“Anemoi Airships have a rune system on board that allows it to increase and decrease the effect of local gravity—I just can’t imagine why it’s been left out here,” Melon said, wringing a pair of hands together. “All of them have an in-built distress system that activates as soon as any kind of impact occurs; this should have been recovered within a day of crashing.”
“It’s undeniable proof that there were Gaians here on Devil’s Nest,” Kalter said, “There must be a docking facility on the island as well.”
Boko stepped up and knocked on the side of the airship, but other than a deep clang reverberating out from the impact, it didn’t respond in any discernable way.
“Maybe there isn’t, considering they crashed it in a forest,” Boko said, “It looks like it’s been here for a while.”
August was just struggling with it all—he’d seen the Voithos and knew that they’d been created. He’d seen the interface they’d put in his head and the things it could do, things like taming experiments, summoning Voithos, and more. But all of that somehow felt different than staring at what was supposedly some kind of gravity-based-airship and knowing that it had been built by the race that had stranded him here.
“The top part doesn’t look that damaged,” August said, stepping closer to investigate the place where it sunk below the earth. “Think we could use this to get off Devil’s Nest?”
“We’d have to get inside to figure that out,” Boko asked. “Which is going to be impossible because these things definitely require a PDI to access.”
“Anemoi Airships have all of their critical systems in a room at the front—which is the part that’s underground,” Melon said, “Even if it is undamaged, distance from Hekaton might be the only thing stopping the beacon from being picked up.”
The comment about the front being buried helped contextualise the odd shape of the thing for him, and August realised that the flat angular face he was staring at was probably some kind of door to a cargo bay—a ramp that was supposed to open downwards, maybe? He stepped around the side, eyeing the flat to see if there was anything that might indicate an external opening, and was surprised to actually find something—a thin groove etched into the seamless face, rectangular, at odds with the angle of the ground and very obviously some kind of inset door.
“Could we turn the beacon off?” Kalter asked.
August stepped further around the ship, and all three of the Voithos moved to follow, apparently unwilling to let him go too far on his own.
“That depends on whether we can access the control system, but without the proper authorisation, I’m not sure we could,” Melon said, “All of the component rune systems are most likely compressed into a subspace, so we wouldn’t be able to separate the beacon system unless it was external to the rest, and I can’t imagine why it would be.”
There was a smaller rectangle engraving by the side of the door; the proximity and alignment made it seem like it had something to do with it, although there was no obvious sign to indicate what it might be—August used [Analysis] on it, sub-vocalising the command.
Access Control
Scans the user for authorisation and then opens the door.
“Could we destroy whatever part holds the beacon system?” Boko said, clearly throwing out a guess. “Or is it an all-in-one kind of deal?”
“I don’t know,” Melon admitted, sounding apologetic. “If we could gain physical access, I might be able to tell you.”
August placed his hand flat against the rectangle, and the engraving lit up in a white light—and then flashed red, just once.
“No access, huh?” August muttered. “Let’s try—[Etch].”
August ran his glowing finger along the groove that surrounded the doorway, watching as the metal vanished, just like everything else did when it came into contact with the skill.
“Well, that works—it’s on rails though, top and bottom,” Boko said, voice dry. “These walls are like a foot thick, as well, so you might have to go a bit deeper than that.”
August followed his advice, moving up to attack the top of the door instead. He pressed down until the angle stopped him from going any further, then stepped up onto his tiptoes before beginning to pan back and forth, slowly vanishing the material and getting deeper with each pass.
“I probably should have asked beforehand,” August said, “There are no automatic defences that are going to kill me for breaking in, are there?”
“This is just a transport; it’s got nothing like that,” Melon said, “You will have just set off a silent alarm, though, but something like that has a much shorter range than the distress beacon.”
August hummed at the words, finally feeling his finger pass through to the other side, at which point he crouched down and started the process over with the bottom of the door.
“Even if we can’t access the control system, there might be some useful stuff inside,” Boko said, leaning back against the side of the airship. “Some of these things have basic food and drink systems on board—not sure if this is one of those models, but it’s possible.”
“That probably doesn’t have high-level access requirements, but without a PDI, we won’t be able to use it,” Melon said, “That goes for any other system, like the toilet or the shower.”
“These things have showers—” August said, glancing up. “Melon, do you know how to make a rune system for a shower?”
“It wouldn’t be very difficult—a water-production system with a temperature component and some kind of diffuse spread on the output?” Melon said, closing her eyes. “We already have water, so we could most likely get away with just the last two.”
August pulled his finger back when the metal gave an ominous creak, wary that it might be moments from falling down an inch and cutting off his finger.
“Melon, we definitely need to figure that out as soon as we get back,” August said from his crouched position. “Can one of you give this a push?”
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post. It will stay up until it eventually becomes an ebook. It's only available in pdf for now. I'd appreciate any feedback on the new system/revised version if anyone wants to pay the gatekeeping fee to check it out.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review; it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
“Anemoi Airships have a rune system on board that allows it to increase and decrease the effect of local gravity—I just can’t imagine why it’s been left out here,” Melon said, wringing a pair of hands together. “All of them have an in-built distress system that activates as soon as any kind of impact occurs; this should have been recovered within a day of crashing.”
“It’s undeniable proof that there were Gaians here on Devil’s Nest,” Kalter said, “There must be a docking facility on the island as well.”
Boko stepped up and knocked on the side of the airship, but other than a deep clang reverberating out from the impact, it didn’t respond in any discernable way.
“Maybe there isn’t, considering they crashed it in a forest,” Boko said, “It looks like it’s been here for a while.”
August was just struggling with it all—he’d seen the Voithos and knew that they’d been created. He’d seen the interface they’d put in his head and the things it could do, things like taming experiments, summoning Voithos, and more. But all of that somehow felt different than staring at what was supposedly some kind of gravity-based-airship and knowing that it had been built by the race that had stranded him here.
“The top part doesn’t look that damaged,” August said, stepping closer to investigate the place where it sunk below the earth. “Think we could use this to get off Devil’s Nest?”
“We’d have to get inside to figure that out,” Boko asked. “Which is going to be impossible because these things definitely require a PDI to access.”
“Anemoi Airships have all of their critical systems in a room at the front—which is the part that’s underground,” Melon said, “Even if it is undamaged, distance from Hekaton might be the only thing stopping the beacon from being picked up.”
The comment about the front being buried helped contextualise the odd shape of the thing for him, and August realised that the flat angular face he was staring at was probably some kind of door to a cargo bay—a ramp that was supposed to open downwards, maybe? He stepped around the side, eyeing the flat to see if there was anything that might indicate an external opening, and was surprised to actually find something—a thin groove etched into the seamless face, rectangular, at odds with the angle of the ground and very obviously some kind of inset door.
“Could we turn the beacon off?” Kalter asked.
August stepped further around the ship, and all three of the Voithos moved to follow, apparently unwilling to let him go too far on his own.
“That depends on whether we can access the control system, but without the proper authorisation, I’m not sure we could,” Melon said, “All of the component rune systems are most likely compressed into a subspace, so we wouldn’t be able to separate the beacon system unless it was external to the rest, and I can’t imagine why it would be.”
There was a smaller rectangle engraving by the side of the door; the proximity and alignment made it seem like it had something to do with it, although there was no obvious sign to indicate what it might be—August used [Analysis] on it, sub-vocalising the command.
Access Control
Scans the user for authorisation and then opens the door.
“Could we destroy whatever part holds the beacon system?” Boko said, clearly throwing out a guess. “Or is it an all-in-one kind of deal?”
“I don’t know,” Melon admitted, sounding apologetic. “If we could gain physical access, I might be able to tell you.”
August placed his hand flat against the rectangle, and the engraving lit up in a white light—and then flashed red, just once.
“No access, huh?” August muttered. “Let’s try—[Etch].”
August ran his glowing finger along the groove that surrounded the doorway, watching as the metal vanished, just like everything else did when it came into contact with the skill.
“Well, that works—it’s on rails though, top and bottom,” Boko said, voice dry. “These walls are like a foot thick, as well, so you might have to go a bit deeper than that.”
August followed his advice, moving up to attack the top of the door instead. He pressed down until the angle stopped him from going any further, then stepped up onto his tiptoes before beginning to pan back and forth, slowly vanishing the material and getting deeper with each pass.
“I probably should have asked beforehand,” August said, “There are no automatic defences that are going to kill me for breaking in, are there?”
“This is just a transport; it’s got nothing like that,” Melon said, “You will have just set off a silent alarm, though, but something like that has a much shorter range than the distress beacon.”
August hummed at the words, finally feeling his finger pass through to the other side, at which point he crouched down and started the process over with the bottom of the door.
“Even if we can’t access the control system, there might be some useful stuff inside,” Boko said, leaning back against the side of the airship. “Some of these things have basic food and drink systems on board—not sure if this is one of those models, but it’s possible.”
“That probably doesn’t have high-level access requirements, but without a PDI, we won’t be able to use it,” Melon said, “That goes for any other system, like the toilet or the shower.”
“These things have showers—” August said, glancing up. “Melon, do you know how to make a rune system for a shower?”
“It wouldn’t be very difficult—a water-production system with a temperature component and some kind of diffuse spread on the output?” Melon said, closing her eyes. “We already have water, so we could most likely get away with just the last two.”
August pulled his finger back when the metal gave an ominous creak, wary that it might be moments from falling down an inch and cutting off his finger.
“Melon, we definitely need to figure that out as soon as we get back,” August said from his crouched position. “Can one of you give this a push?”
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post. It will stay up until it eventually becomes an ebook. It's only available in pdf for now. I'd appreciate any feedback on the new system/revised version if anyone wants to pay the gatekeeping fee to check it out.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review; it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
