The Drifting Pioneer Ship Icarus

I stared at the scene before me, completely dumbfounded.

“What the actual fuck is this?”

The forest scent I’d been expecting never came. Instead, my nose was hit with the sharp tang of metal and the dry bite of disinfectant. What stretched out in front of me wasn’t lush greenery but walls of cold, silver steel. The space looked exactly like the starships I’d seen in old sci-fi movies from a lifetime ago.

I slowly reviewed the messages that had floated up earlier.

It looked like I was the only living person—survivor—on this ship. In their place, the security AI had activated its combat drones. Internal pressure was unstable, and the vessel itself was on the verge of catastrophic failure.

I was standing right in front of an airlock. The transitional space that let people move between the inside and outside of the ship. No wonder the security AI had immediately labeled me an intruder. An outsider who had forced their way in through the airlock. Technically correct, even if it raised the danger level a notch.

I turned my head and checked the location of the exit point. “The opposite airlock?”

The return coordinate was marked at the exact opposite end of the ship. I’d have to cut straight through the entire vessel to reach it. So the rule was that if you entered through an airlock, you had to leave through one too? There might be other unknown rules waiting for me at the exit.

For now, the plan seemed to be exploring the interior, gathering whatever resources I could, and then returning here.

Three hours. Compared to the measly thirty minutes I’d been given in the forest, this was practically generous. But the phrase “ship hull integrity failing” in the message kept nagging at me. I had no way of knowing whether those three hours were the limit the System had imposed, or simply how long the ship had left before it turned into cosmic dust.

It was dangerous. Every survival instinct I possessed was screaming at me to leave. But at the same time… I felt a greedy itch.

The resources I’d taken from the forest had been incredibly valuable to me. Yet what I could find inside this ship? It would be on a completely different scale. Even if I only brought back the bare minimum, it would change my life dramatically.

I slowly examined the room I was standing in. It felt less like a room and more like a corridor. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interior was spotless and completely empty. I pulled up the map. The area I was in was labeled as the Sterilization Quarantine Chamber. It seemed you had to pass through sterilization after using the airlock. Naturally, the door to the sterilization chamber was sealed tight.

I yanked on the handle and pounded the control panel, but the door didn’t budge. What had the message said earlier? That the security AI had designated me as an intruder. It must have locked every door to keep me out. The steel door was so thick and smooth that neither my pistol nor my rusty knife would leave so much as a scratch.

How the hell am I supposed to get through this?

After a brief moment of thought, my eyes landed on a corner of the wall. It looked like emergency protocols were similar no matter which world you were in. A bright red glass case stood out against the stark white wall. Inside it rested a heavy, axe-shaped tool.

This kind of glass would shatter easily if I hit it with the butt of my pistol. I gripped the gun backwards and slammed it into the case.

Thud! Thud! Crash—!

After a couple of solid hits, the reinforced glass cracked like a spiderweb and rained down onto the floor. I reached inside and wrapped my hand around the heavy handle. The cool metal fit perfectly in my palm, almost like it had always belonged there.

In that instant, a familiar and intense vibration pulsed near my heart.

A nauseating headache hit me as alien knowledge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was forcibly injected into my brain. The tool’s name was Breacher. It was an industrial cutting device designed to forcibly breach twisted steel bulkheads or thick armor plating during shipboard emergencies. The sharp blade was embedded with ultra-precise modules that generated ultrasonic vibrations.

While the usage instructions flowed into my mind, I lifted the axe. Ziiiing—! The moment I pulled the trigger, the entire blade trembled and emitted a high-pitched metallic screech that seemed to tear through the air.

I shoved the vibrating edge into the narrow gap of the sealed sterilization chamber door.

Kaaaang—!

A fierce recoil shot up my wrist, but the thick alloy began to peel away. A crack formed in the door that had refused to move even an inch.

“Nice. It’s opening.”

I put my entire body weight behind the handle and yanked.

Kwaaaaang!

The locking mechanism exploded with a deafening burst.

“That’s one hell of a tool.”

To think there was equipment capable of tearing through steel this thick. Was this the level of technology in this world?

Gripping my pistol in one hand and the Breacher in the other, I cautiously moved forward. The scene beyond the door was a nightmare.

A single human corpse lay sprawled out, apparently having fought desperately against a turret. The bulkhead showed signs of damage, suggesting the battle had been fierce. I waited a moment and scanned the area, but nothing else was moving—neither human nor machine.

The instant I took a single step into the room, the map updated.

It seemed this room stored gear for working outside the ship. That meant there might be something useful for me here.

I began examining the interior. Right beside the door, I spotted a terminal that appeared to control extravehicular operations. The main screen was filled with characters I couldn’t read. The moment I tried to decipher them, a heavy vibration pulsed near my heart again.

In an instant, the alien script that had looked like encrypted nonsense washed over me like a wave and rearranged itself into familiar Korean.

It seemed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ability didn’t just cover tool usage—it could translate text as well.

“This situation is way more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fucked up than I thought.”

Unfortunately, the map created by my authority didn’t display detailed labels like “Sector.” It only showed the purpose of areas I had physically stepped into. Still, the message was clear. Part of the ship had been torn open, and any section judged to have no survivors had its power and oxygen cut off. I’d need to be careful checking sector information before opening any more sealed doors.

I turned away from the terminal and scanned the rest of the room. True to its name—Extravehicular Activity Equipment Storage—various spacesuits and protective gear were scattered everywhere. Most of them were damaged from combat or heavy use. A few looked intact, but when I placed my hand on them and read their information, I could only shake my head.

Most of the equipment was designed exclusively for use in space. None of it would be practical back in Seongwon City. Trying to waddle around in those bulky suits in front of the special zombies would get me killed in seconds.

I shifted my gaze to the fallen turret and the corpse beside it. Next to the body wearing an engineer’s insignia on its chest lay a heavy, rifle-shaped chunk of metal. I picked it up immediately. The moment my fingers touched the cool grip, my mind flickered.

Nailer. Unfortunately, it wasn’t actually a gun. It was originally a high-pressure impact driver used to drive steel bolts into a ship’s outer hull during repairs. But this engineer had apparently overridden the safety mechanisms during an emergency and modified it into a projectile weapon.

There were about forty bolts left in the magazine.

“A hundred times better than relying on a single pistol.”

It had penetration power my handgun could only dream of. I set the Nailer down for now and began searching the corpse. The first rule of looting is checking the bodies. Sorry to the dead, but living people usually carried their most important items on them.

“Oh.”

The harness and belt layered over the corpse’s uniform caught my eye. The material looked incredibly durable, reinforced with mysterious metal plates in several places. Without hesitation, I stripped the gear from the man and adjusted it to fit my own body.

Engineer Utility Harness. Exactly what the name suggested—an auxiliary tool for engineers. It allowed you to attach tools and equipment to magnetic panels on the belt and chest.

I brought the Nailer I had set aside to my waist. Clack! With a satisfying metallic click, it locked perfectly into place. I attached the Breacher to the mounting port on my back. I tested the knife and pistol as well. Both clicked securely into their slots with a pleasant sound.

“This is seriously convenient.”

Even though my hands were now free, the weight on my shoulders actually felt lighter. I found myself looking down at the engineer’s corpse. The man who had unknowingly given me so much. His eyes were wide open, his body already cold against the floor.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, my chances of surviving in this godforsaken world have gone up a little. I’ll put this to good use.”

I quietly murmured the words and gently closed his eyes. It was the same phrase my dead comrades used to say whenever they looted fallen allies. After they were gone, I was the one left reciting it.

Feeling the weight of the metal tools I’d taken from him, I stood up. I had no idea why this man had been forced to fight a turret that should have been on his side. But one thing was certain—this incident aboard the ship was no ordinary accident.

This looting run was going to be long and brutal. But honestly, it didn’t matter. Ever since I’d been thrown into this apocalypse, there hadn’t been a single easy day in my life.

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