Starborn: Origin of the Stars

Robin saw that Patience was still torn between beating them up and taking part in the repair procedure. Since he didn’t want to see her explode for real, he quickly directed the attention to another topic.

“Oi, Ang’Tue, what about all this…?” He asked and motioned at the blood on the stretcher and his body.

“Ah right, no worries. This laboratory is designed for these kinds of bloody work.”

“You mean, it’s a slaughterhouse?” Patience grumbled.

“No! No, no, no - it’s for researching genes and associated ‘practical testes’. These often tend to be bloody… for Eltaran at least.”

“No wonder, you rammed like 100 spikes in my back!” Robin cursed under his breath but then remembered his mission to distract Patience, “Great, so no worries then, right?”

“Yes, you can step into one of the tanks over there.” Ang’Tue said and pointed at the creepy looking water tanks he noticed before, “For the blood here…”

The man pressed a few buttons and with a hiss, steam was blown over the bloody table. Immediately it began to sizzle and the metallic stench in the air multiplied for a moment before it vanished in just a few breaths. When the steam dissipated, only a clean stretcher remained.

“That actually was impressive!” Patience exclaimed and looked over to the bloody Robin, “You! Get yourself cleaned and put on some clothes or are you into streaking now?”

Robin didn’t dally around any longer and quickly stepped into one of the tanks. It closed on its own and comparable to a fancy shower, liquid was sprayed from above and the sides. Soon, all the blood was washed from his body and vanished in a drain in the floor.

When he came back out, Robin saw Patience already lying on the stretcher with a few needles in her arm.

“How is it?” He asked the Eltaran.

“She has a standard strength mutation with one upgrade. The repairs should help her body to better sustain the immense power coming from her muscles.”

“What does that even mean?” Patience asked from the side.

“This stuff is not my field of expertise, I’ve not done that very often. I don’t know what each mutation’s repairs will cause. Your friend Timothy, the researcher, would probably know more. But rest assured that is a pretty basic process, the machine does it completely on its own. It normally isn’t very painful, as not too much is getting changed.”

“Fine, let’s get this over with.” She agreed.

Robin observed as Ang’Tue initiated the process from the station on his desk. Some lights began to blink and ROMAS quickly identified them as a ‘positive green’.

“How long will that take?” He asked after a few minutes.

“Not more than half an hour. She got a cocktail injected as well as something akin to a radiotherapy to instantly initiate the process and then…” The old man explained but suddenly was interrupted by a sickening crunch of something breaking. Before anyone could realize what was happening, Patience roared like a wild animal and began to thrash around, threatening to get tangled up in the cables from the machines that were still connected to her body.

“What is happening?” Robin asked with panic in his voice when he heard more crackings… “Fuck, are those her bones breaking?”

“I have no idea, but we have to get the sensors out of her body so she doesn’t get hurt!”

Both men rushed forward and tried to restrain the raging and screaming Patience. However with her upgraded strength mutation, she really was a beast. Ang’Tue caught a random hit on his right shoulder and Robin saw the man actually perform a backflip on the spot. Luckily he managed to pull out two needles - only one remaining.

He winced when he heard an extra loud crunch from Patience's back and the screaming became more high-pitched. Immediately afterwards, his friend went limp and lost consciousness. Ang’Tue, back on his feet, checked her pulse and nodded.

“She is only knocked out. Get Mr. Reed down here!”

Not hesitating, Robin rushed out of the room and hurried up the stairs.

It was still dark when he stepped out of the facility and back on the island. The fire was already extinguished and he needed a moment to orientate himself.

The intensity of the storm has risen

Severe thunderstorm imminent: 97%

“Okay, not cool. But I have no time for bad weather now. I need to get Timothy to Patience!” Robin scolded and called loudly for his friend over the howling wind.

Chance of surviving the storm without taking shelter: 23%

Resort priorities?

“What the…?”

“We need to get Keran out of the storm!” Timothy yelled when he finally came closer.

“No, he is in no condition to be moved right now.” Robin denied, “Also, something went wrong with the repair of Patience genes. She was in massive pain and at some point fell unconscious… Timothy, I heard her fucking bones breaking!”

“You… ARE YOU CRAZY??? You didn’t narcotize her before the therapy? Are you stupid? What did you think would happen?”

“Well, Ang’Tue assumed her body would adapt to be better at supporting her strengthened muscles or something.”

“YES! Exactly! Burn in plasma, you idiots! That means her bones and tissues get a full rework. That takes at least 4 hours and is one of the most painful processes you can go through!” Timothy explained in exasperation. “You didn’t tell her before?”

“Uhm... oh...” Robin stammered when he thought back at Ang’Tue’s exact explanation.

He said ‘It normally isn’t very painful’

Probability of Patience agreeing with that description, considering her body’s momentarily state: < 1%

“Oh fuck…”

Timothy quickly rushed into the laboratory to check on Patience, even though there probably wasn’t much he could do anymore. Meanwhile, Robin stayed at Keran’s side and observed the storm in the sky.

“ROMAS, help me set the correct priorities, please.”

Secure your survival

“Yes, great, we agree on that. Are there any more steps to this great plan of yours or is that all?”

Checking stored data

…

Secure your survival

Take shelter in the laboratory

Secure survival of your team

Get your crew in the laboratory

Keran survives the transport: 32%

Leave Keran outside

Keran survives the storm: 2%

Use the Melody II as cover

Keran survives the storm: 8%

“Okay, chances are shit in any case. We could build a stretcher to get Keran down, right?”

Using parts of the beds in the living quarter

Keran survives the transport: 91%

“That’s way better, good!” Robin sighed with relief.

Keran survives more than 7 hours: 17%

“Fuck, right. I need to get the Hubble here or anyone else if that’s an option. Ang’Tue said he can extend the time for around 12 hours, giving us a total of 19 hours left. Still not much time. How long does the outbreak of the storm normally last?”

Referencing historical data

10 hours minimum

15 hours average

31 hours maximum

“Burn in plasma! That is too long… no one will be able to come here while the storm is raging, even if I managed to send out a SOS. Damnit, what to do?”

He couldn’t wait any longer and needed to send out a call for help as soon as possible. That was what he could control - regarding the storm’s duration, he was helpless and could only hope for the best.

He was a technocrafter, so if anyone could do something to call for help, it was him. Quickly he ran back down into the facility. Patience was still unconscious and Ang’Tue looked like he already got the scolding of his life from Timothy.

“The storm is flaring up. Dismantle one of the beds and craft a stretcher to get Keran down here. Ang’Tue after that, please do what you can to extend his life. Timothy, come up when you are done and help me. I’ll try to build something to get out a message.”

“You don’t have much time, the weather is getting worse by the minute.” Timothy said.

“I know, on my way.”

After Robin was back outside and he checked on Keran once more, the first rain set in.

Time was running out.

He covered the man with some sheets he brought from inside and sat down. In his mind he began to sort out possible ideas. When the others came to fetch the patient 10 minutes later, the rain had grown to a solid downpour. Robin put on his helmet and gave a sad sigh.

“It’s our best option, isn’t it?” He asked and ROMAS quickly confirmed his guess.

Probability of contacting the Hubble: 74%

“Ugh... damnit!” Robin cursed and got up. He quickly walked over to the Melody II and patted her winglets as he had done it all so often before.

“Sorry girl, this will really hurt…” He muttered and grabbed the toolbox from the cargo area. With fast, trained movements he began to dismantle different parts of his beloved ship.

When Timothy was back and informed him of the successful transfer of Keran, at least one worry was resolved. The storm however got even worse, strong winds made the heavy rain bash against his suit and the temperature dropped even further.

“Ang’Tue is preparing something for Keran to buy him time and Patience is still unconscious but the process seems to work as intended. Though, I’m unsure how she will react when she wakes up…” Timothy awkwardly said.

Robin couldn’t play that game for now and directed the attention on the many parts laying on the ground.

“I have nearly everything I need. Only the most critical part is missing.” He explained and showed him the things he disassembled from his ship. Two steering nozzles, the two small winglets, one of the systems in the cockpit and the casing from the pre-ignition chamber from one of the thrusters.

“What do you need me to do?” Timothy asked.

“I have to get to the repulsor. We need to extract the energy converter…”

“What? Are you crazy? There are good reasons why these things are not to be dismantled.”

“I know, but we are missing an usable energy source. That is the only option I can see, but I’m open for alternatives. Just hurry up, the storm is getting worse by the minute!”

“With our suits we should be safe from anything bad weather could throw at us. They are literally made for spacewalks, what else could… FUCK!”

As if to answer Timothy’s question, a huge blade of ice impaled the ground a few meters to their side. The low temperatures, together with the strong winds and rain, gave birth to some really deadly projectiles that randomly flew around.

“Okay, I agree, hurry up!” He exclaimed in panic and Robin immediately began to dismantle the last parts. The repulsor was too big to get it out as a whole, so he had to take the conversion-unit while they were still out here in the storm. Which was a fucking stupid idea, since even under optimal conditions this was quite the risky operation.

Carefully Robin began to loosen the screws that held the casing.

“Tongs!” He said and Timothy gave him the tool.

Slowly and without damaging any of the electronics inside, Robin removed the plate and handed it over to his friend.

“Nippers!”

…

Over the next few minutes cables were cut, screws removed and circuit boards dismounted. The storm got more angry with time and the two men heard impacts and shattering ice more frequently.

Before he started his final step, Robin checked the repulsor with his mutation. The stress from before hadn’t allowed him to check if his G-Anomaly really had changed, but so far everything felt just like ever. Blue lines appeared in his vision and highlighted the converter which was permanently under high voltage.

“I just have to avoid touching the encasing of...” He was interrupted by an ice projectile that hit the Melody’s side and shook the whole ship.

“Fuck!”

“We have to go, the ice parts are getting bigger!” Timothy shouted from below.

“I know, I’m nearly done…”

Once more he concentrated on his mutation and slowly pulled out the conversion unit. If he made contact with the casing, the whole repulsor would be fried together with Robin himself. While that was already not preferable, the real problem was that this was their only chance to get the power supply for this little project. If he breaks that, not only would they unable to use this method anymore, the Melody also was out of order by now. They would be really stuck here.

Slowly, millimeter by millimeter he pulled back the module. The wind shook the ship and his hands wanted to shake but Robin soldiered on. He concentrated so hard on the blue energy he saw and wished for it to slow down, reducing the risk of anything happening if he touched the wrong place by accident, that he somehow got the feeling that it really did exactly that…

The pulsing of the blue lines calmed down, everything became more serene - as if a sudden peace fell over the ship.

In this trance-like state Robin separated the two pieces and took a deep breath. Finally!

Immediately he jumped from the ship and collected the other things together with Timothy. Now was not the time to ponder about this strange event.

Back in the laboratory, he sunk to the first chair he found and calmed his racing heart. That was too stressful. However, there was no time to rest just yet. Together with Timothy he began to assemble the small project. His friend already began to program parts of the steering system he got from the Melody’s cockpit and set new parameters.

Time flew by and only when they finished the crafting process, did they check on their surroundings. Patience was still unconscious, as was Keran. However, Ang’Tue had prepared something for the man to optimize his nutrition.

“Close to 5 hours have passed. The storm is still raging outside, Patience should wake up any moment now and Keran’s timer is down to 12 hours. That’s the best I could do.”

“Thanks mate, let’s hope that it will be enough.” Robin said wearily and inspected the result of their work.

The thing they had built looked like a small, crappy version of a drone with two wings to the side and a completely oversized thruster in its rear. It wasn’t longer than 50 cm but heavy as hell. Definitely not something optimized for flying.

“You are sure that will do?” Robin asked while Timothy checked the drone.

“Yeah, it is a little heavy but that will help it stay on route in the storm.” The researcher confirmed.

“Good, then let’s get this thing flying and hope our people catch the signal!” Robin said and picked up the drone.

Together with Timothy he warily stepped out of the facility once more. Ice shards flew everywhere. This was a real danger zone by now.

“Okay, so now comes the magic!” Timothy said, “I still don’t understand your confidence in the right direction…”

“I’ll explain later… much later.” Robin waved him off and looked around the dark island. Night was coming to an end but the raging storm still reduced visibility to 50 meters at most.

He put the drone down on a small nightstand they brought, roughly pointed in the direction of the Melody.

- 38°

Carefully Robin rotated it a bit.

+ 15°

...

After some forth and back, ROMAS finally confirmed the correct direction and Robin gave Timothy a thumbs up.

The man just shrugged and tapped on his datapad. Quickly they both stepped back a few meters and watched with anticipation. Moments later the ‘thruster’ of the little drone came to life and before anyone could say anymore, the UAV shot forward like a rocket - straight ahead roughly 2 meters above the ground.

In a blink of an eye it vanished into the depths of the storm.