2 weeks

2 weeks... 

It has been two weeks since I sent a beacon, my desperation to seek rescue and not even a faint acknowledgement reach me. Nothing at all, it seems I am truly lost.

Within those two weeks, I have fortified the hub. I expanded it and reinstalled the wall to 6 meters high using a mix of concrete from limestone and steel as well as brought defensive measures by disassembling point defense turret from LANA and installing it atop of every pillars of the wall. What was once a simple hub with improvised wooden walls became a steel fortress capable of defending me and the resources I have gathered.

I exhale a deeply, my breathe into stillness as I look at the sky above. Hopeless as I might seem; no rescue will come. With no connection to other explorer, this world's resources are the only asset I have in my disposal. And I figures that since rescue is out of the question I might as well use them. Adapting to certain situation is an explorer's main principle, right?

I rode the rover and went to the second settlement I made. As I observe around the rover, I've finally come to familiarize myself with the terrain, though not much of the natural terrain was left after building roads of concrete and asphalt. Soon enough, I found the factory made to manufacture materials I will need to sustain myself in this world. They are diverse, with each and every raw resources being refined and purified to produce materials. 

The factory is big, but certainly not comparable to the size of factories back in the core systems. Its minimalistic architecture made way to its unique residential design despite its dark smoke coming from the furnaces' chimneys. 

Its nature of design was inspired by my artistic desire to contrast the blend of nature against the invasive structures of humanity. It appears that such idea ick my interest in a weird way. Even the road structure here that would've violated the preservation laws was freely constructed here with no constraints.

Regardless of such personal thought, I made my way inside to see the status of the factory. Knowingly, the factory should be proceeding smoothly with stable source of electricity and carefully calculated quantity of raw resources. Each and every one of these conveyor belts' speed are optimized according to the item it delivers. 

As of now, my only capability is to produce electricity using coal and refined oil, refine resources for construction materials, and fuel for the drones. The food is depleting with sources remain elusive. I am sustained, but not indefinitely. Progress, however, is being made. 

Such of that is the research regarding the Magiterium that has been made and it seems that its use will be readily available by next week according to LANA.

She have also researched the body of the predator I had come across and was able to determine its anatomy and dna. The information I got from her suggest that these creatures are entirely alien to humanity. Even more so, they have the magiterium within their body with no further data to gather yet. While unclear, LANA hypothesize that they use it as some sort of life force. Still, such info requires further analysis so we gotta leave things into her capable processory, I am but an explorer after all.

I knit my brows, my left hand massaging my chin as I absent-mindedly scan the screen in front of me. This screen was formerly a part of the ship's viewport that I salvaged and installed in this factory so that I can get accurate information of the place's performance. 

The screen shows wide variety of numbers, from the raw mineral input to the refined materials, parameters in between, and its occasional bottleneck issues. They are all connected to the ship as well, where LANA is, through the use of powerlines made from the coppers we have gathered.

LANA managed everything basically. Every calculation, every optimization of input and output, every resource allocation—it was her doing. She had become the brain of this operation, ensuring that every piece of this intricate puzzle fit together seamlessly.

And I feel bad because of that, I mean... LANA had been working tirelessly since the moment we arrived on this planet. I couldn't remember the last time I let her systems idle. Such thought weighed on me.

"I could always build another AI," I'd once suggested, hoping to share her burden.

Her response was immediate and firm.

[NEGATIVE, ACTION UNNECESSARY]

That was the end of that conversation.

Even now, her decision puzzled me. Was it pride in her capabilities? A sense of duty? Or perhaps a fear—one I hadn't yet understood. Whatever the reason, I respected her choice, even if it left me feeling a bit helpless.

---

The day ended as usual. My routine had become second nature by now: I check on the factory's physical state while LANA do the calculations. Once the checklist was complete, she broached the inevitable topic.

[RECOMMENDING FACTORY EXPANSION]

I didn't argue. I rarely did. LANA's logic was unassailable, and in truth, most of the heavy lifting fell on her anyway. All she required was my approval to proceed—a formality more than anything.

Now, with the factory humming along behind me, I made my way back to the hub. Dusk had already settled, and darkness wrapped itself around the landscape like a cloak. The wilderness beyond the factory was pitch black, the kind of black that swallowed everything whole.

But the journey home wasn't as treacherous as it once had been. The concrete roads, a recent improvement, were lined with guiding lights. They cast a steady glow, illuminating the path ahead and ensuring that both I and the drones could navigate the route without incident.

Or so I thought...

The HUD within my visor turns red blood as warning menu pops up. 

[NEARBY MOTION SIGNATURE DETECTED]

[NEARBY HEAT SIGNATURE DETECTED]

[THREE HUMANOID FIGURES APPROACHING PROTECTED PERIMETERS! ACTION RECOMMENDED]

Fuck... I shouldn't have thought.

My stomach dropped, a cold dread creeping up my spine.

Damn it… I muttered under my breath, cursing myself for tempting fate with my complacency. Of course, the moment I allowed myself to relax, trouble would find me.

I gripped the controls of the rover, forcing it into a sharp turn, its wheels screeching against the concrete as I gunned it toward the hub. "Assemble defense drones and activate point-defense turrets!" I barked into the comms, my voice sharp and clipped.

LANA's acknowledgment was immediate.

[DEFENSIVE MEASURES ACTIVATED STAND BY.

My heart hammered as I sped down the illuminated road. The ominous red glow of my HUD remained fixed in my vision. Please don't let them be too close, I prayed silently, my eyes darting toward the map overlay on my visor.

But then something in the warning caught my attention. I blinked, the realization hitting me like a thunderclap. Humanoid figures? That didn't make sense. The predators I'd encountered before weren't humanoid; their forms were more beast-like, alien in every way. These heat signatures—these were different.

My throat tightened as I spoke again. "LANA, provide further information on the potential intruders. What exactly are we dealing with?"

For a moment, there was only silence, save for the hum of the rover's engine and the thudding of my pulse in my ears. Then a menu appear in my visor.

[ANALYZING DATA...]

[MOTION PATTERNS AND HEAT SIGNATURES ARE CONSISTENT WITH HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY. HOWEVER, NO MATCHES OF ALLIES DETECTED. SIGNATURES APPEAR ARMED AND MOVING WITH INTENT. REMAIN CAUTIOUS.]

Sweet mother of god... This might not just be a wildlife encounter.