you have a point

You literally turned off the only QEP gun on the planet, you cured the infection, the only thing left for you to do is work until you die to pay off your debt once you're rescued from space.

but what about subzero? why the human returns

it does not make sense

You can hear the weapon firing again in the opening cutscene. It took more than one shot to bring down the Aurora. There probably wasn't time to target all the lifepods as well.

The whole "materials cost" debt thing is really just a parting gag. Practically speaking, it's probably just leverage for a settlement when Riley sues Alterra for putting him through the whole experience. People in the TSF are extremely litigious, as you might have picked up from the lore.

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

You can hear the weapon firing again in the opening cutscene. It took more than one shot to bring down the Aurora. There probably wasn't time to target all the lifepods as well.

The whole "materials cost" debt thing is really just a parting gag. Practically speaking, it's probably just leverage for a settlement when Riley sues Alterra for putting him through the whole experience. People in the TSF are extremely litigious, as you might have picked up from the lore.

QEP was designed to keep things from escaping, not for stuff already hurling toward the planet. The ship and the sunbeam were a threat, and so would the rocket if the QEP hadn't of been disabled, because they could escape the planet.

So the Aurora ended up crashed and eventually scuttled due to an uncontrolled reaction in the dark matter engine core. the Sunbeam was completely destroyed by the QEP.


Riley couldn't sue Alterra for force majeure, because it was exactly that, an unexpected event that couldn't of been predicted and Riley simply had to find a way around the issue. Riley needed to cure himself and escape, which were deliberate actions on his part, he can't claim that he didn't build the rocket to escape, a base to call home or use of such materials from across the planet as well as wreckage from the Aurora. Neither could he call raiding through the various architect installations to find a cure an accident either.

If this is about how legal the whole thing is, there is no way to explain away the circumstances or the events leading to his return home.

The Energy Core data entry says the weapon "is currently operating without parameters, suggesting it will target any ship within range". You can hear the QEP firing at the Aurora about twenty seconds into this recording from the intro.
https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Aurora#Intro

Compare it to the sound of the QEP firing on the Sunbeam, at around thirty-five seconds.
https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Quarantine_Enforcement_Platform#Version_1


There is little information about judicial specifics in the Trans-System Federation, aside from apparent widespread faith in the court system. Presumably, clever lawyers working for contingent fees and jurors sympathetic to the plight of a heroic survivor would still persuade Alterra to accept a reasonable settlement before the public drew their own conclusions. You can fight city hall. It's Twitter you should really be afraid of.

Plus it's just a gag. If you're trying to figure out the backstory about why the chicken wants to be on the other side of the road in the first place, I don't know how to help you.

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

The Energy Core data entry says the weapon "is currently operating without parameters, suggesting it will target any ship within range". You can hear the QEP firing at the Aurora about twenty seconds into this recording from the intro.
https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Aurora#Intro

Compare it to the sound of the QEP firing on the Sunbeam, at around thirty-five seconds.
https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Quarantine_Enforcement_Platform#Version_1

The PDA picked up a background transmission from the QEP and partially deciphered it:
"Warning: Unidentified craft in orbit of this planet will be destroyed."

Presumably it is the same instance for the Degasi, Aurora and the complete destruction of the Sunbeam for the same purpose. Of course after those ships end up going down in flames the gun stops firing because there is no escape at that point and it's purpose remains.

"This device houses energy equivalent to a 100MT nuclear detonation, which can be channeled through the facility and directed at vessels overhead, or bent around the planet's gravitational pull to strike targets in orbit. Power is routed via the attached terminal, allowing for the device to be deactivated if necessary. It is currently operating without parameters, suggesting it will target any ship within range. "

This is as far as the PDA can figure out, but architect technology has baffled the PDA a number of times before and after the QEP, so it casts doubt on the claim it has no instructions, especially considering:

The QEP control room:

"Control:
The control room in the lower section houses the only known way to interface with the facility, however the schematic does not detail the operation procedure or installed security measures."

or

Alien database terminals:

"It is likely a solid-state computer, although there is no clear way to interface with it. On approach it began producing a low-frequency radio wave containing complex but recognizable data patterns.

It is likely the alien species which designed this technology evolved, or genetically selected, sensory apparatus to 'hear' and understand the information being broadcast by the device, and to communicate back. The mental processing power required to perform this kind of telepathy would imply the designers were considerably more psychologically developed than the common human."

There is no way of knowing from what the PDA says if it really is firing without instruction or not with such contradictory information.