Chapter 4 New routine.

After the resolution of the problem everyone went back to work.

The only difference was that no one took their materials to the platform.

Most of the people here were smart and knew that once the Grav.cart is fully charged they will be able to transport all of their materials in one go,so why waste time to go back and forth

When there is a better solution even if you have to wait for your turn.

Tommy went into the shuttle and got to the cockpit which was already empty.

Everything that could be taken out already was taken out leaving just some random cables sticking out here and there.

But like with the engine compartment he knew of some hidden spots that are very easy to omit if you don't know what to look for.

This time however he would need his tools to get to the parts he wanted.

Every spaceship starting from the smallest shuttle had a redundancy for all of its main systems; it was a safety feature that was not known to most people.

However anyone who had some engineering knowledge especially towards space vessels knew that they existed and where to look for them.

It took him almost 4 hours to find and collect two more boxes that were a bit smaller than previous ones but in a good condition so he should get a good amount of credits for them.

Just as he was finished he heard footsteps on the metal floor.

When he turned around he saw Alice and her two friends Anna and Monica.

-Come on it's time for a break.

Alice said, walking into the cockpit and stopped in her tracks when she saw what was lying next to tommy.

-You found another two? she asked in a shocked voice.

-yup.He smiled seeing her expression .

-How do you know where to find them?

She asked after her initial shock disappeared. 

-You do remember that i was studying to be an engineer right?

-Yes you told me something like that but i thought that your main vocation was a mercenary.

-It was.But i always wanted to change it so i studied to go to the engineering school before i got exiled.

He answered, his eyes dimming at the memories of events that led him here.

Seeing his expression she changed the topic.

-Everyone is going on a break to get some food. Are you camming?

-Yes,just give me a second.

He said starting to collect his tools and putting both boxes into his backpack.

When he was ready they went to the main area of the station where there were some benches and small tables made from some scrap.

He saw even more people around here but luckily he avoided another introduction session.

It was too much for him to meet so many people in such a short time, not to mention he was never good at remembering names.

After sittion gown at one of the empty tables everyone took out their food and started to eat while chatting about their haul today.

After a few minutes Simon came over and joined their group.

When everyone finished their food and had a few minutes of rest they started to get up and walk back to the ship to continue their work.

Tommy said his goodbyes to the group as he had other plans.

He went to sell the boxes he got and earned himself 20000 credits.

After that he went to his room and started his training or at least tried to.

He was already tired from stripping the ship and transporting materials even though they were not too heavy and the distance was not too far ; he was still weak from his injuries.

Tommy wanted to get back into shape as soon as possible and there was only one way to do that: training.

But first thing first, he took out an electric razor he bought in the shop and got rid of the beard.

After which he tied his hair into a ponytail.

And changed into a t-shirt and short pants he bought earlier.

There was not enough space for him to stretch and work out in his room so he went outside into the corridor that was spacious enough for him.

He started by stretching and a small worm up after which he was already sweating profusely.

After that came push ups,crunches,squats,he even managed to find a place nearby to do push ups.

But just after one set of training he was exhausted and breathing heavily.

Just by that he knew how weak he had become and he was determined to change that.

When he finally caught his breath he went back to his room,took another sonic shower and went to sleep despite it being early afternoon.

This time he didn't have any nightmares so he had a good rest.

He woke up the next day and felt sore all around his body,but that was normal so he got ready and went to work.

It has become his new routine: in the morning he went to work,he came back in the afternoon to do his training to which he added running around the main area,and after that he went to sleep early.

Day by day he was getting stronger and stronger and his stamina got better and better.

After three weeks he was more or less back in shape and his body started looking better.

It was also about the same time that they were finishing dismantling the shuttle.

After the last part of the small ship was sold everyone started to get ready to bring in another ship to dismantle.

One day when he was having his run around the main area he spotted a ship that was under power and on a course to the station.

Just as he was about to go inform the rest about it Monica came from the dock and greeted him.

-Hi there,are you running again?

She asked with a pretty smile.

She was Quite pretty and petite having 164 cm in height and a thin body.She was a blond with shoulder length hair and green eyes and a bit of a childish face despite being 25 years old she looked like a teenager.

-Hi. he greeted her back.

-I was running until I saw that just now. He pointed at the ship visible through the transparent material.

- Oh don't worry about it, it's just a ship that comes once in a while to resupply the shop and take the materials we sold.

She said looking at the approaching vessel.

-Once you see it a few times you won't even notice it anymore.

He barely even registered her last sentence because he had fallen into deep thought.

Seeing his expression she patted him on the shoulder to wake him up.

-Don't even think about it! she said, looking at him seriously.

He was a little surprised at her commanding tone.

-The last one who tried to board one of those ships, was bright back and beaten to death with a metal rod while we had to watch and then there was no more resupply for three months,we almost starved to death.

She continued while looking straight into his eyes.

-So don't even try it, it won't be just you who will suffer when you're caught.

After hearing her out he knew it was impossible to try that route and he didn't want to make the rest of the people here suffer

-Ok i won't do it.He said while shaking his head.

-I sure hope so because i don't want to watch another person beaten to death.

-If it was only my life on the line then i would have tried.he said.

-But I won't risk it if all of you will suffer for it.

Something in his tone told her he was speaking the truth.

When she was sure he wouldn't try anything stupid she let go of his t-shirt which she had no idea when she had grabbed.

-Meet me here in an hour. We really need to talk and explain some things to you .

Not waiting for his answer she went into the direction of the living quarters leaving him speechless.