This is an experimental Creative Write/Free write. I wrote this in the Hive.Pizza DiscordPizza Guild Discord while sharing my screen and asking for input/direction/whatever from the community. I think it will be an interesting way to construct a post and have no idea how this will turn out!
Rules!
They are few:
Anyone else in the voice channel's input overrides mine- I will type and incorporate ideas and input as I do- ANYONE in voice can make me edit or whatever!
50% Beneficiary split between all participants in the Voice Channel.
Pizza Tips!
Other than that this is a standard free writing format! So lets GOOOOOOO! There is one other person in the Voice Chat when I started the timer:
I'll get another screenshot at the end!
Day 1
Today was a crazy day, we ended up crash landing on one of the moons that orbit Jupiter! We were hit by an asteroid as we passed through the Kuiper belts and damaged one of our engines! Most of the crew managed to make it out of the wreckage unharmed. To our surprise as we salvaged what we could from the wreckage, the engineer heard local radio signals being broadcast over a normally unused frequency!
This was the least of our worries at the time, we were too busy trying to get everyone out safely! Thankfully the moon we crashed on was solid enough to have held together under the impact of our interstellar cruiser! There is no atmosphere here so we have only a limited supply of oxygen, and far too many people to support with it! I worry that we may have to make some tough decisions in order for some of us to have a chance at rescue. The captain and officers have determined that the safety of the passengers is of highest importance- at least for now.
However the crew like myself can already see what will have to happen. The passengers might be wealthy- we are an interstellar cruise line after all- but that does not mean that I want to die! With 500 people to support and another 150 still to be found in the wreckage our meager oxygen and life support capabilities will quickly be taxed to the maximum. Thankfully the key members of the crew are safe- they were all on the bridge on impact and that saved them. Many of the passengers are injured severely- we have found 200 dead as we attempted to save who we could. With the bridge mostly intact we do have basic medical facilities and may be able to save some of them!
End Day 1 Log
This morning the engineers began to investigate the source of the strange radio signals we heard after we crashed. They realized that the signals were conflicting with the transmission of our distress beacon! Upon further investigation they discovered a distinct pattern in the static and what they believed to be inhuman voices in the transmission. None of the passengers have been informed of this yet- the captain does not want to cause a panic.
Myself and a few close crew members have begun to discuss a mutiny as the captain remains determined to keep everyone alive as long as possible. This is a futile effort now that we know for a fact that our distress beacon is being scrambled by the strange radio transmissions. We need to see if we can find any resources on this desolate rock in order to have a chance of making it until a rescue could arrive. I have suggested to a comrade in the engineering core that they use what computing and ai resources that can be salvaged to provide more information about the radio signals, our immediate surroundings, hell, even which moon we are crashed on! Between the group we have decided to contact ranking members of the crew to support our attempt to change the situation. If we cannot it may come to violence.
In the meantime while the engineers do what they can with the ruined technology they have available, I will lead a group out onto the moons surface to see what we can find.
End Day 2 Log
We met today with a group of lesser officers- they aren't exactly the group that we hoped to reach: here is an audio transcript of the conversation:
"It was all the captain's fault. I told him we needed to give Jupiter a wider birth or we would be pulled in by its gravity. We could have made it to the repair facility orbitting around Uranus even with the damage from the asteroid belts if he had listened!"
"I was there Steve, I know you tried to convince him of the right course. I don't understand why he is keeping all of these lazy passengers alive either- we don't have enough resources for anything more than the crew- and we are the ones with the skills to actually make it out of here alive."
"I know you tried as well Gerard. He just wouldn't listen. But regardless of whether we decide to mutiny, we are still out here alone and no one knows. Who can lead us better than the captain can?"
"I CAN! I am the one that brought this group together, I got the engineers working on rebuilding our AI and investigating the radio signals. I led the group out onto the surface yesterday. I can help us survive until we figure out what the hell is going on here!"
"Antonio! You're just a lowly Janitor! What can you possibly do?!"
"Listen, I don't know about you, but I am going home no matter what! It's my cats birthday next month! Every year we take her out to eat Lasagna at her favorite Italian restaurant."
"Well... I guess you've got motives!"
"Besides, Antonio really proved himself out on the surface yesterday... He saved Marina when she fell into a crevasse and got pinned by a boulder."
"All in favor for Antonio to be the new captain- IF WE DO THIS!"
"AYE"
"AYE"
"AYE"
"AYE"
"AYE"
End Audio
With the support of my closest friends here on the ship, we are almost ready to make our move. Once we have control of the ship we will make a decision about how to deal with the passengers. Steve did the calculations and if we only had 139 people to support our life support systems would last several months. With 69 Of those survivors being Crew, minus the captain of course, We will be able to save 70 of the 500 passengers. At least in terms of life support resources. I don't even want to think about our dire food situation.
End Day 3 log.
Today I am not leading the group out onto the surface again, we have too much work to do convincing other key members of the crew that a mutiny is necessary. Some of the uninjured passengers have started to notice the tension between the hard working crew that are doing everything they can to keep us alive, and the lazier passengers who do nothing but whine about going home. Most of them are uninjured... Honestly I feel more pity and compassion for those hurt in the crash than those that have spent these 3 days doing nothing more than complaining about the terrible service, lack of champagne and threatening to have their lawyers sue us.
The group of 5 that I have already met with are all going to recruit additional disgruntled crewmembers to our cause today. With luck we will convince half the crew- Time is running short.
End Day 4 log.
Things have progressed. One of the passengers was found dead this morning with a hole in his head. It looked like it was caused by the broken handle of a maintenance hatch. Many of the mutineers have asked me if I did it. I did not! Though I am angry at the lazy passengers, and quite willing to let them die in the vacuum of space.... I am not a murderer.
This unfortunate event has put EVERYONE on edge- especially the passengers. They have begun very obviously discussing things in secret, and groups suddenly go silent as crew members approach. I fear if we do not take the situation in hand soon we may have lost our opportunity. They outnumber us by far after all. I did overhear something interesting as I walked past a group of the passengers that actually seem to be interested in surviving. They have begun actively assisting the crew with some tasks- in particular there is a scientist that has been working with the engineers group to discover the source of the strange radio signals that are still preventing us from broadcasting our distress beacon! He believes he can get to the bottom of it and has identified the source of the signal. I guess he is some kind of expert in electromagnetic frequencies and various wavelengths. He said he could calculate the location based on the signal strength. It is located on the other side of this moon. Tomorrow we will send a group out to investigate and eliminate the signal if needed.
The scientist, Jeremy, does not know about the mutiny! We must not tell him until he returns having solved the issue with the distress beacon.
End Day 5 log
Scientists Log: Day 1
A few kind fellows from the crew have volunteered to accompany me on my mission to solve the issue of the distress signal interference. They seem like a rough and ready bunch, but I will be glad of their assistance in this most treacherous endeavor. My calculations indicate that we must travel almost 100km over the surface in order to reach the source of the signal. Without transport or any method of communicating back to the wreck we will be totally on our own.
I am confident that we can accomplish this mission and with luck it will cement my place among the crew.
End Scientist Log Day 1
Things have become tense- The passengers are now willfully unruly and demanding answers that we cannot give them. If we told them the truth- it would be them planning the mutiny, not us. Given the recent death of passenger 0118999 they have demanded a thorough investigation to identify the murderer. At least it will distract them while we finish plotting our mutiny. The captain is taking their demands most seriously and has assigned Doctor House to investigate the death and look for any clues about the perpetrator. I spoke with Doctor House myself and suggested that he delay the investigation if possible. He sees the reality of our situation and even commented that a couple more like that wouldn't hurt our chances.
While he is stalling for time we have managed to convince two thirds of the crew to our cause and have begun stockpiling tools and anything that can be used as a weapon for when the time comes.
Gerard has become my right hand man in this- he is understandably concerned about the fact that we have yet to convince a single security officer to join us. They actually carry real weapons- the rest of us are likely to be armed with the tools of our trades... Fortunately for me I will be able to find something more useful than a mop.
We have decided to make our move tomorrow. The main thing we have to do tonight is disarm, convince, or kill, as many of the security officers and private security among the passengers as possible. Watson will be a problem. He is an experienced Marine from the Moon Wars of 2535 and will not give up his command lightly. Gerard has a plan to deal with him.
End Day 6 log
Scientist log Day 2
We managed to cover about 47km yesterday- I admit I am surprised by the distance! We had not factored in the ease of travelling in the light gravity of this moon. As we approach the location of the radio signal I have noticed some discrepancies on my instruments. The signal appears to be moving very slowly away from us. My original calculations placed it at approximately 100km, we still have 67km to travel which suggests the signal moved about 14km since I calculated its position. With very little to do other than travel and rest- I have engaged myself in observing the terrain and taking notes along the way. I have noticed something strange about the craters and holes we continually pass on this journey. They do not appear to be formed by asteroids. upon a closer inspection the surface of the moon appears to be disrupted from underneath, resulting in the craters with dust and rubble strewn outwards. I collected a sample of the dust and rubble and found evidence of crystalline structures in the dust. I wish I had more instruments to investigate further but the crew will not let us stop. I recognize that time is of the essence so we press on.
End Scientist log Day 2
Scientist log Day 3
We have reached the location of the mysterious radio signal. I cannot begin to understand what is happening here. The disruption has not been caused by anything technological or man made. I can detect no sign of alien technology either. What we have found is astounding. The location is simply a massive crater in the surface that leads towards the center of the moon. My instruments went haywire as we approached. This is the source of the interference without a doubt. We milled about uncertainly at the edge of the crater until I insisted that we investigate further. I was intrigued by the presence of the same crystalline structures in the dust around this massive crater that I had observed as we travelled. At my insistence we decided to climb down the crater wall and see if we could discover why this cavern was emitting radio waves strong enough to disrupt our transmitters.
We only have a single length of rope. Thankfully in low gravity like this it hardly matters. We quickly descended and as we did so began to hear faint noises like ethereal angels singing in the heavens. I must discover what makes such beautiful music....
End Scientist log Day 3
Captains log
Everyone is dead- The passengers are dead. I am alone. I have failed my command. I don't understand how it happened, but yesterday all hell broke loose. I was soaking as usual in the tub while I ate breakfast. A sorry affair it was too- cold water, and nothing but dry stale bread to eat. I suppose I should be thankful even for that. It's more than anyone else has had for weeks. I called for Reginald to bring me my towel. That was when I realized something was wrong. I waited for a moment and then quickly got dressed to see what was keeping Reginald. Outside my chambers. Everything was burning. EVERYTHING. My quarters were apparently shielded from a blast of some kind by the shards of the crust that had been ploughed up by our landing. I saw something disappear over the horizon... something winged... I don't want to think about it...I couldn't find anyone and the fire was so intense. I retreated back inside and got back in the tub where it was safe.
Scientists log
We reached the bottom of the crater only to realize it continues onward under the crust, nearly the same diameter as the opening into which we climbed. The ethereal sounds were noticeably louder at the bottom. Something crunched under my feet and when I looked down I saw what appeared to be a lavender sand beneath me. I scooped up a handful of the stuff and realized it was the same crystalline structures I had found at the rim of every crater we had passed on our journey. Something strange is happening on this moon.
I checked my instruments again to no avail. They are practically worthless at this point and I decided to leave them behind at the foot of the crater. We continued on into the depths of the moon towards whatever it is that is causing the interference of our radios and making such haunting but eerily peaceful sounds. It seemed to draw us onward. The size of the crystals under my feet seemed to grow as we descended into the depths until I was walking on a shimmering crystalline gravel. I picked up a handful once again and as they fell from my hand a beautiful tinkling rang out as they collided with each other. The darkness began to oppress us as the light from the entrance to the cave system filtered through the stalactites. We turned on the lamps on our suits as we were drawn forward by the ever more voluminous and ethereal sounds. The eerie and ephemeral sounds grew louder and louder as we descended into the deeper darkness. Just as we approached a turn in the tunnel system our lamps became unnecessary as a shimmering blue glow reflected off the crystalline walls of the tunnel. We were hesitant but drawn onwards.
We rounded the bend in the tunnel and immediately fell to our knees in shock. Floating above our heads and taking up most of the space within this enormous cavern, luminescing faintly with an unearthly light, was the source of the ethereal tones that had so effectively lured us onwards.
It appeared to be an unbelievably huge cetacean, possibly related to a blue whale from old earth. However it was simply gigantic. Its baleen teeth appeared to vibrate with a multicolor resonance. As we knelt there awestruck it took a huge chunk out of the wall of the cavern, showering us with the tiny lavender crystals that had remained such a mystery to us until now. It appeared to gulp, and as it did so it flipped it's flukes and sailed over our heads followed by another member of its pod. As the two passed over us, they passed something out of them, and a mist of fine crystalline powder showered over us. The second creature was somewhat distinct from the first, having a singular elongated spiral protrusion sticking forth from the middle of its forehead. The horn on this strange leviathan resonated with the same multicolor glimmer of it's cohorts baleen teeth. In the wake of their passage the tones began to fade with them and we were finally able to move once more. Brushing fine pink crystal dust off our shoulders, we were surprised to find another of these behemoths soaring towards us from deeper within the cavern. It too appeared to pass something as it passed over us, just as its pod mate had... but this time whatever it passed was solid and fell, crushing several of our crew.
We ran for cover, but there was none. More and more of these creatures rampaged past and swam towards the surface, leaving nothing but death in their passage.
I am the only survivor.
This was an absolute blast! I hope you guys will join me again another time!
