Voidwalker Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Collecting Bits and Pieces.

There was no power to the building, and I had no real intention of trying to get this place running despite the builder in me wanting to fix it all. Instead, I started to disassemble things as I went, leaving bare bones of a building behind as I went. Rooms were locked here and there, and a quick use of the Mining Laser, or just cutting through walls, allowed me access one way or another.

I became a regular old Wastelander, collecting junk and breaking it down to base components and materials. The suit’s ability to do this made it worth its weight in gold and whatever else was worth a ton of money. Just in the first three stories alone, I collected a ton of carbon, glass, gold, cobalt, silver, and small amounts of platinum that made up the materials of construction in…everything really.

The literal gold mine however was when I found the storage closet containing things like Freeze Dried food and survival equipment. The gold in this case was six large bags of table salt. Each was one hundred kilograms in weight, and provided a total of six hundred units of Sodium Chloride. Knowing I could get normal sodium from this, I immediately refined it all, and netted myself two hundred units of Sodium.

I immediately spent them on a handful of things.

“Nice” I grinned as I felt my Haz-mat Gauntlets increase the power of my grip. In addition to being able to handle hazardous materials, they also increased my physical strength. I glanced over to the other new items that I had been dancing for joy over.

The Food Processor allowed me to cook food now, and I had immediately created a hundred Silicone Eggs in the ingredient storage. I tried one, and it tasted just like a real egg. Albeit one without any real flavor other than egg, and protein. I didn’t think too hard about how metal can be made into an egg, as I was simply happy to have food other than food pellets now.

Next was the Signal Booster. I didn’t know if it would work or not once I used it, but If not, I could always break it down.

Lastly, and mostly because I had forgotten about it, I had installed the personal refiner in my backpack.

I almost spent sodium on a Shield Lattice as it would increase my Hazardous Protection by twenty percent, but it was expensive. Sixty units of Sodium Nitrate, and I had eighty if I convert the Sodium over. Unless I found more sources of Sodium, then I wasn’t spending it unless I had to. Thus, why getting to the Sodium Nitrate source in the distance is an important goal.

So, I continued, and decided to convert the Sodium into Sodium Nitrate anyways to recharge the Hazard Shield as needed. According to the codex, Sodium Nitrate was six times more energy efficient than standard Sodium. Requiring one a sixth of the fuel to recharge the shield is worth the conversion and use.

It was what allowed me to search the rest of the building over the next hour despite the freezing cold. It was unfortunate that I wasn’t able to discover very much about the reason for the deaths below, nor why the world was what it was. I was able to find someinformation however from some folders and books. What was left of them anyways.

One of the offices I found filled with computer databanks had folders with dates on them. Looking at them didn’t tell me much about anything aside from inward and outward system travel, and the last year recorded.

Apparently, wherever I was, had some form of inter-system traveling with ships going to and from a place called “Coopersville”. People, mostly scientists of various types, and equipment going to other locations about this world. The fact there was a starport somewhere gave me hope and excitement. There might be a way off this iceball, or at least the means to make a way off.

The year however was interesting, as it was “2806”. With the carbon dating of the bodies, that meant the year currently was “3006” or so. I was really off in the far future, assuming this wasn’t “No Man’s Sky”. I wanted to think it was, but with the bodies, and the lack of…various glitches of reality about, plus the stuff you normally run into, I was thinking I wasn’t quite in NMS.

Despite the lack of information, my search of the building was well worth the time and effort. Not only did I find a ton more cobalt and other materials and minerals from batteries and computers, but I also got another motherlode.

Apparently, there was a lot of gold in a safe. Enough, when broken down, to allow me to create a much-needed device.

It was why I was outside despite the cold, and slight breeze making it colder.

“Alright. I have the metal plating, and the Cobalt Batteries, and the gold. Let’s see if this works.”

Entering the commands in, I felt my eyes widen as the Geobay appeared, and my insides jumped as the ground thundered upon the creation of the Exocraft.

“Holy shit!” I shouted, repeating it over and over more softly as I slowly walked around the unit that had been nano-fabricated in mid-air.

The Minotaur unit, a slow, but powerful Exo-craft, that when fully modified could jump great distances and fight Sentinel Walkers on their own terms, and mine as easily as one did with a functional multi-tool.

The colors were a bright white, orange upon the armor plating, with a blue glass cockpit, and black internals.

Smiling widely, I looked upon the Geobay and saw about disassembling it.

“Warning. Disassembling the Geobay will not allow dimensional storage of the Exocraft. If Exocraft is lost, a new Exocraft must be constructed. Rebuilding Geobay enables dimensional storage. Are you sure you wish to disassemble Geobay?”

I blinked, and nodded as I listened. Made sense to me that it wouldn’t be exactly like the game.

I enabled the disassembly, and soon it was just me and the robot.

“Alright. Let’s get in.” I said as I activated its systems. The front of the machine opened upwards, revealing a seat and two control sticks, and foot pedals. Clambering in, once I was secured, the cockpit sealed upon me, and the cold gave way to warmth in a near instant.

“Ahhh~ This is what I wanted. Being in this is the safest option.” I groaned happily.

I took a good look around the cockpit, taking note of what the suit identified. On the upper left, and right side of the cockpit were two radar screens. One showing what I detected in front of me, and the other behind me. They had a scanning range of one hundred kilometers, and I hummed in pleasure at that.

“That will make searching so much easier.”

Below those two screens were additional screens. To the left presented me with environmental data, plus navigational data. Some of it was blank as there wasn’t any connection to satellites, nor was there a map entered except the immediate area around me out to a kilometer. To the right side was a screen featuring my power systems, its fuel reserves, weapons systems (of which there were none), and overall vehicle status. Everything was in the green.

Lastly, before me just under the cockpit window, was what was called a “Geo-Scope”. It’s a Gyroscope, which used the planet’s own gravitational and magnetic field to spin the device at the right speed to keep the machine upright. Right beside it was a hologram of the Minotaur itself, which would show any damaged system as it happened.

The Cockpit Dome itself was also a Heads-up display that provided waypoints, targeting data, and scanning data. The Sodium Nitrate I marked before with my Suit was displayed prominently.

Nodding in satisfaction, I felt ready to go.

With nothing left to gain out of the building, I gave it one last look, and regretted having to leave the people within behind. I almost gave into the urge to give them a burial. I did not. I would rather come back later and recover them for a proper burial in someplace with an actual society that will respect them.

“I will come back for you all. I will.” I promised, before turning around, and began walking. The machine stomped loudly, leaving behind deep prints in the snow, until I hit the jump jets and flew. The machine righted itself as I landed in a slide. I felt my fear spike as I slide, but witnessed the machine’s Geo-Scope activate its auto-balance systems. It kept itself upright despite the slide, and came to a stop soon after landing.

“Okay, that’s scary…”

After a few moments to collect myself, I began again, but more sedately. I was perfectly satisfied with just walking for a time until I got bored and forced myself to get used to the jumping and sliding.

“WOOOO” I shouted as I leapt off a particularly high snow mound before landing and sliding down a hill. I kept sliding, and the machine kept itself upright despite it all. The auto-balancing also kept the shaking to a minimum, so I felt only a fraction of what would probably be a heavy shake-up.

I promptly slammed face first into a giant boulder. It knocked my lights out, and I fell back into my seat dizzily. The machine kept itself upright despite that, and even showed the damage was minimal. The cockpit glass however had a huge spider crack in it.

“Repair required.” The AI spoke up helpfully.

“Yeah yeah.” I grunted as I looked at the damage, and saw what I needed to repair it. Glass and Pure Ferrite. I sat for the next five minutes making the required glass with the refiner, and repaired the machine promptly.

“Right then. Watch where you are going dumbass. Also, things don’t explode out of existence when you hit them here.” I stated dryly, mostly at myself.

Taking more care with my jumps, I made good time as I covered the distance between the building and the Sodium Nitrate. Between the machine traveling over fourteen kilometers per hour (14.4 kph), and being able to jump sixty meters per jump, giving it a speed of one hundred and eight kilometers per hour as it jumps, I was able to cover the distance within ten minutes.

I stopped the machine directly over the spot where the source was located.

“Underground huh? Guess I have to dig for it.”

I didn’t want to get out of my nice, comfortable, warm cockpit, but I did so and walked a distance to begin digging. I dug a ole big enough for the Minotaur to walk through, and ended up digging down about one hundred and twenty five feet before it punched through into a cave system.

“What the hell?”

Scanning into the cave, I looked upon the Stalactites and Stalagmites, and realized that they were made of Sodium Nitrate.

“How the hell did that happen?” I wondered. Getting back into the Minotaur, I walked it into the cave, landing a good fifty feet below the hole I dig out. The machine’s flood lights fill the void and reveal a large pool of water about the feet of the machine.

I exited out, and scanned a handful of water.

“Salt water? It must be close to the ocean, or a salt water spring.” I waved my hand, flinging water away as I looked at the columns of the sought after material.

“Explains how it got to be in this cave. Now, to collect it.” I announced as I began to mine away. Four hours of time pass, with periodic breaks here and there to warm up in the cockpit, and to eat some food. I collected some new plants in the cave system that appeared to be edible with some work by the Food Processor. Steamed Vegetables were the result of the various greens I collected, and coupled with eggs, and salt that I collected from the water and put through the refiner, it was a decent meal all around.

Eventually I couldn’t find anymore Sodium Nitrate in either direction. I netted a total of eighteen hundred units of the material, and that was very important for the construction of new technologies, as well as for refueling the shields and other technologies powered by it.

Taking that into account, I checked what technologies I could install, and once again mentally smacked myself for forgetting some of them could have been added long before now. Of course, it’s only been a day, and I was in a new world and a new situation, so I think I can forgive myself for the lapse.

“Oxygen Recycler, Neural Stimulator, and the Shield Lattice.” I murmured. Installing all three increased my survivability in differing ways, but all were useful and needed. I took note that I had eighteen tech-spaces for the Exosuit, and eight of them were now being used.

“I have no idea how I’m going to expand the slots on this thing, let alone anything else.”

Giving it a moment of thought, I shrugged. “Well, maybe it will come up later when I actually have the means to…” I stopped mid-thought and immediately checked my Codex for “Storage Augmentation”, and found it. I can construct one, just as I can a Wire Loom…but wow, it was expensive.

“Two circuit boards, two poly fibers, a quantum processor, and three wiring looms, for just one augmentation unit.” I stated, shaking my head. Most of these things were not easy to make in the first place, and required other craftable objects to create in the first place.

To get a Quantum Processor, you needed a Super Conductor, and a Circuit board. To get a Circuit Board you needed a Heat Capacitor and Poly fiber. To get either of those, you needed to harvest the plants of No Man’s Sky in abundant numbers. To get a Super Conductor, you needed a Semi-Conductor and Enriched Carbon. To get a Semi-Conductor, you needed Nitrogen Salt and Thermic Condensate. While there were many ways to Nitrogen Salt, you basically needed Condensed Carbon and Nitrogen Gas. For the Thermic Condensate, it was the same, but with Sapphirine instead of Nitrogen Gas. To get Enriched Carbon, you needed Radon and Condensed Carbon.

It was just an entire song and dance of making items to make other items to get the final item you needed to make what you wanted.

“I guess this would explain why it was easier to just find Drop Pods, or go to space stations and buy the space. While a very well accomplished player could do it, most people in-setting couldn’t even come close.”

I flexed my neck and took a deep breath.

“Unfortunately, I have no choice but to get there if I want the higher technologies and blueprints.”

Climbing back into the Minotaur, I gave some thought about the things I needed to do immediately. I still needed to get Platinum. A lot of it. Same for Cobalt.

Setting up the scanner to work with the Minotaur, I scanned for such sources with the greater range. There was one source of Cobalt four kilometers underground, but it was twenty nine kilometers in distance. The other was six kilometers underground, and seventy seven kilometers away.

“Ugh. I’d be better off going after that first one, since it’s closer. Despite being over three hundred degrees in temperature.”

I changed the scan over to Platinum, and found one thirty one kilometers away at a depth of four kilometers. Aside from the first one, this was the only other source I could get.

With a small groan, I decided “screw it” and decided to go after the cobalt as it was closer than the platinum, and I needed that more. The worst part was the two were in opposite directions from the other, which made it a distance of sixty kilometers from one to the other.

Fortunately, the only hiccup of the trip was that there was a steep hill I needed to go around. I ended up stopping when my scanners detected an unknown structure at the base of the hill. Deciding to investigate, I was forced to exit out of the mech, and dig may way down with the Terrain Manipulator.

What I found appeared to be a mine entrance. Getting back inside the Minotaur, I began to walk into the entrance, which was large enough for a machine twice the size in all dimensions. It was heavily reinforced within the entry, so I didn’t feel any danger from a collapse. Walking deeper into the mine I quickly found bodies of what appeared to be miners.

I felt sadness as I stared down at people who were curled up on the ground. I frowned however, as I scanned their bodies, and took note at the fact that they appeared to be flash frozen on the spot.

“This is weird. I have never seen this occur naturally outside of a laboratory or industrial zone.”

My thoughts came to a halt when I turned a corner, and my floodlights unveiled in the darkness a giant. It wasn’t a giant of flesh and blood, but of steel and hydraulics.

It was painted a bright yellow that has been faded with time and exposure, with various bits of damage from working in this mine. The machine stood close to twice the height of the Minotaur, and looked like it had been shut down before the cold hit the place. The door to the side of the cockpit was open, and there was someone in a pilot suit crumpled at the foot of the machine. They clearly died from falling, but the cold likely caused the fall and quickly finished them off.

I stared back up at the machine, and the word “Dibs” filled my head as I exited out of the Exocraft.

The cold was deep, but with the Shield Lattice installed, the Hazardous Defense system allowed me to stay out in this for two hours, eight minutes, twenty-four seconds.

Jetting up to the cockpit, I looked at the control set up and noticed it was like that of construction vehicles I was used to. There were extra steps due to foot pedals and various gauges and screens placed around the cockpit.

Seeing the fuel gauge, it was marked empty. Glancing out and to the rear of the machine, I saw exhaust pipes sticking up from behind the machine.

“A diesel engine. Never goes out of style.” I said with a grin. Still, this thing was long cold, and dead. I had no idea if I could even do anything with the machine. Jumping back down, I scanned it to see what I can get from it. It took a solid two minutes to scan the machine, but upon completion, it gave me a basic overview of it.

Artificial musculature, hydraulics, power transference, gyroscope, control systems, and so on. It gave me everything, and more.

“Blueprints unlocked. Would you like to claim Exocraft Vehicle?”

“I can claim this?! Hell yes!” I shouted, claiming the machine which instantly gave me a rundown of its internal systems and what I needed to get it running. It was all covered in red from damaged systems, but not as much as some ships from No Man’s Sky when you found them.

The engine has seized completely, but I can repair it by destroying it. I immediately do so and the engine is gone. I then activate the “Daedalus Engine” construction, and filled the three slots with the needed materials. Two Hermetic Seals, four Carbon Nanotubes, four Metal Plating, one hundred units of Pure Ferrite, and two units of Hydraulic Wiring.

The Engine was complete, and I began to repair the other items of the machine. The Artificial Muscles were repaired with Carbon Nanotubes and Magnetic Resonators. The Hydraulics were replaced by better versions. The armor plating was repaired with eight metal plates. The Cockpit was repaired with mostly minerals and a few Hermetic Seals. The Gyroscope was replaced with a Geoscope, now present in the cockpit. Lastly, the Motive Systems just needed repairs.

the only thing I needed to add was the environmental protection systems since they were not present already in some form. It was simple enough to add in thanks to the minerals and items I had already, but my Cobalt and Pure Ferrite was nearly gone now. Even so, the machine was able to take extreme environments now, just as the Minotaur could.

All of this was done within five minutes.

With it complete I got into the cockpit, which was straight up teleported me since I was on the ground. I noticed immediately that I was no longer wearing a backpack.

“Huh, makes sense that I would not be wearing one. It would be awkward as hell in a starship, and Exocraft.”

Checking things over, I was satisfied, and immediately refueled the machine with Oxygen and Carbon. With a rumble, the long dormant machine activated.

In seconds, the machine went from a long dead giant, to suddenly standing upright and moving fluidly.

“Fuck yeah!” I shouted jubilantly. I quickly exited out of the machine, which teleported me to the ground, and constructed the Minotaur Geobay. Depositing the Minotaur into dimensional Storage, I disassembled the Geobay, and got back into the giant mech.

“Alright. Let’s see what we can see.” I said as I activated the scanner, just letting it scan out around me. It lit up every single mineral, compound, and object within a kilometer of me, and that’s when it alerted me to the nearby abundant resource.

“Several metric tons of Bauxite in large deposits in the mine.” I murmured as I checked what Bauxite was, and my eyes widened as I saw what it was refined into.

“Aluminum HO! I want my Wire Looms!” I shouted as I turned about and walked deeper into the Mine.