They weren’t all here this time. Fluttershy refused to hear about leaving medical, and obviously Pinkie wouldn’t be able to join them. That meant only the three of them gathered together around the table meant to hold all seven, with Spike’s report in front of them and two prominent empty seats.
“You’ve both seen it,” Spike said, as soon as they’d finished with awkward progress reports. Hydroponics was coming along with more Geneseed, and there was still almost a full day before Spike’s project finished. “So I don’t need to tell you. We already got lots of great pictures to take back with us, to confirm for good that the Signal was sent by intelligent life.”
“Well yeah,” Applejack said. “Obviously. Ah know a city when I see one. But what else did you see?”
“Well…” Spike hesitated, shuffling through his papers before settling one sheet on the table between them. “Lots of things. I’ve been in the eye for hours, and…” he settled one large photo on the table between them.
It was obviously taken from the eye, capturing what it had been seeing at the time in perfect clarity, though only a few inches wide. This one showed the planet from above, with a perfect square cut straight through the metal buildings. From the scale Spike had scrawled on the image, Twilight could see it was a few miles across. A few miles of green trees and water and a single building in the exact center. “Eye found this—it’s the only place like it we can see plants growing down there, unless you count algae in the ocean.”
“Some kinda… palace, maybe?” Applejack suggested. “Maybe the princess lived there.”
“Could be,” Spike muttered. “But that’s not the only thing I found—”
Twilight cut him off. “What about messages? The signal is coming from somewhere, isn’t it? We only followed it here all the way from Equestria.”
Spike nodded. “From the ring. There’s, uh… a whole lot of energy coming off that ring. It’s almost five hundred degrees hotter than, uh… ambient.” He shuffled awkwardly through the pictures, depositing one on top of the first. “But that’s not the most interesting thing I found, Twilight. There’s…” he settled one slightly-ruffled picture on the table, then several more in a collage around it.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she stared. They were buildings that had fallen over, or been pierced by blows almost as wide as they were and severed. Huge craters that hadn’t pierced the thick city, but had certainly done terrible, devastating damage.
“Celestia above, it’s like we came here after a war,” Applejack pulled over one of the pictures, staring down at it. “Is the scale on this thing right?”
“Yes,” Spike didn’t hesitate this time. “I made sure. It’s all as close as the Eye can get.”
“How much of the planet looks like this?” Twilight asked, already dreading the answer. “And can you tell if it’s…”
“Recent?” Spike shook his head. “Doesn’t look like it is. Whatever that city is made of, it doesn’t rust or corrode, but where it’s been damaged there’s signs of… some kinda deposit. Looks like it probably took a long time.”
Was Cozy Glow right all along? The Signalers really were trying to destroy Equestria.
Except that when she thought about that, the dots didn’t quite line up. Wasn’t this the signalers’ own planet? If they’d been harvested for resources and the evil conquerors built the ring as a trap, why not harvest the metal from the planet below? And why build something so difficult and complicated anyway—even Equestria could build a big antenna.
“Maybe the planet is… uninhabitable,” Twilight suggested, voice timid. “And the survivors moved up into the ring. What do our scans suggest?”
Spike shook his head. “As far as I can tell, the planet is perfectly safe. Not too hot, not too cold, similar amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide.”
“There are worse weapons than guns, Spike,” Applejack muttered, pushing the pictures away. “Things that might sleep there, waiting for ponies to come back. I can’t think of why else they’d leave their fancy city-planet behind. They couldn’t come back.” She straightened in her chair. “Twi, I really think we ought to be thinkin’ about just how far this mission goes. We made it here, we got their message. When do we call it a victory and fire up the engines fer home?”
When we’ve signed a treaty of cooperation with the Signalers, she thought. But somehow she didn’t think saying it that way would be wise, not with morale so low. The paste was getting to them, and Pinkie Pie’s complete breakdown had not helped.
“The official doctrine of our mission suggested we should make peaceful contact with the Signalers,” she recited. “Then prepare any necessary supplies and return home in a period not greater than a decade.”
“Upper bound,” Applejack said. “I know she ain’t here, so I’ll speak what Fluttershy would be sayin.’ We’ve heard some mighty frightening things from Cozy—and now Pinkie Pie obviously needs the help ‘a real doctors. Now here we are, planet we came for all melted and broke.”
“Except for the ring,” Spike pointed out. “Obviously that’s still working. It’s still making the signal, and it must’ve sent the probe out to us. A probe that taught us how to build something amazing—how many more amazing things could the Signalers teach us?”
“Well, that depends,” Applejack sounded almost smug. “How many of our radio messages have they answered since we parked here?”
“None,” Twilight whispered. “The ring hasn’t signaled. And there’s no trace of activity from the planet.”
“Precisely,” Applejack took a deep breath. “Look, I know how much ya’ll came here to explore. I’m just wonderin’… when will we have explored enough? How much is left to figure out? The way I see it…”
1. Continue until formal diplomatic contact is established, or the signalers can be ruled out as definitely dead. That’s the real reason we’re here, even if it wasn’t written down quite that way in the charter. We’ve already sacrificed too much to give up now.
2. Dig a little deeper, but stop taking risks. We’ve sacrificed enough. We can keep scanning for a few weeks, maybe send out a few probes. If the signalers haven’t noticed us by then that must mean they don’t have anything important left to say. We can pack up and go home.
3. Make one last attempt to contact, then begin preparations to return immediately. Plenty of metal down on that planet to salvage for structural repairs. We can risk one more call, then we should get flying home. Equestria needs us.
4. Go right now. Whatever happened down there might be old, but it could be sleeping, waiting to kill again. We start accelerating right now without one more radio message. The risk of breaking apart mid-flight is nowhere near as high as whatever killed that planet finding us.
(Certainty 190 required)
I'm not sure where to vote on this, all the options are good... except AJ's.
Option one. We're here, might as well knock on the door and see what happens.
I'm starting to get a "Foundation" vibe off this planet.
Assuming (as some have suggested) there isn't a Part Two waiting for us back home, then we should stay. If we think there is, we could justify leaving.
It's tempting to pack up and go what with Pinkie injured and all. Not to mention the perceived safety of home. Ever since I started contrasting the crew's actions with those of Apollo 13, the prospect of continuing this story on terra firma is quite appealing. But it's also tempting to stay, what with the planet being right out our front windshield, and full mission success well within our grasp.
I'm going with 2. Stick around, try to find out what the buck went on here, but do it carefully. If nothing else, find out what the big project Spike's been working on puts out.
I don’t think AJ’s decision is needed, because it’s not like the Equinox was hiding all this time. Add that to the fact that the signilars haven’t responded to any of their messages implies that another probably won’t hurt. Or at the very least any threat won’t respond to radio.
There’s also a reference to “a ring”. Is that supposed to be an orbital ring, because I don’t think it was mentioned before (unless I missed it). Also the fact that it’s “500 degrees hotter than ambient” implies that there’s some serious power plant somehow still working in that thing. Probably a fusion (or multiple fusion) reactor(s), and asteroids probably broke off most/all of the radiators.
Also, apparently the transmitter is still working at 500 degrees. That is some robust engineering right there.
I say 2, we are here if we find the Singnalers great if they are dead lets figure out what killed them so we dont repeat their mistake.
*Facepalm*
Seriously? You haven't even started to truly explore anything yet. How much is there left to figure out? Uhh ... how about everything? Because we have yet to actually investigate anything at all besides giving things a rushed look-over from orbit with the marvels of Mk1 Eyeball?
I realize that morale isn't at an all time high right now, but Applejack is honestly just whining and being disingenuous at this point.
Besides, the same things still apply as they did the last time when going back home was brought up. Whatever happened back home is 40 years worth of cryosleep away. You can do nothing about it, and leaving a few weeks early is literally pointless and probably the worst decision you can make. And that's assuming their crysoleep technology is actually safe to use - with two out of four ponies emerging from it with brain scarring (and Twilight only not suffering Pinkie's dementia due to her alicorn-ness), there is no guarantee any of them sans Twilight can actually survive a return trip with their current technology.
Option 1 - stay and explore until you find something worthwhile, be it diplomatic contact or until you can salvage some useful technology from the planet that actually makes return trip a worthwhile and survivable experience.
Applejack seems to always be full of impulsive ideas, but they should tread carefully. They know too little.
1. What's the point in coming all this way to just half-ass the investigation and leave.
There's little point in continuing to knock if there's nobody home, but there are still several mysteries to investigate. At the very least, letting the alien tech play out to its conclusion could lead to some fascinating avenues of investigation and/or deadly peril.
And seriously, AJ, what did you think you were signing up for?
I'm on the side of most of the commenters here, stay take a look around and find out what happened, if nothing else for the sake of figuring out what attacked a race this advanced, and maybe avoid it finding Equestria, even if that means never going back
Im going with 2. We came all this way, we can't just leave now. I don't think we should do 1 as we may be biting off more than we can chew, but I have a feeling trouble will find us either way.
we should definitely stick around and figure out what is go on. at the very least find out what spikes project is going to reveal
;
Gonna have to think about how to vote, but I wanted to note something nobody's mentioned yet:
Now that's notable. A few square miles of plants amid the planetwide city. Maybe a park, or a preserve, or a memorial to the life that the Signalers once digitized. Except ...
The edges of the green zone are still sharp and square, despite the amount of time that's passed since the planet got cratered. Life isn't reclaiming the cities.
It's not that the ecosystem itself is hostile. Atmospheric readings seem alright, and any airborne or water-soluble agent introduced by the bombing should have long since spread to the green zone by now.
I suspect there's something actively preventing life from spreading outside the square. Perhaps it's just a sealed biodome, but it's hard to imagine that that would have survived both the bombing and the time since the damage. Otherwise, the question of why plants aren't spreading seems like a pretty crucial one to answer before landing.
Hmm....option 2. The crew isn't in a place to take risks, but they should at least stick around for a little longer. See what Spike's project yields. And can Pinkie even survive being refrozen and thawed?
Also, I suspect that whatever decision is made is going to be severely upended by what comes out of Spike's project in 31 hours. So it really comes down to whether the ponies are on their way out by then (options 3/4) or still in orbit (options 1/2).
Starting to leave before that finishes seems like the lesser option.
More now than before I get the sense that Starscribe is wanting us to head back to Equestria. So now, more than before, I want to stick around and find out what happened first. I vote until diplomatic contact!
I voted staying for the long haul.
We may want to consider doing something to improve morale next time the option appears in the vote. I doubt morale is low enough to cause a mutiny against everyone's best friend, Twilight. But with "Ditch the mission, I wanna go home" even being considered is a bad sign.
9328387
That reminded me of a Star Trek:TNG episode: The Survivors
I really want to know what's up with that!
I don't really like any of these options. I'd vote for a repair, refuel, fly out and send a message home with everything they learned (and leave a probe), then go back in to continue study. Or something similar to that.
Option 1. Keep trying to make contact, but for the love of Celestia, don't salvage a damn thing from the surface. Don't land. Don't do anything on the planet. This whole thing smells worse with every passing minute. Killer nanotech? A virus? There has to be some kind of hazard on the planet. Whatever it is, it could've gotten Equestria, too. After all, they stopped broadcasting at some point. What if the signalers have some kind of cure or solution for whatever this life-eradicating thing is? If they return to Equestria without it, and Equestria is in the process of becoming a barren husk with everyone dying from some nano-plague thing, they're screwed.
past [maybe?]
Sometimes not taking a risk is the biggest risk of all... the "careful" measures may not contact where the "less careful" ones would, and I think such contact may be vital for Pinkie's sake. Leaving before her condition is stabilized would likely be a death sentence at this point.
9328253
Its 500 degrees above ambient. The ambient temperature of space is -455 degrees Fahrenheit, that means the transmitter is only operating at 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
9328513
No, paste. The nutrient paste they're eating for every meal.
The space murderer did mention databombs and they have already unleashed one on their ship. If there is a taint or weapon of some kind it has already been triggered.
Remain and try to contact the people involved as long as it takes, then you can decide if it is good to set a route home or to the sun. The Equinox is likely the greatest vector of problems for Equestria, and even if they need help the arrival of it will be the thing which triggers the new local status quo to tip in some direction.
No need to hurry back home at all.
Edit:
(Then again there is no dark tag so... well maybe i am being too grim.)
9328556
Well, I was thinking in Celsius. Also spike said "There's a whole lot of energy coming off that thing". Then again that may mean it's a mediocre temperature but it's coming off a large area (which also makes sense). Regardless, we'll probably find out sooner or later given how the vote looks.
9328559
Ok didn't understand that ^^;;;
Option 2. No way in the Nine Corellian Hells should we risk landing on that dead planet. AJ is right, who knows what is lurking down there.
9328608
"A whole lot of energy" depends an awful lot on scale. Next to the out put of a star 500 above ambient is nothing, but it would probably be a significant portion of the earths current generating capacity.
Now THIS is a tough one. I think 2, try a little more, but don't. Touch. Anything. And then go home. Return with what you've learned, and the next mission will do better.
It's a bit meta, because I trust Starscribe doesn't have an auto 'They all die and then it comes to Equestria and kills everyone if you don't GTFO right now' thing set up.
9328395
I agree. Fuel isn't a particularly big concern anymore, but that's no reason to be wasteful, either.
It's starting to get to me that the fact that this is a story is influencing our decisions to the point that this isn't playing out like a real mission. "Well, there's got to be something down there. ... It looks like Starscribe wants us to... Well from a narrative standpoint, I don't see why..." In this sense, Starscribe becomes almost a character, complete with motives which must be analized, and brings to the table a unique hand of cards which we, peeking over the shoulders of a few other players at the table, must speculate on before making our decisions.
I'm not sure how to feel about this.
I would say option #1 or 2, but DO NOT LAND. There's plenty to be learned just by sitting in low orbit taking pictures. Or sending a one-way dumb probe with cameras and a transmitter down. At the very least delay declaring mission-over until everyone's up to comment on it, and until the alien device is up and running.
Edit: Oh wow, is the vote split.
9328273
fully agree. Sure they've had it really rough, but this is beyond the frontier, this sort of hardship is to be expected. I say they go full out and boldly go where no pony has gone before!
There's no point in risking your lives to go all that way and then not learn anything, turn tail, and run. Not that they can leave without possibly killing Ponk anyway.
9328265
I agree with the sentiment, but I think you're being overzealous and missing a couple of things:
—The "Eye" that Spike referred to is not his eyeball; I can't place the reference from memory but I am fairly sure of this.
—Your objection to cryosleep is ill-founded; Twilight's problem is hypothesized to have been a direct result of being an alicorn, and Pinkie Pie was woken up, then went BACK in the pod under adverse conditions.
As for my vote, I am in favor of caution, but against a time limit. Thus I must vote for the one without a time limit that does not seem to be abandoning caution (as if AJ would go along with throwing all caution to the space wind).
You don't travel for forty years only to turn around when the planetwide city had some problems who knows how long ago.
What you do is get to that green park, plant some real food and wake your friggin' tripulation up!
9329319
And Catch something that eats you from the inside,(or eats your ship) because you didn't think look for problems that the locals space faring people could tell you about.
What do the "certainty required" numbers mean?
9329488
The number of votes on the poll before I write the next chapter. I'm trying to adjust the number so that there is one day between each chapter update, both so I can keep up and so that those who can't read a chapter every day can still have some involvement in the outcome.
9329488
Minimum number of votes needed before we can proceed.
9329508
9329522
Got it, thanks.
I am voting for option one.
They DO have message from the signalers. Currently decompressing data. Wait at least till it gives some more amplifying information and possibly be able to contact the signalers.
They don't know what killed who and that seems important to know.
Equestrian is already quiet and not knowing anything new means they can't fix any of their problems. Plus they are decades away from there.
Might as well get all the tech or info they can and bring it back with them.
They don't have to land necessarily.
I'm a little iffy about the option I want.
Though I believe they shouldn't put to much effort to put the ship at risk. I also feel like a civilization might have a few things that could help update their ships and help update their medical facilities for Pinkie and Twilight.
At the very least, Spike's project might be a useful tool to work on this particular problem. I'm going to go for option 1) and hope if the information show that diplomacy might not work, at least they might figure out where some tech might be that they can gather without upsetting the locals... that is if their are any locals?
Maybe I should go for two then? Darn it. Now I think I might have voted for the wrong choice to my reasoning.
This is going to be a very close vote. And this was a tough choice. I tried to think of what I'd do with all that's happened.
I like option 1.
I personally have the thought that the aliens were involved in a civil war before things went biological and anyone left alive went digital just to survive and finally find peace ..
There is Zero doubt that the aliens have much better technology than equestria. It would be an absolute shame to not at least try to get some of that technomagic for their own peoples.
It may even be VITAL if there really is an other alien threat that may eventually go to equestria.
closest vote yet!
They're probably not listening on the same frequencies, and that probe was a one-shot deal. Whatever's happened in the half century since they received the signal and embarked, it won't be uncovered by engaging in insanity...