Subnautica tells the story of Ryley Robinson, the sole survivor of the spaceship Aurora, which crash-lands on the ocean-coveredplanet 4546B while on a mission to study a previous wreck, the Degasi. The player must survive in a dangerous alien environment, discover the secrets of an ancient intelligent race (the Architects), and find a cure for a lethal bacterial infection, the Kharaa virus which it has took over 140 billion in indibiduals, to escape the planet.
The Aurora attempts to perform a slingshot maneuver in the atmosphere of Planet 4546B with 157 people aboard to begin the construction of a new phase gate in the Ariadne Arm. Secretly, the Aurora is also tasked with locating the crew of the Degasi, although the crew did not expect to find anything. The Quarantine Enforcement Platform detects the Aurora and fires at it, resulting in it crashing on 4546B, and the crew is forced to evacuate. 29 to 44 people manage to eject in Lifepods 1-25, but only ten manage to make it to the surface. It is possible that other life pods made it to the surface, however outside the Crater, but probably succumbed to the Ghost Leviathans that reside in the void. Only one Lifepod carried a dead passenger. Each Lifepod landed in different Biomes. One, in particular, is Lifepod 5, housing the Non-Essential Systems Maintenance Chief, Ryley Robinson. He is knocked unconscious for three hours by a loose panel during its descent. All the other surviving crew members perished during this period of unconsciousness.
