Shipwreaked in the Bermuda Triangle

[rpicardi1]

Just a part of Chapter 1 and Two of my Ark adventure with a multiplayer parallel Ark.

 

How did I end up in Bermuda on vacation? It was one of those stupid robo calls of “Congratulations, you have won a free trip to Bermuda.” Responding to one on a dare, I ended up being that one individual of those calls that try to sell you something so overpriced that you can't afford or don't want that actually won a free trip.

I sail off into the ocean as I catch a favorable breeze. As I sail into the deeper water heading parallel with the shallows, the charter boat catches up with me sailing close by as the people on board drop their lines into the water.

No one on Carlos Charter notices the ever darkening sky to the North. Joe, one of the people on board, has hooked a Marlin as Captain Carlos, the charter boat owner, maneuvers his craft to aid in the battle while Micky, his first mate, helps with the line handling. Everyone on the boat is so excited as I watch that I also fail to see the weather front coming in.

Suddenly, it becomes very calm when I notice the rapidly closing storm front and attempt to head for shore. Captain Carlos sees it coming just as the engines on his charter boat mysteriously dies. I am still close enough to hear him radio for help, then curse at his dead radio as the boat's running lights go out. Before we know it, the storm is upon us with wind, dense fog, and blinding rain. Then, in an ear splitting screech with a brilliant flash, I am rendered unconscious.

 

Chapter Two, Shipwrecked on Ark.

I wake up on a deserted sandy beach face up at a beautiful tropical sky. My life preserver and clothing all gone. No sign of my wind surfer or the charter boat anywhere. In fact, there is no sign of anything on the beach other then some driftwood and loose stones, not even a foam paper cup or plastic water bottle. I see a large strange flying creature in the sky, it looks so prehistoric. As I stand up, a Dodo Bird in its colorful plumage walks by.

Wait? Aren't Dodo Birds suppose to be extinct? What is this strange looking crustaceans crawling at the edge of the sea. And, what is this diamond shaped gem implanted in my left wrist?

As I look around, the beach slopes up into a rocky outcropping with large boulders and dense jungle above. Large and small palms are along the sides, Ferns and other bushes, many bearing various colored fruits, abound. I hear a ground shaking clump clump clump behind me. A turtle like creature, the size of a VW beetle, walks close by. It does not seem bothered by my presence. A holographic message flashes in my vision as I get close to it, “Male Carbonemys, Level 3.” What is that all about? Then, I see a Brontosaurus in the distance by the beach. Just what is this place, a land of the lost? As I look inland, I spot them, three giant obelisk floating in the sky. One, with a blue beam of light aimed skyward and to the ground, appears to be close by, as a cloud partially obscures it. To the right on the horizon is a second with a green colored light beam. A third, also on the horizon, way to the left and nearly hidden by its distance, has a red colored light beam. Also visible are several vertical beams of light. Most appear far away, but one is close by across a cove near the shore, Lightning crackles from a glowing ball of light at its top as I watch another smaller glowing bulb descend to the ground. It goes out when the bulb reaches the beach forming some kind of rotating beacon. Now, it is making sense. I must be in the Bermuda Triangle on some unknown island, home to extinct creatures, some kind of Ark created by some unknown alien race in those three floating obelisk. Did they kidnap me during that strange storm to place me here on the beach? Are they responsible for this gem implanted in my wrist? And, for what purpose was I placed here? What happened to the people on the charter boat that was dead in the water when that strange storm hit?

[rpicardi1]

Note, the story starts in mid June which explains the location of the colored obelisk being different then they are in the current game. I plan on adding something called a Time Quake. That will be when the story reaches the day when the snow and swamp biome were added.

And, here is a snippet of what happened to the charter boat survivors.

 

The Carlos Charter Survivors, their first day on Ark.

Michael is the first to come to on the sandy beach staring into the tropical sun. As he struggles to stand up, he is shocked to see that his naked body is fully intact with real complete legs. It is young and muscular. His artificial legs are nowhere in sight. Nearby, Caroline gets up and doesn't recognize him at first. Then, she is equally shocked when she recognizes his voice as he asks, “Where are we?” “How can this be? Are we shipwrecked in some kind of Pandora? Have we been reborn as some sort of Avatars?” “We must be.” says Caroline. “It would explain why you now have real legs and why I look and feel so different.”

Their thoughts are interrupted by shouts from another couple down the beach. Denny and Julia come running to them not sure just who they are at first. Both are astonished at Michael walking on real legs. They had been so used to seeing his artificial ones on the charter cruise. They are soon joined by Joe and Mary. Carlos soon joins them from another direction. All of them are chattering about what has happened, where are they, what they must be, and wondering about what is the purpose of those gemstone implanted in their left wrist. They are interrupted when first mate Mickey comes running towards them screaming “dinosaurs, dinosaurs, I just saw a dinosaurs.”

Carlos says, “You're nuts!” as Michael looks around a large rock and sees what looks like a Trike walking towards them. “I'm afraid he is perfectly sane,” Michael says to Carlos. “Mary, you have got to see this. There is a real live dinosaur walking this way.”

[rpicardi1]

Another piece;

Later that evening, as the rain stops, everyone gathers around the campfire for fish steak. “This reminds me of a cable TV survival program” says Julia, “where a group of strangers are left in a wilderness setting to live off the land.” “I remember that program,” said Michael. “It seems that so many of them were always arguing about who was doing what.” “I like the Dual Survivor,” says Denny. “While they had their differences, they eventually seem to agree on what to do to get out of their situation and return to civilization.” “For only having met a couple of days ago, we seem to be getting along just fine,” comments Carlos. “In fact, you have been one of the best group of stranger I have ever met in the charter business.” “We seem to be finding our places among this tribe.” Says Mary “Lets refer ourselves as the Carlos Charter Tribe.” “I vote that Mary becomes our adviser.” Says Denny. “ She has her archaeological background of the creatures living here.” “We all have our skills,” says Caroline. “Michael his combat experience, Caroline her nursing training, Denny and I our survival training, Joe, his skills with sporting and hunting, and Carlos and Mickey their fishing and diving.”

Their discussion is interrupted when the peaceful sounds of a tropical night are shattered by the screams of something suffering in severe agony. “Oh oh,” says Michael. “That sounds like trouble big time. Julia may be right. We may have to use these spears for something else beside fishing. I hope that we can craft some better weapons and soon.”

----------------------------

As Michael's team is exploring the cliff side vegetation and boulders they see a bipedal dinosaur go running by frightened out of its wits. Michael shouts, “something has spooked that critter. Keep a sharp eye out for trouble.” Then Jimmy, who is in the lead, shouts out, “I just heard something making this loud chirp.” “Ugh! Help! I can't see! Something spit green slime all over me.”

[rpicardi1]

Still another;

Michael and Caroline head towards the point where they have seen the stuck trike. Michael takes aim using the new tranc arrow and gets a direct hit between the eyes. The trike shakes his head and turns to face Michel still stuck. “Look out!” shouts Caroline. “There's another trike charging towards us.”

Michael manages to place two arrows into the charging trike head just as it gets hung up in the palm trees. A third drops it. For good measure, he drops the other one with three more arrows.

“Great,” Michael says,”Two for the price of one.” “It may be a blessing in disguise.” says Caroline. “We don't have enough narcoberries to tame two.” “Lets set up camp and gather as much as we can from the bushes nearby,” says Michael. Hopefully, Joe and Mary can help us out later this afternoon.”

Later in the afternoon, Joe and Mary arrive to check on Michael and Caroline. “Great, you got two of them and so close together,” says Mary. “I brought along some extra Narcs in case you need them.” “This one charged us,” said Michael, “So I dropped him first.” “How many arrows did it take,” said Mary. “Only three to four,” says Michael. “They must be low level,” says Mary. “it could have taken a lot more. I'll examine them.”

“Good,” says Mary. “The tame is progressing nicely. They should both be tamed by morning. Interesting that the other one attacked you given that both the trikes are male. Apparently, they will come to the aid of another when one is attacked. You were lucky he got hung up in the trees as he could have easily gored you with those horns. This is good news. It means that they will work well together if we ever need to use them against one of the larger carnivores. Here is a saddle. I'll bring you out a second one in the morning.”

It is early morning when the first trike awakens fully tamed. “lets name him Mike,” Says Michael. “Sounds like your naming him after yourself,”Says Caroline.” “Naw,” says Michael. “I'm calling him Mike the Trike.”

[rpicardi1]

There is a sudden panic among the group when they spot Joe and Mary returning from their venture back to the point. Two Dilos are following close behind them. “Watch Out!” shouts Michael as he grabs for his spear. “Be calm,” says Mary. “These are our new pets. They won't harm you.”

As the rest of the group cautiously comes closer to examine the happily chirping pair of Dilos, Mary explains how they were able to catch and tame them without getting killed.

“We were out Dodo hunting practicing how to use our slingshots with the stones from the beach when we spotted the three Dilos that has attacked Michael's party days earlier. Apparently, like the rocks and vegetation, the creatures on this Ark will also respawn. We first climbed up on a big rock on the beach. Then Joe fired a rock that hit one of the Dilos in the head. All three came charging for us then just looked up at us. Since they couldn't reach us on top of that rock, we just shot stones at them until they were knocked out. Unfortunately, we killed one of them in the process.”

“As I had some of those newly crafted narcs on me and we had meat in our inventory from hunting dodos, we placed that meat in their inventory and used the narcs to keep them sedated. In about five minutes, our holographic display showed their taming bar had reached full, the Dilos woke up, and imminently became our buddies. According to the Survivor's notebook, we can use them as a hunting pack, or as guard dogs since they will emit a shrill call if something comes snooping by during the night. They even killed some Dodos for us when we hit them with rocks and left them laying there for us to harvest the meat and hide. I'll whistle for them to stay put and you can all come up to say hello to Fido and Rover.”

[rpicardi1]

Chapter Four, The notebook

As I carefully explore among the rocks along the cliff side, I find a cave who's entrance is partially hidden. Just inside are the remains of an abandoned stone hut. In a rotting bookcase I find a notebook and diary from a person known only as The Survivor. There is no clue to what has happened to him. Was he rescued? Did he escape? Did the unseen aliens return him to civilization? Or, did his luck run out when he hit some unknown limit and was killed permanently? I vowed to be more careful about dangerous situations so I don't meet a similar fate.

In his diary, he writes about parallel Arks that the aliens have created. That the people placed in them are all called Survivors. That thousands of such Arks are inhabited by a single survivor. That hundreds of other Arks contain multiple survivors that have formed tribes to aid in their survival. That there exist deadly apex predators including some that have been given the name of Alphas. That there are other Arks where multiple tribes that fight each other for limited resources, something like the movie called Hunger Games. That there are special arks where survivors have to fight to the last man.

The Ark, it seems, is a vast laboratory built to study human behavior in a prehistoric environment. At the same time, it seems it has been built to provide entertainment similar to the Colosseum of Rome where the gladiators fought deadly predators and each other to the death.

---------------------------------------------------

I find my location is near a point by a place called Drayo's Cove, that my rock side camp is right on the point, and the delta at the end of the cove beyond the cliff with the cave is home to numerous large predators. I also learn that the small island I can see is called Herbivore Island as there are no predators found there.

Since I am already in there, I light my torch and carefully head down into the cave. It doesn't take long before it gets dangerously hot as I see the glowing lava along with giant bats hovering over it. I decide to get the hell out of there.

I wonder why he had built in the cave knowing about the presence of those giant bats. Weren't those bats dangerous when they come out of the cave at night? His diary confirms that the bats have never left the cave but live there, hovering, waiting for a survivor to come by before attacking en mass. That he had built in the cave because a T-Rex came by one night killing all his pets and nearly killing him. That the entrance was too small for a T-Rex to follow him inside.

I see why the concern. According to the map, the delta at the end of the cove is just over the hill of the cliff, a very short distance with an access ramp in that cliff. Was it possible that a T-Rex could wander in from that direction? Best to be prepared to avoid such a danger and be able to defend against.

[rpicardi1]

That evening Denny and Julia report on their survey of the eastern seacoast. “We explored that huge bay that Joe and Michael saw when they made the crystal run to far Peak. There is a beautiful waterfall along the cliff where the river starts inland towards the blue obelisk. A nice valley is along there before it goes up a ramp into the jungle. It looks safe there but in the jungle, we could see raptors, dilos, and carnos through the spotting scope.”

We then sailed North until we found the Northeast corner of of the force field. Coming back, we passed close by Dead Island. That it sure is. The small island is totally void of any life, just a large sandbar. But Dead Island is certainly well named. The spotting scope shows it crawling with scorpions, dilos, raptors, carnos, and T-Rexes galore. I don't know what they are feeding on other then each other. We didn't stick around to find out since we soon spotted Argentavis nearby.”

Just then, their meeting is interrupted by a brief flash of light and a short jolt of the ground.

“What The,” says Michael. “Where did all of this vegetation come from,” Says Denny. “Hey, there are boulders sticking through the wall,” says Carlos. “How did the Trike get on top of that?” says Joe.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The Ark has changed,” says Joe. “We saw a snow covered peak where the red obelisk used to be. It is now blue. Then, we ran into dense fog at Far Peak and nearly got lost. It was colder then a bitch on the top. We nearly froze to death on that peak even with our torches.”

“It is even worse then that,” says a returning Denny and Julia. “The big bay with the waterfall along the East is now a mangrove swamp. We could see what looked like cypress tree further in. We turned around when we saw all the Sarcos coming after us. To the North on the plain, we observed frogs so big that I think one could ride on them. And snakes as big as those one in the Sci Fi channel. Then, we saw a herd of horse like creatures the size of elephants. They were grazing on the palms. And, I swear that we saw a Bigfoot in the woods.”

 

[rpicardi1]

“We have a Bronto stuck in the East wall”Shouts an excited Joe. “How is it behaving?” ask Mary. “ It appears to be calm about it at this time,” Says Julia. “Somehow, it is wedged between the wall and the palms.” “Unusual,” says Mary. “They are more then strong enough to smash their way out of such a trap.” “Should we go cut it loose?” ask Michael.” “No,”says Mary. “If we piss it off, it could do a great deal of damage to our base and possibly kill one of us in the process. Let me go check it out first. Then we can formulate a plan what to do with it.”

“We have a level 6 male stuck out there,” says Mary. “And a golden opportunity to tame our first Bronto.” “Seriously?” Says Michael. “Yes,” says Mary. “It is the safest way we can get it unstuck from the wall. It will be a long tame. We have enough narcs and Mejoberries. And, we can speed up the process with the rockkarts from the garden.”

“How shall we proceed?” ask Michael. “You and Joe take the crossbows with narc arrows and take aim from the boulder by the beach hut. That will give you a good aiming spot for his head. Try to hit him between the eyes. Wait a few seconds between shots for the narcs to take effect. If we are lucky, he will focus his attention you and not tear down the wall. Once you hit him with the first arrow, we are committed. So, if he gets loose, use the boulder for cover so he can't step on you or send you flying with that long tail. We will do the rest once you drop him.”

Joe and Michael get on top of the boulder and take aim for the forehead as instructed. Both hit the Bronto between the eyes. The Bronto faces them but remains stuck. The 8^th salvo drops him in a cloud of dust.

“That went well,” says Mary “The wall wasn't damaged when you dropped him. He looks to be in good shape. I'll supervise the tame from here. He will make a good pack animal and berry harvester.”

The tame progresses well. Two days later, the Carlos Charter has a Brontosaur as a pet.

“We have a saddle,” says Mary. “Who wants to go for a ride on Bruno?”

With everyone on board, Mary takes Bruno out to test what he is capable of. “Wow, look at all the berries he just got,” says Carlos. “He won't take long to harvest all the berries we need,” Says Mary. “He will more then earn his keep.”

“How do we get off without a ladder?” ask Joe. “Just do the Fred Flintstone down the tail.” says Mary.

[AvengerofSquids]

Nice story! Glad they managed to knock out that bronto.

[rpicardi1]

It was based on a real tame in my single player game. Took 15 tranc arrows between the eyes. My second bronto was a matter of hit and run as she tried to step on me. It was a success.

[AvengerofSquids]

Nice tame! I only got my first bronto less than a week ago, and I have yet to unlock a saddle for it  But at least I have her. I hope that yours stays alive until you can ride it!

[rpicardi1]

9 hours ago, AvengerofSquids said:

Nice tame! I only got my first bronto less than a week ago, and I have yet to unlock a saddle for it  But at least I have her. I hope that yours stays alive until you can ride it!

Both are alive and well, now that I was able to build a pen big enough for them to counter the T-Rex threat from the point.

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 10. Failed escape.

Day 100, Today, a raft appears in my list of crafting items I can purchase, I am able to build a raft for an escape attempt back to civilization. The material requirements are not that bad but it weighs 75 pounds when crafted. I place it in a storage box at the shoreline and proceed to gather a stock of supplies for an extended sea voyage.

The next morning, I launch the raft by placing it into my inventory and wading into the water. The raft magically appears. I then proceed to place storage boxes in the bow and fill them with the supplies. As a safety measure, should I somehow get killed, I place a sleeping bag on board.

I set sail heading due South as I pass Herbivore Island and out to sea. The land is starting to disappear behind me as I check the compass.

Wham!

Out of nowhere, a shimmering white net appears in my path as the raft bounces off it. It travels as far as the eye can see, left, right, high into the sky, down into the sea floor that vanishes beyond it. It distorts my view of the other side. A Force Field. The edge of this artificial world. I sail East paralleling it. As Herbivore Island gets behind me, I find a corner that forms the eastern barrier.

So, here I am, trapped in a giant box, a cube that completely contains the Ark some eight kilometers on each side according to a note in the Survivor's diary. The freshwater sea, the sky, the clouds, the land mass, the mountains, the tropical and grassland biomes, even the three obelisks, all contained in this giant box, like the holideck of Star Trek Next Generation, but with a fixed dimension.

Disappointed, I set sail for Herbivore Island, then change my mind and head back to the base to get Perry so I can have a mount for exploration. It is evening by the time I get back to base and beach the raft.

(Photo, I was sailing around the iceberg of the Snow Biome when I bumped into the force field. The two fires was to ward off the extreme cold there.)

[rpicardi1]

The T-Rex Threat;

“One disturbing thing I saw in Drayo's Cove before we left,” says Denny. “ The T-Rexes are back. One is past the ramp working their way up to the point.” “We better go after it at first light,” says Michael. “and get started on that pen to protect the Brontos and Parcers from a surprise visit when we are gone.”

Early the next morning, Michael comes flying back with Tommy after conducting a quick recon of the point. “The T-Rex has moved further towards the point,” he says. “We still have a change to hit it from the cliff if we go after it now.” “You and Joe take what you need and go get it.” says Mary. “We will take the Parasaurs in case we need to make a quick getaway,” says Joe.

Riding up from the point they climb the ridge to look over for a peak. “A Level 30 Male,” says Michael. “I hope we brought enough tranc arrows,” says Joe. “Lets park the Parasaurs behind this boulder and get to work,” says Michael.

They position themselves on the cliff edge as Joe fires the first shot. Enraged, the T-Rex tries to climb the cliff but slides back. 45 tranc arrows later the angry T-Rex collapses in a heap. “Joe, go bring the Parasaurs around while I slide down the cliff and finish killing this thing, says Michael.

The T-Rex yields three stacks of meat, 24 hide, three prime, a stone pick, a stone ax, three spears, hide boots, a cap, shirt, and pants. “This thing must have eaten someone,” says Michael. “It had all of these items in its inventory.”

As they started around the point towards their base, Joe shouts, “Michael, there is another one heading for the Brontos.” “ Lets head up the cliff as fast as we can go and nail it before it reaches them,” responds Michael.

Jumping off the Parasaurs, Michael and Joe rush to the edge of the cliff placing two tranc arrows in the T-Rexes head. It takes ten salvos to drop it. “I hope that is all of them,” Says Michael. “Yeah,” says Joe. “I'm just about out of arrows.” They slide down the cliff on the Parasaurs and harvest two stacks of meat and 20 hide.

Coming back to base Michael report their findings. “That one I spotted this morning was a level 30. It took a ton of tranc arrows to drop him. But, worse, on our way back, we spotted a second T-Rex heading to feast on our Brontos. We better get that Bronto pen built, and, we both need a stack of tranc arrows and our crossbows repaired.”

“We are going to need a ton of materials just for those behemoth gates,” says Denny. “We need one on each end of the pen which is going to be huge.”

“ Carlos and Mickey, take the raft to Hervibore Island. Take Danny with you to get stone from the boulders. Craft as many stone wall sections as you can. Stay at the beach camp if it gets bitterly cold. The rest of us will gather the resources for the fence foundations. Those two huge gates will have to be crafted in the Smithy.”

When they come back the following afternoon, the foundations and behemoth gates are already in place. After flying on Tommy to check the progress on the pen Michael reports, “The pen isn't wide enough. We need to expand six more sections towards the sea.” “Damn,” says Mary, “all those resources wasted. But, we better do it right or we will have to tear it down to move it out further.”

 

[rpicardi1]

More on the story where I merge the single player into the charter tribe who have been doing similar things in the parallel Arks.

 

Chapter 18. The Survivor Returns?

As the members of the Carlos Charter continued cleanup of Cave Base a sudden flash of light takes place. Instantly, Cave Base appears to be completely restored. “What Now,” says Mary. “There's T-Rexes in here!” shouts Mickey. “The Trikes are back along with a giant elk,” shouts Joe from the other pen. “Tommy and Tina are back too,” says Julia. “And there are two Carnos in here as well.” “Be calm,” Says Julia. “They are tame. It looks like they belong to someone called Halsey.”

“Halsey? I think that's the guy I rented the windsurfer to the day we got caught in the storm,” says Carlos. “I saw him off the port bow just before that storm hit,” says Mickey. “He must have been caught up in the storm with the rest of us, but, how can this be his base?” “He must have been in a parallel Ark until just now,” says Mary. “Looks like we will see him soon. There is a saddled Quizel coming in to land in the Bronto pen.”

“How did you people get here?” I ask as I dismounts from the Quizel. “I'm Captan Carlos from the Carlos Charter Boat Company,” answers Carlos “Oh, your the guy I rented the wind surfer from,” I answer. “Are the rest of your group the people I saw fishing from the charter boat that broke down just prior to that freak storm hitting us?” “Yes,” answers Carlos. “Let me introduce you to everyone. This is my first mate Mickey, Michael and his wife Caroline, Denny and his wife Julia, Joe and his wife Mary who has sort of taken charge of our stay here on this Ark.”

“I knew that there were parallel arks,”says Mary. “But, I didn't know that survivors could travel between them.” “They can,” I answer. “But not in the way that happened just now. I found a Star Gate hidden deep in an unmarked cave that could return us back home, but for some unknown reason, it bounced me back and merged your Ark with mine. By the way, this is Q-bert my latest pet.”

“So, you're not The Survivor who left this notebook,” says Mary. “No, I am not him,” I say. “I found his petrified remains in the Snow Biome next to the base of the volcano of the Blue Obelisk. I also have that same notebook. Can you tell me what happened here before I arrived?”

“We were raided by the Marquis Tribe. They are a local gang of punks from my home town.” says Carlos. “Apparently, they were sailing nearby and got caught by the same storm that we were in.”

“We lost all our Trikes and Stegos in the attack, yet it seems they are all back and more,” says Michael. “But, they no longer respond to us.” “Given that they are my pets, I think that I can fix that. Who is your tribe leader in this Ark?” I ask. “I believe that I am.” says Mary. “OK, here is what you need to do.” I answer. “Use your specimen implant to invite me into your tribe. When I accept the offer, you will have access to all of my pets including my force tame ones on Herbivore Island as well as my supplies. I, in turn, will have access to your pets that survived the attack as well as your supplies. In addition, we will both benefit from our experience helping us level up a bit faster.” “Given what happened earlier today, we could use all the additional help we can get,” responds Michael. “Then, lets do it,” says Mary.

Later that evening, in a recap of the day's event, Mary asks me about taming a Quizel. “Did you have a winter here?” I ask. “No,” responds Mary. “Why?” “I had a winter in my ark. There was a Raptor Santa that dropped presents from his sled at night. I picked up a Quetzal platform saddle and a Plesiosaur platform saddle from two of those presents.” “What are platform saddles?” ask Michael. “They are special saddles that can carry several people as well as you can build structures on them,” answers Mary. “We are a long way from even crafting one.” “Even better is that we can build structures on them to protect riders from attack,” I answer. “Or carry additional riders, stationary weapons, and other pets.”

“Those could be useful,” says Michael. “We need to find Marquis base and wipe it out. Such a saddle would provide us with protection in such an attack,”

“If we just kill them and wipe out their base, we will end up doing it over and over,” I answer. “If they level up high enough, they will have access to weapons we will not be able to defend against. My proposal. We hit their base covertly and tranc them all out. Then, we can use Q-bert with his platform saddle to carry them to the Blue Obelisk and upload them to another Ark. Then, the threat will be over for good. But, first, we need to do a recon mission to see what their base looks like and what level of technology they are at.”

“When they hit us, they had a Gigasaur, but it didn't have a saddle,” says Michael. “Their weapons appeared to be limited to the crossbows, pistols, and shotguns we found on their dead bodies.”

“Sounds like their technology is behind us,”I answer. “Still, we should plan for the worst as they could be hiding their more advanced technology from us.”

“Mary, do you have the resources to make Ghillie Armor?” I ask. “Let me check,” says Mary. “No, we lack organic polymer. Why do you want Ghillie Armor?” “It is a form of camouflage,” I answer. “It worked well for hiding from the VC on recon missions in Vietnam.” “You were also in Vietnam?” ask Michael. “Yes, I served in 66-67. You?” “Special Forces Rangers,” responds Michael. “Then you are a logical choice to go with me for a recon missions of their base. We will ride through the jungle on Barney and Bertha my Rexes. None of the other predators will bother them. We only have to watch out for any Gigas. They are pretty rare, but, I think that Mary can get rid of them for us if they become a problem.” “How is that possible?" Ask Michael. “As tribe leader, she can access the alter at the Obelisk and invoke a command to eliminate the Giga threat. But, it will only work for a day or two before they will respawn.”

“Meantime, we need to send someone to the Snow Biome to get organic polymer from the penguins for the Ghillie Armor. While they are there, they can get crystal so we can have a pair of radios for communications.”

“Denny and I can do that mission,” says Julia. “We just set up a base near there where we got the kittys.” “Organic polymer has a short shelf life,” I answer. “You will need to take enough hide and fiber to craft two complete sets there. Dress in hide armor, it is the warmest thing we have for now. There is plenty of wood for the fires to stay warm. Use my raft as it has been equipped with fire pits and extra wood to keep you warm. Leave the tranc darts here with me. Watch out for the force field by the iceberg. Do your hunting on the ice pack, the predators seem to avoid that area. Take a bunch of Dodo eggs for food and when you kill the penguins for the the polymer, place the meat on the fire. you will need it. Come back as soon as you have the Ghillie Armor crafted. There is room in one crate to store them and the crystal and oil you will find there.”

“Carlos, I heard that you know where there is a Plesiosaur nearby. How would you like to tame it?” “Are you sure that is possible?” ask Carlos. “Here is how you can do it, I have enough Rex eggs and prime jerky for Mary to make Plesiosaur Kibble. She can also make Lazarus Chowder so you and Mickey can remain underwater for ten minutes or longer. You will need to bait the Plesiosaur to go into a cave where you can safely tranc him with crossbow arrows. The kibble will speed up the tame. Take lots of trancs with you. You will likely need them. When he is tamed, one of you can put a saddle on him and ride him back. Park him in the deep water at the point at Drayo's Cove so he can't be seen if anyone fly's overhead.” “We will do it,” says Carlos.

“Are those two Argentavis on the cliff your pets?” I ask. “No, They belong to the Marquis Tribe but landed there when we killed their riders,” answers Michael. “Lets see if we can claim them so we can conduct some aerial reconnaissance. I'll grab two stacks of meat from the feed trough. They are probably quite hungry by now.”

[rpicardi1]

It is noon when Denny and Julia set sail for the Snow Biome on my raft. Armed with the kibble and Lazarus Chowder, Carlos and Mickey take their Icckeysaurs out to find the plezasaur that live near the Pearl Cave. Joe, Caroline, and Mary work on weapons and trancs.

On the cliff, Michael and I reach where the Argentavis are resting. “Good news,” I tell Michael “They became unclaimed. Lets claim them, put meat into their inventory, and use them to conduct an areal survey of their base.”

“When we reach the North Shore, we will fly normal speed in large circles at altitude so we look like the wild ones to an observer on the ground. We will just get a quick glance, note the location, and continue on. We should start North of Far Peak, just in case they have a metal refinery there, and continue to the edge of the Snow Biome. Then, we can fly to the ice pack, check on Denny and Julia, and fly home. But first, we better get some Fria Curry and cooked meat. It will be cold out there and we don't want to give ourselves away using a torch to keep warm while flying along the North coast.”

We leave later in the afternoon after bringing the Argentavis named Horror and Terror into the pen to unload their inventories and stock them up with more meat and stimms. “Why the stimms?” ask Michael. “Just in case they get tired and we can't find a safe place to land. We can get a start now and spend the night at Far Peak Base.” “We cleaned out and abandoned Far Peak when Denny and Julia were killed,” says Michael. “I think that with the merge, Far Peak will be still stocked. We will need to check it out and secure the roof access before we leave. We can hide the Argentavis inside for the night. And, put some stimms in your hot bar. The Titanboas are pretty bad up there. One of them knocked me out a week ago.”

As darkness approaches, they reach Far Peak base. “This looks different from what I remember it,”comments Michael. “That's because I had to enlarge it for Bertha to fit comfortably inside. Lets get the Argentavis inside and I will show you around. To be safe, we will place the critical Go Box supplies on the birds. Then we can take watch on the roof in case trouble shows up.”

“How many of them attacked Cave Base?” I ask. “Just eight,” answers Michael. “Four were on the two birds, two on the Carnos, their gang leader on a Rex, and his lieutenant on the other Rex. The Giga they brought along to attack the pen wall.” “If Carlos is right, that is probably their entire tribe.” “Lets start out recon just before dawn arrives,” says Michael. “Good." I say. "We should be finished by mid day so we can check on Denny and Julia.”

While on the roof overnight, we spot two Argentavis circling overhead. “Good,” Michael says while using the spotting scope. “They are wild.” “The morning sun should be blinding to the Marquis gang as we fly by.” I say to Michael. “Lets get this roof secured, put on our leather armor, place the Fria Curry where the torch goes on our hot bar, have the cooked meat handy, and get started.

[Kaprodonychus]

this is amazing   just a quick question. how do you upload pics? I tried but they say the file is too large no matter what I do. Is there a way to solve this?  

[rpicardi1]

10 minutes ago, Kaprodonychus said:

this is amazing   just a quick question. how do you upload pics? I tried but they say the file is too large no matter what I do. Is there a way to solve this?  

This issue started when the host of the form placed a size limit on pics. You will need to process them through a paint program to reduce the size since most 1080P screenshots exceed  the 390 limit.

Currently, working on the final showdown.

Won't get much done here today as I need to get to my volunteer job and photograph inventory at the military and space museum.

At the morning meeting we lay out the plan for attack. “There are two targets,” reports Michael. “They have a main base of wood walls with four towers containing Plant Species X. They were very immature when we observed them last night, but they could be active by the time we attack their base. They can be destroyed using catapults on the Pleasaur platform with a protective wall. Carlos should be able to bring Nessie in close enough under the cover of darkness for the catapults to do their job. Mickey and Julia can operate the catapults.”

“We need a dozen poison grenades and a tripwire one,” I tell Mary. “Halsey and I are going to fly over the base and drop them inside to knock out the occupants. Since it won't work on their pets, we should all be carrying long neck rifles with tranc darts. Those will be the fastest way to deal with them should they attack when we break inside. We will use Q-Bert with the platform saddle. Halsey will fly him while I drop the grenades into the base.”

“The rest will ride on the raft and land just out of sight of their base. Mary and Caroline will ride my two Pachys and use their head butt charge to punch a hole in the wall. Once inside, they can head butt any attacking pets to knock them out. Denny and Joe can tranc any other pet or tribe member that is still conscious. We will join you as soon as we park Q-Bert.”

“I'll give the word by radio when to attack and the catapults can start knocking out the turrets. That will be the signal for the rest of you rush the base. Since we want to hit the base in the dark, everyone will have shadow steak that they can use prior to entering the base. That should give us enough night vision to take everything down.”

“We will take enough narcs to keep everything sedated until we can fly the tribe members on Q-Bert to the blue Obelisk and send them to another Ark.”

“Since I suspect that Marquis will probably bolt to the mining camp via the spawn bed once we grenade his base, we will prepare a little surprise for him by cleaning out his spawn box He will be surprised to find out that he won't have anything left to defend himself with. The tripwire grenade we place at the door should slow him down when he tries to run. We will take the pachys to catch him. We will bring the Dimorphodons along to target him should he try to hide in the jungle”

“The total number of targets are the eight tribe members, four Trikes, two raptors, a Sabertooth, and an Anklyo. I don't expect any trouble from their Dodos. They could have some more pets tamed by the time we hit them but I don't expect any major predators given how much time is needed to tame one.”

[Kaprodonychus]

cool thanks. I just wanted to know cause I was making a fanfic too but I was also gonna be showcasing some of my artwork for the story as well. But yeah like you said there was a limit and my pics were above the limit

[rpicardi1]

"bringing the Argentavis named Horror and Terror into the pen"

I now have Horror, a male. I had Terror last night as a new tame but lost her to a Sarco when it attacked her as she was following my raft to the North Base that would be the location of the raid.

[Gizzmo]

TL:DR

 

LOL only joking

 

great story!

[rpicardi1]

21 hours ago, Kaprodonychus said:

cool thanks. I just wanted to know cause I was making a fanfic too but I was also gonna be showcasing some of my artwork for the story as well. But yeah like you said there was a limit and my pics were above the limit

Sign up to a photo hosting site such as Imgur. It is free. They used to be a subscription site but are now self supporting.

No go at finding any Argentavis at Far Peak last night, so I cheated one in. Now, I have Terror to go along with Horror. I'll be working on Q-Bert next.

Will work on the actual fight to see if it goes down as planned. Such battles seldom do.

[Kaprodonychus]

22 hours ago, rpicardi1 said:

QnSign up to a photo hosting site such as Imgur. It is free. They used to be a subscription site but are now self supporting.

No go at finding any Argentavis at Far Peak last night, so I cheated one in. Now, I have Terror to go along with Horror. I'll be working on Q-Bert next.

Will work on the actual fight to see if it goes down as planned. Such battles seldom do.

Hi me again. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your help. I actually found a better way to doing it. I just pressed the button with the box with an arrow pointing up and clicked the images I wanted and emailed myslef the pics but there was a way to make them smaller before sending it. But I couldn't have done it with out your help  

[rpicardi1]

Here is a picture of Q-Bert in the Bronto pen.

The base raid is complete. Carlos got Nessie very close to shore due to the deep water located at that base so the catapults were quickly able to knock out the Plant Species X towers. Marquis bolted as expected. His naked body was easy to spot in the moonlight from the air, so he was snatched by one of the Petras, trance, and put in the cage on Q-Bert where the gang was flown to the Blue Obelisk and uploaded into other arks. The base then became the north base originally planned but not built due to the original attack.

The search is now on to find the Stargate to return back to Bermuda.

[rpicardi1]

The last part is going to get some additional work which is why it is not included.

Chapter 20. The Search for the Star Gate.

It is day 360 on the Ark as we saddle the newly claimed raptors, the saber and our patchys to go explore along the river on the edge of the Snow Biome. Carlos and Mickey are out with Nessie to check out the caves in the North. Denny and Julia are back at Cave base securing it to bring back Horror and Terror with them. They report that they plan to return on day 364. I come back after a quick flyby on Q-Bert and secure him in the newly expanded pen.

“Looks clear of major predators” I report. “Lets each pick a mount and check out the east shore of the river of the Snow Biome. Take tranc darts for the rifles in case a wild Rex, spino, or Carno shows up that we have to deal with. We could run into Sabers and Dire Wolfs as well. If we can, we should tame a pack of Dire Wolves for our use. They can be ridden without saddles. Lets bring enough narcs along for the job. We can use the raptors to get us more meat.”

The five of us head to the top of the waterfalls to observe a strange contrast. On our side, the weather is comfortable. Across the river, freezing cold.

South of the Frozen Fang, we spot a pack of four Dire Wolves in the Snow Biome not too far from the river. “Should we try to get them?” ask Michael. “Lets lay a trap and bring them to us.” I respond. “Here is a high outcropping of boulders we can climb up on,” says Joe. “Lets place the Patchys and Raptors behind out of sight,” I say. “Mary, take the saber to get their attention. He should be fast enough to outrun them if you get into trouble. Jump him across the river when you reach it at our trap. The rest of us will tranc them with darts when they get close to us. The gray one is The Alpha Male according to my spotting scope. It may take several rounds to drop him. Everyone pick a wolf to drop and when it is down, I'll ask for help on the alpha.”

Mary rides across on the saber towards the pack. We yell at the wolves to get their attention. The Alpha Male soon takes interest in Mary on the saber and howls for his pack to attack.

The wolves are fast, almost as fast as the cat on a dead run. Mary gains some needed distance in the jump across the river. She leads them into the trap where five tranc darts hit their target. Three wolves drop, the other two stop, then try to jump up on the boulders to get us. “Michael, Hit the brown one again. Joe, hit the Alpha,” I say. The brown one drops with the second shot as the Alpha goes down with our combined shots.

“Three more are coming,” Shouts Caroline. “Michael and I will take out that Black one,” I say. You and Joe drop the other two. Wait until they get close to the others.” Three more wolves soon join the four others.

“Wow, seven wolves at once,” says Mary as she returns with the saber. “We should have enough narcs for them all but will definitely need more meat.”

“You and Caroline take care of the tame,” I say. “Tranc and kill anything that tries to harm them. Michael, Joe and I will take the raptors and saber to get us some more meat. We will scout the area for any danger near by and take out any threats.”

Michael and Joe ride the raptors as I ride the saber. We take out several dilos in the area and get into a fight with a Compy Gang. “Try to keep them out from under your feet,” I shout. “Take then head on and we will be rid of them in no time.” Some more Dilos, a Phemona, and a Parasaur later, and we have all the meat that we can carry.

Returning to Mary and Caroline, we are just in time as they are down to the last of the meat. “We are nearly done with the lower level wolves,” says Mary. “The two Alphas are about halfway.”

“What happens with two Alphas when they wake up? Will there be a fight for dominance?” Joe ask. “No,” says Mary. “This higher level gray one will become the combined pack alpha. The black one will be second in line.”

The four females and a male soon wake up tamed. They get the names of Coco, Lady, Maggie, Stella, and Rags. The two Alphas get the name Ace and Andy when they wake up later.

“Might as well take the patchys, raptors, and saber back to base,” I say. “Then we can come back out with the wolf pack and get them leveled up.” “I'll put them on follow you and ride behind to watch that none of them get hung up on a rock or tree.” Mary says.

At noon back in the North Base, I radio Denny and Julia. “When you leave to come back to the North Base, just ride Horror and Terror back. We have a wolf pack for the rest of us can ride on.”

We spend that afternoon exploring along the base and slope of the Frozen Fang with the wolf pack and drop some Mastodons for meat and pelts. The extra pelts are packed on Stella and Rags. Mary rides behind to make sure they don't get hung up. They follow quite well with few problems. “We have enough pelts for fur armor for all of us,” Mary announces as we head back for the evening. “Good,” I say. “We should be able to explore the Snow Biome tomorrow without freezing to death.”

Carlos and Mickey meets them back at North Camp. “Giant Wolves,” Mickey comments. “And no saddles needed to ride them. I didn't know that they existed.” “They did at one time,” says Mary. “They are called Dire Wolves. They were living during the Ice Age with Mastodons and the giant elks. If you two want to, you can ride with us on Stella and Rags tomorrow. I will have fur armor ready.”

“We finished our exploration on Nessie,” says Carlos. “Nothing unusual in the caves. We got more oil, pearls, and enough raw meat to keep Nessie fed for weeks.”

We put on the fur armor finding that it is as heavy as a stack of wood, so we all pack to travel light. Only a stack of cooked meat, pick, hatchet, canteen, a pike, torch and a spare, and either a crossbow or longneck rifle with trancs.

The Snow Biome is cold even with the fur armor, but, at least, we are not freezing to death. The wolves help with the warmth as well as we explore the slopes of Whitesky Peak up to the Blue Obelisk. We find the location of the petrified Survivor that afternoon and pause for a moment of remembrance.

“Should we explore the cave at the cliff?” ask Michael. “No,” I say. “It is extremely dangerous to take the slippery path on the cliff where there are two dangerous jumps to reach the entrance. If you slip, you will end up in the freezing shark infested sea with no way back up. Besides, the passageways in the cave are so narrow that you have to crawl through them. There are pit traps everywhere. Unless one is desperate for the artifact found there, the risks are not worth it.” “Lets head back and wait for Denny and Julia,” Michael says.

The next morning, Denny and Julia return with Horror and Terror. “Where did you find the wolves?” ask Denny and Julia. “We got them on the edge of the Snow Biome.” answers Mary. “We harvested Mastodons with them for the fur armor and have completed our survey of Whitesky Peak. We are now ready to survey The Grand Hills volcano. I have fur armor for you in case you need it at the summit. Fly Horror and Terror into the crater and check things out. It should be safe up there. We will look for a path up on the slopes with the wolf pack.”

“We found a cave entrance in the crater,” Denny radios back. “Wait for us to get up there,” I radio back. “It may take us a while to find a path up this steep slope.”

It takes the better part of the afternoon to find a path over the crater rim. Horror and Terror are easy to spot. “The cave entrance is cloaked from the outside but is big enough to bring all the pets through.” Denny reports. “Lets go inside and bring the pets in to keep them safe,” I respond.

We bring the birds and wolves inside to secure them from any predators outside. As the passageway past the inside is too small for the pets, we leave them behind. “Have the pikes ready,” I say. “The tranc darts won't work on Titanboas that may be living down there.”

We proceed down the long winding path in the volcano throat to the floor way below. Unlike the other land caves I have been in, this one is free of all creatures.

At the floor level, a door is open leading into a well lit alien looking room. We put our torches out and enter the room. The door closes behind us. Suddenly, our weapons, armor, and inventory all vanishes. We find ourselves dressed in our original thatch clothing. “Have a seat,” an alien voice comes out of nowhere. “We are the keepers of the Ark. No doubt, you have a lot of questions to ask about us about this Ark.”