Borealis Rising - A Subnautica Story, V2.0.
By: Bugzapper (Lee Perkins).
CHAPTER ONE
Unlike a certain Mr. Samuel L. Clemens, the reports of my death are entirely accurate.
Alexander Fergus Selkirk lived to the ripe old age of 115 years, and died three times in the process. We're not talking about any 'dying on the operating table'- type deaths, either. The first time, I blundered into the path of a hungry Stalker and paid the price for my singular lack of caution. All things considered, I got off extremely lightly. Having a working Valkyrie Field in the Lifepod gave me a second chance, and I dare say that I learned a valuable lesson from that experience.
Considering that this planet is essentially a heaving mass of aquatic life forms with a marked taste for human flesh, it would serve you well to keep your wits about you. If you've accessed my earlier log entries, you'll probably be aware of the most prevalent threats that planet 4546B (a.k.a 'Alpha Hydrae IV' or '
Manannán') has to offer. I have done my best to provide a broad assessment of each alien species encountered so far, including their general appearance, typical behaviour patterns and perceived threat levels. Please be advised that this information is by no means complete and highly subject to revision, since this planet has entered a state of accelerated evolution. It is entirely possible that new life forms are appearing even as this account is being written.
Yes, you did read that last sentence correctly.
My second death was a rather more unpleasant surprise. Approximately eight months after
Aurora crashed on this planet, a Torgaljin Corporation commercial frigate arrived and commenced highly secretive operations near one of my undersea bases. Since I had already launched a deep-space distress beacon by that time and the frigate
De Ruyter had made no obvious attempts to contact me, I became immediately suspicious of their intentions. A few days later, a Torgaljin security team entered my base and I was murdered by their leader, Invigilator Galen Tomar. After being restored to life by the Valkyrie Field, I commenced a retaliatory action that culminated in the destruction of
De Ruyter and the loss of its crew. This particular outcome was not at all intentional, although the follow-up operation against Torgaljin Corp's base in the Lava Castle was entirely successful and no further human lives were lost during our assault on this facility.
As for what happened to the inhabitants of the Torgaljin base in the aftermath of that raid, I can only speculate how events might have unfolded. As the Lava Castle base has been effectively isolated for the past hundred and two years, I am understandably reluctant to carry out a detailed reconnaissance mission in order to ascertain whether anyone is still alive down there. Camera drones have been sent there on several occasions, although they were deliberately made to be unable to operate the base's airlock controls. My greatest concern is that Torgaljin personnel might capture a more sophisticated drone and begin reverse-engineering its more accessible components. Considering that I took particular care in completely shutting down Torgaljin's illegal operations on this planet, I had no intention of handing over what amounted to an instant technological advantage. They were slapped down hard, and I want those bastards to stay slapped down.
Permanently.