#he WILL be sarcastic and bitchy to people he doesn't respect | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

redheartwriting · 2 years

Text

Alone

Subnautica AU - Chapter I

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz is mostly just lost in their notes, scribbling some things down. One of the few people in on the Aurora's secondary mission, they have their guesses and conclusions about what happened to the ship at the center of the secret search and rescue. It's nothing exciting, they decide. They crashed, all six people perished, either in the crash or in the environment afterwards. Category III ocean planet? They either drowned or were eaten. Quartz can't find it in themself to care. They see a shadow over them, and they sigh.* Go away, Ozzy. I'm busy. *They look up, and it isn't Ozzy. It's a man they've only seen a handful of times. They raise an eyebrow.* Oh, hello um- you. Can I help you?

<lycorexis> You must be the xenobiologist? *He smiles at them, offering a hand for them to shake.* My name is Rose. Chief engineer, Lieutenant Colonel. We were assigned together? *It isn't unusual for the two of them to work together, despite the difference in the field of knowledge. But on what supposedly a rescue mission, it is surely strange that they were assigned to a research team. Though of course, it was to be expected from Alterra, they use all opportunity, even on a secondary mission, to get more about the planet, ultimately just to exploit this place. There is no doubt in everyone's mind that all six people crash landed here have died, or will die, the mission is just for show, so that Alterra can say that they've tried. Rose has to admit, he's more interested in the research anyways, working for Alterra for a long time eats away at your humanity. But this planet is, allegedly, abundant in resource, resources that are dwindling on earth. It may be futile, but he has submitted several plans suggesting ways they can preserve the planet in other to get more out of this place, instead of drilling it until it runs dries, but... it's a work in progress.* And to whom do I owe the pleasure?

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz shifts, uncovering their documents, knowing he's either in on it or orchestrated it. Technically, Rose seriously outranks them. But they've never been one for authority, especially not Alterra's.* I'm Doctor... ah just call me Quartz. I'm "the xenobiologist", yes. *They straighten their papers.* Here, get this to Keen. *They know they don't have the rank to tell him what to do, but it was Keen's idea, even the captain didn't seem to care that much.* It's nothing fun, just a sting of bad luck. Tell him I'm of the opinion we should move on with the primary missions. *They sound bored, they feel bored. This work once fascinated them, gave them more stars in their eyes than in the night sky. But these days they've lost the spark for it, their love for the work.* I think making planetfall would be unwise, anyways. *He didn't ask for their opinion, but they want to make sure someone knows it.*

<lycorexis> *Rose takes the paper, briefly skims through it. He was told to "watch out" for Quartz'... attitude, but he doesn't see why.* Well, Doctor Quartz, I respect your opinion. *He smiles at them again, tucking the document beneath his arm.* I take you as the kind of person who doesn't like being told what to do, but if you can put together a more detailed... presentation of your opinion I'll bring it up to The Administration. My apologies for the inconvenience, you'd think that the details are obvious, but we both know that Alterra's ultimate goal is to make the simple process complicate and the complicate process impossible.

<ProcellaCor> Only if you're sleeping with me. *Quartz says it dryly, sarcastically. They still just can't bring themself to care about any of this at all anymore.* My presentation would be my damn resignation, it's not hard to guess that we shouldn't touch a planet killed others. *They sigh, Rose doesn't seem like he's exactly at fault, but they're tired and bitchy and sick of Alterra. They run a hand over their face.* I'll make a more detailed presentation if you /really/ want me to, but speaking frankly, this wasn't going to pan out to begin with. *They stand up, messing with their hair a bit, just retying it. But the ship suddenly jerks, sending Quartz into Rose. They both look up as alarms start sounding. Quartz makes a bit of a face.* This is some sort of drill… right? *They give Rose a look.*

<lycorexis> Well, I can confidently say that the Adminis- *Rose cuts off as the ship jerks, and Quartz ends up on him. He grunts, hitting hard against the floor.* What the fuck? *He pushes Quartz off, turning his head down the hallway, already hearing the distant panic footsteps.* I don- *"ATTENTION! ALL PERSONNEL ON THIS NET. AURORA HAS BEEN HIT. AURORA HAS BEEN HIT." Piercing shouts sound off on their radios, and they both trade a look, before Rose bolts off down the hallway.* GET TO THE LIFEPODS. EVACUATE EVERYONE.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz almost doesn't believe it, thinking they're dreaming, having a nightmare, something like that. The aurora isn't /that/ fragile, even to stray asteroids. But they aren't frozen for long, running before they can even register it. They follow Rose, just out of pure instinct. If he, the chief engineer, is saying to jump ship, then they need to /jump ship./* Jesus christ- What's happening? *As they get to the lifepod bay, they see smoke and fire, catching a glimpse of the damage. And it's /bad/. They stare for just a moment, seeing the yellows and reds of the molten metal. That's not damage from a collision. That /can't/ be damage from a collision. But someone shoves them and they snap out of it, racing to the nearest lifepod. They look across from them, surprised to see Rose with them. They lock eyes with him as the pod launches, almost spinning out of control.*

<lycorexis> *Rose pulls open the door to the lifepod, but he freezes, looking back into the ship, pass the people running, trying to find a figure.* Please... *He whispers under his breath, but someone shoves Quartz into him, making them both falls inside the lifepod, and before Rose can react, the door shuts.* Wait- NO- NO- CERUL- CERUL'S STILL IN THERE- *He shouts, punching the door of the lifepod, but it was too late. And before he even has time to cry, the lifepod has launched out of control, and it was mere seconds before Rose was able to strap himself into the sit before the panel cover flies off, and into his face.*

<ProcellaCor> *After the panel hit Rose, it hit Quartz too. But they wake up slowly, and before Rose does. At first, they almost don't remember what happened. Their head is killing them, and the smell of smoke isn't helping- smoke. /Fire./ Quartz tries to get out of their seat, nearly breaking it. They grab the fire extinguisher and spray it a bit wildly, putting out the blaze. They breathe hard for a second, trying to get their bearings, get their mind together. They glance over to see-* Lieutenant Colonel! *They grab him by the shoulders, shaking him for a second before they check for a pulse. He's alive. They shake him some more, trying to get him to wake up before he /does/ die.* Hey- Hey! Wake the fuck up!

<lycorexis> *Rose grunts, his eyes finally starting to open. He blinks, at first just staring at Quartz with dazed eyes, but then-* CERUL- *He suddenly sits up, almost shoving Quartz off of him, frantically looking around, before he realises.* Fuck... *His hand on the their shoulder begins to shake, but he takes it away. He looks around again, slower, before up at Quartz.* Fuck. *Rose breathes out.* Fuck. Fuck fuck /fuck/. Cerul. Cerul. She was still. No. No no no no no. No- *He tries to take a few breaths, but his throat feels like it's clogging up, it's so hard to breathe. Rose puts his hand in his face, trying to calm himself, trying to reason with himself, but he's only shaking more, and tears sting his eyes. This is real, but it feels like a nightmare.*

<ProcellaCor> WOAH- *Quartz hits the wall of the lifepod as Rose shoves them.* We're already concussed- *They mutter it just to themself, knowing Rose is just panicking.* Hey, hey get a grip! *They try to snap him out of it, but he's beginning to cry. They pause for a moment, trying to process it. They consider slapping him, but he's hurt enough.* /Rose/- stop- *They cut off with a sigh.* /Panicking/ is just going to kill us faster! Aren't you a ranked officer! Fucking- act like it! *They don't quite mean to raise their voice, they're mostly just stressed.*

<lycorexis> *Rose looks up at them, but it isn't panic in his eyes.* Cerul... I have to- I have to- *He turns away, grabbing onto the ladder to help himself up, but his prosthetic arm, completely revealed because of the survival suit, hangs limp, seemingly dead.* I need to find her... I need to find her... *Rose mutters under his breath, dazed, completely out of it. But he can barely stand up on his own strength, and the weight of the dead prosthetic isn't helping.* Cerul- Cerul... *He grips the ladder tighter, the promise ring on his finger strains against the metal.*

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz doesn't quite know who Cerul is. The Aurora didn't have a massive crew, only around 200 people. And they hadn't exactly taken the time to get to know all of them. They pause for a second, trying to figure out what to do next. They grab a pda from the lifepod's storage, trying to get the damn thing to turn on. They look back at Rose, who still seems out of it, but they spot the ring. And they have a very sudden guess.* Just- Sit down, collect yourself. *They sigh, having a sinking feeling. They slowly climb the ladder, shoving the hatch open. The first thing they see are birds, or bird-like creatures, chirping at them. And then they see the Aurora, a kilometer away, smoking. "The Aurora suffered orbital hull failure." The pda's voice, having finished booting up, makes Quartz jump. They hold it up. "Zero human life signs detected" They freeze. That /can't/ be right. They and Rose can't possibly be the only two that made it. Every lifepod on the port side of the ship should have launched without much problem. The PDA must have taken damage, every other thing in the lifepod was on fire, after all. And they don't have the heart to go back down into the lifepod, to tell Rose. They take in a deep breath, their hands shaking as they try to get the PDA to scan again. That can't be right. It /can't/ be.*

<lycorexis> *Rose pushes himself away from the ladder, as Quartz approaches it, dropping back into the chair. He looks around they've gone outside, and he sighs to himself. But they're right, he needs to get a grip. He'll find Cerul. Surely she's made it to one of the lifepods, and they all should have launched just fine. Maybe she's in one of them right now, like him, he just needs to find her. Rose detaches the prosthetic arm from himself, examining for a moment, before placing it on the seat. It seems like it's just a bit damaged, and the battery runs out, but nothing a repair tool couldn't fix. He rummages through the storage, pulling out a PDA for himself. As he waits for it to boot, Quartz is already coming down.*

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz' eyes are wide and haunted. The PDA had scanned two more times, picking up no signs of human life. They stare at him for a long moment, meeting his eyes, before they look away. They don't say it, they're sure they don't need to. They're sure they can't. So they don't say it, they don't say anything, they move past him to the fabricator, checking to see what things it will make. But they're moving slowly, like they're moving through sludge. They don't say it, they can't, they refuse to, because they're refusing to accept it. But they can feel Rose's gaze burning holes into them, they can feel his questions, his biggest question, and they can feel how their lack of an answer gives him more of an answer than either of them would like - gives him the answer neither of them want.*

<lycorexis> *Rose stares at Quartz for a long moment, and he understands, what their silence mean. He looks down to the PDA in his hand, before tossing it aside, and pulls Quartz in for a tight hug. It's a bit awkward, without his other arm, before Rose tries his best, because it is sincere, now that all they have left is each other. What else can they do?* We... um... *He trails off, not knowing what to say, but tears sting his eyes. There's only two of them left, and they have to survive, together. And for a moment, the darker future dawns on him. Rescue most likely won't arrived, but if they do, whatever shot them down, whatever shot the Degasi down, it will shoot down the next. From now on, they have no one but each other, until their very last breathing moments, whether it comes sooner or later.*

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz shakes in Rose's arm for a moment, before they slowly wrap their arms around him too. They hold him as tight as they can, understanding what he's trying to say. They feel their own tears rolling down their face. They understand the certainty of it, too. They're going to die here, they're both going to die here on this planet, so alien and so earthlike. They slowly breathe out, understanding the silent promise to keep each other alive for as long as possible. They pull away, wiping tears from their ```face.* So, *their voice is hollow, but there's some spark of stubborn determination. Just because this planet is going to kill them doesn't mean they have to lay down and die right here and now.* can you swim?

<lycorexis> Well... *Rose takes a deep breath, wiping away his own tears.* I would like to say yes, but... *He turns around, staring at the dead prosthetic arm.* No with one arm, no. *Rose walks past them, working the fabricator.* But it shouldn't be too hard of a fix, I just need some battery to get it back on, and a repair tool. The fabricator is working, which is good, a repair tool will get us a long way, we can fix up some wires here too. And that radio. *He turns back to them.* This planet has a lot of resources, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard for us to find the things we need. The sooner we get tools, the better.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz nods in agreement.* Let's start with some titanium and copper, then. That shouldn't be hard. *They slowly open the hatch at the bottom of the pod, seeing the alien fish swim by. And in spite of the horrible circumstances, they smile. /This/ is why they became a xenobiologist in the first place. Because nonearth life just enamors them. They slowly dip into the water, noting the tropical temperatures. Good, they won't die of hypothermia. They slowly look around, finding the planet to be bursting with life. The Aurora's scans had called this a mostly dead planet, but it certainly didn't look like that here. They can see all sorts of flora and fauna, all easily able to sustain each other. They should probably focus on finding metals and materials, but they can't help themself as a fish swims up to them, it's huge eyes staring at them. They suddenly burst back into the lifepod with the peeper in their hands, it wiggling around as they take it out of the water* I found a fish!

<lycorexis> *Rose snaps his head back towards them from the fabricator, surprised by the speed, they just went out.* Did you get the materials alre- Oh. *He stares at the wiggling creature in their hand.* Th- That's great! We can eat that. *He approaches them, but Quartz steps back, keeping the fish out of his reach.* O- Okay. We won't eat it. But we are definitely not keeping it either... at least not right now. Did you get the copper? *He looks around for his PDA, looking through it for something.* We need some copper, and some acid- um... mushrooms? It said, for a batter- Can you stop fucking with the fish?

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz gives Rose a look from hell as he tries to grab at the peeper* We can eat other ones of this kind, but not this one. I'm keeping this one. *They seem to ignore Rose's insistence that they can't, or shouldn't. They're almost ignoring him entirely as they try to scoop water into the storage of the lifepod for the fish.* Its name is eyeball. *They place it into the water, carefully watching it.* Listen, it chirps. It can communicate, or it's a form of echolocation. I need more data to- *They snap their head up at Rose* No. Two reasons. One, this is my entire fucking job. This is what I do, what I spent forever in school for. You have your things, I have mine. Two, if we're going to survive here, we need to know as much about this planet as possible. Especially the creatures we share it with. *They give him a look.* /We/ are on /their/ planet. If we learn how they survive here, we will too.

<lycorexis> . /Well/, Mx. Xenobiologist. *He kneels down to meet their eyes.* I don't give two shits if you want to keep the fish in our storage container. But I'm not going to survive at all if my fucking arm won't turn on. *He waves the prosthetic around on his hand.* Oh I /hate/ to bother you on your job, but right now I don't have a choice. The sooner you help me get this thing going, the sooner you can go off and play with your fish. *He stands back up, turning back to the fabricator.* Trust me, if I can just go swim knowing I will drown, I would.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz gives him a long look.* You didn't listen to me. We can't do what the rest of Alterra would do, or we will die. *They grab him by the shoulder, turning him back around.* If we just /take/ from this planet, without learning about it, we will drain it dry. I will get you your materials, I think I know which things are the mushrooms you mentioned, I think some of the limestone I saw might bear titanium and copper. *They scowl at him, before they sigh, trying to let it go. If they're going to be stuck on this planet, they need to, at least, try and not immediately start fighting.* Most of the planet is dead, a void. This area, for whatever reason, is not. And whatever got the Aurora, and the /rest/ of the ocean here, /will/ kill us too. We need, at the very least, a few specimens so I can understand. *They grab the prosthetic arm, shoving it back towards him.* Rank doesn't apply here, you /need/ to trust me and that I know what I'm doing. I'm not just playing with fish, I'm trying to learn about them. This- *they point to the peeper in the container* species can feed us, you're right, but we can't eat them all.

<lycorexis> I never /said/ *Rose yanks his prosthetic back from them.* That rank applies here. But I physically cannot do anything until this thing works again. I'm not suggesting we drill oil on this place, I'm just trying get things going, but until I actually can move around, I'm stuck between sitting in this lifepod or try to go outside and instantly die. One way or another, /you're/ going to have to bury my body.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz can feel a bit of their temper flaring up. They take in a deep breath, trying to find their calm somewhere deep within them.* I can grab you the mushrooms, and you don't /have/ to sit around. *They point upwards* Or, if you do, you can watch the birds. Birds mean land. Those things dive, but they don't /swim/. *They run a hand through their hair.* You're an engineer, you deal with definite, hard math. But this isn't that, and won't be. *They open the bottom hatch again.* Don't touch Eyeball, and see if the fabricator can make diving gear. We won't be in the shallows forever.

<lycorexis> *Rose frowns, but he turns away and sigh to himself. It wasn't about that, at least not to him, but there's more immediate problems right now than some /fish/. They need to learn to adapt and preserve this place, sure, but it's frustrating to feel like your immediate survival isn't prioritised, especially now, of all times. And the way Quartz acts feel... condescending. Rose stares at the fabricator, he already learned what it can or can't do, the PDA doesn't have everything, and without a scanner, they wouldn't get much out of it yet. They would need to rush for a flashlight as well, before the sunset.*

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz is gone for about an hour, both gathering the things Rose had asked for and trying to mentally map out the immediate area. They had been right about the limestone, and they had grabbed quite a few mushrooms. They had also grabbed a couple more peepers, and the weirdest looking fish they saw. A pink... thing they were just calling a bladderfish, for the weird air sac.* I have a very gross idea. *It's probably not the greeting Rose would have wanted as they shove mushrooms into his arm, holding up the bladderfish.* We'll dehydrate before we starve but this thing has... a kind of membrane that I think could filter the salt out of some of this water.

<lycorexis> *Rose stares at the mushroom they shoved into him, and he sighs, trying to let it go. He doesn't answer them as they speak, just quietly work the fabricator. And it does seem to work, as the battery materialises in front of him. It takes a bit, to mess with it and gets the old battery out, but he sighs when the arm seems to turn on, and be functional again. Attaching the arm back, Rose opens the top hatch, outside, scaring some trees sitting on top of the lifepod away. Fresh air is good anywhere, it seems, the breeze helps calm him a bit, push everything into the back of his mind for a moment. He'll have to get into the water again, in a moment, there's still a lot to do before the first night. But for now... Rose looks down at the ring on his hand.* Do you like the view, Cerul? *He asks softly.* It's a lot like Earth, isn't it?

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz stores anything Rose didn't use, still keeping room for Eyeball. They watch the peeper closely for a second, trying to discern what evolutionary niche it would fill, especially to look as interesting as it does. They hear Rose talk from the roof, though they don't hear the words. They /do/ hear the tone and they slowly sigh. The take the couple of bladderfish and make water with it, though it takes them a couple seconds to figure out the fabricator's interface. They climb to the roof, sitting down beside Rose. They hold out a water to him, hoping he understands the gesture without them having to actually say anything.*

<lycorexis> *Rose stares at the water for a moment, but he shakes his head, and turns away.* I'll... be down in a moment. *He whispers, but his voice cracks, despite Rose desperately trying to hide it.* Just- *He tries to speak, but it seems painful too, the word chokes up in his throat.* Go- do your- *He cuts off with a sigh, turning away more.* Sorry.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz puts the waters down and turns Rose back, pulling him into a tight hug like before. They don't understand what he's going through, they can't. But that doesn't mean they can't be sympathetic, or try their best at comforting him. They hug him tighter, as though that can help.* I'm so sorry.

<lycorexis> *Slightly, he starts to shake in their arms, still trying to keep his emotions in check. But it's so hard, to expect himself to just move on with it, like he just didn't lost Cerul, like he can just live on without her, like he's not still trying to convince himself that it all was just a bad dream.* Sorry... *Rose breathes out his words, but tears spring to his eyes, he doesn't want to break on Quartz, not like this, and not right now.*

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz slowly rubs up and down his back. They've never really been good with people, that's part of why they stick to animals in the far reaches of space.* Don't be. *They try to take a soft tone, but it doesn't come out very naturally. Still, they try to find the right words, try to help him* I- It's- It's alright if you- if you cry- if you want to- You can cry-

<lycorexis> I- I- *He stuttters out a few words, but it's a chore to talk. And he gives in, clutching onto Quartz as he sobs and shakes into their shoulder, holding them so tightly.* I- I just- miss her- *His words choke on a sob.* I can't- I- I don't- know what to- do without her- *His chest aches, emotional pain manifesting into physical pain. He can't take it, the thought of living without Cerul, never seeing her again, forever longing for her warmth that he'll never feel again, and perhaps he's scared, too, that he'll never feel that warmth again, she died with a part of Rose. Cerul left a void that cannot be filled.*

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz desperately wishes they knew what to say, but they've never loved anyone in their life. They've always been too busy for that, too caught up in their studies, in trying to learn more about the universe.* It's- *It's not okay, they can't say that, it's /not/ okay. They can still see the burning Aurora out of the corner of their eye. Almost 200 people, all dead. It's not okay. But... they lived, the two of them /lived/ for whatever reason.* You're not alone. *They don't know him, they don't know how to help him, but all they have to give him is themself.*

<lycorexis> *Rose doesn't respond, but he pulls them closer, hugging them tighter. The metallic arm must feels weird, even if technology has given it the possibility to mimick (almost) exactly the movements of a normal arm, but it feels... cold, or so people have told him.* I- I'm sorry. *He finally speaks up after a long while, his voice strained and hoarsed, but at least the crying has calmed.* I'm sorry. *Rose breaths out, repeating himself. He still feels bad for crying on them, noticing the tears stain on their shoulder.* Um... Do you know... who Cerul is?

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz lets him cry on them for as long as he needs. They don't mind the feel of the metal arm, they've never minded the cold that much. Maybe because they weren't born on earth, maybe because they just can't care most of the time.* I-I didn't know her personally, no... *They feel guilty for their answer. They had never been one to make friends, even on The Aurora's five year mission. They knew /of/ her, maybe had even spoken to her, but not like Rose did, not like anyone else did.* I- I'm sorry.

<lycorexis> She um- *He takes a moment. It's hard, to even speak of her now.* She works in HR. Most employments go through her, so you must have heard. *He takes another deep breath.* We- We were... going to get married after this... mission... *Rose looks down to his ring, this time, he couldn't stop the silent tears falling onto it.* We've been dating since I was in school. *But through the crying, he smiles.* I proposed to her... a few months ago. Our wedding was supposed to be after this. And she always wanted a honey/moon/. *He laughs, just barely.* For the pun, she said.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz freezes up, but then they hug him impossibly tighter.* God- I- I'm so sorry. *They don't know what else to say, they've never felt a loss like that. The aurora was going to build the phasegate, this was its maiden voyage, how could things have gone so wrong in such a short amount of time?* M-Maybe... *Quartz doesn't finish it. They don't want to give him false hope, and they know his PDA confirmed a lack of human life as well. It's been hours, maybe days, since the Aurora was shot down, and they had both been unconscious, with a broken radio. No one would even have known they were there.*

<lycorexis> Maybe the PDA was wrong? *Rose takes out his own, tapping on it a few times.* I don't know... But... I do hope that it is. I just- *He lowers his head, putting it away again.* Hope is... dangerous. Especially for something so... implausible.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz frowns for a long moment, trying to think.* What do you need for a repair tool? We have copper and titanium, but the fabricator was giving me a hard time about it. *They glance to the south, where the sun will set if it stays on its current path.* I-I'll- whatever you need. There's a lot of creatures out there, a lot of rocks too. And so far none of them have tried to kill me. We- We can repair the radio and try to... try to contact everyone else. *They know he said hope is dangerous, but they try to hold onto it anyways.* We- We /can't/ be the only people who came out alive.

<lycorexis> A battery, most tools need batteries. Some sulfur and some silicon. *Rose skims through his PDA.* I can try to get some of these things, given the information on our PDAs are correct, most of them shouldn't be hard to find. We need more copper, still, we would need a decent amount to make tools for the both of us, a scanner and a flashlight are essential as well, especially with the sun coming down. The PDA doesn't carry all the information we need, but with a scanner, I'm sure we can get more. *This is good, this is his expertise, this is what Rose is used to, this is the only escape he has from grief.* I'll make some oxygen tanks for us, from the titanium. If we can get our hands on some spare silicon, I'll make a knife too.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz nods. They let go of him, standing up, stretching a bit.* Well, the titanium, copper, and mushrooms should help with all of that. I'm not sure about the sulfur and silicone though. *They think for a moment, wondering about the twisting green plants they saw in the distance.* I think I have an idea for the silicone, but the sulfur's a lot harder. *They glance at Rose, seeing him still going through the PDA.*

<lycorexis> Fabricators are designed to draws information from available data... hm. *Rose stares down at the PDA, before looking out into the sea, a distant expression. His nail taps the PDA screen as he thinks, before turning to the burning Aurora in the distant.* There are definitely pieces of Aurora scattered on the sea floor. We carried a lot of newer equipments, though they might all be in pieces now. But as long as we can gather enough information from the fragments, we can still put them together, the fabricator is more than enough for this. *Rose pushes himself, standing up to meet their eyes.* We'll have to venture out, but that's for when we have better equipments. For now, let's search local wrecks, see what we can find.

<ProcellaCor> We? *Quartz gives him a bit of a look, glancing at his arm, a bit concerned about being electrocuted. But they choose not to say that.* You don't have to come with me- I mean- I won't /make/ you. *Their expression softens, just a little bit.* Your area of expertise is all the engineering stuff, right? I won't- You don't have to go with me.

<lycorexis> *Rose catches their look.* Get me a repair tool, and I'll be up and running again in no time. *He knocks on the metal.* This thing is state of the art, designed by yours truly, water tight. You can't expect me to stay here forever, plus? Can /you/ build a seamoth? Do you know the parts to look for a seamoth? Do you know what those fragments look like? No. My field is engineering. This /is/ engineering.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz cracks a smile, and they laugh a little at his insistence.* No, I mean, not by hand... *they mutter it a bit, shifting around.* But I /can/ start to get a better idea of the natural resources, here. At the very least, we know there's metals and small fish. *They pause for a moment, thinking* And probably big fish.

<lycorexis> Big fish. Bigger than sharks. Bigger than anything that we have on Earth. Predatory fish. Territory fish. Fish that will attack us because it's their instinct to attack us. *He grimaces.* It's not their fault... But if we're going to outrun them, a simple seaglide will be far from enough... Maybe even a seamoth won't be enough. *He opens the hatch back into the lifepod.* Something that will swallow a cyclops whole...

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz pauses* "There's always a bigger fish", that's an old earth saying, isn't it? *They frown a bit as they think.* A leviathan class species here wouldn't surprise me, but it would need a lot of space to thrive. More space than I've seen so far, so we might be okay as long as we don't stray into deep, open ocean. *They glance down at their own PDA.* So far, the fish I've seen are all too small and few in number to support a sustainable population of leviathan predators. I could be wrong. *They frown a bit deeper, knowing they're probably not.* Or the leviathans feed on oceanic plankton, if we're lucky. *They glance up to the aurora, not knowing if surviving has been lucky or unlucky yet. If it's even that simple*

<lycorexis> We're in the shallows, I think it's only natural that we haven't seen the bigger fish. *Rose looks out into the distant ocean.* We'll have to go deeper, eventually. *And Rose tries to keep his mind away from the thought, but...* Maybe... Maybe Cerul is out there somewhere. *Rose feels the ring on his finger.* It's only a matter of time... until we have to go deeper.

<ProcellaCor> *Quartz keeps their eyes on the PDA, wondering about the planet as a whole. The Aurora's scanners had called it mostly empty, but this little patch doesn't /feel/ empty. But it seems very little life does survive here.* If she is, we'll find her. *They look up to him as they say it.* Others, too. We can't be alone. We /can't/ be.

<lycorexis> Well... We're not. *Rose smiles at them.* We're not alone. *Rose reaches out to take their hand.* And... Even if there's none out there, we still won't be alone. *He squeezes it softly, wondering if they understand all that he has to say, but can't put into words.* We'll never be alone.

#subnautica au #gang smp #word count: 6016

7 notes · View notes