Trouble at the market
Roel Willems
((Market – Deck 358, Voth Generation Ship Igirni))
Avariswal: There is great strength in tradition. That is something many cultures will agree with you on. It takes courage, often during difficult times, to break with them or alter them.
oO I hope this won’t be one of those times, as an alien influence can only make it worse. People might think we had something to do with it. The last thing we need right now is these people having to change their way of life while we are here. Oo
Mensah: Traditions survive because they serve a purpose. The difficult part is recognizing when they're still helping and when they're simply familiar. I imagine that balance becomes even harder on a vessel like this. Every generation inherits the decisions of the one before it.
Verrla: I would say it is also a source of stability. To know how things work without the chaos that comes from changing how a social structure works.
Avariswal: Well said.
Mensah: Do your people generally see change as something to be embraced or something to be approached cautiously?
oO Interesting question. I guess that very much depends on who you ask. Even in this little group of Starfleet officers. Oo
Avariswal: Well… we represent a federation of planets. As you can see, we are not from the same race, and not even from the same planet. We formed an alliance nonetheless. I think we have common ground on how we want things to go, but individually, we are quite different. Not only in appearance. What about you, or yours?
Verrla: I would say that in general our people believe that change is an inevitability. Feelings about and reactions to particular changes can vary greatly depending on what the change is. There are some that will embrace any change, while others will fight tooth and claw against any change even if it is obviously a forgone conclusion they will lose.
Mensah: Every society has moments that test its assumptions. Who do your people look to for guidance in difficult times? And do your people see the current situation as one of those moments?
Drex: How many of your people are actually aware of the situation your ship is currently in?
Verrla: I am unsure. The council and all senior staff of the various ship’s departments have been informed and there was no gag order that would prevent them from telling anyone. I am fairly confident that everyone in the engineering, navigation and exterior departments know, but there has been no ship wide announcement yet to prevent a panic.
Avariswal: No direct gag order doesn’t mean people will spill that kind of news around. But I guess news travels fast on most ships, especially one of this size.
Drex: Thank you. That helps us understand how delicate this situation is.
Letek: Nevertheless, we should be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Avariswal: Which makes us wonder what you consider to be the worst-case scenario.
Mensah: Response?
Drex: Do you have any evacuation plan in place? And if so... how is it meant to work?
Verrla: Our plan in the case of ship failure is to have the population escape with the emergency shuttles to the nearest planet or station. It did not take into account a black hole.
oO Shuttles? Based on their crew size, I estimate those shuttles would have to go back and forth many times. Unless they have several decks full of shuttles… which I doubt. Oo
Mensah: Response?
Drex: Your ship has travelled so far to reach this point. Your ancestors must have known the journey would involve dangers and difficult conditions, including the possibility of a major systems failure. And I find it hard to believe they did not plan a way to save their people.
Verrla: The original plan was to allow for the ship to separate into multiple parts. Damaged sections that were a danger to the rest of the ship could be jettisoned to save the rest of the ship. This ship was designed to be modular and parts replaceable. That is no longer the case with the ship as it is currently.
Avariswal was no engineer, but she could imagine that if the ship started to break down, it was necessary for Part A to offer permanent support to Part B. And with time progressing and malfunctions happening over and over, at this point, every part was probably connected to keep things moving.
Letek: A decision that probably no one could make lightly as long as there is still hope for another way.
Mensah / Drex: Response?
Verrla: This ship is not the same ship that left our home planet all those years ago. Things have broken or worn out or could not be replaced with a perfect match and so must instead be replaced with good enough. We have not yet come across replacement parts or materials for the system that allowed the ship to function as many. We have done our best with what we have had available to us.
Letek: The emergency shuttles you mentioned... I don't suppose there are enough of them to evacuate everyone?
Verrla: Response?
Avariswal: Let’s hope it won’t even come to that. Would it be acceptable to start some premature evacuations? Get some of the children to the Eagle, for example? We can't possibly harbor them all, but we could offer them a safe place. Perhaps allowing you to shut down a few systems to save power?
Mensah / Drex / Verrla: Response?
Letek nodded in understanding, his concern evident but then his sight suddenly changed. As Avariswal followed his gaze, she noted that the small group they passed had somehow started to form a circle around them. Clearly eavesdropping on the conversation.
Letek: ::Looking at the Voth nearby:: Maybe we should continue this conversation in a quieter place.
Avariswal: I think that’s a wise suggestion. Unless you want to keep this an open debate for your people to follow?
Avariswal assumed the answer to that would be a hard no. Somehow, the elder didn’t seem too fond of a direct democracy where everyone’s opinion was taken into account.
Mensah / Drex / Verrla: Response?
While the suggestion was made, the crowd around them started to shake their heads in protest. Clearly, they had other plans. Some of them took a step forward instead of backwards to block their departure. Avariswal wondered if it would lead to violence or if the elder was able to disperse her people and avoid trouble.
TAG / TBC
With great pleasure written as:
Envoy Avariswal
Diplomatic Corps
USS Eagle-A
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/Avariswal
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