*(mood song: "Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Coming Home)")
The darkness of the ancient chamber pressed in around them as the mysterious presence continued to probe their minds. Antonio's mantra seemed futile against the entity's intrusions, and Elena and Monico exchanged worried glances through their helmet visors.
[Your... fear... unnecessary...] The fragmented thoughts drifted through their consciousness like whispers. [Long... alone... forgotten...]
Antonio gripped his spear tightly: "Who are you? What are you?"
A soft glow began to emanate from the far end of the chamber, pulsing gently like a heartbeat. As they cautiously approached, the light revealed a massive cylindrical tube extending from floor to ceiling. Inside, suspended in luminescent fluid, floated what could only be described as a sphere of living tissue—organic yet clearly engineered, with neural pathways visible beneath its translucent surface.
[Last... guardian... Jungle ARK 3451237...] The mental voice grew slightly stronger. [All others... gone... ARK planet dead... systems down...]
Elena stepped closer to the tube, her scientific curiosity overcoming her fear: "A bio-engineered consciousness? Preserved all this time?"
[Yes... sub-mind... only survivor... need... help... substenance... maintenance... hibernation... cryptobiosis...]
Monico glanced at the dead Thasker they'd dragged in: "We're not exactly in a position to help anyone right now. We're stranded ourselves."
The orb pulsed brighter in response. [Mutual... assistance... possible... power... restore...]
Antonio: "It wants us to help restore power to this facility," Antonio translated, now more intrigued than afraid. "In exchange for what?"
[Escape... resources... ship... freedom... survival...]
The three humans shared a look of sudden hope.
Elena: "A ship?" Elena whispered. "It has a ship?"
Antonio addressed the floating orb directly: "Show us how to restore power, and we'll help you."
The entity's consciousness brushed against theirs, and suddenly, images appeared in their minds—a sequence of actions, controls to manipulate, systems to reactivate. The mental instructions were crystal clear despite the entity's fragmented speech.
Antonio: "I understand." Antonio nodded. "Monico, there's some kind of generator room three levels down. Elena, you'll need to reroute power through the central hub."
They worked for hours, following the entity's mental guidance. The ancient facility had been designed with remarkable resilience—many systems remained intact despite centuries, perhaps millennia, of dormancy. As they worked, the entity shared fragmented memories: it was the last surviving genetic seed of a vast biological archive, designed to preserve the ecological diversity of countless worlds as they developed higher beings for the primordials, their creators, to give a purpose. The humans were amazed at the revelation, but there was little left to be surprised at the current circumstances.
Elena: "So what you are saying is there were the primordials, but not anymore?"
[...betrayal... creations... greed... mortality... power... attack... too many forces... carnage... billions died... to take on each primordial ship... still... numbers in their favour... primordials disappeared... no reinforcements...]
Antonio: "That doesn't make sense... were their numbers so low? With such a technological advantage... it doesn't make sense to lose..."
[ I... can't know... above... my level... ]
Antonio: "Guess we will have to find out in the future... for now, our objective is to get a spaceship and track down Erik and Sarah"
[ coordinates... memory... planet already... inhabited... ]
Monico: "What do you mean?"
[ memories... seen... coordinates... planet inhabited... lizardman... empire... ]
Antonio: "shit... are they peacefull?"
[ warring race... rule of... the strong... always war... kill others... honor... ]
Elena, Monico, and Antonio looked at each other in concern.
Antonio: "We better hurry, Erik and Sarah are probably in danger"
Elena: "We should have all gone together"
Monico sighed: "We never could have expected this, one enormous spaceship would have delayed things, so the mission was divided by phases and onto different dedicated spaceships, launched when they were ready, this also prevents collisions"
Antonio: "Yes, but without the engineering, communications, habitat terraforming and above all the security defense systems modules that WE were transporting... they will be defenseless"
Their faces turned grim.
[ not... to worry... I... help... we reach... fast... we... save... ]
They all nodded and got back to work.
The temperature began to regulate, as emergency lights flickered to life throughout the facility. Antonio returned to the central chamber where the flesh orb floated, now glowing with renewed energy.
Antonio: "The environmental systems are coming online," he reported. "Atmosphere reads as breathable now."
[Safe... remove... protection...]
Elena hesitated: "Are you sure? Our suits are the only thing keeping us alive right now."
[Trust... please... no harm...]
After a moment's deliberation, Antonio unsealed his helmet first. He took a cautious breath, then another. The air was sterile and metallic-tasting, but breathable.
Antonio: "It's okay," he confirmed, and the others followed suit, removing their helmets and then their full suits as the temperature continued to normalize.
[Hunger... detected... in you... in me... all...]
Monico gestured to the Thasker's carcass: "We need to eat, and I'm guessing you do too?"
[Yes... flesh... sustains... organs and bone... most nutritious...]
They set about preparing the Thasker, cooking portions of its meat on improvised heating elements that Elena had managed to activate. The rich, gamey smell filled the chamber, reminding them how long it had been since their last proper meal.
As they ate, Antonio carefully dissected the organs and bones as instructed, placing them in a receptacle that had opened beneath the orb's containment tube. The tissue began to pulse more vibrantly as it absorbed the nutrients.
[Gratitude... strength... returns...]
Over their meal, the entity shared more of its history. The mental images became clearer, more coherent as it regained strength.
This facility had been a research outpost established by an ancient spacefaring species, the Primordials, and had seeded numerous worlds with biological repositories like this one, but they had long disappeared by now. When catastrophe struck during the war, this particular orb-consciousness had placed itself in stasis, becoming the sole guardian of knowledge that would otherwise have been lost forever as his parent hive mind was killed.
Monico: "And you mentioned a ship?" Monico pressed, wiping Thasker grease from his chin.
[Yes... emergency vessel... docked... lower levels...]
Elena's eyes widened: "So we don't need to return to the pirate ship at all?"
[Correct... but... cannot stay... facility failing... millenia of accumulated damage...]
The entity showed them images of a sleek vessel, smaller than their commandeered pirate ship but far more advanced. However, it also revealed the deteriorating condition of the facility's structural supports—they had days at most before the entire complex would collapse, as reactivating the systems had caused even more damage.
Antonio: "Then we need to move you," Antonio concluded. "Can your containment system be transferred to this ship?"
[Yes... portable... designed for evacuation... power source also... portable...]
They worked through what would have been the night above ground, carefully disconnecting the orb's life support systems and preparing them for transfer. The entity guided them step by step, showing them how to maintain the delicate balance of nutrients and energy that sustained it. Moving the heavy container would have been a challenge for a baseline human, but thankfully, Antonio pulled it off with his improved body. Monico had to repair some of the ramps and infrastructure first though to ass through wile carrying something so heavy.
Elena, on her part, carried the life support and energy systems on a wheeled cart behind them.
By the time they reached the docking bay, all three humans were exhausted but exhilarated. The ship waited just as promised—an elegant craft with organic curves that suggested it had been grown as much as built.
Elena: "It's beautiful," Elena whispered as they carried the orb's containment tube aboard.
[Home... temporary... another facility... exists...]
As they secured the tube to the ship's systems, the entity shared one final revelation—a much larger manufacturing base existed on the opposite side of the planet, one with the capabilities to transform their shuttle into a true interstellar vessel.
Antonio: "So that's our destination?" Antonio asked as they began powering up the ship's systems.
[Yes... journey... necessary... stars wait...]
The ship's engines hummed to life, responding almost intuitively to Monico's commands at the helm. The docking bay doors above them groaned open, revealing a shaft that led up through the earth to the jungle above.
Monico: "I hope this thing can outrun that predator we encountered," Monico muttered as he initiated the launch sequence.
Antonio smiled grimly: "I'm more concerned about what we'll find at this manufacturing base."
Elena placed her hand on the orb's container, feeling the gentle pulse beneath her palm: "Whatever it is, at least we're not alone anymore."
The ship rose smoothly through the shaft, emerging into the alien jungle just as dawn broke through the canopy. As they ascended higher, the massive trees shrank beneath them, and the city of Givzie appeared on the horizon—already looking like a distant memory rather than their home of just a day before. They might need to be back for spare parts or for trade, or at least to get seeds from their hydroponics setup, but for now they focused on the current task.
Monico: "Setting course for the coordinates provided," Monico announced, plotting their trajectory across the planet's surface.
[New beginning... for all of us...]
The ship accelerated smoothly, leaving the jungle behind as they soared toward an uncertain future, guided by an ancient mind that had waited eons for their arrival.
As the landscape rushed beneath them, Antonio couldn't help but wonder what other secrets this world held—and what price they might ultimately pay for their newfound alliance with the last survivor of a forgotten civilization.
-- Back at the city --
Meanwhile, back at the city of Givzie, the massive gates were closing for the night curfew. A Globian guard with four of his six eyes focused on a holographic display, checking off the returning hunters.
"Last group accounted for," he reported to his superior, a heavily armored being with bioluminescent markings running down his exoskeleton.
"What about those three newcomers? The ones in the full-body containment suits?" The superior asked, mandibles clicking with suspicion.
The guard scrolled through his display. "No sign of them, sir. Their tracking beacons went offline in sector 7, near the ravine. Their last movement was registered approximately eight hours ago before the signal disappeared completely."
"Hmm." The superior contemplated this information. "Another case of rookies overestimating themselves. Typical. Follow standard protocol—mark them as deceased and notify asset reclamation."
"Yes, sir." The guard tapped several commands into his console. "Should I note the cause of death?"
"Predator attack, most likely. Though the ravine gets its fair share too. Just put 'jungle hazards' and be done with it."
As dawn broke the next morning, a small convoy of official vehicles made its way to the docking terminal 3, plot 67F. The governor of Givzie herself, a towering amphibious being named Hraxil, surveyed the abandoned pirate vessel with undisguised glee.
Governor Hraxil: "Quite the find," she gurgled through her translator, trailing webbed fingers along the ship's hull. "Those poor unfortunate newcomers... barely a day on our world. Such a shame."
Her aide, a nervous insectoid, clicked rapidly. "The paperwork has been processed, Governor. As per regulation 47-B, unclaimed property of deceased unregistered visitors with no known next of kin defaults to governmental ownership after twenty-four hours."
Governor Hraxil: "Excellent." Governor Hraxil's mouth parts formed what passed for a smile in her species. "Have it moved to my private hangar. I've been needing a new personal shuttle."
Aide: "It appears rather... crude, Governor," the aide observed hesitantly.
Governor Hraxil: "Yes, but it has character. And with the proper modifications..." Her massive eyes gleamed with avarice. "Besides, one never knows what interesting technology these outlanders might have installed. Have our engineers dismantle it component by component. It's always so exciting reclaiming property, like unexpected gifts from destiny~"
As the governor's team began preparations to move the vessel, none of them had any inkling that its former occupants were already halfway across the planet, journeying toward a destiny far greater than anything the petty politics of Givzie could offer.
-- Back at the Oceanic ARK --
Erik and everyone moved enormous pieces of metal around as the restructuring and restoration of the inner haul was almost complete. They removed the sneaking tunnels from merged spaceships and instead cut through and created straight central corridors from one side to the other, with proper security systems and sensors.
Erik: "Now it's finally looking like a proper ship~"
Rose: "Heh, we are close to our destination too"
Timberly: "So, what's the plan?"
Erik: "Easy, we get Molly to drag the clunker city from now on~"
Inky: "That huge, disgusting creature?"
Erik: "What? She's not disgusting..."
Inky frowned: "Her descendants almost killed you?"
Erik waved it off: "Things that happen, we just need to raise them properly as our very own hunting hounds~"
Timberly was confused: "Hound? What's that?"
Erik stretched him back: "I will explain it on the way, let's take a rest and inaugurate the new fully renovated kitchen, now dozens of people will be able to cook at the same time"
They all nodded.
Timberly: "Sure, I was getting hungry anyways"
Inky: "I will carry some for the kids back at the submarine. I still don't trust this huge place"
Erik: "It should be fine, with Rose around nothing can go unseen~"
Rose smiled, seeing Erik excited: "I followed your specifications, it should be just as in your memories"
Erik: "Nice~"