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.
I get the feeling they're not really going to listen to Twilight. Going with Spike's suggestion. They want their family, they can have them. Just don't expect it to go well.
I am a swed, sweds do labor unions vary well and they are not that ignorant.
Ther is NO WAY to agree to this demand in any other shape then the caskets.
Hoo boy. This one's tricky. The first option's out; that's a good way to get a mutiny going. The third is tempting—your family, your problem, go deal with the same issues we have to—but probably ill-advised as well. I don't know what kind of supplies or medical training the miners have. This could lead to a lot of deaths, and the miners would insist that those losses wouldn't have happened if Twilight had defrosted their loved ones instead.
Negotiation feels like the way to go. The spacers need to understand the full situation here. If they refuse to get supplies, everypony dies. Go digging and let the docs build up a reserve of postcryogenics. Maybe offer Option 3 as an alternative.
Ya bleedin' idiots!
Three seems like the last resort for the option two.
Nice to see my question from last chapter answered (it's drug availability and other resource limitations more than lack of medical personnel)
For this one I feel like option 2 is the best, since if we do 3 and the miners get their loved ones killed they'll be unlikely to continue working. For those that won't back down, we can offer them option 3 as a last resort, but I can't see going straight to that as working well.
Backhandedly give the miners their loved ones without the resources to revive them safely and there's a good chance they just pick up and fly away and get the resources they need themselves when sent to mine. The only option that doesn't nearly immediately lead to revolt is trying to persuade them of why their idea is so shit and is likely to get them and their family killed along with the entire pony race.
Kindly explain the high state of emergency. Remind them how many died on home planet to aid their escape. And what's at stake now.
Space loudest protestors.
Don't give out caskets - it's unfair to those inside them.
Part of me says "Well, you want to be asses, here you go!", but since they'll have our mining ships, that's a no go.
Option 2 it is.
Gotta love how we get out of Rarity.reviving ponies...then these bozos come along.
Spike making good use of that intimidation point he gained oh so many chapters ago...
That said, if 3 is Show, then 2 is Tell. If given full creative liberties of this situation, I'd have Twilight issue her own ultimatium: What the miners ask for is currently going to put an undue strain on the medical crew. At the meeting, they can either choose to work or to take a casket themselves. Gonna have to go with 2.
Let them take the caskets. When it's their decision and the potential death of their loved ones on the line they will be more likely to do the right thing.
Oh and there should have been an option to abort the mining operation and focus on something else. Doing mining was a pretty close choice in the first place.
Poor Flutters, the stress must be horrible for her.
I hope she survives this not only physically but also mentally.
I'm sure everyone here agrees with that.
What does this one do?
Only related to the current event or does it permanently change her character traits?
Option 1 and 3 are too likely to backfire; for instance they could sabotage things and cause extreme damage.
So 2 is the only reasonable thing, even considering the unreasonable demands.
Well.. This guys are COMPLETELY DAFT. What part of "WE ARE GOING TO DIE HORRIBLY IF WE DON'T SOLVE THIS ISSUE FAST" is not clear?
Oh joy, I caught up!
Let's see here.
10055076
The random event name is pretty much the entire event, technically-speaking. The mythic code pops it up, and then it's up to Starscribe to figure out what it actually means. In this case, it means the miners are idiots who insist on making dumb demands before they do any work.
Option 1 is completely out of the question. We're not going to force them to work.
Option 2 has the potential to turn very ugly. I feel that some of the more extreme workers may feel like the princess is holding their family hostage in exchange for work. It's a very slim chance, but it could happen.
And I want Option 3 to work, to have the workers bring they out of stasis on their own. But if something goes wrong... No, it's better that they be brought out of stasis by a trained expert, who can handle an emergency.
Is short: I'm picking option 2.
While I don't like option 2, I like the other options less. And think it can at least lead to a solution that will work.
I don't think Twilight has the authority to pull off option 1, or 3 and really make it work.
Im very tempted to vote three because I dont think it is cruel to make it clear that they simple DO NOT HAVE the resources to revive all those ponies. It’s not cruel, it’s the truth. But sadly some people might still try to revive their loved ones; theyve made it clear they are very shortsighted and stupid, wanting to revive their loved ones in a place of horrible danger and an unstable environment without proper medicine quantities available when it would clearly be safer to get to the fleet soon.
I'm glad we resisted waking up more people than could be safely handled.
So, they're morons.
I'm torn between holding the meeting and Spike's idea. Honestly, there's no reason we can't have the meeting with Spike's idea presented as one of the available options, so I'm going with the meeting.
Meeting to give the ultimatum. With their informed understanding that, the reason they're not being awoken is due to lack of resources, and the safest way to get them up is the mining mission. To have waited until the last day to make this demand is a dock move, and they should be made to understand the consequences of their folly.
Oh for the love of....these miners are idiots!
We can at least try to negotiate with them and persuade them that if they do not cooperate, ponykind is basically fucked
While for stupid demands like this I'd rather go with option 3 telling them they can either wait or try to do things their way and have everypony die.
This is from Twilight, it'd be out of character even with her pissed off.
We're at the mercy of the rolls either way.
I'd think that pointing out "Well, we could attempt to revive them, but we don't have enough of the reviving drugs needed to do it the right way, so they'd probably pretty much all die if we did that... Are you sure that that's what you intended to ask for?" (With Option 3 and a big "any negative results are all on you" warning as a backup.)
Ouch. A bad roll, though it's an aggravatingly plausible situation. "Yes, we know it's dire, but we want special treatment to do our jobs!" Cue the next guild deciding that they want the same benefit in order to do theirs. Voting #2 to try to explain what "critically low resources" means, one more time.
Option two, with option three as an ace in the hole.