Stranded - Situation Assessment
10 Jul 2024Kasumi Goto
"What did I expect? Well, to be completely honest, I don't think I had any expectations. Hard to have those when it wasn't exactly a planned landing... and I was mostly just glad to have survived it."
Location: Unknown ammonia world
I decided to start out down in what would, on a larger ship, probably have been the engineering section. Kraits, however, had a bit of an odd layout where FSD and thrusters were central and at the back, but the reactor was offset to a side - right or left from the back or front respectively. So that one was up after these two.
My choice out of the two, was to start out with the FSD chamber, which I suspected to be the culprit behind my current predicament, simply because the internal explosion causing this mess occurred when I tried to shut off the overcharge mode of the Achilles-made drive with - probably - a piece of reverse-engineered Titan technology. Getting there, however, was a bit of a challenge of its own, thanks to various damaged and blocked corridors I either had to cut my way through, or just circumvent via an alternate route.
At least the doors worked fine. The last thing I wanted was for those to not open properly any longer and for me to have to squeeze through a partially opened one, which my proportions would not have made easy. If not outright impossible, depending on the size of the gap. Luckily - for me - that was not the case, the lucky part relating to no risk of getting stuck with nobody to help me out of it, because my hips were... just too big.
The FSD chamber was a right mess. It looked like a part of the device had been torn open, and the whole room looked the part. Parts of metal plating, wires and other electronic components were scattered all over it, with scorch marks from either the explosion or electrical discharges just about everywhere.
"EDI. What, are the chances, the field repair thingy, can even... fix this?", I decided to ask, keeping a healthy distance to the drive as I looked it over. Sure, it was supposedly powered down and dead, but I didn't trust it.
"Unknown. I am still assessing the extent of the damage.", the AI answered. "However, it should be possible to at least restore basic functionality to reach the nearest station, where proper repairs can be performed."
I shook my head, both hands on the hips. "Nothing, else, will... really, fix that. Just, keep... trying to find out, what caused, it."
Leaving the drive chamber, I headed over to the maintenance space for the thrusters, while theories of the malfunction's origin already formed in my head. As expected, this space was in something of a state, too. The problem here... more obvious. Aside from damage to the housing of the Phantom's engine block, the wiring was in especially poor shape. That was something I could let the AFMU handle... the damaged or outright severed fuel and coolant lines - evidenced by the fluid accumulated in the chamber - not so much. I'd have to do that manually. At least good enough for it to hold together without exploding. Again. If the ship's printer systems were still functional, I could get those to make the replacement parts, at the very least. Good thing the suit was sealed - I didn't want wet feet of... whatever was gathered up in here.
Next up, reactor room. Its cooling systems looked intact, thankfully... but something had scorched the fusion core, from the outside. I pulled up a holo-display of its status on a console near it - radiation shielding and containment, intact. No power generation, currently, due to it being shut down. And that could only run at limited capacity, but if the reactor itself was not badly damaged, why was it not producing its regular output?
I hit a button to open up the regulator housings, to see whether anything was up there. All but one fried. That wasn't right - they hadn't been under any kind of stress and were all operating within optimal parameters, with no signs of degradation, before. Failsafes were supposed to protect them from surges as well, which had really messed up the distributor system. I had spares for those regulators, assuming the stuff in my ship storage had survived the crash, but I was more concerned about the cause of their damage.
"EDI, these are, fried. Why?", I inquired.
"At the moment of the explosion in the drive chamber, a power surge occurred which affected a number of systems, and severely damaged the power distribution system in a cascade reaction, as you saw yourself.", she told me. "Safety mechanisms failed to engage in time to prevent the damage to all but one of the regulators, in turn leading to the reduced power output."
"Sabotage?" It had definitely entered my mind.
"I cannot yet rule it out as a possibility, but the signs do not point that way, as part of the program was still able to fulfil its functionality. Replacing the damaged regulators will provide some improvement to power output, but without repairing the distributor system, the reactor will not be able to run optimally."
"Ok... ok. I got it. Will, replace them... if, the spares, survived."
I returned the regulators - damaged and intact - to the inside of the reactor, and made the trip over to where I had the AFMU placed next. Aside from a curtain of wires - which I brushed to the side, the power to them cut off to avoid them posing a hazard - not much blocked my way into that compartment. This device had seen better days, too, but the core mechanism appeared intact when I opened it up. Mostly, some of the peripheral components were damaged. Not a difficult fix... maybe even something I could do with a few bypasses, at least for a start. And with the reactor not in nearly as bad a shape as I thought, I didn't necessarily have to repair this one's backup power... though it was probably still a good idea to, and have it fix both the fusion plant as well as the power distributor.
The 'best' thing about this situation was that swapping the regulators was a fairly simple task. All I had to do was turn off the power and cut the regulator's connection - which systems automatically did if it was damaged - before removing it from the housing. Probably best to do it first, or maybe only after the reactor repairs, avoid burning any more of them out.
Of course, that was the simple part. Fixing the thrusters, that'd take longer. The better part of a day, probably. And the FSD... I had no clue about that. Maybe I'd just hope the AFMU could do that job without me, because I didn't really feel like touching it. And never had. At best, I could get some guidance from EDI... which led me to a different thought.
"EDI, are computer systems, intact?", I cautiously asked, not being sure if I wanted to hear the answer. "And, the data, on them?"
"Yes.", she replied. "As my functionality should have indicated to you, the ship's central computer remains fully functional, and all gathered explorer data has remained intact."
I let out a breath of relief. "That, is... good." And led me to another thing, with a finger raised, that went left and right as the thought took word form. "But, if you, are here... are you, not, still connected, to the carrier?"
"Unfortunately, no. The moment the explosion occurred, external comms were cut off, due to the power surge damaging the system, possibly corrupting your current location. It is also too distant to conduct the rescue within timely means. A copy of my mind, operating at a reduced level, was activated just before the connection was severed. It should, however, still be more than sufficient to allow you to survive and re-establish contact, at which point my memories will be integrated into the main construct."
"Oh. So you are EDI, but not EDI.", I dryly stated, then sighed at that information. "Is there, anything else, that is damaged, but I do not know of?"
"Internal sensors in specific sections, primarily focused along the lower hull section. It is likely they are offline following the impact, though this same fact means I cannot ascertain what the origin of the disruption is."
"I guess, I will find out, when I go, there." I closed the AFMU's insides up again, for the time being. "Which, is, now."
I took a maintenance ladder - as one of the few of those spaces I could even still use - down to the lower level of the ship, which, unsurprisingly, was an even more chaotic sight. If the upper half was a mess, this lower one was a spawn of Chaos. I began my tour in the vehicle hangar... what was accessible of it, at least. The Scarab's bay was blocked off, no info available on if it even functioned or there was a vehicle left in it. Worst case, I'd have to check for it somewhere along the path the ship had taken - Scorpion could be useful, to that end, if I could get the ship unstuck, as that vehicle was intact... and, once the obstruction cleared, the release mechanism was not jammed up either.
Of course, that meant fixing the thrusters. Which... was not even close to getting started. I did run a check for the landing gear while I was in here. Hydraulics looked ok, but that didn't mean it would still hold the ship's weight in .75G. It would have been very much a surprise if that landing hadn't roughed it up a bit, and getting in there for access... maybe required lowering the gear. Would have to decide if it was worth the risk, or to instead drop the Scorpion from the air.
I thought about sending a ping out for the Scarab - in case any part of that thing remained functional - but ship comms were down... my eyes fell on the intact Scorpion again. That thing's radio still had to work... worth a try. I opened up the front of it, rather than force myself in through the - widened - side hatch, and tinkered with controls to send out a signal. Nothing... for a short moment, then faint reception of a return signal. Three, maybe four kilometers away, but hard to get an exact distance with that weak a signal. Still, I saved the information on my wrist computer, for later reference. At worst, I'd find a wreck to salvage from. If my own regulator stockpile was all messed up, I could maybe save the one from the Scarab instead.
My feet carried me to the armory next. Surprisingly, nothing had really gotten knocked around in here. But then, everything was always sealed up and locked in place prior to flight, so that wasn't actually too unexpected. More so with me taking extra care to get better-than-standard equipment to keep my weapons, ammo reserves and whatnot where they belonged. Which was not the floor, or floating around in zero G bumping into stuff. If there was anyone to do any bumping of stuff, it was me.
I shook off the weird ending thought and inspected the printer equipment. Both the small and large-scale. And... they appeared to be functional. Ish. I wouldn't be able to make anything too complex without running them through some repairs of their own, but they could create AFMU repair kits and metal tubing to replace the thruster fuel and coolant lines. Or carbon fibre, at a limit. Whichever it was that I needed again, but they'd probably both do to reach somewhere to get everything repaired and replaced, as necessary, by a proper station maintenance crew. Not me who couldn't fit into a vent if she needed to to fix a thing. Or wouldn't easily, at least - there was no temptation to try, that was for sure. It was also sure that getting a replacement power regulator made was out of the question here.
The bad part of it among the bad news, was, material reserves appeared to be inaccessible. So I'd have to make my next stop there. And it wasn't hard to tell why when I got there... everything was a mess. Indescribably so. I breathed deeply, trying to focus my mind, but it was all just... too much. I sat down on the floor, folding my legs on each other, as much as I could... and, closed my eyes, for a little. Thinking... where to start?
Power was a relatively easy one. Replace the regulators, fix the AFMU or run a bypass on it around some of the damaged bits, while trying not to get zapped in the process, and get it to fix the power distributor. Which wouldn't include any damaged conduits elsewhere in the ship, but... as long as they were accessible outside of a narrow maintenance shaft or vent, I could fix that by hand. It would probably be simpler and faster to, as well. And the field repair device wasn't magic - too much damage, and it was a job that needed doing manually. It wouldn't exactly be able to just conjure a replacement for something completely destroyed either, and I dreaded the FSD repair. At least I had an AI to guide me through it.
Clearing out this mess ahead of me was probably a good starting point, though. Without those printers running, I wouldn't get anywhere. And power was pointless without anywhere to use it, so the thruster repair would take priority, too. But... maybe I'd finish looking around first. I stood back up, going toward the other storage section. Also messy, could see some of the various bits and bobs I'd picked up over the years scattered around on the floor. Mostly just the stuff which was kept on open shelves and got knocked loose by the landing - thankfully, nothing that was important or irreplaceable.
My urges took over and I started cleaning up, returning data drives - some in better, some in worse shape, but would have to analyze them for any lost data later... they didn't have anything that I didn't want to lose stored on them, anyway, that was all on the main computer - to their spots, and some of the other stuff, at that. Various types of plating, weapon components... all that. A task not made easier by my big thighs reducing my flexibility, more than just a little, and also needing to make sure I didn't topple over from the weight on my chest.
Once done, of the sealed lockers was of the most interest to me - I knew that one to hold the power regulator spares. And... it'd done its job of keeping them solidly in place, as well as intact. Would be something for later, though, so I closed it back up. And... didn't feel like working more, instead going back to the cockpit. There, I picked up my helmet, and went over to the personal cabin of the ship. Some of the furniture had slid around a bit or fallen over, and some of my personal items were on the floor instead of where they belonged.
I examined the picture frame on the ground first. Luckily... it was not shattered. Not like my heart after the incident which had led to the loss of the important person in that photo, beside me. Me when I was not in this messy state and without female proportions that could cover for three, anyway. I put it back on the desk, then took the chest armor off, placing it and the corresponding helmet in a locker specifically meant for them.
The window shutter was closed, so I opened it up. Gave me quite a nice lake view - almost like a vacation, except I wasn't on Earth or a planet like it, and not as part of a planned trip. The 'water' here was also not water but ammonia, and more of a brown color, on this particular planet. Everything looked more brown. Kind of made me want to go outside and take a brief look. I did still wear the protective suit, too...
I headed back to the stern of the ship, toward the rear airlock - only usable one until I got this thing lifted off and placed properly on its landing gear. The light helmet still sat in the box - placed here to that purpose - just as I had left it when taking off from the planet with the space germs, in this same system. I put it on, engaged the seals, and... started waiting out a rather lengthy pressure equalization procedure. Had a jump pack with me too - wanted to get a good look from up high. See what was around me, at least.
As I waited, EDI spoke up again.
"Kira, I have been using your suit to obtain some telemetry on the lower decks.", the AI informed me.
Could have figured.
"Oh. So?", I asked, in return.
"Most of it appears to not have power, including the internal sensors, as a result of damage to local conduits. It is likely you may have to replace or bypass them."
"Great ..."
"It is possible to create replacements using the ship's printer systems. First, however, you must make them operational."
"And... there is a problem, with it?"
"Other than the disconnected material reserves, which you have seen yourself and is likely due to the power being cut, nothing should impede returning functionality to the system."
"Oh. Well, I... guess, that, will not, be difficult."
I assumed, anyway. At most, I ran the risk of getting zapped and wearing a suit like this would stop that from causing any harm, most likely. Maybe also a helmet or mask, just in case. But just shutting off that particular section would probably remove most of the hazard.
The rest of the time, I stood in silence, aside from fitting the jump pack as well, and double-checking suit seals. As the outer airlock door opened up, with a bit of a struggle, the temperature readout quickly dropped to somewhere... around minus fifty degrees. It was definitely a bit dim, maybe in the 'afternoon' of this world. Would have to double check some of the data on it once I was back inside, before I went anywhere far. Which was not for today.
The suit systems issued a hazardous environment warning as I stepped out to the railing, seeing the carnage my ship had left behind. Quite a large 'trench' was where it'd dug into the ground, a few trees that were a little too close had lost some of their branches. Wherever my initial impact spot was, I couldn't see it from here. Nothing important to be seen or found there anyway... I hoped.
Being in this position, I reviewed the faint ping I received from the Scarab vehicle. It was definitely somewhere along the trench - which didn't make me too hopeful in that I'd find more than a wreck. It was more of a lightweight vehicle, so the chances of it having survived getting forcibly ejected from the ship were... very low.
"It, is not currently raining, is, it?", I inquired toward EDI.
"The external sensors remaining functional do not show any rainfall, no.", she answered. "It is safe for you to move out of the ship's cover."
That was all I needed to hear. I moved to the open spot in the railing where the back ladder was - luckily, still there and stowed, if I needed to use it to descend - and, with one foot on the railing, pushed upward, releasing my grip. The distance I got with that would not be enough to get to the ship's roof, but that was what I had the jump pack for, and upgraded as it was, it managed to carry me there... mostly well.
Wherever I'd landed didn't have too many identifiable landmarks. Mountainside far to the right, with some snow-covered tops, a cave at their foot... maybe large enough to put the ship into. Light beginnings of a forest to the left and back, maybe one or two kilometers away, plains all around. And the lake, of course, covering most of the distance from here to the cave. Everything was a sort of brown, or blackened color, too, from the grass - so much as I could call it that - to the leaves of the trees.
Looking up into the sky, I could very much see the L class dwarf in it, seemingly approaching the horizon, illuminating everything in sort of a purple-ish, slightly red light. Definitely a good distance away, though, comparatively... likely thanks to the atmospheric pressure, trapping more heat. The neutron star was also up there, somewhere... and I was a bit more concerned about it. This distance was not far enough to be away from where the planet would receive energy from the dead star, albeit not so much light, and that could be a problem, depending on its properties. Another reason to stay near the ship... or at least the SRV, which had sufficient radiation shielding as well.
Maybe it'd be worth taking a closer look at the native biology, too, then. If I got the opportunity - I was stuck here for a few days, anyway, and while ship repairs took priority, I wouldn't be doing that all the time. So I could as well bring something back from my little misadventure... providing I survived it, or would get off-planet again.
Priorities first, though. I turned back around and, before hopping back down, looked at the thruster assembly. At least the external parts looked like they got off fine. Just as well. I stepped on the inactive - and, by now, cooled - exhaust, jumping back down to the 'ledge' beneath at the back of the ship. With assistance from the jump pack, of course, as I didn't want to go breaking any legs to make things even more inconvenient.
Once back inside, I dropped by the cargo hold first... something which I viewed as important but had kind of forgotten about. The Thargoid sensor I'd picked up from a planet, at some point during my expedition out into deep space, was still there. And, thankfully, intact. Even still sat on its spot in the cargo rack... which was not corrosive resistant, but I had been able to 'connect' to the machine and keep its self-repair mechanism offline once it'd fixed the damage to itself, only from non-vital systems. Which the AFMU then repaired. I'd return this thing to the Thargoids once I got out of this. Or, eventually, at least.
A 'guest' - a Thargon drone that seemed to manage to follow me into every ship, somehow, and for which I couldn't remember where it was from - also waited for me, giving me a quite eager greeting... and, in its 'buzzing', told me why the sensor sat on the cargo rack again. The handler arm hadn't put it back there, leaving only one suspect.
"You are, so nice. Little thing."
Little more because it was almost a pet of a kind, one that I didn't quite understand... physically, its dimensions were at least that of a human, if not a bit more. Was kind of glad it had survived this crash as well. Always hung around the cargo scoop area because that offered enough space for it.
I didn't hang around for too long, though, having ensured that my important cargo was safe. I needed to get that material printer running and set it to make some replacement power conduits. Then get the AFMU running, and its backup power supply. Or maybe do the reactor first and run a quick check for its integrity... but doing the repairs on the field repair unit and its backup power seemed like a better idea, then replace the broken power regulators when I could be sure they wouldn't be at further risk of getting damaged themselves.
And then, a bit of sleep. I definitely would need some of that, soon. Hopefully, this world had an actual day-night cycle.