Aurora

The Aurora is a spacecraft sent to the Ariadne Arm by Alterra Corporation in order to a build a phasegate. However, a secondary mission, unknown to most crew, was to search for and if possible, rescue the survivors of the Degasi.

During its descent on Planet 4546B, it was struck by a mysterious energy pulse resulting in catastrophic hull failure, leading to its crash landing on the surface of the planet. Lifepods were launched before impact and several survived. One of them, Lifepod 5, contained the player.

By the time the player awakens and begins exploration of the area, all of the other Lifepods have been destroyed. As the containment field has failed, the ship's wreckage is surrounded by Radiation.

The crash resulted in large quantities of Metal Salvage and Supply Crates being dispersed within the vicinity of the ship. It can be very useful for users needing materials for food or Titanium.

Main Mission
PHASEGATE ANNOUNCED FOR THE ARIADNE ARM: ALTERRA LAUNCHES THE AURORA

The furthest reaches of inhabited space are due to expand, as Alterra Technologies launches the Aurora, a newly-constructed capital ship carrying state-of-the-art phasegate technology, bound for the Ariadne Arm. The Aurora will travel from spacedock on the edge of Alterra space, making 324 consecutive warpgate jumps through nine different trans-gov authorities, and arrive on the far side of the Ariadne Arm of solar systems in approximately three months. From there the 100-strong crew will pilot the ship beyond the furthest warpgate, arriving in Solar System 84763 approximately 12 months later. There the elite team of engineers will begin a 6 month construction project which will see the new phasegate fully operational less than two years from today. The crew will be eager to complete the work on time, since the phasegate represents their fastest route home. Alterra Technologies currently operates 9% of all phasegates in the galaxy. If the Aurora's mission is successful Alterra will have outmaneuvered various private interests in the Mongolian Empire, which have to date established a number of outposts and mining operations in the region. The launch ceremony proceeded with the usual fanfare...

Secret Auxiliary Mission
SENIOR PERSONNEL ONLY

Mission type: Search & Rescue Mission target: Crew of the Mongolian Empire vessel 'Degasi' Mission location: Ariadne Arm, 3 light years beyond furthest phasegate

Mission contact: Emissary Jochi Khasar, Aurora Passenger Quarters, Room 4

Mission brief: Aurora is due to pass through System 2001 approximately 13 months post-launch. The Aurora is scheduled to perform a gravity slingshot maneuver around planet 4546B. This will bring you within range of the Degasi's last known position.

The Mongolian Empire lost contact with private vessel 'Degasi' 18 months after it left colonized space. The Empire has purchased passage aboard Aurora for Emissary Khasar, and your orders are to afford him every reasonable facility to locate and, if appropriate, retrieve Degasi crewmembers, without compromising the primary mission.

Degasi crew manifesto has been distributed to senior officers in a separate data package.

Mission classification: Aurora crew should not be informed of this mission until such time as their co-operation in locating or retrieving Degasi crew is required. It should be stressed that humanitarian auxiliary missions fall outside normal remuneration structures.

Crash
Some more information on what happened just before the crash was released on 6th of August 2015, hidden within the update post of the Habitat Update.

Clicking on the "LOG" buttons placed all over the page results in displaying a window with what appeared to be short snippets of a conversation between two employees at the Colonial Headquarters, with a few nods to the Natural Selection game series. The last of these logs, however, only shows a code consisting of hex values. Converting them into ASCII characters and deciphering the result using the Cesar Cipher reveals the hidden message.

Colonial Headquarters - 15 minutes prior to Aurora impact.

Controller: Sit rep!

Analyst: Ma'am, the Aurora's gone dark. Last known position on collision course with planet 4546B.

Controller: Did the life pods launch?

Analyst: None registered so far, Ma'am. And there's something else.

Controller: Say it.

Analyst: When the Aurora left dock, her emergency equipment was still on factory settings.

Controller: You're telling me we have a bird in the soup, and their Survival PDAs are running VANILLA?!

Analyst: That's the situation, Ma'am... Ma'am, what should we do?

Controller: Bring me every star chart, tech geek and concentration enhancer in the building...

Analyst: Yes Ma'am!

Controller: ...and god DAMN it you build me an update package, and you find me a way to flash them Version 1.1!

Analyst: Ma'am, there's not enough bandwidth to send everything, but I think I can optimise the automated habitat terraforming algorithms to fit them in.

Controller: You mean to say we have survivors out there with rock-faces jutting into their habitats? Make it so!

Controller: The moment we're done here I want to know who let that ship leave dock without a single room in the constructor database!

Controller: Listen up, I want this package streamlined! You don't need a focus-group approved surface texture when you're fighting for your life on an alien world. If the power systems are beta, pack them up and move on!

Controller: Tell me about this planet the Aurora was orbiting.

Analyst: Unexplored. Capable of supporting life. Ocean planet. O2 atmos-

Controller: Backtrack. Ocean planet?

Analyst: Affirmative. Does it mean something?

Controller: It means we're in more trouble than we thought. Get me the fluid dynamics team!

Analyst: Update package away, Ma'am.

Controller: Well done everyone. Now get back to work.

Analyst: Ma'am, the team needs to rest.

Controller: Listen up! Anyone who wants to tell me they've got it bad, stop and ask whether you'd rather have been on the Aurora. They're alone right now. They're scared. They're beset on all sides by alien nightmares - and it's only going to get worse. If you still think you should be resting rather than working on a way to keep those people safe, you bring it to me and you'll be reassigned. I'm sure the TSF could use some more bodies in the Kharaa conflict.

AI Speech
Aurora has a built-in AI which reports the Aurora 's state before its explosion.

First Speech
"Scanning the Aurora. 0 life signs detected. Lethal radiation levels detected. The main drive core has malfunctioned. The primary dark matter containment field has dropped at 36% amplitude. Continuing to monitor."

This is the first report about the Aurora's state. The user can safely ignore this warning and continue playing.

Second Speech
"Caution! Readings from the Aurora suggest erratic fluctuations in the primary dark matter containment field. A breach of the main drive chamber may cause a cascading quantum flux detonation."

This is the second report about the Aurora's state. At this stage, the user is advised to begin gathering materials for the Radiation Suit.

Third Speech
"Warning! Readings from the Aurora exhibit characteristics consistent with total degradation of the dark matter containment field. Spikes in quantum fluctuations suggest an uncontrolled cascade detonation will occur with a probability of 83.5%."

This is the third report about the Aurora's state. It is absolutely vital to have a Radiation Suit at this stage. If the user didn't craft the Radiation Suit yet, they are advised to craft it as soon as possible.

Fourth Speech
"Emergency! Readings from the Aurora show severe instability in the primary drive core. The central dark matter reactor will reach a supercritical state in T-10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2."

This is the fourth and the last report about the Aurora's state. If the user still hasn't crafted the Radiation Suit at this stage, he can still craft it after the message has started playing; he has twenty three seconds to craft it and equip it from the beginning of this message. Alternatively, the player could completely ignore crafting the Radiation Suit.

Explosion
When Aurora's central dark matter reactor reaches a supercritical state, the Aurora will explode. It is still possible to remain alive without a Radiation Suit at this point. Though, the Radiation may spread to the player's escape pod, thus forcing the player to move outside the radiation zone.

Exploring the Aurora
Over the course of several in-game days, the ship's computer announces imminent containment failure, eventually leading to a ten second countdown and a gigantic explosion. The in-game timer will begin either when the user starts a new game, or updates and reloads an old save.

The explosion is focused towards the forward section of the ship.

Only after the explosion is the player able to explore inside the Aurora, and only if equipped with a Radiation Suit. Fire and dripping molten steel can injure the player, and periodic shaking of the hull occurs. Further dangers are posed by the Reaper Leviathans that spawn around the ship, and the Cave Crawlers that litter the entrance area of the ship.

By going up a ramp in the torn up front section of the Aurora, the player can enter a corridor that leads inside the ship. On the way up, the user can find several supply crates with crafted items inside of them. The door leading to the T-section is partially blocked off by fire. Fortunately, there are a few Fire Extinguishers lying around, which can come in handy. When the player walks in, to the left will be a sign that says Sign_Aurora_Airlocks. This is most likely a placeholder.

To the right of the T-section, there is a door which is blocked off by fire. The left corridor leads to the "Cargo Bay 3". The right door leads to "Administration". These rooms are indicated by signs on the Aurora itself. The administration office has a Data Terminal with a downloadable log titled "Alterra Launches the Aurora". The Office also contains Shelves, a Desk, and a Prawn Suit poster, which can be taken. It also contains an Abandoned PDA with a Data Download under the headline "Essential Life Things", which will give the player the code "1454".

If the player goes down the left corridor, there is rubble blocking the entrance to Cargo Bay 3. The Propulsion Cannon and Repulsion Cannon can move these out of the way. There is then a locked door with a keypad that can be interacted with. Entering the code 1454 from the previously mentioned Data Download into the keypad will open the door. The Cargo Bay is a large area full of Cargo Containers, Supply Crates, and a few other miscellaneous things.

There is a cargo elevator in the cargo bay, which is stuck halfway.

Following the ramp down, there is then an underwater section which leads to a T corridor. To the left, there will be a Sealed Door. To the right, there is a room called the "Seamoth Bay". The door to this room is locked, but there is a damaged panel which the Welder can repair. When this panel is repaired, the door is unlocked, and the player can enter. The Seamoth Bay contain many pieces of a damaged Seamoth, which can be scanned.

Going through the Sealed Door will lead the player into a locker room. Some of the lockers are open and have loot inside. There is an Abandoned PDA with a Data Download titled "Sweet Offer". It will give the player the code "1869".

Leaving the locker room, there will be a sign labeled "Prawn Suit Bay". This is the location where the Prawn Suit Fragments will be found in the near future. The door to this room is locked, and like before, has a panel that needs to be repaired. Once the door is unlocked the player can proceed into the room. This room has multiple Prawn Suits hanging from the ceiling, presumably waiting to be deployed. To the right is a pile of rubble with broken Prawn Suit Fragments and other miscellaneous things piled on top of each other. Next to that is a ramp blocked off by fire and rubble. Once those are cleared, there is a door that leads to the "Living Quarters".

The Living Quarters are various rooms that provided living conditions for the various crew and passengers on the ship. If the player goes right, there is a room filled with Filtered Water and Nutrient Blocks. If the player goes left, there is a galley. There are Bar Tables and Chairs lying on the ground, along with a few handy supply crates. There is a Vending Machine to the left, and a "Keep Calm" poster.

At the front end of the corridor, there are sleeping quarters for the people on board. There are beds, a "Natural Selection 2" poster, and a few lockers. To the left there is another corridor, with 2 locked doors. One of the doors is unlocked by the code in the log named "Sweet Offer". In this room a Cap and an Arcade Gorge Toy can be found.

Backtrack to the T corridor from earlier, and this time, go straight. This will lead to the Drive Room.

Drive Room
Inside the Drive Room are four large generators. They are connected by catwalks, though some are underwater and heavily damaged. The generators are covered in breaches and the player's objective is to repair them using the Welder. Repairing the breaches removes the radiation entirely after three in-game days.

When entering the generator room, the PDA warns the player that radiation is at maximum tolerable levels. In the future, when the breaches are repaired the player will get the Aurora's Blackbox data.

The Power Upgrade Module for the Cyclops can also be found in the Drive Room. It sticks out from the upgrade console at the center of the room. Bleeders can also be found in the water around the generators. There is a tunnel through the ship's hull that starts inside the Drive Room and leads outside the Aurora.

Resources

 * Power Upgrade Module
 * Pressure Compensator MK1
 * Metal Salvage
 * Supply Crates:
 * Battery
 * Disinfected Water
 * First Aid Kit
 * Nutrient Block
 * Power Cell
 * Signal

Fauna

 * Bleeder
 * Cave Crawler
 * Reaper Leviathan

Data Bank Entry
Mission: Ariadne Arm Phasegate Installation, 3 year operation time

Crew: Command Team (23), Engineering Team (85), Support Crew (40), Passengers (9)

Facilities:
 * Dark-matter ion drive V8
 * Engineering section with A Grade facilities (incl manned robotics suite and full scanner range)
 * 0.25 cubic kilometers storage for phasegate installation apparatus
 * Habitation section with C+ Grade leisure facilities

Status:
 * Sustained heavy damage in orbit of planet 4546B
 * Cause unknown
 * Evacuation data unavailable

Gallery
For a more complete gallery, visit Aurora/Gallery.

Trivia

 * The riddle was solved, on the same day of the Habitat update's release, by /u/Zarickan on Reddit.