Chapter 3 A new beginning.
After a long and mostly sleepless night Tommy Got up from his bunk and started getting ready to go to work.
He couldn't sleep much because of the nightmares.
It was always the same dream: he saw his little sister being drained of blood and bone marrow.
She was screaming for him to save her but he couldn't. He was always chained to the wall and no matter how he struggled he could only watch being unable to save her.
Those dreams were only a part of his suffering and the worst part was that it was too late to save his sister now, too much time had passed and the transplantation was already over which meant that his sister was dead.
And all of it was the fault of the nobles and his own.
The nobles wanted his sister's blood and marrow so that their own daughter could live,they didn't care that someone else had to die for it.
He on the other hand failed to protect her and even his best friend had died when he tried to help them escape.
In the end the nobles got what they wanted and he was sent here to suffer with the knowledge that he lost everything,it would be more merciful to just kill him.
Tommy pushed those thoughts aside and went to work after eating a meager breakfast.
When he arrived at the dry dock he saw Simon already there,trying to detach some components of the shuttle which was way more disassembled than he remembered from yesterday.
-Good morning.He greeted the big guy.
-Good morning.Simon greeted him back.
-Can you tell me how this whole thing works?asked tommy.
-Oh, that's easy.said Simon with a smile .
- We bring a vessel into the dock and take it apart,then we transport those parts to the gathering point and sell them.
Everyone can work as they please and whatever materials you salvage are yours to sell.
-Ok that's easy enough but how are you transporting all the parts?
-We cut them into smaller pieces and carry them, there is no other way since it's about 500 meters from here to the collection platform.
- What about that grav-cart lying there?
Tommy pointed at the device lying a few meters away from the dock.
-That's just junk. It never worked at least as long as I'm here. I never saw it work.
Some guys tried to fix it but they gave up in the end.
Simon looked in the direction of the device answering Tommy's questions.
-Well maybe i'll try it later but right now i need to get some credits.
-Then let's get to it. Where are your tools?
Asked the big man.
-I don't have any, I used some of Alice's tools when i was recuperating but i dont have my own tool set.I was thinking about getting the materials i can get without any tools.
Tommy said, shrugging.
-you're out of luck,those materials always go first.For now you can use my tools until you get your own.
-Or he can use my tools .
A familiar voice came from behind Tommy's back.
When he turned around he saw Alice standing there with a tool box in her hand.
-Hi there Alice, are you joining us today? asked simon.
-Yes i don't have any patients for now so i have to get back to dismantling.
She said while shaking her head with a disappointed look on her face.
-Don't worry, I'm sure someone will get injured soon enough so that you can scam them out of their credits.
Hearing Simon's words she punched him in the chest but the big guy just laughed.
After some more chatting they got to work.
Simon got back to the panel he was trying to unhook before,while Alice and Tommy went inside the shuttle to see what they could salvage.
After entering, Tommy suggested going to the engine compartment as there should be some electronic parts to get from there.
Alice explained that every material had its own value and one of the best were the electronic parts especially if they were undamaged.
At the first glance the compartment looked like it was cleaned out, there were no consoles or screens and even most of the cables were removed,the only thing left was the engine which was also partially stripped.
-Well it was worth a try. Said Alice with a note of disappointment in her voice.
Tommy on the other hand went to the left engine and got under it.
She had no idea what he was doing but then she remembered who repaired some of her medical equipment.
-What are you looking for? she asked him while coming closer and getting on all four to see what he was up to.
.-If i'm not mistaken this ship is a type 97 shuttle and if that's true then there should be a small compartment containing a backup control circuit under each engine.
He said while looking around and when he finally found what he was looking for he pressed on the metal surface that didn't look any different from the rest of the floor around it.
The panel he had pressed got pushed down slightly then it give you an audible click and sprung upwards unveiling around a dozen circuit boards
Alice's eyes got round with shock. It was the first time she saw something like that.
Tommy retrieved the whole box and it looked like the circuit boards were in a perfect condition.
He gave the box to Alice and went under the second engine repeating the whole operation.
-How much do you think we'll get for those? Simon pointed at the two boxes.
Alice was still in a bit of a shock after witnessing what he did earlier so it took her a moment to realize he was talking to her.
-I don't know, I've never seen two dozen of circuit boards in such good condition sold at once,but it should be a nice sum of credits.
She said.
-Then let's go and see, maybe it will be enough to buy some tools for me .
He said while grabbing one box and giving the other to the women.
The boxes were not exactly small,half a meter long and 20 cm wide they weighed around 15 kg each.
When they exited the ship there were more people working in the dock.
After a round of introductions and some questions about where they found the boxes they went to the collection platform.
When they arrived Tommy told Alice thet the box she is carrying is a thankyou gift for saving his life.
Alice tried to reject the idea, pointing out that he already paid her back and then some,by repairing her equipment in the mad bay.
But after some convincing she finally accepted and thanked him.
When it was their turn because there were three people before them selling their materials.
Alice went first and after looking at the computer displaying the worth of her box she was stunned.
She never saw such a description of an item.
Item: Emergency engine control circuit box .
Item status: Fully operational.
Item quality: Perfect
item Price: 15000 credits
Do you accept: Yes. No.
After accepting she even checked her balance and sure enough it was all there.
She waited for Tommy to finish with his transaction and they both went to the shop.
-This is crazy,she said on the way there.
-I have never seen any item reach such a high price.
Tommy looked at her a little baffled.
-Is 15000 credits a lot? He asked.
-It's not just a lot, it's an enormous sum to earn for only one item.
She answered. just now realizing she never really told him the value of the credits on the station.
-Let me put it this way, normally a person is lucky to earn 250 credits after a full day of work.
And a basic living cost is around 150 credits and that only includes water and the cheapest food.
In other words if you want you can live without working for over three months using the money you just earned.
That shocked him, he knew that the better condition of the materials the higher their price but he never thought that he would earn this much just by knowing where to look.
His engineering knowledge could really help him in this new life and from what he saw the other exiles on this station had no engineering or mechanical knowledge so they often damaged the parts when they salvaged them,and that's why they got less money for their parts.
While he was thinking about all of this they reached the shop.
As a practical person Tommy bought only what he needed for now.
1 set of tools, 1 cutting torch,a backpack,some food and water for a few days,and two more sets of clothes which all together cost him almost 10000 credits.
Alice told him that he was probably the only one who got so much equipment and supplies on his first day of work.
When they returned to the dock after dropping off the supplies at Tommy's place, there were even more people working on the shuttle.
After another round of introductions ,Alice went with two other women to get more parts from the interior of the vessel and Tommy went to the grav cart and started to tinker with it using his new tools.
It turns out that the device was in good condition and the damage was minor. All he had to do was to solder some disconnected wires and bypass one damaged control panel and plug it to a power source to charge it.
Everyone was stunned when they saw the device hover above the floor.
And all of them wanted to use it to transport their salvage which led to some quarreling.
-All of you shut the hell up.! The booming voice of Simon came from the back of the group.
After that everyone went quiet,And made way for the big guy.
This was the first time Tommy saw him without a smile and with a serious expression on his face.
-Thomas repaired the grav-cart so it's his and only he can decide who can use it.
you all know the rules so why are you bickering like a bunch of old women?
The big man said with a serious tone,looking around at everyone present.
Then he went to Tommy and patted his shoulder.
-That's a great help to have this thing working but like i said its yours now so you can decide if any one can use it.
-Thank you Simon. I was starting to have a headache with this situation,and in the future call me Tommy like Alice does.
Tommy said to the big man
In that moment he understood what Alice told him about Simon the day before.
He repaired this device so that he and Alice and even Simon didn't have to carry their materials on their backs.
But seeing all this commotion he understood that it was impossible to accomplish without pissing almost everyone off.
So the best solution was to let everyone use it but with some rules attached.
-As to who can use the grav-cart you all can use it but please wait for it to recharge to full and no fighting about who is first, this thing can transport up to two tons of materials at once but you have to push it to move it as its control circuit is damaged.
So it would be better if you use it as a group.
After they heard his words everyone was happy that they could use it as thanks to the grav-cart they can transport more material easier and faster even if they have to push the thin it was still way better than carrying it all on their backs.
Nobody knew that this simple action of Tommy's was the new beginning for all of them in the blue section of the exile station..