Survival Trial Log - Hans Cummings (Core, no Mod game story, seed: H1483)

Started by anthraxus, October 09, 2021, 11:21:24 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

anthraxus

Survival Trial Log of Hans Cummings

Test... Test... Ok, looks like it's recording to transcription mode.  Not sure who is going to hear or read this, but hopefully it is the Triad Survivalist Society Award Commission, and not the TSS Terminal Review Panel.  Anyway, to do this right...  This is the initial survival trial log of Hans "Solo" Cummings, member in good standing of the Triad Survivalist Society, #46169243HC.  My trial authorization code was SLE111223, but I don't know if that is still valid.

If there was a way to file a complaint I would.  *chuckle* Consider this an official complaint about this whole mess, whoever you are. 

I know a lot of people back on the glitterworlds think that those of us who want to do survivalist trials are just completely crazy.  But for me, this is really a reminder of my childhood.  I clawed my way up from the coreward wasteland of the pollution processing works of Dodona, so I know what's its like to start from nothing.  I dug myself out and eventually joined the Dodona Stellar Navy R&D as a researcher.  I've always prized my intelligence as my strongest asset, but my tenacity and stubbornness have to rank right up there too.  So make no mistake, I was planning this trial according to the TSS guidelines: crosstraining on construction, farming and mining techniques, familiarization with the Azure Tech Utilitool, and bonding with a helper animal.  Thousands of Stellar credits and almost a year in preparation. 

*break in recording*

Sorry, had to go check outside, thought I heard something.  Anyway, where was I?  Oh right, prep.  So I was two weeks out from my planned drop window when the autodoc monitoring indicated that I had a probem developing with my gall bladder.  CentOps and TSS logistics agreed that I could have it removed and should be healed sufficiently for drop, so I booked it.  The last thing I remember was changing into the patient gown and meeting Dr. Abry? Aubrey?  Abby?  Something like that.  Anyway, she ran down the operation for me and turned on the anesthesia feed on the med-bed. 

I faded to black and the next thing I know I am waking up, covered in transit gel, falling out of the sky in a nearly empty drop pod.  The only thing besides my naked ass in the pod was a Utilitool and the TSS Universal Trial Recorder here. According to it, I've hit down at 15.50 N, 27.10 E on the 12th of Decembary, just after dawn.  By the holomap that means I am somewhere in the Naouus Range, north of Rubatora Mountains.  I know that means that the nearest known settlement is nearly two weeks foot travel from here, give or take a couple of days. 

There air outside the pod was freezing.  I had dropped next to a large but narrow mountain peak.  The aerial snapshot the drop pod loaded on the TUTR shows there are a ton of old ruins scattered in the immediate vicinity, mostly steel from the looks of the minerology layer.  It looks like there are some big stone stele scattered around, but nothing obviously useful.  A strongly flowing river cuts through the hills and small mountains nearby. I immediately set to cutting some of the nearest oaks to build a shelter, and some nearby winter berry bushes provided me with an evening meal.

As I roved around, I noticed that a part of the mountain is actually smooth worked marble and not rough granite.  When I get close to the wall, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of anxiety and worry.  I don't really give much credence to various rumors of psychic powers, but I certainly have a terrible feeling about what lies on the other side of that wall.  From the R&D records, the only thing I know of that could cause that is archotech, which does not alleviate my concerns at all.  To give me a little more of a comfort zone with this, I plan to move my shelter further to the south tomorrow.

I am really up the creek here.  I was ready for this with time and supplies.  I am not ready to try to start from nothing.  The more I think about it, the more anxious I get as I start to realize the shortcomings in my training.  I realize I don't really know how to make a decent bow or other primitive weapons, so I am going to have to fix that as soon as I can, but I am going to have to try to get by on berries for now.  I wish I hadn't spent so much time on the range and some more time on the close combat drills. At least it warmed up to a tolerable temperature as the day passed.

Anyway, I could ramble on forever, but I need to try to see if I can make myself sleep.  I hope you can understand but I'm going to have my hands full for the foreseeable future, but I will try to make some kind of regular schedule to record updates.  Maybe it will be good notes for my autobiography when I get out of here.  Yeah...  That's the thing.  Lots of stories about people who finish a TSS trial a big, big things.  That will be me.  It has to be.

<end recording transcript>

<ATTCH - "Prelanding Aerial Survey Shot">


anthraxus

<Recording Transcript started - Decembary 15th 5500>

So, remember how I said I was really boned?  Apparently my mind decided that things weren't quite bad enough, or maybe it was a side effect of whatever drugs were pumped into me before I was dropped down here, but just after putting the finishing touches on my shelter and a storage area I blacked out again. 

I don't know what I was doing for two days, but as far as I can tell I was just mindlessly wandering around the area.  I can find my tracks all over the nearby area, but I don't think I wandered off too far.  As far as I can tell, other than coming too more hungry than I can ever remember being, I didn't injure myself or damage the shelter at all.  More berries to stave off the worst of the hunger, and then I started to gather up some more wood to build a campfire and maybe build a dedicated workbench.  While gathering berries I also found some wild healroot, so I should at least have some kind of medicine on hand in case of illness. The TUTR seedbank is still viable, so I need to get some crops growing, especially as I...  Hold up.  That was a person.  Hold on.

<break in recording>

Well, that's interesting.  I just met a guy who introduced himself as Abonolllo, he was real particular about rolling the L, a scout of the Covenant of Bustgave.  He wasn't really interested in much beyond a basic introduction, but I could tell he was scouting my encampment.  I tried to ask about following him back to his village, but he said the best he could do was let his chief know I was out here.  Assholes.  Just before sundown, a caravan of half a dozen people also from the Covenant wandered through heading east.  I tried to follow and engage with them, but Abonolllo threatened to shoot me full of arrows if I didn't return to my camp.

I don't know where their camp is, but maybe if I start to build up something to show that I would be a useful member they will invite me to join them.

<break in recording>

As a final note of just how much this whole thing sucks, I've noticed that there are a couple of large bears and a big grey wolf in the area.  I've been trying to keep an eye out for them just in case they want to cause trouble, so imagine my surprise when a damn guinea pig, foaming at the mouth and with little black eyes wide and bulging, came charging at me out of the grasses in the dark.  I finally beat it to death, but it scratched the holy hell out of my legs.  Glad I found that healroot earlier.  These would probably leave scars otherwise. Ow.  I look forward to eating that fuzzy little bastard.

<End of recording transcript>

anthraxus

<Start Recording Transcript - 3 Aprimay 5500>

<Vomiting sounds> Uggghhh.  Sorry about that.  I was so pissed off about the stupid guinea pig attack that I didn't notice the berries I grabbed were bad.  Got to remember not to eat the purple ones anymore.  <Long belch>

Anyways, something about the sound I make when I vomit apparently is attractive to one of the alpacas that I've seen wandering around.  One of them will not leave me alone since I starting being sick.  I spent a good portion of a day trying to decide if I should slaughter it for the meat or not.  I've decided not too, as I will be able to use it's fur to make clothes.  Late afternoon isn't too bad, but there has been a frost every morning since I landed.  It would be great to have something to wrap up in.  As I was going to be putting down seed anyway, I'll just put down some haygrass to keep the alpaca. 

I got the pen built for it and roped it up.  I ate the guinea pig raw because I was just so hungry.  Tomorrow should be a better day.

<End Recording Transcript>

<Start Emergency Recording Transcript - 3 Aprimary 5500>

<Banging and incomprehensible yelling is heard, as if through a wall>  Shit!  Some asshole just showed up in the middle of the night!  He tried to set fire to the place and now he is about to break down part of the wall.  He has a knife.  I'm going to try to fight him off but we'll see.

<Crashing, scuffling and swearing>

<Silence and incidental background noises>

<Recording Transcript Auto terminated after no input received for 30 minutes>

*****Addendum*****
This TUTR unit was found amid the ruins of a modest hovel by the H1483 Artifact Recovery Commission and submitted to the TTS Terminal Review Panel for analysis and archiving.


{{Author note:  I hope you enjoyed this quick one.  It is unfortunate that Hans did not have a chance against an armed attacker. This was one of the shortest games of Rimworld I have ever played.  I will be taking another swing at this scenario and narrative style again soon.}}