It turned out that Simon was only partially lucky.
The tablet just needed to be recharged to start working again but unfortunately it was set up in an alien language.
Mikael wasn't surprised by that in the least.
-Well kid what did you expect? It's probably impossible to find a device set for human language.
But it's not useless, we can slowly decipher the language after all we have the time.
Before they could say anything more both of their computers emitted a ping sound.
They had the same message:
Imminent drop in your vicinity please relocate to your place of residence.
-What's that about the drop?
Simon asked, not understanding what was going on.
-That's a warning informing us that in a few minutes there will be a ship dropping junk somewhere around here but there is nothing to worry about as long as you stay close to a beacon.
-Then what will happen if i'm too far to reach it in time.
-Your personal tracker should inform them that you are in a drop zone but it's not like they care.
So you better run for your home or mine when you get this message.
the old man said.
-There is however a good side to this situation.
-And what is so good about it?
-We get to have a new pile of junk to get materials from and it will be close to our houses,meaning that we don't need to walk around as much to get good materials for a while.
And maybe just maybe we can find something useful in there.
Simon thought about it for a while and had to admit that the old man was right.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud rumble after which the light dimmed around him.
When he looked into the sky it was blocked by a behemoth of a ship hovering right above his head.
-Oh, that's one of the big boys.
-the big boys?
-Yeah, this is one of the biggest ships that come here to drop off junk.
Most of them are way smaller.
While Simon was admiring the colossus it moved to a position around 10 kilometers away and opened its cargo holds dropping a mountain of junk.
They could see some shuttles and even something that looked like a fighter in an avalanche of the scrap that made the earth shake under their feet.
It was over in around 10 minutes, after it finished its drop the ship ascended with speed that astonished the young man who had never seen anything like it.
-Well kid, let's go and see what kind of treasures that ship brought us.
Mikael's voice brought the young man back to reality.
-Ok, i just need to get my gear.
The young man said and turned in the direction of his ship.
-Ill wait for you here.
The old man said while getting his own gear ready.
It wasn't long and the two of them were standing before the pile of junk that was at least a 100 meters high.
-We will get some good materials from this pile, I can already see some engines and some electronics lying around here.
Simon only nodded,he could also see the electronic devices and some circuit boards lying around.
-Let's separate and look around, if you find something just mark it on your map and we'll get to it when we have the time.
-Ok see you on the other side.
Simon went left and Mikael went right, both looking around and marking their findings on their maps and picking up some smaller materials.
When they meet on the other side Simon's backpack was almost full of electronics and Mikael's gravity sled also had a pile of materials on it.
They showed their discoveries that were marked to each other and there were quite a number of locations to investigate.
They both marked over a 100 locations and that was from the ground level so they could only imagine what was hidden from their eyes but they decided that there was no reason to be hasty.
-It's better to take our time,in the end this mountain of junk isn't going to go anywhere and we are in no hurry.
Mikael said when they were discussing their plan of action.
-Your right ,not to mention that my backpack is almost full after just randomly picking some small pieces of electronics along the way.
-Actually i think i found something that you could use here.
Mikael pointed at a marker on his map.
-What is it?
-Just some parts but if you help me i think we could build a cart from them.
-That would be awesome .
The young man was happy at the prospect of having a cart.
It wasn't as good as having the gravity sled but it was way better than just using a backpack.
-Then let's go and sell our materials first, I need to recharge my cutting torch and then we can build you a cart.
Said the old man amused by the kids' enthusiasm.
After selling their materials Simon earned 16000 credits and Mikael got 30000 credits.
A short visit to the shop,and they went back to the place Mikael marked on his map.
Simon looked around and found out that there were some wheels lying here and there.
With those and some scrap they had everything they needed to build a cart.
When they collected all the materials they needed it took around 3 hours to build the cart.
Their creation was not winning any cart beauty contests but it was solid and it worked.
The contraption had 1,5 by 1.5 meters cargo area surrounded by 30 centimeter walls,it moved on two wheels placed in the middle and had a support in the front near the handle.
Simon had to be careful not to overload it but now he could transport a few hundred kilograms of materials instead of around 40 to 50 kilograms he could carry in his backpack and hands.
They tested it by loading it with whatever they had on hand and pulling it around.
It took some effort but it was still better than carrying everything in a backpack.
Simon was thankful for Mikael's help as he did most of the work.
-Thank you, this cart will be a great help.
-Don't mention it kid, as i said before we can do what we want with the materials here and i love to tinker, if it helps with our work then that's a bonus.
Let's pack up for today,and start again tomorrow.
Simon nodded and they went back to get some rest.