Integrating all of the designs I'd acquired from both HEPHAESTUS and HADES took a few days, but I wasn't complaining. Having access to technology that could be used both for combat and terraforming was incredibly useful.

Oh, and before you ask, I made a point of sending the back-up copy of GAIA that Coeus had saved back to Aloy. Hopefully, the latter would be able to reinstall GAIA and begin the process of restoring Zero Dawn mankind to its former glory. Hopefully without allowing one tribe to gain too much power and influence over the others - that never really worked out well.

Adapting the Zero Dawn program and the Faro Plague to serve my goals had not been the only task I focused my attention upon - I had also begun settling in the new arrivals, taking Vivian's advice into account when dealing with those from older eras or fantasy worlds. Those who's native time frame matched up with the present or a science fiction universe were settled in a network of homes I had thrown together using various construction machines, while those who were from more medieval times were instead provided with the resources needed to build dwellings in accordance with their desires - I'm certain many would have laughed at the idea of living in a building made of metal. Pains were taken to ensure that all of those from the more ancient eras were settled in locations with arable land and something of value for trading, if only to allow them to retain some semblance of normalcy. While I will admit that I dislike how nobility can often tread over those who would be considered common folk, better to maintain them then throw those who lived under feudalism into a world that made absolutely no sense to them.

I also decided to begin investing in a little additional infrastructure, since I had a feeling that it would be necessary soon. Chief among them were hospitals - while building new ones wasn't exactly difficult (especially since general designs for a hospital were something I had added to my commander chassis' blueprint list), getting certified doctors was a bit more difficult. Look, I know I have technology that can replace living beings as doctors and be better at everything than a living being, but having live doctors to consult/beg the services of is always a good idea. The issue here was that the number of doctors/nurses/surgeons and so on went up whenever I brought over a bunch of new people to the Hub. Normally, this was offset by the fact that the new arrivals usually included a number of healers that could offset the sudden jump in population, but after the portal incident, I was certain the balance had been thrown out of whack. Even with numerous policies I'd passed at nominal autocratic leader of the Hub that made seeking employment in medical fields very enticing if you could actually keep said jobs (which were also one of the very few times I'd bothered to dabble in politics), it was still going to be a while before I could get enough fleshy doctors to ease my mind.

...Eh, machines would be adequate for now. And for once, Murphy did not decide to challenge me there.

Now to examine my portal nexus.

XXXXXXXXXXX

*POV Shift*

The stolen watched as the Commander examined their home, searching for any defects in the gateway that had been brought on by the actions of Void. The Stolen knew that there were none, but allowed him to perform the examination anyway, so that his mind could rest easy.

As the Commander checked each component for signs of damage, the Stolen mulled over how to proceed. There was still one of Void's brood in another universe, working to achieve the dark ends of their master. Removing that loose end was a necessity, lest the Commander be struck down when he least expected it. But how could they lure him into going into that universe and destroying the last of Void's kin? What technology could they provide?

...Wait, what was the universe that Void's relation was dabbling in?

...Yes, that could work. That could definitely work. This world belonged to the Almanac, and their technology would certainly be useful to him. Though where could they send him to start his journey there?

...Oh. There. Yes, that would work - the planet not only had the Almanac's technology on it, but also some technology belonging to the Alterra Corporation, which the Commander would undoubtedly be able to find a use for. He could also likely relieve the crash's main survivor from being buried in debt.

First though, a little bit of innovation - as the Commander continued his maintenance, the Stolen designed a portal device that could function aboard the Extinction, so that the Commander would not be left alone when he went to this world. They also decided to include a warning aboard the schematics, informing him that the destination it would send him to first was a dangerous one.

After all, the Almanac had taken great pains to make sure the Quarantine Enforcement Platform functioned properly...

XXXXXXXX

*POV Shift Back To Flame, Three Hours Later*

Well, it looked like there was no permanent damage to my portal nexus after Void's attack. Or any damage whatsoever. And somehow, I'd managed to get a new blueprint out of it...okay, more like improved blueprint, since it was an upgrade to my ship-based portal generator. Normally, I had to arrive in a universe using my commander first, and only after I build special gateways was I able to call in my existing ships. Now, though, my flagship could generate a portal directly to a new universe, without needing my commander to establish a beachhead first.

Said portal device was now active and opening a portal to another world. There may be a lot of rebuilding left to be done on the hub, but I wanted to get out and see another universe. Plus I seriously wanted to see another world.

If they needed anything, I was on speed-dial...well, something like speed dial.

'And I have your back.'

Thank you, Viv. Now onwards, into another universe!

Said thought sent the Extinction surging forward into the hole in space and time. Moments after we entered, I activated a special portal-proof energy shield - unlike all the other portals I had entered, this one gave me warning signs before entering it.

The trip lasted a minute, at which point we were promptly pulled out of the Empyrean Sea and were now orbiting a planet...oh, and there was a large energy build up planet side.

"WARNING: INCOMING ENERGY PROJECTILE"

Moments later, I received a notification that the projectile had impacted on the shield.

Well, that was disappointing. Time to fix guns on whatever shot us and...wait, why was the energy buildup not dissipating?

...It was getting larger?

"Flame, what's going on-"

"MASSIVE ENERGY SPIKE! BRACE FOR IMP-"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The super-charged plasma blast managed to burst through the shields of the Extinction while maintaining enough energy to dislodge a portion of the ship's hull. NO living organisms were killed by the blast, nor were any drones destroyed, but a (relatively) small portion of the ship had been severed, one which carried the Commander and his companion.

Said portion of the ship began descending into the atmosphere of the planet, eventually catching fire, before promptly immersing itself in the waters near the Quarantine Enforcement Platform, trapping a Reaper Leviathan in the process.

All of this was observed by Non-Essential Systems Maintenance Chief Ryley Robinson, who had been wondering just what the hell the strange alien structure was used for. Said Maintenance Chief merely stared at the sinking debris for a moment, before deciding to swim after it. Maybe there were survivors on board...also, he needed to warn the Sunbeam about this. But how was he supposed to do that? The radios all seemed to be stuck on receiving, and never switched to broadcasting.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Well folks, welcome to the next universe: Subnautica!

Also, I should add that this takes place in the same universe as another series: Natural Selection.

This isn't me just matching the games together for fun - both are made by the same company and there are numerous references to Natural Selection 2 in Subnautica.

For those wondering, the Almanac is the Progenitor name for the Architects, the aliens who built the ruins in Subnautica. This is my reference to how the Architects were originally going to be called the Almanac in Subnautica: Below Zero.

So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!