Frozen Sea

11. Future Plans

Smut after the timeskip

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"So, dear Seungyoun, tell me everything about your crash. Why did you fall from the skies, and why did Alterra go out of their way to hide any data on you guys?" Hongjoong carefully held Seungyoun's eyelids open as he shone a little flashlight into his pupil. It flinched away impulsively, the dark spot shrinking.

Satisfied, Hongjoong put the thing away and went to check Seungyoun's pulse. The man stayed seated patiently in the warm sweater they had put him in for the time being. His hair was still wet from his earlier shower and fell into his forehead in soft curls. In all, he looked like a new person after a night here.

Hongjoong nodded and reached for his notepad while he was still standing over the man's legs. Seungyoung patiently stared up at him.

"I crashed in what you guys call the crater together with the Degasi. We weren't officially meant to be sent here and lost course during one of our missions. If I remember correctly, the captain panicked since we lost contact with the base. He made some mistake with the panels, and we came crashing down. I remember fleeing in my Lifepod with two other survivors."

Hongjoong scribbled down the man's stats while listening attentively. Seungyoun had asked him to do his medical checkup himself since he was slightly wary of the machines and androids. Of course, Hongjoong had agreed.

"Where are those two now?"

"Dead. We built a sea base in one of the cave systems, but it got attacked by a Reaper. I was the only one who had the idea to hide in the Lifepod, the other two drowned in the process. The Reaper and I got entangled, and he dragged me out of there. All the way here. It died along the way."

His story added up. The oceans were vast, and Hongjoong could imagine a creature from a Reaper's size and strength to be able to accomplish this. It also explained how he had gotten here as the only survivor.

Hongjoong jotted that down. Seungyoun nervously rubbed his thighs.

"Alright. Were you aware of the virus at that time?"

"I was. We found out about it while researching some plants in the Crater. It's far stronger over there since it strives more in the heat. I think getting dragged out here and staying mostly clear of the waters is what kept me alive for so long. Ever since then, though, I thought I was the only one still alive."

Hongjoong added 'fragile mental stability' in brackets and circled it. He would need to ask Seonghwa about that later.

"Is there a connection between Alterra hiding your whereabouts and the mission you were working on before the crash?"

Seungyoun blinked at him.

"Not as far as I know. I was merely an employee, of course, but we didn't do anything that rose my suspicions. I don't know what was happening behind the scenes. I was most bitter for them never reaching out, but it seems like there was indeed more since they hid the case."

"I talked to Seonghwa about this yesterday. We had the theory that maybe Alterra would have done the same to us if the Sunbeam hadn't found us. They might be trying to hide the trail of bodies they left here."

Seungyoun shifted on his seat, clearly uncomfortable. Hongjoong lowered his pad to smile reassuringly at him.

"They owe us for coming back. We do have some claims to make in case they would ditch us again here. However, they seem to be interested in the planet's resources now that the bacterium is under control. We are basically just the ambassadors for a far larger group that has an interest in building here."