The Weight of The World

Chapter 7

Author's Note: Continuing my habit of taking forever, here's another chapter! The beginning of this story was a little rough to write, just setting things up, but pretty soon I should be getting into the juicier parts of this story. Also, fun fact: I did not name the seamoth after the Perseverance Mars rover, I've been naming my seamoth's that for years. Usual stuff, read, review, and I hope you enjoy!

I grunted with the effort of pulling the tight form of the radiation suit over my skin, which was very sensitive from being cramped in the AEP suit since the crash. I had to sit down to catch my breath as I finally pulled it over my shoulders, the helmet sitting in my lap.

I might seriously never take this thing off, it was almost as if Alterra never intended for them to be removed with how tight it was.

I idly fiddled with the cylindrical white helmet in my hands, inspecting the visor that made up the entire front it for any imperfections. I silently nodded to no one in particular as I finished approving of the fabricator's finish. With all of the electrical damage the pod had suffered from all the lightning strikes and my shabby job repairing the junction, I was surprised the solar cells were even still functioning.

I breathed out a shaky sigh as I resigned myself to my task. I had approximately an hour and a half before the Aurora's drive core most likely levelled the entire area, and my only hope of preventing that was by going directly into the ship, and repairing the drive core shielding to hopefully contain the blast.

I tried not to think too hard about how much guesswork was involved in this plan. I was really hinging all of this on the MAXIMUM estimated time for the explosion, but the ship was so damaged that it could go off at any second.

I ran a quick inventory check to make sure I had my flashlight, my seaglide, all of the necessary radiation equipment, and gods forbid I forget my repair tool. After confirming everything was in order, I put the helmet on. I gasped and winced a little as the neck brace tightened over the flexible material, briefly choking me before it automatically readjusted to a more comfortable position.

The previously inactive LCD display on the right leg of the radiation suit suddenly lit up, and I reached down to confirm a few safety measure prompts. There was a slight vibration from the helmet, before it expelled all of the air inside of the suit through the exhaust vents in the helmet, before it refilled my oxygen supply with a fresh new batch that was thoroughly filtered to prevent contamination.

The whole process had me feeling like a badass by the end of it, and I figured there was no time to stall any longer. I quickly set the lifepod to low power mode to hopefully prevent any further electrical damage from the explosion, before sliding smoothly down through the bottom hatch with a practiced movement.

As I splashed into the normally cold water below, I instantly noticed that I barely even felt it through the much thicker fibers of the radiation suit.

I urgently swam over to Perseverance, the seamoth nearly blinding me as the morning sun reflected brightly off of it's polished white exterior. The hatch automatically opened as I drew near, the water around it instantly being forced away to create a small air bubble to prevent the water from pouring in.

I climbed in, the now all too familiar "Welcome aboard, captain!" chiming happily as the controls on the steering wheel lit up. I sharply pulled the wheel to the right, nosing Perseverance towards the flaming hull of the Aurora, and I was about to throttle forward when a commotion caught my eye from the edge of my vision.

I could now easily recognize the friendly stalker as I watched him dash through the kelp vines in the distance. He seems to stick pretty close to the lifepod at least. I could just barely see the small form of a peeper swiftly weaving in random directions in front of him as the stalker kept pace with it, snapping his jaws furiously, but missing every time. I couldn't help but give a short, loud laugh as I saw the peeper quickly duck into a small crevice in the ground, and the stalker couldn't stop himself from slamming snout-first into the sand. He layed there dazed for a few seconds, before he started back up as he sensed me coming up behind him in Perseverance. His eyes opened wide in excitement as he saw the Boomerang fish I held in my hand. I opened the seamoth's hatch and tossed the uncooked fish out, smiling as I saw the stalker instantly snap it up eagerly.

A single small fish wouldn't get him far considering his size, and I once again couldn't help but wonder how he had survived alone at all before I came along. He must've had some kind of help not too long before he had decided to attack me on that fateful day.

I shook these thoughts from my head, this was not the time for speculation. I turned Perseverance back towards the hulking form of the Aurora in the distance, and hit the accelerator.

I groaned internally as I saw the stalker begin to follow me. As much as I didn't want the only friend I'd made here going into an intense radiation zone, I didn't have the time to stick around and teach him the importance of staying behind, so I simply let him come along. Who knows, maybe he'd be useful? I had no idea what kind of horrible things lurked near the crash site after all.

I tried to focus on the soothing sound of the water flowing over the seamoth's hull to distract myself from what I was about to attempt. As it was, the amount of holes in my plan were threatening my already straining sanity, and once again I started to hallucinate.

The now familiar shadows swirled just beyond my vision. Shapeless, colorless things that contained more meaning to me than any shape or color ever could. In them, I caught glimpses both of the people I had failed to save, and of myself.

It took all my strength to shake my head free of the nightmares. I glanced over to see my stalker friend swimming diligently beside Perseverance, oblivious to my struggle. Despite myself, his presence made me feel better.

Suddenly, the sandy floor below me exploded upward, making me yelp lightly and jerk back on the steering wheel as a sandshark bolted up directly in front of me. It's black exoskeleton reflected an increasing amount of light from the surface as it quickly shook the sand from it's body, before turning it's beady orange eyes on me. It opened it's razor filled maw and shot forward, it's whole body undulating wildly in it's enthusiasm.

I was actually getting ready to thrust the steering wheel forward to meet the sandshark mid-charge, more confident in my sub's titanium hull than the creature's flesh, but I didn't get the chance to as my stalker let out a vicious hissing roar, before tackling the sandshark with his bulk. There was a flurry of sand and green clouds of blood as the two sharks fought, but the victor was evident from the start.

As the dust cleared, what was left was my stalker gleefully feasting on the softer underbelly of the still twitching sandshark, letting out little growls of frustration as he struggled to pry apart the thick exoskeleton.

…So yeah, I would say that I feel better having him around.

Not content to waste anymore time, I started back towards the Aurora. The stalker quickly abandoned his meal with whine in favor of following me. The water became increasingly more murky the closer I got to the ship, and I cautiously eyed the rising radiation indicated on my HUD. Radiation levels were still well within the safety limits of my new suit, but my eyes still went wide at the readings. I gazed worriedly over at my stalker, who still seemed fine, but I wasn't sure how long that would last under these conditions.

Finally, the rusting and charred titanium hull of the Aurora came into view from underneath the surface, the water so filled with dust kicked up from the crash that I was sure my rebreather would break trying to filter it.

My grip tightened around the steering wheel, as the very ground beneath me shook violently, the massive starship creaking dangerously. For a second I feared that the ship might be rolling over, but thankfully it stayed in place and the episode faded.

I traveled along the length of the ship towards the entrance near the front. However, it was only upon reaching the door that I noticed the severe damage to it. Where the main entrance to the bridge had been, there now lay four large metal beams that had collapsed from the ceiling, completely blocking the way forward. I cursed loudly, punching the seamoth's dashboard in frustration.

"WARNING: Nearby dark matter containment failure detected. Quantum detonation ETA is…30 minutes." Chimed my digital assistant.

This wasn't good. I had less than half an hour to find a way in and seal the breach, and the damned door was blocked!

I was about to go try the rear maintenance access, when I noticed a large, almost perfectly circular hole not too much farther to the front. It wasn't visible from above the surface because it was on the Aurora's underside, but once I noticed it I couldn't unsee it.

I brought Perseverance up alongside the large hole, and couldn't help but marvel at it. The damage here was different from the rest, the inside circumference of the hole didn't look like it had been blown outward from the crash…it looked melted. I swam in front of the breach, and my eyes went as wide as they could.

This was no simple hull breach. The hole went all the way through to the drive core. What…what could have possibly done this? A hundred and thirty meters of reinforced titanium just…gone. Seemingly vaporized. As if someone had thrown a building sized javelin as hot as a star straight through it.

The fact that the exit wound aligned with the drive core led me to believe that it had been the cause of the crash…

I'd had a sneaking suspicion for awhile now that the crash hadn't been natural, but never in my wildest dreams had I expected…this. Still though, I had a job to do. I had been given a lucky break with this conveniently placed entrance, and I wasn't going to squander it.

The hole was large enough to fit a seamoth, but I opted to leave Perseverance behind as I entered the ship. I had no idea what the interior damage looked like, and I didn't want any collapsing architecture to trap my only vehicle.

I absently registered my stalker entering the breach behind me, his normal growling silent now. He was probably wondering what we were doing here, and why I was continuing towards the danger. I reached back and pat him lightly on the snout, in what I hoped was a comforting gesture for his species.

Swimming through the long, perfectly cut hole was unnerving. Sparks flew from exposed wiring all over the walls, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was making a mistake. My breaths came in short bursts as I fought to control my heartrate.

The water inside the breach was almost unbearably hot. I had no doubt that if this area weren't underwater, it would be still be on fire. I swam forward, my eyes on the prize. I could see the four large white cylindrical containers that made up the dark matter drive cores, and they did not look good. This room was normally so reinforced, that even after seeing the Aurora's condition I figured I'd only have to repair a couple leaks. However, I could easily make out several dozen leaks on the outsides of the cores.

I finally exited the other side of the tunnel and entered the drive core room. I had actually spent a good bit of my time here before everything went to hell, but the room I found myself in now was almost unrecognizable. The cores themselves might have mostly survived intact, but the rest of the room was a completely different story. The walls were all a charred black color, and the ceiling was so hot it was glowing orange, small pieces of the hull falling off and dropping into the water with a loud sizzling sound as it rapidly cooled the metal. Whatever happened here had not been pretty.

I unstrapped my repair tool from my waist, checking to see that the battery was mostly charged. I then swam over to the nearest drive core, and located the largest leak on it. I took my scanner out and analyzed the breach, the data helping me fine tune the weld as I went to work.

For a minute I was in the past. The feeling of pure creation always used to make me smile…a repair tool in one hand, a scanner in the other, making tiny adjustments as I happily watched the plasma torch fuse the metal together.

But then I was brought back to the moment as I felt a very sharp pain on my right leg. I quickly glanced down, and yelped loudly as I saw some kind of small creature latched onto my calve. The odd looking thing was made of a large pale blue sack, with a small head on the front with four long prehensile tendrils with sharp looking fangs at the base of each. Fangs that were currently digging into me.

The sack at the end of the horrible creature started to pulse, and fill with red as it started to drain me of my blood. I screamed in panic and bashed the thing several times with my repair tool, before it simply popped in a haze of green and red blood. I looked over at my stalker friend to see him snarl as another one latched onto him, but he quickly solved it with a snap of his sharp teeth.

I looked around the room with new eyes, suddenly noticing the swarms of these leech-like creatures everywhere I turned. We were surrounded. I pointed my scanner at my attacker's corpse, and held the trigger down. After the usual lightshow was finished, and my PDA dubbed them as 'Bleeders', the databank entry wasn't very encouraging. God I hope these things don't carry any alien diseases.

I went back to work on repairing the leaks. I was latched onto by three more bleeders, before my stalker closed in to defend me from the rest. I really was going to have to think of a name for him after this was over, he was starting to truly pull his weight.

The cores were leaking so much radiation, that I could see the radiation levels decreasing on my HUD upon sealing every breach. With the sounds of my stalker snarling, roaring, and snapping his teeth, and the bleeders squealing and cackling, it all made for a pretty demented soundscape as I went about my work.

I grunted in pain as the bites the bleeders left started to take their toll, blood loss beginning to cause my vision to flicker. As I finished repairing the entirety of the first core, I heard it try to spin up automatically, before the ship's critical power forced it to shut down. It didn't matter though, as long as it stopped leaking.

I tapped the stalker to get his attention before swimming over to the next core, slashing at any bleeders in my way with my knife. Thankfully, the tiny blood suckers were very fragile, and caved easily under my attacks.

I was so lightheaded from the blood loss that I failed to properly stop my forward momentum, and crashed headfirst into the plasteel side of the core, causing me to see stars and groan loudly. My vision completely blacked out for a second as my brain was knocked around inside my skull.

I was so stunned that for a few seconds I completely forgot what I was doing. The radiation, the bleeders, the creaking of the ship, the heaviness of the water, the sounds of fighting…there was so much happening. I just wanted to sleep…

I barely registered the feeling of my catatonic body being gently shoved against the wall, and I half-heartedly tried to swat whatever it was away. The 'what' in question immediately became more insistent upon my refusal to get up, and I groaned before finally opening me eyes.

Only to gaze into green eyes and a lot of teeth. I let out a half-scream, which was strangled in my throat as I remembered what was happening. The friendly stalker ripped another bleeder off his back before returning to me with a whine in his throat. H-how long had I been out?

My eyes went wide.

Oh shit! The time! I frantically detached my PDA from my belt, almost dropping it in the process. The estimated time left before this entire area was reduced to ash was eight minutes, and there were still three leaking cores!Shaking off the grogginess, I pushed myself forward with a pained grunt, hissing through clenched teeth. I forced my body towards the next core despite my loss of blood. I was noticeably more pale now. Either that or my vision was more screwed up than I thought.

I wrapped my arms around the wide body of the core to stop myself, and then used the leverage to push myself down to the closest leak. I forced my mind to focus only on my task. I was either going to pull this off or die trying, no other options anymore.

Despite my intense focus and dedication, I was only human. I struggled to keep my hand steady, and had to reweld several sections. I almost screwed everything up when I nearly welded the outer plasteel layer to the inner titanium one, which would have negated the shielding entirely.

As groggy as I was, I was determined to finish. As I completely sealed up the second core, I immediately swam over to the third one. The water was noticeably getting warmer, which wasn't a good sign. That told me the water was already too contaminated by concentrated dark matter, and the oxygen was starting to react. Even if I sealed all the leaks, there's no telling if…NO! Stop thinking! Work!

I finished the third core pretty quickly as it had the least holes in it. The fourth core didn't look much worse, but I had so little time left. I was scared to even look.

There was a loud hissing roar of what sounded like pain, and I quickly glanced over to see my stalker had two different bleeders attached to his snout. He shook his head wildly to dislodge them, but they held firmly. He was close enough that I was easily able to simply reach over and rip them off of him. He yelped as the fangs were dislodged from his face, but his eyes then narrowed and he went back to massacring the small parasites with increased enthusiasm.

I definitely rushed a little with the last hole, but I was at the end of my rope. As I finished the weld, and then used the seamless mode on the repair tool to remove any imperfections, my digital assistant said, "Drive core breach sealed. Radiation levels decreasing." I let out the most satisfying sigh I had ever given in my life, resting my head gently against the core.

I can never have nice things however. "ALERT! Dark matter implosion detected! Imminent explosive reaction is likely! Vacate the area immediately!" I had never heard her sound so worried before…

I instantly bolted back towards the massive hole that led back outside. In my panic, I didn't even look back for my stalker friend, but I was relived when he swam up beside me anyway. The second I reached Perseverance, I dropped down into the cockpit and slammed the accelerator all the way forward. I may have prevented a full meltdown, but a dark matter implosion was no small deal, especially underwater. As I sped away from ground zero, I started thinking about my life.

I have been a selfish person for most of my life. I did things because they would benefit me. Despite this, I had been a bitter person, generally unhappy with whatever my current situation was. What was the point of prowess if I didn't use it to make the galaxy a better place? What was the use in loving myself if I didn't truly even understand what love was?

I needed to be better. I could be better. I closed my eyes and smiled at the thought. For all the horrible things that had happened to me over the past few weeks, it proved to be the only thing that could make me a better person. If I made it off this planet, I would do everything in my power to change.

Then, there was an explosion so loud behind me that it made my ears ring, just a split-second before the shockwave hit, and Perseverance was thrown downwards. I clenched my teeth and tried in vain to control the descent, but nothing could have stopped the seamoth from crashing hard into the rocks below, crushing the primary engine and forcing it to stop turning.

The crash threw my body forwards into the console, bashing my head on the steering wheel. As the events from the day began to take their toll on my consciousness once again, the last thing I registered before sleep took me was Perseverance teetering to the side, before falling off a cliff and into the darkness below.