Vern was enjoying himself.

Nice to be away from endless meetings with the higher ups, or countless sessions checking up on the various teams in the field to keep them on their toes.

Nice to just sit and drink a few beers in front of a roaring fire.

A very, very, big, roaring fire.

The barn and smokehouse were now a huge pile of charcoal that was slowly burning down.

It would take another couple of days to burn out.

The other thing Vern was enjoying was the distinct lack of brown nosers.

He'd had a long talk with Billy and this Ozzy fellow about what had been happening in the area.

He'd gotten a concise report on Momco.'s attempts at sabotage and spying, but with none of the deferential treatment and sucking up he was used to in underlings.

Ozzy had some ideas for a new barracks to replace the flimsy huts; his suggestion was to 'go medieval.' Build a stone building with thick outer walls with windows and doors on the inside around a central courtyard.

It would give the workers more protection from monsters, goblins, or sabotage by another corporation.

Vern and Billy liked the idea.

If it worked out, they could send the plans to other groups.

Billy also liked Ozzy's suggestion that the work crew build the new housing after hours.

They would put in an 8 to 10-hour day and then a few more on their housing.

Good incentive to work faster.

Later, several other workers joined their group.

Other than making sure their beers got refilled, they hadn't seemed to show Billy or Vern any special treatment as they sat and drank.

Sifting through their idle talk had filled Vern in on a number of subjects such as how many new calves were born each week, profits at the tavern, dangers on the local roads, and how to increase profits from the Legion fulfillment contract.

They'd even sketched out the plans for all the new buildings and corrals.

Billy just had to nod his approval.

It was more and more obvious how Billy was accomplishing so much.

Vern wondered again how Billy had put together a crew like this in less than an hour.

All the other managers assumed he'd done it ahead of time, but Vern knew he'd been as surprised as the rest of them.

Yet somehow, he'd handed in a stack of contracts for competent workers almost immediately.

Vern's gut told him there was more to it.

Time to check into a few of them maybe.The Contract Worker project was an overall success.

Back on earth, this workforce was just part of the under-nourished poor living in the cramped habitat blocks and eating artificial food.

Most of them were also in poor health with little or no access to healthcare.

But here they were all physically superior people who could work 16 hours a day with little complaint and do the work of three people.

As they settled into their roles and got some experience they were working faster and faster.

All of the ACME crews were doing an adequate job; but Vern didn't like adequate.

He wanted the rest of the teams to do as well as Billy and he wanted Billy to get that city opened up.

Still, he'd accomplished a lot in two weeks.- 160 acres of land cleared for crops, fields laid out, irrigation dug, and crops planted.- The fulfillment contract with the Legion was bringing in double profits.

- Half a million board feet of timber ready for construction.-Tanning, leatherworking, and quarrying started.

- Half ownership in a local tavern that was turning immediate profits.- Three miles of road that Caesar would be proud of.

Sure, some small setbacks like a Daemon burning down half of what they had built.

But from the look of things, they'd have that sorted in a couple of days.

The road was a little overkill for this area, but a huge asset in the long run.

Vern hadn't told Billy about 'Corporate Build Points' yet, or that he'd been delighted to see them show up.

He'd keep that a secret just a bit longer.

Billy worked better under pressure.

Vern had been happily surprised when he received the notification.

ACME Corporation has earned the following for their Northern Division: Corporate Build Points x 30 for the construction of 3 miles of road that meets specifications for 'Road of the Emperor's Legions'.

As per their contract, ACME Corporation may redeem build points for additional land and special buildings.