It had been days since Mara had last slept in her own bed, her ashen-grey hair hiding beneath her comforter from the encroaching daylight. The last few days had been a blur, a bad dream of shadow-wolves and endless wooden treadmills. Is that my brain's way of telling me to work-out more? Uuuugh, nag much. Rolling to her other side beneath the covers, Mara rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was so, -so-, glad to be home and safe, comfortably warm beneath her crinkly... fur... blanket... Oh come oooon, it was such a nice dream too!

Throwing the covers back, Mara found exactly what she didn't want to find, a dark and cold concrete ceiling, smooth and featureless walls, and a few bunks jutting out in segmented locations. The barracks. She had never left, despite the alluring delusions her brain had concocted as she slept unaware. It was just her and a sterile complex forgotten by time.

Frowning as she stared at the ceiling, Mara felt her usual morning nausea shouldering its way in along with the unmistakable signs of a caffeine-starved migraine creeping up on her. With a grunt, Mara rolled back beneath her blanket. Back to the sweet release of sleep. Bring me coffee or bring me death, it's way too early for all this nonsense.

The warmth of the blanket and the weariness in her eyes thankfully overpowered her growing discomforts, quickly knocking her back to blissful sleep. However, she had barely begun snoring before she was rudely awoken by a notification chirping away, 'patiently' alerting her to its presence. Though, to Mara, its 'presence' was more a repetitive intrusion, like a car backfiring outside her bedroom window. She wasn't going to sleep that one away.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh, fine!" She threw her blanket off again. Even without technology, I can't escape a -bloody- alarm clock. Dragging herself out from the indent she had carved into the bean-bag mattress, Mara quickly found the source of her annoyance as she sat up.

<<

Limina Experientia Pervenit!

• II Unique Hexis

• II Unique Lores

Ars Designatur: Runie I

You're a mess, in more ways than one, first signs of magic and you just latch on like a giant-squid. You're a runic groupie if there ever was one, so go be the magic hippie you so want to be and maybe you'll even figure out how to do something more than 'collect-em-all'.

Ars Hexis: Runic Recollection I

Become a sponge of rune-specific knowledge, experience increased memorization and recollection fidelity on the subject.

Lore Creata Est: Hexadex

An archive of accumulating hex-based magic, bonus experience gains in derivative skills based on volume.

>>

Frowning at the panel, Mara skimmed through the message with squinted eyes. What language is this? The descriptions are English but the messages aren't? -Debug- do you have any idea? She activated her first skill with barely a thought and the magical construct got to work before she could react, whisking away the panel into god-knows-where leaving her alone in the unnaturally still dimness, legs swinging from the side of her bunk.

Debug didn't return a result immediately, and it also lacked a progress bar so Mara had zero idea what it was doing, or if it was doing anything at all, so reserving some patience, she waited. And waited. And waited some more, meticulously counting down a handful of minutes, before following those up with several more minutes a little more impatiently. Eventually, some twenty-three minutes later, Mara finally saw Debug throw a prompt up in response. Grabbing it, Mara muttered under her breath as she glanced down. "Jeez, took you long enough..."

<<

--[[ err: Loc. Incompatibility ( Nu-Latin ) ]]

--[[ res: Loc. Reformat ( English ) ]]

>>

"Whoa, 'Loc', like 'Localization'? Like built-in system language formatting? This certainly isn't your standard pointy-hat kinda magic, and 'Nu-Latin'? That's a bit left field. I wish I actually paid attention in foreign language classes now." But why was my language set to that anyways? Is that a system default or something to do with my race? Or is everyone's set to that? Another panel popped up, cutting her speculation short, then another, double the size of the original, practically throttling her attention with curiosity.

<<

Debug II [1/256]

Summary: Debugs targets with restricted functionality.

Analysis: Used to identify and remove errors.

>>

"Niiice, 'Debug II'- I guess it's not for just investigating anymore, but also for problem solving too." How very literal to its name- it de-bugs things. Ha! That's probably got some serious restrictions. Swiping away the skill's 'birthday' panel, Mara dismissed it to dive into the arguably more interesting notification.

<<

Experience Threshold Reached!

• +2 Unique Skills

• +2 Unique Lores

Analysis: Achieved the first experience milestone, unlocking a class related to the subject's knowledge, talents, and passions. Bonuses are awarded for unlocking skills before this milestone, novel / unique variants lending more weight to the class selection.

Designated Class: Runie I

Summary: You're a mess, in more ways than one, first signs of magic and you just latch on like a giant-squid. You're a runic groupie if there ever was one, so go be the magic hippie you so want to be and maybe you'll even figure out how to do something more than 'collect-em-all'.

Analysis: A predominantly academic class with nearly zero combat potential. System records indicate this is a unique class, possibly related to Rune Acolyte or Apprentice ranks. It should provide a reasonably solid foundation for Hex magic with the possibility to unlock a few appreciable class skills before its evolution.

Class Skill: Runic Recollection I

Summary: Become a sponge of rune-specific knowledge, experience increased memorization and recollection fidelity on the subject.

Analysis: The first class skill usually unlocked by those learning the ways of hex magic through the teachings of runework.

Lore Created: Hexadex

Summary: An archive of accumulating hex-based magic, bonus experience gains in derivative skills based on -volume-.

Analysis: Your third unique Lore, the likely replacement to the usual accumulated lore provided by schools and apprenticeships. Considering yours is empty, the bonus is likely a consolation prize.

>>

Mara scrolled up and down the panel, her eyes skimming left-to-right with the efficiency of a well-worn code-monkey. So is it a level up, or a class unlock? Maybe both? I guess it's just class levels, so yes and no. Did it require a full night's rest too? I guess that would nerf battle-leveling which is good news for me because Debug's analysis was spot on. This is -not- a combat class. Buuut the summary is definitely hinting at something long term. At least it seems I don't need to fight to gain levels.

Satisfied she'd committed it all to memory, Mara dismissed the notification in a fluid motion as she slipped off her bunk. It's definitely a class geared towards research, though it lacks any skills in the investigative department. That speaks more of how effective Trace has been lately rather than a weakness with the class, but 'Runie'? Really? Do I not get a choice in this? Maybe the first is just de facto?

Landing on the concrete floor just beneath her bunk, Mara grabbed her pack from beneath and slung it over her shoulder. Whatever, guess I'll be a 'Runie' for now, hopefully its evolution isn't so chibi. Magic is magic after all. She shrugged as she stood up, her hand implicitly pushing her hair back out of her face. She paused, it only now registering to her that the hairband she'd worn for the last three days had finally given up the good fight, freeing her wildly unkempt locks. "Oh- dammit." Mara fished the remains of the rubber band from her hair, picking out fragments of rubber as she mourned its loss. I really liked having that... Ahh, whatever, I'll braid it later, won't take me that long... But- fanning her oily hair between her fingers- I -definitely- need a shower first.

She certainly wasn't wrong, her hair would have made a bird's nest feel pity, and her 'ambiance' would deter even the nose-deaf at several paces. Yuck. So making her way to the showers, Mara swiped her way through the sigils like it had become second nature, already starting to feel at home after just a single night's rest in her new abode. It has its weird quirks, her gaze settling on the trap-laden -dead-end-, but it's not trying to kill me and the hatch isn't going anywhere. All in all, she had to admit the dim and featureless hallway had started to grow on her. It was safe, and it was a far better alternative to sleepless nights spent in canopies, proliferating her fear of shadow-foxes and all the other nightly terrors.

Deadly quiet beats dead-by-daylight any day, plus this place comes with built in plumbing! Mara stretched her arms wide as she strolled into the bathroom, half out of mock cheer to her lucky break and half just to clear the tension she'd built up sleeping on her side all night. I definitely need a firmer mattress, my back is killing me.

The 'showers' themselves were just where she'd left them, three round tubes each capped with a cone and piped to the ceiling, made of dark-grey super-concrete like the rest of the facility. She was ninety-percent sure they -were- showers, at least judging by their location. Unless I've seriously mistaken what constitutes a loo... She paused. No, these are showers. ...But, just to be sure- Debug? If you would?

<<

Resonant Silt Suffuser

Engineered by Crystol Cc. (Y.4349)

Summary: A sonic chamber designed for silt-based micro-scrubbing; reasonably safe up to H.4.

Analysis: An ultrasonic 'shower'. Use with caution.

>>

Not exactly a water park, but I suppose this is more economical? Ecological? Definitely abnormal and possibly a little concerning, but at least it looks like it's working -unlike that silt display- but I guess if it doesn't, I can always go jump in the river. Mara paused, halfway through disrobing. The river was tempting, it wouldn't involve subjecting herself to an unknown alien apparatus, and just the idea of getting coated in 'silt' by an unseen force tickled at her claustrophobia.

No... The river's a bad idea, that hatch is super old and could get stuck at any point, plus without a clock I'm literally guessing every time I open it. God forbid I open it after sundown, those blenders could be anywhere… At least the shower hasn't tried to kill me yet.

Dumping her stuff next to the pod, Mara made the obvious choice, stepping into the sand-blaster-9000 as it whirled into action. It reached full power almost immediately, a low hum prickling at her follicles as it literally -shook- the particulate from her pores. It didn't even take more than a minute to whip up all of the oil and grime from her being into a vortex of fine dust, just before whipping it away from her like a cotton candy machine in reverse.

This is giving me goosebumps... Where have you been all my life? Mara had let her muscles relax, lost in the bliss that was somehow doubling as a light massage. But it was over as soon as it had begun, like an all-too-brief hand drier in an airport bathroom. Oh... What a cruel mistress to tease me so. Dejected, but thoroughly cleaned, Mara stumbled back out of the now-spotless tube in search of her clothes.

Wow, I don't have to dry my hair? I guess if it never gets wet... Running her hand through her shoulder-length hair, she felt how soft it had become with just one session. It even feels lighter now too, incredible technology. Pushing it out of her face, Mara knocked the dirt off her clothes as she put them back on. She'd thought about throwing them in the 'shower' but lacking backups she wasn't going to risk it. Kinda-dirty will have to do for now- I'll get around to scrubbing them off in the river later. She eyed her freshly brushed-off hoodie before putting it on, it seems alright for now. Finishing up as she pulled on the last of her discarded garments, she noticed her new pants fit slightly better after stretching them out overnight. They weren't exactly relaxed, but they had loosened up to something closer to skin-tight rather than blood-constricting.

Satisfied, Mara grabbed her pack, looking back at the sand-tube once more as she lamented Trace's inability to work on the facility's artifacts. I know they're not overtly rune based, but what makes their magic so much different? Is it not an 'active mana circulation'? At least I think that's what Trace's description said... She frowned, she was being dense again. She had the system-equivalent of a help button, all she had to do was ask. Mentally face-palming as she Debugged herself, Mara verified Trace's info.

<<

Active Skill: Trace

Trace active mana circulations.

>>

Yup, 'active mana circulations'- i.e. 'glowy-circle-things', bummer... Still no level metrics for this one either, but it's apparently unique? Do those start in some sort of 'probationary' period? Or 'incubation'? I doubt the term's mega-important, but I had to get through 'Debug' for 'Debug I'.

Shifting the weight of her pack, Mara broke her day-dreaming gaze from the trio of pods. It -is- a shame Trace can't dig into this stuff, but Debug's been growing, I'm sure it can't be far behind. They're not going anywhere and I can always come back later. Patience paves the way to profit or something.

Swiping her way through one door, then the next, Mara made her way into the 'lab'. The fourth and last available room that remained to be filched before she'd be forced to confront the trap-laden door. Overall, it wasn't much bigger than the bathroom, but it was about a third the length of either the barracks or lounge. A little cramped comparatively.

Against the far wall were two cabinets, similar in style to the ones from the barracks but outfitted with piping running into the walls. At the far right wall were several containment or inspection tanks, each topped with a transparent material like acrylic or glass and sporting a pair of gloved holes. The latter of which had been left inverted and dangling outside, their rubbery appendages ending with three digits instead of five. She couldn't tell their contents from the entrance, but she had to assume they weren't empty if the rest of the room was anything to go by.

On the left was a smooth concrete table, fabricated just like everything else in this drab facility, and piled high with mountains of thick book covers and plastic binders, all in a state of disarray and decay. Paper really doesn't last long enough does it? It was all just tatters. Scanning over the remains, Mara lingered, pensive at the loss of knowledge the books' rotting remains spoke to. It might have just been technical manuals, but... She forced herself to look past it, time took its toll, that was the way of things. Some things just take longer. Turning to the center of the room, Mara looked over three similarly-fabricated tables, pushed together into a rough 'H'. The entire surface coated in either parts or artifacts, she wasn't an expert- But isn't an artifact just a part with a purpose? What's the qualifier here? She brushed the thought aside as she approached the table-side, now noticing that each nook in the 'H' housed a stool. Pair work? I wonder what all this was for? Were they fixing something or just investigating? Figuring there was only one thing for it, Mara threw Debug at the -entire- contents of the table. She figured it was up for the challenge, and she was happy to peruse the interesting ones later. Plus Debug's already hard at work assembling these -adorable- little panels above everything. She beamed like a proud parent watching her kid at the playground before turning her attention to the last table. The near empty one.

It was pushed against the nearby wall to her right, barren except for a solitary stone slab with a recessed black-glass surface. Now -that- looks interesting. It was a tablet, or at least looked like one, and it was far more tempting than the table full of gizmos behind her. She picked it up, Debug whirring away near-automatically.

<<

Silt Tab XI

Engineered by Crystol Cc. (Y.4359)

Summary: A portable silt display providing a variety of standalone applications.

Analysis: Suspended but operational. Local password is unset, device unlocked.

>>

The screen flickered to life under Mara's watchful eye, though flickered might have been the wrong term. It was more like a 'rippling', radiating outwards and giving the device the illusion of shuddering. One it used to full effect as the glossy black surface -shuddered- and dissolved into a soft cloud of black interspersed with flecks of vibrant color. Swirling about, it condensed down the 'silt' without much effort, quickly forming what looked like a tabbed display in a utilitarian style.

Mara started to try and decipher the bullet points, but was caught off guard near immediately as they suddenly shifted from something barely legible and into unmistakable English. Wow, I didn't even have to ask this time, thanks Debug. Now able to read the contents rather than guess, Mara muttered to herself as she skimmed the display. "Hmmm... So, three tabs, 'Log', 'Nav', and 'Cmd'. Simple but straightforward... Honestly, I was kind of expecting more." Maybe their 'digital' magitech lagged behind their 'physical' artifacts? Or is this just really impressive magitech and I'm spoiled by earth technology? "...Ugh. I'm sorry tablet, it's me, not you. I'm sure you're still a treasure trove of useful information at least." Like 'Navigation'- tapping the middle header- talk about 'objective get'. When has a map not been useful?. Mara watched as the rest of the display shifted to display an ever-so-slightly less-black screen, followed shortly by the bold red font of 'Location Unknown'. She frowned. Ooof course it is- but why tho? Tapping on the text in the hopes of refreshing the display- They should have at least known where they were building their outpost, or where they came from- Mara stopped fiddling for input, the screen still hadn't changed. Maybe the main nav system is offline? The display did say something about that. I guess it's another to look out for once I get further in.

Resigned but still curious for answers, Mara swapped back to the first tab, Logs. The display shifted and a short list of what could only be timestamps populated the screen. Quickly scrolling down the handful of them to the first entry recorded on the device, Mara popped it open. You're bound to have some info on what this place was all about. The display dissolved and shifted under her finger's input, it was mesmerizing to watch even after a third time, captivating Mara's gaze until it finally settled on a brief block of text and some simple buttons at the bottom, 'Next', 'Previous', and 'List'. However it was the contents that she was interested in, the foreign words rapidly unscrambling themselves into English under her skill's quick intervention, just before she started reading.

<<

Project Accendium: Y.4360 M.9 D.24

Launch day, orbital window is a lock– Second slingshot will take us past the horizon if we got our calculations right, which I'd doubt are wrong at this point. It's not really the feasibility of the mission in question though. Jules and Begi are a little concerned at what we're heading into, but at least Kador has enough enthusiasm for the lot of us. The maw's signal's still coming through strong, and I'll be damned if I don't want to know as much as the big-wigs. So the stage is set, no backing out now. Here's hoping I get to make another one of these.

>>

Orbital? Space travel? Horizon? Crew of at least four, chasing a signal coming through something? Past a 'horizon'? Only one thing in space has a 'horizon' that I know of, and you don't fly into those garbage bins. But a signal was coming -out- of one? What signal? Mara was intrigued, the little tablet had been right to grab her attention. The former inhabitants were as alien as their appendages. What are the chances? Turns out the first thing I stumble across is also from an other-worlder. Curious and intent on sitting down in a corner until she read the lot of them, Mara found a chair and got to reading.

<<

Project Accendium: Y.4360 M.9 D.25

We made it through Abyssus. Or into. We're evenly split on the topic. Regardless, we exited to find a solar mass treading an event horizon in close proximity. An impossible feat by any means, but it was still belittled by its own backdrop. This space is 'inside', or at least that's what our instruments are telling us. It's a sphere, likely artificial, but the diameter would make gas giants blush with inferiority. The scanners are having a hard time picking it up at these distances, but the sheer amount of surface area is staggering. We're still trying to get a lock on the signal, but the solar activity blew half our redundancies and most of the mains. We'll be getting better scans in a few days no matter what we do, the question remains if we'll be able to do anything with them though.

>>

Mara felt the tablet drop to her lap, stunned as she put it all together. "The wobbly sun is the... and they... through the... Right. 'Abyssus'. But... that would mean... Oh. Oh wow." The pieces clicked, she wasn't just on a new world, she was -in- one. The sun wasn't just wibbly-wobbly, it was in a perpetual state of consumption by a literal black hole. She reeled, none of it should have been possible. Who built all this? Gods? Robots? Super-mages of creation? There was really no way to know, but Mara wasn't one to leave such a tantalizing question unanswered, so she added another thing to her mental list of 'weird sh*t to investigate' and hit the 'next' button.

<<

Project Accendium: Y.4360 M.10 D.2

We were forced to take an emergency landing, the enclosed space combined with our exit velocity didn't give us a lot of options. We almost made it to the water, but we fell short, ending up in a sprawling forest. Landing went about as well as one could expect for a ship not designed for reentry, and the valley we used as a landing scoop is going to take a few days to simmer down. We took out most of the hillside on the way in, but it did its job and we scrubbed a fair amount of force before we ground to a halt. Kador and Jules are still assessing the ship's status, and I've got Begi working on getting at least one scanner operational. We lost the signal coming in, but we can't concede just because the parameters changed. They have a tendency to do that anyways, but we certainly weren't expecting to dive face-first into a mountain side right out of the gate.

>>

"...Their ship... crashed? ...Into a... hillside? Oh. Not a bunker. It's a ship- An actual, honest-to-god, alien spaceship... And I've been using it as a clubhouse..." Nice. Looking over her surroundings with a new light, the 'why' behind the simplicity and rigidity was almost painfully obvious now that she knew -what- it was. Well, I guess it's certainly better than nothing. Plus it has bathrooms.

*GRRRMBL*

Suddenly feeling and hearing the complaints of her empty stomach, Mara lamented her lack of reading snacks, or more accurately, any food in general. Yes, yes. I know what you want, you bottomless-pit. Pushing the 'next' button like she was pushing away her hungry thoughts, Mara tried to distract herself from the abdominal gnawing.

<<

Project Accendium: Y.4360 M.10 D.9

Begi got the scanner working yesterday, its accumulated data isn't much yet but we've at least spotted a settlement several hundred kilometers 'south-east' of here, maybe a month's walk at the most, and the ocean's still too far to our west to detect. Unfortunately, the signal seems to be entirely absent at ground level, Jules thinks it might be the atmosphere dispersing it. I tend to agree with his gut, but that doesn't leave us a lot of options to proceed with. And on top of all that, Kador has just informed me the core's well on its way to a full collapse. He can't put an estimate on it, but the shell's cracked, it won't be safe to remain here for much longer. So, considering that and pending a veto, we're adopting containment protocol D6.

>>

"Yes! -Hahaha!- A village! Finally!" She practically leapt up when she read it, however her jubilant expression quickly turned to something halfway between bemused and befuddled as she realized she had no idea which way was 'South-East'. Well... If they were headed to the ocean out 'West', and the obelisk is top-forward... Ah. I suppose I couldn't ask for a more convenient compass. I mean, if their landing wasn't too rough, and it's at least right-side up, then this should still be pointing -mostly- 'West'.

"It's a decent enough direction to start with at least, even if it is more than a couple of weeks away." Her stomach rumbled at the thought, Yeah, sorry bud, food's gunna be an ongoing issue. Thumbing the 'next' button, Mara tried to push the hunger out of her mind as she found herself on what looked to be the last entry.

<<

Project Accendium: Y.4360 M.10 D.13

Kador's gone, Begi's close behind. Core's not just cracked, it's consuming. Jules carried Begi out yesterday and started them on their way to that village, hopefully at least he'll make it. No idea how long I've got left, it's all a waiting game anyways. Dead-lock preparations are nearly done, deterrents are mostly complete, and the system's running its shutdown cycles. It's text-book scuttle-ready short of shutting down the core, and that's definitely not happening at this point.

So, I'm leaving this for you. A warning, a reason, and an apology. Do NOT enter the core room, which, to clarify, is the hatch to the left of this room. Hopefully, whoever you are, you can read our words and know we did not come to do harm. The core is death now and nothing else, but it is safe. It is contained. Breaking that containment would be a monumentally stupid thing to do, and would undoubtedly bring a doom down upon all that you know. DO NOT ENTER THE CORE ROOM.

DO. NOT. ENTER. THE. CORE. ROOM.

>>

Mara clutched her head as her migraine flared up, and after reading -that- she wasn't so sure it was just the lack of caffeine eating away at her. Radiation? It's got to be- but how bad? I mean, evidently extremely deadly uncontained, but now? Do I already have a foot in the grave? Fuck- It figures that this place wouldn't be abandoned without a good reason, but to give up on the only reasonable place to sleep for -hundreds- of kilometers? #Rude