**--- POV - LEIF ---**
{Warning. Hull failure imminent. All personnel must abandon ship.}
A loud alarm siren is blaring, the ground is shaking, and a mechanical female voice is repeating the message.
"Leif, don't just stand there! Get into the Lifepod quickly, the Aurora is about to crash into the planet!"
I look to the side and see a man, who was about to enter his own Lifepod, calling out to me. Instinctively, I follow his orders, as if I already knew what to do. I quickly entered the pod he indicated, with the number 5 written on the front.
As I descend the ladder, it feels like something is taking control of my body. I quickly sit in the safety chair and press the digital panel on the armrest, lowering the harness and locking myself in place.
{Launch initiated in 3... 2... 1}
A loud sound of something being ejected echoes out, and the Lifepod detaches from something and begins what feels like a fall. Then I see what looks like a massive explosion, shaking the Lifepod and setting off alarms, with various components breaking and circuits sparking with electric discharges.
A metal panel comes loose from the circuits and starts swinging violently.
My eyes follow the panel as it slams around inside the Lifepod, until I realize it's coming straight toward me.
"Oh no! Not again... I haven't even figured out what happened to me or if this is a dream..."
Just as I say that, the metal panel strikes me directly in the head, and I begin to lose consciousness — but not before hearing a mechanical voice, different from the one in the Lifepod:
[Creature Collection and Taming System activated...
Initializing synchronization with Host...]
Before I could finish hearing it, I passed out.
---
**--- POV - THIRD PERSON ---**
A massive spaceship, 1280 meters long and 500 meters high, called Aurora, was about to crash into an aquatic planet after being struck by an unknown weapon that damaged its hull and systems.
All the Lifepods on the starboard side of the Aurora had been completely destroyed, and their crew members were dead.
The Lifepods on the stern side of the *Aurora* began detaching, but some were completely disintegrated by the ship's energy pulse — like Lifepods 2, 8, 9, and 11, which were broken apart and incinerated before getting far enough from the ship, leaving no trace behind.
Others were incinerated in the atmosphere before even hitting the surface, like Lifepods 14, 15, 21, 23, and 25.
But one Lifepod remained unused: Lifepod 1. This meant someone was still aboard the Aurora, even as it plummeted.
Approaching the ship's control center was Captain Hollister, wearing a serious expression as he made one last effort to keep the ship intact and attempt a controlled descent, so that any potential survivors could contact Alterra HQ for long-range assistance.
"Come on! Work... just one last effort. I brought them here — I need to give them at least a chance to survive!" — Captain Hollister said, his voice strained with tension as he tried to pilot the *Aurora* alone and desperately scanned the planet in search of solid ground for a potential regroup point.
In less than five seconds, the mechanical voice of the Aurora spoke:
{Landmass detected. Coordinates attached.}
Captain Hollister pressed a contact button, trying to reach Lifepod 19, where the ship's Second Officer, Keen, was located.
"Come on, come on... work!" — he said, pressing the button desperately.
When the connection signal appeared, he spoke quickly:
"Keen! This is the Aurora, do you copy?"
"This is Keen. Lifepod has been detached, Captain. Planetfall in 30 seconds." — Keen responded quickly.
"The computer found a landmass at the attached coordinates! I want you to regroup the crew there!" — Captain Hollister said, transmitting the location to the Lifepod.
"Understood, Captain, but—" — before Keen could finish, Hollister interrupted him.
"They're your responsibility now, Keen. Don't let them down!" — he said firmly.
"Captain, you need to evacuate!" — Keen said urgently.
"Negative. You'll need the entire ship if you want to contact HQ from long range. I'm attempting a controlled descent." — Hollister replied seriously.
Then, the contact radio exploded, casting a bright flash across Hollister's face. He instinctively raised his hand to shield himself from the light but quickly returned his hand to the *Aurora*'s control panel.
"Let's go... I can do this. I was trained for this moment." — Hollister told himself, then started pressing buttons on the control panel. He sat down in the command chair of the *Aurora* and began piloting the ship with one last effort.
From a distance, the *Aurora* could be seen maneuvering upward to avoid a direct nose-first crash, and then it came down, creating a massive crater.
"Let's hope that's enough to contact Alterra..." — Hollister muttered with a sigh. But before he could even stand up, a burst of energy exploded inside the control cabin, killing Captain Hollister instantly.
---
**--- POV - LEIF ---**
**--- 3 HOURS LATER ---
I begin to regain consciousness, still dazed by the events I haven't had a chance to fully process.
But before I can even stop to think, I feel intense heat, like something is about to burn me. I open my eyes quickly and see that the place I'm in is on fire.
Instinctively, I try to break free.
"Come on, damn it... Get off!" — I say, trying to lift the harness. I press the buttons on the chair's arm panel, and the harness releases.
I spot a fire extinguisher and quickly grab it, putting out the flames as fast as I can.
Once the fire is out, the lighting inside the Lifepod improves. Then I pick up what looks like a tablet.
It starts updating rapidly, and a message appears with the logo of what seems to be a company called Alterra:
{Entering EMERGENCY MODE}
{30%... 60%... 100%...}
"Where am I? What does this mean? Is this a dream?" — I ask out loud, hoping someone — or something—might answer my confusion.
Then, a voice in my head speaks again:
{You suffered a minor blow to the head. Physical integrity: normal.}
Next, the same voice speaks again, this time coming from the small transparent tablet:
{This PDA has been rebooted in emergency mode with one directive: keep you alive on an unknown planet.
Please consult the database for detailed survival advice. Good luck.}
And then it goes silent.
"What? You're not even going to give me an explanation? Nothing? How did I end up here?" — I say, frustrated.
Five seconds go by in silence. Then I start looking around the cabin and climb the ladder, opening the top hatch.
As I exit, I see a massive futuristic spaceship falling a few kilometers away from me. Then the voice speaks again:
{Aurora has suffered orbital hull failure.
Cause: unknown.
No human life signs detected.}
I look down and see a vast ocean, seemingly endless and terrifying.
"Shit... How the hell did I end up in this situation?" — I say, exasperated.
[Synchronization with Host complete.
Welcome, Leif Erikson, to the Species Collection and Taming System.]
Hearing that same ethereal mechanical voice again, I flinch. Realizing what might have just happened, I say:
"Holy fuck shit!"
---
**Author's Note:**
Well, this was the beginning of the fanfic.
I think everyone knows which universe he's in right now, right?
I already have the second universe defined, okay? But you're welcome to suggest a possible third — I just don't want to go beyond that, or the fanfic might become tiring and repetitive.
Another point: I want him to rely on the protection and taming of creatures. I don't want to give him powers — that would be ridiculous and ruin the point of the story.
Of course, he'll have some upgrades to help him survive and bond with his companions, but nothing overpowering, okay?
Also, I'll only be exploring the first Subnautica game. I don't plan on expanding into Below Zero yet, because I haven't played it — I've only skimmed the story.
And no, this won't be a harem story. I'm still deciding on the romantic interest — or whether there'll even be one at all.
And also, as you can read, I took out a lot of lifepods right from the start, the ones that were left were the ones from the game, and some that I'm thinking of making some new stories with.
**Note:** If there are grammar mistakes, please let me know — I'm not fluent in English and I'm using ChatGPT and Grammarly to help fix things.