It has been two months since the Sailshell Attack, and my fungal garden that is keeping me alive hums strangely to me. It is thriving, though. It was hard going there for awhile, but I now have a sustainable food source and the Salerno has become a kind of makeshift home. I have even been adopted by a Gliese family.
I decide to watch the evening's sunset from the surface while Shelly and Scully are out feeding and Pauli is resting. I've gotten used to the ocean environment and wearing my dive suit like a second skin, but I do long to be able to see the open sky and silvery Sun every once in awhile. Gliese has glorious sunsets, and today was no exception as it cast brilliant shades of soft pinks and purples into the sky and shimmering blues and greens within the lapis lazuli waters. Once it becomes dark, however, the stars begin to appear like brilliant snare veil lights all around me. It is so beautiful.
Suddenly, a flash of light makes itself known in the corner of my eye! It is towards the southern edge of the horizon. My first thought is that it is a flash of a ship's drive tail, but then I realize that would be improbable and was more likely just a falling meteor.
For the first time since being exiled here I think about back home and my colleagues that I left behind. I will, most likely, never see Earth or them again. I do not know how this makes me feel. I feel so disconnected from everything human and recognizable. Gliese is unlike any other planet in this galaxy, and I am drawn to it even as I fear it. Could this alien ocean become my home? Something strange, beguiling, and beautiful whispers in my heart that perhaps yes, it can.
| In Other Waters: Tidebreak by Lone Archivist.
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Day 18 | Dive 004. As I was passing through quadrant I4, I sensed a great shadow passing above me. It was massive, and I could tell by the way it moved that it was an Angel of Gliese - the great Sailshell, probably out hunting!
This was the first time encountering this creature since the attack, and I found myself suddenly paralyzed. unable to move! Even unable to think! It was as if my entire being, mind and body, was rendered lifeless. Thankfully, Shelly is brave and faithful, and he remained between me and that shadow the whole time. He was my covering to protect me from the wrath of Gliese's heavens. And he remained there until the Sailshell passed over like the Angel of Death passed over the Israelites when it saw the blood on the doorposts. He waited patiently still until I was eventually able to think, move, and breathe again.
I did not continue on my dive, but returned to the Salerno, unsettled in my spirit.
Day 23 | Dive 008. I'm still unable to obtain a complete Stiltbubble observation and sample, without of which my garden will not be able to flourish. I'm stressed beyond endurance. After all I have accomplished so far and after all I have experienced, will God allow me to die here within these watery depths, alone and forgotten?
Day 24 | Dive 009. God certainly has a sense of humor! -
Today I have made another friend! I was on my daily dive as usual, and as Shelly and I were passing through a quadrant, we encountered a fellow Dappled Glider! This one was a female, and she was very graceful - more orange than yellow, she moved like a mermaid in a fairytale! She allowed me to approach close enough to observe her, but not too close to touch. She and Shelly chattered to one another. I wish I could know what they were saying, but apparently he was convincing her that I was not a threat. We spent about an hour with her before she felt comfortable enough to allow me to pet her. She was a wise and gentle creature. I decided to spend another hour with her, gaining her trust. It worked! Feeling very tired but immensely happy, our new friend followed us home and she is currently playfully swimming around with Shelly in the aquarium. I've decided to name her Scully. She is a glorious creature, and certainly a sign that the Lord does not intend for me to die here!
Day 25 | Dive 010. Today the filaments wave like strange grasses in the dappled light. I spend quite awhile observing them, letting their calm undulations quiet my soul and mind. What a beautiful dance they make.
Day 26 | Dive 011. The Sailshells are out hunting again. This time I am able to have the presence of mind to maintain control of all my faculties and quietly observe them from the distance. However, I begin to feel anxiety creep up my spine after a short while, so I urged both Shelly and Scully along and continued on my way.
Day 33 | Dive 012. Success! Today was truly a serendipitous and blessed day, for I have not only been able to obtain an oxygenated sample, which will ensure the success of my garden and my food supply, but there has been a new addition to our little family here at the Salerno! Pauli is the name of my Stiltbubble, and he loves to ride on my shoulder on my dives, which infuses the water around us with oxygen and gives the O2 tanks in my suit an extra boost! He is excitable, but loyal, and his little bubble body likes to bop up and down when I talk to him. He is adorable! And studying the oxygenating sample back in my lab gives me great insight into these creatures! I am so happy - probably the happiest that I can remember in a long, long time! The Lord is good to me!
Chapter 1: Stranded. In Other Waters: Tidebreak by Lone Archivist.
I am the science officer of the Salerno, now stranded on Gliese 667Cc after it and all the Crew met with a disastrous and fatal end. These are my personal logs as I shall either live or die on this alien world, and I would like to have some surviving record of my exile here.
My name is Dr. Aurora Cooper, expert in zoology and xenoterisiscm. My intention in traveling with the Salerno Crew was to see more of the universe and expand my knowledge of God's creation. Unfortunately, The Captain was foolhardy and greedy. When there was an issue with our jump drive and we followed a signal from the arcology of this planet, we ended up discovering a scientist's paradise! There was alien life. Everywhere! Diverse, dangerous, beautiful - filling this ocean world with terror and mystery underneath shimmering, effervescent lapis lazuli waters. However, all the Salerno Crew saw was an opportunity, a world to exploit to get rich quick. So, under the Captain's direction they captured these beautiful creatures for export. I tried to stop them, but they weren't in a habit of listening to me. They saw me as some bizarre anomaly - the mystic scientist - who they tolerated out of necessity but did not value.
It turns out Gliese had other plans. Before we could take off, our ship was attacked by a kiting of what I now understand to be Great Sailshells - massive lobster-like creatures with an incredible sail-like tail, a translucent, mother of pearl webby wing that allows them to be carried through the air by strong winds. I did not see them descend upon us, but I heard everything from my hiding space within my lab. It was the horrific sounds of retribution and judgement from the Angels of Gliese. None of the Salerno Crew survived the attack.
Alone and isolated on the wreck of the Salerno I sought to survive this tumultuous and wild planet-spanning ocean - learning and exploring all I could to aid in this endeavor. It seems I achieved what I wanted this whole time, but I just wish it had been under less traumatic circumstances. May my God be with me.
I'm into the last chapter of In Other Waters Tidebreak, and I've filled almost one notebook with my cool findings and am WAY down the rabbit hole - or ocean hole to be more thematically accurate - on this one!
I have discovered an ardent love of ttrpgs! π
THIS IS AMAZING. Dungeon and Dragons never appealed to me, but I think I've found my niche! This game is very crunchy, and it has been a BIG learning curve trying to learn all the terminology and mechanics, but SO worth it. I think it is because this game is hard science fiction and it is actually about doing science, that I love it. Otherwise I'm not really into following stats and numbers like this. It is more exciting within an academic context vs a fantasy context, e.g. D&D. Although, I might try other fantasy-related ttrpgs in the future if I can find the right one.
For now, I would love to be able to find more games like this one - where I get to explore alien or imaginary worlds and record what I find, as well as survive alien environments. I'm also wildly amused by the fact that there is nothing in the rules of this game that prevents me from literally amassing an ocean creature army! It allows for taking/taming specimens and creatures, and I'm like - what if I just wanted to collect them all?? I already have a Gleise667Cc Creature Sanctuary, as well as four personal pets who follow me everywhere on my Dives.
So, my scientist girl is basically a grunge sci-fi Disney Princess, becoming one with the Ocean and befriending/talking to its creatures.
THIS GAME IS AMAZING.
