"If most want me to go, I'll go. If it increases the chance that the people of Vlanlados will be safe and make it to their new home I will do it."After a short debate, and one colonist who wanted to try some insane plan involving holding the Katzar hostage at gunpoint being the sent to the brig, the tone of the conversation quickly turns against the Katzar. "He got us into all this trouble in the first place!" some say. "Didn't he pick the quarry site that turned out to be radioactive?" "This whole god-forsaken voyage to Antarctica was his idea, so all the deaths so far are his fault!" The Katzar is released to the Forenians. Four of his loyal caretakers go with him, and insist against leaving his wheelchair behind as well. The Forenians are initially hesitant to bring others with them, but when asked "Have you ever changed a colostomy bag?" they quickly change their tune.
With little ceremony, the Katzar is released to his probable execution. He says little, only wishing luck to those who remain. The crew of the
Exodus, or the
Crabby Wench depending who you ask, have nowhere to sail now but Antarctica. Though some are doubting the wisdom of the journey now that its founder has been thrown to the wolves, they are running out of coal and the ship is in such a sorry state it is doubtful that it could make it to another port.
In all the crowd, there is solemn silence. The people of Vlanlados have been through many and long hardships, and they are given to meeting sadness with a stone face. But, in a corner, one voice can be heard softly crying. It is the Katzarin, Ovechkin's daughter of twelve years, next in line for the throne. This is an uncomfortable fact to realize, now that the Katzar is gone. Knowing the danger and hardship ahead, no other children had been brought along. People with no children were chosen first to be colonists, and then those who were willing to part with their children, passing them into the care of grandparents, uncles and aunts, or cousins who had stayed behind to make a life under Cannala. Though many a parent missed their children dearly, they had the wisdom to know that this journey may end in a cold death.
In the absence of an heir who is ready to manage the daily business of the colony, for the Katzarin is certainly too young and inexperienced, a Konov, or regent, should be chosen, or least otherwise the vote of the crew will be the only deciding authority in the colony.
It is Day 7Antarctica draws near, the trip is only a day behind schedule despite all that has happened. It's getting cold- really cold. People above decks have begun covering their faces at all times and wearing their spare sets of clothes in layers. Even in the cabins people are burning extra coal to stay warm, and boiler room duty is considered relatively desirable. Erstwhile, little labor has been accomplished. People have still been recovering from the chaos. No real attempt has been made to uncover the lost tools in the flooded section of the ship, unsealing the bulkhead will simply flood more of the ship and though diving into the gouge on the ship's side has been proposed, it would require the ship to come to a stop. It would be dangerous even at that, you have no sort of diving lights or air supply and it would be easy to become trapped in the ship's dark interior.
More pertinent right now is the task of choosing a landing site. Antarctica is not well explored and of what knowledge the world has about that frozen continent, not all of it had made its way into Ovechkin's library. There are a few appealing locations: The peninsula is relatively warm and has some plant life, but as far as you're aware, little natural resources. It is one day away. The Transantarctic Mountains meet the sea two days away, some of the crew have expressed interest in Mt. Erebus on the theory they will be able to exploit geothermal heat, but this could prove an enormous engineering challenge and food will be a problem- these mountains are not so near to the coast, and there will be a land journey to reach them. Three days away on the opposite side of the continent is the Prince Charles Mountains. These are near the coast, and believed to be rich in coal. Oh, and if you want, you could travel for one day and end up in one of the flatter parts of the continent, which is covered in thick ice sheets, but that's probably not the best idea.
-956 Individuals
-1 Doctor
-1 Architect
-1 Mining Expert
-3 Mechanical Manufacturing/Repair experts
-1 Agriculture Expert
-1 Electrical/Radio Engineer
-1 Theoretical Physicist
-1 Expert Hunter
--------------
100 Assigned to Cooking & Cleaning
100 Assigned to running the Crabby Wench (or Exodus)
797 Idle
1 Recovering from injury
Main Cargo Hold:
-Steel Foundry
-Machining Tools
-19958 Food rations (Enough for about 21 days, consuming 956/day) consisting mainly of Vlanladosian products: Fish, beets, potatoes, and barley-wheat.
-450 Chicken Skins (tanning)
-450 Chickens' worth of feathers
-20 Goat Skins (tanning)
-2 Cow skins (tanning)
-350 sets of fishing tools
-200 sets of construction tools
-100 sets of farming tools
-150 sets of hunting tools (spears and traps)
-200 VL-41 "Dove" Semi-Automatic Rifles
-35,000 rifle bullets
-1 Crane (all mobile equipment is steam powered)
-1 Excavator
-1 Tractor
-4 Tons of coal
-0.9 Tons of medicine
Fuel Reserves
-8 tons of coal should be left over when you reach Antarctica. This is an estimate, and dependent on how long it actually takes you to get there. At this rate, you will need to acquire more coal before leaving Antarctica.
Your chances of death may be slightly lower in some sites than others. Once you arrive, it will take some time to find out exactly what resources are there, and if you choose to move to somewhere else after that it will take even more time. And remember... time is food.
Author
Topic: Exodus from Vlanlados (Read 29372 times)