Mercury II

Mercury II was a human spacecraft belonging to Sol Trans-gov that crashed on Planet 4546B. The wreckage is broken into three sections: the largest stern section rests on a downward slope bordering the Purple Vents, Lilypad Islands, and Tree Spires; the second largest bow section lies within the Lilypad Islands; and the smallest thruster section sits at the edge of the Purple Vents over a crevasse.

A Laser Cutter is required to explore most areas of the ship, while a Propulsion Cannon is optional for easier access to some rooms. Player movement speed is significantly decreased inside any of the wreckage segments.

Overview

According to developer notes, the Mercury II is estimated to be between 30 to 100 years old, likely around 30 years based on the condition of nearby Prawn Suit Mk.III Fragments, supporting the heavy rusting and vegetation observed.

Sealed cases containing Parallel Processing Unit Fragments are located within the walls of all three segments. Some require a Laser Cutter to access, though the Stern and Bow contain a total of three scannable Fragments without tools.

Crew logs found throughout the wreckage suggest that, like the Aurora and Degasi vessels, the Mercury II was shot down by the Quarantine Enforcement Platform and subsequently destroyed during an attempted takeoff.

Location Data

Stern Wreck

Detecting stern of an astronautical Sol Transgov vessel nearby. Vessel name: Mercury II. Inoperative. ― PDA

The Stern of the Mercury II is located at a depth of approximately 100m at the edge of the Purple Vents and Tree Spires, about 400m southeast of the Delta Island dock beacon. A Laser Cutter is needed to explore most rooms. Spinefish can be found here.

Inside the wreckage, players can find Supply Crates containing:

• Two Power Cells
• Three Batteries
• Two Disinfected Water
• Two Nutrient Blocks

Engine Room

In the Engine Room, a Parallel Processing Unit Fragment can be found behind a panel on one of the engine sections. Access requires a Laser Cutter. Another Parallel Processing Unit Fragment is located to the southeast of the engines, below an Oxygen Plant, also requiring a Laser Cutter to extract.

Ship Crew Log 2 Room

A Reactor Rod inside a sealed Supply Crate is located in a room blocked by debris. This area can be accessed by entering through a hole to the right or by using a Propulsion Cannon to move the debris.

Notable Items:

• Metal Salvage
• Spinefish
• Oxygen Plant
• Thermal Zone Coral Shelf Plate
• Laser Cutter Fragments
• Parallel Processing Unit Fragments
• Desk
• Swivel Chair
• Battery
• Copper Wire
• Disinfected Water
• Nutrient Block
• Power Cell
• Reactor Rod
• Titanium Ingot
• Wiring Kit

Databank Entries

Glowing Picnic - Yasmine

Yasmine: I finished the reactor checks! We dumped a ton of runoff and we don’t need the rods melting down. Then I helped with the scavenging, chopped some veggies with the cooks, and tried to help Diana, but she sent me down to engineering with Stefanos. I’ve been working with him the last few days.

Stefanos, how to describe Stefanos. He’s by far the most thorough engineer I’ve worked with, and no ego. He never leaves a job undone, no matter how late it is. I've never seen him awake before 11 and he always greets me by saying, “Kalimera, Yasmine,” in the sleepiest drawl - not a morning person that one, haha. He listens with the slightest smile on his face, and twirls this stray curl by his ear. He asks a billion questions, but I don’t mind.

He surprised me today! There’s an empty room on the bridge, just a spot of negative space in the ship. He set a picnic there and said I need to relax. Even called me a busybody! There were these crazy glowing fungus things he found to set the ambience. The most exciting part though…drum roll

He can jailbreak fabricators! He made a small batch of traditional Grecian dishes, BUT the craziest part? He managed to make a suitable falafel for me!? I never thought I’d see GOOD falafel in deep space, Al’humdu’allah. A quiet genius that one. This planet may be a cold mistress, but...maybe it isn’t so bad.

Source: Abandoned PDA in Mercury II's Stern

Thruster Repair - Stefanos

Stefanos: Ugh, I can only do repairs in spurts and it’s so inefficient. The larger tools seem to set off seismic activity nearby. A crew came back telling stories of gigantic worms burrowing in the ice. I don’t know what they’re going on about. They were hypothermic and frostbitten, because they walked back to avoid “angering them.” The ice shelf is probably a bit unstable and they got disoriented or something.

To borrow from Diana... "Orion's belt... Thermal couplings are not meant to be worked on in twenty-minute spurts. If we break the process, we'll break the ship."

But, it is nice to hang out with Yasmine while we wait for the rumbles to stop. I hope she doesn’t mind all my questions. I love hearing her voice.

Her face lights up and she’s got the most expressive eyebrows! They’re practically acrobats. The way she looks when talking about nuclear engineering is the same way I look at my grandmother’s dolmades.

The woman never sits down though! She told me that she used to do decathalon in college and I can believe it. She’s like a bouncy ball, just all over the place. She makes rounds on the ship everyday to see if people need help. Hmm... I should do something nice for her. She’s always helping everyone else. I wish I had a fraction of her energy!

Source: Abandoned PDA in Mercury II's Stern

Bow Wreck

Detecting bow of an astronautical Sol Transgov vessel nearby. Vessel name: Mercury II. Inoperative. ― PDA

The Bow of the ship is located 1500m south-southeast of the Drop Pod at a depth of around 250m in the Lilypad Islands, an area surrounded by Squidsharks. Plenty of Red Feather Fish can be found inside, along with Lilypad roots growing through parts of the wreck.

Nuclear Reactor Area

Accessed through a doorway on the northeastern side of the wreck or further south through a hole at the top. A sealed door immediately to the right of the northern entrance leads to the Alien Containment Room. Stairs in front of the entrance lead to a room with a Wiring Kit and a Power Cell inside Supply Crates.

Two Reactor Rods can be found in this area:

1. One is close to a rusted Nuclear Reactor.
2. Another is in a room blocked by debris (removable via Propulsion Cannon) or accessible through a vent in the Alien Containment Room.

A sealed Parallel Processing Unit Fragment is found in the latter room as well. The room directly above the blocked-off room contains a sealed Supply Crate with Synthetic Fibers.

Alien Containment Room

North from the center of the room is the Alien Containment. Right next to it is a vent leading to the Crew Quarters.

• Second Floor: A sealed door to the south contains Chinese Potatoes and Exterior Growbeds to scan. This room also contains the vent leading to the blocked-off room in the Nuclear Reactor Area. Another sealed door to the northwest, next to an Oxygen Plant, leads to the P.R.A.W.N. Bay.
• Third Floor: A doorway to the south leads to the Bridge.

Bridge

The ship's Bridge is visible from the very front of the ship wreck outside, identified by a large window. It is accessed by going up and south from the room with the Alien Containment, or through a vent from the ceiling of the cafeteria. It contains a Jukebox Disk and a Parallel Processing Unit Fragment.

P.R.A.W.N. Bay

A large room housing two damaged Prawn Suits, accessed by cutting through the sealed door above the containment tank in the Alien Containment room, and the two large ports in the side of the room. Right outside the port there's another damaged Prawn Suit.

Two Reactor Rods can be found in sealed Supply Crates in this room. There's a hole in the middle of the room leading to the Crew Quarters.

Crew Quarters

This area can be accessed from the P.R.A.W.N. bay by swimming through a hole in the center of the room. The area consists of the ship's cafeteria and a series of dormitories. One of the bunk beds in the dormitories contains a Reinforced Dive Suit.

In the cafeteria, players can find a Water Filtration Machine to scan, three Supply Crates each containing one Disinfected Water and one Nutrient Block, and a vent leading to the Bridge. A Parallel Processing Unit Fragment can be scanned here as well.

Notable Items:

• Metal Salvage
• Ribbon Plant
• Feather Fish (Red)
• Lilypad
• Oxygen Plant
• Blooming Raindrops
• Green Ternion
• Purple Cattail
• Parallel Processing Unit Fragments
• Reinforced Dive Suit Fragment
• Prawn Suit Fragments
• Prawn Suit Drill Arm Fragments
• Alien Containment
• Desk
• Command Chair
• Nuclear Reactor
• Nuclear Waste Disposal
• Single Wall Shelf
• Swivel Chair
• Water Filtration Machine
• Exterior Growbed
• Battery
• Chinese Potato
• Copper Wire
• Depleted Reactor Rod
• Disinfected Water
• Nutrient Block
• Power Cell
• Reactor Rod
• Rockit Gaming - Subnautic Stimulus
• Synthetic Fibers
• Wiring Kit

Databank Entries

Captain Badass - Diana

Diana: Sol should pay me more to lead these missions. I saved the whole damn crew from destruction. Mercury II was nearly obliterated by an immensely powerful energy beam! I don’t know any weapon system with that level of capability. The power source to get that kind of range must be, well...otherworldly. We got lucky. The energy signature is similar to some of the weaponry meant to counter pirates on mining freighters.

The refraction of the beam across the atmosphere...Orion’s Belt, it looked like the Northern Lights. Such power. I fired the emergency flares and dumped water from the nuclear core. I think the heat signature confused the weapon’s tracking for just an instant.

I managed a slight evasive maneuver and I felt the Mercury get rocked by the sonic boom as the nuclear runoff rapidly evaporated. That alone could’ve taken us out. Definitely asking for a pay raise. This is not what I signed up for, my days of risky missions should be behind me. But what the hell, I still got it...even it was luck. Hopefully whatever didn’t want us on the planet doesn’t mind when we leave.

Source: Abandoned PDA in the Mercury II's Bow

Trusting My Instincts - Diana

Diana: My instincts are never wrong. Stefanos has always been overly cautious. He hates taking risks, which I suppose is understandable when you’re in the back end of the galaxy, but no risk, no reward. Elliot finds evidence of alien architecture on a completely uncharted planet and he expects me to ignore that? Ha! Orion’s belt, I would be an absolute fool!

We’ve done some scans and while there aren’t a lot of mineral resources on this planet, there is decent biodiversity. Teams go out in the morning. This should be a significant specimen and sample haul for biopatenting. Which will be split among the crew as part of the discovery clause. Let’s see Stefanos and everyone else complain when they have a few more Sol-Transgov credits in their uniform pockets. They’ll learn to trust my instincts at some point.

Source: Abandoned PDA in Mercury II's Bow

Emergency Takeoff - Diana

Diana: Orion’s Belt, this all went sideways. How could I have known that so much would go wrong - I failed my crew. No, I don’t fail; I didn’t get into this position by being a failure. It’s this desolate land, frigid and cursed. Between these tunneling creatures and the strange sickness that a few of the crew are showing symptoms of... we have to leave at first light tomorrow.

We are prepping for a rapid takeoff. We can’t take chances with the vibrations drawing the tunnelers, so we’re skipping the systems check. Risky, but I have faith in myself and the crew of the Mercury. Landing this thing was practically a miracle though...but we have to get out of here. Maybe the weapon is to keep people away, but if we leave...it’ll let us go.

...I have to leave the quarantined crew in the cave behind. We will be back for them, but we can’t risk an unknown infection spreading through the Mercury. We’re packing survival kits for them, but there’s only enough surplus for about two weeks. I’m telling them that we will come back, but I don’t think I can land here safely... twice. I hate this, but I have to leave them behind. I can’t risk the entirety of the Mercury.

Source: Abandoned PDA in Mercury II's Bow

Aliens!? - Elliot

Elliot: Oh man, oh man, oh man... This is every xenolinguist’s dream! Okay, I was helping with planetary scans and there are possible unknown structures on the surface. This could set my career up for life. The images are a little degraded coming through the atmosphere, but it looks like intentional and complex architecture, which means civilization, and civilization means trumpet fanfare language! Aw, man! Now, most of the crew just wants to get home, I understand that, but this could be a defining discovery. I am definitely going to put a bug in Diana’s ear about going to the surface, so I can take a team to explore. I desperately hope this pans out.

Ugh, I can’t wait until we get into communication range with Sol again. Laila and the kids would love to hear this. I mean, it’s rough being away from them for so long, but this might just make it worth it. I’ll be able to give them so much more.

Source: Abandoned PDA in Mercury II's Bow

I miss my family - Elliot

Elliot: We need to get off this planet. I mean, the morning started out so well. I took a team of six out to find the structures from the planetary scans and... we were all in high spirits, I mean, who wouldn’t be? These structures would be clues to anothe...

[Content truncated]

Source: Abandoned PDA in Mercury II's Bow