My back singed with pain as the world turn upside down. I’d barely had time to avoid hitting my head, and the rest of my body took the brunt of the slam.

An instant later, the starship went completely dark. The motion activated lights powered off, and even the amber of the emergency ones down the hall did so too. Gritting my teeth, I kept my eyes open and clicked the switch for my spacesuit’s flashlight. I was ready for round two, but…

“It worked…” I said, heaving and panting. “My plan worked.”

The gruesome sight of a man pierced by five pointy screwdrivers was like a birthday cake for me. My face filled with relief and an ecstatic pulse ran through my veins as the fear and tension began to wash away. Only after a second could I convince myself to move again. Fortunately, he wasn’t moving anymore.

The laser handgun had flown off his hand. It floated gently in the air, and I took it in my hand. The crosshair aligned with his helmet before I could think about it, and the rational part of me took no moral considerations: a purple flash filled the room and a gust of misty red oxygen bloomed out of his helmet.

I then leaned against the wall for a break, trying hard to catch my break.

“I made it. I got him. I really got him…”

My mind hadn’t thought of anything but fighting and winning for the last few minutes, and they’d felt like hours. I felt like I had awoken from a dream, and I had the sensation that this moment would rewrite something about my psyche that would never be quite the same again.

I looked at him again and the tinge of guilt I had was overwhelmed by my ardent desire to survive. Holding back nausea, I pulled his body off the improvised spike trap and checked his spacesuit’s external compartments for any useful stuff.

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“Two energy packs and his terminal. Not bad, counting the gun.”

There was not a password in the terminal. This was about what I expected considering none of the starship’s systems and doors did. In retrospective, this man’s lack of consideration for data security may have been what ended him.

“Thank you for making pirates irresponsible with passwords, Lady in White” I prayed solemnly, feeling specially paladin-like after using the cosmic power of gravity as a weapon in a deathmatch.

Anyways, I’d check the terminal later. I had other priorities for now. Thinking of this, I wrapped his utility belt around my spacesuit and placed his gun back into its holster. I was hoping to hook some of my tools onto this belt too, but all it had were a few slots for energy packs.

“Speaking of which…” I picked up my improvised plasma spear. It had wasted quite a bit of juice, but there was still power left within it. I unstuck the trigger mechanism and cut the tape with a razor from my toolbox. Then, I stored the ten-foot pole back inside it.

I took one last look at the welding torch, which I had held so earnestly like a weapon earlier. With the pirate’s stolen handgun to my waist, I felt like a kid who’d become an adult.

“I should get to work…” I said, looking at the generator. But I couldn’t earnestly focus on that yet. I needed to make sure of something first. With an actual weapon in my hands this time, I cleared every room I’d been to so far and checked the remaining two ones.

Across the maintenance room there was an airlock room, with two spacesuit racks. Only one of the suits was missing, which was comforting, but I still decided to clear the storage room just in case. I tried to check the engine compartment as well, but I found myself staring at the void.

Some of the stuff on the shelves looked interesting, but rummaging through the cargo could wait until the lights were back up — if I could figure that out. Nevertheless, it was relieving to know there wasn’t anyone else waiting in ambush.

“The hole on the side is pretty concerning, but the generator definitely comes first.”

I dragged the pirate’s body out to the dining room and kicked him into the void. I regretted it a moment later — perhaps I could have made some use of the tech in his broken spacesuit? But perhaps this was the best for my mental state.

I returned to the generator room and got ready for a heavy troubleshooting session.