Voidwalker Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Workin’ my way downtown.

It took me the better part of four hours, but I managed to get all of the Bauxite the Mine had left. Six thousand, eight hundred and forty units. It cost me a good amount of fuel, but within a half hour, I possessed three thousand, four hundred and twenty units of Aluminum.

I had enough to make seventeen Wire Looms, save one issue.

“Now I must get that damned Cobalt. More than ever.”

Given the machine I now had however, getting to the place might be fairly fast. The machine is capable of a maximum speed of 65 Km/h according to the readouts. Huh.

“Can I add jump jets?” I asked as I checked. Looking at the machine again, I noticed the lack of an inventory for the machine, and nodded.

“Right. Not an NMS machine. Gonna have to add one I think.”

Looking at both, I noticed I already had Jump Jets. I blinked, and looked at the hologram and nodded as I saw the large pack on the back.

“Alright then.”

Looking for an Inventory option, I found one, but grimaced when I saw what I needed.

“5th Dimensional Torus. Five Microprocessors. Two Magnetic Resonators. A Quantum Computer. Five Carbon Nanotubes, four Wiring Looms, and one unit of Anti-Matter. Yikes.”

What did I need to make the Torus though?

“Four Metal Plating, four Magnetic Resonators, a Quantum Computer, three Solar Mirrors, and five Wiring Looms. Fuck me…” I groaned as I stared in disbelief.

“Welp. No Inventory then. Guess I gotta carry it all myself.” I shouted, shoving the matter away because screw that!

As I began to walk out of the Mine, I stopped by the entrance where there was still a small shack. Checking inside, there was nothing save a few computers, which I harvested for materials. On the wall however was something worth its weight in gold.

“Oh god, finally, a MAP!” I shouted as I began scanning it. Upon finishing the scan, I marked down the roads and the locations of the Space Port and small city near it. Aside from these places, and the building I had been at, there was not much else marked down.

“Alright, let’s get that Cobalt and get to the city. See if we can find anyone else alive on this rock.”

Leaving the Mine, I quickly realized that the machine was much faster at running than it was at jumping. It could only jump one hundred and twenty meters, twice the distance of the Minotaur, and took twice as much time to recharge. So, I just sat back and allowed the machine to run over the landscape, with only a few jumps here and there. It was relaxing really.

It took me only twenty minutes to reach the spot above the Cobalt.

“Four kilometers down. Also, I cannot take the mech down because it’s too big for the Borehole I will be digging. So, I got to go on foot.”

Getting out, and setting the machine to standby, I began to dig into the ground, purposefully travelling down in a spiral as I went. The temperature stabilized as I got deeper, and then began to rise as I passed one thousand feet. It went from minus seventy, to plus seventy, to one hundred and eighty Fahrenheit as I reached the destination.

“Thank god I have Sodium Nitrate, and a stronger shield.” I said, once more, as I neared the Cobalt. My scanner marked it through my HUD, and I dug into the ground just beside it. Shifting the radius of the manipulator to its highest, I dug about the mineral until I exposed an entire section of the vein.

Then, switching to the smallest, I got to work mining the thing out. I felt disappointment as the vein was tiny, but I had to make the most of what I could get. With the smallest mining radius, I was able to maximize the amount I got out of it, but it was still very time consuming. I mined for nearly an hour and a half when I finally got it all. I made sure to eat and drink as I worked, feeling tired as I was nearing the end of the day.

It was worth the effort however, as I managed to get four thousand, two hundred and forty units of Cobalt.

“Alright. Let’s get out of here before I burn up.” I grunted as I began my way back up. I wished I had a bike or something, as I felt the weight of the day finally begin to take its toll. I trudged on however, as I’d rather sleep in a nice warm cockpit than on the hard ground, underground.

It took me an hour and a half to finally reach the damned surface, and more than once I grouched about being so damned tired. Fatigue hit me hard half way back up.

“I could have just dug down and rocketed back up, but noooooo, I wanted to do it safely.” I grouched.

I labored as I reached the mech, and allowed it to teleport me into the cockpit. It was nice and warm, and I just sat, letting my everything just relax.

“…there’s a good amount of space in this cockpit. Can I make a bed?”

Checking it over, I was surprised to find I could create “Pilot Accommodations”. It took condensed carbon, Pure Ferrite, Oxygen, Cobalt, Metal Plating, and a Food Processor. Immediately made a new Processor, and placed all the needed items, and I heard a hiss behind me.

Behind me was a bed, with fans for white noise and air circulation, and a clock that was set to “00:01”. Beside that was a mirror with a small toilet, and sink, and opposite to it was a food processor made for the space. It was a home away from home. It did make things a bit cramped, but I didn’t care.

“Bed~” I moaned happily as I clambered around the cockpit and laid down. I was out within minutes.

When I next came to, it was dark outside, and I could hear the wind howling. It was still nice and warm within the cockpit however. Looking at the time, it was “10:16”. I was still tired, and now lethargic, but I was rested.

Doing my business, which was interesting since the suit accommodated me for the use, and eating a meal of Eggs and vegetables, with a large glass of water to finish up, I got into the pilot seat and got to work.

Creating all seventeen Wire Looms gave me a sense of accomplishment. Finding Bauxite will be necessary in the future for wide production, but I had the Looms I needed now.

I started by completing the Waveform Recycler for the scanner, and the Advanced Mining Laser. With these I can increase my scanning range, and what I can mine.

I followed this up with installing a Boltcaster, its Barrel Ionizer, and its SM upgrade. So, I was now armed beyond just the laser which was likely deadly to humans already due to molecular combustion.

I felt each Wire Loom spent like a physical hit as I used them on things that may have been better off not being done until later. Still, I can always break them down if I needed to.

Now the important part.

Looking at the Mech’s Tech inventory, I had a host of space for various things. I began by installing a Minotaur Laser. It appeared as a turret on top of the “head” of the machine. Its rotation allowed to function as a turret, with an upward angle of seventy degrees, and downward angle of forty-five degrees. I discovered, to my surprise, that I could install a second one on the same turret. So, I did. I couldn’t install any other weapon or upgrade because I didn’t have the blueprints, but I could install the Minotaur Bore. It did so, and I felt it appear as much as I saw it appear on the hologram.

“Ooh. Chest Gun.” I noted as I looked at the chest of this machine. It appeared as a ball turret with a barrel sticking straight out. Its firing arc with anything within its firing arc, which, with a sixty-degree angle of aim, was a good amount of anything provided its in front of the machine.

Making certain to power all weapons and tools, I felt satisfaction that I spent all I needed for the time being. I now had eleven Wire Looms left to use, so I had to save those others for a rainy day.

“Alright. Until I need more resources, I think I got everything I need for the moment, except for a base.”

Touching the navigation panel, and looking at the map compared to where I was, I pressed down upon the city and marked it.

“Navigational Data Inputted. Projecting path. Auto-Navigation System enacted” The AI announced. A line formed on the map, and appeared in my HUD, and the mech began to walk on its own towards the destination.

“Huh. I didn’t intend for it to move on its own. Guess it was already a part of the system.” I said with a shrug. Allowing it to do its thing, I just sat and watched the world pass by as the machine walked towards its destination.

It took me two hours and fifteen minutes, but I reached what was the settlement of “Coopersville”. When I was on the approach, I noticed various things hidden beneath the heavy layer of snow. Vehicles mainly, but also trees, and buildings. It was a regular winter wonderland of the post-apocalyptic variety.

I was feeling somber as I gazed upon the remnants of what was once a community long dead. Too much of it was buried to know what was there, aside from the fact there was an entire town under thirty or so feet of snow. Only big trucks, light poles, and taller buildings were visible.

With a scan-wave, I got a look at potential sources of materials and minerals. I also got a list of various buildings that appeared on the HUD, buried or not.

With little to say, and less to see, I continued forwards. Loud thumping of the footsteps of my machine being the only sound I can hear.

Outside of the northern limits of the city was my destination. The Space Port. It didn’t look all that different from Anchorage International. Control Tower near what appeared to be the port of entry. The HUD showed me what it was supposed to look like with the Scanner, and the Tarmac was huge, along with a pair of very large runways.

Going around the port, I looked upon what was left of the boarding gates. There were a half dozen of them on the east side, but none with anything connected. Turning the corner however, I grinned a little as I saw a single large spacecraft.

“Jackpot.”

Parking next to the delta winged craft, I teleported out of my machine and got a good look at it.

It was large. Not as large of the “737” aircraft I flew on when traveling, but twenty-two meters is nothing to sneeze at. Even so, it was tipped on its side, wing destroyed, and nose gear busted. This in turn broke the nose and in turn the cockpit of the craft. Plus the rest was falling apart from sitting for so long. Even so, I can fix this…I hope.

“Let’s try.”

I scanned the craft, and upon completion, the craft was entered into my databanks.

“Space Ship marked. Would you like to claim it?”

“Yes.” I affirmed, getting an overview of the vehicle. Interestingly, it was considered a “Hauler” type, with a several small inventories and small number of tech slots. It was also a wreck, with so many different systems torn up. A lot to fix, but nothing beyond my experience when it came to No Man’s Sky. Thank God I had Nano-Construction technology otherwise this would be impossible for me.

With the Craft becoming mine, I began to see to repairing it with what I had. The craft lacked a Hyperdrive, a Pulse Drive, and Deflector Shield. It also didn’t have any weapons. It would have been one thing if they were simply installed but needed repairs, or already having a space for the technology, but not installed, such as it would be for the Hyperdrive. Then it would be simply a need of providing materials. No, I had to fabricate the things from scratch.

Plus, to my surprise, I needed to install a “Nanotech Command System” which handled electrical devices, wiring, computer circuitry, and the repair and construction systems for a vehicle. It made sense however since this vehicle clearly wasn’t something from No Man’s Sky. It could cost five hundred nanites, plus a few microprocessors and carbon nanotubes, or it could take eight Wire Looms. I didn’t have Nanites, so I bite the bullet and used the Looms.

With it installed, suddenly the ship inventory system expanded quite a bit and connected all slots together. Now I had fifteen tech slots instead of just four, and thirty inventory slots.

“Sweet!” I cheered, before carrying on.

Replacing the Fusion Engine, and replacing it with a Pulse Engine was simple. I even got several new Wire Looms out of the deal, and gave it a brand-new Pulse Engine. Of course, I couldn’t finish it because I was lacking in Microprocessors. It was also expensive as it took my new Wire Looms, plus two more, leaving me with one. On top of it, it needed Carbon Nanotubes, Hermetic Seals, and Magnetic Resonators. In the end, I only need the five Microprocessors, and it would be done.

The Launch thrusters were easier to do as the machine already had a form of them, and it was easy to fix and upgrade them to NMS-Standards. Upon repairing this, the gear was restored, and the craft was upright again. It was an interesting process of seeing the craft being lifted by the formation of newly constructed parts. The gear no longer had wheels either, but landing skids since it was a VTOL craft now.

For the Deflector Shields, I needed the blue prints for the Shield Battery mainly, and four Magnetic Resonators, and ten Carbon Nanotubes. Until I got that blueprint, it will remain unfinished.

For the Hyperdrive, it was also expensive with several things I had no access to. I needed a Super Conductor, three quantum computers, two quantum processors, Four Magnetic Resonators, Hermetic Seals, chromatic metal, carbon nanotubes, and more. It was going to be a pain and a half.

“Let’s focus on the easier things first. Before even that however…”

I wandered out onto the tarmac about a hundred feet away from the Mech, Hauler, and boarding gate, and then placed a Base Computer down.

For the next twenty minutes, I constructed a larger building than the shack I started with. It was a simple cube building that was three stories tall, with several rooms for a variety of different things. The bottom level was where most of the industry was done, the second level being mostly open air with an open floor for more stuff, and the third story where I had my bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.

It was not fancy. It was positively utilitarian in fact. I didn’t care because I needed a place to sleep and work, not a home.

Placing down the Construction Research Unit, the base was complete for the time being. I sighed happily as I considered the job well done.

“Alright. Now comes the hard part…I need to get nanites to buy blueprints. So, that means Platinum.”

I walked over to a chair I had made near a “drinking” table, and began to sip on the water in a bottle that appeared from the table.

“With the modifications I made to the mech, I can now dig down to those deep places without exposing myself to the intense heat. Plus, with the environmental shield, it can take the heat easily. It is just a matter of actually getting to those places, and digging down.”

I frowned. “Some of those places are super deep though. I have no idea how thick the mantle of the world is. I could end up going right into a pocket of magma, or jump starting a volcano.”

I rubbed my chin, ruffling the thick beard that had grown upon it from not shaving for the winter.

“Even so, I cannot get Platinum for any other source, and by extension, no nanite clusters.”

I wandered over to the construction research unit and looked at the recipes I needed to purchase for the ship repairs specifically. Then I did the math, and grimaced.

“I would need Eighty-Seven thousand, five hundred units of platinum just to create the nanite cluters to buy these things. Then there’s the whole problem of some of these things I need possibly not existing in this world.”

I sighed. “Alright. Let’s focus on…the Pulse Drive, and the Deflector Shield. It’s ironic that the Photon Cannons are exactly what the recipe calls for. Pure Ferrite and Sodium Nitrate. So I need…five hundred nanite clusters. That’s seventeen thousand, five hundred units of platinum…”

I give a growl of frustration. “If it’s that much just for two things, I might as well just get enough for everything!” I wanted to kick something when I paused.

Wait…maybe I’m being too hard on this. Maybe it’s not as hard as I am thinking it is. I’ve been rather fortunate with the things I have been able to get, especially that Activated Indium, but really…now that I have the Mech, how hard would it really be to get what I actually need? Aside from time spent?

I sighed, again.

“It means leaving my new, cozy base, but I need to. Dammit.”

I paused as I stood up, other things coming to me now that I had time to think about my situation.

“I also must contend with the fact that I have not yet discovered what happened to this world. Why it’s a frozen hellscape full of the dead.”

My lips flattening to a line. I had to search the city for clues. I had to search buildings, and that meant needing materials for upgrading my Exosuit. I will find them both as I scour the ruins. Maybe I can find living people somewhere?

I paused and slapped my forehead. “Goddammit! I didn’t even think to look for heat sources! There could be people around and I didn’t even notice!”

I took a breath and focused. “Alright. There’s a lot for you to do. Let’s just finish what we need for the base.”

Wandering over to the Medium Refiner I had installed; I began to think about how to achieve the goal of various resources I didn’t have access to. The portable and personal refiner showed me there were many ways of getting things, but they were costly if you didn’t do it the way the game forced you to. Unfortunately, many of the items I needed weren’t on this sort of world in the first place.

“Okay. So, I need Nitrogen. The best way to do that is to pull it out of the atmosphere with the Harvester. I however do not have that blue print, and even if I could build it…I need ammonia.” I rubbed my beard roughly.

“So…wait a minute.” I paused, and looked out the window towards the space port.

“Could it be that simple?”

I used the scanner, targeting Nitrogen in all its forms. I got a hit from just five hundred meters away. Looking towards the direction, I saw tall storage tanks for what I assumed to be fuel.

“Nitrogen is used, along with oxygen, to create a breathable atmosphere on spacecraft. So, it makes sense they would have some stored here.” I said with a small grin.

Wandering out to the huge tank, I immediately sought to harvest the gas from it, and found the output lines used to fill trucks. Using the fabrication system of the Exosuit, I created a unit access. I was pleased to see the one thousand liters stored within. I filled five of my inventory slots with five hundred liters of the liquid, and placed it into my medium refiner. My eyes boggled upon seeing one unit of Liquid Nitrogen equal six hundred and ninety-five point eight units of Nitrogen Gas.

“Wow…I have more than I will ever need.” I murmured as I began the process. It would take four minutes, ten seconds to give me the maximum amount the refiner can give me. While that happened, I quickly constructed two more medium refiners, seeing the need for them, and placed more into them as well.

Overall, it took forty two units of Liquid Nitrogen to get the maximum number of units the refiners could make. Five minutes later, I took all the Nitrogen Gas and placed them into a single refiner.

Once more my eyes boggled, but at the amount of time it would take to convert Nitrogen into Sulphurine.

“Seven hours and forty three minutes!?” I shouted aghast, before calming down, though now just frustrated.

“Well, at least I can use that time to…do other things.” I grumbled. Only to stop once more, and thought.

“Wait…I have three refiners. I can do all three at the same time.”

Breaking the units down to a third of the total, and placing that third in each refiner, I quickly found that the time was reduced to two hours and thirty four minutes.

“That’s much more tolerable!” I cheered as I began the process for all three refiners.

With a spring in my step, I began to look at the mech, and planned.

“Alright. We’ll go into the town, and see what we can find.”