Lago Gas Port is where your adventure begins. Follow Leslie's instructions and get yourself a ship (You will see you can only afford a Ceres Mk III, with around 2,500 credits to spare) and return to Leslie. Next, we need to get our first contract, and there are 3 on offer:

• Oxygen to Prefect Outpost
  
• Hydrogen to Crassus Harbour
  
• Helium to FIL Station

These 3 are always the same, but immediately afterwards, contracts are a bit more randomised. The Contracts available are always based on the licenses you have. Leslie gives you a license for United Leon Space Enterprises, which is why they are the client for all three contracts available. Contracts for them are plentiful in the Leo sector.
For this walkthrough, we are going to take the Crassus Harbour contract. Click on the contract, then confirm to take it. Right click to exit this terminal, then left click on the commerce terminal. You will see the oxygen available. Click to take it on board, then return to Leslie.

Now with your cargo on board, there is nothing left to do but go. None of the commodities at Lago Gas Port actually sell well anywhere else in Leo. Pre-flight Checklist:

• Contract to take Hydrogen to Crassus Harbour
  
• Hydrogen cargo loaded
  
• Permission to undock requested
  
• IFF set to ON

Once you are undocked, use your sensor suite to pick out Crassus Harbour station, move to the Nav Computer, Plot a course and Engage. Now you just need to wait for your ship to make the journey. Feel free move to the Comms room and read your mail. You can send a response to Leslie's email. You can also catch up on local news. If you're in a hurry, use time compression. It will set back to 1x when you dock.

Having arrived at Crassus Harbour, you will want to complete your first contract. Head to the trading screens to sell the Hydrogen in your cargo bay. On the way you will have passed an NPC waiting in one of the bars. Stop and have a chat

This is Scud Delavinci, and as shady as his deal seems, it is dead simple and very safe. Importantly, he doesn't actually need you to haul any cargo, so you won't be in any trouble with the law. Make a note of the bonus he is offering, it's usually around 400c on top of the base of 1200c.

Now, sell your current cargo at the trading screen and get your contract completion bonus. Next, go to the Commerce Link screens and check out both the Contracts and Passengers list. Now, this is somewhat random, but if you can find any contracts and passengers headed to Port Crawford, pick them up. You can pick up a license for Nikon Distillers, who are likely to offer contracts shipping spirits around. But there are no guarantees. If all else fails, at least purchase some spirits from the trading terminal.

Pre-flight Checklist:

• Sold Hydrogen, completing Lago Contract for Leon Space Enterprises
  
• Agreed to head to Port Crawford for Scud Delavinci
  
• Picked up passengers, contracts, and cargo headed to Port Crawford
  
• Requested Permission to undock
  
• IFF on

Now, this trip will require you to first plot a course to the Leo-Tega Jumpgate, where you will need to pay a small fee in order to jump to the Tega system. From there, you can plot a course to Port Crawford.

First up, you want to head straight past any NPCs and get to the trading terminals to sell your cargo, handing in any contracts you had. Next up, get to the Cornerstone Bar and Grill to meet the NPC there. Her name is Sam Cowart. Be discreet when introducing yourself and the purpose of your visit. She will confirm that she is the buyer, and ask what Scud's price is. Say 25, and insist upon it when she counters with 15. Now, you should have an option to suggest either 20, or offer to get Scud to take 15 in exchange for a bonus. Remember, Scud offered us about 400 credits if we could get higher than 15. Sam's initial offer will be higher than this, but you can push her to 650 total, which brings this run to 1850c before factoring in any extra you made hauling cargo or passengers.

But we're not getting paid until we get back. Before we go, there are a few things to take care of. Head to the commerce link and see if there are any nice contracts headed back to Crassus Harbour, or Prefect Outpost. If you're in luck, you'll see electronics or computers headed that way. If not, we can still make a bit of money on the return trip. Electronics, Computers, Machinery and Industrial are all sold below market value here, and will sell well back in Leo. Explosives and Medical Supplies will, too, but you will only want to pick these up if there are close to 10 of them, otherwise it won't be worth the cost of getting radiation shielding on your cargo pod. That 250c investment is nice to have, but it's only necessary if you're going to make a profit from it.

In case you're wondering how we'll haul all this back, head over to the Mechanixx terminal and select "Pods". This is where you can purchase extra cargo space and upgrades for your holds. Each cargo pod costs 100c, and holds 20 units of one good type at a time. Each upgrade costs 250c, and different cargo types need different upgrades. For now, just buy as many pods as you need to haul the cargo you have waiting at the trading terminal. Prioritise contract cargo first, then the cargo that doesn't need any special slots. If you are going to take any of the cargo that needs radiation shielding, it's best to upgrade pod 6 and use that.

One more thing before we are on our way again. We passed an NPC in the airlock of Port Crawford. Asterin Allas. Asterin wants to head to Leo, handy that! Just don't poke fun at Asterin's dreams and he will give you close to 1000c for the journey.

Pre-flight Checklist:

• Sold cargo/contracts from Crassus Harbour
  
• Negotiated sand deal with Sam Cowart
  
• Picked up contracts and cargo for Crassus Harbour OR Prefect Outpost
  
• Bought additional Cargo Space
  
• Bought Electronics, Computers, Machinery, Industrial Cargo
  
• Picked up NPC Passenger Asterin Allas
  
• Requested undocking permission
  
• IFF On

Now it's back the way we came! Head to the Tega-Leo Jumpgate, pay the toll, and then back to Crassus Harbour. You will receive a call from Asterin Allas mid-flight. Handle the conversation any way you wish.

Upon landing at Crassus Harbour, Asterin will thank you for your service. Head to the cargo bay to sell off your goods from Port Crawford. Be wary - if you picked up a contract for goods to go to Prefect Outpost, you don't want to sell those here! But you do want to check to see if there are any contracts or passengers headed to Prefect Outpost where we need to meet Scud and get our payment. Infinity Biotech may be offering medicine runs, which will require temperature controlled cargo pods, but with the money you just made you should be able to afford this investment.

This should just be a short stop, but now that you are starting to get a bit of a bank happening, it's worth checking out what modules are for sale for your ship. For more infor on what you're looking for, check the Ship Modules section. Otherwise, onward! Pre-flight Checklist

• Asterin Allas dropped off at Crassus Harbour
  
• Cargo/Contracts for Crassus Harbour sold
  
• Cargo/Contracts/Passengers for Prefect Outpost picked up
  
• Checked Modules for sale
  
• Requested undocking
  
• IFF On

About halfway to Prefect Outpost, you want to respond to Aya Grant's email regarding the Sterling Industrial contract. Say you'll take the cargo and you're on your way to Penitent Commercial. The reason for this is if we leave Aya waiting too long, she will tell us not to bother. But if we don't get there pretty swiftly after accepting her offer, she will void the contract and blacklist us. Aya is our next client as soon as we've finished with Scud.

Upon landing at Prefect Outpost, head to Bar Conquest, where you will find Scud. Give him the bad news, then head to the cargo terminals to turn in any contracts or cargo you have. Since we're headed to Penitent Commercial, once again, check for any contracts or passengers we can take along. Pre-flight Checklist:

• Cargo/Contracts/Passengers for Prefect Outpost sold
  
• Cargo/Contracts/Passengers for Penitent Commercial picked up
  
• Checked Modules for sale
  
• Requested undocking
  
• IFF On

Prefect Outpost is another short stop. Drop off any cargo/contracts/passengers, and be sure to take on the contract to deliver electronics to Sterling Industrial. This is the job you agreed to via the email, and it'll take us back to Tega, where we can collect more goodies to sell back in Leo.

Pre-flight Checklist:

• Cargo/Contracts/Passengers for Penitent Commercial sold
  
• Electronics Contract & Cargo for Sterling Industrial picked up
  
• Cargo/Contracts/Passengers for Sterling Industrial picked up
  
• Checked Modules for sale
  
• Requested undocking
  
• IFF On

Plot a course to the Leo-Tega Gateway, pay the fee and jump. Then plot a course to Sterling Industrial Outpost. Upon landing, sell the cargo and your contract will be complete, with a nice 80-0c bonus. But what's really nice is when you check out commodities stations and see once again that there are loads of cargo selling at below market rate. It is also likely you can arrange multiple contracts for cargo from here, so we can once again load up and make a killing.

In total this short quest chain has likely earned:
Scud Delavinci - 1850c
Asterin Allas - 900c
Aya Grant (Sterling Industrial Contract)- 800c
Contracts & Cargo trades - 2000-4000c

And we have spent around about:
Jump fees - 88c (4*22c)

From here, you can start exploring nearby Maru and Magella for even more missions, or purchase a jump drive and start going further afield. It's likely you will have received an email from an old friend in Gallileo, and you should have enough money for a jump drive by now. I'll leave the rest of the journey to you to uncover.

If you're browsing the list of modules available on a station it can be a bit daunting understanding what you should be looking for. I won't go into too much detail here, other than to list my recommendations for new players just starting out.

1. Solar Sail
These don't come up too often but if you don't have one, keep money set aside for one. Usually costs around 3000-4000c, but is worth every credit. A solar sail gives you around 1-3mw of power generation completely emissions free. This is enough to power pretty much every system aside from your engine and RCS without draining battery power. It's enough to allow you to make small maneuvers and course corrections without powering up your reactor. With this, you can turn off IFF, flit between nebula, and never get spotted.

2. Jump Drive
It's up to you when you leave the jump-gate network and start exploring further afield, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it until you've become familiar with the opportunities in Leo, Maru and Tega. The gate fees arent so high that you need to rush out and get your own. But your ship has a dedicated slot for the Jump Drive, and soon enough quests will start to pull you away from the beaten track.

3. Batteries
The sweet spot for batteries is around 2200c-3000c, and between 60-75mw. Any less power and they will take up too much space. Any more expensive and you're paying too much. Your two starter batteries are 35mw each and will get drained before completing autopilot maneuvers in some circumstances. If you can sell one of your batteries for around 1200c and buy something close to double the capacity for twice that, it's a great deal. Do it twice, and you won't need to worry about your thrusters draining all your power again.

4. Sensors
A good sensor suite will help you identify pirates or authority ships a lot easier, which means you'll have more time to react, or avoid conflict altogether. Whether you're bounty hunting and want to get the jump on opponents, or just trying to play it safe, sensors are your eyes and it's worth your while to invest in a good set. Look for Cyan (e.g. V.Good) values for Strength. Analysis time is less important as this relates to the sensor's ability to resolve a potential threat into either nothing, or something. As long as it comes up, you can use your own judgement to work out what's likely. Boot time is less of an issue as well, as you're never shutting this off if you can help it, and that means the only bootup should be after undocking and jumps.

5. Countermeasures
Although there is a lot you can do to avoid the ire of pirates, at around 2500-3000c a countermeasure system is probably the cheapest investment in making sure you don't have to dump cargo if you're caught out in the open. It pays to experiment in the combat scenarios to figure out how best to combine countermeasures with evasive maneuvers, but you'll breathe a sigh of releif when the proximity sensor indicates an incoming torpedo is no longer closing on your position.

Every other module is either situational (e.g. you don't need weapons unless you're getting into bounty hunting, you don't need hacking modules unless you're getting into piracy) or isn't an immediate need. Your starting reactor, engines and RCS are all reasonably good, and other models tend to just have different balances of emissions and power drain.