"Are you sure you won't stay?"
"Pretty sure. I have to leave the past behind."
Leaning on the railing of the Delta Island dock, Lyra peered into the clear waters. Plumes rose from the spires below the surface in darkened tendrils, waving to her and her friends. Beneath the faint fizzle of steam, Cryptosuchus roared into the ocean, muffled but persistent. Part of her wondered whether they knew. Whether they were also begging Robin to stay and help them in the impending war for their world. The imminent threat Alterra posed hadn't gone unnoticed by the fauna of 4546B, and she could sense their agitation. They were waiting for the worst too.
"We're going to miss you, you know," Lyra said to the PDA on the crates beside her. "Promise you'll come back and visit."
"I promise," Robin replied. Low rumbles rattled through the speakers. "You should see this place. It's incredible up here."
"Course it is," Hunter joked. "Nothing trying to eat you."
"You got that right. Don't know what it will be like on Al-An's planet. Could be even worse."
"I doubt he'd take you somewhere unsafe," Lyra reasoned. "Besides, you saved me from an Ice Worm. You'll be able to handle yourself just fine."
"You think?"
"I'm certain of it."
More clinks and whirring rung in the background of the call, matching the tremor wracking the mountain range across the sea. Snow tumbled from the ridges in clumps, and from deep within the rock, a dark shadow rose.
"Are you guys seeing this?" Robin breathed.
"What is that?" Cassidy asked, staring up at the monumental structure.
"That is a phase gate," Al-An answered. "It will... Robin and I... homeworld..."
Lyra stared at the glass device. Snippets of sound filtered through. A scrape here. A metallic whistle there. Green light punctured the sky around the floating gateway and flashed at intermittent intervals. Minutes passed in silence.
"You guys still there?"
"Yes, we're here," Lyra said, releasing a relieved breath.
"We have to go." Engines whirred, but Robin's voice came through loud and clear. "Give Alterra hell, okay? I'll try to contact you once I reach Al-An's planet. Keep yourselves safe."
Lyra wiped the tears from her lashes and followed the light display above the opposite landmass. "As the old explorers used to say: farewell, dear friend, until our next adventure."
"Farewell, brave souls." The connection drowned in the crackles and beeps of the failing link, and after a few strained moments, the call shut down.
A deafening blast tore towards them and a surge of emerald burst from the diamond gate. Clouds parted, and the wind wailed. Within seconds, it dispersed, and the veil over the sky fell.
Sprinklings of rain plinked onto the metal grating and brought with it the warning of hail. The hardened droplets scattered between the thin gaps and plunged the island into mist.
"We don't want to get caught out in this," Cassidy said, signalling to Siris and Krissa waiting patiently for them by the bobbing ship. She flipped up her fleece-lined hood and yanked the zip towards the collar of her coat. "Come on. Let's go home."
YOU ARE READING
Subnautica: Echoes
FanfictionWhen Lyra Robinson receives a message from her missing mother, her determination to find her leads her to the planet her father once fought so hard to escape, but destiny awaits. While fighting against the deadly climate and the terrifying creatures...
