LANDING
McGaw [5]:
As you fall, the pumps begin their work. Stasis fluid, now spent and useless, is pumped out of your veins, while your blood is pumped back in. The temperature raises, but not into the comfort zone, so when the capsule thunks into the snow, you are shivering with the cold, trying to fight off an incredibly uncomfortable sense of stretched time.
You collect your thoughts, and get up from the vat. Near the door of your capsule is a large gray box - that's where your clothes would be, they said in training.
You open the box and inspect the contents. A warm, heavy gray-and-white hooded parka with matching pants. A set of thermo underwear. Gloves, warm but thin. A flat backpack with a dry ration inside. A small tablet computer. A pair of flat headphones. Virtuality glasses, like a pair of skiing goggles, but smaller. And in a separate box, a bulky pistol with a molded plastic grip and two magazines of ammo. You put all this on, holster the pistol, and peek out the door.
Fortunately, you landed quite close to the storage section - you can see other people getting out of their capsules. The cylinder is a few hundred meters away, standing there in a cloud of steam.
O'Driscoll[1]
When your capsule lands, you are already fully conscious, so when, instead of the jarring impact that you were told would come, your capsule makes a cracking, hissing noise, and then starts to rock slowly, you are quite disturbed.
You get up, get dressed, check your pistol, and open the door.
Whoops. It looks like you landed into the river. It is normally frozen, but your capsule's impact made quite a large hole in the ice. The culprit bobs on the surface, wisps of seam rising from it. You could surely swim to the shore, but that would leave you with wet, freezing clothes. On the other hand, you could message the rest of the colonists and wait to be rescued.
Hazec[1]
You come to your senses slowly, and when you do, the capsule is already still. You get up, get dressed, take a few seconds to compose yourself - this could be the most significant moment in your life, after all - and push open the door.
The view is breathtaking. You have landed in a forest of conifer trees not unlike Earth firs, but taller - you remember that Borean gravity is only 9.46 m/s2 - maybe that's why..? The trees rise like the pillars in a Gothic temple, with rays of sunlight falling between them, setting the snow to brilliance. The patch of sky above you is radiantly blue.
You look down, and your joy fades a bit. Your temporary home is hanging from a tree by its parachute. It is quite high - maybe ten or fifteen meters - and the tree is covered in a slippery sheen of ice, which is very pretty, but not very climbable. You could try to jigger the capsule into releasing the parachute, you suppose. Or message the others..?
Beauchene[4]
You land on the top of a snowy hill. Pulling on your clothing, you climb out into the snow.
The wind tugs at you like a playful puppy, and the sun makes the landscape shine dazzlingly. From here, you can see for a long way in every direction. To the north of you, there is a forest of magnificently tall trees. The shining strip of the river loops through it for a while, the slithers out into the open plain. Your ship is parked to the southwest. It's a kilometer's walk through deep snow - nothing for a seasoned outdoorsman, and downhill besides. A long way past that, you can see low, craggy mountains in the distance.
Everywhere you look, there are grey points: capsules. People are starting to converge on the Horizon's landing site. Perhaps you should go too..?
Oh, look, some poor sucker's landed in the river.
Calion[3]
Your capsule lands in the forest, near the rivershore, where the trees are at their lowest. You climb out, and, after all the view-admiring is done, pull out your tablet to consult the map. You are a kilometer and a half from camp, but you could probably walk the frozen river until you get closer: the snow on it is shallower.
You'll have to walk through the forest, though. You unbutton your pistol holster nervously.
Shater[1]
You are still dozing when your capsule makes planetfall, so when everything suddenly rotates 180 degrees and back and again and back, it comes as a rather unpleasant surprise. The clothing-box opens, and its contents tumble out. You bite your tongue and swear.
Eventually it all comes to a stop. You pick up your stuff, get dressed, and get out unsteadily.
From the looks of it, your capsule landed on the side of a tall hill, and then rolled down. The capsules are diamond-shaped, and fall flat side down. It is the optimal shape for a re-entry craft, and has the added advantage of stopping such tumbles. Well, usually. Your capsule landed on its side, and then rolled down the hill in a curving path.
You cannot see any other capsules, so you take out your tablet and check the map. Well, try to, at least. Damn, those things were supposed to be shock-proof! Well, no way you'll be getting your money back now, you suppose...
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Topic: Trailblazers in a World of Winter - Chester crashes the party. (Read 59488 times)