//------------------------------// // 32. [Twilight Sparkle] Near Miss // Story: Deep Rock Equestria: Into The Abyss // by The Atlantean //------------------------------// Twilight rubbed her temples and sighed. This was going to be a long day again. Dwarves were unruly even without imminent danger, and the coordination efforts wore her down more than she cared to admit. “Communications Manager Sparkle, Rig 13,” her headphones crackled. “Sparkle here, go ahead,” she replied. “Salvage Operation ‘Broken Tomb’ complete without casualties, Angel Pod deployed.” “Alright. Thanks for being the guinea pigs on this one.” “No problem, ma’am.” A few moments passed. “Sparkle, Angel Pod has a registered access. Confirmed ID: 17-CR-144-D. She must’ve been right next to us when we left.” Twilight threw out her tiredness and started typing and working the computer. “Understood, Rig 13. Do we have anyone who can deploy?” “Not yet. 13-D needs their fuel for orbital rendezvous and can’t turn around. We’ll ask Rigs 1 through 12.” “Okay, I’ll take 14 through 20.” Twilight clacked through connections. “Rig 14? Communications Manager Sparkle. Do you have anyone who can deploy to ‘Broken Tomb’?” “No, ma’am, all our teams are on the week’s Deep Dives.” “Understood. Thanks for checking.” She switched channels. “Rig 15? Sparkle here. I need a team to deploy down to ‘Broken Tomb’. Are any of your teams available?” “Sorry, Sparkle, but we’re on the wrong side of the planet to deploy in time.” “Alright, never mind. Rig 16?” “What do you need, ma’am?” “A Mining Team to deploy down to the mission site ‘Broken Tomb’.” “Let me see… yeah, 16-X is available. We’ll send them right now.” She sighed in relief. “Thanks. Looks like they’ll be joined by 4-B on-site.” “Understood, Sparkle. We’ll update you as needed.” Twilight sat back and pumped her fist. Weeks of nothing, and now they knew where Fluttershy was! If she could just hang on a little longer, two teams would be there to get her out. Twilight busied herself with the other Rigs until the comms crackled again. “Sparkle, Rig 16. They got nothin’. Also, it looks like the spare transponder didn’t survive the landing. The rifle and consumables have been taken, though. She can’t be far.” She swiveled to check the satellites and pinged the area near the cave. Sure enough, only eight transponders returned a signal. Back to square one. Only half the cave looked scannable, however. “How are comms with the teams?” she asked. “They’re getting spotty. Something’s blocking x-band.” “Pull them out. We can’t afford to lose them.” Twilight frowned. They’d been so close! “I’ll have R&D look into hardening the transponder. Thanks for trying. Sparkle, over and out.” She let out a huff and held her forehead with her fingertips. Keying the comms again, she said, “Edlin, we need a tougher transponder. 13-D’s didn’t survive the landing.” “I’ll get right on it, Twilight.” After a few moments to try to calm herself, she growled. “Damn!”