Marooned on Giri Minor
You don't see any way to get the entire camp up to those mountains, and you have no idea what to expect once you got there. And at any rate, if you want to be found by rescuers it's best to stay put.
The lieutenant steps up, and identifies himself as Markal Oviedo-Nandez. "These two gentlemen here are Chiefs Gunder and Ibanz. We are an engineering team heading to the Khubu homeworld, or at least we were until all this went down. Gunder has been prowling through the wreckage of the ship and he's come up with a few ideas."
"Well, captain," Gunder says, "I've found two FabBots that are still in perfect working order. That means we can fabricate just about any tool or object we need, at least until the bots run out of energy or raw material."
"But unfortunately they can't fabricate food and water for us," you say.
"No, sir, they cannot. But I've been thinking. Look at all this grassy vegetation that's taken over the desert. Look at those little critter tracks in the dirt. As I understand the history of this planet, these things weren't here a century ago, but life is slowly coming back."
"Go on," you say.
"Well, I think there's water here," Gunder says. "We may have to dig for it, and we may have to dig deep, but I think what we're looking for is right underneath us. And so long as we're just waiting here for someone to find us, I think it's worth our effort to try and find it."
You agree.
The activity that follows is something of a marvel to watch. As you are all stranded in the middle of an alien desert anyway, there is not much else for entertainment. While the engineering team gathers the equipment and selects a place to drill, the rest of the camp gathers around, including the two children and one of Dr. Munro's patched-together patients, a young ensign by the name of Ess Arcy. You stand in the shade of the cargo hold to watch, and Easa begs you to lift her onto your shoulders so she can see too.
Chief Ibanz is the first to begin drilling. He takes one of the plasguns and adjusts the setting, spreads his legs apart, and then shoots a ray of plasma energy directly into the ground below him. The beam is about 5 centimeters in diameter, and it vaporizes the soil directly in its path--and as he explains, the heat fuses the sides of the hole to prevent backfilling.
Gunder watches the time and tells him to stop firing after 60 seconds, then kneels beside the hole and drops a pebble into hit. This part mystifies you, as it doesn't look very technical. "Nothing," Gunder says. "Let's try another 60 seconds."
Ibanz resumes his pose, aims carefully, and fires another minute-long burst. Then Gunder drops another pebble. "Nothing again," he reports. "How is the plasgun holding up?"
"The charge is at 42%, but it's getting pretty hot," Ibanz says. "I'm going to switch to another unit."
And then he begins this odd process a third time. When Gunder calls 60 seconds again, Yigaro steps forward. He has been watching the proceedings with great interest.
"Can I drop the stone in the hole?" he asks.
"Sure," Gunder says. Yiggy already has his rock picked out, and he is about to throw it overhand at the hole when Gunder intervenes and urges gentleness. "No, not like that," he says. "You just have to drop it in like this." The boy grins as his small pebble disappears into the hole, and he immediately laughs out loud as if he had just won a game.
"Hold it," Gunder says, "let me try this one again." He drops another stone, and this time everyone remains quiet. After a long delay, the plop of a stone falling into water is clearly heard.
"What do you say, Lieutenant," Gunder says, "three blasts, 20 meters each?"
"We got lucky, not having to drill through bedrock," Oviedo-Nandez says. "Good work, guys."
"Let's do another blast for 30 seconds and make sure we got plenty of depth," Ibanz says. "I wouldn't want this thing to run dry on us." He squares up for the fourth blast, which is only half as long. "There, lieutenant. It's all yours."
Oviedo-Nandez pushes one of the levitating FabBots into position, and since he has already programmed the specifications into the computer it quickly begins printing out lengths of pipe, five meters at a time. "The only variable we didn't know was the depth," he explains to you.
Meanwhile Ibanz is busy with the second FabBot over in the shade, printing out parts for what looks like a primitive device. The pipes are assembled end to end and stuck into the hole, and the device that Ibanz has created is mounted on the end that sticks about a meter out of the ground. Only then do you recognize it as a hand-powered pump, like something out of ancient history.
"And that's how we find water on Giri Minor!" Oviedo-Nandez shouts, and indeed it is a joyous moment when someone holds an empty bottle under the spigot as Ibanz works the pump, and water comes out.
"I wouldn't recommend waste," Ibanz says. "We got lucky, getting this to work on the first try. We have no idea how long we're going to be here."
Later in the afternoon someone plays with a FabBot and produces a set of rubber bladders so water can be stored. It is such a productive day that no one has mentions there has been no sign of Andrade and Nimjey yet.
The lieutenant steps up, and identifies himself as Markal Oviedo-Nandez. "These two gentlemen here are Chiefs Gunder and Ibanz. We are an engineering team heading to the Khubu homeworld, or at least we were until all this went down. Gunder has been prowling through the wreckage of the ship and he's come up with a few ideas."
"Well, captain," Gunder says, "I've found two FabBots that are still in perfect working order. That means we can fabricate just about any tool or object we need, at least until the bots run out of energy or raw material."
"But unfortunately they can't fabricate food and water for us," you say.
"No, sir, they cannot. But I've been thinking. Look at all this grassy vegetation that's taken over the desert. Look at those little critter tracks in the dirt. As I understand the history of this planet, these things weren't here a century ago, but life is slowly coming back."
"Go on," you say.
"Well, I think there's water here," Gunder says. "We may have to dig for it, and we may have to dig deep, but I think what we're looking for is right underneath us. And so long as we're just waiting here for someone to find us, I think it's worth our effort to try and find it."
You agree.
The activity that follows is something of a marvel to watch. As you are all stranded in the middle of an alien desert anyway, there is not much else for entertainment. While the engineering team gathers the equipment and selects a place to drill, the rest of the camp gathers around, including the two children and one of Dr. Munro's patched-together patients, a young ensign by the name of Ess Arcy. You stand in the shade of the cargo hold to watch, and Easa begs you to lift her onto your shoulders so she can see too.
Chief Ibanz is the first to begin drilling. He takes one of the plasguns and adjusts the setting, spreads his legs apart, and then shoots a ray of plasma energy directly into the ground below him. The beam is about 5 centimeters in diameter, and it vaporizes the soil directly in its path--and as he explains, the heat fuses the sides of the hole to prevent backfilling.
Gunder watches the time and tells him to stop firing after 60 seconds, then kneels beside the hole and drops a pebble into hit. This part mystifies you, as it doesn't look very technical. "Nothing," Gunder says. "Let's try another 60 seconds."
Ibanz resumes his pose, aims carefully, and fires another minute-long burst. Then Gunder drops another pebble. "Nothing again," he reports. "How is the plasgun holding up?"
"The charge is at 42%, but it's getting pretty hot," Ibanz says. "I'm going to switch to another unit."
And then he begins this odd process a third time. When Gunder calls 60 seconds again, Yigaro steps forward. He has been watching the proceedings with great interest.
"Can I drop the stone in the hole?" he asks.
"Sure," Gunder says. Yiggy already has his rock picked out, and he is about to throw it overhand at the hole when Gunder intervenes and urges gentleness. "No, not like that," he says. "You just have to drop it in like this." The boy grins as his small pebble disappears into the hole, and he immediately laughs out loud as if he had just won a game.
"Hold it," Gunder says, "let me try this one again." He drops another stone, and this time everyone remains quiet. After a long delay, the plop of a stone falling into water is clearly heard.
"What do you say, Lieutenant," Gunder says, "three blasts, 20 meters each?"
"We got lucky, not having to drill through bedrock," Oviedo-Nandez says. "Good work, guys."
"Let's do another blast for 30 seconds and make sure we got plenty of depth," Ibanz says. "I wouldn't want this thing to run dry on us." He squares up for the fourth blast, which is only half as long. "There, lieutenant. It's all yours."
Oviedo-Nandez pushes one of the levitating FabBots into position, and since he has already programmed the specifications into the computer it quickly begins printing out lengths of pipe, five meters at a time. "The only variable we didn't know was the depth," he explains to you.
Meanwhile Ibanz is busy with the second FabBot over in the shade, printing out parts for what looks like a primitive device. The pipes are assembled end to end and stuck into the hole, and the device that Ibanz has created is mounted on the end that sticks about a meter out of the ground. Only then do you recognize it as a hand-powered pump, like something out of ancient history.
"And that's how we find water on Giri Minor!" Oviedo-Nandez shouts, and indeed it is a joyous moment when someone holds an empty bottle under the spigot as Ibanz works the pump, and water comes out.
"I wouldn't recommend waste," Ibanz says. "We got lucky, getting this to work on the first try. We have no idea how long we're going to be here."
Later in the afternoon someone plays with a FabBot and produces a set of rubber bladders so water can be stored. It is such a productive day that no one has mentions there has been no sign of Andrade and Nimjey yet.