- Member Since 22nd Nov, 2018
- offline last seen 1 hour ago
Merchant Mariner
Lover of the sea and proud seafarer. Focuses on non-pony creatures. I write ship fics.
Merchant Mariner
Joined 22nd Nov, 2018 ·
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Please inform tyour captain that in some of the literature I've read that they were referred to as griffon hens. Not that I'm calling that any kind of official. It might become a point of disagreement or argument among some of the crew at some point....
9314307
It's actually a point I keep an eye on as I write the story that not a single person on the crew has any idea on what the 'proper equestrian terminology' is, nor do they have an accurate idea of more intricate terms due to not being native english speakers (maybe some officers do, but them being a minority makes it that their ideas of what should be said might not stick). For instance it's extremely unlikely that they would call Abyssinians by their proper name, or even call them anthropomorphic (they might know the equivalent term in their respective languages, but not in English).
Different interpetations of the Event are likely to pop up in circles with notable cultural differences (even among a single crew).
9315373
And that inconsistency would be entirely consistent.
Eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
Of course it's non-cannon, it's a cargo ship.
Looks like the Event is still sinking in, slowly, because of experienced ship workers likely have seen enough injuries and likely deaths by screwup for their minds to remember not to go wild, while on the deck at least.
In the cabins however, they can remember.
Looks like a warehouse or office has someone come back as something totally different also?
9334976
Good seamanship will always strive for maximum safety. Being a sailor is not a regular 9 to 5 job, and they know they can't afford to skip on their duties else they jeopardize the entire vessel. The crew is not on their first voyage, and they are used to putting their own affairs aside for the sake of the ship.
As for the species, as advertised it will focus on non-pony characters and also try to put some development in Movie and Comics races. I've got the excuse that Ponies are mostly centered in North America as a bonus from canon too. Don't worry, there WILL be ponies, just to a lesser extent than other stories.
I found a story a little bit odd but it's enjoyable is good are they even still on Earth anymore?
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They're still on Earth (which is why I added a fragment of chart with their position at the end of chapter 7), since it's a PaP story. For now it may not have been really clear considering they were at sea, but if they weren't on Earth they wouldn't have their satellite connections telling them when and where they are.
If there is any confusion regarding some of the details I write about in this story, don't hesitate to ask questions about it. I know I sometimes tend to get very technical and not everyone is familiar with maritime terminology.
Still, glad to know you appreciate the story.
Domestic dogs might take a while to pack up depending, but this is a major port, so there must ahve been several containers and shipments of various animals going through at the time, and even currently, rats will do their best to help others out of traps etc, even if its a toy robot rat with a fur coat that can move.
Im feeling theres a paranoid submariner going conspiracy crazy with proof that the world is out to get him because Everythings changed and the worlds the same.
9358831
As far as Zeebrugge is concerned, it's not really a terminal for the transport of cattle or animals in large quantities. Some zoos do ship animals through there sometimes, but it's really limited in volume (by that I mean one trailer at a time by car ferry) and they try not to leave them too long in the transit yards. The vast majority of animals you would find in normal circumstances would be pooled around the passenger terminals and mostly be pets. But really, what they're about to face is the reason this story doesn't entirely follow actual PaP canon (hey I told it in the synopsis).
The soviet submarine really is more of an oddity than an actual plot point so no need to dwell on it too much. I just felt like adding it to the story because when I was looking at the satellite pictures, I saw it and was like 'the hell is this doing here'. Turns out locals bought it second hand and turned it into a museum ship. Several of the same class are also on display in Kaliningrad, San Diego and Visakhapatnam.
Theres probably more ex mil as deck hands than you might expect as theyre used to work, danger etc, but really, they need something to fight against. And nature is as hard as it gets.
Forgot about Timberwolves, though a dragon gives them Super Effective, though are the scales strong enough yet or would Ayrtoum have to live a few more centuaries to not be botthered even by a King Timberwolf?
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For the military experience, I try to strike a balance between realism and not handing Amandine too much firepower too early in the story. If I were to use personnal experience to determine how many of them have worked with the military, the amount would indeed be significantly higher since you've got just as many if not more reservists than ex-mil (the reason revolves around military institutions only being allowed to issue STCW certifications for navy vessels, unlike those dispensed by merchant institutions).
Funny thing with those reservists is, I once met a Danish Officer in Belfast, guy was a freelancer with the merchant navy. Told me he totalled eleven months at sea per year when combining merchant and navy worktime. Mad guy I tell you.
As for the Timberwolves question, things will escalate in the story, and MLP canon gives me a DnD'esque bestiary that the BBEG can throw at them and progressively escalate.
Artyom is far from reaching the peak potential of a dragon, much like the sphinxes present on board, they are the characters that have the most growth potential in terms of 'firepower'. He certainly isn't able to tank hits like a full grown dragon, but these characters growing to sizes beyond the limitations of human equipment will make for some interesting plot points, albeit much later in the story.
Play the A-Team theme as they raid the barn for gear?
9382713
I would imagine it was more fitting as they raided the armory for guns.
Then again it was an Ukrainian and two Russians doing the raiding, so you may have Boris put some sick hardbass on the truck's radio... Pretty much a roll of the dice.
Would think the HPI are still messed over from the actual Event and so trying to stabilise, implement thir plans, especially with fails?
As for the fun stuff, they shut down the dockside chemical works, but theres loads of those along the rivers and shores of the world, as well as industry deep inland.
Going to go with a Constitution Class type ship eventually? Or is everyone, even steaming drunk on an origionally single gender ship still careful enough? find out all the different ways hybridisation and propagation can occur?
9396677
The HPI in this version of the PaP verse started off with a skewed capacity thanks to messy UN-funding, and then their situation got from bad to worse when the Event made them lose a facility and damage another. They're still in damage control mode and will be for a while, which is why they're forced to interact with survivors on the surface to get shit done and avoid an entire continent going Fukushima.
I'm still running a small risk assesment for gas and chemical terminals to figure out the actual risk with them. Storage and port facilities I'm not too worried about since the P/V valves ought to safely release the gas mixture in the air. Chemical factories and gasifications plants however...
Don't really know what you mean with the Constitution, but here's a bone to gnaw on if you want to fantasize about cross-breeding. I put the racial compatibility on the second sheet of the folder.
9397372
From what Ive seen, so far so realistic, after all, real world doesnt have to make sense.
I like the layout list,m very comprehensive so far, but given we only have the Dazzlings and Stephen Magnet as singular? representatives, would Sea Serpent, Sirens be pre or post sentient? Bit difficult to say with Sonata?
Poor Breezies, absolutely no way of propagating unless you can get very small Changelings or someone drops a Ditto by? The trouble I can see with the Dragons though, given their lifespan and if the greed of horde follows, is if they have horde of harem, family, or given fair number of places in the world, head of cattle, slaves etc? These would depend on when such a dragon would emerge, the local population density, capability etc?
The research into dragons though is if you have a 5 foot tall dragon that can lay one Spike size egg, then a 50 foot tall dragon, smaller than Spikes hatch spurt and far smaller than Torch, could easily carry up to 1000 eggs of similar size, so could be breeding and carrying for centuaries before laying everything at once, or being abused for resources in the equivalent of Kludgetown or such?
If you got the Apples herd of sentient cows who were happy for giving milk because they got asked nothing else and given safety, food, company etc what of other races who ended up in similar situations? A town flock of egg supplying parrots, a dogs mine dragon, at least in the beginning before the dragon takes over, then the dragon with the dog mine horde?
Because of the overall setup, if Anatol? is one of the very first dragons, if he lived to End Game, he would grow to be Torch class?
9397409
Yeah, sirens and sea serpents I had to stop and choose whether they were included in the spell or not. In their case, not. Determining sapience can be hard, and there are other Equestrian races that are close to sapience in the monster roster too (the Bufogrens and Cave Trolls for instance). I may revise their part in the table at some point, the only things I consider as set and not changing are for creatures that have already appeared in the story.
Breezies now. Insectoid/Equine as they are they might have had a chance at cross-breeding with the changelings and ponies... but it just doesn't fit.
I'm a DnD fan so that explains my perspective on a dragon's reproductive capability that they can basically bed anything. But I gotta correct you on something. I still have to put the finishing touches on the dragon sheet for version 1.5 but they won't be able to lay gigantic clutches, only one or two eggs at a time, and bigger individuals will only have it easier to produce the egg (by factor of relative size). Probably they won't ovulate once a month either, otherwise they would reach menopause quickly compared to their lifespan.
Getting a specie sheet done for the dragons ought to allow me to hammer down the last details on them, like factors influencing their growth and the biological importance of their hoard. Gotta inspect the PaP threads for any hint I can find.
I don't expect Artyom (I think you're referring to him) to live the full 10.000 years since the effect of the hoard has its limits as stated by Starscribe, but he sure will be around for a while and get to grow to a respectable size.
As this story is based on events soon after the Event, why not have a pony constructed cargo airship stop by and then offer assistance to the transformed crew of the Amandine? This cargo ship’s purpose is to supply emerging colonies with very important resources to restart civilization on this post-Event world. How cool would it be that the cargo ship’s crew is Captain Celaeno and her crew?
9399087
As much as I like Celaeno (and she's my fav character), I'd rather heed Starscribe's warning against using the show's characters. There is a tangible risk of her 'stealing the scene' were I to include her. As such, I'd think she has 'other feathers to pluck' back on Equis.
I'm not saying I won't include Equestrians however. The culture clash of airships versus seaborne vessels is enough to create a subplot. But they won't be characters featured in the show/movies/comics.
I agree with your statement, as the journey described in “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” by English author J. R. R. Tolkien would not have been as interesting without a lengthy description of the Shire and of everyday lives of the Hobbits. The hardships and dangers of traveling on a dangerous path become that much more emotional, if you first read about the comfortable, idealistic, and safe lives of the Shire Hobbits. If the Hobbits have lived out their lives taking for granted second breakfast, then the meager meals eaten in a mountain pass seem that much more meager, while the dangers that much more dangerous.
The dog (pushed) easily pushed his way through the crowd, everyone making way at the sight of their Captain.
The dog easily pushed his way through the crowd, everyone making way at the sight of their Captain.
The only thing out of the ordinary with his appearance (beyond the fact (he that he was a) female griffon, but that was already established) was the highlighted green feathers around his eyes, which stood out starkly against the rest of the white plumage.
The only thing out of the ordinary with his appearance (beyond the fact that he was currently a female griffon, but that was already established) was the highlighted green feathers around his eyes, which stood out starkly against the rest of the white plumage.
9402668
The mistakes have been edited, thank you for pointing them out.
Vadim: “I wish our ship had come back remade as the starship Voyager from Star Trek. That way, all I would have to do is activate the Emergency Medical Holographic program and most of our medical problems would be solved.”
Geert: “If you could make that happened, could you make the entire crew return as Klingons?”
Vadim: “If I find a way to make it so, I will make it so, Number Four.”
Geert: “That's more of a Codename Kids Next Door reference than a Star Trek reference.”
Vadim: “I’m an emergency medic, not a professional comedian.”
Makes me wish I was there... I was a Navy nuclear engineer for five years. I still remember a lot of what was done.
Exciting tale so far, and that's not including the lightning bugs.
So far, only relatively minor problems through operational life inertia and the magic discharges coming slow, but the longer they take, the more people and things will pop back in, giving not only more interactions possible, but shorter times between interactions.
Really hope they isolate that Cathedral from the control room quickly. The last thing you want is a lightning bug swarm sending random pulses down teh signalling lines, or even worse, a full power lightning bolt which goes straight through all but the most aggressive psychotically over designed lightning diversion and protection systems.
Even worse if that lightning bolt fries the control computer just in teh middle of shut down, leading to false signals and out of bound power flows through sensors and reactor controls. They got Mogs, they should be able to run for it. But theyll lose all that gear. Really hope the idea of lightning Inside the protection occurs to him, but being that zapped? Needs picking and checking himself.
Roll for initiative?
9408242
Nguyen: I go inspect the demonic circle.
DM: Very well, make a perception check.
Nguyen: [rolls] 1
DM: Roll for Init
Nguyen: Wait what?
DM: Too late. [rolls the attack]
Nguyen: I use my 'Nine Lives' racial feat to dodge.
In all seriousness, kitten is lucky kevlar doesn't conduct electricity, and even then he got a pretty nasty shock. Don't split from the party folks.
BTW the lightning bugs are Twittermites (though I doubt post-Event survivors would ever call them that). I saw them appear in season 8.
Now who is gargoyle's behind who is summoning monsters from Equestria?
9408334
Twittermites were first introduced Season 5 episode 4: Bloom and Gloom.
9409795
Though in that case they appeared in Apple Bloom's dream. Season 8 episode 14: A Matter of Principals's appearance may be more brief, but at least it was in the material world. Depending on your opinion either can be worth referencing.
Once again you have written an excellent chapter! Your slice of life elements are well-balanced with the action segments. I wonder if Nguyen will be looking for any pet grooming salons for supplies to keep his coat in excellent shape. In addition, your antagonists are strong enough to be legitimate threats to your protagonists’ lives, but not overpowering them to the point where their only option is to run or drive away.
So far, so good, just glad teh shutdown went through without the bugs defrosting into active form again with an open roof hatch, given in the forests they might last through winter in hibernation mode, but that should take longer unless its flash freeze due to magical eruptions etc?
Hints of the Corruption bleeding through into the Minotaur, Zebra conflicts? Or just one guy stoking another through slightly altered reactions?
Hot suits for high power electric flows might be electrically conducting, but theyre either suspended from the power line in question, or on an Extremely heavily electrically insulated and isolated framework. If it conducts and shorts 60 Gigawatts to ground, its going to vapourise, explosively.
Excellent chapter in the storytelling realm. My only complaints are primarily technical, except one. That being I have never heard of a salt-water coolant reactor. Would they not be concerned about activation of the sodium and the chlorine, not to mention the nitrogen-16 that will occur due to the radiation working on the oxygen in the water. Fortunately, N-16 decays quickly.
About the breaker placement, well, there's no way to fully allow for human stupidity. I can tell a good story about a breaker and ABT device goof hat blacked out the sub during a battery replacement (and a most excellent lunch), but that's a little beyond here.
Enjoying the story. Keep up the good work!
9420136
Whelp, if there was one opinion I wanted to have on this chapter in particular it was yours. You had me checking back on the schematics I used and I have to admit committing a rather big mistake: I accidentally got the plan for some molten salt reactor mixed up in my PWR folder, which would explain where the sodium idea came from. Rather big of an oversight come to think of it.
If you're gonna go on about silly blackouts, I can give you one mussel induced blackout on the Thames. Nasty things these, you think you're fine when you stir up mud, and one week later they got all your seawater filters clogged.
Still, glad you enjoyed, have a nice day/evening/whatever your longitude fits.
9420325
One time, I had to hydro=lance every seawater heat exchanger in the engine room due to mussels. They clogged the intake to the AC/ASW pump so much, you could not jam a fiber optic probe down it, and it was a six-inch pipe!
If tehy cant get teh defenses working to finish teh Eels off, maybe firing the shield up one last time could Dread teh Eels back out? Assuming it then didnt undergo collapse itself withproblems with feedback and loss of network communications etc.
Shoot faster pussycat, kill, kill, kill?
At least theres something to look forward to. Given the range of species, at least only a few of them will go into heat that can do, and none of them as bad as Pom Phar(?).
Wonder if teh place was deliberatly targeted by black and slimy dropping the teleport circle there precicely because of its overall seed capabilities and defenses, or is it just one of those roll to see if a monster event occurs?
9431949
More like a faulty judgement on Angelo's part. A marine engineer may not be the best source of advice when it comes to monster behavior, and yelling at them only aggro'ed them. The mogs may be able to outspeed them for a while, but diving underground is ill-advised when you're being pursued by a burrowing kind of monster. The Ardennes they're in rest on a solid schist/limestone massif, it's all too easy for the eels to move from quarry to quarry... or to a bunker where their movement is not impeded by dirt.
ok yep this is a awesome story that i will be keeping a close eye on.
At leaast Quarry Eels dont like 20 mm HEAT. Will be useful to know for certain other occurances, though will they end up mounting point defence systems on Deck and ramps etc?
Having an advanced AI in charge of a systems down location filled with high power internal self defense systems is just asking for problems when it glitches, hacked or otherwise HALs out.
They have many more power stations etc to deal with themselves or has a large number been remotely deactivvated through their intervention now?
If the ship is warm and comfortable, will they all be eggs?
9444610
Point is, only the Belgian stations needed to be shut down manually because the operator backtracked on his intentions of decommisioning them: the HPI didn't have remote access. The rest of the European grid now, did have working remote control, but only with HPI Europe, which is why they reestablished the satellite link with North America so their nuclear engineers could shut down the rest of the grid.
As for the Asian grid, as stated before the facility was 'damaged' resulting in 'mutations and casualties', but they're still operational and should have no trouble securing their own plants.
i love the back story for the HPI.
this is a super good chapter grate work team.
So far, getting settled in, but this also can lead to problems as even though returnees are extremely rare at this time, they are a ship and they have returned. I wonder if because theres so many crew on the ship relative to the port and city that oncee the curve is taken into account, its extremely unlikely anyone else is going to return while theyre in town? And if they do, what time of day the Event occured, how likely are they to arrive healthy and not survive the immediate aftermath or monster attack?
Stresses are climbing, alcohols is being considered and the Captain has got a real headache building in how to proceed. Especially with how to keep refueling. As in how far can they go on their own tanks before turning round to get back to a known depot, and how long will the known tanks of main engine fuel at non lost refineries and storage be useable?
it feels like every one is starting to or trying to come to terms with every thing.
now how will they find out that magic is real and that you can really fly.
9456669
As far as her endurance is concerned, Amandine can get relativelly far on one tank. Provided she keeps cruising at her economic speed (a.k.a. slow-steaming), she can keep going on her main engine for 140 days. Of course, she was built (the actual Amandine that is) in 2011, so she's rather modern which gives her excellent efficiency.
Problem is, because a ship is meant to be at sea and not in port (harbor fees are horrendously expensive), she stores less diesel fuel (for her generators which power her in port) than heavy fuel oil (for the main engine). In port, she 'only' has about 50 days worth of fuel.
Now, I've done my due diligence in researching fuel shelf life and what I got seems to indicate fuel can be left up to six months in storage before it needs to be refiltered and treated to remove the impurities and deposits. Marine engines do have filtering equipment, but I doubt it is able to treat fuel to such an extent (as there really is no reason to have that kind of filtering at the ready under normal circumstances). That leaves Dilip with two choices:
-Seek out new filtering equipment to recycle old fuel
-Make some new fuel at a refurbished refinery
And either option isn't exactly what I'd call simple.
Does anyone here know the reason why that when I got to the end of this chapter, I thought of the “To Be Continued” arrow and ending theme music from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure?
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure To Be Continued Greenscreen
“Our hopes went from saving the entire planet by 2030, to maybe a country, then to a few hidden facilities.”
The “saving the entire planet by 2030” line reminds me of the animated series, “Stellvia of the Universe” that has a similar premise to the Ponies After People universe. As I don’t want to spoil anything about Stellvia, I guess that you will have to watch this excellent series for yourself.
Got the Translation so WTF for Danish.
The combat crew are slowly working their way through who can learn what and how, so other branches will be doing the same, having fun with moving crew round to better match up, until the equines cutie marks start to match?
If they want travel guides and offline information, they better hit up the city library before faults and maintenance fails cause fire or flooding etc in the archives, unless theres some servers there also. Trade directories, maps, but apparently not the last issue of the Encyclopedia Brittanica as apparently they pulped the entire print run. Unless they sent the three copies off to Library Of Congress, and two others?
The next person arrives in vehicle, but have they arrived at work, were leaving work, or can even get into work through what looks to be rather intresting design?
If Captains bed is so large, is he going to end up with Minotaur or Yak or such?
a grate chapter and if i am guessing right with a thestral in the story now and that fare away i would say learning to fly to cover ground fast.
9468832
I'm going to have to correct you on the combat crew part: Amandine doesn't have a dedicated combat branch per se, only vets and ex-mil that picked up the task of teaching others how to use guns. Getting into details they even work in different departments, as you can see on the crew list.
As far as task suitability is concerned, they're slowly starting to figure it out, even if it's only about who should use which weapon at the moment.