Poisoned Soil Sounds Perfect

She looked up at the last attacker and smiled.

On any normal day, Vera should not have looked dangerous at all. She was barely five feet tall, dressed in a white dress that had no business being on a garbage planet, with skinny arms, thin legs, and a belly heavy with three babies. But now the white dress was soaked and splattered with blood, her hair stuck to her face, her machete hung loose in one hand, and the ground around her was covered with bodies that had been alive less than a minute ago. 

She looked too small for the damage she had caused, and that made the sight worse. She did not look like a woman who had survived an attack. She looked like a demon who had been interrupted during dinner and was deciding whether the last person standing was worth the effort.

“Do you want to test me?” Vera asked, her smile widening just enough to show him she would not mind if he made the wrong choice.

“No,” the bandit said, staggering back.

His red eyes flickered with the first clear spark of fear she had seen in him. His animal instincts were still there, pushing him to attack, bite, take, and survive, but even a broken mind understood death when it stood close enough to touch. His gaze dropped to the bodies around her, then to the machete in her hand, then back to her face. Whatever thoughts were still moving inside his skull made the correct decision.

“Amazing. Smart boy,” Vera said, wiping the machete against the side of one dead attacker’s clothing before pointing the blade at him. “Here is the deal. I own this place now. Those two are under my protection. If you show your face again, if you touch anyone under me, or if I hear you are causing problems nearby, you will not die as fast as your friends. You will become my slave, and I will find very creative ways to make you useful. Got it?”

The bandit did not answer with words. He turned and ran, stumbling over scrap metal and broken machine parts, nearly falling twice before the garbage piles swallowed him. Vera watched him disappear, then pulled her weapons back into her mind space one by one. She had no desire to carry bloody blades longer than needed, and the old man looked close to collapsing again. She needed water. Good water, not whatever gray liquid this place used to keep people alive just long enough to suffer another day.

She rushed toward the water storage area in her mind space, already thinking about the bottles she had stacked by size and expiration date, but what she saw made her stop so suddenly that the three glowing bulbs behind her nearly bumped into her.

The water bottles were gone. In their place stood a fountain.

For a moment, Vera just stared. Clear water spilled from a smooth stone basin that had not existed before, flowing in a quiet circle that smelled fresh, cold, and clean. The sound alone almost made her chest ache. After years of rationing dirty water, filtering poison through half-broken systems, and guarding every drop like it was gold, the sight of endless clean water felt rude in the best possible way. The three bulbs hovered around her shoulders, glowing brighter as if they also understood something impossible had happened. Her hidden warehouse had always been useful, but this was different. This land was not only healing her body. It was upgrading her space.

“So this land actually upgrades my space,” Vera squeaked with pure delight.

She grabbed a jug before she wasted another second staring like an idiot. She filled it from the fountain, watching the water catch a faint silver shine before settling clear again, then rushed back outside. The moment her feet touched the garbage planet again, the smell of rust, soil, old metal, and blood hit her, but now it did not bother her at all. This place was already giving her more than the whole galaxy had offered. The nobles had given her court orders, insults, and exile. The garbage planet had given her less pain, rich soil, and now a fountain. Honestly, the garbage planet was winning by a lot.

“Here, drink this,” Vera said, handing the jug to the boy.

“Thank you, miss,” the boy whispered.

His tiny voice was rough from thirst and fear. He took the jug carefully, like it was something holy, and drank one small sip.

The moment the water touched his tongue, his eyes went wide. He had not tasted real water in over three hundred years. Since they were sent here, everything they drank came from liquid food packs, bitter recycled fluids, or whatever the trading robot sold to keep bodies alive without giving them comfort. This water was fresh, cold, and a little sweet, sliding down his throat like his whole body had been waiting for it. Color returned to his face almost immediately, and his hands tightened around the jug as if he was afraid it would disappear.

“Give it to your grandpa too,” Vera said, her voice softening.

The boy moved quickly. He helped his grandfather lift his head and brought the jug to his mouth. The old man drank slower, but the effect was stronger. His red eyes faded back to their normal color, the shaking in his hands eased, and his breath stopped catching like his mind was being dragged through broken glass. Vera watched closely and made a mental note. Her supplies had healing abilities now. Not just water. Maybe the food would too. Maybe everything grown, stored, or changed inside this upgraded space could repair what this galaxy had thrown away and then blamed for being broken.

“Thank you, miss,” the old man said after a moment, his voice still weak but clear. “If not for you, we would be dead.”

“That is no problem,” Vera said, helping him shift while the boy supported his other side. “I am new here, and of course I cannot let others be taken advantage of when I just arrived. Also, I need your help. I need a place to settle with a patch of dark soil.”

The old man and the boy both looked at her like she had lost her mind.

“The soil there is poisoned,” the old man said, his brows pulling together before his gaze dropped to her belly. “And are you pregnant?”

“Yes. I am Vera, by the way,” she said, smiling like standing covered in blood beside nine bodies while asking for farmland was a completely normal introduction. “And do not worry about the poison. I just want to live there.”

“I'm Bill and this is Leo.” he pointed at his grandson. Are you that woman who was charged today?” the old man asked.

Anger cut through his weakness as he looked toward the direction of the court lands like he could still spit at them from here. “That galaxy court is too cruel to send you here. You should be treated as a miracle.”

“What are you talking about? This place is amazing.” Vera looked around at the mountains of garbage, the dark soil, the broken metal, the hidden resources, and the land no one wanted because they were too arrogant to kneel down and touch it. “Do not worry, Bill. What I said in court is the truth. I grew up fighting for my life, and I will not let my people get hurt. So if you have problems, come to me. One rule only. Those with bad intentions will get hurt. Those who are good and loyal, I will take under my wing. In a few days, I can give you food if you have people willing to work.”

The old man stared at her for a long moment, still pale, still weak, but no longer fading. His eyes moved from the dead attackers to the jug in his grandson’s hands, then to Vera’s round belly and the blood drying on her white dress. 

He had lived long enough in the garbage sector to know when something impossible had walked in front of him. The girl was small, pregnant, and strange, but she had killed nine attackers without trembling, saved his grandson, given them water that pulled him back from madness, and was now talking about poisoned soil like it was a real estate opportunity.

For the first time in years, the old man felt something dangerous move in his chest.

Hope. He looked at the boy, then back at Vera, and slowly nodded.