Chapter Text
Ryley woke up to the acrid smell of burning metal and plastic coating his nostrils. His eyes slowly blinked open, awareness returning to him. He was still strapped into the lifepod chair, and the entirety of the small space was ablaze.
Suddenly acutely aware of the danger he was now in, Ryley’s heartbeat quickened, as he pressed the “Release” button on the armrest of the chair. The chair didn’t unlock. Panicked, he pressed the button again, and then again, and then again, before finally delivering a swift punch to the chair’s armrest. The chair released him, and Ryley wasted no time in grabbing the fire extinguisher that had broken loose during the initial launch of the lifepod from the Aurora. The smoke was suffocating, and Ryley struggled to breathe. His eyes were stinging, blurring his vision, and the intense heat from the inferno made it difficult to navigate around the lifepod. Fire extinguisher in hand, Ryley set to work. The fire was quickly extinguished, smoke clearing through the lifepod’s ventilation systems, leaving a thoroughly shaken Ryley panting from the adrenaline.
He allowed himself a moment to breathe, sliding down to sit on the lifepod floor. He found his PDA a few feet away from him and gave it a few taps to wake it up after pressing the power button. A yellow message appeared that read “Booting in Emergency Mode,” followed by the ever-familiar Alterra logo and jingle.
Thank God, Ryley thought to himself as he waited for the PDA to finish loading. Going anywhere unfamiliar without a PDA was a death sentence in and of itself. A feminine robotic voice sounded from the device and into his earpiece.
“You have suffered minor head trauma. This is considered an optimal outcome,” Great, Ryley thought. He had forgotten how unintentionally mouthy the PDA’s A.I. could be.
“This PDA has now rebooted in emergency mode with one directive: to keep you alive on an alien world.” The voice sent shivers down Ryley’s back. “Please refer to the databank for detailed survival advice. Good luck.”
The finality of that sentence was not comforting in the slightest. Ryley quickly took stock of his situation. Before he had been knocked unconscious by flying scrap metal from the cheaply constructed Alterra lifepod, something had happened to the Aurora that had caused it to crash and send its crew scrambling for the lifepods. The lifepod was sitting still, meaning that it had landed somewhere, and the fact that he could stand without feeling gravity pulling on him from a different angle meant the lifepod had landed upright. For once, Ryley found himself blessing the Alterra tech for actually working. The fabricator also seemed to be in good working order, which was easily the biggest relief by far. Unfortunately, several other components of the lifepod were broken, and he’d need a repair tool…which he had left on the Aurora. Shit.
That small setback would have to wait until later. Ryley needed to figure out just where the hell he had landed. He pushed himself off the ground and climbed the short ladder up to the hatch on the roof of the lifepod. He lifted the hatch and pulled himself out of the pod, only for his eyes to immediately be assaulted by the endless blue surrounding him.
The entire visible surface of the planet was ocean. In the distance Ryley thought he could make out an island, but he couldn’t tell if what he was seeing was land, or very thick clouds that laid close to the ocean surface. To his right was the Aurora, mostly intact and covered in flames.
“The Aurora suffered orbital hull failure. Cause: Unknown. Zero human life signs detected,” The PDA said with finality.
ZERO?! Surely one person besides himself had made it out alive. How could there be zero human life readings? He couldn’t possibly be the only survivor. Perhaps his PDA was malfunctioning. Did they all die in the crash? No, that was impossible. Ryley had seen some of his fellow crewmates jettison their lifepods. Maybe they had landed outside of his PDA’s maximum scannable range? Yes, that must be it, Ryley told himself. He needed to remain confident that everyone else made it out okay. Being pessimistic in a survival situation was not ideal.
Ryley, who was now standing on top of his lifepod, pulled out his PDA to get a glimpse of his location data. So far, there was nothing, which wasn’t very surprising. He needed to repair the broken components of his lifepod for it to gather geological data about the planet, but he had no repair tool. He would have to craft one, and to craft one, he would need materials. Before taking the plunge into the unknown waters below him, Ryley needed to check his emergency supplies.
He climbed back down into the lifepod and opened the storage bench. He found a few bottles of water, some flares, a couple of nutrient blocks, and a protective suit. Ryley pulled the suit on and found it equipped with a small oxygen tube to help him breathe for a bit longer when he was under the water. The suit also came with a small, waterproof belt with some storage compartments and hooks for various tools. First things, first, Ryley needed a scanner and a repair tool. He checked the fabricator and its list of fabrication “recipes” and saw that he needed a battery and titanium for a scanner. The battery ingredients were listed out as well. Luckily, the fabricator seemed to be getting information based on the resources available on the planet. Just what were acid mushrooms and where would he find them?
Ryley took a few deep breaths before turning the handle of the bottom hatch of the lifepod. As he lowered his feet, a strange blue and orange creature swam by. What was he getting himself into? The water was warm and deceivingly inviting. Ryley braced himself and lowered the rest of his body into the ocean below. He opened his eyes and gazed upon the alien world for the first time.
While the surface of the ocean was just blue for miles, underneath the surface was a world of colour and life. Large manatee-like creatures with strange yellow pustules swam around, making low moaning noises as they went. Coral was growing on the sides of rocky hills, and small colourful fish swam about. The terrain formed small caves that fish were swimming in and out of, seemingly coexisting peacefully. Ryley caught a small pink, almost see-through fish in his hand, examining it gently before his PDA sounded in his ear.
“Alien lifeforms may have unexpected applications. Utilizing alien resources is a proven survival strategy.”
Ryley let the fish go before diving down and exploring the nearby area. He saw some strange donut-shaped purple plants and picked up a few in the hopes that they would be edible, placing them in his storage belt. As he approached a small hillside, he noticed a piece of limestone that was peeling off the side of the terrain. After resurfacing for some air, he dove back down and picked up a rock from the ocean floor and smacked the limestone chunk until it came off. To his surprise, he found a chunk of titanium inside it. Well, that was certainly convenient.
Ryley sought out more limestone chunks, smashing them with rocks to reveal some more titanium deposits. The titanium was definitely going to be useful later, but what he really needed was some copper and acid mushrooms (whatever those were) to make a battery. He opened his PDA in the hopes that it could provide some more information about where he could find copper and opened up the recipe for a battery again to check. Surprisingly, his PDA was telling him that he already had the acid mushrooms in his storage belt. Were they those small purple plants he had grabbed?
Ryley swam around the shallow area that his lifepod had landed in, looking for other limestone chunks to smash as they seemed to be teeming with usable materials. He swam into a small cave, picking up the quartz deposits as he went. He wasn’t sure what the quartz would be used for, but it certainly couldn’t hurt to grab some.
“Detecting sulfur deposits in the local cave systems. Sulfur is an essential component of the repair tool.”
Finally, some useful information from his PDA. As he scanned the cave he swam in, he couldn’t see any sulfur deposits. Was the sulfur also in a limestone chunk? He found a nearby one and smashed it, there was no sulfur to be found, but rather an orangey-green rock.
“Copper is an essential component of all powered equipment. Your probability of survival has just increased to: unlikely, but plausible.”
Copper! Finally, Ryley thought to himself. He began to make his way out of the small cave system, breaking more limestone and getting some more copper and titanium. As he made his way out, he passed by a small brown mound on the wall of the cave. Curious as to what materials could be found inside, Ryley swam closer.
As he approached, he heard a small growl come from within. Slightly more apprehensive now, he moved to smash it with a chunk of titanium, but before he could, the mound opened up, revealing a small spiky red fish with a big eye in the center of its face. The fish started swimming towards him, growling as it approached, and Ryley knew immediately that this fish was not friendly. He started swimming away as fast as he could, but without fins, Ryley’s speed was no match for the small little fish. The fish crashed into his leg. Boom! Searing pain flared up in Ryley’s leg, and when he searched for the fish, there was no sign of it to be found besides the air bubbles near where it had hit him. Avoid small brown mounds in coral caves…noted, Ryley thought wryly.
After assessing his leg for any damage, and thankfully finding nothing severe besides maybe some light bruising, he returned to his lifepod and opened the fabricator. He placed some copper and acid mushrooms on the fabricator’s surface and pressed the battery option. He watched as the fabricator took the provided ingredients and spit back out a full, working battery. He took some titanium and placed it next to the battery, navigating to the “Tools” screen, and pressing “Scanner”.
“The scanner can be used to synthesize blueprints from salvaged technology, and to record alien biological data.”
Ryley triumphantly picked up the small, gun-like tool, grinning widely and thankful that he could now scan the various creatures and plants to figure out how to use them to his advantage. Ryley climbed back down into the ocean below, and immediately started scanning everything he could find.
The first creature he scanned was the fish he had picked up earlier. The recorded data-bank entry on his PDA called it a “Bladderfish”. The assessment was the most useful information thus far, as the fish’s membrane functioned as a natural water filter, meaning that these fish could be used as a water source until he could figure out how to build a filtration machine.
He scanned other small fish, finding their names oddly comedic. There were Peepers, Garryfish, Boomerangs, and many more. The large manatee-like creatures were called Gasopods, and most important of all, he learned that the exploding fish was a Crash Fish (thanks to another unfortunate run-in), and that the pods they came out of would likely contain sulfur deposits. Ryley navigated back to the pod he had accidentally opened earlier, and to his delight, he found sulfur.
He swam back to the surface for oxygen and pulled out his PDA to the blueprints tab to check what it was he needed for a repair tool. He would need silicone rubber, sulfur, and titanium. The titanium and sulfur were already highlighted as green, meaning he had them in his inventory, but the silicone rubber would be difficult to find as he was sure that it didn’t just naturally occur in the ocean. He searched for silicone rubber in the blueprints and was delighted to find that he could make it from something called a Creepvine Seed Cluster.
Ryley was not very eager to go searching for something with “creep” in its name, and so he began scanning all the flora and fauna he could find in the immediate area surrounding his lifepod. There was table coral, acid mushrooms, blue palm, spotted reeds, but no such thing as a creepvine. All the blood from Ryley’s face drained as he realised that to get the ingredients he needed, he would have to swim beyond the safe area he had landed in, and that thought was truly terrifying.
He knew from his short exploration of the surrounding area that the terrain dropped off into what looked like massive kelp forests in all directions. If he had to dive deeper to get what he needed, then he was going to need a better oxygen supply. Ryley climbed to the top of the lifepod and sat on top, gazing out at the burning Aurora. He opened his PDA and searched his blueprints for some kind of oxygen tank. Luckily, the PDA had provided him with the recipe for a standard O2 tank which came equipped with a full-face dive mask. Even luckier, was the fact that it only required Titanium, which he had in abundance.
Ryley climbed the ladder back into the damaged lifepod and quickly constructed himself an O2 tank. It was small, and only provided him with approximately 75 seconds of oxygen, but it was more than the meagre 45 seconds he had with the Alterra suit’s oxygen production, and it would allow him to explore a bit deeper without having to worry about drowning. With his new oxygen tank equipped, Ryley descended back into the ocean and swam for the edge of the shallower waters, towards one of the bordering kelp forests.
“Life on this planet grows in distinct and diverse ecological biomes. Further study recommended.”
Ryley rolled his eyes at the PDA.
The water around him shifted as he swam into the kelp. It took on a deep green hue and the visibility worsened. Ryley could only see ten to twenty feet ahead of him because of the algae content of the forest, whereas the shallower areas boasted crystal clear visibility for miles. Large stalks of kelp stretched to the ocean’s surface, desperately seeking sunlight. The kelp was dense and seemed to stretch forever in an endless sea of green. Without a compass, one could easily get lost if they went deep enough into the kelp. He would need to be careful when he navigated this biome. He swam towards a giant kelp stalk and pulled out his scanner. As the kelp scanned, Ryley noticed some large blue and purple crocodile-like creatures with very large teeth swimming about and picking up discarded bits of metal from the crash. Their roars were unsettling, and Ryley hoped that they weren’t territorial, because he was very much invading their space. To avoid the potential wrath of the large crocodile fish, Ryley swam back for the shallower water near his lifepod to examine the data on the kelp. He opened his databank and read the entry:
Creepvines: A kelp species concentrated in large forests, in shallow, sandy waters. Loose roots anchor the plant to the sea floor, from where it grows steadily toward the surface in pursuit of sunlight.
The stem is fibrous and rich in iron, making it both a viable base material for fabrication of textiles, as well as a basic foodstuff.
Assessment: Vital alien resource – edible – Construction applications.
To his immense relief, the databank also provided a photographic diagram of the different parts of the creepvine, making the seed clusters easy to identify. It also helped that they were fluorescent yellow and glowed brightly in the low visibility of the kelp forest. Ryley swam back towards the first vine he found and pulled off a handful of creepvine seeds.
A loud roar sounded from behind him. Ryley turned and saw one of the crocodile fish swimming angrily towards him. Shit. Ryley knew that if he tried to swim away, the fish would certainly catch up with him. He had to dodge it at the last minute and make a hasty retreat to the lifepod. Ryley waited as the creature gained speed and swam at him. The creature’s massive jaws opened wide, showcasing its intimidating fangs. Right before its jaws could close around his leg, Ryley feinted left. He watched relieved as the creature confused itself, having missed its prey. Luckily for him, the creature was not necessarily determined to eat him, and swam further into the kelp forest. Ryley noted that its eyes were on the side of his head, not on top, meaning that if he stayed on top of the creature, he might be able to avoid being seen so he could scan it to figure out what it was.
Ryley swam back to the surface to replenish his oxygen before diving back down towards the creature. Scanner in hand, he dodged the creature which had noticed his presence and was actively trying to spin around and attack him. The scan completed and Ryley swam away as fast as his mildly injured legs could carry him. He made it back to the lifepod, unscathed, but traumatized. A quick glance at the databank entry for the creature revealed it was a Stalker. A rather unnerving name, Ryley thought. He opened the fabricator and crafted the silicone rubber, finding that the creepvine seeds made more rubber than he had originally needed. The surplus was certainly helpful, and he placed his extra materials into the lifepod’s storage. Materials in hand, Ryley was finally able to craft himself a repair tool.
With his repair tool, Ryley started working on repairing the different broken systems in his lifepod. When he was finished, the main cabin lights turned on with a loud whirring sound.
“Lifepod secondary systems online. Running full environment diagnostic and outputting results to databank.”
Ryley would look at the databank later. He also had to check the radio so that he could contact any other survivors.
“Radio online. Broadcasting emergency distress signal,” a more robotic voice sounded from the radio. Ryley prayed that his signal reached someone.
“This is Aurora. Distress signal received. Rescue operation will be dispatched to your location in 9…9…9…9…9 hours. Continue to monitor for emergency transmissions from other lifepods.”
Ryley’s heart sunk in his chest. Rescue wasn’t coming, of that he was certain now. His PDA still wasn’t picking up any life signatures, and as of that moment, he hadn’t received any communication from the other lifepods. Ryley’s body went cold, and he was finding it difficult to catch his breath. He was truly alone on this strange planet. His spirits properly destroyed, Ryley grabbed a bottle of water from the locker and sipped at it to help calm his nerves as he read the databank entry for the planet.
4546B Environment Scan
- Category 3 Ocean Planet
- Oxygen/Nitrogen Atmosphere
- Extensive Biodiversity
Safety Warnings:
- May support leviathan class predators
- Water contaminated with high levels of foreign bacteria
- Planet is beyond federation space, rescue unlikely
It is not recommended to explore this environment without hazardous material suits and extensive support apparatus.
There was a lot to unpack in such a short databank entry. The first of which was the horrifying knowledge that there were potential leviathan class predators. As chief of non-essential maintenance onboard the Aurora, Ryley had virtually no experience with alien life. He was never the one building the phase gates or exploring the planets, or doing any form of research really. Now, here he was, on a strange planet, by himself, with hostile alien fish as company, some of which could potentially be so large that they were considered the apex predators of the environment. Hopefully during his stay on 4546B he wouldn’t need to go anywhere near them.
The second major concern was this foreign bacteria the PDA mentioned. He had already jumped into the ocean, meaning he was already exposed to whatever the bacteria was. He had no information about it, or whether it would eventually prove to be harmful, and he had no access to any antidote should the bacteria make him sick. Fantastic.
The last area of concern was the likelihood of rescue. He knew that the Aurora wouldn’t be providing him any help, but knowing that a ship somewhere out in space wouldn’t find him either only drove the nail into the coffin of his hopes of salvation. He only had himself to rely on, and he needed to find his way off this godforsaken planet.
Ryley gazed up through the hatch on the roof of his lifepod and found that the sun had set. He had no bed in his lifepod, and so he resigned himself to sleeping on the cold, hard floor. He distantly wondered if his fellow crewmates were okay, and if they had somehow made it out alive, but a part of him that he refused to acknowledge knew that it wasn’t very likely.
As Ryley laid on the floor, feeling hopelessly alone and scared, he sent out a silent prayer, begging for some kind of help. He only wished that there was someone out there on the receiving end to pick up the signal.