Diary of a space station swabber

By L. J. Wesley

I've spent my entire life at different Space Stations, which was, you guessed, kind of boring and predictable. But everything changed at the 245th Day of the 4301st Sidereal year when Lydia arrived at our Station. From that day on, peaceful life was no longer an option for me. I've got involved in several adventures, without having an idea about what am I doing there. I survived a Civil War for Xendon, the friendship of a lunatic bootlegger and many other during my odyssey through space and time.
My name is Max, and this is my diary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L. J. Wesley
• Release date: May 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9786155668418

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Escape from Xendon

Prequel to the Diary of a Space Station swabber

The whip lashed once again, but Lydia already became resistant to pain a long time ago. She spent the fair share of her life as a slave on the Xendon. She had more than a hundred years to get use to the torture, but she never got as much punishment as she got nowadays. Lydia spent the last month as the personal handmaid of the Queen. She was not the only one who suffered in that palace, of course. Torture and punishment become a regular part of each and every slave’s days. Most of them could not bear that more than a few months and they rather ended their own life.

Lydia, are you okay? Queep ran to her eagerly as she was thrown back to their sleeping chamber.

I’m fine. I did not start today. What about you?

I got away today. I was lucky. Bale, on the other hand… they beat him hollow. He stained one of the fancy tablecloths they wanted to use at today’s lunch.

  All this for a damn tablecloth?

  Yes. What have you done?

Bad time, bad place. I have seen one of the Queen’s courtesans and she got jealous. I wouldn’t wanna touch any of them with a ten-foot pole.

Yuck!

Damn right. Lucky for Bale that he regenerates fast. sighed Lydia.

Otherwise, he would have died a long time ago.

Where is he now?

He took a rest. He always says that he regenerates faster while sleeping.

Heard the big news? Dom stepped out to them.

What news? asked Lydia.

A little bird said that the King expelled his youngest son. Completely cut him off.

Why would he do such a thing?

„‘Because he was foolish enough to mention that maybe daddy keeps too many slaves in his palace and those slaves are dropping off like flies."

"That’s it? It was enough for him to expel his son? „ asked Queep.

I’m not surprised. Or did he seemed like a nice, patient guy to you?

I’m curious what is he gonna do now. What is his name again?

  Dunno. Something with a ‘K’.

Kooky? Queep laughed out loud.

Close Dom smiled slowly. His name is Klemol if I remember well. Nevermind. I guess he is fleeing now to another royal relative. I doubt that the little prince wants to come down a peg.

In that very moment, the wall broke in, and a heavy-built, young slave with crimson skin clambered in. A Ploxar. No wonder he broke the wall so easily. Lydia, Queep, and Dom gasped for breath, just like all the prisoners around. They have already seen him, working around the construction of the palace. And now… he is destroying it.

What? He asked, Do you wanna keep staring or do you wanna get away from here?

Who the hell are you? asked Lydia as she staggered back on her feet.

Rox. And this is no time for small-talk. Make it snappy!

To where?

Arg! Do I have to spoonfeed everything for you, guys? We. Are. Getting. Out. Come on!

„Queep, we cannot leave Bale here."

  It’s okay, I’m here. slouched Bale back.

Are you feeling better? Lydia’s voice was full of anguish and care.

  Nope, but there is no time for mushiness.

That’s the spirit! high-fived Rox. And now, if you would be so kind as to make a move. I’ll show you the way.

The hole Rox made was leading them to a tunnel. It was covered with filth and reek as they walked ankle-deep in an odd liquid that none of them could define.

What is this freakin’ place? Lydia sniffed at the liquid.

The sullage-pipe, Rox said briefly. He did not waste his time on words, he kept on walking into the dark.

Since it is nearly impossible to walk in wastewater without any noise, Lydia was in dread of being caught. If anyone hears them, they won’t be able to escape. And their next stop will be straight at the scaffold.

  Anyway… what is the plan? Queep feel into line with Rox.

First, we are getting out of this shit. In both sense. Second; a ship is waiting for us outside of the city. It will take us to a space station where they are waiting for us.

Waiting for us? Who?

The mind behind this escape, said Rox and hurried up. He was clearly not willing to bother with any more questions.

They stopped three more times in the tunnel to let Rox break the walls and let the other prisoners join them. The crew of fifty knew it very well that they need blind luck to reach their awaiting ship sound and safe. And blind luck does not often accompany slaves.

They marched for almost an hour in the tunnel when they heard the signal alarm bell.

They know we are gone! screamed a skinny woman without teeth.

Oh, and now you wanna lead them to us with your screaming? hissed Lydia at her angrily

„Enough from the catfight! Come on, we need to hurry" said Rox from the frontline.

A tunnel had many turns all around the palace, to the four winds, but Rox seemed to know his way and he was confident. It took them at least two hours, but they reached the end of the tunnel. The exit was locked with bars, but nobody felt brave enough to take a turn to the storage tank. A man can only take so much from marching in feces.

Now listen to me. Rox turned to the slaves I’m gonna break this wall now, but there is a chance that they are waiting for us on the other side. I know. We have no weapons. But the power of surprise is ours! We have numerical superiority! When the crack starts to open, everyone runs, okay? If you still have strength, try and take away the soldier’s weapons. The others keep on running to confuse them. Do not run too far away, you stand no chance alone here. We break out, we run, we try to disarm the soldiers if we can. Then we meet up and count our losses. Is it clear?

The army of the slaves nodded tacitly. Dread lay its cold hands on them; they were fully aware that not every one of them will get out alive from here.

Rox made a run at the wall and broke it. And this time, blind luck actually preferred them. The hall on the other side was completely vacant; no soldiers, no servants. It was quiet as a church mouse.

Alright, guys. turned Rox to the crowd Do you see that huge door? It leads to a hallway, which ends up behind the palace. The ship waits for us there. Run. The ones who are able to fight, try, but do not waste time with it. We came to flee, not to conquer.

He kicked the enormous, two-winged door open and the slaves started to rush. Soldiers were waiting for them, but they did not shoot; they needed them alive in order to break them again. Lydia, Queep, and Bale drifted the quickest in the hallway; they protected each other, leaving unconscious soldiers behind them.

  Watch out! they instinctively jumped away as they heard Rox’s voice.

Not even a split second later, Rox barrelled down next to them, right into the soldiers’ crowd. It left enough crack for them to follow Rox.

Quit this nonsense! they heard the dry, strict voice of a soldier Just kill them already!

All hell broke loose. The soldiers took arms and started to shoot without any hesitation. Rox rampaged; the slain bodies of the enemy were in rotation between his enormous hands, but he had no chance without help. Meanwhile, Lydia managed to disarm a soldier and thanks to her pinpoint shots, their way to the exit became clear again. The ship was already waiting for them.

Rox fell into the pilot’s chair and set the ship afloat.

Quick! Someone to the turrets!

I got this! hopped Lydia right behind the blasters.

Just as they left the planet’s atmosphere, the Xendonian navy waited for them. Ten ships against one. The odds seemed sack against them.

We are going to die here! We should never have left Xendon wept a female wop.

Shut it, will you? asked Lydia angrily I cannot concentrate like this and believe me, you want me to concentrate now!

Hold on just a little more. Soon we’ll be able to flee. they heard Rox’s voice from the pilot-house.

Lydia tried to hold the enemy under constant fire, but the permanent shaking of the ship made it extremely difficult. But in an instant, their ship began to drift and they left Xendon with the speed of light. Lydia sat back, relieved and grateful while thinking about how lucky they are to be alive. And they managed to escape!

Bodycount? Rox came back from the pilot-house.

Let’s estimate…A lot. Only a few of us made it.

Exactly, twenty of us Queep quickly counted the now-ex-slaves.

Well… more than nothing. Now, listen. We are heading to the AA00AA Space Station. My mandatory is waiting for us there. Do not worry. He is not another slave-holder. But you can show your gratitude by joining us and supporting our case. If you do not feel like it, we are transporting you to a populated planet, with some money. There, you can build a new life. Got it?

After pouching their approving groans, Rox went back and they did not see him until they arrived and docked to the Space Station.

Come. Time for you to meet your savior.

Technically speaking, it was you, said Lydia.

Oh, I am just the executor.

The door which connected the ship and the Space Station opened up with a sibilant sound. The man who stood behind that all along took a step and looked on the slaves.

Welcome to the AA00AA Space Station. My name is Klemol Ondrenal. I am the youngest son of the Xendonian Royal Family.

Diary of a Space Station swabber

Part I

Sidereal year, 4301. Day 244.

If I told you I am working on a Space Station, you would probably picture my life cool and thrillful. And it might even be true if I had a job with real responsibilities in my work description, or I were a member of a crew of a visiting spaceship. But if you are the part of the care-and-maintenance crew… well, your job might lack responsibility and curious adventures. Or any kind of excitement.

I am currently working at the BB65XQ Space Station, for the third month right now. I have never been so far from the Solar System of the Earth, but I must admit, it is pretty neat here. But the life of the cleaning and the care-and-maintenance crew still sucks, even here; we work twelve long hours a day, we have to deal with the filthiest stuff and we have nothing to do in our cabins after the working day is done. We have no access to the de-lux services, like the spa or the gym. We are too poor to even go to the bar. All we can do is taking turns in poring on the holo-TV and the plain wall.

I doubt that anyone will ever read this diary since my only goal with writing is to kill some boredom, but for safety’s sake, I’d introduce myself. You can call me Max. Yeah, simply Max. Okay, originally my name was M4X-B312, but it would be freakin’ weird if anyone called me that. I lack the family name and family as well. I’ve been told that I was born on a spaceship, which was crashed into the PQ14B Space Station, soon after my birth. My parents did not make it. So, I become the inmate of the one-person orphanage on the Space Station. I got my identifier –M4X-B312- there, but the nurturers already called me Max by then.

I belong to mankind, which is not a good point either if you wanna build your carrier on a Space Station. I studied and became an engineer, which was the only reason why they hired me as a janitor. Maybe if I continue my studies, I could even become a plasmic-drive mechanic. But the orphanage only afforded my disbursements until I finished my first school, so I had to go and find a job. Many years have passed and I am still where I started. Soon I’ll be 150 years old – which means I am middle-aged on a human scale – but I am still a bachelor, without any kids or a proper job. My colleagues are always younger than me, and they will always be, ’cause they are all gone after a few months to seek for better money. Speaking of which, I have to go now. Some greenhorns arrived today.

Sidereal year, 4301. Day 245.

Do you know the Ramarians, flom the planet Ramar? They are huge, slimy and not human-like at all, I can tell you. They arrived with three spaceships and resigned them to me. I just managed to finish cleaning before they arrived and checked all the cabins to avoid any kind of complaining. I had no beef with them so far, however, cleaning after them was tiring and risky, even painful sometimes. Their slime had the wonderful trait of stinging and burning the human skin pretty badly. So I had to take good care.

The greenhorns arrived yesterday and the boss asked me to show them around the station and the rooms of the crew. I could take it as a compliment, thinking that they trust me enough to teach others, but I know it is far from the truth. They simply needed someone to nag with the low work. They meted out the Employee of the Month award yesterday, and, as usual, it was not me. It is never me. There have never been any complaints about me so far, I always get my work done, but it was clear even to me, that you have to grateful and eager to earn this title. Finishing your work at the end of the day was less than enough.

Among the greenhorns, there is another human. More specifically, a girl. I seldom met with my own kind, so I got excited. I hope I will have the chance to talk to her. Maybe she could tell me what she knows about the destroying of the Earth and where are the other humans since then. By the way, I think she is kind of beautiful – but I cannot be sure since she is the first female I have seen. The few humans I have met so far were always male and older, at least 200 years old. This fema… girl… she cannot be over 120 years, she is blonde and slender, and I have felt something entirely odd when I first saw her. My stomach twitched and I felt my face burning red hot. I am pretty sure it was because of her, but just to make sure, I should have myself checked in the infirmary.

Sidereal year, 4301. Day 246.

Her name is Lydia. Of course, I did not ask her, I still haven’t summoned my courage. I happened to know it by accident; she messed something up in one of the deluxe cabins. It often occurs with greenhorns, but Groxx, our boss does not care about these little details. It was scary, even from him, how he yelled at that poor girl. And she just stood there, not even breaking eye-contact, kept staring to Groxx. While he shouted, some slime-like-stuff spluttered all over from his ugly-ass Xeno-head. Finally, he may be realized that he won’t break Lydia’s spirit, so he rushed away, pushing over three or four members of the crew. The Xeno is a vicious breed. They are about two and a half meters tall, kind of heavily built and if it wasn’t enough, they have four arms and eyes with a red glow. And let’s not forget their voice, which always recalled me the sound a fork or a knife makes while slipping on the plate. Very uncanny.

We are still dealing with the visitors from Ramar today, and I have to say, they do not pay me enough for that. They are leaving slime-stains wherever they go and these are kinda hard to clean up. Luckily, they do not move around a lot. It turned out that our space station was not compatible with the height and weight of the Ramarians, so they broke some