Lost In Space: Fractured
19 Oct 2023Silvia Sharpe
The landing thrusters scream with a fiery belch as Memento Mori slows its decent for landing. As we touch down, the ground beneath the ship gives way unable to support its weight. At first it seemed as though the ship was going to settle, that however was an incorrect assessment. The ground completely gives way beneath the ship exposing an enormous underground cavern. Proximity alarms and sensors blare as the ship plummets towards the ground unhindered. Panicked I attempt to fire the thrusters again in order to keep the ship from smashing into what I assumed would be solid rocky ground.'Hold onto something! This is going to hurt!'
The violet colored thrusters roar in an attempt to slow the ships descent. As the flames erupt from the landing thrusters, the cavern around us is illuminated, revealing a network of massive fungal growths similar in appearance to earths polypore variety, except in this case they are enormous. Think the size of a Krait Phantom or even larger. Different varieties of moss hang from trees and the surrounding area is covered in various types of flora.
'Plants? How is there any form of flora here. There is no sunlight.'
It was puzzling to see the plant life on this planet in the middle of the blackest expanse of space but it was entirely possible these plants may have adapted to not having any form of sunlight. But then how would they be receiving nutrients? How are they growing? Are they Thriving? Or are they dying? Questions that required answers, I had some theories of what was going on here, but I would need to research this further.
Memento Mori touches down with a relatively jarring impact, but this time finding solid ground. Before I even have the opportunity to say anything or even think properly, Venus stands from her seat and heads to the cockpit door. There is a strange determination in her movements thought I suspected that it was not for the excitement of this biological marvel.
'What has you in a mood?'
'Mood? I don't know maybe the fact that our FSD just plopped us into the middle of nowhere and now its destroyed again! I fix one problem and another one arises. Our FSD is our only means of navigating this galaxy and I'll be damned if it continues to fail or malfunction.' Venus lets out a sigh and turns to look at me her voice calmer this time. 'I'm sorry. It's just I can't shake this feeling that this is no coincidence. I'm going to the engineering bay to look things over. Please don't get yourself killed while looking at the plants.'
Venus heads out of the cockpit and disappears down the corridor. June who had remained mostly silent during the interaction chimes in.
"She is right Silvia. There is very little coincidence that this malfunction happened randomly. While I have been monitoring the ship since you installed me, I only have the baseline of how the ship was at that point. I also cannot see if anything was physically installed on the FSD or not. I will assist Venus any way that I can."
I get out of my seat and let Melli out of her crate. I look at the packs on the wall and grab the one with the name "SHARPE" stitched into it. I grab my rifle and a few spare magazines then proceed to the airlock.
'Alright Venus Melli and I are heading out. Will check in with you in 30minutes. If I miss the window....'
'Go looking for you. We have been through this routine plenty of times before. Beware the Jabberwock.'
'The jaws the bite and the claws that catch. Right, Keep me updated on what you find with the FSD.'
****
The airlock opens with a hiss and I pull out my data pad to view the atmospheric readings of the planet. The only real concerning elements are the Hydrogen and Argon both of which are well within an acceptable level. I look down to Melli and open the visor on my helmet . I wait a moment to ensure the air isn't filled with some form of acidic aerosol then take a long slow breath. The air has a fresh scent mixed with a strange sweetness. Earthy notes fill in the gaps due to the large quantity of moss and Fungus in the surrounding area. Having confirmed that the air is safe to breathe I remove my helmet and place it on the helmet stand inside the gangway. I kneel down and remove Melli's helmet and armor. No sooner does the armor sluff off of her does she bolt into the underbrush. I notice at that point a blue glow throughout the entire cavern. With no light source present, only one thing made sense.
'Bioluminescence. How interesting. I wonder if its the plants or....'
Melli darts back to the boarding ramp glowing blue. Her white fur amplifying the glow.
'Come here Melli.'
I kneel down at the base of the ramp and run my hand over her fur which in turn causes my hand to begin to glow just as vibrantly. The blue substance is slimy in texture. I pull my pack off and take out a test tube. Being careful not to introduce any foreign material into the solution, I gather about 20ml of the blue fluid for testing later.
"I wonder if this is a byproduct of the plant life or if the plants are using this to grow." I think to myself as I place my pack back on and head out into the brush.
Each step further soaks my clothing in the solution causing me to glow just as brightly as the surround plant life. After a few minutes of walking Melli and I come across a glowing blue pool. A quick PH test shows it to be water. As I am testing the fluid Melli alerts to an unknown presence nearby. She begins to growl and a deep rhythmic beating sound can be heard, getting louder and louder. I turn around just in time to see a large winged beast soar overhead, then dive into the pool of water with a strange screeching croaking sound. The sound is very similar to what humans believed pterosaurs sounded like. It bursts out of the water carrying some form of glowing aquatic creature a few moments later. The winged beast had a wingspan of approximately 6M and a long whip like tail. Its leather like hide outlined with droplets of glowing blue water. Then I hear the rustling of undergrowth as a large quadrupedal creature leaps overhead clearing nearly 8m in a single pounce. There is a horrific squealing sound as whatever prey it had been hunting was torn into.
'There are animals living here too? Is it just this strange pocket, or does the surface look like this too?' I ask myself quietly in an attempt to stay undetected.
****
Venus is looking over the FSD core taking inventory of all the surviving components. June watches through her helmet cam and annotates the damaged components needing to be replaced. One component however stands out to June as she is cross referencing every single part with Sirius Corporations FSD specifications. The part is not exactly a module, nor is it a small part that is out of place. This part appears to have intentionally been placed on the FSD jump controller. Having been preoccupied with rerouting the main circuit to bypass interstellar travel June missed this component earlier.
"Venus what is the component attached to the jump controller? It does not match any known modifications, nor does it match any part authorized by Sirius Corporation for repairs. Did you have anyone work on this ship before I was connected to it?"
Venus climbs up onto the FSD module and reaches the jump controller. The component in question is about the size of a child and seems to have been tucked away at one point, but due to the multiple FSD failures the box had shifted out of the hiding space. Pulling the box out carefully Venus reveals a wiring harness attached to the reactor core. She goes to cut the harness when June issues a warning.
"Venus wait. I am detecting a fluctuation in the reactor core. Magnetic readings are rising and..... You must..... get.... <static>......"
The world around Venus spins rapidly, then a bright flash of light. Venus is sent flying off the FSD core and into the engineering bay wall. A strange warpage encapsulates the engineering bay cutting Venus off from the outside world. Dazed, blinded and confused Venus attempts to stand but finds it particularly difficult to move. It's as if gravity itself somehow became stronger. Her movements are strained and sluggish. After what feels like hours Venus manages to make it to a slumped standing position. Exhausted, fatigued, and weak Venus slumps back down onto the floor with a very heavy thud.
****
June attempts to contact Venus but fails at every attempt. The ships sensors show an FSD malfunction in process though the ship is not moving anywhere. Alarmed by the data being received, June patches into my suit comms.
"Silvia, we require your presence back on the ship immediately. There has been an incident.... I cannot contact Venus. The FSD is giving some very disturbing data."
'What do you mean disturbing data?'
....
'June? June?! What do you mean?... Shit! Melli we need to go back to the ship, now! Hurry!'
The comms go silent for a moment then become filled with static. I break into a full sprint back the direction Melli and I came from. Reaching the ship landing site my suit sensors alert me to an extreme level of magnetic interference. My rifle is ripped off of my back and pulled to the ship due to the magnetic field. I pull out my scanner and begin to take readings of the area. As I approach the ship the magnetic field drops.
"Silvia? What took you so long to get here? We have been trying to contact you for hours."
'I got here as soon as I could. We had walked a good distance..... Wait did you say hours? Like multiple hours? June that's impossible. You only just contacted me like maybe 4 minutes ago.'
"Silvia its been 10 hours. We searched all over for you. Scanners couldn't detect your signal anywhere. Venus was just about to go out looking for you."
Confused by the information, look down at my watch and see that what June had mentioned was impossible. Since my departure only about 45 minutes had gone by, so why was June saying it had been 10 hours. What happened while I was away?