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M'Ahar's Apartment — Laying the Groundwork

Posted Feb. 5, 2022, 4:55 p.m. by Civilian Mirembe M'Ahar (Director of Terraforming) (Trin S)

Posted by Civilian Brianna “Bree” O’Harra (Head of Mining Operations) in M’Ahar’s Apartment — Laying the Groundwork

Posted by Civilian Brianna “Bree” O’Harra (Head of Mining Operations) in M’Ahar’s Apartment — Laying the Groundwork

Posted by Civilian Mirembe M’Ahar (Director of Terraforming) in M’Ahar’s Apartment — Laying the Groundwork
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip!)

“Honestly…” Mirembe blinked, thinking back to 2387. “I was a terraformer assigned to atmospherics for a Class D planetoid, Vrazit E47. That poor rock had it all bad—weak magnetic field and about a pinch of nitrogen and a dash of oxygen tucked into its surface.” A burst of nostalgic laughter escaped her. Vrazit had been nothing but long nights, borderline caffeine addiction, and weary dawn meetings with the boss. But when they lingered on the edge of a breakthrough, there wasn’t a drug known to the universe that could replicate the adrenaline rush. “When we finally figured it out, I was convinced that my life would revolve around Vrazit and cultivating her into a place hospitable for the Pinaan people. I suppose the universe had other plans.” Mirembe rubbed her neck and shot Brianna a slight smile. “OED was a surprise,” she admitted, “not quite in the ‘maintenance-to-director’ way you experienced, but nonetheless a surprise.”

Mirembe tugged the veggie plate closer, scooped some onto hers, and glanced at Brianna. “Speaking of time,” she grinned, “what do you envision for the future of mining and terraforming on OED?”

— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraforming

Bri laughed. “I know that rush. That moment in time, whether it’s a split second or a week, where you just know this is gonna be where the rest of your life is centered.” She shook her head. “I’ve had that feeling so many times and each one is the same ‘this is it!’ feeling. And then I move on and hardly think of it again.”

When Mire asked her about the future, she took a moment to finish the bite in her mouth and sighed. “I honestly don’t know. Part of me envisions a huge dome encompassing a large portion, or large portions of the planet where we live and breathe and mine like most planets. And another part of me simply sees small locations that grow till they are manageable. And then sometimes I just want to plug in enough oxygen to mine the heck out of a location and move on. We’ll definitely be on track to have all current locations up and running in the next three months or so. The recruiting is already turning up volunteers.” She laughed. “And we have barely made the announcement. Between posting the search when I left the mine we were in, till I headed here for dinner, I already had several dozen requests from folks looking to join crews. I haven’t been through them yet, but it’s promising.”

Realizing she hadn’t really answered the woman’s question, she waved off her previous words absently and responded. “I guess, all that aside, I see OED becoming a major mining location in this sector. Whether we become important enough for actually terraforming like Mars and a few other places, or not, doesn’t matter. Sure, it would make it easier. But domes, and temp arrangements can suffice as long as we can mine.” Getting the ore from the ground to the refinery was her only objective. Sure, the rest was golden and would draw more money and people in. But her main goal was to mine the heck out of OED till it was a necessity and not a layover place.

Bri
HoM
Fire Born

Mirembe set her fork aside and pressed a finger to her temple, observing through rested and attentive eyes. She considered Bree’s words and plucked from them the loudest contenders. A strong mining presence. Some semblance of order or connection. A place worthy of ‘home’. Though focused on the future of mining on Oed, Brianna echoed the sentiments of many Mirembe encountered. They wanted permanence. More than an assurance that Oed would have a breathable atmosphere and fertile soil, permanence promised time. Time to cultivate a crop or a mind. Time to get ‘some fresh air’ when the world was got on your nerves. Time to experience life on Oed without the looming question of “What is it like beyond the dome?” Time to know.

Mirembe took another bite of her steak before remarking, “We’re already ‘important enough’,” her eyes lit up, “My predecessor conducted extensive research into the planetary and atmospheric composition. Now we just need run a few tests and find a way to translate data into results.” M’Ahar cracked a deceivingly quizzical grin that betrayed her long nights sifting through Cosgrove’s records and data entries. According to her team’s work, Oed had a pulse. A strong one. Its geothermic and seismic activity presented an invaluable source of energy that made their primary goal to cultivate an atmosphere and find the magnetic source to make it stick. But these were one team’s findings. If Mirembe planned to use them, she first needed to replicate their data. “And I’ve got a few ideas on where to start.

Mirembe flicked her wrist to dismiss her nonsensical science-y rant. “What I mean to say is… there’s a chance you or your successor will get to mine in the open one day.” She gritted her teeth, masking a bashful chuckle. “But that’ll be a while. Paraterraforming though?” She made a ‘piece of cake’ gesture. “That we can do on a smaller timeline. Speaking of which,” she drummed her fingers against the table and glanced over her shoulder. “I got that design drafted. So… after dinner, we give it look? See if it’s ready to face the Governor’s—and cabinet’s—scrutiny?”

— Mirembe M’Ahar
(thread referenced: https://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/731678)

Bri actually paused in her eating. “Mining in the open air of OED…” She laughed lightly and shook her head in disbelief. I would love to hear of it before my death, but it seems we are far off from their.”

When the woman mentioned a plan already ready for viewing and approval, Bri took another bite then widened her eyes. “Truly? Then YES by all means… Let’s get it ready for his viewing. He would love the chance to see our plans a full two weeks before he had deadlined us to come back to him.” She laughed at the idea of the Governor being set upon ahead of time by the very women he knew probably would be pressing the deadline in his mind. The idea of getting even a ‘grunt’ of acknowledgment and approval from the Governor was something Bri would be content with.

Brianna
HoM
Fire Born

“Whoa…” Mirembe half-heartedly lifted her palms, “don’t count your lucky stars just yet. They’re only drafts!” But they must’ve been more than ‘drafts’ because she lasted mere moments before leaping to her feet in an enthusiastic scramble to some obscure back room. She emerged after a series of clanks and slams with a PaDD, holo-emitter and an unmistakable pep in her step. Halting beside her chair, she stole a hesitant glance at the table then to Bree. “Uhm,” she plopped the devices on her chair, “you don’t have an abhorrence of tech at the dinner table, do you?”

— Mirembe M’Ahar, an excited (para)terraformer

Bri finished her mouthful as Mire scrambled off. After a moment of listening, she started to clear their dishes to one side of the table. By the time her hostess had come back and asked, she nodded to the empty place before her. “Never an abhorrence, dear Lady.” She laughed and helped Mire set the items down.

“Wonderful!” Mirembe flashed an innocent grin and nudged the holo-emitter into place. Stepping back, she snagged her PaDD from the chair and inputted a series of commands until a flickering blue figure began to materialise before them. A rocky, OED-esque terrain emerged with domes of diverse size and design connected by arched tubes that resembled bridges. Some contained intricate lattice structures that fragmented the dome into hundreds of tiny hexagons. Others had a smoother complexion composed of glass or transparent aluminium. Though it was too early to tell, each had a specialised function.

“So I’m guessing you have been giving this dinner thought?” She laughed lightly and said up to shuffle chairs so they could sit beside one another. “So tell me everything!” She laughed once more and handed Mire back her wine glass.

Brianna
HoM

“Just a little…” Mirembe stifled a bashful chuckle before it tarnished her confidence and gratefully accepted the wine. Everything? She quirked an eyebrow, curious whether Bree knew the Pandora’s Box she just unleashed.

“I like your style!” Her razz shifted into an excited gesture that pulled up the first of many layers: infrastructure. “Our foremost concern for any paraterraforming project is infrastructure. We need something durable enough to withstand temperature and landscape fluctuations without contributing to pollution or debt. Fortunately, we have an indispensable resource at our fingertips,” she tapped the central dome that illuminated a hexagonal structure composed of apparently metal rods, “ore. We’ll collect and upcycle used or otherwise unprofitable pieces into a metal framework. If we face a shortage, we can create an alloy of ore and a simpler, more abundant metal. That’s just a backup and not a problem I think we’ll encounter.”

“Then, we’ll bring in light-absorbent aluminium oxynitride for the panels,” Mirembe zoomed out and pulled up a graphic that demonstrated the light-capturing technique that converted solar radiation into usable electricity. “Transparent aluminium will allow us to create a durable, impenetrable layer that can double as a source of energy and temperature regulation. We’ll tint the exterior with a silicon-based solution that’ll allow some light to pass through while converting electrons to DC energy, which we’ll store in one of several generators for later use. Given the temperament of Oed’s weather, it won’t be the only source of energy, but we’ll get into that later.”

Mirembe paused to give Bree a moment to absorb her words, “what do you think so far?”

— Mirembe M’Ahar


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