There was a rumbling to be heard, like rocks rolling down a slope. The shimmering shell of the Prospector acted like a resonating body. The whole ship roared. I hovered a few meters above the ground. In front of me were fragments of a rock from which I extracted the Quantanium.

It was a race against time. The Quantanium could become unstable and explode at any moment. Was I fast enough? The clock was ticking. The extracted rocks fell into the ore pockets of the Prospector. A sound like the growl of a rock monster. I brought the demon on board. But this demon brought in a lot of money. Space travel depended on the Quantanium.

All of a sudden, a red alarm goes off in the cockpit. I winced and looked at the sensor for the instability of the Quantanium. The display was dark, the Demon was still sleeping. It was the ore bags, they were full.

I retracted the mining arm and accelerated slowly. Carefully I pulled up my nose and went into a gentle 45 degree climb. No hectic movements, I did not want to provoke the demon. Accompanied by the sonorous hum of the engines I pushed through the clouds. Then suddenly it was quiet. I had left the atmosphere of the moon and was floating in space.

After a short quantum flight I was in orbit of the planet Microtech. I set a course for the spaceport of New Babbage and began my descent. The Quantanium was still stable, but for how long?  

The city lay glistening beneath me. The spaceport was on the other side of the frozen lake. I had to fly a little further. It wasn’t very fast in the atmosphere. I felt like I was running out of time. Nevertheless I enjoyed the view of the city.

A shrill sound tore me away from my thoughts. The instability sensor sounded the alarm. The demon had awakened. The glass domes of “The Commons” with the trading centre were right below me. I decided not to waste time and headed straight for the domes.

The situation became more critical. The slowly blinking warning light of the sensor changed into a fast pulsation. I didn’t ask for permission and landed right in front of the warehouse and garages of “The Commons”. My pulse increased, my heart was beating loudly. Did my first Quantanium Run going to end in disaster, just before the finish line?

As soon as I was on the ground I jumped out of the pilot seat, slid down the Prospector ladder and ran to the entrance of the building. Inside the building I tore the helmet off my head and threw it into a corner during the run. 

Totally out of breath I arrived at the Planetery Service. I sold the Quantanium and placed the order to unload the ship. It felt like stones were being taken from my chest. I took a deep breath in and out.

When I got back to my Prospector, there was a strong wind blowing. I got into the cockpit and was surprised to see the instability sensor flashing red. I checked the ore bags, they were empty. I knocked against the sensor’s display. Probably a malfunction. I shrugged my shoulders and took off. I was only seconds in the air when a loud bang shook my ship. The ore bags had exploded. The idiots from the ground crew must not have emptied the ore pockets properly.