It was 2092 in Quadrant 1209 of the Milkyway galaxy. A lonely space vessel wandered across the stars and numerous planets of the galaxy. The ship's hull was made of a carbon fibre polymer combined with graphite to give it a high tensile strength and the ability to tolerate high temperatures. Quadrant 1209 consisted of a seven-body solar system with loads of background UV radiation. This meant the crew had to wear anti-UV suits.

The interior of the ship was surprisingly small when compared with it's appearance from the outside. This is because the engine filled up two-thirds of the volume leaving 1000 cubic meters for the crew's space. The ship had been specifically designed for cargo transport. Although this form of space travel was a new breakthrough in technology, the ship was outdated. The engine was inefficient when compared with the more modern engines in terms of size. An engine the size of a motor car has the same output as the engine on the ship.

The ship was owned by private enterprise. After the discovery of elements on planets, huge corporations began to develop space travel technology and extract these resources. This was so profitable that a few businesses were shut down due to monopolisation of the primary sector. Alternative fuel had been discovered on other planets also in the form of crystals. These crystals had a bizarre atomic arrangement which can generate electrical energy when light shines on it. Basically, the photons hit the nuclei which is absorbed bizarrely. This raises the temperature causing an endothermic decomposistion reaction which heats the water, drives the generator creating electricity. So the engines contained photoreactors designed to generate energy from these crystals.

One of the main coolant cells had malfunctioned. It was vital that the reactor was cooled otherwise the crystals would thermally decompose uncontrollably. The red light flashed in the Captain's chambers. Bura slowly stirred and fumbled as he got up. Bura was a 39 year old man who was on average income and high in his pay scale. He had ten years experience in piloting and hated his job. The idea attracted him as a teenager but was actually just a dull push-button job that lacked variety and skill. He walked sluggishly to the Control Panel and stared at the monitor blankly. "What the hell does it want this time?" mumbled Bura. He typed in a few commands and was rewarded with "Coolant chamber malfunction" written on his screen.
"Not again... Derek! Do your stuff in that coolant chamber!" shouted Bura. Derek woke up and climbed down the ladder of his bunk bed. Derek was actually the highest paid on the ship. Astronautical engineering was a respected job in Earth as it required a high Mental Aptitude Test score. MAT had replaced IQ in 2045 and determined the educational route each person would take. It was possible to retake the test but it was very expensive.

Derek walked towards the engine chamber and walked inside it. There was numerous consoles and computers which would confuse the lay man. Derek eventually found out the origin of the problem. There was a liquid nitrogen leak in coolant pump 3. Derek replaced the pump and circulated air into the distillation unit. The coolant chamber had been fully restored.

As Derek approached the quarters, Bura set course for Ceres, a planet which was named after the Roman god of farming. This was so called because the mining companies had discovered many titanium rich ores which could be extracted. It was henceforth called a titanium ore farm. Derek then approached the miner's quarters and told them to prepare for mining. The miners groggily put on their mining gear and chatted amongst themselves.

To be continued...