Extragalactic Shipwreck

[kookyboy9]

@Lyrikai

Date: March 15, Interstellar year 42.
Time: 15:02:34.1302
Topic: IGS New Horizons - Contact Lost
Sender: Thomas Albedo
Recipient: Edward Albedo
CC: Sarah Albedo, Felicity Albedo, John Albedo

Edward,

As of 13:00 hours today, the first iteration of Project Far Horizons has lost contact. Preliminary examination of starship logs reveals that the ship was likely pulled from hyperspace by a large xenobiological cluster. Contact was lost after multiple hull breaches were recorded. Recommended that we outfit the next expedition with more powerful weaponry. Should we begin production of a second-generation starship?

---------------------------------
Thomas Albedo
Head of Interstellar Logistics - Albedo Inc
XXX-YYY-ZZZZ
[email protected]
www.albedoinc.inc
AE2BF319B

---

Date: March 16, Interstellar year 42.
Time: 15:02:34.1302
Topic: RE: IGS New Horizons - Contact Lost
Sender: Edward Albedo
Recipient: Thomas Albedo
CC: Sarah Albedo, Felicity Albedo, John Albedo

Tom,

As per our meeting yesterday, production of the second-generation intergalactic starship Second Contact has been authorized. I must reiterate again, however, that rescue operations for the IGS Far Horizons have not been authorized, and will not be until such a time comes that we have positive evidence of their survival. This includes sending the new starship in the same direction as the Far Horizons. Please ensure that the changes we discussed yesterday are incorporated into the IGS Second Contact.

Thank you,
---------------------------------
Edward Albedo
CEO - Albedo inc
XXX-YYYY-ZZZZZ
[email protected]
www.albedoinc.inc
AE29FA29C

POV: ????
It was relaxing in the reflections of the Mother Below when it happened. An unnatural construction of metal and fire plummeted from the skies above, flattening it instantly. The construction had seemingly come from nowhere, suddenly simply appearing above the Mother. A group of its fellows had left the Mother to dispose of the disgusting thing, tearing large chunks of metal from it as it screamed and flailed with little success. That was where things started going poorly. The behemoth of steel had suddenly rocketed towards the Mother, losing more and more of itself as it began to burn. Of course, it hadn't really been paying attention. It was too busy simply relaxing in the comforting glow of the Mother. And so it was until the mass of metal slammed into it.

---

POV: IGS Far Horizons

The crew had finally began to stir as the ship's diagnostics finished. The IGS Far Horizons had been suddenly yanked from extradimensional space as it traveled out of the galaxy, only to be soon after beset by a swarm of medium-sized xenoforms. The crew had mounted a valiant defense, but there were ultimately far more of the creatures than they could feasibly shoot down. Fortunately for them, there was a planet-sized piece of spatial debris nearby for them to stage a crash landing on. That, however, was where their fortune ended. The starship had come down in the middle of an inexplicably lush jungle - a near-impossibility considering the absolute lack of light present for it to use to grow. And, as if to make matters worse, all of the plant life was in some way cognitohazardous. And, on top of that, the ship had come down directly on top of a still-living creature. It didn't seem terribly motivated to move, but removal would be a nightmare.

The crew itself had been largely knocked unconscious during the crash landing. The ship's exterior was heavily damaged and was definitely not spaceworthy. And, to make matters worse, one of the space creatures from earlier had managed to completely destroy the long-range communications array. Fortunately, the planet seemed to have a breathable atmosphere, and they had landed somewhere that wasn't likely to outright kill them before they awakened. The ship finished system diagnostics, already compiling a list of necessary repairs to forward to the onboard mechanic. Furthermore, the captain was awake.

"Good morning, Captain Nyx. Emergency landing procedures have been completed successfully. Would you like a report on the status of the ship and crew?"

A few of the others of the crew were beginning to awaken as well. The AI made sure to flag them with a request to meet in the onboard gathering room.

"I have taken the liberty of requesting all members of the crew to gather in the common space when they awaken. Please move in that direction at your earliest convenience."

 

[Lyrikai]

Nyx groaned loudly. Leaning forward, his hands cupped his face, the rough pads of leather gloves barely providing any kind of solace. What he really desired was an ice pack to put over his eyes and to just lie back in his chair and stay there until this god awful headache subsided. Clearly, he had slammed his head on something in the crash, though what was anyone's guess. Could have been his chair, a computer panel, or his own fist as he had brought up his hands in a vain attempt to brace himself for impact. Either way, he knew that it hurt.

He didn't feel any open wounds nor did his gloves come away bloodied, so he supposed that was the first good sign about his condition. The AI was already jabbering and he groaned at it in response. Good morning indeed. This was the last thing he'd consider to be a good morning. There was no point in arguing with it, so he just answered the question. "Yes," he croaked out, "Give me a report."

Well this was all just fine and dandy now, wasn't it? His own voice rang in his ears, the throbbing of his head intensified by the motion of his jaw, the clattering of his teeth even with just the few words he spat out. What he wouldn't have given to just be passed out there on the floor of the bridge instead of having to be awake to try and piece together events: To remember everything and put it back together... What happened. Why. How. Who was still alive and how badly damaged was the ship?

Slowly pushing out of his chair, his back creaked and he gave a sharp his of protest. It honestly would have been so much more convenient for him had everyone just come to the bridge and gather around him while he crumpled in a chair and laid there like he was waiting for death. Though, that would have been quite unbecoming of a captain, so he couldn't just sit there and hope he magically turned to dust. He had duties to perform, and the first of which was assessing who wasn't dead and how much of the ship was totally damaged beyond all hope.

"Thank you," he said to the AI. At least it had the decency of mind to get right to work and took the liberty of gathering everyone, himself included. "I'm on my way." Pushing his feet to working order, one after the other, he stumbled towards the hall and down to the common room. Maybe he'd get lucky and there would be ice there. Or alcohol. That would also be welcomed... even if it was a worse idea.

 

[kookyboy9]

The onboard AI responded in its normal chipper tone, despite the captain's obvious discomfort.
"Yes, Captain. Hull integrity is at 35%. Breaches are detected in the engine room, medical bay, three weapons blisters, and the cargo bay. Dr. Neuman is currently treating Lleu in the secondary cargo bay. It appears that his cybernetics were overloaded during the crash. The twins are currently awake and taking stock of remaining supplies. Miss Wilk and Mister Moulin are waiting in the lounge for you arrival. Viktor is currently trying to remove himself from what remains of the dimensional modulator."

The AI paused for a moment before continuing.
"Diagnostic systems are currently non-functional for the engine, distortion core, and medical fabricator. Landing gear is gone, and a significant portion of mission supplies were lost during planetary entry. I have created a list of projected landing positions for the chunks that I was able to briefly track. The long-range communications system is completely lost, and the short range communications system antenna melted during reentry. All remaining systems are in some level of disrepair."

"The atmosphere of the exoplanet is breathable in emergency situations, but an exosuit is advised for periods of exposure over two hours. The atmosphere contains trace amounts of toxic compounds, and will require periodic detoxification. Additionally, much of the planetary flora and fauna appears to be cognitohazardous in nature. Available viewports have been filtered to remove hazards. Advised not to look out of holes in the hull without visors. Additionally, there is a specimen trapped directly below the lower hull. It currently seems content to just sit there. "

The way from the cockpit to the lounge/common space was quite short. As Nyx approached the door, he could hear the indistinct sounds of an argument from within if he was listening. As the door to the common space slid open, however, the argument abruptly ceased as both First Mate Blaz Moulin and Second Mate Livy Wilk turned to see who was entering. Upon seeing the captain, they both took a seat around the central table. Blaz hit a button on the center console and a holoprojection of the IGS Far Horizons appeared above the table, massive chunks of the ship highlighted in red where the combination of crash landing and the swarm of creatures in space had ripped holes in it.
"Captain. Good timing. We need to see if we can find parts to repair the long-range transmission system. Damn creatures managed to rip it off before I could send a distress signal."

Livy frowned at Blaz's words.
"Like I just told you, the communication system won't matter if we have no food. Will says that the crates containing most of our food were caught up in the lost supplies from the primary cargo bay. We have maybe two or three days of food at best, and I doubt that Viktor can build a new communications system from scratch in a few days."

 

[Lyrikai]

Listening as the AI went on and on, going through every little system error and damaged component and broken part of the ship one by one, he groaned loudly. Hands going to his face, massaging his aching scalp, rubbing eyes, sighing into his hands when they completely enclosed his face for the moment, it would have been so much easier and quicker to as instead which systems were still functioning over which were damaged. It seemed as though that would have been, however unfortunately, the shorter of the two lists.

Well, at least there were a few good things to note there, namely that it sounded like the crew was alive and that they were already busying themselves taking stock and recovering themselves. He supposed the other good thing was that, rough shape as it was in, they at least still had a ship they could use for shelter.

"Terrific," he muttered. Hull breaches. Weapons, communications, diagnostics, landing gear damaged. Supplies sparce. Whatever that last bit was about the trapped specimen was unsettling as all hell and he had a mind to ask about it, but not to the AI. Continuing forward to the common room, there was some relief to hear voices inside. Hearing confirmation from something other than the AI that there were survivors was quite the relief. His first and second mates were here, already arguing it sounded like. The muffling of the voice through the door made it hard to tell what they were saying, and they quickly stopped the moment he entered the room and went right to professionalism again, taking their appropriate seats.

Nyx gave a small nod to either of them. "Glad to see you're both alive," he noted. Much as he didn't mind the peace and quiet of being alone, he probably would have slowly went insane had his crew perished and he was stuck here with no one to talk to but that damned emotionless AI voice. It grated on his nerves and it was so much more relieving hearing this two immediately drum up to entirely different yet equally confounding problems they were going to have to sort out.

"Two or three days." He winced at hearing such a problem. That wasn't a lot of supplies. Even should they get out a signal, that wasn't nearly enough time for rescue to come. "Damn. That doesn't give us very much leeway to fix the ship's systems if we're all bound to starve before we even get half the work done. We'll have to ration what we have left, stretch it out as long as possible." He hesitated, "And... figure out where to find a new supply."

"I received a damage report," he explained, "The air outside deemed breathable in short stints, hazardous flora, probably dangerous creatures, but we might not have much choice in the matter about sending someone out scouting, see what they can find." Hopefully there was something mildly edible out there be it beast or alien vegetable root. "And I've already heard a disturbing report about something stuck sitting below the hull, so that's just lovely." If it stopped being content, that could pose a huge problem.

"Tell me something good," he pleaded out loud, rubbing hands to his face again, "Please just anything."

 

[kookyboy9]

Livy and Blaz looked at each other before Livy spoke
"The good news is that the AI was able to track a projected landing point for one of the supply crates. It thinks it landed around a kilometer north of here." She hesitated a moment before continuing, "...and Will claims that he can probably cook some of the plants outside if we're desperate."

"For further good news, that swarm that ambushed us in orbit seems to have lost interest in us when we fell into the planet's atmosphere. Also, since there's no sun, we don't have to worry about radiation. And somehow, the planet isn't a ball of ice, so we also don't need to worry about freezing even if we have a suit breach outside."

As Blaz spoke, the door slid open, allowing Viktor to step through, his suit's containment field shimmering before dissolving entirely. He waited patiently for Blaz to finish before speaking himself.
"Captain, good news and bad news... although it sounds like we're sharing good news first? So I'll go with that. The good news is that the engine reactor core is in good condition, so we won't have to worry about power for the next couple thousand years. On the still slightly good side, the engine is functional enough to limp back to space if we can fix the ship's hull. On the not-so-great side, however, the AI's processing banks were damaged in the landing. It should still function, but it may grow increasingly erratic. And, finally, the absolutely abysmal. The distortion core is destroyed beyond repair. Which means we aren't going to be leaving this region of space or sending any sort of long-range transmissions."

Blaz frowned as Victor paused for a moment, obviously thinking.
"Fortunately, it's an open secret that the core's key components are based on xenobiological mechanisms, so it wouldn't surprise me if we can find something out here that we can substitute for the parts that aren't salvageable. Dr. Neuman would probably know more about that than me, though..."

"So you're saying that there's no way we could send a distress signal even if we repair the long-range communications system?"

"Err... that sounds about right. It'll take weeks to fix the distortion core even if we can somehow find a biological substitute, and the distortion core is what we use to allow the signals to travel faster than light."

 

[Lyrikai]

"It located a supply crate?" Eyebrows shot up in surprise and Nyx could give a proper sigh of relief at that one. "That might be the best news I've heard yet. A kilometer's not all that far off. Best get someone on retrieving that straight away. Should help in the immediate present. Check the surroundings, see if you can determine its exact location and any possible dangers between here and there, then we can dispatch someone to go fetch it."

Another piece of good news was that they seemed to be out of any immediate danger on both fronts of weather and hostile lifeforms. At least it gave them a short bout of breathing room to calculate each move. As long as they still had life support, some rations, and nothing trying to kill them all in this very moment, it gave them at least a little time to stop and plot priorities and get work done rather than running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Quieting as the door opened again, Nyx looked to see who had come. Giving a knowing nod to Viktor, he'd listen through and hear his report as well. Hoping for more reasonably good news, however, unfortunately this news seemed far more grim and the captain's teeth set to edge. Grinding, grimacing, he listened until the man was done. "Destroyed," was the first word he chose to repeat from all that. To say that wasn't good was a total understatement.

"So you're saying, that even if we can get off this rock, we're not going anywhere fast," he concluded. A hand went to his face, massaging brows with a low groan. "For the time being then, it's obviously safer to just stay put here until we can tackle some kind of ultimate plan. Worry about limping back to space last." Out there in space was where they had gotten attacked. While he didn't yet know every potential danger that lurked down here, he didn't want to be caught crippled in space. Rather he'd be caught down here on the ground where he could defend himself if it came to it.

That being and, of course, that down here there was a chance yet that they could find some useful materials that might help in repairs, however temporary.

"So," he started holding up fingers as he listed off some of the major points of the conversation, "Food and supplies. We need to make sure we're alive and healthy if we've even going to try and survive the few weeks it will take to make minimal repairs. No communications. No getting out of this space. It seems clear then one of our first priorities is to do some good old fashioned exploring and find out if there's anything outside the confines of this ship we can use. I'd like to take a proper tour of the ship myself and see the damage firsthand, but if it's not in any urgent stress, a scouting party to take a first look outside seems fair to me. Any objections to that?" His head was throbbing and he gave a small sigh. He supposed though maybe he shouldn't neglect medical attention, even for something minor, and be so eager instead to go running off outside to check out the neighborhood before he'd even checked in on everyone.

 

[kookyboy9]

Nobody in the room spoke up with any objections to Nyx's plans. A moment later, Livy spoke up. "Speaking of the doctor, she wanted me to tell you to report to the medical wing for a checkup if I saw you."

The ship AI spoke up to supplement Livy's report. "Dr Neumann has just completed her treatment of Lleu and is currently taking inventory of the supplies remaining in the medical wing. If you plan to assemble a scouting party, Lleu would likely be an ideal candidate for the position."

Blaz nodded, speaking up himself. "If I remember correctly, the twins should have EVA experience as well. If we're fortunate, we might still have one of those heavy EVA suits in storage that we can use to suit up whoever goes outside."

After a short moment of silence, the AI spoke up again. "Theodore has confirmed the presence of one EVA suit, but suspects that the others were among the supplies that were lost in the crash. Initial predictions place the landing site of the storage lots they were in at over 3 kilometers away."