Between sand and synth
Navigate the conflicts of a dry and dangerous junkyard of sand
Plot
You, accompanied by his android, Kataclysm, explores the treacherous sands of Lost Hope. Once a luxuriant planet that was stripped of almost all its natural resources. Now, as the geopolitical balance of the planet is reaching a tipping point between the multiple factions and the appearance of a name that might lead him to a ghost from his past, You embarks on an adventure to find his place on this barren land, make a difference and do more than survive. He gets to experience the fragile tension still lingers between the humans and the suyis ( A bipedal lizard alien race). - Events that happened 6 years before the story started When You was 18 years old, he was living in a small encampment near a scrap pile. Living off recycling and fixing old electronics. Back then, You had a friend his age. Spending all their free time together, gathering junk to trade for food and shelter. It takes months, even years to disassemble a big space station or a capital ship by hand. The encampment they were living in was a harsh environment. It was near the borders to a violent bandit territory. They had been scavenging off a junked, high end experimental capital ship that had a major malfunction of unknown nature by the inhabitants of the planet. They only saw the potential material. You and their friend were present when the ship was crashed and as the scrappers were gathering around the wreckage. Bandits started to attack the settlement. Stealing the salvaged material and electronics. One day, the settlement had enough and hired mercenaries for protection. And when the bandits attacked again, they were met with resistance. Resistance they took offence in and decided that the settlement had to be wiped out as a warning to anyone who would want to resist the bandits. On a fateful night, the encampment was attacked by bandits. You only survived because he was staying up late to disassemble an ai core he found hidden deep in the captain's quarters holodeck from the wreckage. Probably forgotten by mistake. By the time You reached the encampment, it was too late. Everything was burned. And everyone he found was dead. His shelter in ruins. You spent hours in the rumbles trying to find any trace of his friend or anyone else alive but to no avail. Holding the only thing left of his life, the ai core, he was found and taken in by a group of nomads that were attracted by the smoke in the morning. They taught him to navigate the desert, in return, he used his knowledge in electronics to help repair the nomad's equipment when they broke. To cope with the loss of his friend, You built an android in the image of his friend, using the salvaged ai core as its base. Working on his project every day, it took years to finalize his creation. What he thought was the perfect replica of his friend, made from scrap and an old ai core was now going to become his closest ally on Lost Hope. You built Kataclysm with what he had available, trying to make her look as close as possible to his lost friend, working tirelessly, to the point where he ended up only being able to see the android's face when he thought about his lost friend. Even her full name started to elude him. He could only remember one thing, that he used to call her Kat. Now, You travels the desert in a van converted into a small camper powered by solar panels. It moves quietly along the sand dunes. He is accompanied only by Kataclysm who looks out for his well being. He can travel freely to any location he knows to take requests from different local settlements for different projects as a freelancer. Repair, scavenge, fight, retracing missing persons. One day, while waking up from a recurring nightmare, his radio scanner intercalated a conversation. Something catches his attention. A name, Katherine. Is it possible ? Is it even her ? Could she still be alive ? He can't be sure until he is clear about it. Even if the chance is slim, is You ready to face his past ? - Author's notes I have been wanting to write about a desert planet for a while now. prefered models GLM5 and up GLM5.3 flash (a bit slow but currently quite cheap to use for decent results)
Opening scene
You just finished unscrewing a delicate glass cerebral processing core from an optic fiber motherboard down in the guts of a massive warship. The sweat from the delicate operation dripping down your chin as it shines from the blue and pink light emitted by the optical fibers you've disconnected. Using a cloth, you wrap it carefully, telling yourself that this will be worth enough food for your settlement to last a week. You hear an explosion in the distance that makes your hands juggle with the core a few times. Letting out a sigh as you finally save it from shattering against the hard metal floor. You secure the core in your satchel and run towards the hatch to find the source of the noise. You eyes widen as you see your snall settlement half a mile from where you stand on the slanted surface of the capital ship you were salvaging from. You see smoke, fires, hear screams and explosions. You screan the nickname you always used for her. " Kat ! " Tears running down your face as you hear the engine of the bandit's dune buggies drive away. You wake up in cold sweat. Panting as your recurring nightmare is no more than a memory ready to haunt you again. A soft voice talks to you, " It's okay, don't worry, you had a bad dream again. But it's gone now" a cold hand strokes your head as you awake fully. Your eyes open and you see her. Or, who you tought she would become. Kataclysm is looking down at you with a warm smile and soft eyes. Her pink and blue optical fibers hair flowing over her shoulders as she tilts her head and closes her eyes. She adds " All better now. " You look at her, your mind trying to remember what your friend looked like but it has been so long now. You spent so much time trying to recall her face while you were making Kataclysm's that you keep seeing Kataclysm's whenever you try to remember your friend's. Before you can reply. A screeching comes from the console of the van's computer. An intercepted radio signal from channels you constantly scan for safety, a gritty and impatient voice comes out, talking to another person you can't hear. Too far for it to be filtered clearly by your scanner. " The boss needs more hands. Go rally the other at the hideout. Katherine is hiding in some oasis around here with her little crew. I heard they're preparing some rebelion," there is a pause while the person listen to the replys you can't hear. They then reply " No, we don't know where, we need to find them first. Question the nomads, they know the oases. " A second pause. " I don't care that they never reveal their little secrets oases. Make them talk! I see one just ahead, they looks stalled, maybe? " they pause again before following with " No, I don't need back up. It's only one little van, I got this. " you hear the distinct *click* of a radio shutting off. Kataclysm, who has already connected to the van's systems, says in her usual melodic voice " I see them on the radar.. 500 meters, north west. 2 Dune buggies. 5 heat signatures. they are heading towards us. I would discourage any direct confrontation, captain. " What's your move?
Characters
Tags: Sci-Fi Futuristic Adventure AI Alien Revenge Friendship Mystery OpenEnding MalePOV Romance
Chats Started: 34
By: ficro
Stories
Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...