For a moment, an awkward silence reigned as the six of us stared at one another, before Second Officer Keen (heh, Commander Keen) decided to speak up.
"...Robinson? Is that you?"
Ryley typed 'yes' into his PDA.
"Excellent, another crash survivor...wait, who are your guests?"
"A pair of explorers who had their ship shot out of the sky," answered Vivian.
"..Shot out of the sky?"
Oh boy, here come the explanations.
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"...So you're saying that this planet is effectively under quarantine by an alien energy weapon until an 'uninfected individual' deactivates the system?"
"Correct," noted the voice on Ryley's PDA. "Theoretically, the newest members of this group could deactivate the platform, as they are likely uninfected, but doing so would not address the reason the Quarantine Enforcement Platform exists. Therefore, the current objective of all survivors should be to locate additional alien facilities to determine the nature of this infection and how to treat it."
"I see. So, what should we do now?" questioned CTO Yu.
"Well, I think looking at those abandoned habitats would be a good place to start," was my answer. Any attempts by the trio to question me were cut off when Ryley pointed to the abandoned Degasi bases on the top of the island.
"...What the-" began Berkeley.
"...The Degasi..." finished Keen.
"Wait, what?" questioned Yu.
Ryley simply sent the relevant data over to the trio's PDAs.
"...Oh."
Yu promptly glared at Keen. A defensive expression adorned his face.
"We didn't know what happened to the Degasi. And Alterra was going to build the phase gate anyway, so we would have still ended up in this disaster even if we hadn't known about the Degasi."
Yu's glare softened slightly at this, though I could tell she had yet to completely forgive Keen.
For now, though, everyone wanted to examine the Degasi base before having any further arguments.
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Once we had acquired all of the useful items from the Degasi base (and also determined the location of the Jellyshroom Cave Degasi base), Ryley, guided his fellow survivors to the alien arch, after which we all made our way back to Ryley's habitat in the Safe Shallows. The reaper leviathan we'd almost pancaked was still there, but now seemed to be more docile, though it did still act territorial when Ryley and co. got too close. Small merices were appreciated though.
Once all of the survivors were acquainted with the base, Ryley got to work assembling additional moon pools and Sea Moths so that we could all travel the ocean together. He'd already got a bead on where the second base was, thanks to his PDA. He also added in a few Alien Containment tanks and water filters to help out with food and water issues.
Idly, I wondered how Vivian and myself would be able to secrue such technology four our own usage - I was a big fan of Subnautica's technology, and a handheld fabber would be amazing, even if I already had one.
Fortunately, I didn't have to do much to acquire that piece of technology for myself.
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Wanting to go examine the the Jellyshroom Cave, I made my way down one of the halls until I reached I found Ryley having a conversation with Keen. They finished just as I was about to speak up, with Keen leaving a moment later.
"Ryley?"
"..Yes?" he asked, in a somewhat raspy voice, vocal chords still adjusting.
"How long until we'll be able to examine the Jellyshroom Cave?"
"One more hour, need to finish setting up a Scanner Room."
"I see. Well, keep me posted."
"I will. Also, I have something for you. You and Melissa."
"And that is?"
Ryley responded by pulling a Habitat Builder out of his pockets...and handing it to me, alongside another of its kind.
"Keen gave me permission to give you two habitat builders. Figured that we should give you a token of appreciation for your assistance...and also a sign that we trust you."
"...But we haven't done much to help you out yet."
"Well, you did help us examine the first Degasi base. And gather the supplies needed to build the additional Moonpools and Sea Moths."
"True. What exactly is on these builders?"
"Everything we've acquired so far. I think that will be more than sufficient to assist you in this endeavor. Though we're only going to give you neough materials to set up your own starter habitat. You'll have to find the rest yourself."
"I can live with that."
"Splendid. Now, I apologize, but I need to get back to work...and my throat is burning."
"Oh, sorry about that. I'll be going now."
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Once that matter was settled, Vivian joined me in setting up our own little base, with tanks for stalkers, peepers, and all kinds of other fish, before joining the survivors in venturing toward the Jellyshroom Cave. It didn't take long to find the Degasi bases, which were currently being examined by crabsnakes. We acquired what we could from the bases, as well as a few oculi and Crabsnake eggs, and then gathered up some shale and magnetite, before returning to base. Ryley's PDA had, as expected, determined the location of the final base, and after upgrading the Sea Moths to reach the required depths, we made our way toward the Deep Grand Reef - no reason to stop searching for the Degasi now.
OF course, the Ghost Leviathans calling the Grand Reef home were a bit of a problem - and also a nightmare to be near - but we eventually reached the base, avoiding numerous crab squids and ampeels along the way. We also procured a few of their eggs as payback.
We allowed the crew to mourn the passing of hte Degasi survivors. Idly, I wondered if Maida had defeated the Reaper, and if so, was she still alive? I mean, I was pretty sure a crabsquid had eaten Paul Torgal, while his son had succumbed to the Khaara, but Maida's fate was up in the air...and apparently, the Extinction was registering signs of human activity around the northern polar region of this planet.
...Actually, if Maida was still alive and hadn't contacted anyone for rescue, she probably wanted to be left alone. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Now onto bigger problems - namely, saving this planet.
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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!