(Vacated - Moderators Can Delete) Markus, Shawn and Liz: Lost At Sea
AnomalyDetected
Alterra Housing District: Planet Vicaron Join Date: 2017-04-19 Member: 229741Members
Alterra Housing District: Planet Vicaron Join Date: 2017-04-19 Member: 229741Members
I've decided to rewrite this. I however cannot delete this thread. So go ahead and read if you want, but it's not supported anymore. Thanks for all the support on my first version. I hope to come back with a stronger story and a more enticing plot.
Love you all!
Prolouge: A Light Heart in an Electronic Place.
The Aurora.
The electronic, slick vessel loomed in front of the Space Docks, a giant space station built in a ring around the earth. The Aurora was certainly not the biggest ship docked at this station, but it sure was much more beautiful than that other ship, "Bravo 584".
Still, the ship was just perfect. Many people streamed into the four airlocks near the front of the ship that had been opened. Some were denied for trying to enter with false information. Most were let in. Markus James was just another member of the Alterra crew. He was hired to help the Aurora on its maiden voyage.
Finally, Markus made it to the front of the line after three hours. He walked up to the guard at the door.
"Hello sir, may I please see some Identification?" the guard questioned in a calm tone.
"Sure, here you go," Markus said as he opened his PDA. His personal PDA was his prized possession, showing the many adventures and sights he had seen in the Alpha and Beta sectors. It had some fun games to play he downloaded off of MetaMiteGames and even logs of his three days stuck on Planet Cortex after they ran out of gas.
The guard checked the PDA information, then proceeded to smile. "Finally, an actual upper-class staff. Welcome aboard, sir!" he exclaimed as Markus walked into the airlock. After passing through it, he was greeted to a cargo bay labeled sector Epsilon.
Another staff walked up to him. "Hello sir, do you need any assistance?" she politely asked.
"Oh, yes! Do you happen to know the way to the Living Quarters from here?" Markus inquired.
The staff requested "What room number? I need to know which floor to direct you to."
Markus checked the official document on his PDA. "This file says... room 346. Where is that located?"
"Oh, on floor 56, down the hall to the right!" The staff responded.
"Ah, thank you! Have a nice day ma'am!" Markus thanked. As he began walking down some halls towards the elevator, he thought to himself: Man, everyone is so cheerful! I really picked a good job.
He soon arrived at the elevator. He clicked 53. 100 floors?! That's so many! he thought to himself.
Markus then arrived at the floor. He did exactly as told, went forward and took the first right. He read the numbers "339, 340, 341 . . . ah, 346!"
Markus entered to see four beds, one occupied. There were also four lockers next to the beds. According to the locker, Markus' bed was located in the back of the room, across from the occupied bed. He then saw the other person was awake, playing a game on his PDA.
Markus was shy with people he'd knew he'd have to stay with for a while, so he opened with a simple "Hello, sir."
The other man paused the game and looked at him. "Hello, roommate. How was your wait."
Markus replied with "Oh, long like it always is for these ships. Took three hours." He sat on the bed and pulled out his PDA.
The other man continued with "My name's Shawn Cross, and I'm guessing you're Markus James?"
"Yep, that's me," Markus replied. He started up a game called Block the Pipe. The game was a pretty average puzzle game, where you had to block the water flow.
"Hehe, nice to meet yah, Markus," Shawn stated. He too unpaused his PDA, continuing to play whatever the game was.
Markus laid there playing games for an hour before he finally realized it had been almost two days with no sleep. He knew he would need to start working within the next few days, so he finally chilled out for a bit. He lied down and watched some Videos other people uploaded to the Web. After watching a few funny videos on Epic Fails, Cats, and some other topics, he finally laid his head against the pillow and fell fast asleep. Little did he know, the trip wouldn't be as long as he thought.
Love you all!
Prolouge: A Light Heart in an Electronic Place.
The Aurora.
The electronic, slick vessel loomed in front of the Space Docks, a giant space station built in a ring around the earth. The Aurora was certainly not the biggest ship docked at this station, but it sure was much more beautiful than that other ship, "Bravo 584".
Still, the ship was just perfect. Many people streamed into the four airlocks near the front of the ship that had been opened. Some were denied for trying to enter with false information. Most were let in. Markus James was just another member of the Alterra crew. He was hired to help the Aurora on its maiden voyage.
Finally, Markus made it to the front of the line after three hours. He walked up to the guard at the door.
"Hello sir, may I please see some Identification?" the guard questioned in a calm tone.
"Sure, here you go," Markus said as he opened his PDA. His personal PDA was his prized possession, showing the many adventures and sights he had seen in the Alpha and Beta sectors. It had some fun games to play he downloaded off of MetaMiteGames and even logs of his three days stuck on Planet Cortex after they ran out of gas.
The guard checked the PDA information, then proceeded to smile. "Finally, an actual upper-class staff. Welcome aboard, sir!" he exclaimed as Markus walked into the airlock. After passing through it, he was greeted to a cargo bay labeled sector Epsilon.
Another staff walked up to him. "Hello sir, do you need any assistance?" she politely asked.
"Oh, yes! Do you happen to know the way to the Living Quarters from here?" Markus inquired.
The staff requested "What room number? I need to know which floor to direct you to."
Markus checked the official document on his PDA. "This file says... room 346. Where is that located?"
"Oh, on floor 56, down the hall to the right!" The staff responded.
"Ah, thank you! Have a nice day ma'am!" Markus thanked. As he began walking down some halls towards the elevator, he thought to himself: Man, everyone is so cheerful! I really picked a good job.
He soon arrived at the elevator. He clicked 53. 100 floors?! That's so many! he thought to himself.
Markus then arrived at the floor. He did exactly as told, went forward and took the first right. He read the numbers "339, 340, 341 . . . ah, 346!"
Markus entered to see four beds, one occupied. There were also four lockers next to the beds. According to the locker, Markus' bed was located in the back of the room, across from the occupied bed. He then saw the other person was awake, playing a game on his PDA.
Markus was shy with people he'd knew he'd have to stay with for a while, so he opened with a simple "Hello, sir."
The other man paused the game and looked at him. "Hello, roommate. How was your wait."
Markus replied with "Oh, long like it always is for these ships. Took three hours." He sat on the bed and pulled out his PDA.
The other man continued with "My name's Shawn Cross, and I'm guessing you're Markus James?"
"Yep, that's me," Markus replied. He started up a game called Block the Pipe. The game was a pretty average puzzle game, where you had to block the water flow.
"Hehe, nice to meet yah, Markus," Shawn stated. He too unpaused his PDA, continuing to play whatever the game was.
Markus laid there playing games for an hour before he finally realized it had been almost two days with no sleep. He knew he would need to start working within the next few days, so he finally chilled out for a bit. He lied down and watched some Videos other people uploaded to the Web. After watching a few funny videos on Epic Fails, Cats, and some other topics, he finally laid his head against the pillow and fell fast asleep. Little did he know, the trip wouldn't be as long as he thought.
Comments
It's been about 5 months now, and Markus is getting ready for another day, like always. He puts on his work uniform and says a quick "See you later!" to his roommate, Shawn, then heads down to floor 15, cargo bay Gamma.
By this day, all staff had been administered documents to their personal PDAs. These documents detailed what jobs they handled and what the solution to certain problems are. Some were basic, like if a Box gets stuck, then attempt to use the emergency support mechanism, etc. Some though were more complicated, such as one saying "If the crane stops working, open the console panel and check all wires and outlets. Make sure all cables are connected and that any wires with issues are replaced. If no wires are broken, then use the emergency ladder to climb up to the crane mechanisms and open the panel. If any servos are jammed, replace carefully with new parts, being sure not to touch any other parts. If multiple servos are broken, use the Servo Replacement kit provided in your work locker. Then replace and oil all parts." And that's only the most simple one.
Markus walked into the cargo bay and instantly sees a coworker working on the console. He already knows the drill, the consoles here never break. It's most likely the Crane, so he grabs the ladder and extends it out, then climbs up to the crane.
"Markus, be careful! The thing was smoking bad, I think it still is," alerted Alex, his boss.
"Got it, boss! It's probably clogged then," Markus replied. He then opened the panel. Bad idea.
The panel blasted open after being opened only a crack, knocking the ladder down. Markus would've been hurt badly if it hadn't been for Alex stand there to catch him. The crane was busted for the third time. Another average day.
Alex helped Markus off the ground. "You good, Markus?" he said in his usual calm tone.
"Ugh... could be better. I swear... this is the only crane that ever breaks." Markus replied. "Hope they send someone down to find out why."
Days don't get any better than that.
A few days later, Markus took the day off to chill, and so did Shawn. They'd become such good friends, they competed for high scores in games, shared images, and overall had a great time talking to each other.
On this day, Markus and Shawn were having a debate if Alterra should allow Phasegate production to spread across multiple companies. Alterra currently was the only company holding the rights to creating a Phasegate, and Markus believes they should keep it that way. Shawn, on the other hand, feels smaller companies would benefit from a Phasegate construction. It wasn't a heated argument, just a friendly debate.
Shawn questioned, "What if you were in a small company, wouldn't you want a chance to go big?"
Markus replied, "Of course, but Alterra has their ways. I would more likely want to come up with some never done before, like create a Revival tool, or make the school system better."
Shawn seemed to understand, saying "Good point, just I feel Phazegates are the way to go."
Markus gave up, finishing with "Well, what ever the case, we don't need to debate it. Let's play that Co-op game, Bridge Together." That was a game where one player creates a bridge, and another has to try and cross it. But levels have challenges, such as limited tools or the wind.
After another few hours of playing, both of them became tired. Shawn ended up falling asleep early, and Markus laid in bed for a bit. He was thinking if things would change. Or maybe he'd take a day to roam the ship. Whatever the case, he was excited. Sadly, his happiness would come to an end in the next two days, and he didn't even know it.
The cannon of my story is that Alterra bought Windows and refined it. People are still using it because Alterra updated it, it is now on Windows One (Actually about 354 but they're cool like Battlefield) and now the system is used to run anything. The PDA in-game doesn't have this because it booted in emergency mode, meaning basically restricted mode.
Hope this helped, making the next chapter soon.
Explosions.
That's what happened.
Markus was just sleeping during another morning. Then explosions. The alarms began blaring and a Robotic Voice said over the intercom "Alert! Hull Integrity Failing! Abandon ship!" This woke both Markus and Shawn up.
Markus immediately knew what was happening. "Shawn! We've gotta go! Now!" And before Shawn could change out of his nightwear, he dragged him down the hall, running towards the Lifepods.
When they were about halfway down the hall, Another explosion rocked the ship. They both fell, but immediately got up and kept running until they got to the LifePod. Shawn went in first, the Markus.
As they climbed down, the robotic voice loudly conveyed "Alert! Hull Integrity Compromised! Abandon Ship!"
Shawn was scared, only being 17. "Wh... what the hell is happening?!" He questioned.
"I don't know, but get ready!" Markus replied, then he pressed the launch button.
A computer voice replied with "Launch in 3... 2... 1..." Then the life pod lurched down as they fell. The Lifepod shook and trembled.
"Where are we even falling?!" Shawn asked, to which the computer replied with "Planet 4546B, Water planet. Uncharted."
Markus already could tell something was off. "Why is it uncharted? Isn't this the Omega Sector?"
The computer alerted Markus by saying "The last known ship to come here was the Degasi. It has been missing for 10 years."
Markus looked back towards the ship, just as a green beam hit it. Part of the ship instantly exploded, causing a shockwave. The Lifepod began spinning, then gravity got it. The Lifepod was spinning and falling, the fire was visible through the window on the top. Then the panel broke. The one thing keeping the Lifepod active broke open, and alarms began blaring. Suddenly, the panel hit Markus, and everything went black. Markus regained consciousness to see a glow of orange... how peaceful... and then he realized it was a fire that was not safe. Shawn was up, holding a Fire Extinguisher, using it on the fire. As he blasted it, Markus would attempt to open the seat.
The fire was out now, and Shawn was silent before finally saying "Well, holy shit. That happened." He then walked over to Markus' seat.
Markus was stuck. "I uhh... can' t get it open." Shawn tried pulling at it, but nothing happened.
Shawn came up with an idea. "I heard they're pressure sensitive on that button, so..." He then bashed it as hard as he could and it flew open, Markus stumbling off of it, land face-first on the floor.
Markus climbed up off the ground, saying "Ow..." along the way. "What happen... happened to the Aurora?" He was out of breath.
Shawn looks just as confused. "I don't know, but I wanna know where the hell we are," and with that, he climbed on top of the Lifepod. Markus followed him up.
You are now in the League of Writers.
You may pay your respects to @Bugzapper when he deems you worthy.
Carry forth our cause Speculative fiction!
Just...
...good job on this one.
I think we're just trying to compensate for Bugz's slowing updates.
It leaves a hole in the entire forum.
I know, I know, this is the 17th one. Sorry.
Wait, 17!
Hang on a minute...
I only found 11.
I guess that doesn't count the Elections or Julian's story.
How could you not count Julian's? That's the best one by far.
- FalsonePlays, writer of Athena's Plunge
Don't you mean Alterra bought Microsoft? Windows is a product. Microsoft produce windows.
Oh, come on, your story is defiantly better.
Well, they ended up doing that, but it was originally just the Windows name. Eventually, Microsoft began failing, so they sold the entire company. Microsoft and Alterra merged.
I do much prefer "PDOperating system" to "windows". But hey, your thing.
Cold. Chilling. Scary.
That's what went through Markus the moment he saw the Aurora.
It was sickening to think of every death that may have happened. What happened to Alex? What happened to everyone he'd seen? Where was his life? Where were his co-workers?! Were they all de-
Stop, Markus thought. Don't stress, it'll make it worse.
Shawn had been silent for the past 10 minutes, but he finally told Markus "So... I guess we'll get nowhere by staring. Let's go see if the Lifepod had anything for us." And with that, he climbed down the hatch.
Markus climbed down after him to find him rummaging through a cabinet. Peeking over Shawn's shoulder, Markus saw it contained two dive suits, some nutrient bars, some plastic bottles of water, and an extra battery.
Both put on a dive suit, and Markus said he'd go out with Shawn, but he did something first. He used parts from some old walkie-talkies and made a small connection for chatting between the suits, as well as connecting the PDA to the coms. He also wanted some information on their location, so he turned on Emergency mode on his PDA. It would keep his personal info safe, but help them survive better.
Markus started easy. "What info can we have on the planet?"
The PDA responded with "Environment: Uncharted ocean planet. Oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. Water contamination: high."
Markus instantly was confused. "Water contamination? What does that mean?"
"Water contains high amounts of alien bacteria. Danger level: Unknown. More research required."
"Interesting." Markus considered what the options were. He then questioned, "How is the Aurora doing?"
"The Aurora suffered orbital hull failure. Cause: unknown. Zero human life signs detected."
Markus and Shawn were both stunned. No Survivors?
"Wh... what about within the waters... any life forms matching humans?" Markus asked it.
The PDA responded after a small hesitation with "Too many life forms to detect human life underwater. Recommend investigation."
"Welp, guess that means we better get out asses out there. Turn on your com," said Shawn.
They turned on the coms and got ready. Markus opened the floor hatch. Immediately a large fish, about the size of a stingray, oddly looking like one too, swam by, a tiny purple fish just behind. Markus then jumped down into the water.
Cold.
It was cold water. That didn't seem right, but it could work.
Markus said to Shawn "It's safe! Come on in!"
They looked around as a fish with these weird sacks on its fins and a normal-ish fish with one eye went by. Markus swam after them and grabbed them, stuffing them into the suit backpack. Shawn gave him a weird look.
The PDA announced "Alien lifeforms may have unexpected applications. Utilizing alien resources is a proven survival strategy."
Markus responded with a small "Interesting." Then continued to grab some more fish.
Shawn, on the other hand, had just found some limestone. He hit it a few times before it broke open. A chunk of raw copper emerged. He picked it up, and the PDA alerted him by saying "Copper is an essential component of all powered equipment. Your probability of survival has just increased to: unlikely, but plausible." He found another limestone chunk, breaking it. This time it was Titanium. He picked it up and looked for another.
Markus was still getting fish, he'd collected two of the regular-ish fish, five of the fish with the sacks, one with a weird eyestalk on top of its head, and two of these little fish that are purple and have a hole in the fin.
The PDA then made an emergency notice. "Detecting increased local radiation levels. Trend is consistent with damage to the Aurora's drive core, sustained during planetfall."
Then a small explosion is heard from the ship.
I MAYBE can change it
"Detecting increased local radiation levels. Trend is consistent with damage to the Aurora's drive core, sustained during planetfall."
Then a small explosion is heard from the ship.
Markus swam up and looked at the ship. It had started smoking while they were under. Wait, what did the PDA say? he thought. The drive core breaching...?
Shawn emerged from the water, took a breath then stated "We need to get some of those large mushrooms. We can use the acid inside of them as makeshift batteries." With that, he dived down to a small reef patch. Markus dived after him.
"Okay, we need two mushrooms to make enough acid for a battery. I collected a lot of copper, titanium and some lead, so can you grab them?" Shawn said.
"Sure, I'll pick them up." He swam down, uprooting them carefully as to not disturb the acid. He grabbed four for two batteries. He then followed Shawn to the Lifepod, collecting another one of the weird sac fish.
Shawn boarded the Lifepod, Markus followed.
Shawn went to the Fabricator, placing two raw copper ores on the base of it. He then told Markus, "Hand me those four mushrooms." Markus handed him four small ones he'd collected. Shawn then pressed a few buttons on the Interface, causing the Fabricator to start de-materializing the items. Then, after they were nothing but stored atoms, the system assembled two batteries. He then pulled out a two Titanium ore, setting them on the Fabricator and selecting a new option on the interface. The Titanium decompiled the recompiled into a Scanner. Shawn then inserted the two batteries into them, then handed one to Markus. "They allow us to scan stuff, like those mushrooms. It saves the Data to our PDA."
"Nice," Markus said in awe. "Do I get to scan that cool one-eyed fish?" He smiled at the thought.
Shawn answered with a simple "Yes." He then climbed out the bottom.
Another explosion from the Aurora. Small, but slightly loud.
"What the hell is that explosion about?" he asked Shawn while jumping into the water.
Shawn replied with "I think the Drive core is overheating. Might be bad.
Markus looked down, seeing that weird Sting Ray fish. He started chasing and scanning it. He got it scanned, then pulled up his PDA. He went to the "Data Entries" section and looked under the "Lifeforms > Fauna > Herbavors" tab. He then read up on it. It was called a "Rabbit Ray" and it was not Edible. But he wouldn't have killed it anyway, it was so scared of him. The other fish didn't really run from him like this one did. He also read that the fish had created a layer of its skin that was poisoned. No way he could even eat it if he wanted to.
Shawn, on the other hand, was scanning some Limestone. It usually cased itself around Titanium, Copper, and Lead for some reason.
Markus then found another mushroom patch, scanning an "Acid Mushroom" and a "Coral Shell Plate." He then swam and scanned another fish, the odd sac one. It was labeled as a "Bladderfish." The entry said it stored water in its odd sacs. Then pumped it out to get a boost. He could abuse this to make water! The sac's membrane could be made more dense to make it more solid and used as a water bottle!
Shawn found some of the "Acid Mushrooms" too, scanning them. He also found an outcropping of Sandstone. He scanned it then broke it to get... was that pure gold? He picked it up and quickly checked the PDA. Sure enough, the Entry said that Sandstone chunks usually contain either Silver or Gold. If they survived this, they could get rich! Get a grip, Shawn he thought. We're stranded. Wait until we have a rescue. Then grab a %#^& ton of gold.
Markus then found a small cave. He went up, got air, then dived. The PDA alerted him with "Be careful in caves, as drowning is a large risk. Large oxygen tank recommended." He instantly saw a strange plant. It opened, and a red fish popped out... and it started chasing him! He screamed "OH MOTHER &%#$ER!!!" and he swam. It blew up next to him, hurting him a small about.
Shawn then said over the coms, "What the hell is going on over there?"
Markus, out of breath, replied with, "This... damn fish... started chasing me... and... and it BLEW UP!"
"Well, be careful then, bro. I don't wanna lose you too."
Markus went up for air, then dived back down into the cave. He went to the plant that that fish came out of. He scanned it, and it was called a "Crayfish Plant." Odd name. He then noticed a small powder in the plant, so he snatched it up. Maybe it could come in handy? He scanned it, and the PDA alerted him with "Composition: 92% Sulfur, 5% Gases, 3% Nitrogen." He'd found basically sulfur! Nice!
He swam back up to the Lifepod, then went to the Fabricator. He read the recipes it was defaulted with, and saw a Repair Tool! He needed to repair the pod's systems anyway, so he saw he needed two salts, the sulfur powder, and Titanium. Seems easy enough He thought. I saw salt, and the Titanium Shawn has, so I'm go-
Another explosion.
And another.
"Caution. Continued degradation of the Aurora's drive core may result in a quantum detonation. Continuing to monitor."
I feel your pain. Trust me, with three AP classes, martial arts, eagle scout paperwork AND a webcomic, I know how you feel.
"Caution. Continued degradation of the Aurora's drive core may result in a quantum detonation. Continuing to monitor."
Markus quickly climbed the ladder as another explosion rang across the waters. The ship was a mess.
"Erm... What was that?" Shawn asked through the comms. He was still underwater, searching for food and supplies.
"The ship is... well, it's in horrible shape." Looking at it, Markus noticed the fact more holes had appeared, glowing with fire and heat. The engine, which he saw was damaged early on, was now looking as though the fire had crept through it, burning it throughout. The Captin's Deck seemed to still be intact.
Markus, not wanting to stress on the ship, jumped down into the water. He swam a little further than normal, noticing a... kelp forest? He swam in, humming songs from his playlist. As he swam, he noticed a new fish. It appeared to look like a hovering creature. Markus scanned it, the continued forward. He passed another tiny fish, this one was like a Peeper, but much, much smaller, and with a small hole in the fin. He scanned it, then went on.
He noticed one of the kelp had an orange bunch of sacs on it. Grabbing one, the PDA announced "Blueprint's Acquired. Corrupted files replaced."
"Hey, Shawn? The PDA says some of the blueprints are corrupted. Is that bad?" Markus asked, a bit concerned.
"Well, a little, but scanning more salvage should repair them," Shawn replied. Markus kept looking around, finding more small ores in limestone and continued searching for new stuff. He then found what looked like a sandstone chunk. Breaking it open, a pure piece of silver fell out.
"Sweet! Shawn, we got silver!" Markus exclaimed.
"Great. I believe we can use that for a Wiring kit." Shawn, on the other hand, had found a cave system, when his the PDA randomly began speaking.
"Incorrect blueprints detected. Updating blueprints... Complete." Markus heard over the comms, checking his blueprints. He discovered that the Repair Tool Blueprints were now cheaper. They only needed one cave sulfur, one silicone rubber, and a titanium. Markus turned and began swimming back to the lifepod.
Halfway back, just as he was exiting the kelp area, a thunderous roar erupted from behind him. He turned to see a creature that was scary. It was scarred, with an elongated mouth, many rows of teeth, and was charging right towards him. He quickly turned and swam back. to the lifepod, but not before it bit him in the leg. Markus screamed as the tooth came out into his leg, leaving it embedded. He kept swimming, and the creature gave up. Markus was in tears from the pain, worse than the time he broke his tibia.
"Markus, what's wrong!?" Shawn worriedly ask.
"...My leg... It bit... Sh*t, man, it hurts..." Markus replied, out of breath. He entered the lifepod, promptly falling on the floor. He crawled to the small storage and propped himself on it. He was running on adrenaline, waiting on the floor. After about a minute, Shawn entered the lifepod. He looked at the tooth, stuck in the back of Markus' lower leg. Markus looked at his composure, and he knew Shawn was freaking out, but he did a good job of hiding it.
"Okay, look, what i'm going to try is gonna hurt, a lot. Are you okay with that?" Shawn questioned. He calmly got down on one knee, waiting for a response.
"...Go ahea..." Markus kept his mind off the pain by thinking of his best times with his favorite times out in space.
Shawn grabbed the tooth, and Markus yelped. He tugged lightly, and Markus yelped again. "Okay," Shawn said. "I'm going to pull it out, get ready." He counted, "1... 2... 3!" and he tugged with all his might. It slid out, and Markus screamed. Shawn then opened the Medical Kit Fabricator on the wall, just next to Markus, taking out a Medkit and opening it. He grabbed the bandages and Alcohol Pads. He dampened it with Alcohol ( and Markus yelped, of course.) and he wrapped the bandage around it, making sure to apply pressure with it so it would stop bleeding. He then stood, cooked a peeper he'd grabbed, and handed it to Markus. Markus ate it, tears still glistening his eyes.
"...I'm... I'm feeling better..." Markus said, before promptly trying to get up, his vision swam, and Shawn grabbed him, pulling him up. Markus limped over to the Fabricator, pressing a button to open it. He attempted to craft the seed pod into something, and it surprisingly dematerialized. It then formed two sheets of silicone rubber. He then placed a titanium, a silicone rubber, and the sulfur powder. He pressed two more buttons, and it all dematerialized. He then clicked another button, and it formed a repair tool.
"Great job, Markus!" Shawn said from over his shoulder. "We can use that to fix the lifepod and Radio!"
Markus grabbed it, then limped over to the lifepod control panel. Wasn't this where the panel came from, that hit me in the head, he thought. He began using the repair tool, welding the wires together. Shawn passed him the panel, and he put it on, then welded it shut. He flipped the panel's lever, and the whole lifepod lit up.
The lifepod announced "All systems, online." Then, the PDA said "Downloading environmental Scan... uploaded to Databanks." Markus opened it, and read the scan.
Markus read out "Category three ocean planet. Oxygen/Nitrogen atmosphere. Extensive Biodiversity." He looked at shawn. "We fell onto a planet almost as habitable as Obraxis." He then turned back to the PDA and kept reading. "Safety warnings... May contain leviathan class preditors, Water contaminated with high levels of foreign bacteria, and rescue is beyond federation space, rescue unl.... unlikely..."
Suddenly, the lifepod rocked as another small explosion went off.
And another. Even more.
"Emergency: A quantum detonation has occurred in the Aurora's drive core. The reactor will reach a super critical state in T- 10..."
Holy crap, that was a long break fam.
"Emergency: A quantum detonation has occurred in the Aurora's drive core. The reactor will reach a super critical state in T- 10..."
"OH NO!" Markus yelled, and scrambled to the ladder, pulling his leg. He yelped but kept climbing, Shawn following just behind.
"...9... 8... 7..."
Markus climbed up top, attempting to stand straight up. Shawn came out just after him. The ship was now on fire almost everywhere, smoking intensely.
"...5... 4... 3-3-3..."
"Brace yourself!" Shawn said, grabbing a small handle on the side of the Lifepod. Markus grabbed one on the side he was on.
"...2-2-2-2..."
"...It's going to blow!"
"...1-1-1-1-"
The Roar of an explosion rang out, as the whole front of the ship was engulfed in flames. The explosions went from front to back, blowing chunks of metal and rooms off. Debris flew, flying in all directions. A few pieces of scrap metal flew by the Lifepod, which was being blown backward slowly. Then, a groan echoed through the explosions and the Aurora's Captian deck broke at the base. It collapsed backward, smashing down into the top of the ship.
A loud smash echoed off the Lifepod, covered by explosion sounds. The Lifepod lurched back, almost knocking Markus off. The wind whipped past his head. He almost let go.
Then it was quiet.
It was as if someone had turned off all sounds. The only sound left was the echo of waves. Smoke from the explosion began to fade, revealing... Oh god...
"The... the whole... front... oh god..." Shawn was crying. No-one could be alive now, and any Lifepods near were most likely destroyed.
The whole front of the ship was destroyed. Opening into the ocean, it was full of broken floors and cargo. The Captin's Deck was destroyed. It had fallen back, now aiming in the air. the sides were no longer sleek, but rough, full of holes, and on fire. Metal was visible in many spots, glowing or flaming. A chunk of metal was resting on the wall, making a ramp towards a hole. The back engine that had been on fire earlier was destroyed, now a stub compared to the rest.
The Aurora was destroyed.
Editor Notes: Here's a quick little chapter for you guys!
Markus was at a lost for words.
He watched the vessel he spent so long on, lived on, knew tons of people on...
It was now nothing more than a hunk of metal.
Shawn was still sobbing. Markus sat next to him, considering what caused him to reach this point. He sat for five minutes, in deep thought, before Shawn stopped sobbing and said: "W-w-well, we better... *sniff* ...fix the radio." Markus had almost forgotten about the radio. Maybe not all hope was lost!
Markus and Shawn climbed back inside the lifepod. Shawn sat down, catching his breath. Markus opened a small panel that smoke was pouring out of on the radio. Five wires were frayed, sparking. He connected them together, welding the rubber casings of the copper wire together. He shoved them back into the radio, which had stopped smoking, and shut the panel. He pressed a button on the panel, and the radio buzzed to life. Shawn looked over curiously.
"*Static* Radio online. Broadcasting emergency distress call..."
"Hell yea!" Markus was so happy. They could get help!
"Captain, a new message has arrived." Markus paused. No way a ship could respond that fast, right?
Markus clicked the button. The radio buzzed out: "This is Aurora. Distress signal received. Rescue operation will be dispatched to your location in 9...9...9...9...9... hours. Continue to monitor for emergency transmissions from other lifepods." The radio beeped a few times as if it were receiving corrupted data. It then shut off.
"...Well then..." Shawn seemed at a loss for words. What now? They didn't know what else to do.
Markus decided what to do. "I suppose we should start collecting more resources. I'll go ahead an-"
"Captain, a new message has arrived." Markus looked over at the radio, confused. He walked up and pressed the button on the panel.
The radio buzzed to life, then broadcasted a clear message: "Receiving pre-recorded distress call. Playing back..." It then changed to a female voice, clearly another passenger. "This is Lifepod 3, uploading our co-ordinates. We're plugging some holes in our emergency Seaglide, so if we're late for the rendezvous, don't panic. Also, don't go home without us. Seriously. 3 out."
They sat in silence for a moment. The radio made some beeps, and the PDA said: "Co-ordinates downloaded." The cords were now showing to be across the kelp biome right next to them. Markus thought for a moment before deciding what to do.
"Okay, Shawn, I'm gonna go. Even if they're dead, I need to tell the families when we get back."
Markus exited the lifepod while Shawn sat on the chairs, pondering on things.
The Spaceport is a planetary space station built in a ring around Earth. Many Alterra ships dock here, going in and out.
The Spaceport has its own self-sustaining gravity, oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, and many rooms. It takes years to walk across on foot, so most use the high-speed rail system (100km per second.)
Markus swam at the surface of the water. He was able to swim faster while up there, and he hoped the creatures wouldn't reach him. His mask had a visual marker on it of the cords, so he could easily follow them. As he swam, he thought about things Shawn had told him.
Shawn was lonely. He had never had a girlfriend, and he could never find anyone who he liked. His mother had passed two years ago in the Massacre of Obraxis Prime. His father was a drunk, always leaving and going to a pub. His sister and he had a good relationship though. They always hung out, shared moments, and generally had fun together. He was on the Aurora because it paid well, and he hoped to go home with money so he and his sister could move out. He, being 17, was legal, and he would just take his sister with him. Markus, two days before the crash, had offered to let him stay at his home. At least, until they got on their feet. Shawn had said he would be so happy if they let him. But, now, they're stranded, Shawn's sister doesn't know where he is... god, Markus wanted to help Shawn feel better if he could.
Markus stopped swimming and dived into the water. He instantly saw the lifepod, considering it was about ten meters down. He swam up to it, noticing the entire side of the thing was ripped off. It scared him to think about what could have caused that kind of damage. He swam into the lifepod and looked around. No remains, but he found a PDA laying on the floor. He picked it up and pulled his up. He ran a small wire between the two, selecting the option "Extract Data" from the popup that displayed. After a few seconds, the text "Extraction Complete" displayed. He was given a Data Log, and he went over to the data page.
Before he got to read the entry, his PDA alerted him "Oxygen." He swam up, breathed in fresh air, and re-opened the PDA. He went to the entry and found a play button on it.
Immediately, the PDA replayed the audio. "You really think it'll carry two of us?" asked a female voice.
A male voice replied: "Your regular seaglide tows a mass of eighty kilograms at over thirty kilometers per hour. The power cell I rigged to this one should double that."
"You think there's something out there faster?" The female sounded nervous.
"Oh, sure. And that's assuming it doesn't overload three meters from the lifepod." The male replied with little emotion.
The female didn't seem eased. "You're calm about this."
"I'm seeing the engineering problem. If I stop seeing the maths I'll be terrified." The log stopped, and Markus dived again. He noticed the burned, broken wreck of a seaglide right next to the broken wall he swam in through. They hadn't made it. The seaglide overloaded. Markus pondered how he would tell Shawn. He didn't want to just outright say they're dead and make him even sadder. He decided he had to do it.
"Shawn, can you hear me?" Markus questioned over the coms.
"Yea, what's up?" His voice sounded a bit better, so he'd stopped crying. Good sign.
"Look, I checked the lifepod. I found a data entry, and I found out what happened. They... well... they didn't make it. They blew up with an overcharged seaglide."
Shawn was quiet for a moment but replied "At least, I suppose, they died in a quick way. They didn't suffer." This stunned Markus. He didn't think about that. what if they had died to the creatures around them, bleeding out and losing hope?
"I completely agree," Markus replied, and swam back to the lifepod. He found some more scannable things, like "Creepvine" which were the large kelp-like plants he swam by. He also saw "Creepvine Seeds" attached to them. After scanning them, he grabbed two. He then got back the lifepod and entered it.
As he climbed in, Shawn was just finishing crafting something. He looked over at Markus and said: "I just got a flashlight, as well as a few more batteries."
"Great job, Shawn." Markus sat down, resting for a moment. After a minute of silence, the Radio buzzed to life.
"Captain, a new message has arrived."
"Manson, do you really think changing course is a good idea?" asked Captain Avery Quinn.
Manson replied with a simple: "Yea. If we find some resources on those un-explored planets, we'll be rich!" He seemed so confident. Avery didn't want to ruin his enthusiasm."
"Okay, I suppose we can take a detour around 5948 and pass by 4312" Avery saw his face light up. The kid was new, only 16 years old, he had just become the legal age for a space pilot. He was so happy and excited to be on the sunbeam.
An hour later...
Avery was just about to rest when his second officer, officer Brain Grain, yelled across the ship: "Captain! We need you on the bridge!" Avery, with a groan, got out of bed again. He slipped on his Captain's coat and walked out. Down the small hall were a few other rooms, made for holding the 5 person crew. Walking past the rooms lead to the lounge, then past that was the bridge. The Sunbeam wasn't the biggest ship, but a good one none-the-less. Avery walked past all of it, into the Bridge. He walked beside Brain and Manson, who were very focused the radio... wait... was it beeping?
"It started receiving a distress call about two minutes ago. We meant to call you then, but we were very confused about the ship," said officer Brain.
"Well, step aside then." Avery walked up to the radio. The signal said it originated from 4546b, which was a special planet. It was in a binary system with 4546a and pressed play.
The radio buzzed and whirred, then said in a very scrambled robotic voice: "This is Aurora, Alterra vessel code #92679. Warning: Assistance required. Auro-o-ora ha-a-a-a-a-a- *Static* Repeat. As-s-sistance required." Avery was silent. The Aurora was a brand new ship... they couldn't have possibly... no... they probably ran out of fuel. He decided to contact them since they had an abundance of it.
Avery pressed a button to enable voice coms. "Aurora, this is Sunbeam, do you copy?" Silence, Nothing replied, not even the Automatic Response. Avery glanced over at officer Brain, who looked just as confused.
"Aurora, hello, this is Sunbeam. Are you there? Hello?" Still silence. He looked at officer Brain. "What should we do?" Brain looked off into the distance. He pondered the question for a moment.
He replied with: "Try contacting them again. If they don't respond, we still gotta go help 'em, so we'll go with it." Avery sighed, stepping back to the radio.
"This is Avery Quinn, of trading ship Sunbeam. Aurora, do you read? Over." Avery waited, and waited, for 30 seconds of silence. Then he became a slight bit concerned and annoyed. "Nothing but vacuum. These Alterra ships. They run low on engine grease, they send an SOS; you offer to help, they don't pick up." He said to officer Brain. He turned back to the com and tried again. "Aurora, I'm out on the far side of the system, it's going to take more than a week to reach your position, do you still need our assistance? Over." He waited again, then gave up. He looked at Manson and Brain and told them: "I'll try them again tomorrow. See what the long-range scans pick up in the meantime. Damn charter's going to have us wasting our profit margin running errands for Alterra." He walked back to his room, and layed down onto his bed.
Another day as a trading vessle, he thought.
CHAPTER UPDATED.