Sigma 16 - Chapters 6-10 (Patreon)

Chapter 6 – Fabrication Woes

The glow moths had been easy to taunt into range. The various glowing mushrooms, plants, and rocks she scanned quickly added up. Talia lost track of her new credit account as she rushed from one thing to another, always pulled forward by a new discovery.

Right up until her multi-tool clicked an unhappy red and her refined silicates threatened to land on her foot again.

[Multi-Tool]

| Power Level: [0% (Batteries x2)] |

[Recommendation: Replace batteries in user survival tool.]

“Yeah, yeah. Got it.” The tool’s battery compartment opened willingly, and she quickly made the exchange. The dead batteries would go back in the Battpack Array. As soon as the tool lit up green, she picked up the ejected material and reinserted it. She really needed an NCS container.

Tool recharged; she knew she needed to finish up the scanning despite how fun it was. Until she set up the Battpack Array and had a renewable power source, draining more than necessary was a bad idea. She needed to conserve her resources to what was necessary.

She didn’t even have a proper shelter yet, and she didn’t want to sleep anywhere near the spider-thing cave.

“How many credits have we earned so far?” Talia asked.

[Informative: User has acquired 890 Cortex Incorporated scanning credits. Multiple schematics are available.]

Her eyes widened in surprise before she let out a whoop of joy. “We’ve got enough! Alright Neo - make the purchase.”

[Affirmative: Processing transaction…]

| Cortex Inc. Credit Charge: -500 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 390 |

[Confirmation: Transaction complete. User now has access to the exoskeleton suit upgrade schematics. Please consult your survival fabricator for additional details.]

A smile appeared at the message. “Alright, let’s go make this thing.”

She kept a vigilant watch on her surroundings as she headed back to the spider cave. The area was a little more familiar to her now, but it was still an alien environment, and she was sure there was plenty that she’d missed even in the small area she had covered.

The bioluminescent lighting was even starting to grow on her. All the colors were pretty.

She kept her multi-tool in hand, ready to deal with any more of the spider-like creatures if they decided to harass her again. But she didn’t spot anything she hadn’t seen already on the way back—just more alien flora. And bugs.

The glow moths had slowly increased their altitude until their little yellow hues lit up the harsh blackness of the canopy high above.

The outside of the cave was just as she had left it. She paused and scanned the area again, just to make sure nothing was waiting to trap her inside before moving cautiously inside. The glowing minerals welcomed her with their light, and despite never having a thing for caves, the close confines of the walls felt strangely comforting.

At the very least, there were only two directions that she could be ambushed from now.

The light from her hastily constructed barricade provided a dim red backdrop as she reached her crate. A tinge of relief filled her. It was still untouched. On the way down, the fear that something might have nabbed it again had bit at her.

“Let’s get this thing running,” she finally said, breaking the silence as she approached. She began by dragging the Battpack out and to the side, then hefted out the solar array. It was a bulky thing, even though it was folded up. It was useless to her in the current environment, so it got dragged out of the way.

The fabricator was last and by far the heaviest. Talia grunted as she strained every muscle in her body just to get it out of the container. “Frack. I don’t know how that thing could move it while it had all three inside.”

[Informative: Local fauna possesses a larger and likely significantly stronger physiology compared to human standard. The utilization of a rope likely aided its effort.]

She didn’t have a rope, and unless she wanted to vaporize it, not any relevant tools for the job. That’d be corrected as soon as she had her exo-skeleton upgrade installed.

It was a small mercy that she didn’t actually need to drag the fabricator far, just enough to let it deploy. The metal box lit up yellow and unfolded itself on its own, providing a heavy base with a decent sized worktable. She pulled the foam packaging from the crate and used it as a seat.

[Informative: The Battpack can provide power for the fabricator; however, usage will be limited until a more sustainable power source is found.]

Talia frowned. “Is there enough charge for the exo-skeleton?”

[Affirmative: Battpack has enough power stored for this process.]

“Great. No problem focusing on that first then.” She fished in her suit pockets for the makeshift cables she’d used to power her multi-tool before she had found the batteries. The fabricator had helpful color-coding of the power ports and she connected the red and green terminals between the Battpack box and the Fab.

Fooling with the Battpack reminded her to switch out her dead batteries for a pair of fully charged ones. The moment she closed the compartment lid back down - there came a low humming sound followed by several cheerful beeps from the fabricator.

Her suit HUD lit up with a new icon, showing a little workbench.

| Survival Nano-Fabricator: Online |

“Neat. Neo, can you please display the exo-skeleton schematic?”

[Display: Exo-Skeleton Upgrade Schematic Requirements.]

| Durasteel: 37 |

| Refined Silicates: 18 |

| Advanced Alloys: 14 |

| High-Conductive Material: 8 |

| Battpack Drain: Projected at 35% |

| Nano-Forging Time Estimate: 60 minutes |

| Copies Remaining: One |

Talia’s brows furrowed in frustration as she looked over the schematic. “Single use? Seriously?” She wasn’t sure why she’d want to make more than one, but it still felt like she’d been scammed.

She was drastically short of all the materials needed as well. The amounts indicated seemed high, too. Hadn’t the entire survival pod recycling only offered her a bit over one hundred Durasteel?

The prospect of walking out of the cave with her near gear and her cargo seemed to be slipping away. “I don’t have all the necessary resources, Neo.”

[Recommendation: Previously scanned bioluminescent cave rocks contain the proper elements for high-conductive material and advanced alloys. The jungle trees containing silica-xylan composites could be refined into refined silicates. The refining cost of required materials would drain approximately 21%.]

She assumed her spare batteries would be enough to do the extractions, and that Neo had calculated the Battpack’s reduced capacity due to the batteries she’d nicked.

Frowning slightly at the prospect, she ran her fingers over her multi-tool before nodding slowly. “Alright…So if we refine those first…how much total Battpack power are we looking at?”

[Estimate: The total Battpack power requirement, including refining and production, should amount to approximately 56%]

Talia frowned. She didn’t want to drain her Battpack to zero on one thing, but looking at the solar array, she decided it was fine. She’d be able to carry the equipment out of the jungle and recharge once sunrise arrived.

“What about the Durasteel? I don’t want to trek back and recycle the pod. That’s too far to go,” Talia asked.

[Informative: The local fauna dubbed “Spider-alien” by User may possess carapace material composed of a metal alloy similar to Durasteel. If you can obtain a sample, this could be confirmed and then refined and used in fabrication.]

Talia blinked at that, glancing back towards the sealed-off part of the cave where the creatures had retreated. “You want me…to go after those things?”

[Clarification: It is merely a suggestion based on available resources. It would require User to utilize caution and take on potential risks.]

Her lips twitched into a wry smile. “Well…when you put it that way, how could I say no?” She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Her grip on her multi-tool tightened as she considered hunting down the aliens.

She wasn’t a vegetarian, but something about hunting them down didn’t sit well with her. Even if they had been terrifying to look at and one had tried to steal her crate, she had a feeling there was more to them than was obvious at first glance. Maybe it was the way they had rescued their injured comrade.

The thought of hunting down a sapient creature to use its skin for her suit sent a shiver down her spine. What if the shoe was on the other foot and some super advanced alien had landed on earth in its pre-history and the aliens had hunted the humans for sport?

“Neo, do we have alternatives that don’t involve hunting the aliens down? Did anything we scan have any useful material that could be used as Durasteel, or can we use a scanner for finding some?”

[Confirmation: The suit’s scanners can be adjusted to search for viable ferrite concentrations which could potentially be refined into Durasteel.]

“Alright, let’s do it,” Talia responded, bracing herself for the high-pitched pings she knew were coming from watching one too many exploration holovids.

The pinging started, each one sharp and quick. After several moments of scanning, her HUD lit up with several targeted areas deep within the cave system beyond the sealed passage.

Her heart sank at that as she stared at the glowing marks on her display. Going back to the pod was an option too, but that meant adding another fourteen miles to her hike today plus it would be more than her tool could carry. It would make the trek back harder with the extra weight, too.

She weighed out both options silently in her mind before finally deciding on taking a chance with the cave system, since it seemed like a shorter trip overall.

“Okay…okay Neo, we’re going spelunking.”

Chapter 7 – Spelunking Pt. 1

Talia stood up and moved to the Durasteel barricade she had created earlier. She took a moment to adjust the intensity of her multi-tool’s beam and aimed for a small area in the center of it. The tool hummed before its deconstruction beam filled the cavern with bright blue hues.

The Durasteel layer came off first, and then she tunneled through the rock. She didn’t want to waste her tool’s charge holding onto the stone, so she discarded that in a way that made her new passage a bit more defensive. Instead of a solid wall, she made it into rocky bars that would act as a cage leading up to the chokepoint.

That way, nothing could ambush her when she went in or out. Even if she wasn’t sure that she’d be using it all that much, Talia thought it was a good idea to start keeping such things in mind if she was going to be designing her own survival camp-base-colony-thing in the future.

She started to head into the cave, but paused at the threshold.

[Multi-Tool]

| Contents: [Durasteel x2] |

She’d reclaimed two units of Durasteel, and before she went deeper, she wanted another weapon. She obviously didn’t have enough for anything advanced or special, but…

“Neo, what kind of weapon can I make with what I have?” Talia asked as she returned to the fabricator.

There was a slight delay before Neo responded.

[Informative: A plethora of basic Durasteel melee weapon schematics are available. The list has been truncated to the most likely options: Sword, Spear, Axe.]

Talia hummed to herself as she considered. She was in the jungle, or at least the planet’s alien version of one, so that gave her an idea.

“How about a machete?”

[Affirmative: A basic machete schematic is available. Displaying now.]

[Display: Durasteel Machete Schematic Requirements.]

| Durasteel: 2 |

| Battpack Drain: Projected at 3% |

| Nano-Forging Time Estimate: 12 minutes |

| Copies Remaining: Unlimited |

A machete didn’t seem like much against the alien spiders, but Talia nodded anyway. It was something at least, and it would potentially be useful. She could always recycle it again if needed.

“Let’s do it then.” She loaded the material into the fabricator and confirmed her selection on the touch screen. A robotic arm hummed to life and began to utilize the same beaming technology her survival tool used, just in a much more controlled and precise manner. There was also more than one type of beam color, and she guessed that those had some other type of use.

At the very least, the red one cooled the metal somehow and by the time the fabrication ETA flicked to zero, the weapon was ready to go. It was made from a single solid material, with a wire wrapped handle. It worked well enough thanks to her heavy suit gloves.

She took a moment to check her suit and gear, making sure everything was where it should be. Her multi-tool was secured at her side and reported a full charge, the new machete strapped securely on her other hip. Her suit power was good, so she did a final glance at her status screen.

| Name: Talia |

| Suit AI, NEO: Level 1 |

| Health: [94% (Feeling better)] |

| Oxygen Level: [0% (Switched to atmospheric filtration)] |

| Suit Power Level: [97%, [Batteries (x2)]] |

| Hazard Protection: [100%] |

| Nutri-Paste Reserve: [100%] |

| Suit Upgrades: [Survival Tool, Charged] |

| Inventory: [Survival Ration Bar (x3)], [Flare Gun], [Medi-Gel Cylinder], [Datapad], [Batteries (x6)], [Durasteel Machete] |

| Located Equipment: [Battpack Array (93%)], [Folding Solar Panel Array], [Fabricator] |

| Control-Link: [Survival Fabricator], [Cortex Scan Affiliate] |

Sure that everything was in order as best it could be, Talia took a deep breath and headed toward the deeper caverns. “Alright, Neo… Let’s get this show on the road.”

She passed through her small fortification cautiously, scanning the area for any traps or hostile aliens. It was all clear, so she pushed on. Evidence of disturbed rocks was everywhere; the spiders had been quite vigorous in their retreat, and she even noticed drag marks in places where they had pulled their injured member away.

Her anxiety at the prospect of exploring the cave shared with spiders warred with her need for Durasteel. The need easily outweighed her discomfort. As she ventured deeper into the cave system, her suit light amplification revealed strange formations of glowing minerals that cast every corner in eerie shadows.

[Notice: User is venturing into unexplored territory. Utilize caution.]

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered under her breath as she followed the indicators that appeared on her HUD.

Talia pressed onward. A loose rock nearly stole her footing and nearly made her heart jump out of her chest because she was so on edge. The narrow passage opened into a larger cavern and the steady glow of the rocks was joined by various types of bioluminescent fungi and moss growing on the walls and ceiling. Colors revealed towering stalagmites and columns of white-hued rock that took on whatever colors were glowing nearby.

“It’s beautiful.” Talia commented to herself.

[Notice: Bioluminescent flora is likely a high value scanning target.]

That was true. She flicked her multi-tool to scan mode and targeted the moss, and then the fungi.

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: 35 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: 55 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 480 |

A smile formed on her lips before she began to continue in the direction of the nearest ferrite deposit. Suddenly, she froze, a faint clittering sound echoing through the cavern. Her breath hitched in her throat as she whirled around, scanning the area for any sign of movement, but all she could see were rocks glowing in hues of blue and green.

[Notice: Suit’s audio detection system has identified lifeforms.]

Her HUD immediately lit up with a top-down map overlay showing where the noise was coming from in relation to her position. “How…?” She stammered out before Neo cut her off.

[Informative: Utilizing sonic mapping technology to create an echolocation-based map layout.]

She watched as a wavelike pattern appeared on her display - showing that whatever had been making the noises was thankfully heading away from her current position towards another part of the cave system.

A sigh of relief escaped, and she turned back towards where her sensors indicated the ferrite deposit she had been tracking would be. Several more corridors marked an end to the bioluminescence and a sudden plunge into darkness. Talia grunted and quickly reached up and activated her helmet’s headlamp.

“Something’s different.” She mused idly.

[Informative: Rock strata has undergone a rapid change in composition during the previous twenty meters of descent. A change in cave biome has been detected. Unusual elemental compositions detected. User caution is advised.]

She couldn’t help but notice Neo’s message was chatty for a single info-tag. From listening to him drone on long enough, she knew that type of message usually meant something was serious. She already had her multi-tool out, but she checked it and thumbed it off scan mode.

“It says the ferrite is less than 50 meters ahead.” Talia said. “Whatever you’re detecting, we’ll just need to get past it.”

Talia rounded the bend and suddenly skidded to a halt, her jaw dropping in confusion. What her sensors had identified as ferrite deposits turned out to be a cavern filled with metal artifacts. The inert objects shone under the harsh light of her headlamp, their reflective surfaces shining like mirrors wherever the coating of dust and grime didn’t adorn them.

“Neo…” she began slowly, “This planet…it’s more inhabited than we thought.”

[Speculation: These artifacts could be remnants from an ancient civilization or perhaps left behind by other explorers. It is unclear without further data collection.]

She moved closer cautiously, flicking her multi-tool back into scan mode before pointing it at the artifacts. The cave lit up as the scanning laser went to work and began to scan the entire lot of them in one go. The tool hummed for a moment before beeping happily.

| Alien Artifact Database Entry |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: 500 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 980 |

| Material Composition: Durasteel-grade alloy |

A slow smile spread across Talia’s face as she saw her Cortex Inc. credit tick upward again on her HUD. After she secured her exo-skeleton and hauled her stuff back to her pod, she needed to browse the list of suit upgrades within her price range.

As she began to inspect the artifacts, her first impression was that they were not from a technological civilization. Most of the items seemed to be swords, shields, and sets of armor shaped for some type of humanoid creature slightly taller than the average human.

She picked up one of the weapons for a closer examination. It was expertly crafted, and she realized it was potentially far beyond what any primitive civilization could achieve. A puzzle piece that didn’t fit with the rest.

[Informative: This weapon is composed primarily from a Durasteel-grade alloy. The golden trims are made from a superconductive gold alloy.]

“Why would someone decorate their weapons like this?” She murmured as she looked around, noting that many other pieces had similar adornments.

There was a moment’s hesitation before she set her multi-tool to its deconstruct mode. The idea of destroying what might be unique artifacts from an ancient alien civilization didn’t sit right with her.

Chapter 8 – Spelunking Pt. 2

Talia did a quick check on her HUD. The next nearest ferrite deposit wasn’t close - it was on the opposite side of where those alien noises had come from earlier.

The thought sent shivers down her spine; meeting those spider-like creatures again was something she wanted to avoid if possible.

“Neo… I’m going ahead with melting down some of these artifacts.” She finally announced.

[Warning: While User is in a survival situation, it must be noted that potential legal liability may occur if these objects were created by an indigenous sentient species which has yet to achieve faster than light travel.]

Talia scanned the cave, her eyes settling on several pieces of armor of which there seemed to be plenty of. At least she wouldn’t be melting down some one-of-a-kind sword… maybe. They seemed all-alike to her, but there was no real way to be sure she wasn’t melting down someone’s precious heirloom.

She gathered them up and piled them into their own pile. With a deep breath in and out, she adjusted her multi-tool and pointed at the artifacts.

A flash of light joined her headlamp as the items began to disintegrate, breaking down into their base elements before becoming floating particles that flowed into her survival-tool. Its status screen flashed green on her HUD as the process completed.

[Multi-Tool]

| Power Level: [91% (Batteries x2)] |

| Durability: [97%] |

| Tool Level: Basic |

| Total Capacity: 62/100 |

[Contains]

| Refined Silicates x2 |

| Durasteel: x48 |

| Advanced Alloys: x8 |

| High-Conductive Material: x4 |

The new heft of the tool was immediately noticeable, and she grunted as it felt like a workout to hold the tool up any longer. The exo-skeleton upgrade would fix that, but until then, she was at risk.

As she considered the readout flashing across her HUD, she realized her haul wasn’t enough for the upgrade; she needed more High-Conductive Material and Advanced Alloy. The refined silicates she could collect on the way back to her crate from the rocks, she hoped.

She shifted through the remaining artifacts until an unusually large shield caught her eye. It was adorned with more gold trim than the rest of the things; perhaps it would be all she needed?

The moment she touched the shield, the sound of rustling caused her heart to jump. A spider screech erupted from the shadows nearby, and as she turned to look, one of the alien-spiders rushed her. With a startled scream in reply, she stumbled backwards, her rear landing hard on the cold, rocky floor.

The shield clattered against her suit and she fumbled frantically to grab her multi-tool as fear threatened to seize control of every nerve ending. The alien creature lunged forward, a scythe-like blade of an arm slicing down between her legs, right into the shield’s metal handgrip.

The multi-tool was heavy, but adrenaline powered her arm and she whipped it around to aim at the spider, the momentum carrying it further than she intended and banging its grip against the shield.

The single, harrowing thought that this was how she was going to die flashed by as the alien loomed over her, but instead of skewering her with its other arm, it screeched and fled, taking the shield with it.

The spider’s sudden retreat forestalled her from firing on it, but she kept her weapon trained on it warily as it went. The weight of her tool was bothersome, and after regaining her feet, she supported her wrist with her other arm.

The spider continued to screech and crash through the artifact edges of the cavern, causing a calamitous cascade of metal reverberating through the cavern. Talia slowly regained her breath as she backed away toward the entrance, while glancing away from the spider when she could to look for other hostiles.

If it wanted to run away, why didn’t it just go? She swallowed as it dawned on her that there was only one entrance to the space, and she was currently standing in it. She was blocking the only exit for the panicking creature that was now screeching and running amok.

That also meant that it had been lying in wait when she had first arrived, and had remained silent the entire time, or her suit’s audio sensor would have picked it up. It had only reacted when she had moved to pick up the shield. A shield it was still carrying.

She blinked. It was keeping the shield between it and her, and had been doing so the entire time. It knew what the shield was for!

Her earlier panic began to recede. A dangerous inkling began to form in her mind, and finally, she decided to take a risk based on what she’d seen from the creatures so far. The muzzle of her multi-tool lowered slowly to point at the floor between her and the spider.

The response was immediate as the creature stopped its frantic shuffling through the piles of metal and began to calm down.

[Informative: It appears that the local fauna understands the threat of User’s multi-tool.]

The new silence was deafening as she watched the spider shuffle back and forth over the artifacts it had knocked over. Wanting to hurry up and leave, she pointed her multi-tool at one of the items and started to disintegrate it for material when she was interrupted by a screech.

She whipped the tool back towards it, causing its rush to skid to a halt. It lowered itself to hide behind its shield better, but its legs hopelessly stuck out from behind the bastion.

[Notice: While artifact material is not immune to multi-tool deconstruction, it could present a hazardous delay to dealing with the hostile wildlife if it makes another rush towards User.]

“No shit.” Talia quipped before trying to swallow away the dryness that had formed in her throat. “It’s trying to protect the artifacts from me.”

Each pass of her headlamp agitated the spider, so she kept the beam pointed away. Her light amplification gave her enough vision to not need it anyway. Her eyes widened at yet another realization.

“Neo! That’s the same one that was hauling my crate. Look at its fur. It’s the same color.”

[Notice: While User observation is correct, multiple members of the species might share colorization characteristics.]

“Do you think he was trying to haul my crate here to put it with all the other artifacts?” Talia asked.

[Unknown: There is not enough data for this unit to correlate motives or motivations for this creature.]

She shook her head. It was clearly intelligent. “Neo, do you think we can communicate with it somehow?” Talia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Talia took a deep breath, then flipped a switch that enabled her external suit speakers. “Hey there,” she began, her voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space. She pointed to herself with her free hand. “I’m Talia.”

The spider didn’t react immediately, but its many eyes seemed to fixate on her as though trying to comprehend what she meant. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she stared right back at it.

That elicited a response after a moment. It pointed its free pincer at her while shifting back-and-forth sideways while sending a series of high and low pitched chitters that echoed throughout the cave.

[Informative: The creature’s vocalization appears to be complex and varied. It is likely this species possesses an advanced form of communication.]

“That’s great, Neo,” Talia murmured dryly, keeping her gaze fixed on the creature as it continued to emit sounds that were completely alien to her. “But unless you’ve suddenly learned their language while I wasn’t looking…”

Her voice trailed off as she shrugged at the creature before pulling out her machete and pointing at it in an attempt to mimic its earlier gesture.

To her surprise and mild alarm, it responded by lifting one of its scythe-like arms, mirroring her action.

“Well…that’s something.” She muttered more so for herself than expecting any meaningful response from either Neo or the spider-alien.

Talia frowned as she considered the pointing gesture. It seemed to value the metal artifacts.

That gave her an idea.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly approached. The spider tensed up immediately but didn’t lunge at her like before. It was wary yet curious; or at least that’s what she hoped it was. It wasn’t shrieking or lunging towards her, so there was that.

She set down the machete as close as she dared to get to it, and then quickly retreated towards the entrance while keeping it in sight.

The alien went still for several moments before cautiously moving towards where she’d left the weapon. It dropped its shield and picked up her gift with both pincers, its two red, spider-like eyes scrutinizing it before letting out what sounded like an approving chirp.

“I think…I think he likes it,” Talia murmured.

[Notice: Results are inconclusive without further testing.]

Suddenly, the spider shifted, and one of its hind legs kicked off against the golden shield it had claimed from her. The metal circle rang as it clattered against the rock floor before sliding across the cave floor towards her.

It stopped just short of reaching her boots, causing Talia to snort in amusement. “Heh…does this count as testing?”

Chapter 9 – Deforestation

Despite her success in inter-species diplomacy, Talia had no intention of maintaining contact with the much bigger and stronger than her spider-friend for any longer than necessary. Keeping hold of the shield on her left arm and her multi-tool in her right hand, she carefully backed out of the alien artifact armory.

Relief filled her as the spider didn’t follow, and as soon as she had made it past the first intersection, she turned and bolted through the space. Neo helpfully projected arrows for her to follow, and she followed them diligently through the confusing twists and turns of the cavern.

Her heart jumped when the clittering sounds she had heard earlier returned, her suit HUD beeping manically as it reported nearby alien lifeforms all around her. She didn’t see any, though that was not any comfort.

Propelled by a frantic need to get out, she nearly tripped and fell several times in her mad rush for her ad hoc barricade. The attack she feared never materialized, and she passed through the rocky passage that she’d made earlier without incident.

A sigh of relief escaped from between her clenched teeth as she slumped against the cold metal skinned wall. “We made it…we actually made it, Neo!”

[Informative: User has now safely distanced themselves from a potentially hostile situation. However, caution is advised. Unknown threats could still breach the primitive security systems currently in place.]

Talia let out a deep breath and nodded. When she set up a more permanent survival base, she’d make sure it was Safe. With a capital S for security.

The bioluminescent rocks greeted her as she sat down beside the fabricator. She deactivated her headlamp, the natural light enough for her to see just fine with her suit’s standard amplification systems.

“That was hectic…” she muttered. There was no real time for her to consider all the ramifications of her meeting or the fact that the spiders were intelligent. She glanced down at the gold and silver shield lying discarded by her feet with mixed feelings.

The artifact was clearly special and had served as a sort of bridge between two vastly different species; maybe she was reading too much into it, but her next course of action felt like it would be oddly disrespectful.

But survival trumped sentimentality. She was stranded alone on an alien planet. If she wanted to survive, or even thrive well enough to reach her crashed ship and repair it enough to return to orbit, and then civilization, she needed to use every tool and resource available.

“Sorry shield…” She pointed her multi-tool at the shield and thumbed it into deconstruction mode and pulled the trigger.

A sudden electric zap cracked off the shield and struck the cave wall with enough force to send a spray of dirt into her face. A loud shriek from the sudden plasma discharge startled her enough to fall on her ass for the second time of the day.

“What?” Her heart pounded as she considered what had just happened. “Neo?”

[Warning: Unknown interference detected. Analysis suggests that the certain elemental configuration within this artifact is highly resistant and reflective to multi-tool deconstruction technology.]

Talia frowned at the new information. “Shit. This wasn’t made by some primitive civ. How do you even make an inert object reflect that?”

[Informative: Changing the orientation of the artifact may reduce the interference properties and allow recycling of the object. This unit suggests flipping it over and attempting again.]

She blinked at the suggestion, then eyed the shield again. Deconstructing it now seemed even worse. It wasn’t just some old relic; it was an actual piece of alien technology!

“Forget it. I’ll keep the shield. Let’s mining those rocks and see if we can get what we need?”

[Notice: User requires 16 units of Refined Silicates, 6 Advanced Alloys, and 4 High-Conductive Material. Each bioluminescent deposit in the local area contains 1-2 units of the desired material. User will need to mine approximately nine rocks containing silicates, and five each for Advanced Alloys and High-Conductives.]

“Alright Neo, time for some heavy lifting,” Talia murmured as she adjusted her grip on the multi-tool. Her arm was getting tired from waving around so much, but at least no one would accuse her of skipping arm day. She made her way upward and toward the cave’s exit.

She targeted the rocks emitting sapphire blue and emerald greens first. Those proved to contain the refined silicates she needed, and she quickly reached the amount of those. The yellow rocks contained the High-Conductives needed and were rarer. She was nearly to the exit when she finished that requirement from her list.

She looked out the cave mouth, taking in the pretty colors of the dark jungle outside. “Neo, you mentioned the trees are dense in material? Not many of the rocks had advanced alloys in them.”

[Correction: The materials User is acquiring are in their raw form. The refining mechanism in User’s multi-tool converts them to the needed elemental structure required for standardized utilization. Survival-Fabricator will further process them into compatible elemental form for schematic production.]

“Thanks for the clarification, but my question, please?” Talia asked.

[Informative: The local bioluminescent trees in the local biome contained a Silica-Xylan Composite structure, and traces of the elements required to fabricate advanced alloy. However, it is unlikely that User can refine and carry the entire amount available in one tree.]

“We’ll pick a small one, maybe.” Talia mused.

That proved much harder said than done, because there were no small ones. “Frack. Neo, if I just dig up the dirt, how much will it take to get the needed silicates?”

[Warning: While it is possible to acquire the needed material via earth refining, a large volume of processing would be required. User energy capacity is insufficient for such an undertaking.]

She strained her neck, looking up at the tree. Its massive trunk stretched far above, the bioluminescence glowing down at her quietly. There was no way she was going to search deeper in the cave.

“I wonder how old it is.” Talia murmured to herself. She fingered her multi-tool mode back and forth as she reaffirmed her determination to survive. For that, she needed the exo-suit. The tree possessed what she needed.

Each of the massive trees was spaced out considerably, having likely crowded out any smaller ones that might have grown around each of the giants. She consoled her conscience by telling herself that a new tree would eventually regrow in the spot to replace the one she was about to chop down.

A yellow overlay appeared on the tree, showcasing a visual tutorial of the cuts she would need to make to ensure the tree fell in a specific direction. As she walked around the trunk, it followed along with her, along with a ghost of where the tree would likely fall. It was all very helpful, but as soon as she pulled out her tool and began to aim, it disappeared.

“Neo? What happened?”

[Notice: Cortex Inc. tree felling assistance software is available as a demo only. A fifty credit purchase is necessary to unlock the software for full usage in real-life applications.]

Talia groaned. “Fraaack.”

For a second she considered the purchase, then declined. It wasn’t like she was going to make a habit of chopping down the ancient trees. Plus, her memory was pretty good. She aimed and began to eat away at the trunk where she remembered the overlay being.

She had disintegrated several feet into the tree when a shrill, high-pitched cry punctuated the jungle. The noise was high-pitched and seemed to come from everywhere at once, causing her to pause. The glow-bugs that had been floating around had vanished along with the other glowing insects. Bioluminescent plants nearby seemed to dim visibly as well.

“What the frick was that?”

[Warning: Unknown high-frequency energy sources of alien origin resembling transmission systems have been detected in every direction. Exposure is unlikely to cause harm to user, however caution is advised.]

Talia grunted and hurried. She set her tool to overdrive and began eating away at the tree, heedless of the extra drain it was going to have on her batteries.

She was three quarters of the way through her cut when there was a telltale creak from the tree. When it turned into a crack, she turned and ran for the cave, hiding inside its threshold as the behemoth crashed to the jungle floor.

Dust rose to form a persistent cloud as the tree bounced twice upon impact. Tree limbs exploded, sending splinters through the air as large as her arms. The entire world seemed to shake.

A singular ray of light pierced down to the jungle floor. The branches of the other massive trees seemed to strain and stretch, as if to block out the intrusive sunlight.

A prickling feeling of anxiety attacked her for no reason that she could determine. Wanting to hurry, she stepped out of the cave and began to gnaw away at the base of the fallen trunk.

She’d already acquired most of what she needed by just cutting it down, and she realized that she’d made a stupid mistake. She could have just shaved part of the tree’s skin, and it probably would have been fine.

There was no dwelling on it. If she needed more refined silicates, and that was not out of the question, she knew where to go to get them at least.

Her multi-tool let out an upset beep and the green light turned red as the extraction beam shut off.

[Multi-Tool]

| Power Level: [27% (Batteries x2)] |

| Durability: [96%] |

| Tool Level: Basic |

| Total Capacity: 100/100 |

[Contains]

| Refined Silicates: x20 |

| Durasteel: x48 |

| Advanced Alloys: x14 |

| High-Conductive Material: x8 |

“It definitely feels full,” Talia commented, hefting-up her tool awkwardly due to the increased weight. It was time to fix that.

The electronic buzzing hum Neo had reported began to increase in volume.

[Notice: Suit passive EM protection is approaching maximum threshold. Active Hazard protection systems will drain suit energy stores if required. This will reduce the lifespan of suit batteries considerably.]

The anxiety she felt seemed to be warranted. Had cutting down the tree caused the EM spike? It seemed clear that her interaction with the environment was having ramifications she wasn’t equipped to understand.

Talia fled into the cave, deciding it was time to finish the long process that fabricating the exo-skeleton had become. The crate was as she left it and she sat down on her makeshift seat, sliding her multi-tool into the fabricator’s resource slot.

A few seconds navigating the machine’s touchscreen menu, and she had the schematic selected.

“Neo, initiate exo-skeleton fabrication.”

[Affirmative: Fabrication action initiated. Estimated time for the completion is 90 minutes.]

Talia let out a sigh of relief. Finally, some progress.

[Notice: User exertion and stress levels have been heightened due to recent activities. Please consider nutrition requirements.]

Her HUD lit up, her suit’s Nutri-paste percentage showing 100% as if Neo was trying to get her to swallow some. Nutri-paste was healthy. There was no denying that, but she also knew how disgusting it was.

“Neo, we’ll try one of the survival rations.” Talia said.

[Affirmative: Please insert survival ration into suit to proceed.]

She fished inside her suit’s main pocket and pulled out one of the bars she’d snatched during her escape from the ship. A compartment on her right forearm bracer opened obediently on command, and she slid the packaged bar into the slot. It closed and then began to hum.

A straw appeared inside her helmet and she sucked on it. The liquid was lukewarm, which made it easy to gulp down, but it was the chocolate goodness that brought a smile to her lips. “Who said survival food has to be terrible?”

The drink would provide enough calories and nutrients for an entire day’s worth of hard exertion. She had a friend in school who had got addicted to the things, and if you weren’t careful, they’d lead to weight gain.

Talia didn’t think that’d be a problem, considering how much hiking she had done. Checking her HUD clock, she realized that she’d been running around for over eighteen hours since she had woken up inside her crashed pod.

She’d need to make a safe shelter and rest, eventually. Her suit could provide stimulants, but she didn’t need Neo to tell her that was a losing proposition in the long term.

“Neo. I am going to take a nap. Please scan for any noises or movement and wake me up when the suit is done.” Talia ordered.

[Affirmative: Sentry mode engaged.]

| Name: Talia |

| Suit AI, NEO: Level 1 |

| Health: [89% (Minor Exhaustion)] |

| Oxygen Level: [0% (Switched to atmospheric filtration)] |

| Suit Power Level: [87%, [Batteries (x2)]] |

| Hazard Protection: [100%] |

| Nutri-Paste Reserve: [100%] |

| Suit Upgrades: [Survival Tool, Overheated] |

| Inventory: [Survival Ration Bar (x2)], [Flare Gun], [Medi-Gel Cylinder],

[Datapad], [Batteries (x6)], [Alien Shield] |

| Located Equipment: [Battpack Array (37%)], [Folding Solar Panel Array], [Fabricator] |

Control-Link: [Survival Fabricator (in-progress Exoskeleton Upgrade)], [Cortex Scan Affiliate] |

Chapter 10 – Exo-Power

Talia blinked as she slowly woke up. Everything felt stiff, and a blinking icon on her HUD informed her she’d been dosed with a small amount of non-sedative painkillers. That was probably for the best, even if she hadn’t asked for it.

The cave was still dark, but the bioluminescent plants were dimmed down to a soft hue. Her suit’s internal clock said she’d slept for over four hours.

“Neo, status report.”

[Informative: Fabrication process completed.]

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

[Notice: User was approaching exhaustion limit due to extreme activity and stressors. Well-being was prioritized. No detection of alien fauna has occurred during User sleep cycle.]

Neo’s voice seemed to echo within her helmet. She tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, only to bonk her gauntlet on her helmet. Ugh. She felt slightly better, but it also came with the feeling of being completely nasty inside her suit. It had plumbing and cleaning down below that was unintrusive and very efficient. But wasn’t the same as a shower.

With the exo-skeleton done, setting up a survival base was now top priority.

She sat down on the crate and looked over the fabricator’s status screen.

| Exoskeleton Upgrade |

| Status: Complete |

A blinking green square begged to be pressed. She complied and the fabricator’s tabletop slid open, allowing the internals of the machine to rise and present to her a black half-meter sized cube.

“Neo, what’s this?” Talia asked.

[Notice: Activating suit upgrade module requires User to deploy cube on ground then step on the indicated position. Upgrade will complete automatically.]

The top of the cube had a small display. It beeped in response to her touch and turned green while the screen reported it was compatible with the version of her suit. That there were options that might not be compatible upset her for some reason, but she’d have to leave that up to Neo.

The icon on the cube showed an image of a survival suit with the human-sized exoskeleton frame integrated into it. It was segmented, with hydraulics supporting each limb. There were a ton of extra panels and plates supporting it all and would definitely add bulkiness and a lot of weight. It was going to make her look like a walking tank.

She carefully picked up the exoskeleton upgrade and placed it on the ground. The cube instantly unfolded, revealing a flat platform with human-shaped footprints etched into its surface.

“Looks like I just step in?” Talia eyed the outlined shape on the platform before cautiously complying with the instruction.

The moment her boots touched down, several beams of light emitted from the edge of the platform and began to scan her body from top to bottom. It was a peculiar sensation, not uncomfortable but rather like being lightly brushed by soft feathers.

As quickly as they appeared, though, they vanished. Then came another set of laser lights, these growing intense and narrower as they waved back and forth across her form.

Two arms began to rise to either side of her, acting as poles for them to bounce off of as the spinning began to accelerate around her feet. It felt like she was in the middle of a mild tornado.

With each pass of the lasers, segments of exoskeleton materialized onto her spacesuit; starting from her boots and gradually working their way up to encase the rest of her suit with new parts.

[Notice: Suit upgrade process complete. It is now safe to step out of the upgrade module. The inert module can now be recycled to reclaim several units of Durasteel.]

Talia flexed experimentally and found that the suit didn’t hinder her movement like she had feared it would. Her first step off the platform felt much lighter than she expected, considering how much bulk and metal had been added to her suit. Standing felt effortless.

“This is great.” She took a little hop, but nearly reached the cave’s ceiling.

[Warning: Exaggerated User motions could pose a hazard until familiarization is completed.]

Talia giggled, slightly giddy with the feeling of being super strong. She unholstered her multi-tool and recycled the module before turning to the fabricator. It only took a few minutes for it to pack itself back up, and then she reloaded the cargo crate with her scattered equipment.

It was so easy. She marveled at how light everything felt. She’d struggled to drag the items out before, and now it wasn’t even something she’d need to think about.

The battpack was last. She replaced her used batteries with the few fully charged ones remaining.

She grabbed the crate using its two handles and lifted. The heft of it was impressive, but it was still within her suit’s new capabilities. She marveled at how she could walk with it, despite its bulk. She didn’t like the idea of having to carry the bulky thing back, though.

[Recommendation: A suit cargo hook is available on User’s back torso. A compatible mounting is present on crate side panel.]

Talia set the crate down and checked. Sure enough, there was a connector there. She hadn’t checked the back of her suit recently, but if Neo said it was compatible, she believed him. It was a bit awkward bending down and connecting, but when she got near enough, the magnetic attachment point yanked her into the socket with a snap.

[Notice: Crate has been safely secured onto Exoskeleton’s auxiliary cargo holder.]

“Sheesh. Warn a girl.” Talia mumbled before regaining her feet. She rotated several times, getting used to the new balance. Even the exoskeleton couldn’t hide it completely, but she felt more like an armored vehicle. If she doubled the crate, she wouldn’t feel any surprise at being able to handle that as well.

“It’s like a heavy backpack.” She mused after taking a few steps. With everything packed and ready for departure, she took one last look around the area that had been her temporary refuge. It was still lit by the few remaining rocks she’d skipped, but she was ready to go.

There was just one thing to do first. She headed the short distance deeper into her barricade, then pointed her survival tool at the hole she had made in it. Deconstruction mode made short work of a large chunk of it, one that she was sure that one or two of the spider aliens could fit through.

“There you guys go. Can’t say I enjoyed the stay, but thanks for your stuff and please don’t try to rob me again.” Talia mused aloud before stepping back and turning toward the cave entrance. There was no more reason to linger. Every instinct she had was telling her it was time to move on.

Blue arrows appeared on her HUD, and she gave Neo a silent thanks for the direction, even if she was familiar with the cave’s terrain, having navigated it several times already.

As she emerged from the mouth of the cave, she paused to stare at the jungle tree that she’d chopped down. Thousands of the glow-bugs had landed on its trunk and were waving their little wings. Some other type of insect was present in force as well, millions of the tiny things crawling all along the tree’s bark where it touched the ground.

The light from above had disappeared as well, the other tree branches having grown to stretch and cover the gap. It seemed like the jungle had not enjoyed the wound she had inflicted upon it and was working hard to cover up her intrusion.

She pointed her multi-tool at the bugs on the ground and scanned the new bugs, sending them scuttling around the light in a frenzy.

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +20 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 1000 |

That was the most investigation she wanted to do on the phenomenon, considering the glow-bug accident and whatever the crawly bug could probably do. A helpful blue arrow pointed her in the direction of the desert and her pod.

“Alright Neo, Let’s get moving,” she said aloud. Almost immediately, it was apparent that the jungle had reasserted itself and removed any trace of the crate’s journey through it. Plants had grown, plants had been eaten…by what, she had no idea.

Along the way, she spotted multiple plants and rocks of different types she hadn’t seen before and scanned them for the small amounts of points they each gave. Each little happy ding filled her with a small bit of satisfaction.

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +30 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +20 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +10 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +20 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +15 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 1095 |

Each step felt surprisingly easier than ever, despite carrying the heavy crate on her back. A new sort of confidence filled her as she made progress, right up until she reached the point where the jungle edge was and came to an abrupt stop.

“Uhh, Neo? Where is the tunnel through the thick part?” Talia whispered.

[Informative: Location matches User ingress point for jungle infiltration. It appears that the tunnel has regrown and sealed itself.]