Entry 34 - Day 18 (Part 1)

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 next to it, like a lock that needed a key.  I'd found a glowing artefact in some scrub earlier which matched the symbol and color on the pedestal, so I matched them up and, et voila, the energy barrier lifted!

Despite everything, I still felt awe inspired walking through that archway into a previously undiscovered alien structure.  I mean, I'm a glorified middle manager in charge of janitorial staff, I am not expected to explore this kind of thing ever!  

It was the same style of architecture I'd seen before after leaving the moon pool, but there was more on this level that I didn't recognise.  The PDA did an automatic scan while I was exploring, but couldn't identify the materials which this structure was made of.  Alterra would love to get their hands on some of this, I'm sure.

Anyway, I came across something that the PDA thought might be a database of some kind and was able to extract some data from it, but couldn't immediately translate it, so I kept going.  Nearby was one of those weirdly glowing crystal cube that I'd seen before, which the scanner read as putting our a fakking tonne of energy.  The PDA theorised it might be a battery of some kind, so I figured I'd take it with me this time, since Alterra would definitely be interested in that!

As I continued further inside I became more awe struck.  This place could be hundreds - even thousands - of years old and I could be the first person walking around it in all that time.  I'm ashamed to say now that I'd almost forgotten about what had happened to the Sunbeam and her crew as I explored deeper.

Eventually I came to a deep shaft with no obvious way down.  I assumed it was an elevator of some kind, so I leaned over the edge to see whether there was a platform or something below, but instead a gravity field or something grabbed me and I tumbled into the shaft!

I hung there for a moment, suspended in mid air, before starting to descend at a fast pace.  To say that my heart was in my mouth at that point would be an understatement, because I honestly thought that I was going to die right there, but the gravity field slowed my fall right down as I reached the bottom and I landed safely.  I checked the PDA and I'd just dropped 90m in a matter of seconds... I was thankful that the energy cube I'd taken earlier wasn't powering this thing.

Anyway, once I got my breath back I started exploring again and found the moon pool where I'd entered before, so I was pretty much back where I'd started that first time.  This time I figured I would push a little deeper and try to get through that other energy field I'd found before.

I remembered seeing another one of those glowing purple key tablets, so I retraced my steps, found it and took it to the pedestal outside that blocked room.  A few seconds later, I was inside and the air felt like it was humming with power.

At the end of the room, on a raised dais between all these glowing pillars, was some kind of interface terminal.  It had this circular unit that reminded me of a biometric scanner and a push button or plate of some kind.  They were both ringed in that eerie green light that seems to emanate from everything that's drawing power in this place.

Stupidly, my curiosity got the better of me (again) and I figured I'd come too far to lose my nerve now, so I reached out and pushed the button...

The fakking thing grabbed me!  I nearly screamed when it threw out a supression field to immobilised me and then jabbed a needle-looking probe into my arm.  Whatever it was looking for, I guess it didn't like what it found, because it made a noise like I'd been refused for a credit loan at one of Alterra's auto-tellers and then the green push plate turned red and wouldn't work anymore.

The PDA pinged to life after that, having partially translated some of the data and picked up more background transmissions from inside this room.  It said this was some kind of Quarantine Enforcement Platform, and it would 'target all incoming and outgoing craft, to prevent the spread of infection offworld'.

I guess that's what happened to the Sunbeam, and maybe what happened to the Aurora too.  We must've got too close when executing the gravity slingshot and triggered this thing.  Just my dumb luck.

The schematics translated by the PDA suggests there might be a way to turn off the power core from this terminal, but it's locked me out for the time being, so that's not going to happen.  I just hope no one else picks up the Aurora's distress call and tries to come here.

Anyway, the PDA had also translated some data about other alien facilities on this planet, so maybe I can find some answer there, but that's something for later.  Right now, I decided that the best course of action was to get out of here and back to the island, so that's what I did.