//------------------------------// // Chapter 126 // Story: Voyage of the Equinox // by Starscribe //------------------------------// No, we just don’t have the resources 63% There was no denying just how important that information would be. Not knowing when their world would become instantly unsafe might mean the difference between Equestria’s survival and its slow death. But at the same time, she knew too much about the state of the ship to allow it. Her expression hardened. “Rarity, I want this as much as you do. But we just don’t have the medical resources. We’re already pulling ponies out of stasis as quickly as we can. We’re trying to build up a medical team, and enough miners.” “I want to help you,” Fluttershy added. “Every pony we wake up takes the same dosages of a suite of Cryoperidol, and Gaiapram, and possibly days of growth time with replacement organs. We’re already making the drugs as fast as we can, Rarity. If we wake those ponies, we just won’t have enough. We’ll have to give everyone less than they need. We could lose half the pods we open. Do you want that?” Even Rarity balked, eyes wide with shock. “I… thought we had enough reserves in the Equinox to make up the difference. I had no idea our need was so… so serious.” Fluttershy nodded, exasperated. “That’s why the captain makes these decisions.” She turned, gliding away through the air. Twilight could imagine the strain she was under: Fluttershy was always brave when it came to the health of her patients, but it took a strain on her. Besides, it meant there wouldn’t be anyone around while she reprimanded Rarity. “Crewman,” she said, raising her voice just a little. “I already ruled on your recommendation. I don’t want to find out you ignored my decision again. The Canterlot needs you Rarity, now more than ever. But I can’t have you undermining my authority like this.” The unicorn bristled at the correction but restrained her dignity. It was rare that Twilight ever had to discipline—they were her friends, not some strangers! Finally Rarity nodded curtly. “I will… still try to discover what I can, with the resources I have.” “Good.” Twilight let her go. She had no intention of further discipline—Rarity wasn’t just crew; she was her friend! “Too harsh?” Spike’s voice said—from a random section of wall. Probably an emergency speaker, though Twilight couldn’t tell for sure past all the caskets. "You could’ve been gentler with her.” You still have a soft spot for Rarity, after everything. “Maybe. But if Fluttershy hadn’t found her, ponies would probably have died. Irreplaceable scientists and technicians. I can’t act like that isn’t bad. She needs to know what will happen if she tries something like this again.” And I didn’t tell her directly, even though I should have. I’m still being too gentle. Spike responded with a non-committal grunt, or something like one. Maybe it was more accurate to call it the simulation of one, since he hadn’t even brought that alien body down. “How’s the change of, uh… quarters?” she asked awkwardly. “Getting used to the new space?” She began walking slowly back, slow enough that she wouldn’t catch up with Rarity by mistake. Somehow she knew that Spike would have no trouble following her through the station. Spike took a moment to answer. Whether that was because of the way they were talking, or him giving careful consideration to her question, she couldn’t say. “Much more complex, but also less… powerful. It’s hard to explain. The Equinox was purpose-built to be controlled by computer. Most of the crew was going to be frozen or hibernating for its whole lifespan. The Canterlot was barely automated at all when it was built. Even the systems that were… they’re all connected haphazardly. Some haven’t been maintained, others barely worked to begin with. But there’s so many of them.” “And no drive,” Twilight pointed out. “The Canterlot only has orbital miniatous thrusters. I don’t think we even knew how to move something so big.” “The same way you move something small, just slower,” Spike responded. “There’s a lot I can do here to make the station run smoother. When we get raw materials, Apple Bloom and I can expand the repair drones. I’m still not much of an engineer, but there’s so much damage on this station that doesn’t need me to be. And the more I watch, the better I’ll learn how it all works.” Twilight nodded. “Keep watching, Spike. We’re lucky to still have you.” She hadn’t confronted him about his instructions to Starlight—and she probably never would. Until he admitted to it, she would wait. The next few weeks went about the way she expected. While her mining crew was revived, the engineers she had all began retrofitting existing ships. The Canterlot still had hundreds of them, and the ones that looked like they might still fly hadn’t been scrapped. Is the conversion and deployment of mining ships successful? Yes. But the ships themselves were only half Twilight’s battle, and as she soon learned—the easier half. Are the miners willing to go to work? No. Random event: (Character negative) The Refusal of Anger Twilight It wasn’t that her miners were dying before they could serve—thanks to her restraint, they had only woken ponies they could support. Rather, it was the demand letter that appeared on her desk, the day the first mining ship was scheduled to depart. “Princess, We understand the urgency of our mission—but we of the spacer’s guild have always been above simple demands. We set out aboard our own ships to work for the crown. We understand you cannot pay us with money, yet there is something we demand. Our families. Many of us were given space for a loved one in exchange for our service. Before we work, we demand our sleeping lovers, children, and friends be woken to accompany us. Regards, Spacer’s Guild” Twilight’s office—Celestia’s really, she hadn’t redecorated—was spacious, carrying its own gravity enchantment that meant Twilight didn’t need to cast one of her own. She glared at the sheet of paper, taking several deep, infuriated breaths. Did you have to deal with demands like this, Celestia? Ponies asking for things you couldn’t possibly give. Twilight had a choice to make. 1. Completely ignore the demand and hold their rations for ransom. If the spacers want food, they can work. 2. Organize a meeting and try to persuade them to take their relatives back when they’re done with their first mining trip. 3. Spike suggests giving them the caskets to revive on their own ships. Let them make the decisions to risk their lives without the drugs or personnel to care for them, if they wish.