MAROONED ON 4546b

  I've swapped out the battery from my seaglide into the flashlight, and I'm leaving the cave before dawn.   Sleep isn't happening and my imagination is just creating devils in the dark, so I'd rather do something to keep busy rather than sit here torturing myself! Hopefully this won't be my final entry before I tumble down the side of a cliff or get eaten by a hungry Starwal.  After everything else I've been through, that would just be embarrassing.

How am I supposed to describe what that felt like, when I don't even know what just happened?  Entering the archway was sort of like wading into liquid electricity, or maybe it felt the same way that super-sour candy tastes?   I don't know.  I feel like I'm trying to describe something unique but I only have my own mundane experiences to rely upon.  How do you describe the sky when you've only ever lived inside? Well, I guess this experience has got me feeling philosophical, so I should probably stick to saying what happened rather than trying to explain it. Okay, I set my PDA to automatically take pics every couple of seconds for as long as it could, in case I wasn't able to operate it.  I had considered leaving it behind with some kind of final message, but thought better off it. I waved my fingers through the energy field inside the arch and it seemed to ripple like water.  Through my gloves, it felt warm and slightly viscose, like heated syrup, but...

  I'm currently sat in a cave on top of the island on which I found the alien structure.  It's cool in here and the area is lit up by the glow of alien technology all around me.  I had thought that the thing I'm now thinking of as the Enforcement Platform would be the only thing on this island, but I was completely wrong. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  After the shock of what happened in the terminal room, I decided to explore the island itself to calm myself down a bit and hopefully find some useful resources or materials. I found some markers made of the same alien material as the structure which seemed to follow a path leading up the side of a hill and into a cave system.  I followed the path inside, well aware that my flashlight was running low on battery and I stupidly hadn't brought any more with me. Climbing higher and higher, following the cables and markers that lined the caves, I eventually came to a much larger area and in the middle of it, und...

I need to talk through what's just happened, because I'm scared as hell and I don't know what to do next.  I'm hoping that talking it out will help me make a decision, but maybe I'm just delaying the inevitable. I went back to the island with the alien structure.  After building my little base, I felt like I needed to confront what happened there and explore the area properly.  Setting foot on that beach, it was as if nothing had happened. I mean, that giant alien gun thing was still there, but there was no sign of the Sunbeam, no wreckage washed up on the shore or anything.  I had expected some kind of atmosphere or something, but there was nothing.  I think made me feel more weird than anything else. Anyway, I decide to approach the alien building from what I presumed was the front door this time, instead of using the moon pool entrance again.  There was some kind of energy field covering the opening, which the PDA suggested was linked to the pedestal ne...

Okay, so it's been a couple of days.  I decided to put my focus into constructing a base, or at least trying to.  Mainly as a way to take my mind off what's been happening recently or to give myself time to process it all. The Fabricator did have the blueprints for a Habitat Builder as part of its survival package, so that was a good start.  Anyway, I'd stored enough titanium and quartz in the pod to be able to make myself a small structure and get it powered with solar panels. It's not much, but at least I have some more space for storage now and I can start making plans for a bigger, more permanent base once I find a good location. I feel better for having accomplished something.  I look at this little place and I'm proud of what I've achieved.  I'm proud that I've survived this long to achieve it.  It means I can survive longer; at least long enough to build somewhere I can call home and start living. I need to stop being afraid of this place. ...