subnautica | each little clam here know how to jam here (OPEN MINGLE POST)

There's a very big, very important expedition happening - the base's first trip as a group to the Aurora to go salvage what's inside! Very big, very important, and happening... next month. They're not going anywhere until they've conducted some research on that downed ship and gathered a good base of intel on how they might take care of - and protect - themselves.

A: THE ACTUAL WRECK

Maybe you're a daredevil who's not afraid of a little bit of radiation/fire/falling debris/angry wildlife hiding in a burned-out chassis. Or maybe you're one of the lucky ones who's immune to the radiation and are doing your part for the team. Either way, the monstrous silhouette of the Aurora looms in the distant waters of the Safe Shallows. Available for use are three Seaglides and one Seamoth to get out there, if you desire - although you might have to compete for their use. If you're feeling athletic, maybe you can even swim out there.

The radiation leak has been plugged, but the radiation itself is still dissipating from the area, so you probably shouldn't spend too long out here if you don't want to get sick. The hull of the ship is pockmarked with holes and damage, but not all of them are fit to be used as entrances by the crewmembers. Some of them might even have already been claimed by Crashes mistaking the dark nooks for caves. If you do get inside, there are still fires burning within the ship. Be careful out there!

B: GRASSY PLATEAU

Gotta get out there and check that new biome for resources before our big adventure. The Grassy Plateau is still largely unexplored, with plenty of treasures (or, well, survival resources) to be found.

In search of food? Apparently, those sand shark eggs are good eating, if you're daring enough to go toe-to-toe with a mother predator. Or maybe you'd prefer more exotic cuisine. Has anyone tried eating a Mesmer yet?

Alternatively, the expansive caves of this area are chock full of vibrant and unusual plant life that might offer some tasty nutrition to the hungry diver. Or there might be some that are medicinal - or toxic. Finding metals is another goal set by Ursula this month, and there's ore hiding deep down in the cave systems.

C: PARKS AND WRECKS

The Aurora's explosion left plenty of scrap metal around, and although some of it was cannibalized to fix the radiation leak, there are still husks of ship parts lying around on the ocean floor. If you're out searching for food, weapons, or other resources in any region, it may be worth investigating them to see if anything useful survived. The life pods embedded in the sand seem like a good place to start.

D: OTHER

You don't have to go foraging in the Grassy Plateau. Feel free to assist in preparations by gathering things from any of the biomes! Or you can stay in the base working on making all that weird stuff everyone else is collecting into something edible/helpful/otherwise useful.

(ooc: this is an open post for everyone to participate in the mission, similar to fukami's mingle post earlier in the month!! post your own toplevels and do your thing.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That sounds good. Did you want me to keep checking in as I move out for now, or--?

Best way to know when the distance hits its limit. How do you feel about running commentaries? I can keep you regaled with tales of testing burning points for table corals, you can report on what you're seeing as you swim out?

[A snort of laughter.]

Sure, though if I go quiet for a bit, I'm probably fleeing a Stalker. Seems like there's a big population of them in here.

They're territorial around their nests, for sure. Have you tried working with bribing any of the ones along the ways you usually swim?

[ Ellana has odd hobbies here... ]

[He's interested!]

No, I've mostly tried to avoid them in the shallows, but that may not be a choice in this area -- ah, there's another nest there. Bribe them with food, you mean?

Yes, with fish. They're bottomless stomachs. I've been using a simple, consistent call when I've been feeding them, to help build a positive association. So far, one responds to the call alone when I "speak" to it like this.

You're training them. Or taming them? I don't have fish on me right now, but...

[he trails off, clearly and briefly distracted; he's edging up and around the nest he spotted. There's a distinct bleck as he shoves through a gap and Creepvine leaves slap him in the face, and then he's clear.]

Crowded down here. How long did it take before the Stalker started responding like that?

Two weeks for it to start paying attention to the call. Food it figured out fast. It took longer to get it to come without fish being evident by scent.

[ She can imagine where he's moving through; not the specific location, but the foliage of the kelp forest. Diminished line of sight isn't a comfortable reality for her. She doesn't imagine it's much more comfortable for him. ]

I like to think of it as striking up a careful working relationship. Stalkers are one of the ones who seem to react to mental calls, at least. Not like more of the smaller fish with the funny beaks that like to nip you when you swim by their favourite rocks.

[It's not the best -- he prefers the relatively open expanse of the Safe Shallows himself -- but he's squeezed through worse in various ruin exploration escapades, growing up. He just tries to think of the kelp forest as a bigger, more organic sort of ruin (a little difficult), and to be grateful for it being so clean and free of corrupting miasma (easier).]

Yes...they don't seem to be entirely sentient, but they're rather smart. We've had a good response from the Rabbitrays even without food, too...of course they're not a threat, but they respond very well to friendly talk, or even just friendly feeling.

[Why can't you just say 'they're friendly and cute and I secretly rather want ten,' Mikleo.]

[ Be true to yourself, Mikleo! Call the oddly affectionate fish cute and friendly! They're probably one of the few really capable of being made into pets! ]

They're certainly curious enough. I'd spoken a little to them when marking ore locations, but they'd followed me even before we started talking.

[ Curious little creatures, not yet soured to the presence of people. She wonders what that says both of the previous crew, and what might change or be preserved in the future. ]

The reefbacks will sing back to you, if you sing to them. Different songs than usual, but they can hear this, that's for certain. I'm not sure what they make of us. They're still intelligent, if not on the level of most people, bodied or otherwise, that I know.

[ Echoes of Solas, asking if people only count as people if they have a body; if spirits aren't allowed to be people, too, simply for being so different from anything bodied people knew in Thedas. ]

So that's why you were singing at the small one the other day...guess I'd better practice my tunes. If we can build some kind of rapport with some of the species around here in general...I think that might make it easier for anyone coming to live here, in the long run.

[That's going to be a trip, the Reefback thing. He's not much of a singer aloud, and he has no idea if being musically disinclined translates directly into telepathic sendings. At least it'll be an interesting experiment...

The 'bodied' remark he lets go without question. The diverse assortment of their little crew (not to mention the 'ghost?!' reactions he's gotten from some) has reconciled him to the idea of ghosts and disembodied spirits as a thing, in general.]

Nothing to see down here but weed for a bit. How are your projects going?

[ She has no good way to describe Ursula as also registering as a person even with... her lack of... collected self being identified anywhere. AI's are a complex subject that remain unplunged for Ellana at this point. ]

Better than I expected. If anyone's interested in taking up crafting, I have a few suggestions I can offer with regards to the armour plating of the sand sharks as well as the table coral's composition. Or rope making with kelp for those facing long nights and idle hands.

[ That's at least what she chooses to assign as "projects" for the moment, even while it's not everything she's "working" on. She can't stay still. Mor than anyting else, it boils down to that fact remaining true. ]

And your own?

Well, we always need rope. And I didn't know you were working with sand shark plating, though I suppose we've been eating it often enough -- anything interesting?

We're making good headway with the poison pod. I admit I've very little idea what Korosensei's doing with the stuff sometimes, but the tests are rather promising. I'd rather have a substance on hand to incapacitate predators than one that immediately kills a swathe of the reef.

It's proven durable and heat resistant, though I wouldn't suggest going out to test that against any significant fires. More field testing is in progress.

It's good to hear Korosensei's been making progress. As you say, having a pointed defense serves us all better in the long run than a more massive, undiscerning response.

Hopefully we won't need to deal with a lot of fire on this planet...though I guess there were some still going on the Aurora when we visited. And -- that's true enough. This world's...very dangerous sometimes, but we're still the visitors, you know?

[He sounds briefly distracted again as he spots something and drops to the bottom; Ellana gets an image of a Writhing Weed sample being carefully tucked into a sample bag.]

Interesting...I've gone quite a way into the kelp now and the connection's as strong as ever.

each little clam here know how to jam here (OPEN MINGLE POST)

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