This is a Chain story passed between @zakludick and @therneau. Each writer authors a post based on the events of previous episodes and carries on the story.
HOWEVER, @therneau is not avilable at the moment but has asked that @zakludick continue with the story for the time being on his own.
There is very little collusion between the writers as it is challenging to discover and develop a story by attuning the writing to the partner's plot, style, and presentation.
Foreword
It has been challenging to get back into fiction writing on a tight schedule. I have 12 hours of work on site to go to and on top of that, when I get home to spend time with family, I also have a veggie garden to look after.
So without warbling on too much, here we go!
Last time on this branch of the story Book of Space Lore - SLZT Log 29.
Enjoy!
Space Lore Log SLZT #30
The surface of the island was rocky and uneven. The position the ship had landed was near the sea shore and when Thorne had exited the vessel and made sure that the area around them was secure, he had scanned the ocean for a while.
The waters were gray and brooding but he realized suddenly that this planet with it's singular island would need to get its oxygen from the oceans. Algae or similar would mean other life forms.
A massive ocean.
"Have we scanned the waters nearby for life forms?" He asked.
"It did not seem relevant." J5 answered, somewhat more deadpan.
"It is now relevant. Scan for anything that moves in the water with biomass larger than 500 kilograms and set this as a priority alert." Thorne turned his attention to the rocks around him.
"Why should we do this?" J5 asked. "We do not need to make contact with the ocean creatures Thorne. We need to collect the mineral."
"J5... I wish you would just follow my instructions like you used to." Thorne sighed. "Captain?"
The Auk'lit nodded her head and spoke toward her forearm. "Specialist, scan offshore for contacts larger than bio 500. Alert crew and have weapons standing by in case of contact."
"Affirmative. Your order shall be fulfilled." Came the radio reply.
"I have connected to the Specialist in network." J5 said. "His logical processing is quite advanced. Yet he did not question your order. Why is that?"
"We are in the military." She answered. "I am the Captain and it is my duty to make decisions."
Thorne ignored the rest of the conversation. It was both like dealing with the smartest person he knew as well like dealing with a toddler. It seemed as though this AI might be able to learn wisdom, but that it would take some time.
He pushed the thought away and consulted his dataslate in his one hand. He then surveyed the terrain going on forward. He knew from the previous day that there were some life forms aboard this islands. He would be wary. Thought they were meant to be small, he did not want to chance a scratch or a bite.
It had happened before and the small cut on his leg had turned septic with some alien bacterial infection. It had taken him months to recover.
He walked up to a stone column, the terrain became more rocky and sloped upwards like the whole island was some massive mountain. It had flat plateaus and ridges and then other sections that had spires of stone and wind-worn boulders.
With a gloved hand, Thorne touched the spire and scraped off some of the surface grit. Putting this into a device he had brought along for the job, the machine gave him a host of details regarding the composition of the girt. Once again, more information than he really needed, most of the time but he did not mind some extra data.
The rest of the party caught up to him, the human soldier kept close to him while he led the expidition, Captain Freyai walked behind them with J5 and the other soldier bringing up the rear.
Thorne began the ascent to the next plateau area. The going was rough and he often needed to use both hands to climb upwards. The soldiers had their rifles out and they made his progress slower because they needed to "cover" him. This meant that the human female soldier needed to go up first if they could not see where he was going and then when she had her rifle out, he could follow.
J5 merely picked the Captain up and deposited her on the next level. She too, bore a rifle. The massive robot had no trouble climbing over the ridge.
On the rocky ridge Torne took the lead again. His spectrometer and density readouts began picking up the same readings that they had picked up on the ship. A pathway, possibly carved by rainwater sloped down on the inside of the plateau ridge and Thorne followed this.
The traces were still faint but the hints were there, that this crystal might have formed in this environment hundreds or thousands of years ago if the conditions were correct.
It would not however, be exposed to the elements. Thorne looked closely at the dataslate again and considered the weather resistance of the mineral.
Rain and even surf spray should not manage to do very much on their own, depending on the amount of silt that was deposited or thrown up by the waves. What was more likely to cause massive damage to the crystalline structure was UV radiation.
"Has everyone have lights with them?"
"Of course." Captain Freyai called. "Why do you ask?"
"Because we will be going underground." Thorne said with utmost certainty. "This mineral will not be in a stable form, with its properties as required out in the open. We will be going to have to find a cave or we might need to dig."
"We do not have time for careful excavation." J5 stated flatly. "If we take too long the Queen shall find us. I hope that we do find a cave that you can find a stable specimen."
"We shall see." Thorne replied. He continued down the ravine. He was focused on his feet and trying to analyze the conditions of the erosion on the rock when the ravine turned sharply and he was met instantly by sounds and smells that he was not expecting.
There was a call of an animal, not as a response to his movement, but to another of it's kind while he heard the gurgling of running water and smelt the distinct smell of moist earth. All at once he was looking over a valley that was covered in plant life.
How the ship's advanced scanners had not picked up this location, he could only speculate. His thoughts were cut short as he heard a roar in the distance.
Log SLZT #30 completed!
What sort of trouble dpes our prospecting team come across? We shall see next time on Space Lore SLZT #31!
Other Space Lore stories:
| by @zakludick | by @therneau |
|---|---|
| SLZT Story | |
| SLZT#1 | SLZT#2 |
| SLZT#3 | SLZT#4 |
| SLZT#5 | SLZT#6 |
| SLZT#7 | SLZT#8 |
| SLZT#9 | SLZT#10 |
| SLZT#11 | SLZT#12 |
| SLZT#13 | SLZT#14 |
| SLZT #15 | SLZT #16 |
| SLZT #17 | SLZT #18 |
| SLZT #19 | SLZT #20 |
| SLZT #21 | SLZT #22 |
| SLZT #23 | SLZT #24 |
| SLZT #25 | SLZT #26/Q1 |
| SLZT #27 | *** |
| SLZT #28 | *** |
| SLZT #29 | *** |
| You are Here! | *** |
| by @zakludick | by @therneau |
|---|---|
| Branch Log | Queen |
| SLZT #26/Q1 | |
| SLZT.Q2 | *** |
| SLZT.Q3 | *** |
| SLZT.Q4 | *** |
| by @zakludick | by @therneau |
|---|---|
| New Earth | SLKT |
| SLKT #1 | |
| SLKT #2 | *** |
| SLKT #3 | *** |
The Reader List:
If you would like to be tagged in every episode of Book of Space Lore SLZT, leave us a comment and get added in, miss nothing!
@therneau and I have added in some people that have been following this story or some of our other stories.
@clairemobey, @merenludick, @lizelle, @joanstewart, @papilloncharity, @irisworld, @brittandjosie, @dibblers.dabs, @weone, @cryptoniusraptor, @shopnilhasan, @blitzzzz, @pravesho, @joetunex, @captainquack22, @braaiboy, @sketchygamerguy, @fuego-oscuro, @felt.buzz, @thinkrdotexe, @aimeludick, @jusipassetti, @alonicus, @uop, @artywink, @loadreaper, @lex-zaiya, @casimirio, @wittyzell, @deeanndmathews, @rcaine
If, for any reason, you'd like to be removed from the list, you can mention that anytime.