The Suit-Maker 41 Cs Little Rascal

[Mission completed- Build a Grade 0 Battlesuit. Vehicle awarded to User Tobias Wong. New Mission available]

I was on my way to the workshop when the expected announcement appear. I was expecting the announcement from the System but I had to smile at the reward. A new vehicle to replace my decade old car? Don't mind if I take it with open arms!

When I finally reach the workshop, I practically ran into the workshop office. I had enough sense to turn on the white noise filters before asking the System the usual question.

"System, not that I'm complaining but why am I receiving a vehicle as a reward?

[A successful designer cannot be seen in a piece of junk so a vehicle has been awarded to User Tobias Wong.]

"Let me see what you have then!"

If anyone was around, they would have thought that I am crazy shouting at the air but I didn't care. This is a great reward. I open the System and saw the blinking Mission tab. I access the tab and press on the highlighted New Vehicle. A deck of cards appeared and from the deck, three cards were placed in a row in front of me. I click on the card in the middle because…well, it's the one in the middle and the card flip over. The card read 'CS Little Rascal'.

"What the…System, what is 'CS Little Rascal'?"

[That is the name of the vehicle given to User Tobias Wong.]

"But what is the Little Rascal? I had never heard of this vehicle."

[Please check on the specifications of the vehicle yourself. The System is not a babysitter.]

"Evidently it would kill my old man to install some convenience programming into you."

[The Mad Triple died due to old age. He was two hundred and fifteen year old when he expired. Overwork due to the creation of the System has nothing to do with his death.]

I grumbled as I boot up the office computer and did an online search for 'CS Little Rascal'. To my surprise, the CS Little Rascal is a s.p.a.ce shuttle. A s.p.a.ce shuttle with a big cargo bay, the s.p.a.ce vehicle is much smaller than the more common s.p.a.ce cruisers most s.p.a.celines use to ferry people between the various planets and s.p.a.ce stations in the solar system. It is in fact a cargo shuttle that can be piloted by just one person. Great and wonderful news expect for one tiny problem.

"System, what in the world am I supposed to do with a s.p.a.ce shuttle?"

[This is a reward from the System given to User Tobias Wong. Usage of the reward is left to the user. Once again; the System is not a babysitter.]

I can't help but place my palm on my face. What a stupid System and what a crazy reward?! Why can't I get something simpler like another car or even an electric bicycle? A s.p.a.ce shuttle? What am I supposed to do with it? Sighing, I search for further information on the Little Rascal. I have never heard of it but the s.p.a.ce shuttle does seem to have a reputation.

According to a website I found, the CS Little Rascal is a new shuttle design created by a small company called 'The s.p.a.ce Design Lab'. Located in Puliburg, the then unknown company broke onto the s.p.a.ce vehicle scene two years ago and has been quietly making a name for itself. The CS Little Rascal was one of the company's earlier design.

Puliburg is a small mining colony on Mars and the Rascal has become a favorite among private s.p.a.ce miners and prospectors. These entrepreneurs would usually use the Rascal's cargo bay to store their s.p.a.ce mining drones and then release the drones once they arrive at their destination. Any ore mined would of course be stored in the cargo bay as well. According to the website, the Little Rascal also has excellent fuel efficiency and you can easily travel from Earth to Mars without refueling. More importantly for me, the Rascal has reentry capability. This means that a pilot can fly the shuttle through the planetary atmosphere to the surface of a planet. In theory you can fly the CS Little Rascal from the surface of Earth straight to Mars.

Even to a layman like me, that's amazing. Most s.p.a.ce tour companies nowadays require you to board a s.p.a.ce shuttle that will fly you to a s.p.a.ce cruiser in orbit. The cruiser is the vehicle that will fly you to your destination. Maybe this s.p.a.ce shuttle isn't as bad as a reward as I first thought!

I wanted more information on my new toy and after some further checks on the Solar Net, I found that the CS Little Rascal has pretty good reviews across the board. It is considered a bit of a workhorse. It isn't fast or fancy but it has a good safety record and most buyers raved about the big cargo bay it provides. That doesn't really help me as I'm not a s.p.a.ce miner but breakdowns are few and far between and 'The s.p.a.ce Design Lab' even has a repair drone as an optional add-on. One website even quote an expert saying that the Little Rascal is a welcome new take on the traditional s.p.a.ce shuttle and describing Igor Maksimov, the founder and lead designer of 'The s.p.a.ce Design Lab', as a up-and-coming s.p.a.cecraft designer.

I had to smile at that. Due to high cost, s.p.a.cecraft workshops are even rarer than Battlesuit workshops but somehow Maksimov managed to start his own s.p.a.cecraft designer company. It's still early days and 'The s.p.a.ce Design Lab' could fold in the future but as an entrepreneur I had to admire Maksimov for his guts to start his own company. It would have been far easier for him to…wait a minute! Small unknown company that burst onto the scene with a new designer two years ago? That sounds almost like…

"System, you're there?"

[Yes, User Tobias Wong. How may I a.s.sist you?]

"This man, Igor Maksimov. Is he one of my half-brothers? Does he also have a System?"