Information



Decommission
Legacy Name: Decommission


The Steamwork Ontra
Owner: Garrus

Age: 5 years, 7 months, 3 weeks

Born: August 4th, 2018

Adopted: 3 years, 9 months, 4 weeks ago

Adopted: May 30th, 2020

Nominate Pet for Spotlight

Statistics


  • Level: 171
     
  • Strength: 427
     
  • Defense: 427
     
  • Speed: 425
     
  • Health: 425
     
  • HP: 267/425
     
  • Intelligence: 9
     
  • Books Read: 9
  • Food Eaten: 3
  • Job: Carl Wrangler


It was hailed as the greatest invention for their line of work. It surpassed anything else that had come before it and even things created after it were subpar. Underwater exploration was so much easier and the smaller crevices that could not be explored were now accessible. The oceanographers were like children on Christmas morning; giddy with anticipation at what they would be finding in the near future. Their creation was one-of-a-kind; no one else had one like it and none of them attempted to create another like it, even decades after it had first been used.

As far as a name went, it didn't have an official name, but it was referred to simply as The Otter. The Otter was able to go deeper than most of the exploration subs both manned and unmanned, and could withstand most of the warmer temperatures near the underwater volcanoes with little to no issues. Its eyes were the cameras and they were constantly recording. The Otter had a life of its own; some basic AI tech had been used with it and it wasn't long before it recognized what it needed and what its capabilities were. It didn't have a mouth so to speak, but was able to communicate by either using Morse Code while using a rock on another object or even just its mechanical paws against each other, or using a unique pinging language it had developed that would draw less attention if a potentially hostile sea creature was nearby.

The Otter was strictly used by one group and one group only. Knowledge of The Otter and how it operated was kept amongst the oceanographers of that group; newbies had to prove themselves to even be told about it, with most newer additions going several years before being brought in on the project. They would be briefed on things like how to do general repair work and maintenance, where and how to save the footage and images received from underwater, and how to understand the pinging noises. Some caught on quick, others it took several months to a year to finally be comfortable enough to be left alone to watch footage rolling in from The Otter.

It had been 50 years since The Otter had first debuted. Countless priceless photos and video footage had been obtained and a wide array of discoveries had been made in that time. Many of the oceanographers that had worked with The Otter had won some sort of award from one or more scientific or geographical magazines due to a photo submitted, discovery made, and so on. Most of the original crew had moved on, but there was one older gentleman who was a part of the original squad that was still around. He was held in high regards not only by his group, but other oceanographers and scientists in general worldwide as well. He knew how to take care of The Otter best and was the go-to for any issues that came up. The Otter seemed to prefer communicating with him the most and recognized his style of communication. There had been a few times over the years that The Otter had been somewhat sassy and asked for 'a more competent party to assist' when any issues came up.

The humming of equipment was quiet and dull. Only the most senior member of the group remained for the night -- it was his turn to spend the night on the boat, monitoring The Otter. It was an all too familiar routine -- so much so that he found himself doing things out of habit. Reclining ever so slightly in the chair, he folded his hands and gazed at the monitors; one for each of the eyes; and began thinking back to how things were at the start of this whole thing. Being excited and unable to sleep with most of his peers, each one not wanting to go home or fall asleep for fear of missing a big discovery. It brought a warm smile to his face as he reminisced -- however, that reminiscing was interrupted by some frantic pinging.

Ping, ping, ping...

Snapping back to reality, it took him a moment to realize that The Otter was actually in distress. It had been gliding alongside some hydrothermal vents at a safe distance and had come into contact with some sort of bottom-dwelling shelled creature that resembled a lobster the size of an average great white shark. It had blended in with the seabed well and its pincers had moved quickly to grab The Otter. He hadn't seen anything like it before -- it seemed to change colors slightly and has more than just two eyes.

Ping Ping Ping Ping Ping...

Right, no time to be in awe of the new creature. He had to find a way to help The Otter out of its predicament. He began pinging back, informing it to use its weaponized back mechanical paws usually used for blasting rock walls or debris away, and aim it at the weakest point in the armor on the appendage gripping it. It followed the instructions and the creature loosened its grip; however, its other appendage came swooping in fairly quickly and The Otter was not fully prepared to do efficient evasive maneuvers. Although it avoided being grabbed again, it was knocked back viciously toward the hydrothermal vents. Unable to recover from the knockback in time, it quickly reached a danger zone for what it was able to handle. The oceanographer began panicking, listening to the frantic pings and attempt at Morse Code from The Otter. There was no way to save The Otter from this. If it had just been heat vents or just the new creature, it wouldn't have been an issue; but both being thrust at the pair of them at the same time was too much to think up of a saving grace on a whim.

The pinging and Morse Code died down and the images, although great footage, were beginning to fade. He didn't know what to do and had been casually pinging back, telling The Otter that he was there, so that it wouldn't be alone in its final moments. The last thing he heard was a quiet Morse Code message.

--. / --- / --- / -.. / -... / -.-- / .

Tears flowed silently down his face as the images eventually faded to black and the signal was lost. Things had happened so fast -- he felt so lost already. What was he supposed to do? What would the other oceanographers think of him? So many thoughts floated around in his head as his vision blurred from the amount of tears still piling up. The last thought he had was about an early retirement, before he heard the first set of footsteps on the deck above, signaling that it was time for the early shift to start their work. What was he going to say? How was he going to tell them? What was going to happen to their crew? Only time would tell...

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