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Approximately Eight months ago…
The QQS Observant stared down upon the strange moon orbiting the gas giant, its orbit so eccentric and strange that they still hadn’t understood the physics being revealed here. They would discover it, however, and gain so much for it. That, however, was not the focus of their exercise today. The QQS Silverfish had finally returned, their travel incredibly long but they could finally initiate the experiment they had poured so many resources into. The Silverfish prepared their trajectory and inserted themselves to fly by the furthest most remote moon before a close skim of the moon would have them slingshot out and back around to the QQS Observant.
On board, the surviving specimens in their pods were prepared and injected into reentry for the furthest moon. Director Lanlow watched with concern as twenty six pods aligned and drifted towards the moon. He sighed with some relief when all twenty six pods ticked green for a viable reentry, although four flickered orange, showing a reentry too hot. He grimaced. Maybe they can still make it!
His hope proved premature as those four had the parachutes fail spectacularly, the load and speed still too great when they arrived at parachute deployment pressures. Director Lanlow turned his sight to the other twenty two, but then grimaced, noticing that twelve were going to land in inhospitable or dangerous terrain. His worry proved true for four or five and they died on landing. Nine took longer as they successfully landed in the deep ocean, but the moon was well mapped, including its currents, and already the pods would find themselves drifting too long before approaching land. If their understanding of the specimens survival needs were correct, they would die before reaching land. His conjecture proved prescient for all but one, eight pods surviving for quite some time although the inhabitants did not. The ninth actually sunk some few hours later, taking on water during high seas and sinking beneath the waves, the specimen still trapped within.
He turned his focus with some satisfaction to the others that had made landfall safely. Only eight did so, although one was killed immediately by the inhabitants. The video record of the event, despite their great distance was pristine. Clouds rarely covered the moon, despite the large stretches of ocean. The video was therefore excellent evidence and was preserved as indication of the violent nature of the people there but little else was discerned and he turned to the seven that remained although he grew more and more disappointed. When are the comms going to come online?
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Approximately Eight months ago…
Unbeknownst to Director Lanlow, the pod that landed safely in the waters of the deep ocean and sank actually saved its specimen. Jillianne Peterson, known as Jill by her friends, roused in the pod as it rocked in the waves, a pounding headache throbbing rhythmically in her head, sloshing back and forth so badly that the room she was in actually swayed with the throbbing of her head. She moaned, cursing at the way her head swayed and refused to get up. She hurt too much.
She remained where she was, on her back, trying to calm the spinning and sloshing of the room and then cursed when it just wouldn’t stop. She roused and groggily took a look around the room. Where am I? What is…
She blinked, stared, then frowned and grew a bit worried when she heard the lapping of water against metal walls. My head’s not sloshing… the whole room is! Her eyes snapped to the small porthole window above her and stared up out at a dim blue sky. Where?
She tried to rise then jerked to a halt when her shoulders bounced off restraints. She looked down to find herself sitting in an odd chair in a five point harness and grew concerned. This… no… I didn’t… Her panic grew as she lurched from her seat, snapping open the restraints easily and stepping up to look out the window set in the door above her.
Her movement unbalanced the pod slightly, but she was able to look out the window and found only water as far as the eye could see. Any equilibrium she had left, fled her and she grew very concerned, eyes darting around the small window attempting to see at any angel she could get too.
She remained like that for some time but really found nothing new and grew concerned. She then found herself dithering until finally working up the courage to open the door. The hatch opened easily enough, although without any real hiss, which somehow disappointed her. She pushed that aside along with the door and climbed out, looking out over a bluish sea that stretched in all directions. Her calm evaporated as any hope she’d harbored vanished, the horizon empty of any safe retreat from the deeps of the sea. She twisted in circles within the hatch for some time but found nothing and struggled to calm herself.
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The pod she was in was a circular affair with a small inflatable balloon still inflated at the top of her pod and a ring of balloons about midway around her pod, keeping her floating. She stared for a time, searching the horizon with desperation until the lack of any distinction on the horizon drove her back into the pod. She sat in the seat and hyperventilated, struggling to calm herself. OK! OK! It’s OK! Things… it’s going to be OK! I can… I can just sit here… yeah… gotta be some kind of homing signal or something…
That thought had her leap from her chair and search the pod but she found nothing that even remotely revealed anything electronic. Everything seemed to be inert and as simple as possible, with the hatch’s gears and lever the only complicated thing in the pod. Two packs lay strapped to the wall on either side of the door, one seemingly holding a variety of weapons that she stayed away from and the other full of basic survival gear and some food; something that greatly relieved her.
She took out something that looked like crackers, seeking comfort in just snacking but soon found herself ravenous for reasons she couldn’t understand, downing the food rapidly after tasting the first rather bland cracker. Still, a full stomach calmed her and she turned her thoughts to her predicament. She began cataloging what she had, taking out the notepad and pencil to meticulously take notes and keep track of her thoughts.
After a good ten or so minutes brainstorming, she was calm and diligently running the numbers, setting aside her food for minimal caloric intake and to survive till she found land although that proved a bit difficult as none of the packs had labels or revealed their caloric intake. Still, she did her best guestimates. She also tracked her assets, counting the various tools and weapons available to her before moving on to the next.
By the time evening was coming on, she had a well catalogued listing of all her assets and food, although her plan was sadly lackluster. Still, the long list of her supplies brought her a reassurance that really calmed her and she decided to take a break, enjoying the sunset through the open hatch as they drifted across the ocean, the lolling swell of the waves actually calming for her.
She couldn’t see the sunset, but the beauty of the deepening sky was a wonder in its own right and she simply settled in to enjoy it. Suddenly, the pod jerked to the side, twisting under the massive impact of some mass. She jumped and scrambled to the hatch, taking a look outside with a craning neck. She watched on for a time then blanched when she saw the long swell of a massive tube like creature break the surface of the water. It’s back rolled on and on without stop, rolling up out of the water without end. That thing… is HUGE!
Her panic returned, and she watched the thing turned back and twist around her pod. She grew concerned. The creatures head lifted from the waters slightly and jaws the size of a volkswagon came into view before snapping down with shattering force against her pod. Fear shot through her before she calmed and noticed that the creatures teeth simply skittered down the outside, leaving nothing more than a small scratch on the paint. You piece of worthless sushi! I wanted to claim this salvage! This hunk of metal’s gotta be worth something! If this thing…
Her tirade trailed off and she grew concerned when the creature’s jaw snapped down on one of the three flotation buoy encircling her pod. The creature’s teeth tore right through it with ease, and Jill’s concern spiked. OK… that’s not… yeah… that’s really... Still got another two, that’s not a problem… I’ll be…
The pod listed to the side with the loss of one flotation device and she maintained her calm before the creature slid back up out of the water to slam its jaw back against the pod again before sliding its teeth down her pod. When she saw creature bite her pod a second time, she cursed and fled back into the pod before desperately trying to close the hatch. No! No! Please tell me this thing still floats… don’t bight… don’t you stupid oversized eel! Don’…
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the eel snapped its jaws shut, this time right on the seam between the last two floatation buoys. She cursed wildly under her breath when she hear the last to buoys pop, loudly snapping and echoing through her pod. That seemed to enrage the eel as it began snapping and whipping its body wildly; something she knew intimately as her pod was battered, flinging her around within. When the whiplash and movement finally calmed, she scrambled to her seat to lock herself in but that did nothing to calm her panic as the eel did something she couldn’t imagine. Somehow, it grabbed onto her pod and pulled her into the depths.
Her small window in her pod grew darker and darker as the depths of the ocean robbed her of light. Her panic swelled, worry growing with concern when a loud roar echoed through her pod. A much closer screech echoed out but it was immediately answered with an ever greater roar of anger, silencing the screech. That did nothing to calm her, but she grew slightly calmer when she felt her pod’s motion arrest. It let go! It let go… OK! I’m… I think I’m going up… maybe?
She sat in the dark of her pod, hoping against hope that all would be well. Hoping that the hatch window would grow brighter. It is growing brighter, right? It should be… yeah? I’m going up! I… Her cheer evaporated when the snout of a massive beast several times larger than the eel slid into view of her hatch window. It moved lazily forward until an eye twice the size of her head slid into view of the window. Her breath hiccupped, then froze. Fear spiked through her and she found herself frozen at the biggest eye she’d ever seen. Her fear turned to panic when the eye actually narrowed and she swore she saw a deep rage steeped in hatred seep from the eye as the curiosity their evaporated before malevolent hatred. Oh! Shit!
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<Chapter 98 Continued>