Defrost- Part 2

"Arriving in the Lesnik field in t-minus two minutes"

I heard the voice in my ship announce the time of arrival in the asteroid field. I used that time to double-check my equipment. My helmet was secure, my air tanks were filled and my magnetic boots were functional. I had forgotten to buy more tethers, so my grapple line would only have to be for emergencies. The ship's voice then announced we arrived so I went down to get my tools, my drill and a five cubic meter container. I also grabbed my protractor, because I heard reports of pirates in the area before I left. With everything I needed, I went down to the hangar, opened the door and then launched myself into the asteroid field to start digging.

My job there was to collect various metals from the local asteroids. Materials like iron, nickel, cobalt, etc. It was a pretty standard day for a while. I hopped from rock to rock until I found one with a good amount of ore. Drilled for as long as I needed, then sorted the ore chunks into my container. I was at it for a while so I killed the time by doing some mental math.

"Ok so iron goes for one square and ninety-five coins per kilogram. Nickel goes for nineteen squares and sixty-five coins. Cobalt is worth seven pents, nine squares and forty-nine coins. Iron's much more abundant in this area than the other two ores so I should prioritize that. Though if I do find any nickel or cobalt I should make sure I grab as much as I can. Judging from the average size of the asteroid-"

As I was working through the numbers by myself, I noticed something in the field ahead of me. There was a blue and orange scavenger ship with the name and logo for Rec Co. on it. I didn't mind it much as I tend to pick up old satellites from the Sol System around here. I then noticed something much worse. I saw a dark green pirate ship approach the scavenger ship from the right hand side and launch a harpoon at it. Seeing this I gripped the handle of my protractor and sprung into action, moving as fast as I could towards the two ships.

I landed on top of the scavenger ship and activated the magnets in my boots. From where I stood I saw two harpoons embedded into the side of the ship. From the size of them they looked like boarding harpoons so pirates could get inside quicker. I then noticed three pirates flying towards me, each wielding different sized blades. I then whipped my protractor off my back and readied myself for a fight.

Now I didn't want to kill anyone so I kept the blade in my protractor sheathed. I waited for each of them to connect to the side of the ship so they wouldn't be flung into space. Once all of them landed and engaged in a fight I started swinging. One got knocked out in a single swing, the other two tried to tag team me and kept me on the defensive. Luckily, using the last of my tether, I disarmed them by tying their weapon wielding arms together. After that I made short work of the other two.

Once I was finished dealing with those three I realized I could maybe scare these pirates off if I told them what they were dealing with. If I found their communication line I could threaten them to leave this ship alone. I then turned my coms line on and started flipping through nearby channels and repeatedly said this. "Attention pirate vessel. I am a Rockhopper named Joseph Agawa. If you do not leave this Rec Co. scavenging ship alone within the next five minutes I will make you leave it alone!" I waited a moment for a response and here's what I got back.

"Hello? Mr.Agawa? I'm a crew member of the Rec Co. brand ship and we are in desperate need of assistance down in the cargo hold! eight pirates breached the hull and are attacking someone right now. I'm only able to contact you now because he covered my escape. Please, you have to help him!"

Hearing that I knew I needed to get there as soon as possible. I then turned off my boots, propelled myself down the side of the ship, and then reactivated my boots when I reached the cargo hold. If I looked for an entrance I would be too late, so I made one myself. I extended the blade from my protractor and stabbed the side of the ship. I then reached into the hole I made and tore open an entryway. I saw boxes, metal scraps, tools and men in similar gear to the pirates I fought earlier going flying into the vacuum of space.

I then saw a person in a blue and orange suit ragdoll out, at the last second before they were sent barreling through space I grabbed their arm and pulled them close. Through their helmet, I saw their face, a bruised and battered blonde guy, probably around the same age as me. From the S.O.S. I got earlier it sounded like this guy was either pretty dumb or pretty selfless fighting eight pirates by himself. Once I had him I dug my blade into the hull again and used it to swing us back in the ship. When we landed I saw another person in blue and orange holding a tablet. They quickly input something that extended the ship's hull cover. I then looked in front of me as I noticed four more pirates somehow managed to stay on board, and they looked like they wanted a fight.

I took in my surroundings as they rushed me and noticed two things. One, a large crate managed to stay on board and two, someone turned off the ship's gravity. When the first pirate approached, I quickly turned on my magnetic boots, struck them across the head and then shoved them, sending them across the room and right into the side of the ship. I then used the sheath of my protractor to pummel the second one to the ground. The third I grabbed by the chest, slammed them to the ground and then hurled up at the ceiling. I then pointed my blade at the last pirate in a gesture to stand down, which they obliged. Once all of them were defeated, I pointed to each of them and gestured for them to leave. The one conscious pirate gathered his beaten friends and placed them back in the boarding harpoons they arrived in, looked back at me, then sent the harpoons back from where they came.

As the hull cover sealed the holes left by the boarding harpoons, I went to check on the guy I saved. I turned on my coms line so I could talk to him and said, "Are you ok?" On the line I heard a shaky and soft toned voice ask, "Who are you?" So I gave him my name. "Agawa. Joe Agawa." Before the guy could reply he passed out. From the damage to his suit and the weakness of his voice I could tell he needed medical help and fast. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a proper doctor on board so I did what I needed to do. I took this stranger back to my ship and flew through the asteroid belt back here, Veles.

Chapter Two: END

Next Time: Space Colony Veles