Contents
2.1 LIGHT
Overview
Juna and Ste Etienne survive the crash, stabilize their pod, and re-establish tenuous contact with Bartokh via a physical link. Trapped on a brittle lattice and encircled by probing macrofauna, they learn they cannot contact the ship or locate themselves. EM pulses to deter the creatures elicit a patterned echo—suggesting a responsive local intelligence.
Summary
Juna regains consciousness in the crashed pod on Shroud under crushing gravity, nauseated and disoriented. Ste Etienne resets the pod’s pharma to her physiology, stabilizing Juna and walking her through basic controls while prioritizing life-support checks.
External noise proves to be Shroud’s relentless soundscape. Attempts to scan radio bands drown in interference. They confirm Skien and Rastomaier are dead; Bartokh might still be alive. After impact, Bartokh’s pod rolled slightly away; contact is re-established only by physically linking the pods’ external arms.
The crew cannot signal the ship through Shroud’s occluded, noisy atmosphere, nor determine their location. Ste Etienne restores lamps, revealing both pods trapped on a flexible lattice of bramble-like substrate over darkness—and a crowd of large, articulated, wickerwork-like macrofauna deliberately probing the hulls.
Juna operates the waldo arms to free Bartokh while Ste Etienne inches their pod closer and briefly “shouts” with three broad EM pulses to deter the creatures. The pulses draw attention rather than fear; the fauna grow more animated, surrounding the pods.
As Juna fails to gain purchase to lever Bartokh free, they notice a repeating pattern in the chaos: the environment returns the same three-pulse signature. When Ste Etienne considers sending four pulses, the radioscape replies with four in the same irregular rhythm—an apparent echo or reply, hinting at responsive intelligence outside.
Who Appears
- Juna CeelanderNarrator; survives crash, stabilizes under high gravity, operates waldo arms, reports conditions, and recognizes the echoed EM pattern.
- Ste Etienne (Mai)Engineer; recalibrates pharma, restores systems and lamps, maneuvers pod, emits EM pulses, and manages technical strategy.
- Oswerry BartokhDirector in a separate pod; re-establishes contact via physical link, requests rescue, and remains trapped in briars.
- Shroud macrofaunaLarge articulated ‘wicker’ creatures surrounding the pods, probing hulls; later echo EM pulse patterns, implying responsiveness.