This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#UnderTheSea – April 17, 2016
The Triton manages to return to an upright position, although the water jets kick up even more dust into the water. The swirls of the creatures' movements can be seen, but not the assailants themselves. There is another strike at his back, causing warnings about thruster integrity to appear on the mechs interface, and then, in a sudden blur of dark blue, another strike hits the remaining light, the long shape of the animal flying up
Nathan curses and smashes the ascension thrusters. "You better guide me towards the entry point!" He shouts in reply.
Nathan is pushed hard into his seat as the ascension thruster activates, and the Triton's mass effect fields re-adjust, the eezo core working on overdrive to lighten the weight of the bulky mech. With the darkness outside it would be hard to tell he was even moving were it not for the G-force and the readouts on the HUD.
Harmonia replies to Nathan a moment after takeoff. "The location of the ice shaft is stored in the Triton's navigation interface. You'll need to adjust your course en route, or you'll smash into the ice!"
Jasper continues towards the meeting point, moving at a much quicker pace than before and occasionally using his water jets to propel himself forward.
A large, crab-like crustacean, nearly two meters tall, walks out from a tunnel in front of Nalota, it uses a singular claw extending from its top to scrape coral of the rock walls nearby, paying her little attention. Jasper's trip is so far uneventful still, but as he gets closer to the landing zone, still walking across the vast rocky expanse, it seems as if there are hints of movement in the dark, remaining just outside reach of
his headlights. Nathan's ascent continues in an eerie silence, the only noise the faint thundering of the ascension thruster. According to the read-outs the adjustments seem to be taking, and he's fast approaching the ice. There's only one problem - A large warning has appeared in red text across the hull - THRUSTER INTEGRITY COMPROMISED, POWER FAILURE IMMINENT.
Jasper comes to a quick halt as he spots the movement and fires off a flare. Given Nathan's predicament, he's unwilling to take any chances. "Got movement over here. Prolly nothin' but I'm gon' take my time jus' to be careful. How you hangin' in there, Ten? Shake yer lil' friend?"
Nathan swears loudly over comms, a flurry of german curses. "I don't think I'll make it! Thrusters are damaged!" He tries to figure out some way to make sure he'll survive this.
Nalota stops and takes three pictures. "I see a large crustacean," she says. "I took pictures, but I'll move on before I agitate it." She waits for it to be sufficiently out of the tunnel before continuing on her way towards it.
As the flare lands it briefly illuminates two dark, eel-shark like creatures much the same as the ones that attacked Nathan. As soon as they're lit up they scatter, darting off in different directions, retreating into the dark. The crab infront of Nalota shows no interest in moving. It merely continues to pick at the coral.
Harmonia 's response carries obvious urgency, but she speaks clearly. "Check the readout. Tell me where the damage is."
Jasper swings around, looking off in every direction for the creatures. "Well, these fellers don't look too friendly..." he says softly over comms before he hears Nathan. The worry on his face deepens, "C'mon, Ten. You got this. Jus' pull it together an' shake that sum'biscuit!" He continues forward, firing another flare in his path in hope of keeping whatever those creatures were at bay. "These suckers don't seem to like
the light. You got yerself some flares? Might make 'em think twice 'bout comin' after ya." he suggests.
Nalota is still standing put, hoping that the crab will move on soon. "The crustacean blocks the tunnel, and I see no detour I could take," she says. "What do you advise, Kozma? It's as tall as your average krogan, so I'd rather not have its attention."
The Triton's holographic damage read-out has a red-flashing section in the connection between the ascencion thruster and the mech's power cell. Unfortunately, as he's checking this, there is a shudder, and the thruster dies. There is a brief moment of weightlessness before the Triton starts to fall, slowly according to the readouts as the eezo core is still operating at full capacity. Jasper would find the visible parts of the path
ahead clear as the red glare of the flares illuminates the rock. Behind him is another story, as rushing water is followed by a clank of metal as something strikes his mech from the dark before retreating as he enters the flare light. The crab remains in place, having picked off a small piece of coral, it is now gnawing at it, one of its many stalk-mounted eyes turning to look curiously at Nalota.
Nathan | "............FUCK!" Nathan starts to try and do... something to get him moving again. "The thruster is disconnected from the power cell. I'm falling!"
Harmonia is sounding increasingly stressed as she replies again. "Teralis, try and get the thing to m-... Tennhausen?! Shit! Unstrap yourself and fold the seat up, there's an access hatch behind it, you need to-... fuck, hold on!" There's a loud metalling bang before her comms go quiet.
Jasper is jostled in his seat as the mech stutter-steps forward, barely staying upright. "Ah hell!" he shouts over comms, "Got a frisky one on my side, too!" He remains in the center of the flare's light and fires offf another flare before moving forward, making sure to remain inside of the circle of light. He checks to see how many flares he has left. "Ms. Kozma? You there!? What's goin' on? Aw crapturkeys... C'mon ya'll, we
Nathan quickly moves to follow her instructions. "Harmonia? Harmonia?!" He curses as he looks inside the hatch, trying to gauge the damage. "Jasper, get the fuck out of there. Thrusters, now, use them."
Nalota remains completely still as she sees the crab look at her. "Kozma?" she asks nervously over comms, not wanting to follow partial advice despite how confidently she can guess the last word.
When Nathan opens the hatch sparks fly at him. The power conduit is a broken mess at the lower part that leads down to the power cell. Jasper would find his tactic successful so far by all indications. The eel-creatures continue to swim at the edges of the illuminated water, a flash of movement to the left, another to the right, a dive from above that retreats again as it becomes too bright. The crustacean, having finished gnawing at
the piece of coral, slowly scuttles towards Nalota, still blocking her path. Its legs poke lightly at the mech.
Nalota would find the water above her partially blocked by spiralling rock structures. A narrow ascent may be possible, but tricky. The path back to the landing site is through the tunnel.
Jasper sighs and decides to get a little risky, given the low number of flares remaining. He fires the next flare a little distance away and attempts to propel himself over to it with his water jets, hoping to quickly reach it before the creatures can reach him. "It's workin', Ten! Flares! They don't like the light at all, jus' light them suckers up!"
Nathan 's helmet protects him from the sparks as he examines the damage. "Jasper, any idea how to fix a broken connection to a power cell?" He asks. "Flares? Awesome. Answer to old problem, now I need an answer to this new one."
Nalota keeps the mech completely still, looking down at the creature from within the canopy. "I don't trust my piloting skills well enough to ascend from this position," she says, keeping her voice low. "And my new friend is poking the mech."
Nathan continues to plummet downward, speed still low, but the eezo core is straining, not meant to operate at full strength continuously like this. Jasper's hop is successful, but from the continuing movement in the darkness it is clear that he's attracing a lot of attention. The water outside the red light of the flares seems to be filled with eel-creatures in every direction, their long, slender bodies and darting movements ever
so often caught by the light. The crab starts to slowly, surely, climb up Nalota's mech, quiet metal clinks sounding whenever one of its legs touches the metal. She gets a good view of the creature as it climbs across the viewport - six legs, a mouth surrounded by small grippers, many stalk-eyes and a single long claw-arm.
Nalota brings up her omni-tool to take a few quick pictures of it crawling in front of the viewport, wanting to document it despite how terrified she is. "Goddess, it's climbing the mech," she says over comms in a low, nervous voice. "I don't know what to do."
Nathan flails as he tries to jury rig a repair on the power cell. He looks around and tries to gauge what he could cannibalize from the mech without crippling it in the short run. "Jasssssssssper, heeeeeeeeeeeeelp," he says.
Jasper continues his tactic, firing another flare out, although this time not leaving quite as much of a gap between flares. "Depends on how bad it is, Ten. Jus' gotta make sure the power has a way to travel along. If ya got 'nuff juice in yer omni-tool, I could send ya somethin' to fabricate an' fix it short term, but if yer fallin' you need a quick fix now." He goes quiet as panic begins to set in. "Alright! Alright! I'm
thinkin'!" he says as Nathan's panicked voice chimes over comms, "Jus' gotta find a way to bridge the gap over the broken connection. Anything that'll carry the power along should do. How long ya got 'fore you impact the ground?"
Nathan looks around desperately. "Probably not all that long!" He starts to scavenge bits and pieces from the mech to create a temporary link between the cell and the thrusters. "I'll improvise! Just... just focus on staying alive you ol' bastard and I'll see you up top!" He cuts the link and looks around in the cockpit for something to help him in his
There is little material of use in the Triton's cockpit. There are no loose items, but several other panels exist, all with various wires and other electrical gizmos running through them. The increasingly large group of hostile fish gathering at the edges of the flare's sphere of illumination seems to be growing agitated. As Jasper proceeds ahead several of them dart in despite the light, jabbing at the mech with loud clanks. An
attack strikes his side, another hits one of his headlights, cracking it. The crab continues to crawl over Nalota's mech. It goes on casually down the back, and then returns to the seabed, continuing on its way at a leisurely pace.
Nathan curses, completely at a loss of what to do. He looks to his seat, seeing if there is perchance any metal on it that he could use to act as a temporary link.
Nalota doesn't move yet. "I think it's moving on," she says, her voice still low but less nervous. "I'll give it some time before I continue."
Jasper is rocked back and forth in his mech, groaning loudly as the impact reverberates through the machine. "They're gettin' brave over here! Not sure how much longer they're gon' stay outta the light." he reports as he moves to the center of his sphere of light. Not willing to chance it again, he fires his next flare within range of the light so he can stroll between the two sources without venturing back into the dark. "You
find anything, Ten?" he asks over comms, "You should be able to scrap some nonessential systems to jury rig a way to carry power." As he hears Nalota's voice he lets out a deep breath, happy to hear at least someone isn't about to die. "Good to hear it, sweetheart. Take a moment then get yer' behind back to the meetin' point. If we ain't there when you arrive, go on without us, ya hear?"
Harmonia 's voice comes in over the comms rather suddenly, metal clanking in the background. "Shi-... If you can't make repairs, hook your armor directly to the thruster's power conduit via your omni-tool! That'll-... agh... fucking-... Go. Away!"
Nathan silently praises God, actually glad to hear Harmonia. He follows her instructions, praying that this will work.
Nalota sighs. "I don't want to return to the surface alone," she says. "It... it feels wrong." She starts moving through the tunnel, keeping an eye on the sensors for the large creature.
Sparks fly again as Nathan connects his hardsuit to the thruster, but it flares to life again, and with a jolt he is sent upward, ascending rapidly. Thanks to the struggling mass effect field he has not fallen far, and the ice ceiling soon comes into view above, the water growing less dark. Power is draining rapidly from his armor, and its systems are shutting down one by one. The attacks on Jasper decrease in intensity as he takes
it safely, although a few small jabs still hit the mech, mostly from above. The crustacean is moving on away from Nalota, seeming in no rush.
Nathan whoops in victory, though he grimaces as his suit practically switches off. He then realizes... no one is steering. "Oh shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" He cries as the mech hurtles ever upwards.
Nalota increases her pace when it looks like the crustacean is not pursuing her. "What happened, Tennhausen?" she asks over comms.
Jasper continues with this tactic, hoping to get as close to the hole before ascending. "You alright, Ms. Kozma!?" he asks, upon hearing Nathan's outburst, he winces. "You alright, Ten!? C'mon, talk to us!" He continues forward, moving from flare to flare as he attempts to not drop a dung-potato in his shorts at the mass of creatures waiting for him just outside of the light.
Jasper's unsettling walk back to the landing site continues. As long as the flares remain unbroken the creatures leave him alone, only swimming at the edges of the lit path. Nalota would find the tunnel unchanged from her last visit, at least so far. There is a violent impact as Nathan's Triton strikes the ice ceiling, disloding a considerable chunk of ice on its way up the shaft. It bounces against the sides of the drilled tunnel,
crashing again and again, with the mass effect field providing only limited relief to the rocky climb. Warnings are sounding all over in the cabin now, and there is a crack in the viewport.
Nathan starts chuckling, a mad sound as terror sets in on him. "Uvena, clear the area! Coming in hot! Guys, I may die in the next few seconds so it's been nice knowing yyooooooahahahahaha!" He braces himself for either water flooding in and drowning him or for launching out the hole and returning to sweet sweet land.
Jasper fires his seventh flare, continuing to slowly advance. "Yer gon' be fine, Ten!" he assures the man as he glares this way and that from his viewing window, his eyes following back and forth as shapes dart around beyond his vision. "We still got that cookout to plan!" he jokes, hoping to keep the spirits of the others up despite feeling trapped. "Ms. Kozma? You still with us? C'mon, talk to me girl."
Nalota continues through the tunnel, focusing only on getting out now. "Should I ascend to the surface as soon as I get out of the tunnel?" she asks nervously.
Jasper's path continues mostly undisturbed. Nalota's mech would be pushed forward by a sudden strike.
Nalota gasps. "Something hit my mech," she says over comms, looking over the sensors. She raises an arm to shoot a flare near her feet, just in case it's the same creature as those attacking the others.
Jasper fires his eighth flare up ahead, continuing his route forward. He checks his HUD to see how far from the hole he is. "Flares, Nalota!" he calls out, "Seems ta keep 'em back!"
There's a rush of movement behind Nalota as something swims away, clearly deterred by the flare. Jasper's path goes on, uneventfully, but the eels continue to lurk in the dark, shadowing him.
Nalota continues walking forward, going as fast as she can given her skill and the sluggishness of the mech walking underwater. "The flare seems to be keeping them away for now," she says. "How long do they last?"
Harmonia speaks up again. "I'm-... ngh... almost at the landing site, but they're here! I'm out of flares! I don't thi-..." Another loud crash cuts the message short.
Jasper remains in the center of his eighth flare's glow, looking about for any sign of Harmonia's lights. "Where ya at, Ms. Kozma!? I got two flares left! If ya can see my glow, make yer way over! We'll fire one towards the ice and follow it up!"
Jasper is now approaching the tall rock structures and arches that surround the landing site. Nalota's trip to through the tunnel is currently uneventful, her flare blocking anything from approaching her from behind, at least for now.
Jasper groans, looking upward and very much wishing he could just skyrocket upwards, but he's not the type to leave anyone behind. "Hold onto yer butt, Kozma!" he shouts over comms as he fires his ninth flare right towards the landing site and hammers the water jets, hoping to make it there in one fell swoop with a flare to spare.
Jasper's Triton is fast approaching the landing site, and as the flare lands it illuminates a lone mech surrounded by nearly a dozen of the monstrous eels. They scatter in the newly brought light, all except for one which is stuck in the grip of Harmonia's pincer. It squirms and bashes before being crushed. Jasper is almost at the site when his mech catches a rock formation, a loud impact sending him spinning as he crashes into the
Nalota fires another flare at the ground just to be sure. She is still going through the tunnel at the same pace. "I'm about half-way through," she says over comms.
Jasper's mech skitters across the ground, eyes wide as he tries to figure out where he landed. He slowly tries to reorient the mech, using the water jets to lift himself upright. "What about Ten!?" he calls out, frantically looking about, "The landin' site is overrun, Nalota! It might be better fer you to start your ascent 'fore reachin' us. Keep some flares on hand!"
Jasper would be able to get back on his mech's feet without too much trouble, but the impact has murkied the water around them considerably, nothing but a red mist visible. Harmonia is standing next to him, having just released the dead eel. Others are moving about in the now clouded water. "We need to get out of here! Teralis, report!"
Jasper slowly backs up towards Harmonia until his sensors inform him that she's right behind him. "This ain't good, Ms. Kozma! What're we gon' do? We can't jus' leave her!" he says as he preps to strike out at any eel that might try to swoop in.
Harmonia lets out a frustrated sigh and lifts the arms of her mech to protect the viewport. Eeels are darting around in the murk that surrounds them, but they're not striking yet.
Jasper watches out his viewing window as they swoop all around, frantically trying to come up with a plan. "You jus' go 'head an' get up there, Ms. Kozma!" he finally says, "Make sure Ten is alright. It's our job to make sure everyone is safe, not yers! I'll get her back safely! You can count on it!"
Harmonia 's Triton staggers as an eel attacks. She manages to swat it away with an arm, but not without damage. "Not gonna happen! Teralis is my responsibility! Just keep those fuckers away!"
Jasper holds his ground. "All due respect, but it ain't! It's our job ta make sure ya'll are safe. All of ya'll! Includin' you! We ain't in no position ta argue! Get outta here an' I'll make sure she gets up safe an' sound. Trust me!"
The exit of the tunnel is coming into view up ahead, a faint hint of the light of Jasper's flare visible.
Nalota sighs. "I'm almost at the end," she says. She lifts her mech's arm to fire a flare at the tunnel opening during her approach, in case anything is waiting for her.
Harmonia lets out a frustrated grunt and then slams the ascension thruster on her Triton, shooting up and out of view. Not long after she's gone a trio of eels approach Jasper from behind, two striking at the back of his mech and the third swimming up above and jabbing a round, teethy mouth at the viewport in his mech.
Jasper stumbles back and forth as his mech is knocked around. "Be safe!" he shouts over comms as Harmonia jets upwards. He extends the arm of his mech and makes to swat at the eel striking at his viewport. "Nalota, I'unno how long I'm gon' be able ta hold 'em off!" He extends the second arm, sweeping to his left as he turns, trying to strike at the ones behind him. "C'mon.... c'mon...." he chants to himself as his panic
Nalota exits the tunnel, looking up to see how far she has to walk before having a clear ascent. "I'm out now!" she says over the comms.
The water above seems clear as soon as Nalota is out of the tunnel, but there is clear movement of eel-creatures up there.
The eel attacking the viewport is swatted away by Jasper, but more come in, one taking out his remaining light and another striking hard from behind. A third attaches itself to the viewport, a multi-rowed circle of sharp teeth sucking and gnashing against the hardened material, blocking his vision. Another strike on the Triton's gripper arm, immobilizing it.
Jasper leans back in his seat, instinctively trying to keep himself as far from the creature as he possibly can. "Nalota, sweetheart, yer gon' hafta get up there! I can't keep 'em busy much longer..." he says, the emotion in his voice pretty apparent as his predicament becomes more grim. "Jus'... Jus' count it down fer me, alright? I got one flare left. If you can match its speed, you can ride that sonovabee all the way to the
Nalota aims the flare gun upward. "You're ascending with me, okay?" she says. "That wasn't a question. I'll count down, and we'll both go up. On three... two... one... now!" She fires a flare upward before starting the ascent thrusters.
Jasper swings his free arm wildly at the eels. "Well I sure as a krogan's uncle ain't jus' givin' up!" he shouts, fighting to keep his mech upright. As soon as Nalota finishes her countdown, he fires his flare up towards the surface and the ascension thrusters roar to life as he shoots skyward, hoping to match the speed of his flare.
The eels above scatter at the two flares, a slow one getting hit by Nalota's rapidly ascending mech, a crunch as its spine breaks and it slides off. Several still swarm around Jasper as his Triton starits to ascend, undeterred by the flare that he is not quite able to keep up with. They jab at the legs and the viewport, cracks starting to appear as more of them attach and start to scrape their teeth across it. The mech continues to
shoot upward regardless, but the mass effect core is clearly struggling with the additional weight. Only one arm remains functional.
Jasper picks and swats with his remaining arm, trying to free himself from as many eels as he can. "Come on!" he shouts to himself, glaring at the creatures through his viewport. "I ain't on the menu today, you creepy bastard!" He pushes his thrusters as hard as he can, glaring upwards through the viewport for any sign of the hole in the ice. "You still with me, Nalota!?"
Nalota starts directing the mech towards where the hole should be, looking around for any visual signs of Jasper's mech. "They've left me alone so far," she says over comms. "Except the one my mech headbutted, but I don't think that was its fault."
Jasper nods to himself, a slight smirk tugging at his lips as he hears that Nalota is alright, regardless of whatever fate may await him. "Thatta girl! Don't let these slimey mothersuckers get in yer way!"
They've made it about halfway to the shaft now, climbing rapidly but the distance between them is increasing. More clanking and creaking sound throughout Jasper's mech and warnings about structural integrity are appearing. One is punched away by the Triton's arm, but it seems like the rest are about to break through the viewport, when suddenly a loud, imposing tone sounds throughout the water and several black tentacles appear from
Nalota keeps moving closer to where the hole should be, not having much trouble due to the eels leaving her alone. She doesn't say anything over comms, focusing entirely on not missing that hole.
Jasper doesn't seem anymore comforted by the new arrival. "Awww hell..." he mutters to himself, continuing to push the mech to its limit as he skyrockets upward.
The whale-squid swims alongside Jasper as he ascends, letting out a calm, long singing tone. The two Tritons are almost at the ice ceiling, Nalota entering the shaft flawlessly now.
Nalota sighs relieved at entering the shaft. "Nalota here," she says over comms. "I'm almost at the surface. Don't stand too close to the drill hole!"
Jasper continues to watch the whale-squid. "Alright there, buddy. You an' I gotta stick together, right?" he says, "Seems like neither of us like the creepy-crawlies." He stares at the creature in disbelief, "You sure are a lifesaver..."
Jasper presses a hand up against the viewport, scratching his fingertips at it in a departing wave to the whale before shooting into the tunnel. He takes a deep breath and slumps back into his seat. "Jasper here..." he says softly, drained of all emotion. "...I'm almost out. Somehow..."