Cresion Breezes
Beta Tester of Life
POLARIS
CH.1 OUR DAYBREAK
The soft light that permanently washed over the horizon cast down a gentle purple-ish pink light on the dark metal walls, the sound of mechanical roaring and intense vibrations is felt and heard by anything with seismic detection abilities in a great radius. The skittering and pattering of various automatons around the lumbering vessel faded deep into the mechanical ruins, it echoed and echoed, into the unknown monochromatic landscape. The air was cold as always upon the surface of the Shell, thin and cold. It was one of the greatest killers of any fragile organic life that still had the misfortune to remain on the surface, it froze their blood and suffocated their breath. Such was life upon the surface of the Shell.
But not all were so fragile and cowardly that they avoid the outside world altogether, in fact, it was quite the opposite for today's humanity. Numerous people were on the top platform of the great dark steel vessel. They were all in different conditions, some fidgeted nervously, others bounced with excitement, and some were stoic enough to not react at all, even to the cold brittle atmosphere. Large spools of thick reinforced cable were out and about the platform, strung and dragged all over the place by the buzzing crowd as a few more responsible logistics personnel tried their best to keep all the wiring organized (or at least not in a knot that no one can untie).
The tension wasn’t exactly high, unless one is a new operator. It was simply routine extermination of the hostile automatons that track human life and follows the vessel along. A low-risk endeavor all along, to the point where some more arrogant veterans were tethering on the edge of the platform, looking down at the Shell ruins thousands of meters below.
The wireless PA announcement system that relayed information around the entire platform whirled to life as a casual-sounding male voice began to speak to the crowd along with two quick claps.
[-Ahem. Ah, sorry, I haven’t done this in a while, it’s not usually my job- Bear with this old man for a minute, please.-]
The audio was a little fuzzy at first and a few of the systems weren’t connected.
[-Alright, we will be officially beginning the extermination sortie in 10 minutes, all logistics and support personnel please retreat indoors at this notice. Any non-GP user should stay within the yellow lines or fully retreat within the vessel.-]
A few of the people who were managing the cables shrugged and left the twisting carbon ropes to their fates in the hands of some battle-happy combat operators upon hearing the announcement, retreating into the elevator shaft leading to the Top Sector’s storage rooms and bunkers.
[We’ll be turning off the electromagnetic inhibitors now, small and medium-sized all-terrain hostile automatons such as Carriers have been spotted, but please do not underestimate the situation and continue to monitor the Shell surface for any unusual movements-]
Before the lingering static sound from the transmission even settled a few shouts can be heard and several humanoid shapes can be seen jumping off of the edge of the platform, connected by the thick cables that were previously provided to the top. The bottom of the blocky dark metal vessel looked a bit lighter in colour, upon close inspection, it was a group of pale white automatons. They have arthropod-like jointed legs and skittered up the vessel’s walls using the small dents accumulated over the years. Mixed into the smaller critters was a long rectangular automaton that slithered upwards, its white outer shell banging on the wall its scaling, making a screeching metallic sound.
[-...Am I really that difficult to listen to? I suppose I am just some old man after all…But that’s the charm of the people of Polaris, always so eager to dive into the abyss- Oh, wait, I’m still in the system, I forgot to-]
A soft sigh can be heard from the PA system before the lingering static finally was finally silenced.
The noise level of the platform didn’t diminish at all though, as the various individuals all launched into action. This was their daily lives upon The Polaris, the vessel of hope making its dive deeper and deeper into the planet’s abyss.