
Chapter 1 part 6
282Please respect copyright.PENANA21oWCATHnc
282Please respect copyright.PENANAVuGfG4X63Z
282Please respect copyright.PENANAQgRtlRrkDD
Pests Extermination
282Please respect copyright.PENANAyl9dHpb6mi
The journey had been mercifully uneventful—no pirates lurking in the shadows of trade routes, no space vermin gnawing on hull plating, and no solar storms to send us spiraling into Havoc.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA9GaRwWD5b8
Mr. Healer, who had started the journey looking like a ghost haunting his own suit, recovered steadily with each cycle. By the time we reached the station, he was back to his peculiar self. Yet, his way of consuming nutrient paste was unsettling—sipping thin protein slurry through trembling gloves, flashing a crooked smile through his visor like an unhinged automaton. Energetic or not, watching him eat made me want to turn off my external cameras.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAoHTry8Oi95
282Please respect copyright.PENANAOmEMRSWBHw
282Please respect copyright.PENANAGDQo7ee8tF
"Harvest cycles always bring such liveliness to these places..."
282Please respect copyright.PENANASzS5IV8Ugq
Our destination, Freyja Station, sat far from the familiar or the convenient—a lonely agricultural outpost orbiting in the silent void. Isolated from major hubs and light-years from my home station of Baldr, Freyja was the kind of place where you could scream into the stars and not even the background radiation would answer.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA9Il8x2VWIo
During harvest cycles, agricultural stations closer to hubs often saw guild members returning to assist. Familiar faces filled the halls, lending a sense of community. But Freyja was so remote that even migrant guild members didn’t bother. It was just us—a patrol team of strangers, completely foreign to the station’s routine.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAQzjOdUo0yn
In most places, outsiders like us were met with suspicion, if not outright hostility. Remote stations had a tendency to treat newcomers like planetary debris—something to be swept out the airlocks. Surprisingly, Freyja Station had an open-minded spirit. No one called me a "space-mutt" or muttered slurs under their breath. Instead, they offered us tea—synthesized, of course—and let us watch the resource collection in peace. A rare blessing.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA1QDQL22Ylz
282Please respect copyright.PENANAdNpwcSGRJi
282Please respect copyright.PENANAXMcGZy7pzU
"Will you be assisting in the med bay here as well, Mr. Healer?" I asked as we sat on the observation deck, the faint hum of station machinery filling the silence.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA97TL6FURKm
"Yes," he replied, his voice as calm as the void beyond the viewport. "Light treatment during the afternoon shift. Harvests always bring injuries. Suit breaches, mostly."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAGLyFJmx6YH
"Ah, the old busted seals. I’ve had my fair share of air leaks. Lost a lot of oxygen in a station once."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAxFqLMIIHES
"Vacuum exposure on wounds can be dangerous. Please be cautious, Galaxia Narwhal..."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAlsN1hwEfgl
He wasn’t wrong. Out here, the dangers of malfunctioning equipment were as common as space dust. But it wasn’t just faulty suits or broken tools we had to worry about. The asteroid fields surrounding the station were teeming with life—not the friendly kind.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAdAuPweadqJ
282Please respect copyright.PENANAiEawfZt7wJ
282Please respect copyright.PENANAA4BNCzvJ4W
In this universe, asteroid fields were more than just rocky graveyards of forgotten worlds. They were havens for void serpents, Skreeks, and other nasties. Creatures that thrived in the vacuum, hunting anything foolish enough to wander too close. That’s why long-range harvester ships were favored—better to avoid close encounters altogether.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAiGkXh7LHgR
Back at my home station, we used plasma cutters for the job, tools with enhanced particle beams that could slice through mineral-rich rock—or hull plating, depending on how creative you were. Now, though, I carried my beloved Half-Spec Blaster. A more... personal touch.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAwX1NODAkId
282Please respect copyright.PENANAmfFyusdqyN
282Please respect copyright.PENANAdBxysx1XpU
"Yo, guild member! Over here!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAXKEVGdEovo
"Galaxia Narwhal, I think they mean you," Healer said, tilting his head slightly.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAsBcI0lYhM8
I sighed. "Alright, alright. What is it?"
282Please respect copyright.PENANASplplRQwpI
"There are Skreeks in the field. Clear them out before they contaminate the collection zone!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAQmdSf6kAm7
Ah, Skreeks. Time to earn my keep.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA39O8XiLYlX
The old men of Squadron 3 are resting after done patrolling the station, and I have the most suit power. I wanted to slack off a bit more, but it can't be helped. Time to work.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAQhtdNDODlh
"I have to go to the med bay later too. Galaxia Narwhal, please be careful..."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAd2QWjJi36M
"Okie-dokie. Don't overexert yourself either, Mr. Healer."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAqdHdOtRMvY
282Please respect copyright.PENANAhMLdshEeFv
282Please respect copyright.PENANAekUqZ5YTy0
282Please respect copyright.PENANAg19VgQ8blR
Skreeks were the bane of asteroid fields. Small, fast, and endlessly resource-hungry, these pests reproduced like wildfire and hid their nests in the narrowest crevices imaginable. They could infest cargo holds, devour minerals, and spread through stations before anyone noticed. In dense asteroid fields, where sensors struggled to cut through the interference, they thrived.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAuGFqLrR36a
Yet, dealing with them wasn’t as simple as firing up the starship’s weaponry and blasting the asteroids apart. The reason was painfully clear: these asteroid fields weren’t just floating debris—they were lifelines. Rich in valuable minerals, rare metals, and sometimes even exotic gases, the asteroids served as essential resources for spacers and industries alike. Destroying them would mean annihilating the very materials everyone was out there to extract.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAr69nlCo7e7
That’s why the job of exterminating Skreeks fell to spacers themselves. Spacewalking through the cold void, they had to locate the nests by hand, using heat scanners and magnetic probes to pinpoint the little horrors before deploying specialized tools. Plasma cutters, sonic disrupters, or even small controlled incendiary charges were the weapons of choice—designed to neutralize the pests without compromising the structural integrity of the asteroids.
282Please respect copyright.PENANATsawrBMCvG
Although it's not really that dangerous, It was grueling work. Skreeks were quick, unpredictable, and fiercely territorial. If provoked, they’d gnaw through environmental suits or sabotaging tools with alarming speed. But spacers had no choice. Personal intervention was the only way to eliminate the infestation while preserving the asteroid’s precious bounty.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAbMUDvcd4BG
The asteroid fields stretched before me—a treacherous maze of jagged rock and frozen void. Human intervention rarely extended beyond what was absolutely necessary. Maintenance crews didn’t bother with the deeper parts of the field, leaving them to the Skreeks and, occasionally, amorous young station couples looking for thrills.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAOoiuWqymsE
282Please respect copyright.PENANAH2Wakh60Ij
282Please respect copyright.PENANA4Qwx3ect23
"There, see? They’re contaminating the minerals."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAqwulg7FQvP
"Ah, I see them," I said, squinting at the faint signatures on my scanner. "Can’t spill radioactive blood in the collection zone, huh?"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAMjscFTyJmX
"Exactly. If you could take care of them over there, away from the miners, we’d appreciate it."
282Please respect copyright.PENANALyC5DkXrYe
"Got it. I’ll make it quick. Keep working just in case."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAsQ3Y0dbdsq
"Yeah."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAahVQph9Ehy
Guided to the outskirts of the active harvesting zone, I picked up two distinct radiation signatures. Skreeks. Locals could’ve handled it, but since we were here, I figured I’d show them how a professional does it.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAGnBtxmwwhZ
"Now then, let’s get started."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAyipaBodFbw
282Please respect copyright.PENANARVOrJxJ52c
282Please respect copyright.PENANAI2N78l23fK
Skreeks were aggressive, but not entirely stupid. They wouldn’t charge headlong into a fight unless provoked. But they were greedy little things, and easy to bait if you knew how to push their buttons.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA7MOBpfBJMc
I pulled out a synthetic protein cube—a faulty batch with a strange radiation signature. Perfect for luring pests. I waved it in the air, my voice dripping with mock enthusiasm.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA6sadVQJgIG
"Oh hoho, Mr. Skreek! Look at this delicious, juicy protein cube! Doesn’t it smell amazing?"
282Please respect copyright.PENANA4ohSCQG3C9
"Skreee!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANA3B30Z79Y5r
"Skree skree!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAVR4YsY6VKy
The Skreeks screeched from their hiding spots, their guttural cries echoing across the comms. They weren’t coming out yet, but I could feel their anger building.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAikGf8nmS2x
"You want it that bad? Here, have a taste!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAiFiFXnmTd7
"Skreeee skree!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAZIleOsSKhV
I dangled the protein cube like a star sailor tempting a void shark, my expression overly theatrical as I pretended to savor it.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAc0rWqj9Gag
"Mmm, exquisite! Premium nutrient ration—straight from the synth farms!" A shrill, warbling screech echoed through the comms.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAGY7GweXhct
"Skreeeee!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAmDLGFjJJyb
Bingo. Hooked. They're absolutely livid.
282Please respect copyright.PENANANtUmvqjIrI
Time to lure them out of the asteroid belt.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAKDNllg64tW
"Look at this luscious protein cube... practically dripping with cosmic-grade nutrients!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAnwUCJjkF8i
"Skree!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAU0pQiK5HX9
"Skree skree!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAELSAcCtQmX
"Attention, galactic viewers! We're giving this away to one lucky winner—oh wait, just kidding! Om nom nom!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAZr3wFP2qmL
Humans in powered suits are far superior, especially when maneuverability outclasses these primitive Skreeks. I carefully nudged my thrusters, weaving through the asteroid field’s dense maze. The Skreeks flailed behind, struggling to keep up as I drew them into open space.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAT1NNZFMeLH
Their shrieks were filled with bloodlust, but honestly, what did I ever do to them? It’s not like I stole *all* their food reserves. Their relentless ferocity didn’t falter, not even when one of them got vaporized. Admirable, in a way.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAgU3J6QpK3p
Their claws were their only weapons—deadly in close quarters but laughably short compared to the reach of my trusty Half-Spec Blaster.
282Please respect copyright.PENANADi4plY0kpO
"Alright then," I muttered, gripping the blaster, its sleek barrel humming to life, "let’s finish this in three ticks."
282Please respect copyright.PENANACGHIsqVTE7
"Skreee-!"
282Please respect copyright.PENANAvZvtph0XC1
I aimed and fired, the blaster's blue-white bolt tearing through the first Skreek’s armored carapace with a hiss and sizzle. It collapsed in a heap, sparks dancing off its fried sensory organs.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAhwmOY1lQe9
"First shot—clean disintegration."
282Please respect copyright.PENANARC8hweC6DC
"Skree—!?"
282Please respect copyright.PENANALPDg041hrk
"Too late. Vaporization incoming."
282Please respect copyright.PENANAktvIGNhw6m
I lined up the next shot and unleashed another bolt. The Skreek froze mid-lunge, its thorax splitting apart as the energy blast bisected it. The pieces drifted lifelessly, leaking a faintly glowing ichor into the void.
282Please respect copyright.PENANARKnsMsQppi
And that’s how you handle Skreeks.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAGd4LNsoF1o
"Skreek infestation cleared!" I called through the comms.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAbMKKcrtqwp
"Appreciate it!" someone replied, already resuming the harvest operations.
282Please respect copyright.PENANA4mt8iW4Wfk
With the immediate threat neutralized, I glanced at my dirty suit, their radioactive fluids glinting like starlight in the dark. Cleaning this up wasn’t going to be fun. Maybe stunning them next time would’ve been smarter. Fewer glowing messes to scrubs.
282Please respect copyright.PENANAP5zplRO8wU
282Please respect copyright.PENANAuLDKL15uwg
282Please respect copyright.PENANAVLgZyPb2fY
282Please respect copyright.PENANAei7ht5DbwP
Author's note : wanna read future chapters earlier? visit :282Please respect copyright.PENANANVNu4XHXCN
galaxianarwhal.blogspot.com282Please respect copyright.PENANA5DQp567t6G