The Depths (Mallikai III): Difference between revisions
 Cdjensen94 (talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{Location | name = The Depths | image = TheDepths.png | caption-image = Sub-reactor caverns beneath Deep City | universe = Galaxa | planet = Mallikai III | classification = Subterranean Megastructure / Hazard Zone | purpose = Reactor housing, water reserves, infrastructure backbone | inhabitants = Troll (Mallikai III), Kantikor, maintenance mechs | danger_level = Extreme | affiliation = Deep City | status = Active / Restricted }} '''The D...") |
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* secondary and tertiary coolant loops | * secondary and tertiary coolant loops | ||
* water reservoirs storing | * water reservoirs storing roughly a quadrillion tons of pre-urban ocean | ||
* filtration plants | * filtration plants | ||
* sewage conversion stations | * sewage conversion stations | ||
Latest revision as of 20:43, 3 December 2025
The Depths refers to the colossal, labyrinthine understructure beneath Deep City on Mallikai III. It houses the planetary reactors, the subterranean water reservoirs, ancient infrastructure, and countless kilometers of forgotten industrial tunnels. Only the bravest, most desperate, or most foolish descend here. All official maintenance is performed exclusively by weaponized autonomous mechs—no living crew is permitted.
Overview
The Depths are simultaneously the lifeblood and the nightmare of Mallikai III. Every light on the surface, every functioning dome, and every atmospheric regulator is powered by the reactors buried deep within this endless substructure. Yet it remains one of the most hostile environments ever developed by a sentient species.
The region is characterized by:
- constant darkness
- dense metal architecture fused with ancient bedrock
- coolant rivers and steam vents
- kilometers of abandoned industrial scaffolding
- echoing caverns housing unknown fauna
Despite being fully enclosed, the area feels disturbingly alive—its metal skin groans, shifts, and pulses with reactor output.
Environment
The Depths exist in near-total darkness. Only operational machinery emits any illumination, and even then, most of it is dim hazard-lighting that flickers like dying embers.
Environmental conditions include:
- extreme darkness (zero natural light)
- unstable walkways and collapsed superstructures
- reactor heat bleed raising ambient temperature to 40–60°C
- intense magnetic interference
- chemical fog from coolant and steam leaks
- seismic rumbling caused by reactor cycles
The water reservoirs—remnants of Mallikai III’s pre-ecumenopolis oceans—are stored in vast pressure tanks and flooded retention caverns. Unknown deep-adapted organisms still live in these waters.
Fauna of the Depths
Though Mallikai III’s surface ecosystems are long gone, several original subterranean species continue to thrive below.
Trolls
The elusive Trolls are one of the most disturbing inhabitants of The Depths. They are rarely seen except in the blue flicker of mech sensors before vanishing. Trolls:
- see perfectly in total darkness
- feed on remnant fauna
- fight Kantikor with their bare hands
- fear bright light
- display signs of high intelligence
- leave behind rudimentary camp sites containing scavenged tools and alcohol drums
No dead Troll has ever been recovered, leading to theories that:
- they eat their dead, or
- they dispose of corpses in reactor furnaces (supported by anomalous organic readings in melt cores)
Trolls are naked, muscular, white-skinned, and possess black eyes adapted to absolute dark. Their avoidance of light has made study nearly impossible.
Kantikor
The Kantikor are the apex predators of The Depths—quadrupedal, tusked beasts resembling a hybrid between boar and feline. They:
- stalk dark corridors
- ambush maintenance mechs
- occasionally raid Deep City Grottos
- avoid light, though not as severely as Trolls
- engage Trolls in brutal territory battles
Tool-scored Kantikor corpses suggest Trolls hunt them for food.
Infrastructure
The Depths contain essential systems that Deep City and Surface City cannot survive without:
- primary reactor arrays
- secondary and tertiary coolant loops
- water reservoirs storing roughly a quadrillion tons of pre-urban ocean
- filtration plants
- sewage conversion stations
- thermal exchangers
- forgotten transit tunnels and ancient machinery
The deeper one descends, the older and more alien the infrastructure becomes. Some systems predate Mallikai III’s integration into the wider Galaxa universe.
Maintenance and Security
Due to safety protocols, all Sentient labor was abolished centuries ago. Only:
- weaponized maintenance mechs
- autonomous drones
- reactor-crawlers
- heavy-duty repair walkers
operate in The Depths.
These machines are armed because:
- Trolls dismantle them for parts
- Kantikor attack them for territory
- older constructs sometimes reawaken unexpectedly
All living personnel are prohibited from entering unless escorted by three or more anti-fauna exo-units.
Urban Legends and Reports
Workers whisper about:
- luminous eyes watching from vents
- massive shapes moving through coolant fog
- unknown species living in old aqueducts
- “echo ghosts” caused by audio-distortion in deep tunnels
- reactor furnaces momentarily flaring with organic signatures
- Troll chants recorded on malfunctioning comms
None of these have been authenticated, but the rumors persist.
Relationship with Deep City
The Depths are a necessity—an industrial underworld sustaining a megacity above. Yet it remains a realm no citizen wants to acknowledge. The city’s prosperity is built on machinery constantly threatened by the remnants of Mallikai III’s primal ecosystem.
Every year, a few desperate scavengers descend searching for scrap. Most never return.