Beta: RubyWings91

ONCE MORE INTO THE DEEP

I stood in my lifepod, a fire extinguisher clutched firmly in my hand after I put out the flames that had threatened to cook me alive. Wisps of smoke still permeated the air while panels and equipment lay busted and broken around me, but I was too distracted by recent events to give it much thought.

I was a crew member aboard the Aurora, an Alterra vessel sent to the Ariadne arm to construct a new phase gate. But for reasons unknown to the majority of the crew, the ship's course was diverted to a nearby planet. The Aurora had been performing a gravity slingshot around the planet when disaster struck. The ship started to shake violently, as a massive explosion tore apart the vessel.

Fires roared and alarms blared as people ran for their lives, screaming. I ran down the crowded corridors, fear coursing through my veins as I made a mad dash for the life pods along with everyone else. I had no clue what had caused the accident, an engine malfunction, a stray asteroid, a pirate attack? All I knew, was that the ship was going down - and I didn't want to be on board when it did.

After hastily sliding down into a lifepod, I fastened myself into the nearest harness and ejected it without a second thought. As the pod fell away from the ship, getting pulled down by the gravity of the planet below, I looked up through the clear hatch to watch as the Aroura was engulfed in another massive explosion. My heart was racing as I turned away from the horrific sight, the lifepod still hurtling down through the atmosphere uncontrollably.

As I fell, I watched as a panel in the pod came loose, crashing around the interior of the small space. Then it came flying directly at me - knocking me out.

And that brought me back to now, after I had woken up. I found the pod engulfed in flames, putting out heavy amounts of smoke that I was choking on. I had trouble getting out of my seat at first, but once I did, I went straight for the extinguisher and started to put out the flames.

Once the fires were out, the excess smoke started to filter out of the pod, allowing me to breathe a bit easier.

My head was killing me. Raising my hand, I brought it up to my forehead and tentatively felt where the panel hit me - there was a sizeable welt where the piece of metal crashed into my skull, aching when I put pressure on it.

Pulling my PDA out of my subspace pocket, I was met with a blank piece of translucent tech. After I tapped the glass screen a couple of times, a little bar popped up, displaying the words:

BOOTING IN EMERGENCY MODE:

Then it changed to the Alterra logo.

"You have suffered minor head trauma This is considered an optimal outcome." I Heard a female monotone voice say. "This PDA has now rebooted in emergency mode with one directive: to keep you alive on an alien world. Please refer to the data bank for detailed survival advice. Good luck."

I lowered the PDA, the words of the robotic voice echoing in my mind. The Aurora had crashed, leaving me stranded on an alien planet with a case of minor head trauma. My heart began to race, a sense of panic threatening to overtake me at this overwhelming revelation.

I glanced up at the hatch where I'd entered the pod from, I could now see a clear blue sky above, rays of sunlight pouring down from the nearby star. Tensely, I gripped the ladder, my palms sweaty as I started to pull myself up.

I climbed to the top, my nerves on edge as I neared the hatch. slowly, I reached my hand up to open the door, before suddenly pulling back in fear. I was nervous, my muscles shaking as I held onto the metal bars. There was no telling what awaited me outside; I quivered in fear, imagining all the terrors that awaited me. What if there were unspeaking horrors beyond the safety of the pod, what if I was stranded in a desolate wasteland with no signs of life for a hundred miles...

...What if I was alone?

All those thoughts and more ran through my head; grisly thoughts coursing in my mind as I clung to the ladder, nearly immobilized in fear. But as much as I wanted to climb back down, to cower in the corner and not even think about the outside... I knew that I couldn't.

As scared as I was, I had to know what kind of a situation I was in.

Swallowing my fears, I reached back up towards the hatch, a strange bird-like creature flying over the pod as I opened it. I was quickly assaulted with a cool breeze that washed over me, a nice relief after being trapped in a hot, metal box. That same creature from before fluttered in front of the hatch, before quickly flying off as I emerged onto the roof.

I slowly climbed up onto the top of the habitat, my eyes taking in the sight of horror as I came to terms with my dire circumstances.

An endless ocean stretched in front of me for miles, disappearing off into the distance with no sign of land. Off to my right, I could see the hulking remains of the Aurora, its white and orange hull sitting dead in the water.

The voice from my PDA chose that moment to speak again. "The Aurora suffered orbital hull failure. Cause unknown. Zero human life signs detected."

I found myself reeling back in shock, quickly taking up a sitting position on top of the pod as if I was struck by a bus. I was frozen in place, petrified by fear as the rolling waves shook the foundations under me. My heart was racing and my mind was panicking as I looked out at the open sea before me, this was far worse than any of the scenarios I'd pictured in my head - at least in the worst of those, there had always been solid ground under my feet.

I'd found myself debilitated, unable to think clearly as I sat there, taking it all in. My breathing was heavy and my nerves stiff, I was incapable of rational thought as I tried and failed to figure out what to do. WherewasI, whatshouldIdo, shouldIwaitforhelptoarrive, wasItheonlyoneleft?

I had never felt this helpless before, I'd never been in a situation like this or felt as alone as I did now.

I was scared!

As I sat, clinging to the pod; holding on in utter terror, a small splashing sound caught my attention. Cautiously, I peered over the edge of the lifeboat, gazing down at the choppy water as I looked for whatever made the sound. As I watched, a small alien fish with a massive yellow eye leaped out of the water, soaring through the air before diving back in with a splash.

My fear began to ebb away, slowly being replaced with curiosity as I began to climb down the ladder to get a better look.

Lowering myself down onto the inflated tubes, I clung to the side of the pod like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, desperately holding on for dear life. Cautiously, I peered out at the water, the choppy waves crashing against the habitat and splashing onto me. Looking closely, I could make out the shallow seafloor, populated with vibrant corals and plants, as well as a wide variety of marine life.

I moved into a sitting position, slowly lowering my feet into the water. It was cool to the touch, not warm but not freezing either. I let my feet rest in the water for a few moments, hanging over the side of the pod as the waves lapped gently over them

I stared at the shifting tides, knowing full well what was coming next.

Gathering up my courage, I slid up to the edge of the tube until I was just about to fall off. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath... and plunged into the waves.

I felt water surge up past me, from legs and hips, all the way up to my shoulders and head, I felt myself being completely submerged. Slowly cracking open my eyes, I was left in awe as I took in a wondrous sight.

I found myself in the middle of a beautiful, vibrant world full of life. Various kinds of alien fish swam around me, some looked like boomerangs, while others had giant eyeballs that took up their entire heads. I could see all sorts of plants and coral, abundant in this shallow reef I had found, some even big enough for a human to pass through with ease.

I watched in awe as a creature similar to an earth ray with ears like a rabbit swam up to me: it was amazing, it was so colorful and breathtaking - in a good way - it seemed to just glide through the water, peacefully drifting among the currents as it played curiously under the waves. I tried to reach out and gently touch it, my fingers just inches from the animal as they itched to feel it, but I must have spooked it because it quickly swam away in fright as soon as I did so.

It was all so beautiful...

...and undoubtedly dangerous.

The wonder of the situation quickly melted away and I was left with the grim reality of the situation I was in: I was stranded on an alien planet, lost in a massive ocean teaming with foreign life, and potentially all alone with no help coming.

Looking around me, I noticed that the light had begun to steadily fade, the world around me starting to glow eerily as the local sun sunk below the horizon.

My spirit sunk with it.

The weight of my predicament came pressing down on me, and I realized just what I was in for.

I floated there aimlessly in the water, bioluminescent creatures swimming by me as I came to understand just how underprepared and unequipped I was for this.

I was in way over my head!

I splashed water on my face, trying to clear my thoughts as if the liquid could remove the terror that came from the memories of my ordeal the way it washed the sweat and soot from my face.

After the traumatic past few hours, I had retreated back to my quarters to have some time to myself and calm my nerves. I had wanted to lie down in bed and go to sleep, praying desperately that everything I had just experienced: the crash, the deaths, the fires, that it had all simply been a nightmare and I would wake up to find everything okay.

But it wasn't okay, it wasn't a dream or a nightmare, this was all really happening. We were stranded, literally dead in the water as an ancient super disease ravaged all of human civilization, and we were powerless to do anything about it.

I gritted my teeth and slammed my fist down on the countertop, averting my gaze away from my reflection in the mirror; I couldn't stand to look at myself right now. I joined up with this expedition because I knew I could help. I was the first to be cured of the Kharaa, the first to survive the deepest depths of the ocean, and the first to get off this planet alive. So, when this crisis began, I saw a way to make everything I had been through mean something, a way to give my trials and struggles on this planet a purpose. To take what I had learned and use it to help the mission and to offer my expertise on 4546B as we sought the cure to save humanity.

...A lot of good that did.

Because now, I was right back where I started, stuck in this watery hell and at its mercy once again; trapped once more under an alien sea, instead of searching for enzyme 42.

As I sat there wallowing at my own self-pity, I heard a knock at my cabin's door. This finally brought me out of my thoughts. Sighing to myself, I dried my face off with a towel and left to answer the door.

Stepping up to the door, I gave a quick glance towards the state of my room, compared to the rest of the ship, my quarters had gotten off relatively easily: there were next to no loose items to get tossed around and only a couple panels had come free.

Swiping my hand over the sensor, the entryway to my room opened up and I was greeted by a crewmember waiting outside.

"Commander Abigail requests your presence in her cabin, I have been ordered to escort you, if you're ready we can leave," he said firmly.

I nodded my head. "Alright then, let's go."

I followed the crewmember through the halls of the ship. Looking around, I noted all the damage caused by the crash, broken lighting and panels, fire marks, doors that hung off their hinges, broken wires that hung from the ceiling; our vessel had been left in such disarray that it would take forever to fix everything. It felt and looked so much different from when I last took this path earlier, it was almost hard to believe this was the same hall.

After being led upwards a couple of levels, we came up to a door labeled with the commander's name. Stepping into the room, the crewmember stayed behind as the door slid shut behind me. Inside, I was greeted with the sight of her sitting patiently behind her desk, with Kevin sitting just across from her on the other side.

When she saw me, she reached out a hand and gestured to an open chair. "Ryley, good you're here, please take a seat."

Approaching the desk, I sat down next to Kevin, allowing myself to get comfortable as I met the Commanders gaze. "You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

"Yes I do," she nodded at me and Kevin before continuing. "You are both aware of the current state of the ship," she stated as a fact. "We're in a bad situation: until we get everything fixed we can't get back to the mission, but it's not exactly ideal to try to fix the ship while we're living in it. Couple that with the reduced number of able-bodied hands and lack of space - repairs will be difficult."

I nodded, over half of the crew had been injured in the crash to some extent, whether it was just a simple cut or minor burn, or something more debilitating. While the med bay had beds, a need for this many people hadn't been anticipated, so to make up for the lack of space, available areas like the mess hall had been converted into makeshift hospitals.

"We're going to have to look into long-term habitation of the area, and that means setting up an outside base. Ryley, as our foremost expert on this planet, I've chosen you for this task, and Kevin has requested to join."

"I would love an opportunity to study the flora and fauna of this world up close," Kevin said with unhindered glee.

At the mention of having to go back out into the dark oceans of 4546B, I couldn't help but feel a cold shiver run down my spine. I mean, I knew that this would be something I would have to do eventually but before it had always seemed so far away. Now that it was here...

"What is it you want us to do?" I asked.

"I want you to head outside the ship and search for a suitable spot for us to build a base, we've already done short-range scans of the area and there are no large creatures in our vicinity. Do you think you're up for it?"

I wordlessly nodded my head again. I wasn't really eager to be going back out there, but I knew it was something that had to be done.

As I sat there, coming to terms with what had been asked of me, my eyes came to rest on a picture frame sitting on the desk. The glass was cracked, most likely a result of it getting thrown from its perch during the crash. The image was of a young boy, no older than ten, smiling for the camera with a gap in his teeth where a baby tooth had come out.

Commander Abigail followed my gaze to the photo. "My son," she said, picking the frame up in her hands as she smiled softly.

"I didn't know you had a kid," I said surprised.

"Yeah, I do," she replied, stroking a finger across her son's face. "He turns eight this month...he's supposed to turn eight this month," she trailed off.

A grim feeling overcame all of us as the implications of her words hit us.

She set down the picture with a longing look in her eyes. "When this all started, I took him to live with my parents who had a cabin far from any people. I had to leave him when I came on board for this expedition, I didn't like doing it, but I did it for him. He was a perfectly healthy little boy when I last saw him, and right now it's all that I can do to pray that's still the case," she choked, her voice wavering.

"Look Ryley," she began after having a moment to compose herself. "I know what you went through when you were stranded here, so I know the thought of having to go back out there isn't easy for you. But there are people counting on us - the family we left behind chief among them - and the sooner we get this situation resolved, the sooner we can continue with the mission, can I count on you to complete this task?"

"Yes ma'am, yes you can," I said with determination.

When the time finally came to depart, Kevin and I found ourselves standing in one of the ship's airlocks, both of us shaking - Kevin with excitement, me with anxiety. Both of us had been equipped with reinforced dive suits and rebreathers, as well as a flashlight, seaglide, scanner, and survival knife.

"Are you ready?" I asked Kevin.

"I'm more than ready."

"Well, at least one of us is excited," I remarked dryly.

Bringing my hand up, I pressed a button on the wall and the door behind us locked shut with a pneumatic clamp. The hatch in front of us then gave off a loud hiss, before gallons of water started pouring in and filling the room. In just under a minute, the cold water was already up to our shoulders, and before we knew it, the chamber was completely filled to the top.

The door slowly slid open to allow us access to outside, Kevin was the first to go, eagerly gliding through the water for the door like a child on Christmas morning running to the tree.

I, however, was much slower to move than he was. I sat there, motionless, my eyes locked on the open hatch as a familiar feeling of dread came over me. My heart was pounding in my chest, breathing short and shallow, my muscles stiff as past memories flooded my mind. Taking a deep breath, I tried to ease my thoughts and let my nerves calm. I then looked at the hatch again but with courage this time in place of fear, I let the pressure from my lungs, before finally, I pushed out the door.

As soon as I left the confines of the ship, the first thing I noticed was how open it was, there was so much space. After spending so many months aboard our vessel, I had grown used to the enclosed areas. The wide ocean that surrounded us was almost completely black, the only thing that was offsetting it were the many lights emitting from the ship. I know the commander said that they didn't detect any large creatures when they ran some scans, but while staring out into that dark void, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine as I thought about how something could come charging at me at any moment.

Looking downward, I could see Kevin above the rocky seafloor, examining some kind of glowing organism. Swimming closer, I was able to identify the substance as some sort of slime puddle. "What is this stuff?" I wondered aloud as I took out my scanner to log it.

"They appear to be colonies of millions of microscopic plankton-like creatures that use bioluminescence as a means to lure in prey," Kevin answered as he held out his own scanner, he was investigating a separate puddle that glowed blue, while mine was purple.

Looking around me, I found the area we were in to be remarkably similar to that of the sparse reef back in the crater. It was mostly sandy terrain, with rocky outcroppings here and there. Aside from the many slime puddles, the only distinguishable features of our surroundings I could see were large fan-shaped plants and some kind of underwater cactus.

I could also see all kinds of fish swimming around, a couple of which I recognized from my time on this planet, such as the Boomerang with its arch-shaped fins, and the Spadefish with its flat body and upwards facing eye. There was also one that seemed to be yet another variation of the common Peeper. Unlike the Oculus, which had differences in body structure with its lack of a beak and serrated tail, the only thing different about this new species was its body color. While the fish normally had a deep blue coloration, this one was instead a light grey, and its eyes were much paler than its shallow-water counterpart, likely as an adaption to see better in this dark environment. Seeing how these deeper Peepers, or Deepers - on the nose I know - had managed to survive down here helped to give me hope, if they could make it down here, then so could we.

I kept swimming and swimming, my lungs burning in my chest as I tried desperately to reach the surface. I was so close, and yet so far, I was screaming for air and the only place to get it seemed to just get further and further away. My vision was getting dark, I couldn't stay awake, looking up, I tried to reach for the waves, I was almost there...just a little more...so close...so...close...I wasn't going to make it...

...

...

...

...Huung, I burst through to the surface at the last moment, greedily gulping up air as relief washed over me, I was alive!

I'm back everyone, I'm so sorry it took ten months to get a chapter out, I never meant for it to take so long, and I promise that the next one will not take nearly as much time as this one did.

So, what did you all think of the chapter, did you like the Deepers? Can't have a subnautica story without Peepers, and that's not all, I'm even planning to introduce a second subspecies down the line, and you won't believe what I have planned for them.

And to LaGrosseRoue, thank you for the review, and I'm really glad that you liked the chapter. Now, per your request, unfortunately, a reunion with the Cuddle fish isn't going to be possible as this does not take place in the crater, so I'm sorry to say that it won't be able to happen. However, on that note, I did take the liberty to write up this one-shot just for you. Non-canon, obviously.

I swam through the water calmly, letting my suit's flippers propel me forward. We had just made landfall on 4546B, and the ship had recently touched down in the crater. It was so surreal being back here after all this time, everything was exactly like how I left it, all the biomes and creatures were still around, as well as the hulking form of the Aroura off to my right.

As I approached the Creepvine forest, I could begin to see my old base in the distance, it had grown rusty in my absence, and all kinds of plants, corals, and lifeforms had anchored themselves upon it.

Coming up to the entrance, I attempted to pull open the hatch, but it had rusted shut, so instead, I made my way over to the moonpool. Swimming up through the hatch, I found that the base had been flooded, and the inside looked just like the outside. As I moved through the waterlogged halls, it became obvious everything had stopped working long ago.

When I was in the room where my old bed was, I happened to look out the window and saw what looked like tentacles just swimming out of view. I couldn't believe my eyes, was that what I thought it was?

Turning around, I hurried back the way I came and swam out into the open. There, swimming around the base just like it used to do, was the Cuddlefish.

When it saw me, it squealed in glee and came up to me and I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, buddy," I said, holding out my palm as it gave me a high-five. "I'm back."