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Abandoned - Crater Lakes - (Crash Site #82 Sequel) - Story 87

Started by Abandoned, November 30, 2022, 06:14:06 AM

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Abandoned

Intro


  This is the 87th story in the Smallville Series.  It is a sequel to Crash Site story 82 where an alien spaceship was forced to settle after making a crash landing.  That site was some distance south of the Hunting Grounds of story 86.  The aliens sent a message to Mission Control and finally received a reply.  The message said that the home planet was being evacuated because natural resources had been depleted.  Mission control determined the Mother Ship's location and would be dropping supplies needed to repair it.  The scan of the planet also found an energy source high in the mountains in the northeast corner of the World Map.  A copy of that scan and one of a possible landing site was sent with the message.  In year 40 SVT, the Mother Ship left the crash site in the desert southwest and headed for the snow-covered mountains in the northeast.







Map seed   # 282302852    Valley,    Small,    More Snow,   Disasters Off,  Easy Ice Castle 8 Families


Mods activated for this map and load order are:

Map Changing and Starting Mods:   Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain,  Kid Frozen Ponds (new, testing, see mod note*),  Override Fewer Trees, Settler Deco,  Jinxie Natural Decorations,  Kid New Flora Edit

Tweak Mods:    Fishing Dock +25%, Increased CC,  1:1 Alternative (Voeille),  override Winter Clothes, Rock Respawn, Tiny Smoke

Major or Must Have Mods:    An Empty Square, Nomads (Kid), override Uneducated, Storage Crates, Jinxie Festival Park, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Ice Castle, Kid Out of This World Houses (update, testing, see mod note*), Kid OOTW Deco

Supporting Mods:    Christmas Mod 2021, I See Fire (RK), Kid Deco People, Kid Deco Wreaths, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Market Carts, Kid Market Food,  Kid Nativity Chapel, Kid Work Shop, Specialized Stockpiles


Mod note*:  Christmas Mod has not been updated this year but the new Kid Frozen Ponds is made to match.  It was not added to Christmas Mod because Kid Frozen Ponds includes Kid More Snow climate.  Place Kid Frozen Ponds high in your mod list if other climates are used. 

OOTW Houses mod is being updated with different building materials.  Stone and Iron are used.






  I am glad to see you too, weary traveler.  I regretted not saying goodbye and thanking you for the care you gave me, but I was again beamed up into the alien's hoverer before I got back to my old village where you were waiting for me.  I had no idea you would still be looking for me after all this time.  I think you understand why I could not contact you.  Have a cup of hot cocoa while I tell you what happened.



Abandoned

Chapter 1




  I stood alone a long time after you went back to my abandoned village, weary traveler.  I could not believe that the space complex I called home for 7 years and my family were gone and that it was all a dream that I had while recovering from being hit in the head with a rock, like you said.  What I did not remember or did not know was that 3 things happened at the same time. 


  We got a message from mission control that they got our distress call and were going to drop a space capsule of parts to repair our Mother Ship.  There was no decision for me to make, I would leave with K12D93 and our children, but I wanted to visit my old village one last time before leaving this planet behind.  You're right, weary traveler, that was no falling star that sent the rocks flying, knocking me unconscious, it was that capsule.  As fate would have it, as I made my way to the village, our complex's surveillance scanner spotted your group of migrants coming from the south on the other side of the river.  For fear of detection an invisibility shield was enable over the complex and the Mother Ship just before the capsule was dropped.  The force of its landing sent rocks flying, one hit me, and you found me.  What I didn't know was the Mother Ship was repaired, the complex dismantled, and recycled, and that K12D93 was watching and waiting for a chance to beam me up.  He got that chance as I followed you back to the village.



  I was beamed up for a happy reunion with my family before being taken to the Mother Ship.  The hoverer was taken aboard, and we flew first north, then east over the least populated areas.  We did not have enough power to fly and keep the invisibility shield in place for long.  We would find the needed energy source in the northeast mountains.  Yes, weary traveler, our Mother Ship must be the iron bird that flies with no wings that the Native people told you about as you searched for me.   It flew from the hot and sunny desert to this cold and snowy mountain.  Welcome to Crater Lakes, weary traveler.



Abandoned

Chapter 2






  The hoverer was used to shuttle families and the supply carts across the river to the area chosen as a production center for building materials.  The first families to be shuttled over already had quite a bit of wood, stone, and iron on the stockpile.  The first group that left the Mother Ship consisted of 16 adults and 10 children including KD, myself, and our 2 children.  There were 62 of us that left the Crash Site, 49 adults with 13 children.  It would take a while to produce building materials and build homes for everyone who wanted to leave the Mother Ship.   There were several ice caves on this side of the river to shelter in until the first homes were built.




  Yes, K12D93 had changed his unit number to its earthling translation of Kelviller but I still called him KD.  Being in charge of the expedition the others still called him by his unit number out of respect.  He stilled called me Earthling even though my name is Dolorelai.  Our daughter, Arthenia, was 6 and our son, Rossevelyn was 2.  Like me, this was the first time they, and the other children born at the Crash Site, had seen snow.  I was glad that the workers at the Crash Site's clothes fabricator took Mission Control's advice and made warm winter clothes while the Mother Ship was being repaired.  It was cold in the ice caves, and luckily there were no bears in them. 

  There were several beautiful white bears that greeted us.  They were not aggressive and only seemed curious about what we were doing.  The information packet from Mission Control made mention of these bears saying that their friendly nature and curiosity caused them to fall victim to hunters and they were considered endangered.  We would not overhunt them, if at all.  There was also another large harmless creature that roamed this area, it was not edible.  There was however a large deer called an elk that would provide meat and hides.  I never saw or heard of these animals before, but I figured we would have enough to eat here.


Abandoned

Chapter 3


  We had plenty of supplies and there were more back on the Mother Ship.  Here we found a hedgerow that had winterberries and winter-hardy herbs, and another with the same berries and snowshoe rabbits for meat.  Both hedgerows had branches we could use as firewood.  There were more branches and some wild foods to be gathered in the surrounding pine forests.  There were 2 lakes and the river from which we could catch fish. 




    Workers going from the storage carts to one of the hedgerows heard the sound of ice cracking beneath their feet.  This could be dangerous.  Workers with shovels soon discovered a frozen pond beneath the snow.  They marked the broken area with crates so others would see and not fall into the water, but the rest of the ice was solid and safe to walk on.  There were sure to be fish to catch beneath the ice. 



  The aliens were familiar with both snow and ice from back on their home planet.  Misson Control's report on this location made mention of the 2 lakes that, like the rivers, are heated by an underground heat source here in the north that keeps this world's rivers and large lakes from freezing over in winter.  Shallow lakes and ponds are likely to be frozen over.  Preliminary indications are that a meteor from outer space may be responsible for crashing here and forming the crater this valley is in, and for sending those heat producing energy crystals below ground.  Misson Control's scan found crystal heated hot springs on the north coast, and surface crystals in a canyon some distance west of here.  You're not going to believe this, weary traveler, but there is a secret settlement there of Elves that use the power of those crystals to cast magic spells.   Yes, magic, can you believe that?  I was finding out so much about our world that I didn't know that I was beginning to feel like I was the alien.  Anyways, it was those energy crystals in this crater that we came to this mountain valley to find, and that's why we named our settlement Crater Lakes. 

catty-cb


Abandoned

 :)

Chapter 4


    We discovered that the surface crystals here are ice shards but the ones just below the surface have absorbed the power of both the sun and the earth and are quite powerful.  They are just the energy supply we needed to help power and heat the Mother Ship, to provide the building material needed to construct a living complex, and to recharge power cells.  The living complex was needed until the ship could be stocked with enough energy crystals to last for many years of space travel.  Back at the Crash Site, we used glass and a wood alloy from a mud works and mineral extractor.  Here we will make glass at a Crystal Works and use wood and iron at the Coal Extractor to make steel.  Those 2 buildings were built by the main stockpile along with a firewood chopper.  Two survival pods were built and heated with power cells for those that found the caves too cold.  Most of the aliens were not bothered too much by the cold, and they have become accustomed to breathing our air. 




  The older alien children who were old enough to remember their home planet really seemed to enjoy the cold and snow.  When big fluffy snowflakes began to fall, the children were all outside building snowmen and playing with wooden sleds.  Some of them put on a strange pair of shoes that had iron blades on the bottom.  They called them ice skates and used these shoes to slide across the ice.  They were having such fun racing each other and spinning and turning.  The older children were teaching some of the younger ones who often ended up sitting on the ice instead of skating on it.  Our 6-year-old, Arthenia, was learning fast and having fun.  An adult fishing from the hole in the frozen pond would make sure none of the children got too close to the open water.



Abandoned

Chapter 5


  Now that we had building materials we could start work on the complex, but first we built a forester and a hunter east of the production area.  We would soon need more logs for the extractor and chopper, and we would need hides for coats.  Two herds of elk were spotted in that area.




  The complex would be constructed north of the Mother Ship by the lake.  KD and I would have a large house next to the Command Center where we would have a large upstairs room with a view of the lake.  A learning center was also under construction there.  Two children had already missed starting school, and our Arthenia would be starting soon.  All the building in the complex would have connecting tunnels heated by the crystal glass.  The school children living in the complex would not have to get up and go out into the cold to go to school.   I would teach in the school but would work on the inventory and town records too.




  The coat and tool supply were good for the time being but we needed food, and we needed workers.  We could not feed and house more families from the Mother Ship yet.  We needed a landing pod so we could bring supplies from the Mother Ship by boat, the hoverer's energy cells needed recharging.  There was just so much more that needed to be done first.

Abandoned

Chapter 6


  Two canopy houses were built by the learning center and we had a new teacher.  Our Arthenia was the first student and she had a new baby sister we named Rillison.  Behind our house the first hydro pod was built, we would have corn.  A covered bridge was built from the complex site to the Mother Ship side of the river in case we needed anything before the landing pod was built. 




  The covered bridge was used by our blacksmith who was still living and working on the Mother Ship.  He had been busy making more ice skates for both children and adults.  A small shed was built by the frozen pond where the skates would be kept.  There was now a bench to sit on while putting on the skates.  The storage carts had been emptied into the small storage depot and the carts stored in the ice cave storage over by the complex.  Arthenia, who was taught by the alien children, and KD would teach me how to skate.



  I felt a little less alien on my own planet when I had something new to teach the others.  They didn't know anything about Christmas because Crash Site was in the southwest where there was endless summer.  Being from the southwest myself, I didn't know much but only what I had been told by migrants.  Here in the north it was winter and it was now Saint Nicholas' Day.  I told the parents to have their children hang their stockings by their cook fires that night and in the morning they would find them filled with treats from St. Nick.



  All the younger children were in bed asleep when St. Nick came and parked his sleigh halfway between the production area and the complex.  KD and I welcomed him.  Yes, weary traveler, you were not the first to find us.  St. Nick was happy to have found us and would secretly tell my parents I was alive and well.  KD was amazed and fascinated by the flying reindeer, magic feed corn not energy cell he was told.  St. Nick quickly got to work filling all the children's stockings, including those on the Mother Ship, with apples, oranges, sugarplum candy, and a Christmas cookie.  We had a lot to do before Christmas, there would be a lot more surprises.

Abandoned

Chapter 7


  Shortly after St. Nick's visit, our trading pod was built.  We could expect a supply boat from the Mother Ship to arrive soon.  There were more ice blocks that formed on the river, almost blocking it, but there was room for the small boat to turn around to go back to the Mother Ship.  There were things we needed.




  Our food supply was low but holding steady, we just built a 2nd hydro pod.  This one would grow potatoes. We built more connecting tunnels anticipating the need for more houses. There was room for more pods but we were short of workers.  We were also short of iron and firewood.  When searching for more nearby surface iron, an ice cave was discovered that had an iron vein way in the back.  There were 2 other ice caves nearby so the one with the iron deposit was marked with a MINE sign.  When we needed more iron, we would know where to find it, we had no workers to spare right then.



  We got a few more workers when 5 aliens came out from the Mother Ship.  There were 2 older brothers who had been miners on their home planet so they chose to move into the 2 ice caves by the mine.  One brother had a young wife and a four-year-old daughter.  The wife's young adult brother moved in with them.  They said the supply boat was on its way.

Abandoned

Chapter 8




  Ally came from the Mother Ship to the trading pod shortly after the workers arrived.  He had a few general goods we were not in need of at the time.  He had a list of all the items that were on the Mother Ship that were stored there back at the Crash Site.  The cactus fruit and boar meat were almost gone. There were plenty of beans, potatoes, corn, and fish.  More had been added from the Mother Ship's hydro pods, and fishing pods.  There were some roots, leather, coats, and tools but not many.  There was also firewood and some building materials from dismantling the Crash Site.  Mother Ship was in need of crystal glass energy cells to keep the ship and its computers and scanners running.  Those still aboard ship could use fruit and herbs. 

  We ordered leather and would have berries, herbs, and glass waiting to send back to the Mother Ship.  We would have coats and tools as soon as we began production.  We immediately built a tool implementer by the complex's stockpile.  Once we got a worker, production would be slow because we were low on logs and iron.  We would make iron tools until our steel was not needed as much for building.  More houses were being built so more workers could move off the Mother Ship.  A clothes fabricator was built at the west end of the complex along with a hunting pod.  There were elk spotted in the area and we needed leather.   We needed our tailor and smith. 




  The workers that were out looking for surface iron discovered a frozen fishing pond beneath the snow just north of the complex where we planned to build new houses.  By the time they were built and occupied we would probably need more fish.  Those workers also discovered the creature that Mission Control told us of.  It was very large and seemed to be made of ice or crystal.  It was not aggressive and actually seemed to be showing them where the iron was.  They decided to wait until later to collect it.



Abandoned

Chapter 9 


  The 3 new houses were soon finished back there by the newly discovered fishing pond.  A couple with a 3-year-old daughter, and 2 single males soon came off the Mother Ship and occupied the houses.  A fisherman went to work at that frozen fishing pond and the complex now had a smith and tailor and a nearby hunter.  Workers again went in search of more iron.




  The covered passages were extended out past the hydro pods.  Two more pods were added so cabbages and more potatoes could be grown when more food was need.  More houses would be built along that passage, there were still more families wanting to move out of the Mother Ship and into the complex.  Some would stay behind to keep the Mother Ship operational.



  Everyone really appreciated the newly built domed storage unit.  It was conveniently located for both those living inside and outside the complex, and it was not far from the trading pod.  The dome was climate controlled so food would store just as well there as it did in the ice cave storage unit.  We would soon have new items to store.

Abandoned

Chapter 10


  The first two new items to go into our new storage unit were apples and gingerbread men cookies.  We got a surprise visit from 6 of Santa's Elves and their 2 children.  I told Saint Nick that the residents here knew nothing about Christmas and that I was from the south and knew little about Christmas in the North.  He said he knew and he would see what he could do about that.  He told Santa and Santa sent Elves to help.  They brought 3 sleighs packed full of Christmas treats and trimmings.




  The Elves would be staying with us for a while and were happy to move into the nearby ice caves.  They fenced in a small area for the reindeer and began unloading one of the sleighs.  Ally loaded the apples and cookies that they brought onto the supply boat and delivered them to the trading pod.  He took some glass energy crystals back with him.  The ice blocks had the river completely closed now but there was still room for Ally to turn his boat around.  Laborers were actually using the ice blockage as a bridge when they went in search of iron and branches.  As they crossed the land on the other side of the river, they thought at first that it was the ice blocks they heard shifting but soon realized it was ice cracking beneath their feet.  Word soon spread that everyone was to stay clear of that area until it was determined to be safe.



  The apples and cookies were taken to the storage dome and from there home to our pantries.  The children were delighted to have more of the treats that St. Nick had filled their stockings with a short time before.

Abandoned

Chapter 11


  Shortly after the Elves arrived, 3 more families moved out of the Mother Ship.  A couple with a young child and a newborn moved into the small house that was built next to the crystal works.  We were hoping for a 2nd forester, we needed more logs for firewood and tools.  The 2nd couple with 2 adult children moved into the empty ice cave near the mine.  We needed 2 miners to mine for iron now, there was very little surface iron to be found.  The 3rd family had a 3-year-old daughter, they moved into the newly constructed large house in the complex near the school and hydro domes.  More houses were planned for that area and connecting tunnels were already being constructed.





  By my calculations there should only be 8 adults with very young children or newborns left to leave the Mother Ship.  At least a dozen adults should remain aboard to run the ship's operations and oversee the supplies.  We left the Crash Site with 52 adults, 3 student and 10 children, 16 of us with the 10 children were the first to leave the ship.  That left 36 adults on the Mother Ship.  The 3 groups that have since moved off the Mother Ship totaled 16 adults also, their 5 children were born on the ship since we arrived.  We had been here 5 years.  There are now 20 adults left on the ship, some with very young children or newborns.  We would be happy to have 8 more adult workers leave the Mother Ship, leaving 12 behind to run the ship.

Abandoned

Chapter 12


  Ally returned from the Mother Ship with crates of Christmas tree trimmings, wreaths, and lights.  Everything was taken to the storage dome and it wasn't long before the small tree inside was trimmed with colored ornaments.  A Christmas wreath was hung on the door.  Colored lanterns soon lined the main passages of the complex, all the way down to where more new houses would be built.  A domed retreat center had just been finished; it housed a tree grown from seedlings preserved from the alien's homeland.  Two trimmed Christmas trees were placed inside the retreat center and 2 outside.  A wreath was hung on the door.  There were enough wreaths for anyone who wanted one for their door.  The complex was really starting to look festive, there were more lights and tree trimming to put up. 





Abandoned

  Chapter 13



  A small tree was trimmed by the fishing pond and another over by the mine and the ice caves.  A larger tree was trimmed over by the skating pond.  Those living outside the complex were welcome to hang a wreath on their doors too. 





  Having a few more workers now, the laborers were able to clear the area across the river.  They discovered another frozen pond.  It was a bit larger than the other two.  Upon inspection, a few hairline crackers were discovered, but the ice proved to be quite solid.  It would be safe to walk across or skate upon.