Day 4
Komputerheng, Aeryn System
Starting Point – Yeonc Jungle Shelter
A view of Yeonc from the cockpit. Not
much of a jungle. I should change the name, but I like the humorous
contrast!
I went on foot to the green question
mark icon on my HUD and found the Poaesecr Woods shelter. This is
much larger than the others I have found. It has the two small
buildings like the others, and then this much larger building.
Outside the shelter, I find the last
creature on my discovery checklist roaming around among the grass. It
has a very distinctive, deep, loud call. I am reminded again of
dinosaurs. This is another docile herbivore. All creatures now
cataloged!
The inside of the smaller buildings has
been ransacked but I do find units and an upgrade for my multitool.
Its a scanner boost which I decide is a better choice to install than
the mining laser upgrade that I am also carrying. I can improve the
laser later when I get more slots for my multitool. When I come back
outside, I get a much better closer look at the newly discovered
creature – I think besides the friendly little guy I fed at Itnevs,
this creature is my favorite.
I found this machine at the shelter's
perimeter. Apparently, for the cost of a bypass chip, I can summon my
ship to me here at Poaesecr. Handy! I hope there are more places with
one of these ship call beacons!
I find the larger structure to be
deserted as well, a running theme in my explorations thus far. I do
find units, health, and another multitool upgrade. I also get a
milestone for 50273 units earned.
There is nothing important left for me
at Poaesecr. Time to take off in my ship and investigate that strange
object in the sky, and what looked like it might be a monolith below.
I get disoriented upon launching. It is funny how easily that happens
without a marker or distinguishing landmark to go by. I do locate the
object, though I am not sure that is the same position that it was in
before. I also notice these...lines, stretching away from it
symmetrically both down to the surface below and into the sky above.
I suddenly notice a blue glow ahead and
below, drawing my eyes to a towering object that is tiny from my
point of view. I realize that it is a monolith, though not the one I
thought I saw before. I immediately cut thrust and begin descent, the
sky object forgotten for the moment in the face of this new
discovery. I have wondered about these monoliths ever since I saw
them in the signal scanner list. And now I have found one, unaided!
What secrets does it hold?
When I am closer to the monolith I see
that it is surrounded by three knowledge stones. They operate like
the other two that I found. When I see the prompt on my HUD I can
interact with them. They light up and suddenly I know the meaning of
a previously alien word. I learn the Korvax words for 'Korvax',
'convergence', and 'toxic' respectively from each stone. I also get a
milestone for learning 5 words.
There is a pedestal directly in front
of the monolith, which has so far stood silent and mysterious,
towering over me. The monolith has a name, the 'Tapezena Fragment',
and I have the prompt to interact with it. More curious than afraid,
I initiate contact.
The test passed, I am gifted with some
valuable items as well as more language knowledge. I now know the
Korvax word for 'awake' and an Atlas word as well. The Atlas language
is not Korvax...? They are different, yet must somehow be linked. The
monoliths are Korvax, the stones have been teaching me Korvax. But
now, after being tested, I am taught Atlas. Interesting.
I can see another unknown green marker
on my HUD, and I decide to follow it, like I always do. This one
takes me to Fessov Woodland. The view on the way is gorgeous (if you
haven't noticed I love taking shots of the beautiful scenery on
Komputerheng) but the waypoint is nothing to write home about. There
is a waypoint tower, and some supplies that I need an Atlas Pass v1
to open. No structures of any kind. I hear a humming drone over head
– another sentinel stopping to scan me, before it hovers away
indiferently.
New plants. I've moved far enough from
my original camp now that I'm starting to see some differences of
region, one of the things being different plants. I've also reached
the milestone of traveling 20,000u.
Another monolith comes into view. It
looks the same as the last one.I learn the words 'calm', 'traveler',
and 'probablility' from the knowledge stones around it. A sentinel
stops to scan me as I'm walking around to the last of the stones.
Like the last monolith, interacting
with this one, the 'Remnants of Baducorne', initiates a sort of test. Once again, I pass and am rewarded with
an upgrade as well as the knowledge of another Korvax and Atlas word.
I get another milestone.
The next unknown marker is a signal
beacon. There is no associated shelter, but there is a knowledge
stone sitting in the grass right in front of the beacon. I ask the
beacon for another shelter location.
The shelter at newly discovered Pomot
Woods is a small round building. There are none of the long
rectangular structures. There is a shallow cave in the hillside
overlooking the shelter.
This is the first time I have
encountered a shelter in this condition. The doors stuck open, bits
of twisted metal and dangling cables, sparks from damaged power systems, red emergency
lighting the only thing illuminating the inside. The other ransacked
shelters had the emergency lighting, but...they were not destroyed
like this one. There is also some sort of strange green growth everywhere, like a plant, or a fungus?
This is what whipped me and damaged my health when I first entered the shelter. It almost looks like it is growing out of whatever this green stuff is. Does it grow out of those pustules? I can't tell if its presence here is genuinely because it grows out of the green stuff or just a coincidence. Whatever the truth, its hostile nature suits this ruined, diseased looking place.
Interacting with the terminal gives me access to a data log. It belongs to a long dead traveller...
Discovered Fowley Dell. There is another cave in this location, and it looks BIG. Not too far inside I find one of my favorite creatures, the one I've taken to calling an Ulpher, a shortened version of its catalog name. Every time I've seen an Ulpher, I realize, it has been around these types of caves. They must like the caves! It is exciting to make this kind of connection and discovery, as so many explorers and scientists before me have done. This cave is deep and dark, I'm in fairly deep and out of sight of the entrance with no end yet in sight. Past where I found the Ulpher hanging around, the cave branches off to the left and right respectively. I want to explore it, but I am afraid of getting lost and not being able to find my way back to the entrance. The path seems fairly straight to the right. I convince myself to go just a little further, so long as the cave doesn't start to twist and turn. If I don't find an end soon, I will turn around. This right branch ends in a small opening on the backside of the hills. I want to explore the other branch - for safety's sake, I decide to double back to the entrance and go straight into the unexplored branch from there. I do NOT want to get turned around. The left branch is very similar. It also ends in an opening elsewhere in the hills. I am relieved that it is not one long, seemingly unending deep dark with disorienting twists and turns. I am not able to relax, however, until I once again find the entrance and spot the shelter just outside. Cave explored, and I'm out safe. I'm not sure how keen I am on ever going in that deep again.
Inside the shelter I find another research specimen and more technology. After exploring the buildings I decide to access the signal beacon and ask it for a monolith location. I am fascinated by their scale as well as their enigmatic and alien presence on this planet. The things they are showing me and teaching me...I want to know more. The beacon shows me the location of a monolith marked as a 'plaque'. This is different than what I have found on my own so far.
Giant floating boulder. There is NOTHING holding it up.
Another beauty shot of my eventual destination.
I've never seen this kind of beacon before, simply labeled 'waypoint beacon'. When I interact with it my point of view rockets up high into the sky, showing me a large section of the planet's surface, on which me, my ship, and the shelter are but tiny specs. It is startling and disorienting. A scanner wave blossoms from the location of the waypoint beacon, spreading out over the gigantic area that is being shown to me. A message flashes red across the map, 'ADVANCED LIFEFORM DETECTED', with a shelter icon highlighted. Then, I come rushing back down to the ground, back into my own body and normal sight again. The shelter icon displayed to me on the map is now bold on my HUD. Advanced lifeform. An...alien? What else would 'advanced lifeform' mean?
I don't head for the marker where the advanced lifeform is located right away. I have an unknown marker to look at first. Admittedly, I worried about who or what the advanced lifeform is, and what will happen when I encounter it. The marker leads me to a shelter at undiscovered Uelciat Woodland. There I find what has become the expected array of items - units, tech, and even a research specimen.
Some more pictures of one of the monoliths I discovered earlier. I ended up unintentionally backtracking - I mistook its marker for what I thought was indicating an undiscovered monolith. Oops. I do find another one of those waypoint beacons. I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to being whisked high into the sky to look down on the planet like that. It points me to another advanced lifeform. There are now two locations with aliens marked on my HUD.
Another picture of the neighbor planet.
Another already discovered monolith. I went around in a huge circle of ground that I had mostly already covered. Whoopsie. Did allow me to capture these beautiful evening pictures, though.
Continuing the trek back to my ship, I catch a great shot of the neighbor planet peeking through the rocky hills. Back in my ship, nosing up for more altitude, it is very tempting to keep right on going to the planet.
It doesn't take long to reach the plaque monolith in my ship. This monolith is different, not just in its shape, but also the pedestal in front of it. The purpose of the monoliths is to convey knowledge. But what exactly is the 'Korvax Convergence'...?
Another undiscovered structure. This one is some kind of storage. There is no proper shelter building here at Poaesel Crossing. I can destroy the containment structures and take the resources, but I am pretty sure it will bring sentinels down on my head. Resources are plentiful on this world so I opt not to stir up trouble.
Not far away I find a shelter at Uadak Swawp. There is just one of the long narrow buildings here. Its another one that has been ransacked. The red emergency lighting is on inside.
Heading for another as yet unknown marker, I get another journey milestone. I spot more already cataloged animals, this time a complete family unit with a little baby. The marker is Quverd Clearing. Waiting there for me is one of the drop pods I've been searching for! Inside of it is an expansion for my suit inventory. The more I can carry, the better. Though it will delay my journey to the next planet, I am starting to think it would be advantageous to seek out more drop pods while on this relatively docile world, undisturbed and in relatively little danger.
This time when I climb into my ship, it is to take off for the nearest shelter marked as the location of an advanced lifeform. I am terrified and excited at the same time. I land on the outskirts, and already I can see that this shelter is a lot different than any of the others. In addition to having the two smaller, long shelter buildings, it has a large building that is probably twice the size of the largest structure I have found up until now. It also has an attached landing pad. It must be one of the colonial outposts listed by the signal scanners!
I'm distracted briefly by sighting another of the largest creatures on the planet, the one that I found roaming in a rocky hillside two days ago. This time I am able to get much closer, and there is even a baby! I get a peek at a ship landing on the pad attached to the main building, and I think perhaps the flybys I've seen were one of these ships, going to and fro between these outposts, and not large sentinels after all. I check inside the small shelters first and find an upgrade.
With everything else at this location explored, there is nothing stopping me from going inside the outpost, where I know there is some sort of alien waiting. I walk through the hatch and looking down the hall I can see it standing there in the center of the room, behind a bank of terminals.
I don't engage the alien at first, deciding to have a look around the room. It is a fortunate decision. In a box on the wall is an upgraded multitool.
My exploration of the room done, I approach the alien. I am guessing that, since my current Korvax standing is displayed while I interact with it, this being must be one of the Korvax. I wish that I'd had the better silicate it was asking for. I would have been happy to share. I give it the Heridium that I do have, and it is kind of the entity to gift me with knowledge even though I did not have what it really wanted.
I fly to the next marker, where the other advanced lifeform is waiting. What will it be? In short order, I find myself landing at Sepai Plains. It is in fact another of the colonial outposts, identical to the one at Patero Woods. I find the alien in the same place within this outpost, sitting behind the console at the center of the room. It appears to also be Korvax, though its helmet is a different make than the one the geologist entity I met wore. Like before, I search the room before engaging the alien and find an upgrade. There is also multitool, same model as my current one but with more slots, but I can't afford it. I will need to find a way to get more units. When I interact with this new alien, which I confirm is Korvax, it becomes apparent that something is wrong with it. Of course I give it the isotope it needs. I am just glad that I am able to help it. The alien, Sorsan, gives me a multitool upgrade in thanks. I wonder at the true nature of these Korvax. Were the failing systems that of its suit...or of the alien itself? Are the Korvax...robots? Cyborgs? Or was it just out of materials to power its suit systems? I don't really know and cannot ask it.
I notice a large terminal on the wall. Walking over to it, I get another journey milestone. The terminal on the wall is the outpost's Galactic Trade Network terminal. Cue cash register sound. Time to make some money! I sell everything I'm carrying in my suit that I can part with. I now have a way to get money for the green trade commodities! I still don't have enough money for my new multitool, so I need to head out and get more stuff to sell...or shuffle things around to put stuff from ships hold into my suit. Ahhh sweet commerce! I guess I am somewhat of a trader at heart as well as an explorer.
Out of curiosity, I walk down the corridor that leads out onto the ship landing pad attached to the base. There I find a ship call terminal. I wonder...will landing my ship on the pad make it so I can trade what's in its hold without switching things into my suit? This turns out to be a very smart move, and profitable, as I get a considerable profit for the gold I was carrying in my ship, enough to reach a money milestone. I am easily able to get my new multitool - nine slots in total for upgrades!
A beautiful view of the planet over a nearby mountain as I trek toward an unknown marker. When I reach the marker I discover a small waypoint with some supplies and an upload beacon. I take one last look at the planet and the mountain before heading out to see what is at the next marker.
Coming over a rise, I find myself looking down on a new shelter, sitting at the bottom of a small grassy basin. There is a whole family of some previously cataloged creatures roaming the grassland below, not far from the shelter. I stop to watch them for a while. There is also a small cave adjacent to and above my location. I take a moment to check it out - it is literally a through-and-through hole in the hillside. I have a great view of the shelter from the cave mouth. There is tech inside one of the buildings, but nothing else.
A giant pillar of Heridium. There are many of these pillars all over the surface of this world. Notice the glowing blue veins in the rock that are the actual Heridium silicate deposits.
I follow the unknown marker on my HUD to another shelter. I have found another one overrun by what I have taken to thinking of as the 'green slime'. I find some tech in a piece of damaged equipment. There is also another terminal containing another log. Is the green slime the fungus that traveler is referring to?
The next unknown marker turns out to be another of the familiar monolith structures. Three stones and a giant tower. Once again I am tested. Their power must be immense considering what happens this time. I also reach another language milestone.
.
The next marker is another shelter. Inside I find some tech.
Its time to start making my way back to my ship. I have more goods that I can trade at the outpost where I left it. I get a fantastic view of the neighbor planet between these towers as I walk through a shallow crevasse. I spot some more previously discovered wildlife, and I also reach another distance milestone once inside the outpost.
When I go back outside the outpost I notice that there is an unknown marker in the distance. I decide to make the walk to it as it isn't far, and my account is stuffed with more units than I know what to do with after turning in more resources. Perhaps I can find and gather some more. After a couple of minutes I find another shelter.
There is another unknown marker in the distance...For now I am going to wisely call it a day here at Jekhen. Tomorrow I will explore the shelter, and the next marker. I still need to find more drop pods so that I can expand my suit. I have learned a lot of valuable things today, including the fact that I can make big bucks at colonial outposts trading goods that I find. I also found out looking in my journal that my Komputerheng discoveries are 100% complete. I upload the status and am rewarded with an enormous sum of units. It does, in fact, pay to explore thoroughly! Tomorrow, I look for drop pods.
Some more pictures of one of the monoliths I discovered earlier. I ended up unintentionally backtracking - I mistook its marker for what I thought was indicating an undiscovered monolith. Oops. I do find another one of those waypoint beacons. I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to being whisked high into the sky to look down on the planet like that. It points me to another advanced lifeform. There are now two locations with aliens marked on my HUD.
Another picture of the neighbor planet.
Another already discovered monolith. I went around in a huge circle of ground that I had mostly already covered. Whoopsie. Did allow me to capture these beautiful evening pictures, though.
Continuing the trek back to my ship, I catch a great shot of the neighbor planet peeking through the rocky hills. Back in my ship, nosing up for more altitude, it is very tempting to keep right on going to the planet.
It doesn't take long to reach the plaque monolith in my ship. This monolith is different, not just in its shape, but also the pedestal in front of it. The purpose of the monoliths is to convey knowledge. But what exactly is the 'Korvax Convergence'...?
Another undiscovered structure. This one is some kind of storage. There is no proper shelter building here at Poaesel Crossing. I can destroy the containment structures and take the resources, but I am pretty sure it will bring sentinels down on my head. Resources are plentiful on this world so I opt not to stir up trouble.
Not far away I find a shelter at Uadak Swawp. There is just one of the long narrow buildings here. Its another one that has been ransacked. The red emergency lighting is on inside.
Heading for another as yet unknown marker, I get another journey milestone. I spot more already cataloged animals, this time a complete family unit with a little baby. The marker is Quverd Clearing. Waiting there for me is one of the drop pods I've been searching for! Inside of it is an expansion for my suit inventory. The more I can carry, the better. Though it will delay my journey to the next planet, I am starting to think it would be advantageous to seek out more drop pods while on this relatively docile world, undisturbed and in relatively little danger.
This time when I climb into my ship, it is to take off for the nearest shelter marked as the location of an advanced lifeform. I am terrified and excited at the same time. I land on the outskirts, and already I can see that this shelter is a lot different than any of the others. In addition to having the two smaller, long shelter buildings, it has a large building that is probably twice the size of the largest structure I have found up until now. It also has an attached landing pad. It must be one of the colonial outposts listed by the signal scanners!
I'm distracted briefly by sighting another of the largest creatures on the planet, the one that I found roaming in a rocky hillside two days ago. This time I am able to get much closer, and there is even a baby! I get a peek at a ship landing on the pad attached to the main building, and I think perhaps the flybys I've seen were one of these ships, going to and fro between these outposts, and not large sentinels after all. I check inside the small shelters first and find an upgrade.
With everything else at this location explored, there is nothing stopping me from going inside the outpost, where I know there is some sort of alien waiting. I walk through the hatch and looking down the hall I can see it standing there in the center of the room, behind a bank of terminals.
I don't engage the alien at first, deciding to have a look around the room. It is a fortunate decision. In a box on the wall is an upgraded multitool.
My exploration of the room done, I approach the alien. I am guessing that, since my current Korvax standing is displayed while I interact with it, this being must be one of the Korvax. I wish that I'd had the better silicate it was asking for. I would have been happy to share. I give it the Heridium that I do have, and it is kind of the entity to gift me with knowledge even though I did not have what it really wanted.
I fly to the next marker, where the other advanced lifeform is waiting. What will it be? In short order, I find myself landing at Sepai Plains. It is in fact another of the colonial outposts, identical to the one at Patero Woods. I find the alien in the same place within this outpost, sitting behind the console at the center of the room. It appears to also be Korvax, though its helmet is a different make than the one the geologist entity I met wore. Like before, I search the room before engaging the alien and find an upgrade. There is also multitool, same model as my current one but with more slots, but I can't afford it. I will need to find a way to get more units. When I interact with this new alien, which I confirm is Korvax, it becomes apparent that something is wrong with it. Of course I give it the isotope it needs. I am just glad that I am able to help it. The alien, Sorsan, gives me a multitool upgrade in thanks. I wonder at the true nature of these Korvax. Were the failing systems that of its suit...or of the alien itself? Are the Korvax...robots? Cyborgs? Or was it just out of materials to power its suit systems? I don't really know and cannot ask it.
I notice a large terminal on the wall. Walking over to it, I get another journey milestone. The terminal on the wall is the outpost's Galactic Trade Network terminal. Cue cash register sound. Time to make some money! I sell everything I'm carrying in my suit that I can part with. I now have a way to get money for the green trade commodities! I still don't have enough money for my new multitool, so I need to head out and get more stuff to sell...or shuffle things around to put stuff from ships hold into my suit. Ahhh sweet commerce! I guess I am somewhat of a trader at heart as well as an explorer.
Out of curiosity, I walk down the corridor that leads out onto the ship landing pad attached to the base. There I find a ship call terminal. I wonder...will landing my ship on the pad make it so I can trade what's in its hold without switching things into my suit? This turns out to be a very smart move, and profitable, as I get a considerable profit for the gold I was carrying in my ship, enough to reach a money milestone. I am easily able to get my new multitool - nine slots in total for upgrades!
A beautiful view of the planet over a nearby mountain as I trek toward an unknown marker. When I reach the marker I discover a small waypoint with some supplies and an upload beacon. I take one last look at the planet and the mountain before heading out to see what is at the next marker.
Coming over a rise, I find myself looking down on a new shelter, sitting at the bottom of a small grassy basin. There is a whole family of some previously cataloged creatures roaming the grassland below, not far from the shelter. I stop to watch them for a while. There is also a small cave adjacent to and above my location. I take a moment to check it out - it is literally a through-and-through hole in the hillside. I have a great view of the shelter from the cave mouth. There is tech inside one of the buildings, but nothing else.
A giant pillar of Heridium. There are many of these pillars all over the surface of this world. Notice the glowing blue veins in the rock that are the actual Heridium silicate deposits.
I follow the unknown marker on my HUD to another shelter. I have found another one overrun by what I have taken to thinking of as the 'green slime'. I find some tech in a piece of damaged equipment. There is also another terminal containing another log. Is the green slime the fungus that traveler is referring to?
The next unknown marker turns out to be another of the familiar monolith structures. Three stones and a giant tower. Once again I am tested. Their power must be immense considering what happens this time. I also reach another language milestone.
.
The next marker is another shelter. Inside I find some tech.
Its time to start making my way back to my ship. I have more goods that I can trade at the outpost where I left it. I get a fantastic view of the neighbor planet between these towers as I walk through a shallow crevasse. I spot some more previously discovered wildlife, and I also reach another distance milestone once inside the outpost.
When I go back outside the outpost I notice that there is an unknown marker in the distance. I decide to make the walk to it as it isn't far, and my account is stuffed with more units than I know what to do with after turning in more resources. Perhaps I can find and gather some more. After a couple of minutes I find another shelter.
There is another unknown marker in the distance...For now I am going to wisely call it a day here at Jekhen. Tomorrow I will explore the shelter, and the next marker. I still need to find more drop pods so that I can expand my suit. I have learned a lot of valuable things today, including the fact that I can make big bucks at colonial outposts trading goods that I find. I also found out looking in my journal that my Komputerheng discoveries are 100% complete. I upload the status and am rewarded with an enormous sum of units. It does, in fact, pay to explore thoroughly! Tomorrow, I look for drop pods.
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