Story: Pre-Subnautica + MLP
Chapter: 10. Ryley Robinson - Backstory
Author: Black--Soul

Ryley Robinson was a 20 years old male fresh cadet out of the engineering Corp of the second best Altera Elite school. Unfortunately did his family wasn't able to afford the best school, nor did they have enough influence to bypass the bribes needed for the most elite school Altera had for young engineerings, but he would make do. He had with exception to religion and multi language classes only the second highest ratings archived in his class.

While he was uncomfortable being only the 10th highest student in his class do to his opposition having bribed themselves into higher ratings, did he actually learned and earned his skills. While now a day's it was actually only required to be able to maintain and re-program as well as operating electronics, did he teached himself to repair the stuff others operated.

Something many other laughed about since it was unnecessary unless one was in the army or planned to go there. Many people take the military as a last ditch effort, but he liked to hold all his options open and enjoy additional qualifications on his papers.

Now that he graduated with high honors, would he go trough training and short term service to gain additional experience in practicing what he had only experienced in simulations.

Fixing something that had been bend out of shape or that need rewire do to short circuits are as his father told him are always easyer in simulations where everything was clean, well stocked in inventory and given with unrealistically long time frames that would allow someone to simulate 3-4 repair instead of the reality only giving one time for one bearly working patchwork fix that would not hold for long...

In the army he would get over complicated problems in to short time frames to work with. That would in fact give him in more laid back job give him the time edge to be the best of his crew and there for work himself the honest way up the ladder of success.

That would in the long term spare him many bribes his colleagues would pay usually alongside him. It was a well known fact that many Ship captains this days hired the freshly finished individuals from the elite school and worked them to the bone for a year to see who was worth their metal.

After a year they would than only leave the truly well studied and experienced on ship for the crew, while giving out letters of recommendation out. That in fact was known to ruine once chances to gain good jobs since only the washout personal stayed for a year.

By bribes and Familie connection could someone get to stay on a ship for the minimum of 3 years, so they would not have to fear a outcome that would see them in the 3th class of the money makers. While 3th class was still respectable, did a 2th grade pay allow for genetic modification that paved the way to potentially get a 1th grade job.

The higher the pay the higher a chance getting over 100 years old by having ones body restoration securities assurance, since work accidents happened eventually or one needed a synthetic organ for one reason or another.
The richest capital ship engineering Corp member in modern history is 160 years old, has both legs and arms replaced twice do to accidents and some organs probably as well. Still he looks like a 35 year old man with bearly any scars and job offers that will see him probably retired by 180 and not working a day after.

Ryley Robinson own father made it to 120 years before he retired and started a family. With his father reaching 142 years, is he still young thanks to genetic modification and synthetic organs. If Ryley himself didn't screw up, he might get to retire way earlier and have his father help him raise a brother or son just yet.

With 45 billion humans on 40 Altera worlds is population control very strict up to getting forcefully drafted into the human war maschine of the Empire of Altera to fight off other mega cooperations. Unless of course one has earned his higher citizenship status with extra privileges.

But that was a thought for another time.

Today would he sign up for a military backwater planet focused on warship and equipment repairs and restoration and once he archived his minimum on requirements in service would he try hire on one of the currently in production waiting research ships or gate builder cruisers.

If everything run smoothly he could join on the Stargazer, the Antaeus, the Enterprise or the Aurora when they came out the final production in 15 years.

He would than work 5 years on deep space and eva training, until the next-generation of gateway expanding would follow to claim more colonies for the Altera mega cooperation empires citizens.

By than they probably breach the 50-ish billion marker on population...
Better to raise once family before the Gavourment starts demanding 2th class citizenship to even have the right to get procreation as a option.

Unless the 'Triad' or 'U.N.N.' mega cooperations start more than a border zone war. But that was something he really hoped would not be in the lifetime of his father and himself anymore.

Even if things go quantum nuclear levels of South, he might be able to secure a space for himself and his remaining family far off the Frontline. After all, new expansion planets are often to far off the established ship traveling grid to bring them towards the usually on the other end of the empire side required planets outside absolutely desperate times. Even than it was to expensive to be called upon for unless one needed 3th grade meatshield citizens or lower.

2th grade personnel needed for expansion project was only plausible to be called upon the meat grinder of human warzones if the rest of the Empire would run dry of 5th, 4th and 3th class citizenship members of the Altera mega cooperation empire.

With U.N.N. being mostly defensive and giving their soldiers more valuable equipment, while the Triad literally won by simply throwing people at the enemy until the got swarmed or they run out of ammo.

Being a Altera citizen really was a nice middle ground.
Also very remarkable was that Altera outside the border conflicts openly traded with its small or big rivals.

20.000 years of space age exploration and expansion and humanity is still its own worst enemy. What a sad fate. At least it would not go extinct even if 2 of the mega cooperation nations kicked the bucket trough what ever humanity would be suffering.

But how likely was it that roughly 100 billion humans just kicked the bucket on the side of Trias and U.N.N. ?

Time to start the rest of his life today and who knows what would from today in exactly 20 years time awaiting him?

In 20 years in another part of the universe will the Subnautica story begin for the man that survived in Lifepod 5.

But his adventures would be quite different and not nearly as lonely as we all have played it beforehand.

Leave a rating and comments if you don't mind. Polite constructive criticism is always welcome.

Stay Snuggly.