Chapter 6 – Building camp 1

Mk23 -IRJ Droplet – Class 7 – Carpe Victoria (Wrecked)

Sector - Unknown

Planet - Unknown

3rd May 2341 (BSST)

As the monster faded from view, melting seamlessly into the forest I stood staring after it. It was eerie how easily it eluded my searching. One moment there, threatening my life, the next gone. Evaporating as ice in the midday sun.

Once I was sure it wasn’t lurking behind a tree I marched over to the forest looking for tracks. I could see where it had landed after jumping over me. Leaving large depressions in the sand. Tougher and denser than earth bound sand it held its shape more rigidly and firmly than on earth. A perfect print. Large plate like feet with what might be studs or spikes for traction that dig into the sand. Six toes, larger and more spread than a humans’ providing one-hundred-and-eighty-degree coverage from the ball of the foot onwards.

More arched than a humans’ it showed by the deeper indents in the sand. The tarsal and metatarsal bones form the arch of the foot, much like that of doorways it is a stronger shape than just a flat plate which aids in the support of the body in the erect position. Strengthened by ligaments and muscles it forms the basis of any powerful move. So, studying it would be quite useful.

Using computer to help with the analysis I came to a figure of the creature’s mass. Coming in at almost a hundred-and-seventy-five kilogram of muscle adapted to higher gravity and survival in an untamed world it was surprising I had managed to survive at all.

All things considered I was quite lucky to have come out of this engagement unharmed. The rush of intense feelings was unusual for me. Trained in the crucible of fire a marine learns to control themselves. Very disappointing for my nerve to break and to flee. Unless.

“Computer, um, did scans show the creature emitting any signals or particles or anything really?”

“No, however, shortly before your little swim, I did detect odd audio signals both below and above the human audio range of twenty to twenty thousand hertz. Shortly after you started behaving oddly and were unreceptive to my attempts to initiate response.”

Perhaps like a dog signal the humanoid that I had just fought, I assume it’s the same thing that was chasing me before I jumped in a river, emits a sound that drives the local creatures to a panic. No mater how dangerous that thing was I find it hard to believe it could take that big cat I glimpsed on my first night. I really need to think of a name for that monster. It’s going to be really annoying to think of them as ‘that thing that attacked me’ every time.

I take a full scan of the foot print for future use. Perhaps in tracking, perhaps something else. Intelligence is the most important thing for survival so any knowledge I can gleam from my surroundings is a step in the right direction.

With the creature leaving me, I’m left alone with my thoughts. You know it’s hard to keep being positive in the face of adversity. So many people say that adversity is a blessing in disguise. For even Edgar Allan Poe once said, “Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.” In reference to adversity. I would say to them that true adversity they had never experienced. It’s easy to say it when you haven’t encountered true soul crushing despair. No hope of rescue, no hope of going home, no hope. Just survival on a world as foreign to me as the modern world would be to Mr Poe. A day by day struggle.

I guess we’ll see who proves to be right. I’m a marine damnit and I sure as hell won’t give up. For better or worse I’ll cling to life. After all I wasn’t a deluded fool, latching on to comfy soft ideas because I was too scared to face true death. I’d faced it in combat and lived to tell the tale. Better to live for today with no expectation of a tomorrow. If there was one, then I’d be pleasantly surprised. If not, well I haven’t lost anything. My body will just fade away, decomposing and joining then elemental cycle to reform life in another way. My consciousness as well will fade and all that I am will be electrical flashes across the neural network of another. Brief memories, hopefully favourable ones, of the people who have interacted with me.

From the little girl and her parents, I rescued on the front, to the soldiers I served with across the vastness of space. From my superiors to my enemies. From the little girl I once was to the woman I’ve become. And then even that will fade away. The only acknowledgment of my existence a note in some data log. Persisting until even the very molecules that make us up fade in the death of the universe. And who knows what after that? Maybe all that I am will fund the most infinitesimally small part of a creation of a new world. Or maybe I will be forgotten like so many others. One thing is for certain, I can only judge my actions by what I experience in the present. And my present involves survival on an alien planet. So, I suppose I’d better hop to it and focus on surviving after all.

My existential crisis over with I relax slightly and headed down towards the sea to wash off the gunge that had splashed across me when I cut into the monster. I splash into the sea and rub down the suit for a good while. The blood and gunge falls off, floating on top like an oily scum. I wash it away with little lapping motions. Flipping my hands sending ripples cascading away over the top. The ripples continue out over the sea before colliding and fading away as they meet the natural waves. It has an unnatural feel to it. Too calm, but then again there is no moon close enough to have any impact. What little tidal action there is is caused by the sun. Computer hasn’t been able to analyse the orbital mechanics, so I don’t know if the orbit is circular, elliptical or something else entirely. So, it’s possible that later in the yearly cycle the planet will drift closer to the sun and the gravitational affect on the waves will increase. Who knows how the seasons work here.

Once clean, I climb out of the sea rolling my shoulders and loosening up ready to take on the day.

What would I need to do? I wondered to myself as I set off walking. Over hillocks, down troughs. Across rocky sections and through the ever-present jungles and woodlands. On the edge of a swamp like biome, the natural forests thinned slightly before tilting down and descending a couple hundred metres to a flat beach. The charcoal forest was on the other side of the swamp and mountain ridges I had seen earlier. Where the swamp joined the forest, a natural clearing sprawled over the land. Sparse enough for me to use as the location of a base whilst also dense enough to provide cover and descent resources for a build.

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Oddly quiet the woodland had a strange air to it. Pausing, once my footsteps stopped there was nary a sound. Unlike before, this silence was not a disquieting, eerie or ominous. It was in fact a comforting, uplifting silence that enveloped me like a hug. The light filtered through lighting the soft, baked ground in warm shades of browns, golds and greens. An interesting tessellating pattern of light and dark spread out from thick dark shadows that rose and fell like the wind.

It mirrored the canopy and when I looked up at it for comparison the fluttering leaves shone with a myriad of colours as the sun shined through them. Wispy and translucent they danced in the tall boughs in a calming, hypnotising motion. Swaying with the wind with an unrestrained freedom, despite being attached at the hip to the strong branches. The strong boughs, coloured in the old mustard browns and vivid greens. Mottled over time as old layers pealed back revealing the new life thrumming limbs that supported the trees.

It would do, as good as any I might have found and better than any I had come across in my walk.

I had finished wondering and made a mental list of what to do.

- Find a water source.

- Find/make fire source.

- Find a food source.

- Find a location for camp.

- Build a shelter.

- Develop tools.

- Build protection.

- Explore the landscape.

Up above me somewhere, where the cliffs raised up I could hear the gentle trickle of flowing water. A small babbling brook or a curving creeping creek. The water lapping at stone with tender slapping sounds sooths me. So that answers priority one.

Fire, a much harder commodity but not impossible. Food, again harder. And not as important now, I can last a while without food. But hunting will certainly be necessary.

Location for a camp, check.

Build a shelter, I’ll get on it soon. Tools will help but an actual camp for that. Tools also for protection. Then and only then can I think about exploring.

There are probably a few things I’m missing on the list, but I’ll deal with that when I come to them. I can only do so much right now after all.

The sun is about halfway across the sky by now, it feels like a day is about the same length of time as it is on earth. Of course, it’s possible my body ware has altered my perceptions in order to preserve my mental state. Humans don’t do well with a vastly different sleep schedule and judging by the stars colour it should be different. Blue stars or O-Type stars are very rare occurring in only 0.00003% of main sequence stars. They burn hot and live fast becoming blackholes or neutron stars after their supernova. In general O-Type stars are supermassive which would certainly have a very different effect on the day night cycles.

The fact it is an O-Type star gives me some clue to where I am. O-Types general form in regions of intense star formation such as the spiral arms of a galaxy or the collisions of galaxies. So, we know what kind of region we’re in. Unfortunately, space is so large and unmapped I really have no clue where I ended up.

I listen to the gentle trickle of water for a few moments to locate it. It’s up above me to the north. It takes a few minutes to climb up to it but eventually I do. It’s a small stream. It winds its way through the trees hidden by overgrown banks that have grown together in a twisted matted tangled mess that hides the stream. If you couldn’t hear it, you would never have been able to find it up here. I track the stream down towards my camp until it takes a slingshot around a cluster of trees and heads off to the east. Tracing the edge of the cliff. After approximately thirty metres the stream tumbles down the cliff in a series of small drops until reaching a small basin. Carved out by the force of the falling water a little pool has developed. Perhaps half a metre deep by one meter wide, the circular pool has small moving creatures in. Kneeling down I stare at the creatures using computer to help me focus.

The creatures are small approximately ten centimetres long and deep red in colour. They both stick out looking unnatural against the pale sand but also blend in almost seamlessly to the red sandstone. As I watch I can see how they like to hide underneath the rocks and pebbles, digging into the sand and almost burying themselves. Often only the front chela/maxillipeds or antennae are visible sticking out of the sand. They look like prawns but with a few more spikes and minor differences.

The water looks clean enough to drink which is good. But, who knows what toxins are in there?

“Computer, No! Enigma!” I say in a eureka moment. That’s the name I’ll give him. Oh, and it’s a him now as well.

“Computer, your new designation is that of Enigma please choose a male voice tone for yourself and run it past me.” He does and thank god I have right of refusal. My god the first ones were bad. No, emotion. Too much emotion. Sleazy. Slimy. And that was just the first few. I stared at the water until he finished going through the database one step at a time. Before the end of the list, but seemingly not far from the bottom he found one I liked. Posh but not pretentious. Well enunciated and clear. Professional. Perfect for an op.

“Enigma”

“Yes, Ronja. How may I assist you?”

“Is this water safe to consume?”

“Scans indicate no known human pathogens or other contaminants. However, I would not feel safe allowing you to drink this as is. We do however have enough purification liquid for approximately two-point-three-five litres at standard concentration and a maximum of ten-point-six-two litres depending on the dilution factor. After this is used up the only way in which I might help would be filtration.”

“Ok, right. I’m going to have a drink then. Point seven five concentration please enigma.”

I feel a slight prick as a small tablet is inserted into my mouth from the suit.

“One tablet, point seven five concentrations allows twenty-five mouth fills. Stay safe Ronja.”

“War mode sentinel.” I say before unsealing the suit and stepping down out of it. It turns and tenses in a crouch scanning relentlessly for dangers.

The first thing I notice about the world is the temperature. 335K is well above normal earth temps and I would soon die If I didn’t have my body ware. It takes a few moments for it to adapt but soon everything feels normal. Well as normal as possible. I’m still a little hot but it’s better than initially.

The second thing I notice is the increased gravity. Stepping down from two feet up in the air to the floor takes a much greater toll on my knees and feet. It’s harder to breath and I feel like I’m wearing a compression jacket. Though not to painful the increased gravity would be impossible to fight and survive in. Just living would be fine. But to survive you pick up injuries, take falls and numerous other things that increased gravity would make much more dangerous. A fall down the stairs in increased gravity say 2G to 3G would easily be fatal.

I kneel down and take a few deep gulps of water letting it sit in my mouth for five seconds each time, so the tablet dissolves a little hopefully sterilising the water and preventing any illness I might have gotten.

It’s bliss. The cool water flooding down my throat. It’s odd how cool it is compared to the hot muggy atmosphere. Soon I’ve had my twenty-five mouth fills and I’m wishing for more. But there’s no point wasting the purification tablets. More water would just pass right through me wasting the supplies. So, as much as it hurts me I stand back up. Run fingers through my hair and revel in the feeling before turning and climbing back into my suit.

Well, that’s priority one done and dusted. Good start Ronja now we just have to find food. Perhaps the prawns will do, or maybe not. I’ll have to build a trap for them if they are edible. Otherwise I’ll go hunting. There are fish in the seas, birds in the trees and bugs in the leaves. All waiting for me to come along and snap them up.

“Enigma, place a water droplet icon on my HUD for this little pool please.” It pops up a second later. Good everything is coming along nicely.