Splash Down (A Subnautica Story)
ThunderShock27
America Join Date: 2017-02-13 Member: 227880Members
America Join Date: 2017-02-13 Member: 227880Members
Some of you who have seen some of my very lengthy posts on this forum may have rightly come to the conclusion that I enjoy writing and I do! I particularly love creative story writing. This post is going to be the first chapter of hopefully many chapters in a novilization of Subnautica's story line. Basically, I'll be taking the elements of Subnautica's story, and weave them all together into something like a book giving the character you play as his own personality. Now, because the character you play as in Subnautica doesn't have an official name, I will be giving him one myself. Let's see... his name will be... Jeff? Yes, Jeffery Masterson. Alright, let's begin!
Splash Down - A Subnautica Story
Chapter 1: Sit back and Relax
The Aurora was a sight to behold. It was the newest ship the Alterra Corporation had rolled out of the space dock. The space dock was a massive space station orbiting Earth designed to provide the space to build massive interplanetary vessels of all shapes and sizes. It also acted as a massive air-port with many commercial ships available for boarding. The Aurora, however, was off limits to commercial travelers. She was built for a special mission to the outer reaches of explored space. She wasn't the biggest ship docked today, but she was capable of carrying around 7,000 crew with a massive cargo space. Jeffery Masterson was sitting in the thousands of rows of blue chairs in the waiting area of the space dock's airport section. He sat reading on his PDA with nothing more than a backpack and a duffel bag at his side. He glanced up through the massive observation glass out at the Aurora. At that moment, a robotic voice echoed through the intercom system over the hustle and bustle of the airport.
"Alterra specialized craft Aurora now boarding. Please proceed to the Specialized Launch section and provide your Alterra IDs."
Jeff slid his personal PDA in his backpack, grabbed his duffel bag, and headed off on the long walk toward the corner of the boarding section dodging travelers that were walking to and fro. A hollow panel on the ceiling read, 'Specialized Launch'. Jeff approached the security check and was thankful to be one of the first few people in the line. After the person in front of him went through, Jeff came up to the scanner array.
"ID." A security officer said with a sigh. "Put your things in the luggage scanner and please step into the array."
Jeff handed him his ID. This ID identified him as an Alterra employee and authorized him for this special mission. Not your typical passport ID that most commercial travelers have. He deposited his luggage onto the hover belt that slowly moved his bags through a scanner. Then, he stepped into the large scanner array. The thing looked much like a door frame with a shiny black interior and white exterior. A blue light flashed on from the top and aimed a blue laser scanner down at Jeff. Instantly a green checkmark appeared on a monitor sticking out from the side of the frame.
"You're cleared. Next." The security officer barely let his words leave his mouth before saying 'next'.
Jeff grabbed his hovering luggage from the hover belt and continued on to to a door that lead to a horizontal elevator that would take him to the boarding tower that was attached to the Aurora and held it in place. Jeff stepped onto the massive platform that was the elevator and once enough people had gotten on, it automatically began zooming down a large glass corridor. Jeff got a really good view of the entire space dock. He had never really seen the immensity of the station since he hadn't traveled much except the few times he went with his family on vacations to Mars when he was too young to remember.
Jeff let out a low whistle as he observed the massive line of various ships all docked to the side of the station's exterior forward deck.
Before Jeff had fully taken in the view, a dark shadow came over the glass corridor. He turned around to see the Aurora in all its glory as the sun became blotted out by it. The ship was much bigger up close than he had initially imagined when viewing it from the waiting area. The elevator slowed to a stop and everyone began stepping off the elevator into the boarding tower's main room. Here, several corridors went directly from this room into the Aurora's boarding bay. Above each corridor was a label that identified a class. 'Engineer', 'Pilot', 'Administrative', 'Medical', 'Communications', etc. Jeff was a simple engineer who specialized in PRAWN suit maintenance. He had always wan'ted to pilot one of those things, but all he got to do was repair them which Jeff still enjoyed as much as a hovercar referbisher would enjoy fixing up old hovercars. He stepped into the corridor labeled 'Engineer' and walked down the long hallway until he came into what looked like a large cargo bay where there seemed to be crew members directing people to their assignments. As a group of people went off to the left, Jeff saw a crew member appear out from behind them.
"Engineer?" He said simply.
"Yeah, PRAWN maintenance and repair." Jeff replied.
"ID please."
Jeff used his free hand to retrieve his Alterra passport from his pocket and gave it to the man.
"Alright..." The man looked at the ID, glanced down at a PDA, and scrolled down a list. "Alright Jeffery Masterson, PRAWN personnel are to report to deck 5, Living Quarters branch 17. Head off to your left and follow the signs. Your room number is 119. Place your ID's bar-code up to the scanner to unlock the door. If you get lost, just find a computer terminal and pull up a map of the ship."
"Alright, thanks." Jeff said. The crewman simply looked past him to the next personnel coming in behind him.
Jeff headed off to the left where at the end of the cargo bay was a door that lead into a hallway. Once he reached the door, he saw an elevator at the end of the hall and quickly made his way toward the people piling into it. The doors shut behind him and a woman closest to the elevator's terminal began punching in numbers and asking people what deck they were going to.
"And you?" she asked Jeff.
"Deck five." he said.
After a bit more asking around, she finally entered all the decks everyone would be going to and the elevator starting going up. After several stops, Jeff finally came to deck five and exited the elevator into another set of hallways. A sign on the wall directed him to his left for Living Quarters. He made his way down several long hallways occasionally passing by a crew member that seemed quite enveloped in their work.
"Hey does anyone know why my Crew PDA is using the Vanilla 1.0 OS?" A crewmember called behind Jeff as he passed by him.
A reply came from some where down the hall behind him. "You musta been issued an older PDA, Thomas. Relax, its only one version older. I hear 1.1 isn't much different anyway."
Eventually Jeff came to the Living Quarters hallway and he started counting down the door numbers. "123, 122, 121, 120, Ah, here's 119."
Jeff took out his ID and placed it in front of the wall scanner and after a split second, the door unlocked and an automated voice chimed, "Welcome aboard."
The interior was very meager. A shelf, a bed, some wall lockers and a chair with a small shelf sticking out of the wall next to it that Jeff assumed was a table. He dropped his things and picked up a PDA that was sitting on his bed. As he turned it on, a loading screen appeared and an automated voice came over the tiny speaker in the handle of the PDA.
"Welcome to the Aurora personnel 119. This PDA will serve as your work PDA. DO NOT mistake it for your personal PDA. This device will only be used for work. According to launch schedule, you are not required of anything at this moment. Please standby for bridge orders. In the meantime, make yourself at home! Alterra Corp. hopes you enjoy your time here."
Jeff plopped down onto his bed and spoke to the PDA. "Work schedule and mission length?"
The AI replied. "2,941 hours of work time estimated to be in your schedule and flight is estimated to take a maximum of 2 to 3 years."
Jeff let out a long sigh. "I better relax while I have the chance."
End Chapter 1
I hope you guys enjoyed! Don't worry, things are going to get a whole lot more interesting!
Splash Down - A Subnautica Story
Chapter 1: Sit back and Relax
The Aurora was a sight to behold. It was the newest ship the Alterra Corporation had rolled out of the space dock. The space dock was a massive space station orbiting Earth designed to provide the space to build massive interplanetary vessels of all shapes and sizes. It also acted as a massive air-port with many commercial ships available for boarding. The Aurora, however, was off limits to commercial travelers. She was built for a special mission to the outer reaches of explored space. She wasn't the biggest ship docked today, but she was capable of carrying around 7,000 crew with a massive cargo space. Jeffery Masterson was sitting in the thousands of rows of blue chairs in the waiting area of the space dock's airport section. He sat reading on his PDA with nothing more than a backpack and a duffel bag at his side. He glanced up through the massive observation glass out at the Aurora. At that moment, a robotic voice echoed through the intercom system over the hustle and bustle of the airport.
"Alterra specialized craft Aurora now boarding. Please proceed to the Specialized Launch section and provide your Alterra IDs."
Jeff slid his personal PDA in his backpack, grabbed his duffel bag, and headed off on the long walk toward the corner of the boarding section dodging travelers that were walking to and fro. A hollow panel on the ceiling read, 'Specialized Launch'. Jeff approached the security check and was thankful to be one of the first few people in the line. After the person in front of him went through, Jeff came up to the scanner array.
"ID." A security officer said with a sigh. "Put your things in the luggage scanner and please step into the array."
Jeff handed him his ID. This ID identified him as an Alterra employee and authorized him for this special mission. Not your typical passport ID that most commercial travelers have. He deposited his luggage onto the hover belt that slowly moved his bags through a scanner. Then, he stepped into the large scanner array. The thing looked much like a door frame with a shiny black interior and white exterior. A blue light flashed on from the top and aimed a blue laser scanner down at Jeff. Instantly a green checkmark appeared on a monitor sticking out from the side of the frame.
"You're cleared. Next." The security officer barely let his words leave his mouth before saying 'next'.
Jeff grabbed his hovering luggage from the hover belt and continued on to to a door that lead to a horizontal elevator that would take him to the boarding tower that was attached to the Aurora and held it in place. Jeff stepped onto the massive platform that was the elevator and once enough people had gotten on, it automatically began zooming down a large glass corridor. Jeff got a really good view of the entire space dock. He had never really seen the immensity of the station since he hadn't traveled much except the few times he went with his family on vacations to Mars when he was too young to remember.
Jeff let out a low whistle as he observed the massive line of various ships all docked to the side of the station's exterior forward deck.
Before Jeff had fully taken in the view, a dark shadow came over the glass corridor. He turned around to see the Aurora in all its glory as the sun became blotted out by it. The ship was much bigger up close than he had initially imagined when viewing it from the waiting area. The elevator slowed to a stop and everyone began stepping off the elevator into the boarding tower's main room. Here, several corridors went directly from this room into the Aurora's boarding bay. Above each corridor was a label that identified a class. 'Engineer', 'Pilot', 'Administrative', 'Medical', 'Communications', etc. Jeff was a simple engineer who specialized in PRAWN suit maintenance. He had always wan'ted to pilot one of those things, but all he got to do was repair them which Jeff still enjoyed as much as a hovercar referbisher would enjoy fixing up old hovercars. He stepped into the corridor labeled 'Engineer' and walked down the long hallway until he came into what looked like a large cargo bay where there seemed to be crew members directing people to their assignments. As a group of people went off to the left, Jeff saw a crew member appear out from behind them.
"Engineer?" He said simply.
"Yeah, PRAWN maintenance and repair." Jeff replied.
"ID please."
Jeff used his free hand to retrieve his Alterra passport from his pocket and gave it to the man.
"Alright..." The man looked at the ID, glanced down at a PDA, and scrolled down a list. "Alright Jeffery Masterson, PRAWN personnel are to report to deck 5, Living Quarters branch 17. Head off to your left and follow the signs. Your room number is 119. Place your ID's bar-code up to the scanner to unlock the door. If you get lost, just find a computer terminal and pull up a map of the ship."
"Alright, thanks." Jeff said. The crewman simply looked past him to the next personnel coming in behind him.
Jeff headed off to the left where at the end of the cargo bay was a door that lead into a hallway. Once he reached the door, he saw an elevator at the end of the hall and quickly made his way toward the people piling into it. The doors shut behind him and a woman closest to the elevator's terminal began punching in numbers and asking people what deck they were going to.
"And you?" she asked Jeff.
"Deck five." he said.
After a bit more asking around, she finally entered all the decks everyone would be going to and the elevator starting going up. After several stops, Jeff finally came to deck five and exited the elevator into another set of hallways. A sign on the wall directed him to his left for Living Quarters. He made his way down several long hallways occasionally passing by a crew member that seemed quite enveloped in their work.
"Hey does anyone know why my Crew PDA is using the Vanilla 1.0 OS?" A crewmember called behind Jeff as he passed by him.
A reply came from some where down the hall behind him. "You musta been issued an older PDA, Thomas. Relax, its only one version older. I hear 1.1 isn't much different anyway."
Eventually Jeff came to the Living Quarters hallway and he started counting down the door numbers. "123, 122, 121, 120, Ah, here's 119."
Jeff took out his ID and placed it in front of the wall scanner and after a split second, the door unlocked and an automated voice chimed, "Welcome aboard."
The interior was very meager. A shelf, a bed, some wall lockers and a chair with a small shelf sticking out of the wall next to it that Jeff assumed was a table. He dropped his things and picked up a PDA that was sitting on his bed. As he turned it on, a loading screen appeared and an automated voice came over the tiny speaker in the handle of the PDA.
"Welcome to the Aurora personnel 119. This PDA will serve as your work PDA. DO NOT mistake it for your personal PDA. This device will only be used for work. According to launch schedule, you are not required of anything at this moment. Please standby for bridge orders. In the meantime, make yourself at home! Alterra Corp. hopes you enjoy your time here."
Jeff plopped down onto his bed and spoke to the PDA. "Work schedule and mission length?"
The AI replied. "2,941 hours of work time estimated to be in your schedule and flight is estimated to take a maximum of 2 to 3 years."
Jeff let out a long sigh. "I better relax while I have the chance."
End Chapter 1
I hope you guys enjoyed! Don't worry, things are going to get a whole lot more interesting!
Comments
It is nice to see others taking an interest to creating stories like these. It makes the Subnautica universe just that much bigger.
I love stories like this and am excited for there to be more on the forums, and I'm especially looking forward to @Skope writing his story
I love how you flesh out Alterra. I sympathise with Thomas; I'm still several iOS updates behind. Also, it my just be me over analysing things, but I reckon that'll be important later on. Don't know why, just do
Also, no matter what happens, I will always believe that all of our stories are connected. In my mind Selkirk's on that ship with you, and he'll be doing Kharaa stuff in distant places whilst Masterson is going off doing everything that happens in-game. My story takes place 30 years after, so no problems fitting that one in. Eclipse is somewhere docked in that station, I just know it.
Can't wait for more. I'll follow this until the end, it's such a good story already. Attention to detail is beautiful.
We might catch a glimpse of the Rich Clan's airship!
God I hope we get more of that airship... Julian didn't live long enough to tell the full story, so we have to fill in the blanks...
He's like H.P Lovecraft. Dead before his time, other authors expanding his story.
You an me both, @Jamezorg
You and me both...
It had been several months since Jeff boarded the Aurora. The ship was currently aligning for a slingshot around planet 4546B. He was in the PRAWN bay inspecting what seemed to be the umpteenth PRAWN suit, going through diagnostics and making sure each and every PRAWN was in peek condition, ready to be piloted by those who were going to build the phase-gate. Several times he had come across handling issues with the PRAWN suits. Joint mechanisms would be damaged or the glass would be chipped due to poor shipping conditions. Likely those in charge didn't pay attention to the labels that read 'FRAGILE' or 'THIS SIDE UP' when these suits were in transport, but that was what Jeff was here for. He made sure those PRAWNS were fully capable before those pilots would be going out into the dangers of space. He was currently inspecting the PRAWN designated to a pilot by the name of Palmer Termal who was standing by watching Jeff work. Palmer was the very person that got him on this ship to begin with. Before now, Jeff had been having some financial issues and being the good friend that Palmer was, Jeff was the first person he thought of when Alterra advertised that they needed more PRAWN technicians. Jeff was desperate for a well-paying job, so of course he accepted with great gratitude. This job would get him enough credits to get him out of debt and then some.
"Everything lookin good Jay?" Palmer said using a nickname he had given Jeff when they became good friends.
"Well, if you consider a cracked rotatory gear in the left shoulder and a split armor cover, then yeah it's totally fine. Heh, don't worry, I've got parts and then some to repair this thing, courtesy of Alterra. Shouldn't me take too long."
"Alright, you let me know when you're finished and then maybe we can head up to the bar on deck 9 for a little kick."
Jeff smiled as he continued to focus on his work. "Sounds good, I think this'll be my last PRAWN for the day anyway. Just pay attention to your PDA this time. Last time I had to message you 4 times before you noticed."
"Will do. Seeya." Palmer strutted off out of the PRAWN bay.
Jeff jumped down from the lift he had been standing on to inspect the top of the PRAWN and filled in a check-list on his Crew PDA as he headed over to an extra parts crate he had near-by. He reached in and grabbed a spare rotary gear to replace the broken one in the shoulder of the PRAWN and walked back over to the mech while still looking down at the PDA. Most of the other PRAWN technicians had already finished their work and left, but Jeff knew it was only because they weren't as thorough as he was. When he was younger, his mom used to ask him to wash the hovercar because she always considered car-washes to be too expensive. He would usually take several hours to wash every speck off that car even if it was getting dark. Jeff had always been the type to finish whatever job he was given and finish strong. Jeff set the PDA on the edge of the lift, about to hoist himself up with the spare gear, when suddenly, a deafening noise split the quiet hum of the ship. The entire ship shook with the force of an earthquake and Jeff was sent falling backwards and landed hard on the smooth bay floor. As the ship continued to shake and Jeff slowly lifted himself off the floor, a shriek from the alarm system began and a red light started to flash. Suddenly Jeff realized what had happened.
"Did we just hit something?"
Another deafening noise came from some where on the ship, this time Jeff recognized it as the sound of an explosion.
The Aurora rumbled fiercely forcing Jeff to struggle for his balance. Then, a loud automated voice sounded over the alarms.
"Stellar Engine 1 lost. Hull integrity 5%"
Then another explosion sent Jeff to his knee.
"Rear starboard deck 6, 7, and 8 compromised. Hull damage beyond capacity."
Just before the automated voice could finish, an intercom system piped up with a the loud booming voice of a human.
"THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN! EVAC NOW! WE'RE GOING DOWN! ESTIMATED TIME TILL IMPACT: 4 MINUTES! FIND THE CLOSEST ESCAPE POD AN GET THE HE-"
The intercom system mysteriously cut off and filled with static.
Jeff had been so confused and shocked that he had barely moved from his position the entire time. Suddenly, clarity began to flush through his mind.
"I've got to get outa here!"
Jeff reached down and grabbed his Crew PDA off the floor and dashed for the exit to the PRAWN bay just as the ceiling panels began to fall. He rushed down the hall now lit with only the red light of the alert system. He looked down at his PDA and tried to message Palmer.
"PALMER! ARE YOU THERE? ANSWER ME! THE SHIP IS COMPROMISED! ARE YOU OKAY? C'MON ANSWER!"
No response.
"Crap, I hope that loser makes it."
Jeff rushed his way through various confusing hallways occasionally running into some one else that seemed just as frantic as he was. Explosions continued to ring out from somewhere in the ship. Finally, Jeff found the escape pod branch and dashed to the closest hatch.
"I swear if this thing requires ID I'll lose my mind."
Thankfully, the hatch opened easily and Jeff started down the ladder.
"Thank God this thing has damage rating locks."
Then Jeff realized he hadn't seen anyone else come through the escape pod branch doors. He quickly popped his head up hoping to see some one. No one came. Jeff thought about waiting, but with another explosion came the automated words.
"HULL FAILURE IMMINENT."
With his hopes crushed, Jeff waited one more second before sliding the rest of the way down the ladder. He jumped into the passenger chair and locked himself in. With one last look at the hatch, he pressed the launch button.
Another automated voice began, "Launching in 3, 2, 1."
With a jolt, the escape pod burst from its slot and began shooting out from the Aurora. Then to Jeff's utter horror, as he looked at the Aurora through the hatch, one final explosion filled his entire view and the escape pod rotated so that he could no longer see the Aurora. The force of the explosion shook the pod and the panel of a wire box suddenly broke off and the mandatory fire extinguisher flew off the wall as well. As the pod tumbled through space, the panel and fire extinguisher bounced around inside.
"Don't you dare... Don't you d-" The broken panel slammed into Jeff and in a split second, all went dark.
Blackness. Pure blackness. But wait, light slowly trickling in. The light piercing the darkness. Ringing. Nothing but ringing. Crackling now. The light getting brighter and brighter and the crackling getting louder and louder. There's a smell... a strange warmth... The smell getting more and more aggravating to the lungs... The warmth slowly becoming uncomfortable. Jeff suddenly opened his eyes fully and the raging fire that burned just in front of him jolted his mind back into consciousness.
"Holy-"
Jeff reached down to the armrest's terminal and pressed the unlock button. Nothing.
"Oh come on!"
He frantically pressed the touch screen over and over until finally, the chair's shoulder braces unlocked and went over his head. Jeff stumbled to the floor in the farthest corner away from the fire lifting his hands to block the intense heat. This life pod was like an oven. Jeff suddenly noticed the fire extinguisher on the floor, dangerously close to the fire. If he didn't grab it now, the fire would consume it and ruin his chances of putting out the flames. Shielding his face with his left arm, he quickly reached down and took the extinguisher in his right. The thing was burning hot and he almost dropped it. Ignoring the pain from the hot canister of the extinguisher, Jeff pointed the jet at the fire and let out a long burst. The fire slowly faded, and died. At this point Jeff was coughing profusely from the extinguisher chemicals and the smoke filling the cabin of the pod. Barely able to make it up the ladder, Jeff threw open the upper hatch and gasped for air. His eyes widened.
"Oh... Mother of God."
Several hundred meters away was the Aurora. Semi submerged in a planet covered entirely in ocean. The back engines were on fire and several places where the hull should have been were now smoking holes gouged into the side of the Aurora's sleek shell. Jeff lifted himself up to stand on the roof of the pod and took in a full view of the ship and his surroundings. Water. Nothing but water for miles. No sign of any human life of any kind, not even any life pods. After all the smoke and fumes had dispersed out of the pod, Jeff dropped back down inside and went over to the main terminal next to the three power cells loaded in the wall.
-Hull Integrity: OK.
-Secondary Systems: Offline.
-Flotation Devices: Deployed.
-Environment: Uncharted ocean planet with oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. Waterborne bacteria levels: High.
-Communications offline.
-Powercell 1 and 2 offline.
"Great, communications offline. The one thing I wanted to be working."
Jeff reached down into the storage locker bellow the terminal. Inside was a survival PDA, 2 Nutrient blocks, 2 flares, an oxygen mask and a wet-suit.
"You've got to be kidding me! This is a life pod and they don't stock it with any tools? Not a knife, not a welder! Not even the decency to give me some bottles of water either!"
Jeff set the supplies to the side and took out the PDA. From the life pod's terminal, he retrieved the data chip, plugged it into the PDA, and booted it up. As the loading screen appeared, the AI began to speak.
"Greetings survivor, great job not dying. To assist you in further survival and emergency situations, you have been issued this Personal Data Assistant. The interface you see now, will organize your inventory, record and report essential information, and issue survival advice as necessary. This PDA has one directive: To keep you alive on a hostile world. Good luck!"
Jeff waited as the loading screen disappeared and the PDA's main tabs appeared.
"How long ago since splashdown?" he asked the PDA.
"T+3 hours since planet fall."
"Give me what information you can about the Aurora's current state." Jeff placed the PDA on a chair and inspected the damaged wire box.
"The Aurora suffered catastrophic hull failure. Cause: unknown. Detecting increased local radiation levels. Trend is consistent with ongoing degradation of the Aurora's dark matter drive core, due to damage sustained during collision. Continuing to monitor."
The PDA AI continued.
"Calculating risk assessment. Death by malnourishment: 7%. By physical injury: 11%. By exposure to radioactive crash-sight materials: 19%. If drive core is breached, probability of death increases to 65%."
"My gosh, I didn't ask for the odds." Jeff snapped out loud.
Jeff thought to himself, "This wire box is going to need a welder to fix it. Same goes for the communications relay. I better hope this planet is just plain bursting with materials. Let's see if the fabricator is online."
While Jeff inspected the fabricator, he asked another question.
"Can you detect any survivors."
"Zero human life signs detected within a 100 meter range."
Jeff sighed. "Well at least the fabricator is working."
"Give me an assessment of the surrounding area's mineral quantity."
The PDA quickly replied, "Mineral quantity in the surrounding area is exceptionally high. Minerals include: titanium, copper, silver, gold, quartz, acidic plants, and lead."
"Alright, I'm going to need a battery for this welder. Those acidic plants might come in handy."
Jeff shot one more question as he evaluated the crafting recipes the fabricator offered, "Is the water safe enough to swim in?"
"The liquid content in the surrounding area is predominantly H2O with high bacteria and salt content."
"Great, salt water, just what I needed to be able to keep hydrated. Alright... Looks like I'm gunna have to go swimming."
Jeff peeked through the bottom hatch.
"Looks friendly enough..."
He went up the ladder and prepared to dive.
"Alright ocean, just don't be filled with sharks and I'll be fine."
With a few more breaths, Jeff dove in.
End Chapter 3
Silly Jeff, there's no such thing as an ocean without sharks.
Now be a good boy, and avoid the water like the plague.
Chapter 4: Red Dot
While Jeff took his first dive into the alien ocean of planet 4546B, on the far side of the system, a ship, Jeff's only hope of rescue, picks up something.
The Sunbeam was slowly cruising, its crew sleeping after a long day of travel. The only one awake was the ships co-pilot who had traded with the main pilot so he could get some rest. The co-pilot, Derek Lanston was his name, slouched comfortably in the forward left pilot seat slowly dozing as he gazed at the beautiful stars. One hand on the steering. Except for the faint glow of the blue lights on all the controls, the cock-pit was entirely dark. There was a small hollow map in the middle console between the two pilot seats. It showed a star map of the entire system they were in. Derek's eyes were very close to shutting. He could barely keep them open. It would still be several months before they could get back to Earth. Derek's left eyelid shut. His right eyelid was just about to close when suddenly, a red dot appeared on the hollow map. Derek strained to focus his eyes on the map. He suddenly realized what the red dot meant. His eyes widened. He shifted his right hand onto the steering console and reached with his left to an intercom system.
"Cap'm. I know you're going to beat the ever-loving snot out of me for waking you up, but I have a feeling you might wanna come to the cock-pit and check this out."
A faint grumble and a sigh could be heard on the other side of the intercom. "This better be good Lanston."
After a few moments, the sliding door at the back of the cock-pit slid open and a tired Avery Quinn walked in wearing a very wrinkly uniform.
"What is it." He grumbled.
"Check the star-map." Derek said.
Captain Quinn looked over at the hollow map and saw the red dot. "A distress signal? All the way out here?" He climbed over the rear seat and sat down in the right forward pilot seat next to Derek where the hollow map separated them.
Derek punched in some commands into the console and the speakers came to life with the message.
"This is an automated distress signal from interstellar vessel Aurora of the Alterra Corporation. Assistance is requested of any available ship in the vicinity. This message will now repeat."
They both sat silent for a moment.
Quinn stroked his chin for a moment, "Doesn't sound too urgent to me... Sounds more like they ran outa gas."
Derek looked questioningly at Quinn, "Doesn't the flight manual say that any distress signal should be investigated?"
Quinn sighed, "Yeah, it does. Change our course by ten degrees. I just want to get close enough to do a scan and when we find out everything is fine and some one just forgot to close an airlock properly, we're getting right back on course."
Derek smiled, filled with new vigor and changed course, "Will do Cap'm."
Quinn angled a wall-mounted microphone towards himself and pressed a few buttons on the console in front of him. "This is Avery Quinn of the trading ship Sunbeam. Aurora do you read? Over... *silence* Aurora do you read? Over... *silence*" Quinn sighed, "Aurora, do. You. Read? Over... Still nothing. These Alterra ships. They run out of engine grease, they send an SOS: You offer to help, they don't pick up. Aurora, I'm 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... *silence* I'll try again tomorrow. See if our long range scanners can pick anything up from this distance in the meantime. Damn charter's going to have us wasting our profit margin running errands for Alterra."
Quinn slapped his hand on the messaging button and ended the broadcast.
"Sir the long range scanners can't pick up anything from this range." Derek said still looking a the scanner screen.
"Alright, stay on the new course, let me know when we're in range. I'm going back to bed." Quinn climbed over the seats back to the sliding door and left the cock-pit.
Derek glanced back at the red dot on the starmap. He used his free hand to zoom in to maximum zoom.
"Huh, that's funny," He mumbled to himself, "Why does the red dot look like its coming from planet-side?"
Jeff had been scrounging around for materials for a while. A few fragments of the Aurora's hull had dotted the landscape allowing Jeff to obtain titanium. He had been gathering materials for a Survival knife, a scanner, and a welder. One last material remained.
Jeff burst through the surface gasping for air.
"Holy crap what was that thing!? Some kinda suicidal fish!?"
"Sally, my leg is in pain after that thing exploded, whats my injury level?" Jeff had been advised by the PDA AI to prevent insanity by giving names and making friends out of animals or objects and the first obvious thing was to give the PDA AI a real name.
Sally responded, "Calculating... Minor damage to epidermis. Life pods are equipped with medical kit fabricators. Suggest treatment to prevent infection."
Jeff sighed and took another breath before diving back down.
"That thing came out of some kinda plant thing... Oh there it is." Jeff swam down into a small cave where the remains of the pod the exploding fish had come from was.
"Huh, what's this powdery stuff... Almost looks like sulfur. I'll take it and scan it once I get a scanner." Jeff grabbed a handful of the yellow powder and began swimming back to the surface.
"Gaahhh." Jeff took in a breath and headed back toward the pod. Once at the pod, Jeff hoisted himself up the side ladder and dropped down through the roof hatch. He pulled off the diving mask and through it and the PDA into a chair. He extended his leg and looked at his wound. Looked much like a carpet burn but slightly more severe. A small trickle of blood oozed from the damaged skin. It was at that moment that he looked over and saw the wet suit he had found in the storage locker earlier.
"Oh my gosh, did I really completely forget about that thing?" Jeff hung his head back and let out a groan. He hopped over to the fabricator and queued up the crafting of some batteries while he grabbed a medkit out of the medical fabricator.
"At least this medkit is well equipped." He thought.
Jeff attended to his wound until the batteries had been completed. He then began the fabrication of a scanner, and a survival knife. Before he had fully shifted his head away from the fabricator, he noticed that the welder was craftable.
"Huh?"
That powder he had found had the chemical properties sufficient for a welder.
"Alright then, now we're getting somewhere." He queued a welder as well. After a few more minutes, he had treated his wound and began putting on the wet-suit.
"If I'm this forgetful in the future, I'm guaranteed to get myself killed."
Jeff adjusted the tight neck of the wet-suit and grimaced as he brought the tight rubber leg down over his wound.
"Alright, lets fix this wire box and get the communications relay working."
He rearranged the wires back in place and began welding them together. He coughed at the smoke. As the last wire was put back in place, the light in the pod became brighter and all three powercells came online. Jeff picked up the broken panel, placed it back over the exposed wire box, and welded it back in place. Then he stepped over to the communications relay and began repair. Before he was even finished, the robotic voice of the communications relay echoed through the pod startling Jeff.
"Captain, a new message has arrived."
"Alright!" Jeff's hopes were slowly rising and a smirk broke his sober face.
"This is Avery Quinn of the trading ship Sunbeam. Aurora do you read? Over... *silence* Aurora do you read? Over... *silence* Aurora, do. You. Read? Over... Still nothing. These Alterra ships. They run out of engine grease, they send an SOS: You offer to help, they don't pick up. Aurora, I'm 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... *silence* I'll try again tomorrow. See if our long range scanners can pick anything up from this distance in the meantime. Damn charter's going to have us wasting our profit margin running errands for Alterra."
"Whoohoo!" Jeff let out an excited howl. "The cavalry's comin!"
Before he could even finish his last sentence, the PDA interrupted.
"WARNING! Seismic readings suggest that the Degradation of the Aurora's drive core has reached a critical level and will cause a quantum detonation."
Jeff's hope shattered into instant distress. He climbed up the ladder and stood on the roof of the pod.
Sally continued, "The reactor will reach a super critical state in T- 10."
"No... God no!"
"9, 8, 7, 6, 5....4,4,4,...3...2, 1."
"NOOOO!"
The front half of the Aurora was consumed by a fiery explosion that plumed into the sky in a rolling red cloud of fire. Debris flew everywhere and the shock wave that burst out from the ship caused Jeff to steady himself and cover his face from the force. Jeff's ears slowly stopped ringing and morphed into the wind from the explosion. The fire slowly got smaller until it was just above the ship's hull. The wind subsided and all became quiet except for the lapping of the water against the pod. Jeff stared into the distance with a blank expression while Sally began speaking.
"Caution, radiation levels in the area surrounding the Aurora have increased in radius and intensity. Advise a 10 kilometer safety range."
Jeff continued to stand there... unable to move.
The Sunbeam flew along at a decent pace. Derek had finished his shift and had traded with the main pilot, Westly Tamar. Next to Westly sat Captain Avery Quinn and in the two seats behind them were Carson Rainer, the navigation officer, and Jerret Valis, the engineer.
Westly broke the silence, "Sir, we're coming into scanner range."
Before Quin responded, Jerret pushed a few buttons and brought up the scanner on the main screen in the middle console between the seats. For a few moments, the planet looked void of any downed ship. Then, slowly, as the Sunbeam got within range, the crash sight began to appear. Miles of debris surrounding a the devastated remains of the Aurora.
"My God..." Quinn whispered, "This isn't a simple 'ran outa gas', this is a full on splashdown! That ship isn't going to make it off the surface ever again."
Carson was leaning toward the middle console to see around Quinn's chair. "I've never seen an Alterra ship go down so easily. That's miles of debris and the whole front half is missing! Either there was some foul play involved or some one made a major mistake."
Quinn pressed some buttons and angled the microphone in the console. "Whatever the case may be, we're going to help them. If there's any survivors, they must be scared out of their minds right now."
Quinn pressed a button and held up his hand toward his crew to signal them to be quiet. "Aurora, this is the Sunbeam again. We just picked up a massive debris field at your location. I didn't know how bad... how many of you... I didn't know. We are now en route to your location. We're going to bring you home. Sunbeam out."
Jerret piped up, "Don't get their hopes up. We're not going to be able to do much in such a bad situation."
Quinn looked annoyingly back at Jerret, "What else can I say? 'We're a six seater and we aren't even slightly equipped to handle this'? Or maybe: 'Our pilot last attempted a planet landing in the academy simulator'? Yeah, it's a bad situation, but so are all the alternatives."
Quinn ended the transmission and fell back against the back of the seat sighing. "This really boils my blood. The thought of going to help any survivors and not having enough seats to transfer everyone back home. Just think about how devastating that would be, your only chance of rescue leaves with only a few of your crewmates and you're left on the planet for God knows how much longer... We don't even know if any of them are still alive."
Westly lit up with an Idea, "We could jettison our payload and let any overflow survivors stay in the cargo bay."
Carson frowned, "We'll lose all our profit and maybe even lose our jobs!"
Quinn turned his head and scowled at Carson and the navigation officer backed down. Quinn defended Westly, "No, Westly's on to something. I know the thought of losing our jobs or ruining our profit might be hard to swallow but If there is any way to rescue ALL of those survivors without having to leave anyone behind, I'll do it because I know how I'd feel if I was stranded on a planet like that, a flipping ocean planet at that, and to hell with anyone back home who would fire us for ditching our cargo for the sake of saving stranded souls!"
With that, Quinn turned to Westly, "Let me fly, I want you to go over the flight manual and study anything you can about landing."
So Quinn's gonna have to do some serious barrel rolls when he breaches atmosphere or everyone's finished. Either way, Jerret is an diamond in the rough. He's the most important player on the Sunbeam and I feel he is overlooked. He's the reason Quinn found out about the Aurora's splashdown, he said the most insightful and truthful thing I've heard all day and he's just a great guy.
My heart goes out to Jerret. I love that guy...
Mind elaborating why?
So that bridges can be built between these stories, making them all feel like part of an overlapping and flowing world instead of being separate. Having this be a recount of the events of the game it felt like a perfect candidate. When Zenn is trying to remember Jacob Sand's name he flicks through a few others beginning with J, and Jerret's in there.
I picked Jerret because they both began with J, really. No other reason, other than me liking the character more than I should (he's just pressed a button I don't know why I love Jerret so much)
Sally broke the silence, "Destruction of Aurora's drive core has caused useful fragments and salvage to be scattered across the ocean. It would be wise to make use of these fragments."
Jeff sat in the pod on one of the wall mounted chairs with his head buried in his hands. His face was a mixture of distress, anger, and mourning.
"There's no way any of them survived that blast. Anyone in the area who did are already dying of radiation poisoning by now..."
Sally interrupted Jeff's thoughts, "Pulmonary and adrenal levels indicate severe distress. Advise stress relief in the form of productivity. Scans indicate sea glide fragments near-by that can be scanned into blueprints."
Jeff sniffed and stood up. "Alright, I'm not getting anywhere by just sitting here crying about it. There might not be other survivors, but I know I'M alive, and to keep ME alive, I'm going to have to get to work."
At that moment, the communications relay beeped. "Captain, a new message has arrived."
Jeff stood up and looked at the relay in disbelief. He stepped over and played the message. "This is Lifepod 7,
coordinates attached. Pod is structurally sound, but the fabricator's busted. Requesting immediate assistance. 7, out."
Jeff gasped, "A survivor?!"
He instantly went over and snatched up his diving mask. "Sally, how far away are those coordinates?"
"Life pod 7's coordinates are 219 meters away. Marking on your hud."
"I'm going to need a sea-glide for that distance..."
Jeff grabbed the PDA and dropped through the lower hatch into the water.
"Alright, sea-glide fragments... where are you..."
Jeff began to swim all through the shallows looking for any fragments from the Aurora. A bit of scrap metal here, some shattered hull here, but no useful fragments. After some time of looking, Jeff came to what looked to be some kind of kelp forest.
"Life on this planet grows in unusually distinct and diverse ecological biomes. Further study recommended." Sally said.
Just as she finished, Jeff thought he caught a glimpse of a creature he hadn't seen before through the kelp. Long, sleek, silvery, bigger than anything else he had seen so far. Jeff's eyes scanned the kelp forest. There, on a pedestal of grassy terrain was a beat up crate with what looked like the remains of a seaglide.
"Bingo."
Jeff slowly started swimming toward it. Suddenly he heard a suppressed howl echo through the water.
"What was that?"
Jeff stopped and searched the tall kelp all around him. No sign of any dangerous creature. He continued to swim slowly toward the crate, still a ways off. Then he heard that strange howl again. This time louder. Before Jeff could react, a long and sleek creature darted out of the kelp and rushed at him with a gaping mouth like that of an alligator. He put up his hands to protect his face and the creature clamped its teeth down on his left arm.
"Ahhrggg!" Jeff screamed in his face mask.
Blood started to paint the water around his arm red and the creature dragged him deeper into the kelp. It had silver scales and the tale of a dolphin. Along its back were spines that lead up to his head where from protruded a long snout with several rows of teeth that firmly held his arm in place. Jeff quickly took out his survival knife with his right hand and began stabbing it into the side of the creature. With a long howl the creature let go of his arm and dashed off into the safety of the kelp with a trail of yellow blood in its wake. Jeff looked down at his arm where there were four deep teeth marks that seeped blood.
"Severe blood loss detected, immediate treatment recommended!" Sally said.
Jeff frantically took his knife and reached down to his right leg. He pulled the tight rubber wet suit leg away from his skin and cut away a strip of rubber. He then awkwardly tied a tourniquet around his arm under his elbow using his left thigh to hold the rubber in place while he tied the knot. This wouldn't help him long. Jeff then took out his scanner and made his way down to the crate buried in the seagrass. In the opening was a busted seaglide and Jeff extended his right arm to scan the machine. As the scan neared completion, he heard another muffled howl.
"Stay the heck away from me!"
The second the scan completed Jeff placed his feet on the ground and pushed off back toward the surface and the life pod. Another howl, getting closer again. Jeff looked down just in time to see the same creature he had stabbed rushing him again with a wide open mouth. This time Jeff grabbed the upper and lower jaw of the creature trying to ignore the intense pain in his left arm and swiveled around to the back of the creature and grabbed one of its spines. As he held on, he continued to stab the creature over and over as it darted everywhere trying to shake him off. It wasn't long before the creature finally slowed down, thrashed for a moment, and died. Jeff pulled the knife out of the creature's body and took in a deep breath.
"Thirty seconds of oxygen remaining." Sally warned.
Quickly Jeff took out his scanner and began scanning the lifeless creature. After a moment, Sally began reading the scan data.
"Head:
An elongated snout can deliver huge biting pressure to larger attackers, but can also be used to get at small herbivores seeking refuge amongst the rocks. Retinal layering on the eyeball suggests adaptation for night-time hunting.
Dorsal Ridges:
These ridges can be moved independently to deliver superior maneuverability.
Pelvic Fins:
Long and powerful, the stalker has evolved to hunt even the fastest of prey. Neural pathways indicate innate ability for reward-based learning; evolutionary explanation unclear at this time. Attracted to metals. Will fight fiercely over its hoard. No explanation available for this behavior. Further research required."
With that, Jeff began swimming for the surface with oxygen levels at 5 seconds. As he burst through the surface, he took in a deep refreshing breath and made his way back to the life pod. Inside, he quickly removed the tourniquet and grabbed a medkit. He applied some ointment and wrapped his arm in gauze. By this time Jeff had become extremely worn out and was beginning to feel light headed.
Sally began speaking, "Blood loss severity may cause loss of conciou-"
Jeff crumpled to the floor of the life pod and passed out.
Looking at this from an outsider's perspective now, he's the most useful person on that ship.
I read that and literally just said "Damn it, Jerret!"... Everyone else on the ship, including Quinn, is saying "We gotta get in there and save these guys!" and Jerret is telling the mwhat we know is the truth... Jerret, the Hero Overlooked... he was a good lad...
It had only been about an hour before Jeff woke up. His blood loss had caused him to pass out but the bandaging he had done on his arm allowed his wounds to clot normalizing blood levels in his body. After a few moments sitting on the roof of the pod, Jeff had eventually gone out in search of materials again. He had been able to gather enough for two oxygen tanks, a seaglide, some flippers, a flashlight and a few other things. By the time he returned, he suddenly began to realize just how hungry he was as the sun reached a noon position in the sky. As the fabricator busied itself with creating the various items Jeff had queued up, Jeff sat in one of the chairs munching on a nutrient block. His face was grimacing.
"This thing tastes like grainy cardboard drenched in lighter fluid."
Though it tasted bad, Jeff knew just how nourishing it would be to his body and continued eating. While he was munching, the communications relay signaled another message. He stuffed the remainder of the block in his mouth and went over to the relay to play the message.
A distressed voice came through the speaker, "This is Lifepod 6, high priority, non-Alterra passengers onboard.
Co-ordinates attached. We've landed one kilometer from the crash site, but our path to the rendezvous is irradiated, and we've only got one rad suit. Request immediate assistance. 6 out."
As the message ended, Sally spoke up, "Lifepod 6 is only about 109 meters away. Marking on hud."
"That's not a good sign... If it was still floating, how would I have not seen it yet? I'll check it on my way to lifepod 7."
Jeff swung his seaglide around his shoulder and attached the oxygen tanks to his rebreather. With one last chew of the nutrient block, Jeff dropped through the lower hatch into the water. Both pod 6 and 7 lit up on his rebreather visor with their distances above the waypoints. 6 was closer just off to the left of 7's waypoint. Jeff positioned the seaglide in front of him, pulled the trigger on the handle, and the propeller in the back spun faster and faster until Jeff was going at a very steady pace.
"Ah, So much easier!" Jeff thought.
After a while, he got within seeing distance of pod 6's location. As he had previously dreaded, the pod was on its side underwater. As he got closer, he noticed the gaping hole in the side of the hull. There were a few things scattered around the pod but no signs of any human life.
As if Sally was reading his mind, "Human life signs within a 100 meter range from here are negative." She informed.
Jeff closed his eyes and sighed while he shook his head. He continued to poke around the pod looking for any valuable salvage. Inside, the fabricator was waterlogged as was every other device in the pod. On the floor was an abandoned PDA and a wrinkled radiation suit.
"This rad suit will definitely come in handy." Jeff said as he grabbed the suit.
Then he grabbed the PDA and looked at the last entry.
----
ALTERRA CREW: "I never should have let her leave with that rad suit. By now she's either swum to dry land, or drowned trying. Meanwhile the air filters aren't keeping up with the hull breach, radiation levels in the pod are rising. I won't last much longer without meds. This would be the time to take the easy way out, if all the options on the table weren't equally horrific.
*Hatch opens*
AURORA PASSENGER: Help me!
ALTERRA CREW: What happened?!
AURORA PASSENGER: *Coughing* I tried to make it to the rendezvous, but I *cough* started feeling sick. Barely made it back.
ALTERRA CREW: This is important, did the suit breach? Are you contaminated?
AURORA PASSENGER: No! I don't know what's wrong.
ALTERRA CREW: Did you set the air levels right?
AURORA PASSENGER: Yes.
*Sound of scanner*
ALTERRA CREW: Did you remember to do up the zipper?
AURORA PASSENGER: What zipper?
ALTERRA CREW: Your radiation levels shouldn't be this high. Ma'am, you've been exposed to... Ma'am? Ma'am, wake up!
AURORA PASSENGER: If you make it off this planet, please don't tell people I died *cough* because I couldn't dress myself.
SCANNER: Lifesigns flat-lined.
ALTERRA CREW: Your secret's safe with me. I don't expect to make it off this planet."
----
Jeff stared at the PDA for a moment.
"Man, what a bad way to go..."
He let go of the PDA and let it float down to the bottom while he swam out of the pod. He stored the rad suit in his inventory and looked out toward pod 7's beacon. After one last look around the pod, Jeff took out the seaglide and started out toward the waypoint. As he traveled he saw a segment of the kelp forest come into view.
"Oh no... I sure hope this sea glide is faster than those things."
He kept him self near the surface trying to avoid any contact with those things the PDA labeled 'Stalkers'. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of one through the green mass but luckily none of them seemed to be interested in him. After a few minutes he came out of the kelp and Jeff's stomach tensed at what he saw next. The water was becoming deeper, and more open. A vast expanse of open ocean with who know's what lurking in it. He slowed to a stop and floated for a moment.
"And I thought the area around my pod was scary..."
He slowly started forward, his eyes darting all around looking for anything concerning. Occasionally a flat and scaley creature would dart through a cloud of sand at the bottom and then vanish. Slowly, a dark shape started to come out of the foggy blue. Jeff's adrenaline was pumping now. In all forward directions was just blue with the faint sandy floor morphing into it after a short distance. The dark shape Jeff's eyes were glued to stopped moving when he stopped. While he was still, the dark shape was also still. Jeff started moving slowly closer until he realized the dark shape was simply some strange pillar-like terrain jutting out of the sea floor. As he got closer he noticed red grass growing on the top of the pillar and all around it at the bottom.
"Thank God it was just some crazy rock formation."
About that time, a sound louder than anything Jeff had heard in this ocean before echoed through the area in a long moaning sound of something like the muffled sound of an engine. Jeff quickly turned around to see a massive hulking shape bigger than his life pod, and this time, it was moving on its own in his direction.
Can't wait to see more of Jeff's watery misadventures.
He's going to have fun with the Reaper Leviathan, I can tell.
Oh I'm not going anywhere. Some parts just take longer than others because not as much happens in them. The parts I'm most excited about are still yet to happen so I have to do some less exciting filler to lead up to it. So yeah, still here, and I intend to go all the way through the subnautica story!