Event: Day 265 [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Several NPCs and you
Open: Open
When: Day 265
Where: The Bastion in general
What: Everyone adjusting to the new land, plus some bad news from Nathaniel.
Format: action
Warnings: Lnone

[First, the good news: everyone came back more or less alive and well, and they had a core! After some deliberation, eventually it was decided upon that adding more land to the Bastion (as well as improving the efficiency of power use in the Bastion, so that the extra land is not a strain on the already limited power) is the best use of this Core.

Once the core has been integrated into the Bastion, the land expanse is almost immediate. Several chunks of the nearby Skyway (monster-free, thankfully) attach themselves to the Bastion, nearly doubling the available land. In addition to the flat plains, lake, river, and hills, there is much more flat land, and a few sharp peaks (nowhere near tall enough to be actual mountains, but they are made of rock and have the same jagged edges and steep inclines that a mountain would have) have attached themselves to the north-eastern side of the Bastion.

In addition, several empty buildings have sprung up in the south and western parts of the Bastion, along with a large empty area clearly left open for tents or more structures. With all of the new land and buildings, the Bastion should be able to hold several hundred residents comfortably. Provided the people could be found to fill those spaces, the Bastion could be a small town now!

But today is not entirely a day of good news. Around midday, Nathaniel calls a meeting by the monument to discuss some things, and he doesn't look happy at all.]

Okay guys, I'm just going to be honest here. We've got some trouble brewing.

For starters, I haven't been able to pick up the energy signal from that other core. Either it's been buried, or it fell off the Skyway, or something else got to it. It may come up later, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Along with that, we've got another mess on our hands now. Remember that group of Ura that you guys have been talking to? Well, they left this letter in the place where we leave written communication with them. Zahi translated it for me, and long story short, their crops failed and they're asking us for help.

We can give them supplies, but the farm doesn't grow enough to feed both us and them. If we found another core we could expand the farms to make it feasible, but there's no telling when we'll find another core. Our other option is to start growing our own farms on top of what the automated farm grows for us, but that won't actually help for several weeks, even months. They could possibly starve by the time that pays off. There's also the problem of how to get the sheer volume of food they need out to where they are. Their numbers are about equal to ours, and it's not a trip we could make every day, and most foods would spoil by the time we got it to where they are, so that's something to keep in mind too.

As near as I can tell, we can either help them out until they can grow more food, or we can ignore the request and let them fend for themselves. If any of you guys have another idea of what to do, we can discuss it.

I'll leave the decision up to you guys, but whatever you choose, make the decision quick, so that whatever you decide to do can be put into motion as soon as possible.

Comments

FINAL VOTE

[bastionpc]

((Once your character has decided on what they would like to do about this situation, put their choice here. Votes will be tallied on January 1st, 2015.))

[twinked_witch]

The core disappearing is a bad thing... But I'm pretty sure Colin's call was the right one. Trying to move to the second core right after that fight would've been far too risky.

As for the Ura... Hrm.

Adding farming capacity would take time... But what's stopping us from using a bunch of shards to make food we could deliver directly? Stuff that'll last, like Elven breads.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[Rob nods and quietly speaks up.]

Or MREs. Hey, don't we have some canned meat and stuff in that building near the barn? That might help.

[notachickenhawk]

<We might be able to use shards to get some supplies immediately, and possibly up the number of meat animals on the Skyway. We could kill off some mammoths for them and haul the meat there. I can morph Paarthurnax, and between the two of us we might be able to get it to them that way. I can only stay in morph two hours at a time, but I can morph three times a day. I'm sure we can come up with ways to salt the meat or cool it for the trip.>

[He stops to preen his feathers while he thinks.]

<Though if it comes down to us versus them, we have to choose us, obviously.>

[freedom_engineer]

If it comes down to us versus them, we're going to lose.

Because I can promise you "We're living comfortably, and we can't help you." won't go over well.

[His tone is soft, but a little guarded.]

They're better armed, nomadic, and they have the numbers. We have more applied force, but we don't have the defenses we'd need to repel an attack. Not that I'm expecting an attack, but if we hang them out to dry... we make enemies out of a group that we don't want as enemies.

And more importantly, I'm not willing to condemn a group to death by starvation just to save our asses.

[freedom_engineer]

The cannery, yeah. We've been storing away extra food there. But if their crops failed... it won't be enough to help them long-term.

I'm all for giving them our extras, but it won't be enough... Just a patch on a bigger problem.

[notachickenhawk]

<I know. I don't want to let them die either. I'm just saying that worst case scenario... survival comes first.>

[He looks Colin in the eyes, not flinching. The survival instincts are strong with this one.]

[bakegarasu]

[There's someone hanging near the back of the group because... well. He doesn't really know anyone, or what they're talking about. But he does speak up.]

... Why do we care about these people?

[They're not the people he's sworn to protect, so.]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[Rob speaks up softly.]

50/500 Rule. Long-term you need at least 500 people to survive. 50 only works in the short term. They sound like they're closer to the 500 mark than we are, so it's in our best interests for them to survive if we expect to be here for the long haul.

[freedom_engineer]

They're tentative allies in a world where we really don't need enemies.

[Colin still has yet to weigh in with his own thoughts, 'cause he's still formulating them...]

[followsthevoice]

[Nathaniel got a tap on the small of the back...it would have been the shoulder if he could have reached that high, but the Mancer was a gangly fellow and Raile didn't quite have the reach for it. His voice was low and questioning, like he didn't even expect him to turn around.]

What 'bout t'Meltin' Pot? That place packed a lot o'stuff an' it's possible some o'the cold storages are either still runnin' or ain't spoiled yet. Even if we can only find a bit...I think it's worth a look 'round.

[bastionpc]

[Raile y u so short

But Nathaniel does consider it for a moment.]

I'm not sure how much is actually left there, between people raiding supplies and nine months for power to fail and food to rot, but it would definitely be worth looking into. If nothing else, we might be able to find something to take to them.

Though that brings up the problem of transporting the food to them, I'm not sure if something that needs to be frozen would last long without adequate cold storage during transport.

[daughterofursa]

...if we invited them to the Bastion, do you think they'd come?

[It might not solve the problem of how much food they need, but it would solve the transportation issue.

She's just not sure a bunch of Ura are going to want to come to a Cael-made place, after what she's heard about the both of them. It might not be exactly safe for the Bastion either.]

[bastionpc]

[Nathaniel nods in agreement.]

What we have here works for now, but it's not a permanent solution. Our numbers are going to have to increase eventually, and making an enemy of the one other large group of people in the area doesn't sound like a good way to do that.

[bastionpc]

Well...there's no way to know for sure.

[Nathaniel sounds a bit apprehensive of the idea.]

It would certainly help keep from making enemies out of them, and we would get the most out of what food we do have, what with none if it rotting on the way or getting stolen by monsters. But inviting a large, militarized group here could be inviting more trouble than it's worth.

[daughterofursa]

I know it's risky, and we're a long way from trusting each other. But I think we'll all have a better chance of making it through this if we work together.

[Yes, Zuko is somehow a pessimist and an idealist at the same time. Don't ask her how this works. It's very difficult.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin looks between Raile and Nathaniel]

Did the Mancers ever develop long-term rations for the military? Was there a facility to make and store those?

[Finding a military cache of rations would help... finding the PRODUCTION facility would really help, if it's still intact..]

[freedom_engineer]

I like Zuko's thought, but... I don't know if it will pan out.

They don't trust us, and I'm fairly certain that the feeling is mutual among a portion of our residents.

I'd be open to that, certainly.

But we'd have to be prepared for our supplies getting stretched thin. VERY thin...

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin looks Tobias right in the eye for just a moment, and he smiles gently. Yeah, there's a fight there, but neither of them want to have it and they both know it.]

If you give me a little time, I can come up with a mid-term plan...

[followsthevoice]

[Those were ideas to consider, but The Melting Pot was a big place and it had been fairly well maintained in it's time. Colin however, brought up something interesting.]

I dunno 'bout t'Mancers, but I know t'Triggers had rations that weren't prone t'spoilin'. They hunted, yeah, but they weren't no Brushers...so it might stand t'reason we might find somethin' like that down there too.

[Either which way, it sounded like a good idea and that was all he needed.]

It's worth a look at least. Maybe just a small group to go in an' take a peek while t'others work on other sol...sol..u...solvin' t'problem from other angels.

[twinked_witch]

In addition, frankly, we need our own backup supply.

Also, we're talking how much food per day, to be clear? Tens of pounds? Hundreds? Thousands? The logistics are a problem, to say the least...

on hiatus but

[blackblooded]

We can't let them starve. If we have to, we can take their weapons away.

[daughterofursa]

I don't think that would go over well unless we did it ourselves. We'd be treating them like criminals to take their weapons but keep our own.

[Even if some of them probably were criminals, considering what they found at the prison.]

[freedom_engineer]

Yeah. I think they'd be perfectly willing to give us their weapons, as long as we were willing to accept them a bullet at a time. From sniper range.

[In Elerian society, you don't demand someone's weapon unless you want to be on the receiving end of it...]

[blackblooded]

That can be the agreement. We'll give them food if they live here. They can't live here without giving up their weapons.

That's their decision.