There’s just so much stuff in space. Some of it is owned, but even in broad regions with an official governing force, no one really cares about 99% of the stuff in it. The vast majority of it is simple carbon compounds. Harvesting a big chunk can make some cash, if you’re desperate. But it’s the treasures that make it worth it.

At least, that’s how Gin figured it. Bouncing around in the desert of nowhere, usually alone. Living for the moment: “Complexity detected”. The thrill. Took him almost the whole day cycle to parse the scan. V-index of 8:1! Could be a broken ship, maybe a mine colony gone ghost. Could be rich.

Checking the net, he checks for ownership. Hell, no territory between here and the Prion cluster. Junker space. Gin slowed down Vim II, and opened the viewport shields.

Junkers can have all sorts of wild ideas about what they’re gonna see when they open their eyes. Gin never did, what’s the point? Still, he’d never dreamed he’d come across a bio-stable planet. With folk on it. Rich.