AMICITAS FLIGHT THREE – MISSION DAY 246
ARES III SOL 244
When one is alone in a cave except for a cocoon containing a presumably comatose changeling, one is essentially alone in the cave, period.
Cherry Berry had spent an hour or so listlessly fiddling with plants before walking over to the cocoon. Now she lay with her back against the cool, slightly pliable surface of the cocoon, staring at nothing, just chatting. “… and we ended up having to use the rover to drive kilometers out of our way to get enough rocks to even touch the underside of the ship! Load the rover, drive back, unload the rover, go get more rocks! Again, and again, and again! We were pretty darn tired after that, I can tell you! That’s why it took us two days to build the rock platform for the ship.”
Cherry sighed, leaning a little harder against Dragonfly, who didn’t complain. “Of course, that’s pretty much why I’m here in the cave by myself right now,” she said. “Today they’re cutting the tail off the ship. I just couldn’t stand to watch it. It just… well… it was my ship, you know? Not just another capsule, but a real, purpose-built spaceship that didn’t lose ninety percent of the hull to staging.”
She closed her eyes so she could see better. “I remember the first time I saw it. Twilight Sparkle showed it to me the second time I visited Cape Friendship. It was so lovely, all pink and sleek. It looked like it wanted to jump off the ground all by itself. Of course, it couldn’t, but if Twilight had had enough time, it would have got there.”
She shook her head. “And yet it only got to fly three times, and none of them went quite right, did they? And now it’ll never fly again. It’ll get towed like a caravan wagon, and then it’ll be left here to rust. Just like the rest of this stupid planet. What a horrible way to end.”
Cherry Berry stood up, allowing Dragonfly’s cocoon to slowly return to its normal, not-a-pillow shape. “Any minute now Starlight’s going to use that cutting spell of hers to cut through the engineering deck,” she said. “Faust, it’s like cutting through my own hide. Why not amputate my right hind leg while they’re at it?”
The pink pony flinched. “Ah! They just started! I can feel it!” She rose to her hind legs, tottering around dramatically, as all true Ponyville ponies learned to do from an early age. “Slice! Slice! And the tail section is sliding off the rocks to crash backwards! But that’s not enough! Starlight cuts again! Slice! Slice! Trimming the poor ship down as close as she can! Oh, the tragedy! Such a proud ship laid low by-“
The cave airlock hissed open. “We’re here, Cherry!” Mark shouted in English.
Cherry froze in her overdramatic pose, staring with shock and humiliation at the four people in the airlock. “Wh-wh-what??” she gasped, struggling to shift from the Equestrian she’d been using to speak to Dragonfly. “You said you wouldn’t be here til afternoon! What about cutting the ship?”
“NASA changed their minds,” Mark said. “The heavier the ship is, the less likely the wind will do anything to it. So we just loaded your engine room with scrap metal instead. We’ll remove the tail after the storm.”
“Nahsuh changed their minds??” Cherry snapped. She was going to have to live through this day a second time because Mark’s bosses couldn’t make up their minds about when to cut metal?? She wrestled with the unfamiliar language to find the words, and ended up with nothing better than, “How can you humans be so mean??” Furious, she dropped back to all fours and stormed off down the cave in a cloud of indignation.
Behind her, Mark turned to look at the others, asking, “What got into her?”
8940780 It doesn't count as being in a hurricane if you don't get hurricane winds. I've ridden out hurricane force winds twice in my life- once, of all times and places, at a Walmart on Bring Your Kid to Work Day.
Have fun in Atlanta this weekend.... It is gonna be a washout weather wise
Oof... Cherry's really not taking the scuttling of Amicitas very well, is she?
8940292 Well, that's why I said they'd need to be familiar with family disease history.
Waiting until school age for the least-deadly diseases is not a bad thing, and can prevent side-effects from the vaccines. There are some that should be given relatively early (by about a year to two years of age), simply because the viruses and bacteria are quite prevalent and the outcome of the infection is often severe. Tetanus, for one, is found in most soils. Hepatitis A and B infection rates are rising again and the complications from the infection are quite deadly and can occur years after the initial infection (namely, hepatocarcinoma).
HPV... there is no reason on earth a young child should need the vaccine unless they're boinking for some reason at age 10 (and then you need to call child services, cuz something ain't right in that family!) or if the mother is a carrier of the virus and the child could develop an active infection. In fact, if you're not doing the deed, the odds of HPV infection drop to effectively zero, as the virus cannot cross thick skin in casual contacts or from surfaces and the virus can ONLY infect basal epithelial cells, which it reaches mainly via microabrasions during intercourse.
For total HPV protection against the full spectrum of known cancer-causing HPV strains, you used to need at least 3 different vaccines. But as of 2014, a new form of the Gardasil vaccine covers all the oncogenic HPV strains.
Its a good thing Cherry wont get to see the trees fruiting just after the cave airlock closes for the very last time.
Mark needs to ask someone why the hell has Cherry Berry all of a sudden gotten so bitchy. I can imagine that either Dr. Shields or Commander Lewis will make the connection first to why she’s acting like this.
There are quite a few ship captains in history who after the loss of their ship either went into a flunk and eventually got out of it or were never the same afterward.
EDIT: Also what about Curiosity and the Mars 2020 Rover? They should still be operational and I think it would be rather hilarious if for example while during the trip to Schiaparelli Crater they run into one of those rovers.
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The optimistic part of me hopes that she'll find a way to convince the others to allow her to bring one (and imagine her drama at having to choose) sapling on the journey to Ares IV.
i feel for you Cherry Berry i really do.
Dramatic tottering is a key part of the Ponyville curriculum. Cheerilee often devotes the better part of a month to it.
And poor Cherry. This won't get any easier with repetition.
Jeez, why don't you make your bed on poor Dragonfly already.
Drama!
8940978
Curiosity is just about on the exact opposite side of the planet. IDK where the 2020 rover will land.
8941225
The Columbia Hills in Gustav Crater, which is where the Rover Spirit landed, is one option, another landing site is Jezero Crater which is in the Syrtis Major Quadrangle, the last landing site is the Syrtis Major Planum which is also in the Syrtis Major Quadrangle.
It’s a long shot, but the Mars Rover 2020 (for laughs we can call it Defiant or something similar) could be in Sinus Sabaeus Quadrangle which is close to Sytris Major Quadrangle near the Ares IV Mission Site mainly because well Schiaparelli is a tremendous mother, it’s 450-kilometers in diameter. Ares IV can’t hope to do work on the entire thing by themselves, plus it would setup a rather unique photo chance, wouldn’t you say? Particularly considering that the Rover has spent a good fifteen years on Mars.
The Mars 2020 rover will have a small 1kg or so helicopter to scout for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3y7iJEe7uM
Though it is pretty certain to be dead, as it relies on batteries being in good condition tofly.
Saw this and thought of the ponies reading
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The UAV, yeah it’ll probably be deader than a door nail. But the Rover will be equipped with an RTG
8941483
if I break desk, it would be your fault (chances are slim with the head's integrity).
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The best I could think of was using those cement blocks with the holes in to build the walls, if the holes could be kept aligned, have rebar dropped down through the holes to anchored spreader plate in the foundations, then plate the top of the walls, tension up the bars, then vibra hose pour fibre reinforced cement slurry from the bottom of the wall in the holes to the top. Then that leaves you the rebar tops to anchor the roof to etc. Multilayer it to what you can afford.
As for the teeth, they were out within half an hour going in, and less than three hours later I was tucking in to full english dinner and no need of pain killers.
The coccoon isnt the size, strength etc to be used as replacement material to save weight, even if it reacts with magic field of the thrusters?
8942047
There aren't any volcanoes on the Indian subcontinent, and the monsoon season is characterized by torrential rain, not steady showers. No, the place I live is in Washington State, on the western side of the Cascade mountain range. I don't live in Seattle itself, but one of the smaller surrounding communities.
I'm not saying anything, First Mongolian on Mars.
Maybe if they talk around Dragonfly enough, that will cause her to come out sooner.
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That depends on where the 2020 rover lands.
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The landing sites for the Mars 2020 Rover have been narrowed down to the following options: The Columbia Hills in Gustav Crater, which is where the Rover Spirit landed, is one option, another landing site is Jezero Crater which is in the Syrtis Major Quadrangle, the last landing site is the Syrtis Major Planum which is also in the Syrtis Major Quadrangle.
The Syrtis Major Quadrangle is quite close to the Quadrangles where Ares III and Ares IV is. If it lands at The Columbia Hills though it won’t appear in story but if it lands in Syrtis Major then their is a chance that it could appear in the story. It’s a longshot but it could; if only because the Rover has spent a good fifteen years on Mars by now.
What shall I do? I am only on Sol 116, and I am trying to read another story too! How will I ever catch up?
Oh my!
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Well, sounds like you need to skip sleeping for a while. That usually works for me.
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XD
I could totally do that, if it weren't for school...
Well, this was a decidedly silly little rant chapter
Having not long ago read the relevant chapter of CSP dealing with Amicitas's first flight, this line makes little sense because, at lead as far as I can recall, that flight went smoothly.
Dragonfly be like... Drama Queen, you learn a lot from my Queen indeed
Not a big deal but a few chapters ago it seemed like the cocoon was hanging from something because sojourner couldn't reach it.
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Still hanging on a wall, but a Rover is bloody low to the ground. Helps versus duststorms etc...
Shouldn't they be all taking in English here?
11297153 They are. I change italics in each chapter depending on which language is used less in that chapter.