Make the rovers more efficient? Yes please. They're a lot more limited on power than material right now.

Power is nearing critically low levels. They have to shut down the hydroponics module, or at least bring it to minimal load, and pause most exploration for today. The rovers consume about 5 kWh per kilometer once you account for how badly the cold is screwing with the batteries, maybe 3 after Bass's fix, while the whole habitat module with all its efficiencies and rationing right now (cold showers, no space heaters, reduced lighting...) is consuming about 700 kWh a day. The wind turbines are bringing in about 60 kW, or 1400 or so kWh per day, though Nina's still working on more... Leaving 700 kWh for the rovers and transport vehicles (they're at least twice as hungry as a rover). 140 kilometers a day. Or 70 for a transport.

They've been burning through chemical power packs, stored hydrogen in fuel cells, and every battery anyone could find and haul in to keep the vehicles active. But the batteries and power cells they've been aggressively draining down so far are now almost utterly spent.

It's alright, though. The gamble paid off. The small modular nuclear reactor was designed more for reliability and ease of use than extreme productivity, but it will still easily manage a megawatt of electricity, conservatively speaking. And lots of waste heat to warm up the modules, so electricity doesn't have to.

"All hail the power of the atom..."

No exploring or salvage today other than this damned reactor. Godammit. Lucy may have a dozen good reasons for it, but... Fuck! 

Nina knows her antipathy towards nuclear power is at least partially irrational. God, Montero is so annoying, as if not mentioning the Pittsburg Disaster will make it hurt less. It's not easy to get over it when she's SEEN what radiation can do to people! Godammit!

Rad suits for everyone. Double, no, triple checks on everything. Every pump, wire, and seam. Every piece of electronics is run through the unit tests several times, and carefully examined by an actual person too, to make sure the unit tests aren't broken. They check the backups and think about building backups to the backups. They make checklists to be followed religiously. Everyone gets their suit checked over by someone ELSE. They can't access the core itself, it's permanently sealed, but they can run over the entire surface several times with very sensitive scanners and Geiger counters, looking for microfractures.

...And yeah, there are a few, and a slightly elevated level of radiation. No fucking way it would pass muster back home. The entire plant would be shut down and maybe condemned. But not dangerous... Probably. If they constantly monitor for it getting worse. This is the kind of radiation that gives you cancer in 30 years, not the kind that kills you in a week or two.

"Thank you, Nina. I'm glad you're the one checking it over, even if you hate this... So, great work."

"As long as you let me keep building wind turbines and bitching about it, we'll be fine. You know why I'm like this, right?"

"I don't think I do, actually. But I don't have to if it's private."

"It's not complicated or private. The Beaver Valley nuclear accident sent my folks to the hospital, and the grave not that long after. I was away for college. So... Yeah. It's irrational, but radiation gives me the fucking creeps."

"-God, I'm sorry. It's for the best. Do you want a day off?"

"Absofuckinlutely not! There are so many things that could still go wrong. Once we're more established, sure. Checks will be done to my satisfaction tomorrow, and we can... Turn it on."

They recovered the small arms locker yesterday; She ensconces it deep within a low-traffic area with one entrance, which also houses the security office. Redundant cameras, double-checking everyone who goes in and out and only her and two other trusted lieutenants are permitted to actually open the safe. The guns don't need to be visible, but they have 'em.

Shen is quickly finding his stride as an adjutant and assistant; Keeping Lucy's schedule, making lists of reminders and tasks and badgering people about them until they're done, soothing tempers and assuaging concerns. Manager work. Certain segments of the colony population are a lot more willing to talk to him than Lucy, with his military background and serious demeanor. It's... Fine. Needs doing.

These 22 radiation poisoned people are going to die without those drugs. I am doing my best, but that is the simple truth.

Everyone else is mostly dealing with little more than bumps and scrapes. He'll be watching like a hawk for any signs of infectious disease while conditions are this crowded.

Calsa stretches out next to Merta and whispers in her ear. "Hey. When we reach the mountains tomorrow and spread the wolves back, I bet a bunch of alcoves are going to be empty."

"It's going to be so boring making the elevator shaft, too. If a distraction happened to wander within reach..."

"Heh." And in a normal voice: "Ready for sleep, all?" (Mumbles from the werewolves huddled around her.) Flame chilled.

(Except for the involuntary burning inside her body - hence the huddle of werewolves - and, uh, the other involuntary burning inside her body.)

The mountain is made of ice.

From now on, they'll need to carry all the rock for the tube from here to the open end, including a vertical rise of a klick. The harpies will be busy.

Is this where the water is going when it leaves the chartreuse never to return?

Who cares, they're going to be rich! Well there's the aliens too, but even if that's a complete failure, there's so much water here. A mining town will be an obvious investment, and he's the elph to lead it.

"Since this is the last solid ground we'll have, I'm going to establish a shrine here. Prepare a site."

The werewolves aren't going to be any use until the ice-ground ahead is ready to build on. Most have already turned back to prepare the path for equartier travel, but now, almost all of the rest should go back too. If it were up to him, he'd keep only Merta (the Kef clerk) and Stepan (the oldest miner), but the Lei werewolf insists on seeing all the action herself and a bunch of Abilanedi's attendants are building a shrine for him.

They can melt the elevator shaft at least, right?

They can! Stepan insists on vampire supervision once there's a significant overhang, saying it freaks him out thinking about all the weight above him made of a material that he can't feel and can't predict.

chirp

It's not too cold when they're out of the wind and she's surrounded by catfolk!

chirp

Although the water trickling on the ground is presumably cold, since it was cold before and now Chime can't feel her feet...

chirp

...she will accept the offer to climb on Calsa's shoulders.

The glacier creaks.

chirp

Well there's not as much stress now, but she has a much better understanding of what stress in ice means now! "Hey. Y'all. Let's calmly walk out and take a break, and give the ice a break too, okay?" chirp "Chill" chirp "as much as you can." chirp "Nice and calmly." chirp "Run! Illthrift! Run!"

She tries to spread her wings, thwacking them into the walls, and clings on as Calsa splashes out of the tunnel.

Crack! The ice collapses in a jumble and rushes outwards after them - not just the bits they were melting, a whole chunk of the ice mountain.

When the screaming stops, there are: Three dead. One severely crushed (a gnomunk ejects his fruit and stores the victim) and thank the catmother it was a catfolk, adult werewolves are too big for a gnomunk to store. Many lesser injuries. And Abilanedi's new shrine is ruined, but Fuzzer is too upset to care about that either way.