Chapter 3 - Space Station Refit

OK .. so .. hmmm .. the last few days are hard to write about especially the last day or so.  I suppose would be best to put it in context, associate it with the situation and all that. 

OK that sounded stupid so I’ll just blurt it out.  There is no reason to be celibate while working in space.  

However, having said that it is actually due to the nature of the work that makes it like forced celibacy.  For the most part anyways, days are long and filled with a lot of dirty sweaty work.  So there isn't a lot of free time that one has that isn't grabbing a quick bite to eat or sleeping.  Unless you happen to be loaned out to one of the Space Stations to help with a major refit of a Mothership, then one’s time is a little less filled to the max with stuff you gotta get done.

As it happened the last 5 days I was in that position, literally, hanging my by toes from the underside of one of the Fleet Motherships helping weld on new piece of space going gadgetry.  The work was installing this big component that has small access ways so they put out a call for the smallest qualified welders in the Fleet.  Then they dropped us off on the Space Station and put us to work in the low gravity area near the toppest part of the Hanger.  If you happen to be in a Space Station you have probably seen or heard people like me at work, sparks flying all over some odd conversation you can barely catch.  Working in the low gravity field is easier than the .9 g most Mother ships hold as standard.  This is a good thing because I can operate my defective from the get and go welder with one hand and be somewhat secure about it by holding on to the super structure of the ship with my free hand.  We are briefed about safety and the proper ways to tie oneself off when working outside the ship but in actual practice not many welders follow these rules .. exactly.  Given that the pay is based on how much you get done sort of drives this.  You can spend the time tying yourself off to something or you can do the monkey thing and weld.  This is how I got on with it after a half day of essentially no progress.  Since I was the smallest of the lot I was stuffed in through an opening and given instructions on what to attach where.  The instructions were pretty simple really, find the big painted yellow bits and weld them to the hull plating where they touch, should be 48 points to weld.  Took me 12 hours but it was done.  Seemed like a short day. 

Then I was off duty cleaning up in the ½ liter sized sink on the top of the toilet in my assigned quarters.  The short term crew quarters might be tiny but they are comfortable and biggest deal of all they have doors.  There are other advantages of being on a Space Station besides being assigned a real room.  Space Stations are busy places there is always lots of traffic in and out all day and night.  Most people you see are just popping in for minor repairs or some refreshing before continuing on to their final destination.  Occasionally you will see someone appear at revive and short moments later you will see a charred pile of scrap appear.  You can pick up a few pec doing quick fix up jobs near revive.  So after visiting my quarters I went down to the hanger deck to see if anything interesting was going on.  I stopped near the main teleport and watched people come and go for a while and then I heard a huge bunch of racket over near revive.   Two quads were being shoved to the side to make room for a third and the owner crews were swearing like crazy.  This should be interesting I thought and moved a little closer.  A couple of my mates from the welding crew were taking care of the first two quads and I offered my assistance on the third when it appeared.  I got a nod from the owner of the 3^rd quad and went to work.  In a short time it was again functional and the crew returned.  They seemed a bit calmer as they approached inspecting my work.  When the inspection was complete the owner handed over some silver coins.  It’s a nice feeling having coins in your pouch even if they are small denomination.

After the deck was cleared of all the refuse from the repairs I turned back towards the canteen to find something to eat.  Then I heard another ship come in through the portal. Another quad and she looked a little battle weary.  I stopped and waited for the quad to land and walked up as the owner was climbing out of his ship.  I waved and asked if he needed any repairs.  The pilot turned and looked at his ship and then turned back to me.  “You a ship fitter?” he asked.  “Welder.” I replied.  “OK then have at it little Miss” he nodded to me and walked back to the storage compartment.  

As I was preparing my kit I noticed the owner pilots of the 3 newly repaired quads standing close together looking in the direction of the pilot that had just landed.  They didn't look at all pleased to see him.  I'm pretty sure he might have had something to do with the damage the 3 had received.  This was of no real concern to me or any of the other repair crews currently working the hanger deck.  They break it we fix it, simple as that.

I positioned my welder and did my best to bring the quads structural integrity back to spec.  When I finished I turned around and the pilot was standing there behind me.  He had been watching me work.  I re-slung my welder and took a step towards him.  He looked down at me and smiled.  “Lander” he said as he stuck out his hand.  I did a double take and he said “Mitch Lander”.  I sort of half smiled and blushed all at the same time.  “Lisbeth .. but people call me Wasp” I finally mumbled as I shook his large calloused hand.  “Nice to meet you Lisbeth, nice job reattaching the laser bracket, fine work” he said as he looked over my head at the laser weapon attached to his ship.  “What do you get for services?”  he asked.  “Whatever the traffic will bear” I joking replied.  “Seriously though whatever you can afford or are willing to pay” I said quickly smiling and trying not to look stupid.  “Hmmm …” he said as he let go of my hand and stroked his square jaw with the knuckles of his right hand while staring at the laser mount.  I suddenly felt a kind of panic.  He turned his all of a sudden very handsome face back towards me and said.  “You barter?”  I didn't know what to say so I stammered “Uhhhh .. depends .. I  .. guess”  gah I felt like a moron.  Never bartered before is what I should have said after remembering to close my mouth.

“Well then Lisbeth, why don’t I buy you dinner and we can haggle over services provided and the value of the materials I carry?”  His smile .. frak me his smile.  “OK” I managed to squeak out.  As he turned and picked up his large flight bag I did a quick sniff of myself to make sure I wouldn't make him puke in the confined area of the canteen.  I smelled like me, welding gear, grease, slag and dirty finger nails. 

As we walked along he didn't say much but rather seemed to be looking all around at everything at once but not really seeming to be focusing on anything in particular.  He did ask me if I worked here full time but I told him I was on loan from Fleet and would go back there when the refit was done on that ship, pointing at the Mothership suspended from the ceiling of the hanger.  He just nodded and opened the door for me.  We stowed our gear in the lockers provided and went into the canteen to see what was being offered for dinner.

As I stood beside him I could smell the leather of his long coat and a kind of manly smell that well made my pulse quicken a little.  He is tall not like huge tall but big.  When he took off his coat as we were being seated I took in the view, oh frak me he is built.  Square shoulders thick arms thin waist and his face.  His face it’s like timeless I can’t begin to guess how old he is.  From one angle he is 30-ish from another he might be 20 and when he looks into my eyes he swallows me whole.  I had to constantly remind myself to not stare and eat.  The food on the Space Station is like a 1000 orders of magnitude better than the crap I have stashed in my berth back on the Bismarck.  Real protein real veggies real for gods sake bread.

Our meal progressed and when I had nearly consumed everything in sight I noticed he had just said something.  I was lost in his stare at the moment and paused a second before saying “.. what??”  He grinned at me and said “How long you been in space?”  “Oh .. just a little while .. couple months” I replied as I stuffed the last chunk of roll in my mouth.  Focus on the food Lisbeth focus.

When I looked up again I saw he was retrieving a pad from his coat.  He laid it down on the table and did a couple swipes over the surface and turned it towards me.  I pulled it closer and had a look at the screen.  Where it should have said Inventory it said Loot.  I looked up at his face and his mouth formed a sort of crooked smirky grin that made my breathing falter for a moment.  “See anything you need?”  He said quietly.  I looked down at the pad and back at his face torn between the two.  I suddenly realized he was not the normal kind of guy that comes through the Space Station.  I looked at the pad browsing a seemingly random list of materials and items.  I scrolled down one page and there in the center Metal Residue.  I might have gasped a little.  I spread this item open with my finger tips and read the details.  Current Mark Up was listed from the local net, quantity on hand and a buyout price.  I had enough on my card to maybe buy 1/100 of what he had.  But I needed this for making the welders.  The instructions on the blueprint were very explicit about this.  I left the screen open and turned the pad back to him.

He looked at it with mild interest and said “Need to craft something do you?”  “Yes .. just a few small things” I replied.  “I suppose I would be willing to trade some of this to you for fixing my ship in such fine fashion”  He said tapping the center of the pad with his finger.  I looked up at his face smiling my hopefully cutest smile.  “So how does half this fit as payment?”  He offered.  My smile turned into a look of disbelief surely he was kidding me.  “Are you sure?? I mean have you looked at the Trade Terminal value of that amount?”  “What does that matter?  Its residue I have no use for it.”  His smirky grin didn't change.  I was at a loss but stammered out “Mitch that is a lot of residue, are you sure?”  “Sounds good to me” He replied.

I still had my hand on his pad when he laid his large hand over mine.  “Call it a trade then” He said.  I sat there blinking my eyes I couldn't believe the luck.  He picked up my hand in his and shook it.  My arm was limp and I probably looked more than a little stunned.  He took the pad and did a few swipes and said “Done” placing the pad back in his coat pocket.  I didn't know what to say but my upbringing took over and I said “Thank you”. 

After we dumped our plates and cutlery in the recycle bin we walked back out on the hanger deck and watched the traffic move around the teleporter.  One of the Motherships must have been boarding passengers.  I gave a contented sigh and leaned over the railing watching the scores of people cue up for transport.  “So where are you headed?” I asked.  “I’m not in a hurry to get anywhere really.  Its late and I need to find a room for the night.” He answered.  Then he offered “Come let’s get that residue for you”.  I followed him on to the hanger deck and watched him open the secure storage container on his quad.  He rummaged around in it for about a minute and came out with a shiny clump of metallic residue.  It was quite large and very heavy when he handed it to me.  Not unmanageable but hefty.  Feeling the weight of it in my hands I said "I will need to get a bigger bag to haul this back to Arcadia".

“So I guess I’ll see you around Lisbeth” He said softly.  I looked up at him and said something that I couldn't believe would ever come out of my mouth, I said “I have a room if you are staying overnight.  I mean it’s not like a palace or anything but …” He turned his face full to me and said “that would be nice.  Last time through here I was not that happy with the rooms I got.  They were next to a set of blast gates that rumbled and hissed all night.”  “My room is very quiet” I said but flinched inwardly after saying it.  He chuckled and reached for the residue.  He held it in one hand grabbing my left hand with his large right hand and said “OK show me the way to your not such a palace”.  My heart didn't stop but it may have skipped a few beats and I struggled to keep my breathing steady.  

When we got to my quarters I slide my card across the keypad and the door slid open noiselessly.  I took a step back and allowed Mitch to enter.  “Cozy” he said and chuckled.  I walked in after he had done a full turn in the room.  He sat the residue down on the corner desk and started removing his coat.  I closed the door behind me and just stood there watching him.  I tried to think how long has it been since.  Well a while other than ... I shook my head to clear it and said  “And it is quiet.“ He smiled.  I pointed to the alcove off to the right and said, “The bathroom is in there, for what its worth”.   He looked at me and I trembled inside all the way down.  “I’m good for now” he said.  And he moved close to me pulling my beret off leaning over me with that overwhelming manly smell.  He kissed me on the lips and I felt something that had been hiding in me since I started this adventure come back to life.

His big but very deft hands had my harness off in a couple seconds.   Then he moved his hands down to my waist pulling me close so I could feel his intent.  When his hands were at my hips he tightened his grip and lifted me until my face was even with his and he kissed me deeply, I didn't dare breathe.  He held me like that for several minutes kissing me while my hands traced the muscles of his arms.  I kicked my feet, my boots and shin grieves fell to the floor.  He sat me down and removed his sweater.  His chest was right there in front of me, I took a deep breath his smell was intoxicating.   I reached to my waist and pulled my singlet over my head.  His hands moved to my chest and touched me with a firmness that caused me to inhale even deeper.  

I looked up at him and my hand went to his belt buckle.  I had it part way open when he picked me up again and laid me on the bunk.  He unfastened his belt and unbuttoned his flight pants.  I wiggled out of my shorts and watched him hop around as he removed his black boots then his pants hit the floor with a resounding clang from the belt buckle. 

As he sat on the edge of the bunk he ran his hands over me.  Touching me in places no one had touched in months.  His smirky grin was replaced by a look of calm knowing.  I was laying there his for the taking then he stood up placing his hands under me lifting me as though I weighed nothing.  He turned and sat on the bunk placing me a straddle his lap.  He bent kissing me gently on the lips.  My hands moved to his sandy blonde hair pulling him tightly to me.  His hands were clutching my bottom pulling me closer and closer.  I rose up a little and moved a hand between us.  Oh yes this is what has been missing.  As we started moving together “Oh yes .. yes” was all I could manage to say. The night passed in a blissful series of sweaty lusty sounds from me one following another.

The next morning I hit the communal showers early and got back to my room as quickly as possible.  Mitch was still asleep and I knelt by the bunk looking up and down all of his truly exquisite male form.  I didn't touch him but I drank in every millimeter of him devouring him with my eyes.  Finally he woke up and turned towards me.  “Hey little Miss .. you look nearly ready for the day” He said.  “Yeah .. I’m due on shift in like 30 minutes” I groaned.  “So where are you off to next” he asked.  “In 2 days’ time I’m back to the grind aboard Bismarck unless the Captain wants to loan me out somewhere else.”

“When will you be back this way again?” he asked.  “Hmmm .. just a sec I’ll go check our routine flights.” I answered.  “Here use my pad” He said as he handed it to me.  I keyed in the address of the schedule and logged in.  I handed the pad back to him pointing to the schedule.  He looked at it carefully for a moment then after making a casual swipe across the screen he laid the pad face down on the bunk between us.  He touched my wet hair and pulled me towards him.  After a long embrace he released my hair and sat up.  “OK I guess I need to get moving myself” He said standing up quickly and pulling on his pants.  “Good Luck with the residue Lisbeth and I’ll see you next time we cross paths” He bent at the waist and kissed sweetly on the lips.

Then he was gone.  There I stood less than 20 minutes till my shift starts wrapped in a towel hugging myself.

“I'll see you again, Mr. Mitch Lander” was all I could think to say when the door had closed solidly.

Go to--> Chapter 4 - Welders

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Disclaimer Part

None of the characters in this story / role play are real in the sense that this all takes place in a virtual world.  None of the events depicted are real, come on its in space on a huge Mothership.  Really?

The real parts are as follows:

The environment in which I do my role play is a game called Entropia Universe.  Which is made by Swedish company called MindArk.  MindArk has not authorized me to speak for them in any way nor do I intend to.  But I will tell you it is a very fun game and it truly is what you make it.

Entropia Universe is a free to play game with a real cash economy.

Here is a link to Entropia Universe - Planet Calypso

The Motherships do exist in the game and are owned and operated by individuals.  The fleets of ships that Wasp works on are all part of the Entropia Fleet Alliance.  These folks are pros at getting you across space in an efficient timely manner.  They offer routine scheduled flights every day of the week. 

Here is a link to the EFA Website –  Entropia Fleet Alliance 

Oh and when you aren't reading my blogger or even when you are listen in on  Atlas Haven Radio <-- click here for link.