Moon Dancer brought the Kitchen Assistance Drone into the kitchen as she tried to forget about the corpse in a box.
Mal was rather helpful as he had step by step instructions on how to build the device… it was a little bit annoying trying to find side 2A forelimb instead of side limb 4B which wouldn’t connect to 2A connecter socket. Eventually Moon Dancer managed to put together the drone and took a few steps back to admire her work.
“Is there a reason why it looked like some sort of giant metal spider?” Moon Dancer asked herself out loud.
The strange lightweight object reminder her of a golem. The parts or 'skin' of the golem was kind of flimsy and it didn’t take much to break or bend a piece. The head looked as if somepony had found a large light bulb and put a lampshade on it. The limbs resembled spider legs that were attached to the base of it's body. The abdomen of the machine ended with a small exposed metal rod that was suppose to somehow connect to what looked like an electric socket on the ceiling.
With a deep breath she used her magic to slowly lift the object up into the air and plug it into the ceiling. There was a faint click sound as the head lit up. The mechanical limbs came to life as mechanical claws similar to a novelty crane game’s claw popped out opening and shutting themselves a couple of times.
The machine turned to face her as the red eye stared at her. All of the mechanical limb were pointed at her as a slight hiss came from the machine. Moon Dancer took a few steps back as it looked like the machine was about to attack… only for the light to suddenly die as the machine went limp.
The moment of panic died down as the drone powered down as a new message on the Terminal appeared “Are you alright Moon Dancer?”
Moon Dancer took a deep breath and typed “It was just surprised me. A little warning would have been appreciated.”
“Do you want me to start up the drone again?” The machine replied
“One moment…” Moon Dancer typed into the machine as she looked back through one of the crates. She smiled as she found a novelty chief hat and stuck it on the drone. Hopefully that would make the machine less intimidating “Alright now you can.”
The machine started back up as it stared at her as a new message replied “Could you move the boxes over here to be sorted?”
Moon Dancer nodded her head as she used her magic to carry the boxes over to the drone. The machine started sorting the items as Moon Dancer took a deep breath. The drone was… kind of creepy, but at least it wouldn’t…
“And there is a rail system for the drone to move around on…” Moon Dancer muttered to herself as she spotted the drone installing it’s new means of transportation onto the ceiling.
“Unfortunately the rail system used to connect the Kitchen Assistant Drone does not allow for the unit to leave the kitchen due to the doors blocking it.” The machine replied
Moon Dancer glanced at the terminal as… she didn’t type out her concerns/fears and yet… did it hear her?”
“I saw the worried look on your face.” The text replied “While it may take some time to get the kitchen set up we can assign room numbers to the current crew to allow for another crew member to be woken up.”
Moon Dancer nodded her head as… that did make sense. There were hidden cameras all over this building so it was reasonable to assume it noticed the look of panic and simply guessed what she was concerned about.
Besides… she had to try seeing if any of her friends were trapped aboard this ship.
******
Assigning the crew quarters was simple. She just walked to the hallway listed as living quarters and typed “Activate Living Quarters” before simply assigning them at random.
Moon Dancer didn’t bother looking at the rooms for two reasons… the first being that there would be nothing of value that could help her in the rooms since obviously the crew quarters had yet to be assigned. The second reason was because she could always change the room quarters after she woke up the next to ponies.
If the kitchen needed food other than the sand flavored dry rations than the frozen veggies and flour would be used to make something in order for the system to work. Then with an actual crew she would figure out who got what room.
The unicorn couldn’t help but smile to herself feeling proud… right up until she reached the terminal controls for picking out another pod. Then the fear set back in as she tried to figure out which pod would be best to pick. Her first try got her a dog… the second a bird… she had no idea how the system worked much less who could come out of it.
Moon Dancer took a deep breath as she selected one of the pods at random as she watched the machine do it’s job… until a warning sign appeared causing her to sigh as she took the items inside the room along with the phoenix outside before getting back to work.
The bird was currently sitting on her back and grooming itself as Moon Dancer muttered “I’ve got a bird, a dog… all that’s left in a fish or some sort of analogy for a unicorn.”
The phoenix happily cawed causing her to sigh “And to think a week ago I’d be jumping for joy at having a phoenix for a pet.” The bird pecked her forehead “Don’t take it personally! I just meant that this place is kind of creepy.”
The phoenix nodded it’s head before looking over her shoulder. Moon Dancer just simply nodded to herself as apparently the phoenix could understand her. It was a nice fact to know, but not one of any use to her at this moment as she went back to selecting a pod at random and praying to Celestia it wouldn’t be another dud.
The old pod was discarded at the system removed it from the room as a new pod came out. A cloud of mist poured off of the next pod as Moon Dancer waited to see what would be revealed. After a few seconds a new warning signal appeared causing her to groan.
“Open Door” Moon Dancer muttered as she typed before marching straight into the room “Did I forget a box of cracker jacks or…”
She paused as she stared at the new cryo pod. The glass reveled the face of a Pegasus that looked similar to Rainbow Dash. Her fur seemed to be more of a light blue… and her mane seemed to be sort of have yellow and a shade of ora…
Moon Dancer promptly face hoofed “This is the pony called Lightening Dust. The one that Rainbow Dash was talking slash complaining about during the party. Some sort of wonder bolt drop out.”
She shook her head in slight frustration before simply shrugging it off. Maybe this was another Pegasus as it would be highly unlikely that this pony just happened to be the same pony that Rainbow Dash was talking about before Moon Dancer was fillynapped. All she had to do was find what item was prevent the machine from working and simply…
The unicorn’s eyes went to pinpricks as she noticed a flaw with the cryo pod. All of the previous ones looked like egg shaped coffins. This one apparently had a part torn off as a few items seemed to be missing from the exposed hatch.
Moon Dancer rushed over as she muttered “No… No… No…” She slammed her hoof onto the floor and shouted “Ponyfeathers!”
She could see the exposed hatch that was supposed to blend into the machine… if not for the fact that there happened to be a few screws left on the ground as some of the parts must have fallen out of the machine.
Moon Dancer walked back into the previous room as she prepared to find a crowbar or something to help force the pod open. She had finally found another pony only for that pony to be stuck in one of those egg shaped coffins.
The nearby Termainal had a new message as Moon Dancer muttered “What is it this time?”
She looked down at the new message “Damage Cryo Pod is missing key parts. Place obtain new Regulator module into machine.” Moon Dancer rolled her eyes as another message appeared “Moon Dancer there is a problem with the next crew member.”
Moon Dancer sighed “You already told me about the missing regulator.”
“That was an automated system message.” The machine replied “The real issue is that the missing part is not a part of our inventory for some reason. The box that should have contained the parts does not have any of them.”
Moon Dancer nodded her head “So I should get a crowbar and manually force the pod open?”
There was a small paused until the next message appeared “A ten percent chance of survival could be tolerable if we prepared the medical room for an emergency transfer.”
Moon Dancer looked at the message in disbelief as the hairs on her neck stood on end. The phoenix apparently noticed her shock as it promptly flew off down somewhere down the hallway. Moon Dancer just kept shaking her head as that couldn’t possibly be true.
“Ten Percent? Isn’t the pod just stuck?” Moon Dancer typed with a growing sense of dread.
“That was the reason for the error the automated system gave you?” The machine replied “I mean it may be stuck or registering an error due to some random part… but the regulator is the device that helps safely allows the crew member to awaken.”
Moon Dancer gulped as she looked back at the pod. The Pegasus seemed to be asleep… surely it couldn’t be that bad right?
Still the cryo pods didn’t seem to have any enchantments as more of the strange pieces of metal and wires seemed to be used to make the machine operate. Since this thing wasn’t built by a unicorn or a magician she had no idea how it worked.
“How big of a problem is this missing part?” Moon Dancer slowly typed into the machine
“On the grand scale… minimum. The pod will ensure the life signs are stable. The crew member will be safe just as long as they are kept within the cryo pod.” The machine explained “The issue comes when trying to wake up or ‘free’ the crew member inside.”
There was a picture of a cryo pod on the screen and a few warning signs as a more text appeared “Due to the missing regulator the crew member can suffer a variety of health problems during the wake up procedure, but the most prominent or dangerous problems would be temperature shock or the sudden acceleration of the subject’s metabolic system and various other organs that could cause the death of the crew member.”
Moon Dancer gulped as her back up plan of simply getting a bunch of blankets and a hammer to free the others in the cryo pods… suddenly seemed like the worst idea she could have possibly thought of.
“Why are crew members even placed into these things if they are so dangerous?” Moon Dancer frantically typed
“Because they are easy to use, long safety record, and of course as long as you have the needed parts they won’t be any problems. This ship was given over two hundred regulator parts if anything broke. For some reason we are missing our entire shipment.” The machine grimly reminded her “Would you like a copy of all the other failed methods before the pods or a copy of further detailed copy of how the cryo pods function?”
Moon Dancer shook her head as she tried to think. There was a pony, but her pod was damaged… well not so much damaged, but missing a key part that they should have had in stock. The boxes… the boxes that seemed half empty or entirely empty… they were suppose to have spare parts. The spare parts they needed to fix this situation!
Moon Dancer started to panic “What do I do? What do I do? Is there a spell that I know that could help… or maybe there’s a spell book on board… no I wouldn’t be that lucky, but maybe there is a book that came with the phoenix?”
She bit her lip “But it would be an advance spell… an advance medical spell. Do I want to try testing a spell I hadn’t cast before on a pony that could die if I fail? I mean ten percent chance of survival… barring any other medical problems. What are those other medical problems!”
She glanced back at the screen as a new message appeared “I may have found a way to help solve the problem.”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner!” Moon Dancer typed/shouted
“That was because you were trying to figure out what to do as you didn’t notice the message on the screen.” The machine replied… with what felt like sass.
Did the machine actually mock her or… no it was just stating a reason. It was Moon Dancer’s fault for panicking before simply asking for an alternative solution than smashing the pod open.
“What do I need to do?” Moon Dancer quickly typed.
There was a long pause as she waited to see what it was going to say “There is a shop on Space station Vigil that does have a large stock of spare parts. It is near the air dock and you could pick one up rather easily due to this being an emergency.”
The unicorn blinked as she typed “I could just walk a few steps and pick up a new part? Why did it take you a while for you to reply if it’s that simple?”
“Because space station Virgil has yet to response to any communications sent to it.” The machine replied “You would have to go there by yourself as I would have a very limited way to observe you much less be of any assistance.”
Moon Dancer weighed her options… walk down to a store and pick up a spare part since it was an emergency… or sit here and try to figure out a way to free another pony from a damaged pod.
“Can’t we just borrow one of the spare parts from the other pods?” Moon Dancer replied as… honestly that should have been her first idea.
“It can be done after sending the pod back to the other storage area and an empty pod is sent back up just as long as the pod is safely secure.” The machine replied
Moon Dancer nodded her head… until she remembered the exposed section of the cryo pod. No lid and a lot of exposed parts. Would a part fall louse if it was sent back? Would there be any damage if one piece got chipped?
Moon Dancer shook her head as walking into the ‘space station’ and picking up a spare part was probably easier than trying to find some way to remove the lid on another pod just to find a spare part before trying to see if the Pegasus pod was damaged during the second transfer.
“I was just checking for a plan B.” Moon Dancer replied “So can you point me towards the shop?”
“Only after you come back to the kitchen for your needed equipment.” The machine replied
She sighed as she bitterly typed back “You want me to wear the suit before heading out?”
“I want you to carry one of the weapons for your own safety.” The machine replied to her shock “It is better to be safe than sorry, but I would advise you to bring along the suit. The weapon is non-negotiable if you want directions.”
Moon Dancer rolled her eyes as she walked back towards the kitchen. On the bright side she wasn’t going to have to wear that suit. As for the supposed danger of the ‘space station’ it was an attempt to scare her. The ‘space station’ was probably connected to the exit of this crazy complex and sooner or later she would have tried exploring it latter… preferably with more ponies, but she wasn’t too worried.
Besides if worse came to worse she could simply walk to wherever they stored the cryo pods and find one of the empty pods. Then she would simply pry the needed part out of it to fix the Pegasus pod.
Everything was going to be just fine.