This is amazing, and I find the random bursts of scottish amusing. Very big, developed story, and I enjoy it very much. Quick question. What happened to Ahab? He might have mentioned it, I don't recall exactly what happened to Ahab. Ahab is my fav character, btw. Even more than Selkirk. any ways, good story, keep it up I love reading this!!!
Since the crew had the remediation effort at Reef Base well under control, I took Ulysses out to Pyramid Rock to make a start on recommissioning the launch facility. The sea life around the island had fared slightly better here, being partially shielded from the worst of Tomar's bombardment. To my surprise, the island's resident Reaper 'Binky' is still very much alive and kicking. In fact, I had to drive it away with a short burst of the repulsion cannons before I could safely go ashore. That was an encouraging sight in itself.
Even though we were only two weeks into the recovery project, Manannán was showing obvious signs of bouncing back, even without our intervention. The resilience of this planet's life-forms was nothing short of staggering. I had passed over areas that had been blasted to oblivion, yet the first traces of returning life were already spreading slowly across the seafloor. It was only a light carpet of algae in most cases, along with an occasional fish or two following drifting tendrils of nutrient-rich seawater carried into the area during the recent hurricane. This basically confirmed that the planet was doing perfectly fine without our help. It might be worth scaling down our efforts accordingly.
However, I still needed to get those satellites into orbit. If nothing else, they would give me advance warning of approaching severe weather systems. I had no accurate idea of how intense these storms could get, mainly because hurricane season lasted at least a year on this planet. We were still only two months into storm season so far, and it's anyone's guess as to how badly weather conditions might interfere with our subsurface operations. In the very worst case, we might have to restrict operations to the deeps for the full duration. That's only one of the reasons why I was starting to look at the ExoSuit with increased interest. The main reason lay in Paal Torgaljin's encrypted log entries.
I had more than enough time to wade through the condensed version. IANTO had isolated one document that threw a spotlight on nearly everything that had happened so far. Aurora. The abandoned bases on the islands. STARFISH. The wrecked base hidden in the Jelly Shroom Caves. These seemingly disparate incidents were all key pieces in a far more intricate puzzle. I had been almost right when I latched on to the idea of a Torgaljin Empire emerging from this planet. At the time, I had no way of knowing precisely how far their plans had advanced, and what extremes they were prepared to resort to in order to ensure their success.
As you are aware, the containment facility was completed 15 per cent under budget and well within the allotted time frame. There were several minor incidents during later stages of construction, although no appreciable delays to progress have been noted. I am pleased to report that the asset has been secured with minimal damage to capital equipment and resources. The tau-muon phase shield is operating at maximum efficiency. Several attempted intrusions have been detected so far, and all were successfully intercepted by the facility's automated defence system. Adverse Indigenous response has ceased entirely, indicating an emergent tendency toward total compliance. However, projected attrition rates of non-essential personnel involved with the acquisition phase were erroneous. We sustained a highly acceptable 90 per cent loss, as it happened. In summary, the operation can be considered entirely successful. Awaiting your arrival with anticipation, Sir.
So, Torgalijin has already captured an Emperor Leviathan. Wonder what they'd use it for. The 90% of personnel killed whilst obtaining it is considered "acceptable"? That's cold.
So, Torgalijin has already captured an Emperor Leviathan. Wonder what they'd use it for. The 90% of personnel killed whilst obtaining it is considered "acceptable"? That's cold.
remember its said ''non-essential'' personnel Since this covert operation is done completely outside Earthly regulations they can afford to kill anyone they want without fear of any sanctions. Of course, yes they are very cold and it seems Torgalijin wont stop at anything to make huge profit.
Hopefully Selkirk will be able to do something about this!
Just for the record, I am 1 of I'm sure many silent followers, checking the thread constantly for the next update. I may not post, almost ever, but I love the story! Keep it up!
There wasn't much actual work involved in bringing Pyramid Rock online again. The VAM gantry and launch pad went up in minutes. Before heading back, I added an airlock to the access corridor leading to the storage bunkers, as well as the underwater access point. This was done mainly to prevent the planet's wild weather from causing too much damage to the materials and equipment stored there, but also to prevent the facility from being completely over-run with Crawlers. I noted with some annoyance that recent events had done sod-all to control their numbers. The island was positively swarming with the little devils. Not much chance of these guys becoming extinct anytime soon, I'm afraid.
"Okay JUNO, I'm all done at Pyramid Rock. I'll be swinging by Aurora on my way home to check on its neutron accelerator silos. They might have sustained damage during the bombardment, and we don't want that djinn escaping from the bottle again. It shouldn't take too long."
"Very good, Captain. Regarding the new construction parameters for the Gen II ExoSuit... I'm afraid that it will be impossible to incorporate a full TRIDENT system. I have attempted to optimise the suit's internal systems geometry as far as possible in a number of viable configurations. Unfortunately, I would have to significantly reduce biological shielding on the reactor in order to accommodate TRIDENT's components. Shall I continue to pursue a solution, Captain?"
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
Although it would be nice to have an ExoSuit equipped with TRIDENT capability, I wouldn't mind siring a relatively normal family at some stage. I can live without it.
"No, that won't be necessary, JUNO. How did integrating the conventional sonar suite turn out?"
"Extremely well, Sir. You will have access to passive and active sonar systems, with side scan and real-time terrain mapping functionalities. Dual active transducers with a five kilowatt total scalar output, multiple passive acoustic detection sensors deployed over the suit's hull. Precision 3D positioning and targeting system data are displayed as a holographic HUD terrain overlay."
"Sounds tasty. I'll definitely have some of that."
"There are a few minor integration issues still pending, Sir. However, I will have a full prototype completed by tomorrow morning, at the very latest."
"Excellent work, JUNO. Thank you. One more thing; if there's enough daylight left after the Aurora inspection, I think I'll head out and work on a couple more panels for the monument frieze. I'm beginning to feel just a wee bit superfluous around here." I chuckled.
"I can send out a drone to perform the Aurora inspection, if you wish." JUNO said helpfully.
"No, I'd prefer to have eyes on for this job, if only for my own peace of mind. She took a fair old pounding, and I want to make certain that my repairs to those silos are still holding. I'll stay in touch in case I need anything."
"As you wish, Captain. If you require someone to keep watch or render assistance in any way, please let me know. One of the android forms can be spared for your requirements, should any arise. Please stay safe and enjoy yourself, Sir."
It was eerily quiet aboard Aurora. The ravenous flames had died months ago. The rumbling booms of her drawn-out death throes had long since fallen silent, leaving only the faint sound of wind and waves as they hurried past, paying their final respects in hushed tones.
In time, even the Crawlers had deserted this lonely wreckage.
From what I could see, Tomar's gunners weren't aiming for Aurora herself. The salvo fell in the centre of where her bow section used to be. I can only assume that Tomar thought this area would be a likely spot to build a base. If I was drawing salvage directly from her hull plating, it might have been a reasonable choice of location. However, I had chosen to maintain a respectful distance from the wreck, mainly because of the four neutron accelerator stacks that still lay inside.
I shone my dive light over the interior of the silo compartment, checking for any additional damage that may have occurred since my last visit. Nothing seemed out of place, so I switched off the light and waited for my eyes to become accustomed to the darkness. No tell-tale blue glow from the water. A good sign. The rad counter held rock steady at 0.5 millisieverts per hour. I slipped into the water and headed for Silo One. Apart from a thin surface film of algae, the external casings appeared to be in excellent condition. The count rose steadily as I approached, topping out at 4.5 millisieverts per hour.
After thoroughly scanning the remaining three silos, a reading of 4.8 millisieverts obtained from the centre of the cluster could be considered the current maximum for the compartment. Well below the threshold for any serious level of concern. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less thing to worry about.
Visibility was poorer than usual around Aurora today, and I had to take particular care in skirting her demolished starboard bow section as Ulysses made way to the memorial. Most of the increased turbidity was due to last week's hurricane, although I could see large patches of water that looked to have been stirred up rather more recently. Possibly in the last hour or so, in fact. At best, I had about 20 metres of forward visibility for most of the trip alongside Aurora. The churned-up patches gradually increased in density, and appeared to be occurring more frequently. As visibility dropped to 10 metres, I activated the low frequency sonar to show me a clear path in the shallow water. A large, slow-moving object appeared on the display, roughly 150 metres to port. Most likely a Reefback, I guessed. Since we haven't obtained a fresh DNA sample from one yet, this would be a perfect opportunity. Even though they're relatively harmless, it always pays to approach them slowly. A panicked Reefback can be highly unpredictable as it flails around.
I dropped Ulysses' speed to dead slow. The sonar trace grew steadily closer. At 50 metres, the 3D image resolved into a blurry, slowly rotating tangle that looked like a ball of heavy knitting wool. At 20 metres, I could just make out a swirl of motion in the observation port, half-obscured by clouds of churned up bottom sand. I climbed out of the command chair and walked up to the forward dome. It was still hard to make out any clear details, just a cloud of silt and sand with occasional white flashes of motion. If nothing else, it was like watching a cartoon version of a fight. Nothing to see but a roiling cloud of sand and flailing limbs. A territorial battle?
Suddenly, the unmistakeable screeching roar of an enraged Reaper filled the cabin with thunder.
From out of the murk, the Gatekeeper of Hell itself hurtled towards Ulysses, its mandibles agape.
Nope. Still doesn't look like 'constructive criticism' to me. You want me to be your personal author, writing to please you alone.
I can be yours... For a price. Current AJA rates are 50 to 75 cents a word. Current wordcount: 79,203. Do the math.
I can tell you have failed to comprehend a crucial part of the story already... Page One, Sentence Three. READ IT AGAIN.
Short version: Stop spamming my story line, mate. Your ill-formed opinions of it no longer interest me.
If you think that you can do better than I have so far, either throw down what you've got or walk away.
Choose your next (few) words very carefully, my friend. You are extremely close to insulting me.
But its okay for you to insult me?You have already insulted me my "friend".Saying i have no conprehension skills and my criticisms were to simply hate on you or make you write a story that i want is an insult.Get off your high horse.
Stop being so stubborn and get this simple sentence through your head. "Im not hating on you.I like your story and i simply want to give it contructive criticism"If you want to be a prick to me because you don't "feel" that my post is Contructive Criticism,you can **** off.
I dont want you to be my personal author.Im giving feedback and you're being a dick about it.I simply asked if you could make the story more subnautica because the pace is very slow right now.I might have been rude but you do not need to act like a prick.
Read sentence 3.You are the one who derailed this.I wrote 2 paragraphs of "constructive criticism"You give me 10 paragraphs on why im an idiot who doesn't read your posts and why my criticisms are shit.Do you think if i wrote a story,someone then gives me criticism(not even supposed to be rude) and i put him on full blast i could say the person derailed it? Many people write down their criticisms here and i dont think taking offence to mine,then being a jerk is not derailing this topic.
You're inability to understand simple things like constructive criticism and being polite no longer interest me.I'm not trying to take away your special seat as the "OFFICIAL FANFIC AUTHOR".Im giving you some problems i have,and you're turning it into a larger problem than it is.You started insulting me.I can insult you as well.Deal with it.
If you want to stop me from "spamming your thread",stop replying.You're the one who extended this by insulting me,you can stop it by not insulting me and talking things out,like i intended to do at the start.Maybe dont be such a ***** in the future eh?
Please, @DefectiveDelfin, stop posting. Its a fruitless meaningless endeavor. Even if you are right, you are still wrong.
Let me explain: Even if Bugzapper introduced completely illogical things in his story like Selkirk cycling between French, German or Kizuaheli per paragraph, if he vioded laws of nature or let one the moon explode "for the lulz" so to speak, he would still be "right". Its HIS story, HIS vision, HIS creation.
Please, @Bugzapper, ignore him and continue your story. I for my part am enjoying it tremendously.
"Hello, Ahab old pal! I'm proper chuffed to see you made it through in one piece!" I whooped.
I noticed a second, even larger Reaper circling warily in the gloom behind Ahab. It turned out that they hadn't actually been fighting as such...
Whoops. My bad.
"Oh, erm... Sorry about the interruption. I'll just be on my way now." I said, waving cheerfully. "I do like your new lady-friend, though. Very nice teeth. Um, anyway, don't mind me. Keep up the good work!"
Ahab slammed heavily into Ulysses, rolling its hull a full 50 degrees. He swam away, circling around for another attack. It was a perfectly understandable reaction on his part, and I had no intention of playing the gooseberry in an otherwise tender and beautiful moment of his life. Judging by the deep and freshly-bleeding gouges raked along his flanks, Reaper foreplay must be a bit on the rough side.
"Okay, JUNO. Two rounds rapid fire, 25 per cent. We are definitely out of here."
Fortunately, Ahab lost interest in us after a kilometre or so. He had far more pressing matters to attend to. We could have simply sprinted away at flank speed, although I felt that he needed to be seen playing the hard man, purely for the benefit of his bonny lass. It was the least I could do.
While I was working on the monument's frieze a few hours later, I had this vague, inexplicable sensation of being watched. I looked around, as you do. Nothing there. I shrugged, and continued transferring my design to the plinth. This part of the job was pretty close to cheating, actually. My suit's holo-emitters projected re-scaled original drawings onto the blank nanocrete surface, and all I had to do was run the laser cutter carefully over the lines. I would add the fused metallic inlays once the basic outlines of the panel were finished.
It was fairly simple process, although it still required a careful eye and steady hands. Stability in the open ocean wasn't much of a problem, since I had adapted a gravsphere to hold me securely in position in front of the working surface. Titanium airline tubing kept my tanks replenished, and I was able to beaver away at the project quite happily, at least until sunset approached.
Just before I boarded Ulysses, I swam a complete circuit of the monument's base. I kept close to the sea floor, not wanting to silhouette myself against the surface. The sensation was still quite strong, and sometimes, I could even clearly 'see' myself swimming, as if from another person's perspective. It was actually a bloody unnerving experience when you got right down to it.
My search of the area found nothing, a discovery that only increased my growing sense of paranoia.
"JUNO, can you detect any unusual lifesigns in the area? I've got this weird feeling that I'm being watched. I know it might sound a bit mental, but it's almost as if I can see myself through someone else's eyes, and it's really starting to spook the pogies out of me."
"Negative, Captain. There are a small number of Sand Sharks approximately 110 metres SSE of your position, but no other significant lifesigns are detected within the immediate vicinity. Even so, it would be most unwise to remain in this location once night falls. I strongly recommend that you board Ulysses at your earliest convenience, Sir."
"I absolutely agree, JUNO. Something definitely isn't right here. I can feel it." I muttered uneasily.
Look, I do some editing in my free time, so trust me when I say that unless they explicitly ask for it, critiquing a writer's narrative style and storyline is one of the most insulting things you can do, ESPECIALLY when you do it publicly. Your attitude was very analytical, but since you were criticizing the things that are part of what define Bugzapper's writing style, and because it was unsolicited, the only way it could possibly be interpreted is as you shouting "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!" If you had stopped your original post after the first two sentences, then that would have been appropriate, but the moment you went from "Could you please" to "I think you should", you insulted this story and its author in the worst way possible.
Basically, you started it, no matter how well-intentioned you were.
Look, I do some editing in my free time, so trust me when I say that unless they explicitly ask for it, critiquing a writer's narrative style and storyline is one of the most insulting things you can do, ESPECIALLY when you do it publicly. Your attitude was very analytical, but since you were criticizing the things that are part of what define Bugzapper's writing style, and because it was unsolicited, the only way it could possibly be interpreted is as you shouting "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!" If you had stopped your original post after the first two sentences, then that would have been appropriate, but the moment you went from "Could you please" to "I think you should", you insulted this story and its author in the worst way possible.
Basically, you started it, no matter how well-intentioned you were.
Well,i apologise then.I didnt mean for it to sound like that as most of the fanfic i read had people doing that as well and the author was completely fine with it.I didnt know that such a small critique would be seen as offensive.
I didnt think my comment which i tried to make as friendly as possible could warrant such a response where he would insult me and act rudely.Either way i think you guys are putting the blame on me a bit too much.Both sides were wrong,me for my first post and bugzapper for his response.
Please, @DefectiveDelfin, stop posting. Its a fruitless meaningless endeavor. Even if you are right, you are still wrong.
Let me explain: Even if Bugzapper introduced completely illogical things in his story like Selkirk cycling between French, German or Kizuaheli per paragraph, if he vioded laws of nature or let one the moon explode "for the lulz" so to speak, he would still be "right". Its HIS story, HIS vision, HIS creation.
Please, @Bugzapper, ignore him and continue your story. I for my part am enjoying it tremendously.
I agree with that.I mean i did say that in one of my posts.Also,i lost my account because i forgot my password and it was much easier to just make a new one.
Either way,im not going to "spam" this thread anymore so yeah,good luck on your story
AHAB YEEEEEEEEAH!!!! Sorry. Again, my fav character... When the story said uh... something about hell (I dunno how to quote), I thought it was going to be the sea dragon, or the emperor. I'm happy it was Ahab though
"Argus One roll sequence complete. Entering Max Q, total aerodynamic stresses are currently within tolerance limits. Throttle up for orbital insertion manoeuvre begins in 120 seconds. All systems are nominal. Current altitude, 60 kilometres. Velocity, 10 kilometres per second." IANTO intoned. He was a natural born, steely-eyed Missile Man. "Argus Two construction sequence initiated. Second launch is scheduled for 0730 hours, local time."
"Outstanding. Well, at least Argus One made it through the atmosphere intact. I'm prepared to accept that the Warpers are allowing our ships safe passage, for the time being... Touch wood."
Argus One was the first in a constellation of eight planetary surveillance satellites. IANTO had laid most of the groundwork for this project, mainly because he was specifically programmed for ecological monitoring duties. JUNO was an excellent generalist, so her duties had evolved to encompass all facets of daily base operations. DIGBY still had his existential training wheels on, so to speak.
It was only natural that his android form would serve as my wingman during field operations.
It took quite some time to become accustomed to the fact that it was entirely possible to have the digital personas of all three AIs working simultaneously on a range of research projects and environmental monitoring tasks, while their android forms either worked on physical base maintenance, resource collection runs or were directly assisting me in the field. Even with all this activity going on in the background, I was still able to hold lively conversations or planning sessions with all three holographic avatars during my tea breaks, or receive some freestyle psychological counselling from JUNO via any handy Fabricator terminal as I required it. As far as I was concerned, it was the ultimate expression of multi-tasking capability. In terms of efficiency, this situation was like living in a fully populated research colony, although there was considerably more elbow room.
Ulysses hung in mid-water, currently somewhere in a quiet corner of the southern Dunes biome.
The completed ExoSuit prototype took up an entire third of Ulysses' lower deck, even with its limbs fully retracted and body curled into the launch position. I completed my final visual inspection of the vehicle from underneath, and then headed back to the upper deck. I wore a specially modified version of the reinforced dive suit, incorporating an external web of interface jacks. The dive suit was designed to make the ExoSuit precisely imitate every movement of my body, down to the tiniest twitch of a finger. I could tear a Cyclops into hanky-sized fragments if I ever had the need to. On the other end of the scale, I could pluck a fleeing Peeper out of the water without harming it, or thread an embroidery needle with its precision manipulators.
Woe betide anyone or anything that made me drop a stitch. Consider that a fair warning.
"Launch bay doors opening, Captain. Good luck."
"Thanks, DIGBY. All systems are online and are operating within nominal limits. Activate telemetry. Launching in five... four... three... two... ONE!"
The docking clamps released smoothly, allowing the ExoSuit to drift slowly towards the sea floor. I was pleased that we had managed to cancel out that initial lurch as the vehicle hit the water. A rapid drop-launch was fine for a Seamoth, owing to its small size and commensurately lower mass.
An ExoSuit requires a more controlled entry to the water, since its limbs needed about ten seconds to completely unfurl and deploy before landing. I could use the suit's integral thrusters to either slow my descent or propel the vehicle to its eventual destination before fully deploying. It all depended on the situation. In this case, I wanted to simulate a conventional drop scenario. Above all else, it was necessary to develop a decent 'feel' for the suit before trying any advanced techniques, since the experience was almost entirely unlike piloting a Seamoth. Radically so, in fact.
"Ten metres to sea floor. All limbs have successfully deployed. Contact in three seconds."
The ExoSuit landed with a solid thump, sending up a dense cloud of gritty sand. Shock absorbers responded smoothly, cushioning the impact to a tolerable level. There was definitely a perception of the suit's mass and water resistance as it moved, although the haptic feedback system translated those tremendous forces acting on the suit into something far more suited to the human frame.
I swivelled the suit's torso, flexing its arms and legs experimentally. It felt good. Highly responsive, its components felt like natural extensions of my body. I conjured I could easily dance a passable Highland Fling in this rig, if I ever wanted to. As IANTO had said upon receiving command of Red Dragon, the suit felt "light, bright and ready to fight". That sentiment also summed up the ExoSuit rather nicely.
I have a mind to take a brisk stroll. Somewhere around the 500 metre mark, for preference. Music? Of course. I even have a particular track in mind. More than adequately appropriate, in fact.
I addressed the ExoSuit's audio control panel. "Audio. Artist, Miracle of Sound: 'The Crush'... Loud."
An inactive lava zone lay 200 metres SE of my current position. It's time to turn up the heat a little. The ExoSuit strode steadily along a sand ridge towards the drop-off. I could feel the sand shifting treacherously under each footstep, although the suit's gyros were easily able to compensate for this. Inevitably, some of the locals came to investigate what all the hoohah was about, and I soon found myself being circled by a trio of surly-looking Sand Sharks.
Looks like the suit's tactical systems check is about to be unexpectedly bumped up on the to-do list.
The sharks made a pretty decent show of roaring aggressively and tunnelling under the sand as they circled slowly around me. The tactical HUD already had all three locked in, regardless of whether they were buried under the sand or obscured behind clouds of churned-up material. I waited patiently for their next move. The sharks drew ever closer with each pass, until all three rushed the ExoSuit at once. Almost languidly, I reached out and gently tapped the Emergency Ascent pad.
The suit's thrusters kicked in immediately, launching the suit like a bottle rocket. That caused a bit of a lurch to the old tummy, but it was not much worse than a ride in an express lift... Albeit one powered by a scram-jet engine. I shut off the thrusters, came to an immediate stop and found myself hovering 100 metres directly above an utterly confused trio of sharks. Okay, that function definitely works. Let's see what else we can do to shake down the suit's systems before moving on.
Slowly drifting back towards the seafloor in an unpowered descent, I readied the suit's repulsion cannons. The sharks appeared to be completely unaware of this situation and therefore, entirely unprepared for what was about to hit them.
Twenty metres from the seafloor, I hit the thrusters.
Under full power, the ExoSuit slammed down, instantly scattering the Sand Sharks. As the suit landed, I allowed it to absorb most of the tremendous impact by following through and going down on one knee. For a second, the suit remained in this position, then slowly rose to face the sharks as they started to double back. Okay, I admit it. I was basically showing off at this point. It would be nothing more than the basest act of cruelty to unleash an all-out attack on the sharks, particularly since they could do little more than sharpen their teeth on the aloxide outer coating of the ExoSuit's hull. I had originally planned a combat training exercise using holographic opponents, but these fellows had conveniently wandered into the training area.
Oh well, might as well make do with what I'm given.
They were slightly more cagey in their approach this time. One kept sawing back and forth at the extreme limit of the area illuminated by the suit's spotlights, hoping to keep my attention latched firmly on the action in front of me. The other two had dived deep below the sand and were approaching on either side of me, their paths describing a wide arc. The classic 'Horns of The Buffalo' manoeuvre. I was intrigued, never having seen this species engage in pack hunting tactics before. Rather than reveal their position with their usual 'burrow and flurry' behaviour, the two concealed sharks continued to approach slowly and methodically. Anyone looking for shark-sign would be sadly (and terminally) disappointed.
However, the suit's tactical HUD had the positions of all three nailed down tightly. As soon as they came into range, I would hit them with my end game move.
I shifted position, moving forward to engage the one making its distraction play. The encircling sharks started to move in faster, displacing the sand dramatically as they passed beneath it. I fired a low-powered dual burst at the shark darting about directly in front of me, causing it to sheer off in panic. The pair stalking me suddenly broke cover and rushed in for the attack. With split seconds to spare, I sidestepped and pivoted backward to avoid the one coming in directly behind me, hitting its rump with a solid thwack as it passed by. Olé!
The second one surged forward with a roar, smacking into a dense wall of sand I had displaced with a burst from both repulsion cannons. In Sand Shark terms, this would be the next best thing to hitting solid nanocrete. Hopefully, they may have learned useful something today. I do sincerely hope so.
They seemed like fairly clever chaps.
With the exercise successfully completed, I activated the suit thrusters and headed for the inactive lava zone. Ulysses was also on the move, trailing a short distance behind me. The next test sequence was entirely straightforward. Thermal tolerance and environmental control systems were the next scheduled items on my checklist. Unless there was an unexpected seismic event or some particularly aggressive creatures were actually living around the magma vent, I could foresee no further complications occurring in this phase of the ExoSuit test program.
So far, the ExoSuit had performed admirably. However, it wasn't entirely the same vehicle as Alterra Corp originally designed it, hence the more rigorous testing and evaluation program. The suit incorporated a number of new systems or radically improved design features, including the Chelonian plate hull technology that I'd swiped from Torgaljin's data bank. It had been no mean feat to cram everything into a relatively small amount of space in the first instance, but the real challenge was in getting all of those elements to function reliably as a cohesive and effective whole. Impressive as the ExoSuit was, I would prefer to postpone installing the fake leopard-skin seat covers and fluffy dice, at least until I was certain that every sub-system was operating at 100 per cent efficiency. However, a 5000W sound system was an absolute operational necessity.
"Okay DIGBY, you're up." Fifty metres above the seafloor, I set the suit to hover and leaned back in the pilot's seat. "For the purposes of this exercise, I have been completely incapacitated. On my mark, you are to assume remote command of the suit, navigate through this area and make a rendezvous and dock with Ulysses on the other side. Follow the 100 Celsius external temperature isotherm at a height of one metre across the lava field, maintaining a safe distance from all lava fissures and geothermal vents. Are these mission parameters acceptable, DIGBY?"
"Absolutely, Captain. Awaiting your command." DIGBY said calmly.
"Three... two... one... Mark."
The handover proceeded flawlessly. DIGBY took control of the ExoSuit and commenced descent. Watching those lava fissures drawing ever closer by the second, I couldn't help but feel a wee bit concerned by what I'd put myself in for. I kept a close eye on the external temperature reading. It was currently 65 degrees and rising steadily. Cabin temperature, 24.7 Celsius. A perfect shirt-sleeve environment.
"Captain, please be advised that I am detecting multiple large life-signs ahead. A potential threat situation has been identified. What are your orders, Sir?"
I remained silent, hoping that DIGBY would exercise his own discretion upon encountering this unexpected obstacle. That gamble paid off. I had my first close encounter with the new species DIGBY had discovered, and they didn't look even remotely friendly. Imagine a cross between a leopard seal and a Komodo dragon. Got that? Now add four flippers tipped with long talons that would disembowel a diver with a single swipe. Their dorsal surfaces were matte black, mottled in a dull-heated fiery red that was patterned to blend in perfectly with their natural environment.
In this case, their environment was red-hot pahoehoe lava and an ambient water temperature that would have killed most terrestrial life forms. Initially, I wanted to call these creatures 'Selkies', after the mythical shape-shifting seals that supposedly live on the outer isles of Scotland. However, that might convey an impression that these creatures are whimsical, charming and mischievous beasties. To prevent any possible misunderstandings in future, I'd best call them 'Lava Lizards' instead.
And for the record, they're a right vicious bunch of bastards.
There was nothing profitable to be gained from engaging the Lava Lizards. The ExoSuit's combat systems have already been taken through their full paces in no uncertain manner. After all, we are still trying to patch up the environmental damage that Tomar had caused. It doesn't look particularly civic-minded when those same 'concerned citizens' are swaggering around in powered armour picking needless fights with the local wildlife, does it?
We made rendezvous with Ulysses some time later. Both DIGBY and the ExoSuit had performed faultlessly throughout the entire exercise. Now it's time to get cracking on another three ExoSuits.
After docking at The Broch, DIGBY and I proceeded straight to the bridge. The android avatars of JUNO and IANTO were awaiting our return. All eight Argus satellites had entered stable geosynchronous orbits without the slightest hitch, and it was time to start extracting some useful data from this operation.
"Congratulations. That was excellent work on the Argus project, IANTO. What do you have for us?"
"Thank you, Captain." IANTO said, activating the holographic map display. "As you can see, we now have access to a complete topographical image of Manannán's biomes. All currently explored territory has been highlighted, along with significant concentrations of wreckage deposited by Aurora. Recent hurricane activity has revealed the locations of a number of sunken Lifepods ejected from Aurora. Recon drones have been sent to investigate, and all pods were found to have been heavily damaged either prior to, or during the emergency ejection sequence. I regret to inform you that no physical evidence of surviving Alterra personnel has been detected at any of the sites, Sir."
I examined the map, zooming in the 3D image to get a closer look at one of the nearby Lifepod locations. There was a pod roughly 200 metres east of the old Reef Base site, and at least five more scattered within a kilometre radius of Aurora. As IANTO said, there wasn't much point in searching any of these sunken pods, even for whatever meagre salvage they might offer.
The unexplored locations were of far greater interest. There was a sort of No-Man's Land between Aurora and the Mushroom Tree Forest that I had never bothered to visit. Well, not so much 'never bothered', as it was more a case of "Do I really feel like tangling with a Reaper Leviathan today?" From what I could determine from the Argus satellite imaging obtained in this area, it was dotted with widely-spaced clumps of some kind of dark, spherical growth. Might be worth a visit. If nothing else, I would finally have some idea of what life forms that area contained.
The only other unexplored area of any significance lay two kilometres to the north of Aurora's stern. It was a deep chasm, located between the northern dunes and the Deep Grand Reef biome. Ah, yes. I clearly remember making a deliberate decision to give that area a wide berth, especially considering the volume of the unearthly roaring sounds I heard emanating from that fissure.
I quizzed JUNO about these unexplored regions. Apparently, a number of camera drones had already passed through those areas during our post-bombardment environmental survey, but contact had been inexplicably lost in all cases. The only clue I had to go on was that a powerful surge of EM energy had been detected, split-seconds before losing contact. If that was the case, I could not send any of the androids to investigate those areas. I would have to make the trip personally.
Then there was the issue of this mysterious 'asset' that Torgaljin Corp was holding. Mention was made of an artificially generated tau-muon field being used to contain whatever it was, somehow. Unfortunately, this information was well above my current pay grade. Although I have a reasonable working knowledge of particle physics, things that actually involve using spanners are much more my forte. I have absolutely no gorram idea of what particular forces or subatomic particles interacted with tau-muons, and even less of an idea of how to detect a tau-muon source. In the end, I hand-balled this one to the AIs, hoping that at least one of them would be savvy enough to crack the problem.
Comments
Even though we were only two weeks into the recovery project, Manannán was showing obvious signs of bouncing back, even without our intervention. The resilience of this planet's life-forms was nothing short of staggering. I had passed over areas that had been blasted to oblivion, yet the first traces of returning life were already spreading slowly across the seafloor. It was only a light carpet of algae in most cases, along with an occasional fish or two following drifting tendrils of nutrient-rich seawater carried into the area during the recent hurricane. This basically confirmed that the planet was doing perfectly fine without our help. It might be worth scaling down our efforts accordingly.
However, I still needed to get those satellites into orbit. If nothing else, they would give me advance warning of approaching severe weather systems. I had no accurate idea of how intense these storms could get, mainly because hurricane season lasted at least a year on this planet. We were still only two months into storm season so far, and it's anyone's guess as to how badly weather conditions might interfere with our subsurface operations. In the very worst case, we might have to restrict operations to the deeps for the full duration. That's only one of the reasons why I was starting to look at the ExoSuit with increased interest. The main reason lay in Paal Torgaljin's encrypted log entries.
I had more than enough time to wade through the condensed version. IANTO had isolated one document that threw a spotlight on nearly everything that had happened so far. Aurora. The abandoned bases on the islands. STARFISH. The wrecked base hidden in the Jelly Shroom Caves. These seemingly disparate incidents were all key pieces in a far more intricate puzzle. I had been almost right when I latched on to the idea of a Torgaljin Empire emerging from this planet. At the time, I had no way of knowing precisely how far their plans had advanced, and what extremes they were prepared to resort to in order to ensure their success.
SECURE TRANSMISSION: RESTRICTED -
Ras Thaalu. Offworld Operations Division, Torgalijin Corporation to Paal Torgaljin, CEO, Torgaljin Corporation, Ceres Corporate HQ.
Greetings, Sir.
As you are aware, the containment facility was completed 15 per cent under budget and well within the allotted time frame. There were several minor incidents during later stages of construction, although no appreciable delays to progress have been noted. I am pleased to report that the asset has been secured with minimal damage to capital equipment and resources. The tau-muon phase shield is operating at maximum efficiency. Several attempted intrusions have been detected so far, and all were successfully intercepted by the facility's automated defence system. Adverse Indigenous response has ceased entirely, indicating an emergent tendency toward total compliance. However, projected attrition rates of non-essential personnel involved with the acquisition phase were erroneous. We sustained a highly acceptable 90 per cent loss, as it happened. In summary, the operation can be considered entirely successful. Awaiting your arrival with anticipation, Sir.
R.T.
remember its said ''non-essential'' personnel
Hopefully Selkirk will be able to do something about this!
"Okay JUNO, I'm all done at Pyramid Rock. I'll be swinging by Aurora on my way home to check on its neutron accelerator silos. They might have sustained damage during the bombardment, and we don't want that djinn escaping from the bottle again. It shouldn't take too long."
"Very good, Captain. Regarding the new construction parameters for the Gen II ExoSuit... I'm afraid that it will be impossible to incorporate a full TRIDENT system. I have attempted to optimise the suit's internal systems geometry as far as possible in a number of viable configurations. Unfortunately, I would have to significantly reduce biological shielding on the reactor in order to accommodate TRIDENT's components. Shall I continue to pursue a solution, Captain?"
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
Although it would be nice to have an ExoSuit equipped with TRIDENT capability, I wouldn't mind siring a relatively normal family at some stage. I can live without it.
"No, that won't be necessary, JUNO. How did integrating the conventional sonar suite turn out?"
"Extremely well, Sir. You will have access to passive and active sonar systems, with side scan and real-time terrain mapping functionalities. Dual active transducers with a five kilowatt total scalar output, multiple passive acoustic detection sensors deployed over the suit's hull. Precision 3D positioning and targeting system data are displayed as a holographic HUD terrain overlay."
"Sounds tasty. I'll definitely have some of that."
"There are a few minor integration issues still pending, Sir. However, I will have a full prototype completed by tomorrow morning, at the very latest."
"Excellent work, JUNO. Thank you. One more thing; if there's enough daylight left after the Aurora inspection, I think I'll head out and work on a couple more panels for the monument frieze. I'm beginning to feel just a wee bit superfluous around here." I chuckled.
"I can send out a drone to perform the Aurora inspection, if you wish." JUNO said helpfully.
"No, I'd prefer to have eyes on for this job, if only for my own peace of mind. She took a fair old pounding, and I want to make certain that my repairs to those silos are still holding. I'll stay in touch in case I need anything."
"As you wish, Captain. If you require someone to keep watch or render assistance in any way, please let me know. One of the android forms can be spared for your requirements, should any arise. Please stay safe and enjoy yourself, Sir."
"Will do. Thanks, JUNO."
In time, even the Crawlers had deserted this lonely wreckage.
From what I could see, Tomar's gunners weren't aiming for Aurora herself. The salvo fell in the centre of where her bow section used to be. I can only assume that Tomar thought this area would be a likely spot to build a base. If I was drawing salvage directly from her hull plating, it might have been a reasonable choice of location. However, I had chosen to maintain a respectful distance from the wreck, mainly because of the four neutron accelerator stacks that still lay inside.
I shone my dive light over the interior of the silo compartment, checking for any additional damage that may have occurred since my last visit. Nothing seemed out of place, so I switched off the light and waited for my eyes to become accustomed to the darkness. No tell-tale blue glow from the water. A good sign. The rad counter held rock steady at 0.5 millisieverts per hour. I slipped into the water and headed for Silo One. Apart from a thin surface film of algae, the external casings appeared to be in excellent condition. The count rose steadily as I approached, topping out at 4.5 millisieverts per hour.
After thoroughly scanning the remaining three silos, a reading of 4.8 millisieverts obtained from the centre of the cluster could be considered the current maximum for the compartment. Well below the threshold for any serious level of concern. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less thing to worry about.
Visibility was poorer than usual around Aurora today, and I had to take particular care in skirting her demolished starboard bow section as Ulysses made way to the memorial. Most of the increased turbidity was due to last week's hurricane, although I could see large patches of water that looked to have been stirred up rather more recently. Possibly in the last hour or so, in fact. At best, I had about 20 metres of forward visibility for most of the trip alongside Aurora. The churned-up patches gradually increased in density, and appeared to be occurring more frequently. As visibility dropped to 10 metres, I activated the low frequency sonar to show me a clear path in the shallow water. A large, slow-moving object appeared on the display, roughly 150 metres to port. Most likely a Reefback, I guessed. Since we haven't obtained a fresh DNA sample from one yet, this would be a perfect opportunity. Even though they're relatively harmless, it always pays to approach them slowly. A panicked Reefback can be highly unpredictable as it flails around.
I dropped Ulysses' speed to dead slow. The sonar trace grew steadily closer. At 50 metres, the 3D image resolved into a blurry, slowly rotating tangle that looked like a ball of heavy knitting wool. At 20 metres, I could just make out a swirl of motion in the observation port, half-obscured by clouds of churned up bottom sand. I climbed out of the command chair and walked up to the forward dome. It was still hard to make out any clear details, just a cloud of silt and sand with occasional white flashes of motion. If nothing else, it was like watching a cartoon version of a fight. Nothing to see but a roiling cloud of sand and flailing limbs. A territorial battle?
Suddenly, the unmistakeable screeching roar of an enraged Reaper filled the cabin with thunder.
From out of the murk, the Gatekeeper of Hell itself hurtled towards Ulysses, its mandibles agape.
It was Ahab.
Nope. Still doesn't look like 'constructive criticism' to me. You want me to be your personal author, writing to please you alone.
I can be yours... For a price. Current AJA rates are 50 to 75 cents a word. Current wordcount: 79,203. Do the math.
I can tell you have failed to comprehend a crucial part of the story already... Page One, Sentence Three. READ IT AGAIN.
Short version: Stop spamming my story line, mate. Your ill-formed opinions of it no longer interest me.
If you think that you can do better than I have so far, either throw down what you've got or walk away.
Choose your next (few) words very carefully, my friend. You are extremely close to insulting me.
But its okay for you to insult me?You have already insulted me my "friend".Saying i have no conprehension skills and my criticisms were to simply hate on you or make you write a story that i want is an insult.Get off your high horse.
Stop being so stubborn and get this simple sentence through your head. "Im not hating on you.I like your story and i simply want to give it contructive criticism"If you want to be a prick to me because you don't "feel" that my post is Contructive Criticism,you can **** off.
I dont want you to be my personal author.Im giving feedback and you're being a dick about it.I simply asked if you could make the story more subnautica because the pace is very slow right now.I might have been rude but you do not need to act like a prick.
Read sentence 3.You are the one who derailed this.I wrote 2 paragraphs of "constructive criticism"You give me 10 paragraphs on why im an idiot who doesn't read your posts and why my criticisms are shit.Do you think if i wrote a story,someone then gives me criticism(not even supposed to be rude) and i put him on full blast i could say the person derailed it? Many people write down their criticisms here and i dont think taking offence to mine,then being a jerk is not derailing this topic.
You're inability to understand simple things like constructive criticism and being polite no longer interest me.I'm not trying to take away your special seat as the "OFFICIAL FANFIC AUTHOR".Im giving you some problems i have,and you're turning it into a larger problem than it is.You started insulting me.I can insult you as well.Deal with it.
If you want to stop me from "spamming your thread",stop replying.You're the one who extended this by insulting me,you can stop it by not insulting me and talking things out,like i intended to do at the start.Maybe dont be such a ***** in the future eh?
Please refrain from personal insults - Foxy
Good day to you sir.
Let me explain: Even if Bugzapper introduced completely illogical things in his story like Selkirk cycling between French, German or Kizuaheli per paragraph, if he vioded laws of nature or let one the moon explode "for the lulz" so to speak, he would still be "right". Its HIS story, HIS vision, HIS creation.
Please, @Bugzapper, ignore him and continue your story. I for my part am enjoying it tremendously.
I noticed a second, even larger Reaper circling warily in the gloom behind Ahab. It turned out that they hadn't actually been fighting as such...
Whoops. My bad.
"Oh, erm... Sorry about the interruption. I'll just be on my way now." I said, waving cheerfully. "I do like your new lady-friend, though. Very nice teeth. Um, anyway, don't mind me. Keep up the good work!"
Ahab slammed heavily into Ulysses, rolling its hull a full 50 degrees. He swam away, circling around for another attack. It was a perfectly understandable reaction on his part, and I had no intention of playing the gooseberry in an otherwise tender and beautiful moment of his life. Judging by the deep and freshly-bleeding gouges raked along his flanks, Reaper foreplay must be a bit on the rough side.
"Okay, JUNO. Two rounds rapid fire, 25 per cent. We are definitely out of here."
Fortunately, Ahab lost interest in us after a kilometre or so. He had far more pressing matters to attend to. We could have simply sprinted away at flank speed, although I felt that he needed to be seen playing the hard man, purely for the benefit of his bonny lass. It was the least I could do.
While I was working on the monument's frieze a few hours later, I had this vague, inexplicable sensation of being watched. I looked around, as you do. Nothing there. I shrugged, and continued transferring my design to the plinth. This part of the job was pretty close to cheating, actually. My suit's holo-emitters projected re-scaled original drawings onto the blank nanocrete surface, and all I had to do was run the laser cutter carefully over the lines. I would add the fused metallic inlays once the basic outlines of the panel were finished.
It was fairly simple process, although it still required a careful eye and steady hands. Stability in the open ocean wasn't much of a problem, since I had adapted a gravsphere to hold me securely in position in front of the working surface. Titanium airline tubing kept my tanks replenished, and I was able to beaver away at the project quite happily, at least until sunset approached.
Just before I boarded Ulysses, I swam a complete circuit of the monument's base. I kept close to the sea floor, not wanting to silhouette myself against the surface. The sensation was still quite strong, and sometimes, I could even clearly 'see' myself swimming, as if from another person's perspective. It was actually a bloody unnerving experience when you got right down to it.
My search of the area found nothing, a discovery that only increased my growing sense of paranoia.
"JUNO, can you detect any unusual lifesigns in the area? I've got this weird feeling that I'm being watched. I know it might sound a bit mental, but it's almost as if I can see myself through someone else's eyes, and it's really starting to spook the pogies out of me."
"Negative, Captain. There are a small number of Sand Sharks approximately 110 metres SSE of your position, but no other significant lifesigns are detected within the immediate vicinity. Even so, it would be most unwise to remain in this location once night falls. I strongly recommend that you board Ulysses at your earliest convenience, Sir."
"I absolutely agree, JUNO. Something definitely isn't right here. I can feel it." I muttered uneasily.
Look, I do some editing in my free time, so trust me when I say that unless they explicitly ask for it, critiquing a writer's narrative style and storyline is one of the most insulting things you can do, ESPECIALLY when you do it publicly. Your attitude was very analytical, but since you were criticizing the things that are part of what define Bugzapper's writing style, and because it was unsolicited, the only way it could possibly be interpreted is as you shouting "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!" If you had stopped your original post after the first two sentences, then that would have been appropriate, but the moment you went from "Could you please" to "I think you should", you insulted this story and its author in the worst way possible.
Basically, you started it, no matter how well-intentioned you were.
MOAR STORIE!
Poor Ahab, I do hope he sires offspring of his own and that we get to see them later...assuming Selkirk didn't completely ruin the moment for him.
Even Reaper Leviathans need their privacy!
Ahab knows where you live!
Well,i apologise then.I didnt mean for it to sound like that as most of the fanfic i read had people doing that as well and the author was completely fine with it.I didnt know that such a small critique would be seen as offensive.
I didnt think my comment which i tried to make as friendly as possible could warrant such a response where he would insult me and act rudely.Either way i think you guys are putting the blame on me a bit too much.Both sides were wrong,me for my first post and bugzapper for his response.
I agree with that.I mean i did say that in one of my posts.Also,i lost my account because i forgot my password and it was much easier to just make a new one.
Either way,im not going to "spam" this thread anymore so yeah,good luck on your story
"Argus One roll sequence complete. Entering Max Q, total aerodynamic stresses are currently within tolerance limits. Throttle up for orbital insertion manoeuvre begins in 120 seconds. All systems are nominal. Current altitude, 60 kilometres. Velocity, 10 kilometres per second." IANTO intoned. He was a natural born, steely-eyed Missile Man. "Argus Two construction sequence initiated. Second launch is scheduled for 0730 hours, local time."
"Outstanding. Well, at least Argus One made it through the atmosphere intact. I'm prepared to accept that the Warpers are allowing our ships safe passage, for the time being... Touch wood."
Argus One was the first in a constellation of eight planetary surveillance satellites. IANTO had laid most of the groundwork for this project, mainly because he was specifically programmed for ecological monitoring duties. JUNO was an excellent generalist, so her duties had evolved to encompass all facets of daily base operations. DIGBY still had his existential training wheels on, so to speak.
It was only natural that his android form would serve as my wingman during field operations.
It took quite some time to become accustomed to the fact that it was entirely possible to have the digital personas of all three AIs working simultaneously on a range of research projects and environmental monitoring tasks, while their android forms either worked on physical base maintenance, resource collection runs or were directly assisting me in the field. Even with all this activity going on in the background, I was still able to hold lively conversations or planning sessions with all three holographic avatars during my tea breaks, or receive some freestyle psychological counselling from JUNO via any handy Fabricator terminal as I required it. As far as I was concerned, it was the ultimate expression of multi-tasking capability. In terms of efficiency, this situation was like living in a fully populated research colony, although there was considerably more elbow room.
Ulysses hung in mid-water, currently somewhere in a quiet corner of the southern Dunes biome.
The completed ExoSuit prototype took up an entire third of Ulysses' lower deck, even with its limbs fully retracted and body curled into the launch position. I completed my final visual inspection of the vehicle from underneath, and then headed back to the upper deck. I wore a specially modified version of the reinforced dive suit, incorporating an external web of interface jacks. The dive suit was designed to make the ExoSuit precisely imitate every movement of my body, down to the tiniest twitch of a finger. I could tear a Cyclops into hanky-sized fragments if I ever had the need to. On the other end of the scale, I could pluck a fleeing Peeper out of the water without harming it, or thread an embroidery needle with its precision manipulators.
Woe betide anyone or anything that made me drop a stitch. Consider that a fair warning.
"Launch bay doors opening, Captain. Good luck."
"Thanks, DIGBY. All systems are online and are operating within nominal limits. Activate telemetry. Launching in five... four... three... two... ONE!"
The docking clamps released smoothly, allowing the ExoSuit to drift slowly towards the sea floor. I was pleased that we had managed to cancel out that initial lurch as the vehicle hit the water. A rapid drop-launch was fine for a Seamoth, owing to its small size and commensurately lower mass.
"Ten metres to sea floor. All limbs have successfully deployed. Contact in three seconds."
The ExoSuit landed with a solid thump, sending up a dense cloud of gritty sand. Shock absorbers responded smoothly, cushioning the impact to a tolerable level. There was definitely a perception of the suit's mass and water resistance as it moved, although the haptic feedback system translated those tremendous forces acting on the suit into something far more suited to the human frame.
I swivelled the suit's torso, flexing its arms and legs experimentally. It felt good. Highly responsive, its components felt like natural extensions of my body. I conjured I could easily dance a passable Highland Fling in this rig, if I ever wanted to. As IANTO had said upon receiving command of Red Dragon, the suit felt "light, bright and ready to fight". That sentiment also summed up the ExoSuit rather nicely.
I have a mind to take a brisk stroll. Somewhere around the 500 metre mark, for preference. Music? Of course. I even have a particular track in mind. More than adequately appropriate, in fact.
I addressed the ExoSuit's audio control panel. "Audio. Artist, Miracle of Sound: 'The Crush'... Loud."
An inactive lava zone lay 200 metres SE of my current position. It's time to turn up the heat a little. The ExoSuit strode steadily along a sand ridge towards the drop-off. I could feel the sand shifting treacherously under each footstep, although the suit's gyros were easily able to compensate for this. Inevitably, some of the locals came to investigate what all the hoohah was about, and I soon found myself being circled by a trio of surly-looking Sand Sharks.
Looks like the suit's tactical systems check is about to be unexpectedly bumped up on the to-do list.
The sharks made a pretty decent show of roaring aggressively and tunnelling under the sand as they circled slowly around me. The tactical HUD already had all three locked in, regardless of whether they were buried under the sand or obscured behind clouds of churned-up material. I waited patiently for their next move. The sharks drew ever closer with each pass, until all three rushed the ExoSuit at once. Almost languidly, I reached out and gently tapped the Emergency Ascent pad.
The suit's thrusters kicked in immediately, launching the suit like a bottle rocket. That caused a bit of a lurch to the old tummy, but it was not much worse than a ride in an express lift... Albeit one powered by a scram-jet engine. I shut off the thrusters, came to an immediate stop and found myself hovering 100 metres directly above an utterly confused trio of sharks. Okay, that function definitely works. Let's see what else we can do to shake down the suit's systems before moving on.
Slowly drifting back towards the seafloor in an unpowered descent, I readied the suit's repulsion cannons. The sharks appeared to be completely unaware of this situation and therefore, entirely unprepared for what was about to hit them.
Me.
Under full power, the ExoSuit slammed down, instantly scattering the Sand Sharks. As the suit landed, I allowed it to absorb most of the tremendous impact by following through and going down on one knee. For a second, the suit remained in this position, then slowly rose to face the sharks as they started to double back. Okay, I admit it. I was basically showing off at this point. It would be nothing more than the basest act of cruelty to unleash an all-out attack on the sharks, particularly since they could do little more than sharpen their teeth on the aloxide outer coating of the ExoSuit's hull. I had originally planned a combat training exercise using holographic opponents, but these fellows had conveniently wandered into the training area.
Oh well, might as well make do with what I'm given.
They were slightly more cagey in their approach this time. One kept sawing back and forth at the extreme limit of the area illuminated by the suit's spotlights, hoping to keep my attention latched firmly on the action in front of me. The other two had dived deep below the sand and were approaching on either side of me, their paths describing a wide arc. The classic 'Horns of The Buffalo' manoeuvre. I was intrigued, never having seen this species engage in pack hunting tactics before. Rather than reveal their position with their usual 'burrow and flurry' behaviour, the two concealed sharks continued to approach slowly and methodically. Anyone looking for shark-sign would be sadly (and terminally) disappointed.
However, the suit's tactical HUD had the positions of all three nailed down tightly. As soon as they came into range, I would hit them with my end game move.
I shifted position, moving forward to engage the one making its distraction play. The encircling sharks started to move in faster, displacing the sand dramatically as they passed beneath it. I fired a low-powered dual burst at the shark darting about directly in front of me, causing it to sheer off in panic. The pair stalking me suddenly broke cover and rushed in for the attack. With split seconds to spare, I sidestepped and pivoted backward to avoid the one coming in directly behind me, hitting its rump with a solid thwack as it passed by. Olé!
The second one surged forward with a roar, smacking into a dense wall of sand I had displaced with a burst from both repulsion cannons. In Sand Shark terms, this would be the next best thing to hitting solid nanocrete. Hopefully, they may have learned useful something today. I do sincerely hope so.
They seemed like fairly clever chaps.
With the exercise successfully completed, I activated the suit thrusters and headed for the inactive lava zone. Ulysses was also on the move, trailing a short distance behind me. The next test sequence was entirely straightforward. Thermal tolerance and environmental control systems were the next scheduled items on my checklist. Unless there was an unexpected seismic event or some particularly aggressive creatures were actually living around the magma vent, I could foresee no further complications occurring in this phase of the ExoSuit test program.
So far, the ExoSuit had performed admirably. However, it wasn't entirely the same vehicle as Alterra Corp originally designed it, hence the more rigorous testing and evaluation program. The suit incorporated a number of new systems or radically improved design features, including the Chelonian plate hull technology that I'd swiped from Torgaljin's data bank. It had been no mean feat to cram everything into a relatively small amount of space in the first instance, but the real challenge was in getting all of those elements to function reliably as a cohesive and effective whole. Impressive as the ExoSuit was, I would prefer to postpone installing the fake leopard-skin seat covers and fluffy dice, at least until I was certain that every sub-system was operating at 100 per cent efficiency. However, a 5000W sound system was an absolute operational necessity.
Utterly brutal bass response.
"Absolutely, Captain. Awaiting your command." DIGBY said calmly.
"Three... two... one... Mark."
The handover proceeded flawlessly. DIGBY took control of the ExoSuit and commenced descent. Watching those lava fissures drawing ever closer by the second, I couldn't help but feel a wee bit concerned by what I'd put myself in for. I kept a close eye on the external temperature reading. It was currently 65 degrees and rising steadily. Cabin temperature, 24.7 Celsius. A perfect shirt-sleeve environment.
"Captain, please be advised that I am detecting multiple large life-signs ahead. A potential threat situation has been identified. What are your orders, Sir?"
I remained silent, hoping that DIGBY would exercise his own discretion upon encountering this unexpected obstacle. That gamble paid off. I had my first close encounter with the new species DIGBY had discovered, and they didn't look even remotely friendly. Imagine a cross between a leopard seal and a Komodo dragon. Got that? Now add four flippers tipped with long talons that would disembowel a diver with a single swipe. Their dorsal surfaces were matte black, mottled in a dull-heated fiery red that was patterned to blend in perfectly with their natural environment.
In this case, their environment was red-hot pahoehoe lava and an ambient water temperature that would have killed most terrestrial life forms. Initially, I wanted to call these creatures 'Selkies', after the mythical shape-shifting seals that supposedly live on the outer isles of Scotland. However, that might convey an impression that these creatures are whimsical, charming and mischievous beasties. To prevent any possible misunderstandings in future, I'd best call them 'Lava Lizards' instead.
And for the record, they're a right vicious bunch of bastards.
There was nothing profitable to be gained from engaging the Lava Lizards. The ExoSuit's combat systems have already been taken through their full paces in no uncertain manner. After all, we are still trying to patch up the environmental damage that Tomar had caused. It doesn't look particularly civic-minded when those same 'concerned citizens' are swaggering around in powered armour picking needless fights with the local wildlife, does it?
We made rendezvous with Ulysses some time later. Both DIGBY and the ExoSuit had performed faultlessly throughout the entire exercise. Now it's time to get cracking on another three ExoSuits.
"Congratulations. That was excellent work on the Argus project, IANTO. What do you have for us?"
"Thank you, Captain." IANTO said, activating the holographic map display. "As you can see, we now have access to a complete topographical image of Manannán's biomes. All currently explored territory has been highlighted, along with significant concentrations of wreckage deposited by Aurora. Recent hurricane activity has revealed the locations of a number of sunken Lifepods ejected from Aurora. Recon drones have been sent to investigate, and all pods were found to have been heavily damaged either prior to, or during the emergency ejection sequence. I regret to inform you that no physical evidence of surviving Alterra personnel has been detected at any of the sites, Sir."
I examined the map, zooming in the 3D image to get a closer look at one of the nearby Lifepod locations. There was a pod roughly 200 metres east of the old Reef Base site, and at least five more scattered within a kilometre radius of Aurora. As IANTO said, there wasn't much point in searching any of these sunken pods, even for whatever meagre salvage they might offer.
The unexplored locations were of far greater interest. There was a sort of No-Man's Land between Aurora and the Mushroom Tree Forest that I had never bothered to visit. Well, not so much 'never bothered', as it was more a case of "Do I really feel like tangling with a Reaper Leviathan today?" From what I could determine from the Argus satellite imaging obtained in this area, it was dotted with widely-spaced clumps of some kind of dark, spherical growth. Might be worth a visit. If nothing else, I would finally have some idea of what life forms that area contained.
The only other unexplored area of any significance lay two kilometres to the north of Aurora's stern. It was a deep chasm, located between the northern dunes and the Deep Grand Reef biome. Ah, yes. I clearly remember making a deliberate decision to give that area a wide berth, especially considering the volume of the unearthly roaring sounds I heard emanating from that fissure.
I quizzed JUNO about these unexplored regions. Apparently, a number of camera drones had already passed through those areas during our post-bombardment environmental survey, but contact had been inexplicably lost in all cases. The only clue I had to go on was that a powerful surge of EM energy had been detected, split-seconds before losing contact. If that was the case, I could not send any of the androids to investigate those areas. I would have to make the trip personally.
Then there was the issue of this mysterious 'asset' that Torgaljin Corp was holding. Mention was made of an artificially generated tau-muon field being used to contain whatever it was, somehow. Unfortunately, this information was well above my current pay grade. Although I have a reasonable working knowledge of particle physics, things that actually involve using spanners are much more my forte. I have absolutely no gorram idea of what particular forces or subatomic particles interacted with tau-muons, and even less of an idea of how to detect a tau-muon source. In the end, I hand-balled this one to the AIs, hoping that at least one of them would be savvy enough to crack the problem.