Ratchet kicked up a cloud of dust and watched the specks slowly settle. Even though the gravity could be measured scientifically, it wasn't as fun as guesstimating. Raising up on their tippy-toes as the last fragment returned to the ground, Ratchet was comfortable enough to settle on point six five, adding into the equation how much effort their calves had exerted.

Activating their heads-up-display they gave out an involuntary 'squee' on seeing a 0.6439 Terra Gravity rating. Today was going to be a good day. Not that superstition had anything to do with it. But when you were in sync with the universe, it had to be a good sign, right?

"Have you filled your quota," Ratchet's mother asked over the comms, "I'm struggling to find any decent tubers over here."

She should feel guilty for not digging, but food foraging was so boring. Especially when the droid was doing such a good job.

"Onto my second tub, Mother," she replied, checking on her robots progress. Her robot. Another reason to smile.

"Have you even used your shovel?" her mother asked, already knowing the answer.

Ratchet giggled as her mother restarted her regular admonishment, "Yes, I know it's fantastic to have a machine do your job for you, but ill gotten gains are no match for the rewards gained through hard work! You know I hate it when you gamble. What will happen when you lose?"

"I won't lose," Ratchet mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.

"You will, you know," her mother continued, "no-one keeps winning forever. And when the stakes get too high, you could lose it all."

"Give me a break, mum," Ratchet huffed, "we're going to eat tonight because my droid is finding us food. And I'm going to guess we'll have enough to trade, and even feed the Jerwans. Pay them back for last rotation when they covered us."

There was silence on the comms as Ratchet chalked up a win. It was really shaping up to be a good day. The sky was a fading orange with hints of green and blue as the nitrogen and oxygen reflected the distant binary stars. This planetoid had been a good find - not a breathable atmosphere, but a good source of minerals and some decent food.

Once the tanks were full of H2O they could be on their way.

Life as a slave wasn't as bad as the holo-news said, she thought. She almost always had something to eat, and now that her height was reaching maximum, she would be allocated her own sleeping bay.

At least she never had to worry about being captured by pirates when she was under the protection of the best pirates in this arm of the galaxy.

Her droid made an odd "durr durr" sound as it rolled out a third tub to begin filling.

"That was an odd update fella," she said, leaning down to check on its wiring. There was nothing loose, so that wouldn't explain the noise.

"Durr durr durr" it started again.

"If you're not broken, why would you be making that sound?" Ratchet asked.

"Could be an alarm warning of danger," a gravelly voice said from behind as Ratchet was knocked to the ground by what felt like a thick grav boot in her back.

Maybe today wasn't going to be so great after all.