It sounds like the problem is that the asteroid destabilized the planet's crust causing volcanoes to erupt everywhere, and that's where the dust is coming from. It'd have to be a permanent installation scrubbing dust on a planetary scale, and for a colony that small, that's just not practical.
Duality
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
Arafell
Verified Cephalon
- Location
- Oregon
Eh, just bounce a graviton particle beam off the main deflector dish. >.>
The point is that it costs to much to fix it.
Umbra
Accidental Munchkin
Everyone knows the joke, its not helpful to the conversation.Couldn't help myself, just had to explain the joke
Hiver has made some effort to be a bit more consistent in his tech than the show was.
25
My avatar shimmered into existence with the rest of the away team and I looked around.
Commander Flynn, Shran and Ensign Tarvel were the other members of the away team. Basically, it was just a meet and greet to get the evacuation rolling. They were all wearing filters to keep the dust and ash from their lungs.
The last week was busy as all hell for basically everyone, even the civilians. We had been shuffling people around, packing personal possessions in crates and putting them away to clear quarters for the refugees.
T'Ro and I gave our quarters up as well, moving in with Ajan and his wives. Rachel had also joined us. Shran's quarters were close enough to the armory to be in a restricted area so he didn't need to move. That didn't save him from getting four new roommates though.
I could see why they were desperate to get of the planet as well. Ash was falling like snow and it was a centimeters thick layer on the ground already... and this was on a different continent from the impact itself. I had hoped things would not be as bad as they thought, they were just a small colony after all, they might not know how bad or good things really were.
Sadly, if anything things were worse than they had reported. The impact had triggered heavy volcanic activity across the entire planet. Soon the planet would require complete terraforming to be livable. At this rate, all the plant life on the planet would die within weeks.
They needed to be evacuated and I was the only ship in range able to carry more than a hundred people. It was not just the ash though that was the problem. Fires and volcanic gasses was quickly making the atmosphere toxic. But perhaps we could still stretch supplies, moving half the population now and leave the rest under a shield dome would make this much safer. If nothing else, it would give other ships time to get here and pick the rest up. But with the atmosphere this bad...
There was enough oxygen, that wasn't the problem. The problem was everything else in the air.
"Commander, I would recommend getting into shelter quickly." I said, putting my tricorder back into my belt, "This environment is not able to sustain human life for more than minutes. Even with breathing filters. We should have used sealed environment suits."
He just nodded, "I know. I believe the welcoming party have arrived as well."
A group of five people exited the closest building, a rather nice looking palace built from local stone, we were standing on what seem to have been a large lawn.
They were all wearing simple dust masks but I could still recognize the lead figure as Mayor Stanford.
"Commander Flynn. Welcome to Kalan." He said and offered his hand, "I'm sorry that it was not under more fortuitous circumstances."
"Indeed Mayor." Flynn answered with a nod, returning the handshake, "But I still consider this quite fortunate. The 'Dancing in Starlight' is the only Starfleet vessel in range able to move your entire population. There are more ships in range, but none large enough to carry more than a thousand people at most."
Stanford nodded, "Fortunate indeed." before he looked at me with a frown, "Miss, you really should not be outside without a mask, it will clog your lungs in minutes."
"That's not a problem, Mayor." I answered with a smile, "I don't have lungs, I'm the avatar of the 'Dancing in Starlight'."
"Avatar?"
"Artificial Intelligence, sir." I clarified, "But perhaps we should still move inside?"
He stared at me for a moment before he still nodded, "Yes. Of course. Please, follow me."
With that, he and his group lead the way into the mansion through an improvised airlock. I might not breath, but it didn't mean I wasn't happy to get out of the ash fall.
It would already be a pain in the arse to get the ash out of my hair. I really should have suggested we all wear fully closed environment suits.
As the airlock cycled, I did my best to brush it of me and my field uniform. At least it didn't include a skirt. That would have been even more annoying.
Oh goddess... what if I had needed to be in dress uniform. I almost shuddered at that before I realized that there would likely BE a formal reception when we returned to the ship.
I had worn the damn thing enough to be used to it, but that didn't mean I liked it. Damn it.
The inside of the mansion was about what I had expected from the outside. Constructed in a French style and it looked expensive, especially if these guys didn't have Federation technology. The air was also quite clear.
"We are as ready as we can to begin the evacuation." The Mayor said, "As many as possible have moved to tent shelters in the city if there is no room in the buildings. We do our best to give them a place where they can at least sleep without having to wear filter masks, but we really need to start getting people off the planet as quickly as possible."
Commander Flynn nodded, "We understand. However, there are other options. Carrying fifteen thousand people at once is a bad idea. We would prefer a different solution."
Major Stanford stared at him, "You saw how bad it was out there."
"We did." Commander Flynn confirmed, "But there is a different way. We cover your city with a shield bubble to keep the toxic gasses and ash out. Combined with atmospheric processors it will keep the air breathable. We will leave behind replicators and fusion reactors..."
"Captain! We are farmers! We can't live here if we can..."
"Mayor," Flynn interrupted, "If I could be allowed to finish? We do this to buy time, not to allow you to stay. It will allow us to evacuate... say half the population. There are more ships on the way, but they are smaller and the closest one is over two weeks out. Star say she can carry a maximum of eight thousand of your people safely while keeping some safety margin."
I nodded in agreement, "It won't be comfortable and will still be a massive drain. The air might get hot and a bit stuffy, but I can take it."
We had prepared to evacuate everyone at once if it was really, really bad. But it seemed like this would work and it would give us a much higher margin for error.
The Mayor stared at us for a moment, "...You can do that?"
Flynn smiled and nodded, "We can. It's not perfect, but it's better than trying to evacuate everyone at once."
Stanford sighed and seemed to relax before he nodded and looked around the massive marble entrance hall. "Thank you," he said, before frowning and looking like a thought struck him, "What about pets?"
Pets.
Oh crap, I didn't think of pets. Fifteen thousand humans meant dogs, cats, birds...
I glanced at the Commander and ran some quick calculations, "We can't take livestock. However, personal pets should be a possibility depending on the numbers. We have plenty of stasis pods we won't need to use for people now. We can easily stick them in there for the journey. Should be able to fit several in each. Worst case, the other ships that're on their way just have to construct more stasis pods and we can transport them out on that wave instead."
As if on cue, a pair of golden retrievers ran into the room to greet their master with happy woofs before starting to bark at us when they spotted the awayteam.
Commander Flynn nodded, "If we can fit them in, we will. If Star thinks we have the room, we should be able to bring them."
Stanford sank down on his knees, reaching to scratch behind the ears of the closest retriever and it almost melted into his touch, "I... Thank you. I thought I would have to leave them."
Not this time.
Never mind that Rachel would never forgive me for it if we left them behind.
AN// A big thanks to B.B. Rain for betaing this part.
Commander Flynn, Shran and Ensign Tarvel were the other members of the away team. Basically, it was just a meet and greet to get the evacuation rolling. They were all wearing filters to keep the dust and ash from their lungs.
The last week was busy as all hell for basically everyone, even the civilians. We had been shuffling people around, packing personal possessions in crates and putting them away to clear quarters for the refugees.
T'Ro and I gave our quarters up as well, moving in with Ajan and his wives. Rachel had also joined us. Shran's quarters were close enough to the armory to be in a restricted area so he didn't need to move. That didn't save him from getting four new roommates though.
I could see why they were desperate to get of the planet as well. Ash was falling like snow and it was a centimeters thick layer on the ground already... and this was on a different continent from the impact itself. I had hoped things would not be as bad as they thought, they were just a small colony after all, they might not know how bad or good things really were.
Sadly, if anything things were worse than they had reported. The impact had triggered heavy volcanic activity across the entire planet. Soon the planet would require complete terraforming to be livable. At this rate, all the plant life on the planet would die within weeks.
They needed to be evacuated and I was the only ship in range able to carry more than a hundred people. It was not just the ash though that was the problem. Fires and volcanic gasses was quickly making the atmosphere toxic. But perhaps we could still stretch supplies, moving half the population now and leave the rest under a shield dome would make this much safer. If nothing else, it would give other ships time to get here and pick the rest up. But with the atmosphere this bad...
There was enough oxygen, that wasn't the problem. The problem was everything else in the air.
"Commander, I would recommend getting into shelter quickly." I said, putting my tricorder back into my belt, "This environment is not able to sustain human life for more than minutes. Even with breathing filters. We should have used sealed environment suits."
He just nodded, "I know. I believe the welcoming party have arrived as well."
A group of five people exited the closest building, a rather nice looking palace built from local stone, we were standing on what seem to have been a large lawn.
They were all wearing simple dust masks but I could still recognize the lead figure as Mayor Stanford.
"Commander Flynn. Welcome to Kalan." He said and offered his hand, "I'm sorry that it was not under more fortuitous circumstances."
"Indeed Mayor." Flynn answered with a nod, returning the handshake, "But I still consider this quite fortunate. The 'Dancing in Starlight' is the only Starfleet vessel in range able to move your entire population. There are more ships in range, but none large enough to carry more than a thousand people at most."
Stanford nodded, "Fortunate indeed." before he looked at me with a frown, "Miss, you really should not be outside without a mask, it will clog your lungs in minutes."
"That's not a problem, Mayor." I answered with a smile, "I don't have lungs, I'm the avatar of the 'Dancing in Starlight'."
"Avatar?"
"Artificial Intelligence, sir." I clarified, "But perhaps we should still move inside?"
He stared at me for a moment before he still nodded, "Yes. Of course. Please, follow me."
With that, he and his group lead the way into the mansion through an improvised airlock. I might not breath, but it didn't mean I wasn't happy to get out of the ash fall.
It would already be a pain in the arse to get the ash out of my hair. I really should have suggested we all wear fully closed environment suits.
As the airlock cycled, I did my best to brush it of me and my field uniform. At least it didn't include a skirt. That would have been even more annoying.
Oh goddess... what if I had needed to be in dress uniform. I almost shuddered at that before I realized that there would likely BE a formal reception when we returned to the ship.
I had worn the damn thing enough to be used to it, but that didn't mean I liked it. Damn it.
The inside of the mansion was about what I had expected from the outside. Constructed in a French style and it looked expensive, especially if these guys didn't have Federation technology. The air was also quite clear.
"We are as ready as we can to begin the evacuation." The Mayor said, "As many as possible have moved to tent shelters in the city if there is no room in the buildings. We do our best to give them a place where they can at least sleep without having to wear filter masks, but we really need to start getting people off the planet as quickly as possible."
Commander Flynn nodded, "We understand. However, there are other options. Carrying fifteen thousand people at once is a bad idea. We would prefer a different solution."
Major Stanford stared at him, "You saw how bad it was out there."
"We did." Commander Flynn confirmed, "But there is a different way. We cover your city with a shield bubble to keep the toxic gasses and ash out. Combined with atmospheric processors it will keep the air breathable. We will leave behind replicators and fusion reactors..."
"Captain! We are farmers! We can't live here if we can..."
"Mayor," Flynn interrupted, "If I could be allowed to finish? We do this to buy time, not to allow you to stay. It will allow us to evacuate... say half the population. There are more ships on the way, but they are smaller and the closest one is over two weeks out. Star say she can carry a maximum of eight thousand of your people safely while keeping some safety margin."
I nodded in agreement, "It won't be comfortable and will still be a massive drain. The air might get hot and a bit stuffy, but I can take it."
We had prepared to evacuate everyone at once if it was really, really bad. But it seemed like this would work and it would give us a much higher margin for error.
The Mayor stared at us for a moment, "...You can do that?"
Flynn smiled and nodded, "We can. It's not perfect, but it's better than trying to evacuate everyone at once."
Stanford sighed and seemed to relax before he nodded and looked around the massive marble entrance hall. "Thank you," he said, before frowning and looking like a thought struck him, "What about pets?"
Pets.
Oh crap, I didn't think of pets. Fifteen thousand humans meant dogs, cats, birds...
I glanced at the Commander and ran some quick calculations, "We can't take livestock. However, personal pets should be a possibility depending on the numbers. We have plenty of stasis pods we won't need to use for people now. We can easily stick them in there for the journey. Should be able to fit several in each. Worst case, the other ships that're on their way just have to construct more stasis pods and we can transport them out on that wave instead."
As if on cue, a pair of golden retrievers ran into the room to greet their master with happy woofs before starting to bark at us when they spotted the awayteam.
Commander Flynn nodded, "If we can fit them in, we will. If Star thinks we have the room, we should be able to bring them."
Stanford sank down on his knees, reaching to scratch behind the ears of the closest retriever and it almost melted into his touch, "I... Thank you. I thought I would have to leave them."
Not this time.
Never mind that Rachel would never forgive me for it if we left them behind.
AN// A big thanks to B.B. Rain for betaing this part.
Last edited:
On the other hand, End of the World BBQ party!
Is it just me? Or is anyone else waiting for the other shoe to drop?
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It'd need to be a pretty big shoe to fuck over an ai capital ship with full self-repair capabilities. The Island-class isn't just a hell of science ship or a first-rate capital warship (it's the size of a supercap but would get MURDERED by a dedicated warship of it's size), it's also rated for indefinite independent operations. Meaning it can replace all of it's components. In THEORY it's capable of pulling a Homeworld.
Richardson
CAN YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?
- Location
- Yes
Most likely, they're anti-AI fanatics looking to take the ship in order to screw over starfleet, and/or looking to take the ship, shove everyone aboard, and disappear into the black.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
"Haha, my master plan to fuck over a third rate independent world and make it uninhabitable is a success!"
I doubt anyone smalltime enough to care about some random planet in the ass end of nowhere is a threat to Starfleet's newest top of the line AI directed starship.
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
I'm a little bit confused.
Mason isn't present. Mason isn't described as showing up at any point. Yet:
Suddenly Mason is participating in the conversation. Star continues interacting with 'the Commander', rather than 'the Captain'.
Did you do a personnel edit, then miss some references?
Mason isn't present. Mason isn't described as showing up at any point. Yet:
Suddenly Mason is participating in the conversation. Star continues interacting with 'the Commander', rather than 'the Captain'.
Did you do a personnel edit, then miss some references?
Personnel edit. Will fix.
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
Coolies. Also: awesome response time.
A: the hypothetical villians wouldn't know about Star.
B: if there is a valuable mineral, that doesn't require atmosphere to get...
C: they could be slavers...
D: they are building an interstellar highway...
Mew
Baffled by existence
- Location
- Pokémon World
- Pronouns
- She
A story can't be, and shouldn't be always and permanently about being on the edge. Perpetual tension is nice in theory but in pratice, this kind of "can't allow protagonists easy tasks once in a while" style of writing lead straight to writing yourself into a corner and requiring a Deus Ex Machina to dig yourself out.
I mean... what good is that huge super-cap new ship body if Star do not get to show off how it can easily solve a problem that would have stumped the previous ship body?
I mean... what good is that huge super-cap new ship body if Star do not get to show off how it can easily solve a problem that would have stumped the previous ship body?
Clearly the refugees are not in on it. You can tell the Mayor is a good guy, he has a dog.
Just so you know, so did Hitler. Hitler fucking loved his dogs.
Richardson
CAN YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?
- Location
- Yes
Dogs are man's best friend. Unfortunately, they're not exactly discriminate or SMART, so they'll be best friends with anybody.
Star: "THE MAYOR HAS A CAT!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!"
True, but you never see him with them.
Caitian: How dare you insult our primitive, less evolved cousins! You don't see us calling all Chimpanzees the Spawn of All Evil do you?
Vulcan: I believe these species of feline evolved on Earth and have no direct relation to Caitians.
Caitian: Don't try to distract me with your mind numbingly annoying logic Vulcan! It won't work! Now answer me human!!!
Human: *points suddenly* LOOK!!! A Ball of Yarn!!!
Caitian: WHERE!?!?!? I MUST HAVE IT!!!
Vulcan: *sticks fake mustache over lip and puts on a spiffy hat* Right stop that, stop that! It's silly, very silly indeed. Stop it now I say. *points at Hiver* And you, you silly little man get on with it and post the next chapter before someone else does something silly.
So would Caitians consider laser pointers to be weapons of mass distraction?
(Oh man, the illegal catnip trade market.)