the post office and into the main avenue of the city. Luminet City was one of the Minted cities, and by far the largest city Nick had ever been to. It was also the gateway to the Casian Traverse, which is probably the only reason it was Minted in the first place. Plenty of trade came through here, but it was far from stable. Financially that is. The Terrestrial chunk it was built on was stable even if a bit smaller than most Mint Cities had.
The street was full of all manner of species, from massive purple fleshed Potamgerly waddling around head and shoulders above everyone else, to cyan, magenta, or yellow furred Coretchkin scurrying around the edges of the traffic. Plus every size and shape in between it seemed. Even with the street cars rumbling along the central rails the mass of bodies would just open or close around their passing. He even saw a land roller up the street before it turned off towards the Credit Governor’s Palace.
The palace towered over everything else in the city, and rightfully so considering it housed both the mint in the lower levels, and the sector’s treasury. Gleaming metal flying buttresses extended off its tiered structure, stretching out at the top for a host of individual towers, and observatories. In the light of the local star a rainbow of color was cast by its vibrant stained glass windows. Nick bet most of those came from human master glassworkers. He couldn’t be sure if it was his people specifically but the Vulkoa were known for glass making so he wouldn’t be surprised.
What did surprise him however was how few ships were currently docked with it. Usually Governor’s palaces would be teeming with ships tending to all manner of daily routine. From depositing spools to be worked in the mints, or distributing debt markers to be updated along the semaphore lines. Yet, for now he only spotted a cluster to one side. Ship types he wasn’t familiar with either which was unusual for him. They sported gold and blue paint with pearl trim. He’d have to ask his brother if he knew about them.
His brother! Nick grinned as he shook himself from his contemplative position before the post office and quickly joined the heavy foot traffic along the street as he made for the hangar quarter. The sound of the city enveloped him swiftly enough as he walked. The rumble of the street cars, the distant clang of factory forges, the hiss of steam vents, all competing with the general cacophony of speech going on all around him. The city was too big for the market stalls and bazaars that he was used to but that didn’t mean people were much quieter calling out advertisements to try and lure customers into stores.
Thankfully the post office wasn’t too far from the hangar quarter, and soon the foot traffic began to thin out. The sky grew a bit darker on this side of the rock though, now that he was downwind of the factory stacks and the smoke they let off. Industrial skiffs were ever present in the sky, their forms casting countless shadows across the city below as they zipped through the sky. He missed the flocks of manu-o-Ku flying through the sky instead of skiffs. But he doubted many birds would do well in a city like this.
Soon enough he was at the central hub of the hangar quarter as dozens of landing strips, public, and private hangars stretched out around him. Massive elevators carrying ships up or down as they needed, while still more rumbling escalators were spread out to get people up, or down into the subterrestrial hangars. Nick had to stop at one of the clackboards as he looked for the hangar code his brother had given him. While he watched various numbers and names would change with the telltale clacking of the mechanical signs. Truthfully he was surprised the ship even fit in a hangar, and didn’t need a dock at the edge of the rock. Carriers were massive ships after all. He was curious to see how his brother had made this work.
Looking around a moment he saw a team of Mutheki organizing crates to haul onto a skiff and waved at the bug eyed laborers. “Hey! I’m looking for hangar H 22. Any help?”
The nearest Mutheki looked his way, or… at least angled his head so one of his eyes was facing Nick. The Mutheki always reminded Nick of mothmen. Just without the wings. Especially since they had those bug eyes, little tufts of fur along their torso, and long thin feet which never looked like they could support the rest of their body. But the bug people were always friendly so he never asked if they chased fires around. Even if he wondered… “H is that line.” The Mutheki gestures up pretty much straight the way Nick was going. “The clackboards are always updated so just find the escalator for 22.”
“Thanks. Is 22 a big one?” Nick asked next, still curious about the carrier.
“Subterrestrial hangars are adjustable. It’s out near the edge so… maybe.” The Mutheki gave a shrug.
“Thanks again.” Nick nodded and started to follow the line out just like he’d been told. While he was walking he saw a flight of Quarwi barges being lifted up from a hangar elevator as they all began to lift off and make for the nearest buoy marker as they appeared to be heading straight for the Casian Vortex to take them into the Currensea. It was an odd sight for him since he knew they typically avoided such reckless speed. They were known to be much more careful and precise as a people. Were they running from something?
He pushed the thought from his mind however as he saw the clackboard ahead marking H-22. His brother was close! Grinning wide he hopped on the escalator and started walking down even as it rumbled and carried him into the depths of the hangar. He could see various belts and conveyors hanging from the ceiling as they carried crates, and other cargo between the divided hangar sections. It did marvel him a bit at times just how much activity had to be going on in a city of this size at all times.
As he neared the bottom of the escalator he could see a security checkpoint. This must mark the beginning of armed hangar bays then. From what it looked like the guards were mostly Joss, a typical choice considering their stocky powerful builds and typically aggressive nature. Of course, how useful they were varied wildly since they might be as lazy as they were aggressive. Usually depended on the local tribe. Nick also didn’t like dealing with them simply because their oblong sideways pupils honestly creeped him out. Thankfully this group just kept chatting, or sharpening their horns while he passed so he didn’t have to deal with them. They were loaded for trouble though if it came to it. Minted plate, and mag carbines made it clear these city guards were well equipped if nothing else.
Nick had been so focused on the Joss that he nearly walked right past the open hangar he was looking for. It was also… smaller than he figured it would be so that didn’t help. Did he have the right place? H-22. He confirmed on the wall. There was a single ship inside at the far end, near the closed exterior hangar bay door. It wasn’t small… but it wasn’t a carrier. Not even close. Was this the right place? Nick kept looking the ship over as he walked closer.
Considering the dull orange lavaplate construction, and overall design it looked like a Vulkoa ship, but not one he’d seen in the fleet. Lavaplate was finicky even if incredibly durable. Usually reserved for special ships and was mostly phased out of standardized fleet designs. It had forward swept wings set just before the central bridge, twin stabilizer fins extending out from a boxy engine bay, and... he wasn’t sure about the flat part just under and ahead of the bridge between the forward wings. Torpedo bay? Something about it tickled the back of his brain… one of those old paintings in the history books...
“Nick!” His eyes flicked from the orange and brass ship to a figure in a large pressure suit walking down the ramp. His concerns with the ship were immediately replaced as he grinned wide and opened his arms.
“Nate!” As he approached Nate opened the silver faceplate of his suit and they embraced, hugging each other tight for a moment. “Damn good to see you!”
“You too! Look at the paint!” Nate tapped a hand at Nick’s shoulder and the new intricate designs painted on. “The war hero!”
“Psh.” Nick immediately shook his head and waved it off. “They just had some left over from the real heroes and slapped some around. Besides you’re not looking too shabby either!” Nick leaned back as he looked over the paint on Nick’s suit as he pointed to a few designs. “Engineer first class, cartographer first class, academy graduate! Gotta be proud of all that!”
“Please, the last thing I need is you claiming any of this is difficult compared to what you were doing. My life wasn’t in danger at the academy… Alcohol poisoning maybe.” He shrugged and they both laughed a moment, neither wanting to take credit for their paint even if they’d earned it. “Was it bad at the end? I read your letters and heard the wireless.”
“It… wasn’t pretty.” Nick’s happy attitude faded a bit as Nate asked. “But, it was all worth it in the end right? Hazard pay!” He tried to shift the topic back. “Debtless! And we have a ship! Though… I’m thinking this is… an escort of some kind? To take us to the carrier?”
“What? No. This is it.” Nate took a step back and looked at the ship behind them.
“You said you bought us a carrier. This isn’t a carrier.” Nick waved at it.
“Yes, it is.” Nate insisted. “Did you think I meant a fleet carrier? How much money did you think I made? Or you? Do you have any idea how many decades of hazard pay it would take for us to buy a fleet carrier and pay off our debt in the meantime? It’s an escort carrier! Don’t you recognize it?”
Now Nick really tried to think as he looked up at the ship. What was it? Alright… around… 500 feet long… central bridge but not a true flight tower… sealed midsection so it could land in water… Slowly he shook his head trying to think. “I…” It was so close to something… “I can’t place it… It’s like… I almost know it. The wings look like the old storm crow design… but the ship is much bigger… Also the engines look heavily modified. I just… I don’t know.”
“Well you’re on the right track. It is based on the storm crow hull.” Nate started, but Nick cut in.
“Hull? As in this is based on an actual storm crow?! Nate! Storm Crows are like… over a hundred years old!” Nick gasped out.
“Meaning it’s a well tested design. But more specifically this was custom built. I mean you obviously noted the lava plating. It’s… hard to miss… Because this is. The Lava Crow!” Nate held up his arms as if to show off something incredible but Nick was just staring at him. “Nick. Nick it’s the Lava Crow. The Lava Crow… As in… The Lava Expedition!”
That did make Nick blink and look back up at it. “You mean the Lost Expedition? The one grandad disappeared trying to find? Where the fuck did you even find this? How is this not huge news?”
Nate shrugged a moment. “Well, see, I can’t prove it’s like… the exact same one from the lost fleet. Obviously there’s no paperwork. I found this with that Quarwi salvage fleet on my last tour. They wanted to scrap it for the lava plate since they were concerned about resale value what with all the bloodstains-”
“Bloodstains?” Nick tried to cut in but Nate ignored him.
“So I actually got a very good deal buying it out from under them. Like I was saying it was custom built for the expedition and was heavily modified since then. Even I don’t know what some of it does. There’s a whole… workshop aft of the hangar bay. This thing is a real steal. Worth way more than what I actually paid for it. You should be thanking me for my bargain hunting skills. No one will have any idea what they’re up against when they see this thing.” Nate crossed his arms and gave a confident nod at his assessment.
“How many light craft can it hold?” Nick asked, wondering if his brother was right.
“Uh… four.” Nate confessed.
“It’s not a carrier!” Nick immediately growled once more. “Four is nothing!”
“It is a carrier! It carries other craft! Hence a carrier! What were you honestly expecting? Do you have any idea how many crew it takes to staff a fleet carrier like you imagined?” Nate growled back.
“Around two thousand.” Nick replied without missing a beat.
“Uh… Well… yeah. But that’s my point! We can’t afford a crew of that size! We can’t afford a crew at all! This!” He waved a hand at the vessel. “Is perfect for Debtless! It can run, it can hide, it can carry our own personal craft, and it only needs a tiny crew! The fact they modified it for the expedition is also perfect! Better fuel efficiency, lots of redundant systems for longevity, and minimal crew requirements!”
“I can’t believe you took all my money to pay for half of a piece of junk haunted ship that’s over a century old.” Nick slowly shook his head as he looked up at it.
“First of all, it’s not haunted. The bloodstains were totally mundane.” Nate began to count off on his fingers. “Second of all since it was outfitted for the expedition that means it’s 98 years old. Third, you heard all of grandpa’s stories about the expedition and those ships! It’s worth it! Fourth, I uh…” Nate stopped counting off on his fingers and coughed. “Your money is only a third of what I had to work with.”
Nick frowned at that. “A third? Did you make literally double what I did? I know the military doesn’t pay the best but… with all my hazard pay I figured I’d do better than that…”
“Ah, no I didn’t. I made about what you made. But there’s a third investor.” Nick arched a brow as he got a sinking feeling in his gut. “A… racing champion-”
“No.” Nick immediately cut his brother off. “Nooo. No, no no. Nooooope. Neeewp! You better be fucking joking right now!”
“Nick!” A feminine voice rang out from behind him and he froze up. Then he heard the sound of boots running fast across the deck and turned at the last moment to see a form jumping off the ground and rushing right for him. He had just a moment to react as instinct cut in and he braced himself, arms out to grab the assailant. “NICK!”
He gasped as his sister impacted into him hard, nearly knocking him over as she squeezed him tight, legs wrapped around his ribs as if trying to crush the air out of him. Yet, his reinforced rig and training enabled him to quickly turn and throw her off of him. However, she was also used to this and rolled as she hit the ground, jumping back up to her feet, arms raised. “Nora…” He growled out.
“Nova!” She corrected. “Nova Velocity Vanders!” Then she stuck her fingers up. “Pew pew pew pew! Normally I have my confetti guns-”
“Your what?” Nick blinked.
“But I need to get more confetti. So fucking great to see you! I’ve missed the hell out of you! Both of you! I was ecstatic to hear Nate’s plan! Isn’t this fucking awesome? The Lava Crow! A legendary ship for a legendary racer ace! The perfect start to the next chapter of my adventure! Oooouurrr adventure! To find grandpa! Woo!” Nick was glaring at Nate now.
“She won the circuit. Made a lot of money… More in fact than I actually got from her.” Nate pointedly mentioned.
“Listen I had to throw that fan appreciation party! It was for the fans! There’s rules! And pay back my crew’s debts. I told them I would! And Nova Vander is true to her word!” She announced and struck a pose as she set her hands on her hips. This was when Nick looked her over once more and pointed.
“Why the fuck do you have a sword?” He demanded to know.
“This is my dueling cutlass Cainani. For dueling. I am a duelist. On top of being an ace racer that is.” She announced and gave her other hip a pat to point out her revolver. “This is my dueling revolver Wahinani. Also I normally keep six magma pistols on my chest. They also have names but I like to keep them secret until I pull them out.” With that she drew both her weapons and an orange field flashed to life around her pressure suit.
“Seriously? You’ve got a shield?” Nick asked.
“It’s standard in racer rigs. More for crashes than anything else. But that’s why I also had to learn to duel. Shitbags didn’t take kindly to your little sister being this fucking awesome!” Nora spun her revolver around on a finger and took a few steps forward as she demonstrated her skill with the sword. Nick honestly wasn’t sure if her form was any good. The military didn’t actually sword fight anymore. Which was why he had his mag carbine.
“Also did you seriously name your sword and gun after the demigods of beauty and handsomeness?” If anyone had the nerve to commit such sacrilege he figured it would of course be Nora.
“Fuck yeah I did! The only names fitting for a legend like me!” She grinned wide as Nick just glared at Nate.
“I can’t believe you’ve done this to me.” He let out an angry growl.
“What? Did you not tell him?” Nora looked to Nate as she holstered her sword and pistol. “You specifically told him he was on board with your plan!”
“Yes… Because he was. He just… didn’t know the part of my plan that involved bringing you in on it as well.” Nate confessed before focusing on Nick. “Nick, look, we're family. I know it’s a dick move to get you here without telling you ahead of time. But, then you might not have come! And we needed her money! This is an entire family effort! Any one of us couldn’t afford this on our own. Are you really still that mad at her?”
“He’s mad at me still? Nick! I’m sorry! If you tell me why you’re mad I’ll apologize much more specifically!” Nora insisted.
Nick looked between the two of them and then just let out a heavy sigh as he reached up to rub his face for a little. “How much do we have left?”
“Spools?” Nate asked. “Nothing. Or… Nor-Nova how much is left after you bought food?”
“Twenty gold spools.” She pulled her spool pouch from her rig to toss to Nate.
“We have twenty gold spools.” Nate answered.
“How the fuck can we start our lives as debtless if we’ve only got twenty fucking spools?” Nick asked.
“Because I got us a job already.” Nate revealed. “Real simple. Painfully simple. No combat or anything even. We have to take a single passenger from here to Radius in the Traverse. A Lavvine at that. We’ve got the fuel, and can grab more food on the way if we have to. For a full ten thousand spools.”
“One Lavvine? Here to Radius? What’s the catch?” Nick asked.
“Apparently she’s a pain in the butt or something? I dunno. The other Debtless didn’t want her. Also she said she expects discretion. Afterall why pay a crew of Debtless ten thousand instead of just hiring a shuttle right? But we can do discrete. Right?” Nate looked around.
“Yes we can! Super discrete!” Nora gave a big thumbs up.
“Right.” Nate nodded, despite Nora’s answer being the opposite of her own words. “Easy. Plus it’ll give me time to keep working on the Lava Crow. Ah!” Nate raised a hand. “Not because it isn’t ready. Just so I can keep improving upon it.”
“Hmph…” Nick crossed his arms. “Did you even get me a proper fighter? Or are you expecting me to fly a century old dirigible skiff? Oh, or is this thing designed for parasite planes only?”
“I’ve got you a Raptor. Just like you’re used to.” Nate replied. “I have my Armadillo and Nova has-”
“The Comet! Nothing else like it in the sky as it tears through… the sky! No wait… Nothing else lights up the sky like the Comet tearing by! Yeah.” She nodded confidently now.
“A Raptor just like I’m used to? You do know those went out of service halfway through the war right? We’re flying P-19s now.” Nick just let out a sigh and reached into his helmet to run a hand through his hair a moment. “Fine… But I’m Captain.”
“What? I’m the one with the name recognition! Like anyone else could be the face of this crew! I’m the Captain!” Nora growled out as she and Nick glared at each other.
“Neither of you is Captain. Neither of you would accept it. We’re a family. We do this democratically. Three siblings. Three votes. And before either of you says we need a captain just like a pirate ship just for combat we’re not going to be pirates we’re Debtless we go with whoever knows the situation best. Deal?” Nick and Nora now both focused their gaze on Nate instead who kept a steady gaze right back.
“Well… we can do some piracy if we really need to right?” Nora asked, as it was time for Nate and Nick to now give her a surprised look.
“What? No. No piracy.” Nick insisted.
“But what about stealing from bad people? Like other pirates? That’s totally part of what Debtless can do. Right?” Nora checked.
“You mean be… pirate hunters?” Nate asked.
“Yeah…” She rubbed her chin. “Yeah that’s it… The only thing cooler than being a regular pirate. Hunting other pirates… Yeah that could work.” She nodded slowly as if having decided that suited whatever wild story was going on in her head. Which prompted Nick to give Nate another glare.
“Family.” Nate kept using the word like a shield. “And Nick I know you never saw her race in the big leagues but… she is a really good pilot. She did win the circuit.”
“First independent to win the circuit since they established the big five teams.” Nora stood up tall and grinned wide at them.
“We have a chance to find grandpa. And still be Debtless just like mom and dad always wanted.” Nate was still pressing the hard sell.
“Is my kit bag onboard?” Nick asked.
“Yes, plus it’s a nice big room like we all get. I made sure to modify them a little so none of our rooms is bigger than any other. Nova already checked and couldn’t find anything to complain about.” Nora shrugged as if to admit it. “Better than you ever got in the military I’m sure.” Nate smiled.
“Fuck it. Fine. I’m still in.” Nick nodded.
“Wooo! I am sorry again! For whatever you’re mad at me about.” Nova added, but her wide grin didn’t really help things. “But we’re ready to adventure!”
“I hope you’re ready to complete your contract you mean.” Nora jumped a little, as did Nick and he spun to face the sudden appearance of a new figure. The Lavvine, a race of furred humanoids that had long ears, and longer tails. They were also widely regarded by other species as being a bunch of smartasses.
This one made for an interesting figure as she seemed to be in a pressure suit as well, except she had a white coat on over it, with a high collar that covered the lower part of her face, and had thick goggles on over her eyes. Considering their long ears the Lavvine usually preferred air masks instead of full helmets. This one’s ears looked to be golden brown on the backs, though the inside tufts were white. Which were both different from her bright blue hair. Though Nick was never sure why some species with fur also had… hair? Her tail was long and white, with light blue… speckles? Or sort of… spots? Either way she had it wrapped around her leg, and kept close.
“You’re the passenger I assume?” Nick ventured. He looked past her and saw a team of Joss carrying a set of massive trunks behind them. The one Lavvine had a baggage train bigger than some regiments! “I’m Nick, this is Nate, and that’s Nora.”
“Nova! Nooovaaa!” Nora growled out. “Nova Velocity Vanders! At your service! Perhaps you’ve heard of me?” She struck another pose, hands on her hips.
“I haven’t. No.” Nova seemed to deflate a little as the Lavvine said that. “Now, I’m not well versed on human naming conventions. Mostly because you humans have too many culture groups. Are you all related in some fashion?”
“Siblings.” Nate waved at the others.
“So, presuming the family name is secondary that means you are all Nick, Nate, and Nora-”
“Nova! Nova!”
“Nova Vanders… Is keeping the same initials customary in the culture?” The Lavvine smoothly adjusted after Nora’s interruption and looked around at them for a moment.
“No.” Nick shook his head.
“And… who named you? Is it by paternal or maternal order in your culture?” She asked next.
“It’s really whoever. But since you’re curious our father is Norm Vanders.” Nick answered.
“Norm, Nick, Nate, and Nova Vanders… Does it make it easier to get your initials marked on everything?” The Lavvine looked between them.
“Yeah. Now about your stuff?” Nick waved at all the trunks. “Is all this necessary?”
“Yes, take it on board. Drop it off inside as close to the entry as possible. Do not tarry.” The Lavvine ordered the Joss laborers who grumbled but began to haul the chests up the ramp into the ship.
“Uh, we should probably get those stored properly.” Nate began but the Lavvine held up a hand.
“I need a moment to speak with you all privately.” Nick gave a worried glance over at his sibling who all looked around at each other a moment in concern. “Now then, I believe I spoke with Nate about this?” She asked and Nate nodded to confirm. “I must inform you that your negotiating skills need work. You failed to determine just why I was offering such an exorbitant amount of spools for a simple transport job. You see, I am being hunted by a notoriously wealthy and powerful maniac who wants me dead.”
“Yes!” Nova pumped a fist in the air. “Legendary adventure! Called it!”
Nick however was just glaring at Nate. “Shit. That’s why no one else wanted the contract?” He asked. “I hate negotiating. I’m so bad at it.”
“How?” Nick asked. “You’ve been on salvage fleets for years!”
“Yeah, as a salvager, not a barter guy!” Nate defensively huffed.
“You told me you got a great deal on the ship!” Nick waved at the Lava Crow behind them.
“Because they thought it was haunted!” Nate reminded him.
“You told me it wasn’t!” Nick growled.
“Interesting. I haven’t witnessed human specters before. That might be interesting.” The Lavvine mused.
“Okay…” Nick sighed. “Why does this maniac want you dead?”
“He thinks I’ll ruin his grand prophecy. Which I know nothing about. Just that he wants me killed. So I was forced to liquidate nearly all my assets to pay off my debt so I can’t be tracked by a debt code, and in fact become Debtless like all of you. I’m unsure how long we have, but I think he might be nearing the city so I would suggest we move quickly.” The Lavvine insisted which triggered Nick’s memory.
“This maniac… do they use gold and blue paint with pearl trim?” He thought back to the ships on the Credit Governor’s palace.
“Yes. Have you seen them?” The moment she asked that they heard a siren go off for a moment from the city’s public announcement speakers. “Ah. He has already begun his hostile takeover of the Governor’s position then. He will shortly announce an extremely large bounty on my head, and a lesser bounty on the heads of anyone who protects me. I suggest you get the hangar doors open and we leave immediately.”
“Why? Why are we taking this deal?” Nick immediately asked. “Why get involved?”
“I have done nothing wrong. Committed no crime. Yet, still he wants me dead.” The Lavvine explained. “Oh, also, his prophecy has something to do with the end of existence. If you’re comfortable with that then by all means turn me over. You’ll be quite rich for however long existence lasts. If he doesn’t betray you.”
“Attention all citizens of Luminet city!” A scratchy voice echoed out around the hangar over the speakers now. “A hostile takeover of the Governor’s position has been completed! All city employees now have a new Creditor! Failure to comply with new protocols will be met with triple debt penalties!”
“Nick this guy sounds like a total tool.” Nora said.
“All Debtless are to immediately renounce their ways and proceed to the nearest credit station to initiate a new line of credit with the Governor’s palace immediately or face severe consequences.” The voice continued.
“Yeah, fuck this. I’m going to spin up the engines.” Nate immediately turned and began to run up the ramp into the ship.
“What’s your name?” Nick asked the Lavvine.
“Tessa Wilde.” She extended a hand out to him.
“We’ll get you to Radius.” Nick gave her hand a firm shake as Nora grinned wide and clapped her hands. Nick looked around a moment examining the hangar doors at the far side while the voice on the speakers kept rattling on about adjusted city overtime rates and calling up all guards and militia forces immediately. There was no way they’d get permission from the Hangar Master to open up. “That’s got to be the motor for the door. We need to get it going. But…” He looked up along the ceiling. “Those have to be the counter weights… we need to disable the locks.”
“I can manage the motor.” Tessa offered.
“I got that lock!” Nora was already running off to one side of the hangar. Nick just turned and began to run towards a ladder heading up to the lock he was not in charge of. It was near the main door leading out into the hangar’s central hallway and he could see the Joss guards from earlier now all looking up at the speakers, obviously confused.
“Furthermore-” The voice kept on. “I seek to obtain a particular Lavvine of interest to me by the name of Tessa Wilde. I am setting a bounty on her. Alive only. For one hundred thousand gold spools.” Nick grabbed hold of the ladder leading up to the counter weight and began to dash up it as fast as he could manage. “Any individuals found protecting her will receive a bounty of twenty five thousand gold spools brought in dead or alive.”
“This guy isn’t fucking around…” Nick muttered as he reached the weight. He could see where the mechanical lock was engaged and quickly smashed open the emergency release lever as the weight began to drop down. Grabbing the sides of the ladder he then slid down it back to the hangar floor. While he was doing this he heard the grinding of the motor begin and the hangar doors on the far side started to slowly open. This caught the attention three Joss however who started to peel off from the rest of the group and head his way.
“Hey! Human! Your hangar has no debt code. Are you Debtless? Did you have a Lavvine head in here earlier?” One asked as they began to fan out a little.
“Nope! Got us mistaken! You’re thinking of the hangar behind you!” He called out and kept facing them, even as he was backing up towards the ship.
“Any individuals killed in the process of acquiring this Lavvine will have their wrongful death fees paid off in full and will not count towards the bounty offered. To ensure a smooth transition of power between Governor credit lines all guards killed during the takeover shall have their debts purged, and family shall have an additional five hundred gold spool bereavement payout.” The voice kept going. Nick heard some other commotion behind him at the ship even as the engines began to spin up and fill the hangar bay with a steadily growing rumble.
“That’s a Lavvine over there!” One of the guards insisted. They hadn’t grabbed their guns yet, but their hands were close… Nick started to slowly reach for his carbine, but didn’t want to grab it just yet.
“Hey man, I’m Debtless there’s no wrongful death fee. It’s just straight up murder if you do anything.” This did make the guards pause. Would that be enough?
“If he’s willing to pay off the rest… I think he’ll ignored a light bit of murder…” One offered. Nick looked between the three, and prepared to grab his gun.
“Hey assholes!” Nick and the three Joss guards stopped and looked over at Nora standing to their side. Her face shield was down, hiding her face but he could picture her grin. “Do any of you know who I am?”
“No?” The guards glanced at each other in confusion.
“Well… If you knew who I was you’d know what I’d do if you try anything stupid!” She growled.
“Maybe… But we don’t know who you are.” The Joss replied with a shrug.
“Well, I tried.” In a flash Nora drew her revolver and fired twice. Nick was already yanking his carbine from his rig as he saw one of the Joss’ horns go flying off his head while a crimson bubble of blood erupted from the top of his head. The other guards were turning to Nora as they drew their weapons but Nick was already firing a burst into the one on the far right. The first bullet struck him in the chest, which was absorbed by the armor yet started to knock him back. The second bullet caught him in the collar bone, and the third hit right in the throat above his armor.
Now the middle guard was stuck between the two and hesitated for just a moment, which was all Nora needed as she lunged forward, driving her sword straight through his chest as if the armor was made of paper. Nick could see the surprised look on the Joss’ face for a moment before Nora reared back and kicked him in the chest so she could yank her sword free as his body tumbled to the floor. Now the other Joss were crying out and heading their way however and Nick turned to sprint for the ship. “RUN!”
Focused on the ship now he sprinted for the ramp even as he saw the Joss laborers from before clustered around it. They likely were considering a change of career as Tessa approached. But to Nick’s surprise she reached out her hand and a fan of lightning arced out from it at the laborers. With that they scattered and ran, providing a clear path up the ramp for Tessa to run up. From behind him the Joss began to fire his way and Nick did his best to shoot over his shoulder to try and keep them from aiming too carefully.
Even as he ran towards the ramp he heard the crackling of bullets bouncing off a shield. “MOVE YOUR ASS NICK!” He felt a hand press on his back as he realized Nora was running behind him to use her shield to protect them both.
“I’M RUNNING!” He yelled back at her as they quickly rushed up the boarding ramp while bullets pinged off the hull around them. His first introduction into the actual interior of the ship was a short hallway opening into a hab area of some kind. But before he could really inspect it his foot struck hard against a trunk left behind he hadn’t spotted and he fell face forward over it hard, tumbling to the deck in a heap.
“NATE! GO!” He heard Nora scream and the deck below them started to rumble as the ship started to move. More bullets were hitting the side as he tried to roll over and pull himself up to his feet. A set of hands took hold of his arm to help pull him up as he stood face to face with Tessa for a moment.
“I know you had little choice but I do appreciate your taking the contract.” She mentioned.
“That’s just how I am baby! Cause I’m fucking legendary!” Nora howled out with a laugh. “Now Nick, help my crank up the ramp.”
“This thing has a fucking crank ramp?!” Nick gasped out, and stepped over the trunk on the ground to help her crank the ramp up into place as he watched the hangar bay move past then the underside of the city came into view, with the air rushing past as they got the ramp up and the door sealed.
“Welcome to the life of the Debtless Nick!” Nora laughed and slapped his shoulder. “It’s going to be a ton of fun!” One thing Nick was certain about in a now very uncertain world, is that it wasn’t going to be fun.

I have posted something very similar here a few times, and it usually gets a good amount of attention. I apologize if you have seen it before, but some people haven't and they could use the money. In 2018 I made about 15k from this guide (give or take a few sites). In 2019 it was closer to 25k. This year I am on track to make 40k.
I also want to preface this by saying that this post has refs in it. Some are mine, some are random Redditors, and some don't have one. If that upsets you for some reason, click the link, delete the stuff after .com and submit again and that will take care of it.

Top deals for September 2020

Swagbucks $10-$35 Hulu deal
Right now SB has another deal where you get credits to sign up to Hulu with the $5.99 plan. It may only be $20 or it may be $35 when you check as they seem to change it day to day. Since this deal has new terms, the credits might be paid out immediately or after 32 days. The credits can be used for Amazon GC or PayPal credit (both take a few days to get processed). Not only that, but you can get a $25 Amazon GC for $22 worth of points, so you can make even more. You can cancel the subscription after 8 days, but no sooner so you don't lose the points. So, five minutes of work for the equivalent of $16-$29 and a free month of Hulu.
$50 from SoFi for opening an account and direct depositing
This one will require you to have $500 that you can direct deposit. SoFi Money is a savings account, fee-free, 2% APY annual; so typical bank account. This deal will require you to use your SSN, link a bank account, and do a soft pull with Experian to complete. You just need to create a SoFi Money account through the link, deposit $500 twice to the account, and wait for a few days. After the deposit clears (1-2 business days), SoFi will instantly give you $50 bonus. After you get the $50 bonus you can pull out all money and close the account or keep using it.
Another $50 from SoFi but for stocks
After you get the $50 sign up bonus from SoFi Money, flip it through this link and fund the invest account. Since I (and you now) already had an account, it literally took under 5 minutes to set up and fund the account. Either way you do it, SoFi will give you an additional $50 in free stock of your choice. Keep it and hope it grows, or sell it for the quick $50 profit.
$50 from Chime for opening an account and depositing $200
Pretty much the same exact set up as SoFi. This one will require you to have $200 that you can do without for a few days. You just need to create the Chime account through the link, deposit $200 to the account, and wait for a few days. It says direct deposit only, but this tested and worded with just connecting a bank account and doing the deposit. After the deposit clears (1-2 business days), Chime will instantly give you $50 bonus. After you get the $50 bonus you have to wait until your new debit card arrives and is activated before you can move the money out.
$50 from eToro
This is a crypto trading account. The same deal as the other ones. Fund the account using the ref link and get $50. The wait time on this one is usually around 7 business days.
$10-$120 in crypto for watching videos and answering quiz questions
$10 from Coinbase if you buy / sell $100 or more worth of crypto
This is a crypto trading account. The link takes you to the account signup screen. After you create the account visit coinbase.com/trade and initiate a buy or sell (in case you transferred crypto into Coinbase from another account) of $100 USD or more (or 100 USD equivalent of your domestic currency) within 180 days of opening and you will receive a $10 bonus (or local equivalent). Orders can take up to 4 business days to complete.
Pretty much just watch and answer videos for varying types of crypto. The crypto you earn will get deposited into the wallet you create, which can then be cashed out into USD. Depending on the day, you can earn up to $120 if all free tokens are available.
$10-$40 for signing up with OhmConnect
A great website if you have one of a few utility companies in California, Texas, or Toronto. OhmConnect supports PGE, SCE, SDGE, Smart Meter Texas, and Toronto Hydro. You essentially just connect your utility account, and earn points. You earn $10 after signing up and getting to a status level of Silver (took me like 10 minutes). $10 more if you connect a smart device like NEST.
Several hundred for test driving cars
Pretty easy. Click the link, go through the dealerships, get your code, test drive a car, and get paid. I did this last year and I was in and out on my lunch break. These offers come and go all year, so check frequently.
UNCLAIMED/ABANDONED PROPERTY
States return millions of dollars worth of unclaimed property a year. Unclaimed property typically consists of unclaimed money in accounts that have sat dormant for more than a year. Every state has its own abandoned property site but a good place to start is MissingMoney.com. It’s very simple to search there. If anything comes up, continue the search/filing on your states gov website. Example: California’s is https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/Default.aspx. Just cashed a check for $35 from an account I closed years ago.
The following are ref links that I am putting in for a random Redditor or two, just to spread goodwill and try to give back to all of you. I get nothing from these and will be doing this for one or two random people every month. PM me if you want your ref link featured here. The Redditor for September is u/moongains
PERKSY
From Moon: Perksy is a survey app with nice payouts and a fun vibe. I’ve made about $50 on the app with little effort.

Ok. Back to the main post content.

Hey everyone. This is an all-inclusive write-up compiling all of my past posts on how I am making upwards of $1,000 a month through the use of beermoney sites. Beermoney is, according to Urban Dictionary, "Extra money for non-essential payments, available for spending on luxuries, hobbies, or a fresh pint of your favorite draft." I use this definition, because this is (in most cases) not intended to be a primary source of income. This is a way to supplement what you already have. There is no way to know what you will make any given month, so do not count on it. My worst month I only made around $500 and my best I made over $2,000. You can also check out my post on using apps to save money and earn cash back.
As I have stated in my other posts, this is not a definitive list of everything a person can do online by any means and refs are included. Do your own research on the subs I list, use Google, ask other people, and find what works for you. What I talk about works well for me, my family, and my schedule. Below I will include time requirements to make this money, provide a quick recap of the revenue streams that I have found to work, and provide payment proof for what I can.
I personally invest anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week doing these sites, on top of my day job. Some days I will make $20 all day, and others I will make over $200. I prefer this, as opposed to a second job, because I can pay partial attention to a laptop and 'clock-out' when I want to focus on family or Netflix. This works better for my temperament and preferences.
Tech required: A working laptop, a cellphone (in some cases), an internet connection, and a fairly good amount of patience to learn. If you are in a position where these tools are not available, you can also do many of these from a library.
I put all of this info into an e-book, plus a TON of other stuff that was either written by me, or compiled from others (with their permission). Here is a link to it. If you tried even half of the stuff in the book, you would make your money back in less than a day.
The dollar amounts next to each site are what I made in 2018. 2019 and 2020 were considerably more, but I have been too lazy to update all of these. Anyway, on to the revenue streams:
SwagBucks ($775) Surveys – Majority of countries– This is more of a catch-all for stuff to do when you want to make and save money. You can do surveys, play games, and watch videos to earn points. You can also get cash back from using SB to visit and buy from different stores. You get paid in points which can be used to purchase gift cards or sent directly to PayPal. Each point is the equivalent of $0.01. Usually, SB will have deals where you can get certain gift cards for less. For example, a $20 Amazon gift card for 1800 SB points. The payout can be slow, but if you don’t mind running ads in the background, using a plug-in to save money while you shop, or killing time playing a game, SwagBucks can be a great way to earn $20 a month.
Mturk ($3,142): Small tasks and surveys - US mainly. Confirmed also in Canada, Europe, & Aus. - This is by far the one I spent the most time on and has been the best earner. This site lets humans perform small tasks that robots still cannot do well. It is owned by Amazon. Downside is there are slim pickings on weekends and when colleges are out on vacation. I typically stick to surveys, but once in a while do batch jobs which there are more of. You have to wait a week for your first payout, which will go to an Amazon payment account. You can the get payouts one time per day after that. Approval for mturk can sometimes be a pain in the ass, almost impossible if you are not from the US, but is definitely worth it in my opinion if you can get approved.
Secret shopper US and Secret shopper UK ($485): In-person store evaluation - US and UK only - These links will take you directly to a sign-up page. US version populates with my ref code. Feel free to delete it before signing up, if you want. You will be taken to the app store where you can download the actual app on your phone. Essentially, you go to stores near you that are identified in the app and take pictures or videos of specific items. I like this one because I have the ability to make a few extra bucks if I am already out shopping. The pay for this one averages about $15/hr. Note: I have not tried the UK version, but it was recommended by another Redditor.
Usertesting ($800): Website evaluation - US & maybe select others - This site allows you to review new websites and apps. The pay is usually $10 per recorded test lasting 10-15 minutes. Sometimes the pay is more, but never less. I average a few tests a week. Some weeks I will get a dozen tests, other weeks nothing. This one is great to practice your feedback skills, which open up a lot of other doors. Pay is through PayPal, one week (to the minute) after the test is complete.
Redbubble ([$305]: T-shirt creation - Worldwide - After getting rejected by merch by Amazon, I came here. You design and publish t-shirts, phone cases, and about 20 other mixed products, with each sell netting you a few bucks. They are based in Australia, and do pay-outs once a month on the 15th via PayPal. You do all of the uploading and just wait for people to find it with keywords or searches. Great if you are artistic or know how to use any creative software.
Prolific.ac ($3,500): Based in the UK, this used to be one of my favorites because they pay in Great British Pound (GBP) which is the equivalent to 1.25x the USD. Prolific is similar to Mturk (listed earlier) in that all you do is fill out surveys. Pay is better than Mturk, but the availability of surveys is not as great. In fact, I personally haven't seen a survey in months, but see others get them often. The initial questionnaire you have to fill out is a bit long taking me about 20 minutes, but ensures you qualify for every survey they show you and will never get disqualified for not meeting the demographic. You have to hit £5 before you can cash out, but you get this after a few days of watching for surveys. Leave it open in a tab and check it throughout the day. I wish I could do this one all day because the pay rocks, but I only see a few a day. They pay out in PayPal anytime you request it and have a balance of over £5.
Ebay ($190): Selling goods - Worldwide - Not much explanation needed here. You buy stuff in-person low, and sell online high. Here is a $2.99 beginner's guide dedicated to flipping that covers absolutely everything you need to know (also mine).
PlaytestCloud ($190): Video game testing - Many countries - This is just simple game testing. It is super fun, very quick, and you get to test new games before anyone else. They send you tests for different listed devices, you download the game file, and they record your screen and voice. The only issue I have with this one is that you are only able to test 3-4 games per month, at $9-$11 each. Paid almost immediately after each test via PayPal.
UsabilityHub ($15): App testing - Many countries - This one lets the user take quick one or two minute surveys on your opinion of an app screen. They pay for this averages to about $.10 a minute, so it is nothing spectacular. Just leave it open in another tab and take a quick survey when you hear a new one come available.
UserInterviews ($50): Studies - US & maybe select others - Similar to Respondent, but with less approval when filling out the demographics for each study.
Product Testing ($1,500): Mainly US & some UK/CA - There are places online that will pay you to leave positive/negative reviews for companies or purchase products. This is actually a big business model in China and other S.E.A. countries. Personally, I already know that Amazon reviews, Yelp, BBB, and everything in the middle are at least half fake reviews; so I may as well monetize on it. If this is something that sounds interesting, here is more info.
Reddit subs($2,300): It is super simple to use Reddit as more than a social media tool or news website. Knowing the right subs to subscribe to, and what to look for, can help you make a few extra hundred bucks a month. There are a ton that you can find small or medium jobs on, but I am only going to outline the top four that have worked for me.
/slavelabour: This sub is normally dedicated to doing cheap jobs for people, at cheap rates. I have both had things done for me here, as well as completed a lot of tasks. It may seem daunting at first, with people offering $2 to write an essay (seriously though.. no homework here), but there are gems to be found. Two of my best jobs have been creating meal plans for $60, and finding the name of a book for $80. Cancel that. SL is now power mods that block the decent work and only allow the trash jobs. No longer worth the time. I only leave it up as people ask about it when I don't.
/signupsforpay: Since slave labour does not allow paying people to sign up for websites, this is where to go to make a few bucks with signups. From connecting your gas and electric information, to signing up with Acorns, I have probably made a grand total of $100 here. Nothing overly special, but $100 is $100.
/giftcardexchange: This is one of my favorites, because you can buy and sell all of those gift cards you have/want. Have a $20 gift card from a family member that you will never use? Sell it here for 80-90%. Want to buy Amazon gift cards for less than face value? Get 'em here. I do a lot of buying on Amazon, so this sub has easily saved me hundreds over the course of using it. Caution: Trade carefully.
I know this is a lot of info and a bunch of it is repetitive from my last post, but I wanted to provide as much info as possible for the compiled post. Hope it helps!

[first] [First Appearance] [Last Appearance] [prev] [next]
Ekret's cybernetic leg, crafted by Terran prosthetic engineers and layered with armor taken from his old tank, whined slightly as he walked across the gigantic bay of the CNV Iktikakit, a massive repair, transport, and drop ship. The ship was big enough that it held three divisions of armored vehicles, a division of support personnel, and the fabrication/repair facilities to keep the tanks and vehicles in running order.
His old tank, one hundred and fifty ton 'light' tanks had been destroyed on the battlefield during close combat with thirty times the number of Precursor machines as his HHC unit kept the Precursor machines from overrunning a hospital.
The rest of his tanks had been left behind when V Corps (Old Metal) had lifted off the planet. His men had gone with them, their contracts purchased by Terran from a nearly bankrupt corporation that had sold the contracts for a pittance.
In front of Ekret were new tanks. With capabilities standard to Terran recon tanks but configured for multi-species use to accommodate the tanks of Ekret's First Recon Division. Well, they weren't all tanks but they were all armored vehicles.
Beside him walked the big human General Trucker, commander of 3rd Armor Division (Old Metal), the big human less flesh and more machine that when Ekret had met him, his flesh and blood left hand replaced by a black warsteel cybernetic prosthetic.
Like Ekret, Trucker was unable to accept tissue regeneration therapies or cloned parts, although they both were able to accept the custom biological enhancement implants commonly known as bioware. The big human had lost the hand in the last day of fighting before the Precursor threat was crushed, although he privately admitted he had not realized it at first.
Together the two soldiers stopped and looked at the activity in the bay. Human technicians and neo-sapients worked together, performing maintenance on the armored vehicles. Not only had the Terrans purchased the contracts of every member, living or dead, of Ekret's recon division, they'd apparently bought out every neo-sapient contract on the planet and any near-civilized who had wished it.
Ekret was in charge of the 1st Recon Division (New Metal) and this was his first view of his unit's vehicles all together.
"Hell of a sight, ain't it, Ekret?" Trucker asked, although it wasn't really a question. He spit juice from where the gap between his lower mandible gum and his lower lip was full of shredded plant, spitting into an empty plas bottle. "Always hits you right in the chest to see your metal and your men together for the first time."
"Yes, it is," Ekret answered. The big human was right. It was breathtaking and slightly anxiety causing to see all of it laid out in front of him and know that not only was he in charge of all of it, but those men would live and die by his orders.
"It looks like the Precursors are pulling out all across The Zones," Trucker said, following Ekret as the furry tank commander started walking toward where his implant told him that his own tank was parked.
"Any idea why?" Ekret asked. "I doubt they're afraid of us."
Trucker shook his head. "108th Military Intelligence (Old Brains) believes that in light of that serious defeat they took in Sigma-Nine-Nine-Five they are pulling back to rearm, refit, and do the Precursor equivalent of retrain. They ran face first into 17th Task Force of the Terran Space Force, took heavy causalities without even seeing the Space Force metal."
"So where are they sending us and how long do we have to prepare?" Ekret asked, stopping next to his tank. Cheepeek AKA Cheapshot, an Avian neo-sapient and highly skilled gunner, had the main gun's base shroud open and was looking inside with a diagnostic scanner. Ekret wasn't worried, if there was a major problem Cheepeek would have let him know.
"They're rotating us for downtime. We've been engaged in direct combat for most of the last one hundred days," Trucker said. He leaned against the tank, between the port hoverfans. "We're heading toward a system V Corps is going to use for training."
"My men could use some relaxation and training would be a good thing," Ekret said. "It is still difficult to believe the amount of firepower that the Terrans trust us with."
Trucker opened his mouth but Ekret held up a hand.
"The Unified Military Forces are an arm of the Unified Corporate Council and each Corporation is careful to allocate as few resources as possible and that means as little weaponry as possible," Ekret said. He heard Heslettek yell "HEADS UP!" and stepped to the side, a spanner falling from on top of the tank where his EMCOM officer was doing maintenance on the external arrays. "The Terrans just seem to go 'here's a bunch of guns and as much armor as we can pack onto it, now go kill those guys' without worry about resource conservation."
Trucker just nodded. He'd heard Ekret talk about that very subject repeatedly over the last three months. Every time there was an undertone of anger that made Trucker wonder how many of Ekret's men had been lost due to penny pinching barrel scraping.
"Your vehicles are standardized, deployed to the war zone in standard configurations with modifications made in the field, not to lessen the price, but to increase capabilities and effectiveness. This cuts down on refamiliarization time for the crews and increases their effectiveness," Ekret said, picking up the spanner and tossing it up to Heslettek, who went back to adjusting the scanner.
"Yup," Trucker said, spitting more juice in the bottle.
"You Terrans have bought out our contracts, so now we must learn how your military functions, how it not only makes war, but how it operates," Ekret said. "For this reason I am looking forward to the training."
"Good. Your men need some downtime first. I checked your records and none of your men have ever engaged in the amount of combat you faced in the same time frame," Trucker said. "There's also other aspects to consider."
"Citizenship," Ekret said, feeling the word out with his mouth. "A strange concept."
"I can understand how it may seem to you," Trucker said. Heslettek cursed and Trucker held out one hand, catching the spanner and tossing it back up to the EW officer.
"My men and I, we do not understand many things about it," Ekret admitted. "There appears to be little difference between being a Citizen and not being a citizen. We suspected that the non-Citizens were a second class caste, but instead, it appears all it does it open opportunities for advancement into higher service positions, provide discounts or grants, and many many responsibilities."
Trucker spit into the bottle. "Well, it's an old concept. Some of the sections no longer apply. Voting is a big one. Everyone has the right to vote, hell, wars have been fought over that right. A Citizen's vote counts just as much but no more than a non-Citizen's vote. It's hard to explain easily. I've been a Citizen since I was twenty years old, so I don't really know anything else."
Ekret nodded. "So it is an archaic part of your system. Why has it not been eliminated?"
"Because nobody is willing to vote it away. There's a lot of cultural baggage with it and even non-Citizens want to keep the distinction," Trucker said, shrugging.
"It just seems strange. You Terrans are a strange people," Ekret said. He slid an empty ration tube out of his pocket and put it in his mouth. "Although we probably seem strange to you."
Trucker shrugged. "Naw, for the most part, you guys are just folks, ya know? You want the same basic things as we all do."
"A nest, friends, food, liberty, a say in things, and safety," Ekret said. "Balanced carefully."
"The basic needs," Trucker nodded. He put his fingertips to his implant, a habit that Ekret had found himself adopting.
--General Nodra'ak wants all Division commanders in his office, General Ekret-- Zhukov informed Ekret through his implant.
"Thank you, Zhukov. Alert the General I am enroute," Ekret answered. There was a ping to let him know that the Digital Sentience, an advisor and mentor, had received his massage.
"What do you think ol' Smokey No wants?" Trucker asked, walking with Ekret toward the lifts.
"To inform us all that we must learn ballet and dance the Dance of the Nine Headless Chickens," Ekret said wryly, chewing on the plas ration tube.
"I'd look good in a tutu. Maybe with some holo-sparkles on it," Trucker grunted. "Get me some of those little white ballet slippers with some sequins."
It had taken Ekret a while to understand Terran humor. The idea of the big half-cyborg Terran dancing around in a sparkling tutu made Ekret snort with suppressed laughter.
General Halkrut, Ekret's second in command, hustled up next to them, dressed in coveralls smeared with lubricants. In the elevator he peeled it off, revealing his adaptive camouflage uniform, which he fussed at to make sure he was presentable.
On the lift they were joined by two other Division commanders. General Yeager of the Air Combat Division and General Sheshleet of the 21st Infantry Division. Yeager had a piece of aircraft armor in his hand that he kept rubbing with his fingers, a habit he'd had so long the chunk of debris was worn smooth and made shiny. Sheshleet, a Rigellian Saurian was yawning, tabbing a stim into the inside of his arm. Ekret knew the 21st had been conducting infantry drills in one of the massive holobays for almost 72 hours, going for 'fatigue and deprivation training' which was something Ekret planned on doing with his men.
The room was crowded, the Division commanders largely sitting in chairs. General Nodra'ak was looking at a hologram that was tuned so only he could see it, everyone else seeing random sparkles in the air above the table's emitter.
Finally the last of the Division officers were present. General Nodra'ak took out a pack of 'cigarettes' that were rumored to be imported from Terra itself, slapped on end against a blade-arm for moment, then he slowly unwrapped it.
"We will be dropping into the system in the next 72 hours, men," the Treana'ad said, dropping the waste from opening the pack into the table's reclaimer. He slowly withdrew a long white tube with a brown end, taking time to stare at everyone. "The system is in the Long Dark, the Dead Zone to some of you, unclaimed and, we believe, unexplored by the Unified Civilized Council. It's estimated to be a few hundred light years from any possible Precursor forces, but we are not going to count on that."
The big insectiod put the tube in his mandibles and lit the end, slowly inhaling and blowing out smoke. Ekret slipped the tube back out of his pocket and put the shredded end in his mouth.
The holodisplay in front of his came to life, showing a mostly transparent wireframe.
"Space Force has ordered us to dig in. We'll be met by the 271st Space Force Engineers. This is going to be a Logistics Base for Space Force as well as a training ground to allow our newer members to undergo familiarization training," Nodra'ak said. He started jabbing at his own holo with the cigarette, causing parts of everyone else's holo's flash.
Ekret took notes as General Nodra'ak annotated where preliminary plans had detailed different facilities would be placed in the system, then on each world. Nodra'ak listed to suggestions, rejected some, accepted others, and tabled some for further discussion.
It still surprised Ekret that a commander as high ranking as General Nodra'ak would care about his subordinates opinions. The Treana'ad commanded more forces than most system Most Highs, billions of tons of metal and hundreds of thousands of troops.
Most of the Civilized Worlds would have considered it an army and unsustainable. Instead, to the Terrans, it was an entirely self-contained 'joint services' unit capable of extended deployment without outside support.
The sheer scale of it sometimes startled Ekret.
"In other news, and I want you to pass this on to the troops, 21st Civilian Logistics has let me know that they have completed, one hundred percent, in retrieving all willing family members of our newest troops. There's some hoopla going on, something about possible emancipation for those that our somewhat allies consider 'neo-sapients', but I have no firm data on that," Nodra'ak said.
A chime sounded as a small green mantid tapped his holo.
"Yes, Alpha-338?" Nodra'ak asked.
Icons flashed above the small mantid's head. Ekret's implant translated it for him.
"Current estimation of completion of civilian housing and support areas?"
General Nodra'ak lifted his bladearms in a rough estimation of a human shrug. "That depends on how long it takes your engineers, working with General Yeager who will be providing drone mapping, to locate an appropriate spot for necessary base infrastructure."
The icons for 'understand' flashed.
The briefing went on as Ekret took notes.
It was strange to Ekret, just how much officers communicated with one another. He was used to each Most High jealously guarding their areas of authority. Here everything was interlocked. Not to say there wasn't any friction, apparently General Yeager often argued with General Ulkenakit, commander of Air Cavalry, over areas of operation, but there was not the fabrication of untruths and the withholding of information that Ekret had faced his entire career.
Ekret chose his own unit's primary base. A trick of geography on the planet putting five different biospheres with twenty-five miles of the base, allowing him to train his men in different environments. Trucker backed his choice, so did the commander of 8th Infantry. Which meant that the base rapidly expanded, all the way to two BOLO's, including JAWS, being stationed at it.
He was startled when Alpha-338 promised that the base would be largely finished in under a month. After that would just come customization.
The meeting lasted nearly eight hours, with four breaks, before Trucker and Ekret were riding back down the elevator.
"May I ask a question?" Ekret asked, almost out of habit.
"Shoot," Trucker said, shaking the round plas canister of shredded leaf in one hand in such a way that his finger smacked the side.
"How did you get this kind of efficiency?" he asked. "Not that I doubt Alpha-338, but I would have expected our armor base to take thirty or forty years to build."
"Human history is fifty-thousand years of fighting interrupted here and there by vague peace. Think of fifty-thousand years of Council history, now invert the peace and war times, and you have Terrans," Trucker said. He paused to scoop out some of the shredded leaf with one finger and deposit it behind his lower lip.
Ekret pulled out his gnawed plas-tube and put it in his mouth, knowing by Trucker's speech patterns that the big human wasn't done.
"We had to learn to build fast and semi-permanent, since sometimes you dug in under fire, or had mere hours to get it done. Alpha-338 is part of the Mantid engineer caste, he's got an instinct for construction even sharper than his fellow greens. He can run the coding on a construction pod to get it to run at better efficiency than even factory specifications would suggest. Greenies are good at engineering work," Trucker said, pulling an small empty bottle out of one pocket.
"That's why our crews are having a green mantid added to them," Ekret mused.
"Yup. My own Cry Little Sister has a half-dozen greenies on the active combat crew. They've saved our asses more than once," Trucker said. The doors slid open, revealing the massive bay.
"Welp, lots of stupid shit to do," Trucker grunted, stepping out into the bay.
Ekret nodded. "Time to put the eaten meal back into the ration bag."
------------------
"SHOT OUT!" Cheapshot yelled.
"HIT! STILL UP!" Bouncy called out over the datalink.
"Can't see shit! Get my scanners back online, 749!" Cheapshot snapped.
"Affirmative," everyone's datalink decoded the two flashed icons. The interior maintenance panel was open and the small foot high green mantis, a toolpack in front of its torso, was yanking the thin wafers out of the panel that glowed the green of maintenance mode rather than the red of active and replacing them with new ones from the small nanoforge on the top of its abdomen.
"TARGET!" Ekret said, feeling the tingle in his paws.
"SHOT OUT!" Cheapshot yelled.
"compensating" 749 flashed across the datalink.
"NEGATIVE IMPACT!" Bouncy squealed.
"Get behind him, Steps," Ekret snapped to Sselssen, his driver. "He's trying to get behind us."
A loud clanking sound hammered out from behind and to the right of Ekret.
"Losing air pressure in nacelle three!" Sselssen said. "Compensating."
The tank vibrated as Sselseen applied more power to the turbofan and graviton assist for hover-nacelle three, at the mid-line starboard side of the tank.
There was more clanking.
"Nacelle four. Enemy's chewing up our fans!" Sselssen called out.
"TARGET!"
"SHOT OUT!"
"NEGATIVE IMPACT!"
"Scanners back up!" Cheapshot said, leaning back and kicking the plasma-cannon's autoloader to unstick it. Heat from constant firing had made the lining expand, causing it to stick. The autoloader slammed shut.
749 shut the panel and opened another one, disappearing into the maintenance space.
"Hold on!" Sselssen yelled and the tank suddenly slewed around as the saurian scraped the front right nacelle against the ground, using friction assist to turn the hovertank.
The round hit dead center of the tank's side. A big 200mm sabot shot. The crew compartment filled with white light, then everything went dark.
'shit' 749 flashed in the darkness.
The light came back up, showing the smooth white surfaces of the simulator.
"GOTCHA EKRET! - TRUCKER" appeared in midair.
Ekret ground his teeth on the empty ration tube and shook his head.
---------------------
In the elevator Halkrut, his XO, looked at Ekret. "The Precursors never targeted our nacelles before. They went for hull shots."
Ekret took the empty ration tube out of his mouth and put it in his pocket. "So far. The Precursors are a determined and adaptible enemy, it's only a matter of time until they start developing tactics to offset our advantages. MILINT believes that's why they withdrew, to formulate strategies."
Halkrut opened his mouth then shut it, reaching up to comb his whiskers. "Unified Military Forces would have never had us train as if the Precursors knew all our weaknesses," he mused.
"And they have not achieved victory in a single engagement," Ekret agreed, smoothing the fur on his still living leg.
"At times I feel it is unfair to pit General Trucker against us in simulations. Many of his crewmembers have been inside tanks since the time of my grand-guru," Halkrut said, tugging on his whiskers. "But I have noticed a steady increase in skills among our men."
"You don't get better fighting the worst, you get better fighting against the best," Zhukov said over the datalink.
"You are right, Honored Zhukov," Halkrut admitted, flicking his tail.
The door opened and the two former neo-sapients walked down the corridor toward the large briefing room.
"Welp, time to tell Smokey-No about all our dysfunctions," Halkrut said, shaking his head. "It is strange that failures are used as learning tools rather than a reason to replace or terminate the contract of the being making the mistake."
"Terrans are strange," Ekret agreed.
----------------
"Suggestions, Ekret?" Nodra'ak asked, jabbing the end of the smoking tube at Ekret, through his own hologram.
"Perhaps a second combat maintenance technician for each vehicle? My men do not have the extensive experience with our vehicles that I would prefer," Ekret replied.
Nodra'ak put the tube in his mandibles, obviously thinking. After a moment he nodded. "An excellent suggestion. I'll make the changes," the Treana'ad turned to Trucker. "And you?"
Trucker tapped his own holo. "Ekret's men, and some of mine, are starting to show fatigue. We need time off for the men."
Nodra'ak went still, thinking again.
"Announce a four day weekend. That includes all officers and commanders. The only people I want on duty are the MP's," Nodra'ak said. He paused again. "Inform the men that in the next week the first of the family transports will arrive. After the weekend, let's shift to maintenance mode, get the paperwork done, re-configure the bases, shuffle some units and personnel, and other tasks we have been putting off."
Ekret nodded, making notes.
-----------------
"Might I make a suggestion, General Ekret?" Zhukov broke into Ekret's chain of thought as he stared at paperwork.
"Yes, Zhukov?"
"Perhaps you should take time to design your unit standard. It will take your mind off of going over the same paperwork for the tenth time as well as provide a morale boost to your men," Zhukov said over the datalink.
Ekret looked at the clock and jerked in surprise. It was nearly midnight. The realization made him yawn.
"Perhaps tomorrow, Zhukov," Ekret said. "I think now I'll go to bed."
"Sleep is important to optimal function. I will take the time to defragment and perform other maintenance tasks," Zhukov said.
"Good night, Zhukov. Pleasant dreams," Ekret said, standing up.
"And you, General," Zhukov answered.
Ekret was asleep almost before his face hit the pillow.
---------------
SPACE FORCE ALERT
V CORPS (MIXED METAL) IS TO GO TO IMMEDIATE STAND-TO ALERT! SYSTEMS UNDER ATTACK BY UNKNOWN FORCES!
-----NOTHING FOLLOWS---------

So as a New Year starts to envelop us all, it is time for me to update my work online guide that I have been keeping up for going on two years. Thanks to another top post on the sub this morning, I was reminded of tax time fast approaching. This brought up the ways I need to make money to pay for taxes, that I still need to file, and a whole slew of other anxiety inducing thoughts. So, rather than sitting around and freaking out about it, I am writing out a modified guide with new info and hoping it helps someone else. I will also point out the sites that offer free and paid tax services as I discuss them.
Before the main post, I am including the best deals or opportunities that I have found online recently. This is all stuff I have verified as working in the last few weeks. These are all 100% legit ways to get free money and most are pretty easy. I am including ref links as some of them require it, but also including non-ref where I can.

Top deals for January 2020

Swagbucks $28 Hulu deal
Right now SB has another deal (they always have it) where you get credits to sign up to Hulu with the $5.99 plan. It usually is between $18 and $35 when you check, as they seem to change it day to day. Since this deal has new terms, the credits might be paid out immediately or after 32 days. The credits can be used for Amazon GC or PayPal credit (both take a few days to get processed). Not only that, but you can get a $25 Amazon GC for $22 worth of points, so you can make even more. You can cancel the subscription after 8 days, but no sooner so you don't lose the points. So, five minutes of work for the equivalent of $12-$29 and a free month of Hulu. Non-ref
$25 from SoFi for opening an account and depositing $100
This one will require you to have $100 that you can do without for a few days. SoFi Money is a savings account, fee-free, 2% APY annual; so typical bank account. This deal will require you to use your SSN, link a bank account, and do a soft pull with Experian to complete. You just need to create a SoFi Money account through the link, deposit $100 to the account, and wait for a few days. This is different than most bank account bonuses because it doesn't need direct deposit, just a regular $100 deposit. After the deposit clears (1-2 business days), SoFi will instantly give you $25 bonus. After you get the $25 bonus you can pull out all $125 and close the account or keep using it. Requires ref use for bonus.
Another $100 from SoFi but for stocks
Even though most of us don't have an extra grand laying around for this deal, I will include it for the people that do. After you get the $25 sign up bonus from SoFi Money, create and fund an invest account with $1,000. Since I (and you now) already had an account, it literally took under 5 minutes to set up and fund the account. Either way you do it, SoFi will give you an additional $50 in free stock of your choice. Keep it and hope it grows, or sell it for the quick $50 profit. Requires ref use for bonus.
$50 from Chime for opening an account and depositing $200
Pretty much the same exact set up as SoFi. This one will require you to have $200 that you can do without for a few days. You just need to create the Chime account through the link, deposit $200 to the account, and wait for a few days. It says direct deposit only, but this tested and worded with just connecting a bank account and doing the deposit. After the deposit clears (1-2 business days), Chime will instantly give you $50 bonus. After you get the $50 bonus you have to wait until your new debit card arrives and is activated before you can move the money out. Requires ref use for bonus.
$50 from eToro
This is a crypto trading account. The same deal as the other ones. Fund the account using the ref link and get $50. The wait time on this one is usually around 7 business days. Requires ref use for bonus.
$10-$150 in crypto for watching videos and answering quiz questions
Pretty much just watch and answer videos for varying types of crypto. The crypto you earn will get deposited into the wallet you create, which can then be cashed out into USD. Depending on the day, you can earn up to $150 if all free tokens are available. Non-ref
$10-$40 for signing up with OhmConnect
A great website if you have one of a few utility companies in California, Texas, or Toronto. OhmConnect supports PGE, SCE, SDGE, Smart Meter Texas, and Toronto Hydro. You essentially just connect your utility account, and earn points. You earn $10 after signing up and getting to a status level of Silver (took me like 10 minutes). $10 more if you connect a smart device like NEST. Requires ref use for bonus.
$50 for test driving a Hyundai
Pretty easy. Click the link, get your code, test drive a car, and get $50. I did this the last two years and I was in and out on my lunch break. Keep in mind to check all of the local big dealerships around you. In 2019 I hit up Hyundai, Ford, Kia, and Subaru for $200 in bonuses and tons of free coffee. No ref link included.
The following are ref links that I am putting in for a random Redditor or two, just to spread goodwill and try to give back to all of you. I get nothing from these and will be doing this for one or two random people every month. The Redditor(s) for January
Still looking
I am currently looking for ref links from other users to put here this year. I try to do new people every month, so if you have something LEGIT that can benefir you and someone else, drop me a PM.
Ok. On to the main post content. I will be using the same format I have used since 2018, with updates and any small changes needed. So if it looks familiar, that's because it is.
Hey everyone. This is an all-inclusive write-up compiling all of my past posts on how I am making upwards of $1,000 a month through the use of beermoney sites. Beermoney is, according to Urban Dictionary, "Extra money for non-essential payments, available for spending on luxuries, hobbies, or a fresh pint of your favorite draft." I use this definition, because this is (in most cases) not intended to be a primary source of income. This is a way to supplement what you already have. There is no way to know what you will make any given month, so do not count on it. My worst month I only made around $500 and my best I made over $4,000. You can also check out my post on using apps to save money and earn cash back. I need to update this post, but that is a job for another day.
As I have stated in my other posts, this is not a definitive list of everything a person can do online by any means. Do your own research on the subs I list, use Google, ask other people, and find what works for you. What I talk about works well for me, my family, and my schedule. Below I will include time requirements to make this money, provide a quick recap of the revenue streams that I have found to work, and provide payment proof for what I can.
I personally invest anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week doing these sites, on top of my day job. Some days I will make $20 all day, and others I will make over $200. I prefer this, as opposed to a second job, because I can pay partial attention to a laptop and 'clock-out' when I want to focus on family or Netflix. This works better for my temperament and preferences.
Tech required: A working laptop, a cellphone (in some cases), an internet connection, and a fairly good amount of patience to learn. If you are in a position where these tools are not available, you can also do many of these from a library.
I put all of this info into an e-book, plus a TON of other stuff that was either written by me, or compiled from others (with their permission). Here is a link to it. If you tried even half of the stuff in the book, you would make your money back in less than a day.
The dollar amounts next to each site are what I made in 2018. I haven't made the time to update all of this, but it is substantial. In 2019 I cleared over $20,000 in additional income working online. Anyway, on to the revenue streams:
Respondent.io ($4,300): Studies - Most countries - This site allows users to screen for online or in-person surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The pay is amazing, easily averaging $125 per test. You take the qualification survey and if you score 100% on it you have about a 10% chance to get invited to take the survey by the coordinator. The site as a whole pays extremely well, but you have to fill out quite a bit of the qualification questionnaires to be invited to anything. I have personally filled out over 500 of them and have participated in about 40 actual surveys. It's more of a numbers game than anything else. Thankfully, each screener only takes me a few minutes to fill out and the pay for time invested is definitely worth it. Unfortunately, there has recently been a screener cap put in place, so choose wisely. I have made up to $300 with one hour of work doing an in person focus group. Most focus groups are done through webcam, so you don't even have to leave your house. They payout via PayPal 7 days after the activity is complete. For two of the last four years, I have used this site to find focus groups to file my taxes. They have both been paid for by Intuit. Not only do I get to file for free, but I get paid $200 to do it. I will definitely be on the look out again this year. Non-ref
SwagBucks ($775) Surveys – Majority of countries– This is more of a catch-all for stuff to do when you want to make and save money. You can do surveys, play games, and watch videos to earn points. You can also get cash back from using SB to visit and buy from different stores. You get paid in points which can be used to purchase gift cards or sent directly to PayPal. Each point is the equivalent of $0.01. Usually, SB will have deals where you can get certain gift cards for less. For example, a $20 Amazon gift card for 1800 SB points. The payout can be slow, but if you don’t mind running ads in the background, using a plug-in to save money while you shop, or killing time playing a game, SwagBucks can be a great way to earn $20 a month. Non-ref
Market Force Secret Shopping This is a new one for me that I just started a few weeks ago, but has shown to be pretty awesome so far. There are a ton of projects that I qualify near me and even a few to audit tax services. This means they will reimburse for the fee to get your taxes done, as well as pay you $75. If I cannot qualify for Respondent this year, I will be going here. You can also mystery shop fast food places, sit down restaurants, and normal shopping. All jobs show how much reimbursement you can get, as well as the flat rate. The only down side here is a pretty long wait for payment as they only pay out once a month. No ref link included.
Mturk ($3,142): Small tasks and surveys - US mainly. Confirmed also in Canada, Europe, & Aus. - I no longer do this as often as I used to, but money can still be made here. This site lets humans perform small tasks that robots still cannot do well. It is owned by Amazon. Downside is there are slim pickings on weekends and when colleges are out on vacation. I typically stick to surveys, but once in a while do batch jobs which there are more of. You have to wait a week for your first payout, which will go to an Amazon payment account. You can the get payouts one time per day after that. Approval for mturk can sometimes be a pain in the ass, almost impossible if you are not from the US, but is definitely worth it in my opinion if you can get approved. No ref link included.
Secret shopper US and Secret shopper UK ($485): In-person store evaluation - US and UK only - These links will take you directly to a sign-up page. US version populates with my ref code. Feel free to delete it before signing up, if you want. You will be taken to the app store where you can download the actual app on your phone. Essentially, you go to stores near you that are identified in the app and take pictures or videos of specific items. I like this one because I have the ability to make a few extra bucks if I am already out shopping. The pay for this one averages about $15/hr. Note: I have not tried the UK version, but it was recommended by another Redditor. Non-ref
Usertesting ($800): Website evaluation - US & maybe select others - This site allows you to review new websites and apps. The pay is usually $10 per recorded test lasting 10-15 minutes. Sometimes the pay is more, but never less. I average a few tests a week. Some weeks I will get a dozen tests, other weeks nothing. This one is great to practice your feedback skills, which open up a lot of other doors. Pay is through PayPal, one week (to the minute) after the test is complete. No ref link included.
Redbubble ($305) 25% off ref code for first order over $40: T-shirt creation - Worldwide - After getting rejected by merch by Amazon, I came here. You design and publish t-shirts, phone cases, and about 20 other mixed products, with each sell netting you a few bucks. They are based in Australia, and do pay-outs once a month on the 15th via PayPal. You do all of the uploading and just wait for people to find it with keywords or searches. Great if you are artistic or know how to use any creative software. This site is usually hottest for me around the holidays, but averages me about $40 a month in completely passive income after a dozen hours of uploading stuff. No ref link included.
Prolific.ac ($3,500): Based in the UK, this used to be one of my favorites because they pay in Great British Pound (GBP) which is the equivalent to 1.25x the USD. Prolific is similar to Mturk (listed earlier) in that all you do is fill out surveys. Pay is better than Mturk, but the availability of surveys is not as great. In fact, I personally haven't seen a survey in months, but see others get them often. The initial questionnaire you have to fill out is a bit long taking me about 20 minutes, but ensures you qualify for every survey they show you and will never get disqualified for not meeting the demographic. You have to hit £5 before you can cash out, but you get this after a few days of watching for surveys. Leave it open in a tab and check it throughout the day. I wish I could do this one all day because the pay rocks, but I only see a few a day. They pay out in PayPal anytime you request it and have a balance of over £5. No rel link included.
Ebay ($190): Selling goods - Worldwide - Not much explanation needed here. You buy stuff in-person low, and sell online high. Here is a $2.99 beginner's guide dedicated to flipping that covers absolutely everything you need to know (also mine). No ref link included.
PlaytestCloud ($190): Video game testing - Many countries - This is just simple game testing. It is super fun, very quick, and you get to test new games before anyone else. They send you tests for different listed devices, you download the game file, and they record your screen and voice. The only issue I have with this one is that you are only able to test 3-4 games per month, at $9-$11 each. Paid almost immediately after each test via PayPal. No ref link included.
UsabilityHub ($15): App testing - Many countries - This one lets the user take quick one or two minute surveys on your opinion of an app screen. They pay for this averages to about $.10 a minute, so it is nothing spectacular. Just leave it open in another tab and take a quick survey when you hear a new one come available. No ref link included.
UserInterviews ($50): Studies - US & maybe select others - Similar to Respondent, but with less approval when filling out the demographics for each study.
Product Testing ($1,500): Mainly US & some UK/CA - There are places online that will pay you to leave positive/negative reviews for companies or purchase products. This is actually a big business model in China and other S.E.A. countries. Personally, I already know that Amazon reviews, Yelp, BBB, and everything in the middle are at least half fake reviews; so I may as well monetize on it. If this is something that sounds interesting, here is more info.
Reddit subs($2,300): It is super simple to use Reddit as more than a social media tool or news website. Knowing the right subs to subscribe to, and what to look for, can help you make a few extra hundred bucks a month. There are a ton that you can find small or medium jobs on, but I am only going to outline the top four that have worked for me.
/slavelabour: This sub is normally dedicated to doing cheap jobs for people, at cheap rates. I have both had things done for me here, as well as completed a lot of tasks. It may seem daunting at first, with people offering $2 to write an essay (seriously though.. no homework here), but there are gems to be found. Two of my best jobs have been creating meal plans for $60, and finding the name of a book for $80.
/WOIncomeReports: A gold mine of information on different websites to check out, gift card survey opportunities, and other generally helpful tips. I have never made money directly from there, but have gotten tools that have helped make at least a thousand over the last year. This section used to be for the original Work Online sub, but that has deteriorated. This sub has kind of died recently, but feel free to contribute.
/signupsforpay: Since slave labour does not allow paying people to sign up for websites, this is where to go to make a few bucks with signups. From connecting your gas and electric information, to signing up with Acorns, I have probably made a grand total of $100 here. Nothing overly special, but $100 is $100.
/giftcardexchange: This is one of my favorites, because you can buy and sell all of those gift cards you have/want. Have a $20 gift card from a family member that you will never use? Sell it here for 80-90%. Want to buy Amazon gift cards for less than face value? Get 'em here. I do a lot of buying on Amazon, so this sub has easily saved me hundreds over the course of using it. Caution: Trade carefully.
I know this is a lot of info and a bunch of it is repetitive from my last dozen posts, but if it aint broke, don't fix it. I wanted to provide as much info as possible for the compiled post, so I took what worked and added to it. Hope it helps and Happy 2020!