NMS: THE NEXT ADVENTURER

NMS: THE NEXT ADVENTURER

THE ‘RADIANT PILLAR’.

The traveller stood beside the crashed spacecraft, vis gloved hand touching its surface, as though the contact would confirm its existence or reveal it to be nothing but a figment of the imagination. The craft remained as solid and present as when ve had first encountered it. Indeed, more than that, it seemed to respond to the traveller’s touch. The cockpit smoothly opened, and a small ladder descended, providing the traveller with a means of climbing into the single seat. Once settled into the pilot’s position, the canopy closed and various displays lit up around the cockpit. The way the craft had reacted to the traveller’s presence, deactivating dormant systems as though making itself available for its master’s use, all but confirmed that the craft did indeed belong to the traveller. But still no memories of where they’d been were forthcoming.

There was something, though, and that was the name of the ship. Information displays announced that this was the ‘Radiant Pillar’. Reading its name out loud sparked… not a memory, but that frustrating tip-of-the-tongue feeling of knowledge just beyond one’s comprehension. As the traveller strained to recall whatever it was that the ship’s name had almost awoken in vis foggy memory, automatic diagnostic systems diverted attention toward the practical issues that were the spaceship’s technical faults. The pulse engine that enabled atmospheric and sub-orbital flight had suffered major damage. Without metal plating and a hermetic seal, the craft could offer protection from the environment outside but could offer no escape.

Fortunately, by using the scanner and multi-tool, the traveller could harvest raw materials and manufacture the necessary components. A scan revealed a source of ferrite, just what was needed to make metal plating. With the sun now long set and the cool of dusk having given way to a chill, starlit night, the traveller harvested ferrite from red minerals that carpeted the ground.

The molecular robots within the multi-tool did their thing, converting the ferrite into metal plates. Back at the ship, the traveller worked to repair some of the damage.

With the plates fixed to the ship, the next task was to take care of the hermetic seal. But there was a problem. The multi-tool was unable to synthesise the required components. “Help?”, asked the traveller tentatively, as though unsure any response would be forthcoming. But there was a reply from the ship’s autodiagnostics. “Recommendation, iteration comparison reveals hermetic seal nearby. Salvage navigational data from distress beacon nearby”.

The traveller looked around, surveying the debris that was strewn around the crash site. A large, spherical, metallic object lay close to the craft. Just as the ‘Radiant Pillar’ had done, it activated when the traveller touched it. “Analysis...Awaiting fresh iteration...Containment Prepared...Position logged….System Integrity Scan Initialised”. With that, the top opened like a night flower unfurling its petals and a gadget of some sort or other emerged from within.

What could it be? The traveller used the multi-tool’s inbuilt encyclopaedia to find out. It identified the device as a navigational data module. That such a device had been manufactured could only mean that the materials required to complete repairs were not to be found in the local area. The traveller would have to construct a signal booster in order to extend the reach of vis search.

But, it was late and tiredness was creeping up. The traveller returned to the cockpit and settled down in the pilot’s chair, and there ve fell asleep.

The traveller awoke to an orange-red dawn. Ve walked a short distance from the crash site and stood at the edge of a cliff that overlooked a plain. The tall red plants that were this planet’s vegetation cast their shadows over the dusty terrain, and every now and then an animal cry would break up the monotonous sound of the moaning winds.

A new day on this mysterious world. A new day with work to be done. The traveller set about doing what was necessary to build the signal booster...

The adventure continued.

Thanks to Hello Games for the images.