ataraxion | 002

[ Carolyn hasn't been here for long but she's been here long enough to notice things, and one of the things she's noticed is that most of these people have no real idea of how dangerous space can be. Some of them, sure -- Riddick, of course. Ellen, Kara, Clarke, Kirk and his crew -- but there are others who've never been in space before, even people who come from a place where it isn't possible yet. Fry doesn't want these people to die because of a stupid mistake, and she doesn't want a stupid mistake to be what kills all of them out here, either. ]

There are a lot of people here who haven't been in space before. I'm going to give you all some advice -- and honestly, if you know someone who's been in space, who knows spaceships, listen to them about this sort of thing. I know weird shit happens on this ship, but that smiley face isn't the only hazard out here.

I'm going to give you all a list of some of the dangers in space -- verbally, as there have been complaints [ you're welcome, Ros ] but I can give you a text version, too. If you have questions, feel free to ask, though I'm not a doctor or a physicist or an engineer and you might be better off asking one of them about some of these. And before anyone says it, I'm not trying to cause mass panic here -- but these are things you need to know, things everyone needs to keep in mind so nothing stupid and lethal happens.

- Disease/other health concerns. A lot of you just experienced this, and judging by what I've seen on the network, I'm sure Dr. McCoy will be happy to help educate you all on a variety of them. There are a lot of health concerns, from alien diseases to Earth viruses that spread easily in close quarters like this. We should all hope the artificial gravity doesn't go out anytime soon either, because being in 0g harms bone density. It also makes you more likely to have kidney stones. Space is also filled with radiation, and unless you're magically immune to it, high exposure is going to lead to health problems as well. Be smart. Wear protective gear, use a condom, wash your hands.

- Equipment malfunctions. We're already suffering a lot of those. With communications out, we can't call for help. With two working shuttles, we can't all get out of here if we need to -- if you're a mechanic or a pilot and you haven't been helping out with the shuttles, get on that. Life support is called that for a reason; if that goes down, we're all pretty much fucked. A breach in the hull, a loose seal, a lot of shit could lead to all the oxygen in the ship being sucked out into space and then we're all suffocating. Don't shoot the fucking side of the ship. Take up Judo if you have to, Alice is offering to teach. Same with high temperatures and electricity, apparently; keep that away from the sensitive equipment and pretty much everything else.

- Debris and other objects. I don't know how this system is with putting shit into space but they had real problems back on Earth, a couple thousand years ago. Hunks of satellites, bits of spaceships -- the speed at which they can move through space is enough for a chip of paint to put a small crater in something. Dust from meteors can accumulate into clouds that can rip the insulation off and knock ships off-course. Let's hope whoever is flying this thing looks out for the big ones, at least, and let's hope it's got some decent shields to protect against flying space dust.

- Extreme temperatures. You're not going to freeze to death automatically, you'll probably suffocate first, but don't get stuck outside. Even if you have a spacesuit, a problem in either the insulation or the cooling -- because those things are hot inside -- could kill you.

- Electricity. Solar storms can fry equipment. Space is dry, too; there's more of a chance of static electricity and a lot of it. Apparently we've got people around here who can control the weather, too, so do us all a favor and don't fry anything.

- "Moondust". Not likely to be a problem unless someone goes walking around outside, but they say the dust from Earth's moon is thick and hazardous enough to kill you. It's the same sort of symptoms you get in miners, if that helps anyone. I've never been to Earth or its moon but there are plenty of planets and other moons that are the same way. If you go out in that spacesuit, wipe your feet so you don't get dust in all of our lungs.

- Fuel shortage. You don't actually need fuel to go once you've started going. You need it to speed up, slow down, and you need it to stop. We run out of fuel, we'll keep going until we run into something.

- Other supply shortages. I'm guessing no one wants to starve to death.

- Hostile sentient beings. Whether it's governments, pirates, mercs, or slavers, we're not the only ship out in the black. A ship like this is huge, probably not something most people would want to mess with, but we're also crippled. They look too closely, realize our comms are out, someone might try something. This especially includes cults, since they typically can't even be reasoned with.

- Other hostile lifeforms. Creatures, big or small. There have already been some science experiments -- and for fuck's sake, nobody try and recreate any sort of shit like that -- but I'm talking natural animals. There are all sorts of creatures in space -- some of them harmless, some of them extremely dangerous. Parasites, predators, prey, and things that are just damn annoying -- we're not likely to bump into any just floating in the black, but we could pick something up at a station or on a planet.

- Hostile environments. Not every planet's going to be like wherever you came from. Some have more or less oxygen, more or less gravity. Some are deserts, others have suns so intense you will die if you stay outside during the day. Do your research, if at all possible.

- Black holes. Not the little ones that shouldn't exist but do, in that maze, though don't go near those either. Big ones that'll suck us in if we get too close. You can see how that might be a problem.

- Exploding stars. Pretty self-explanatory. Stars that explode.

- Drugs. I don't care about the people smoking in the oxygen garden but if people start lifting medical supplies to get high, then we're going to have problems. Medical, keep an eye on your morphine. The rest of you, don't steal drugs to get high. If you're having withdrawals, go talk to a doctor. That's why we have them.

It's been eight months without the ship imploding on itself. Let's keep these in mind and not do something stupid to change that. I don't care if you're a psychotic mass murderer who thinks it'd be fun; you do one of these and you're probably going to end up dead, too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And if those are disabled?

If they're disabled right now? We get them back online.

We would need to get to the bridge to do that.

For some of them. Not the ones in engineering.

Quite. Is that a part of the ship to which we have access?

We do. Not so much around the jump drive, but I don't know think anyone unexperienced needs to go around that anyway.

Right.

[He takes a breath.]

Do you have the expertise necessary to investigate a system like that, to see if it has been tampered with?

I have the experience necessary back home. A readout shouldn't be too hard, fixing it might be another story, but there are a lot of people here I can call on for help if I need it.

But since it's in engineering? I'd bring it up with one of the engineers themselves, let them work with their systems so I can focus on the shuttles.

Right. So you've examined these shuttles?

I have. Not as thoroughly as I'd have liked to yet, though, since I was trying to get a basic overlay of the entire ship.

Do you have support?

For the shuttles? There's a flight crew.

I mean in...looking over them, et cetera. You have people assisting you?

... There's a flight crew. [ SHE'S NOT SEEING THE DIFFERENCE HERE ]

Who will be there to assist you in your inspection.

I can see just fine.

...Congratulations. Not particularly germane.

My point is that I don't need help inspecting a shuttle.

[That rubs him the wrong way.]

So you've some mystical power that allows you to see everything always?

How are you comparing inspecting a shuttle to omnipotence?

[ keywords applicable ]

Investigators always work in pairs, Captain Fry, lest one miss something. Do you truly think you're incapable of missing anything?

Right now my main concern in that area is getting the basic layout of the shuttles down. If I can't do that by myself, then I shouldn't pilot one. Like I said, I haven't been doing anything in-depth yet.

And you think you'd not benefit from a second pair of eyes?

I think I'm a pilot who needs to know her ships better than anything. I can't rely on other people to know them for me.

And no, I don't think I need a second pair of eyes to see how many seats there are.

There's more to it than just the number of seats.

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suddenlycaptain - 2012-07-15 00:14 (UTC) - Expand

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