[Begin a Session: (68) Key location is made unsafe or becomes mired in conflict. +1 Momentum (7)]
I have neglected to mark progress on some of Breaker's outstanding Vows.
[Milestone on Vow "Complete trade mission for Silvana": Mark progress +2 boxes (2) for "Arrive at Thalassa"]
[Milestone on Vow "End the attacks on the Abyssal Frontier": Mark progress +4 boxes (4) for "Locate the Argosy" and "Discover the effects of the pollution"]
Breaker's Log - Day Twelve
Althea had extended the hospitality of the Argosy to me, Fran and JONES. Word had spread that "The Bridger" was aboard and that I had agreed to help resolve their crisis. I felt a little uncomfortable with all the attention, but the people were kind, grateful, and hopeful that I could return their way of life.
We wandered all over Argosy, fascinated by the construction of this floating settlement. I had to keep Fran away from the water, as neither of us knew how to swim. I could tell that Fran really liked it here, though. I explained the similarities between Argosy and Ramshackle to Althea, and she was surprised to discover that I had been speaking literally when I had told her that I came from a place very much like this one.
JONES and I pointed out locations where we could assist in improving the construction, safety, and function of the settlement, once we resolved the issues between her people and Ogre's. Fran and I dined on seafood, which was another new experience for the both of us. Fish simply weren't a thing on Mirage - most of the sparse wildlife was reptiles or rodents. If not for our little farm, meals back home would not be a pleasant thing.
In the morning, we returned to the Abyssal Frontier. I went with Althea's blessing, reassured by the faith she had in her vision. Ogre met us on the landing pad.
"It's not quite that simple, Ogre," I told him. "It might be easier if I helped you to get a better idea of why they are assaulting the rig. How about you show me the process here, from extraction to the end products?"
Ogre seemed unsure of the relevance of my question, but agreed to show me around the rig. The Abyssal Frontier wasn't merely about extraction of petroleum, it also had an onboard refinery. We began at the well head, as he explained how the geologists on the rig located new sites, and then the roughnecks and drillers set up the equipment to tap each deposit. He showed me how the crude was pumped to the refinery unit, which separated it into lubricants, fuel oil, volatile hydrocarbon fluids, and energetic gases. He proudly mentioned how the oil on this world yielded more energetic products than standard crude deposits that he had worked on other worlds.
"So what do you do with all of the waste products?" I asked him. "Do you transport them to a disposal site off-world or something?"
"Oh, no, Breaker," he replied. "We do make use of nearly all of the crude we extract - in addition to the hydrocarbons we are able to refine some elemental materials such as sulfur, and non-energetic gases like carbon dioxide. Even the seawater has uses - we are able to extract sea salt and even small quantities of precious metals. Dr. Jeffries and her Project are a big customer for some of that stuff. We even use the wastewater as coolant for the machinery here. All of this is part of the product, man. We can't let it go to waste."
"But surely some of it is unusable?" I asked him, gesturing to the flame atop the cracking tower. "You're burning off the gases that you cannot extract or use, and eventually you have to do something with the wastewater and other byproducts. Even if you can make use of 99.9% of what you extract, that's still tens of thousands of liters of waste each day. Where does that all go?"
"We can't afford to transport all of that to a waste dump," he admitted. "Ebon Domains is of the opinion that it would cut into the profit margins to ship non-product to a disposal site. They have directed us to pump it back into the ocean."
I was horrified. "Can't you see what's happening here? The natives of this world make their living from the sea. They fish here, those floating forests are more than just food and textiles to them. This stuff is polluting their waters. It's no wonder they are angry. Ebon Domains ought to be thankful that these people don't have the means to do more damage than they have!"
Ogre seemed embarrassed by my rebuke. "I don't make the decisions, man. I just run the rig the way that the Company tells me. Their opinion is that our waste output is literally a drop in a very big ocean. And to make matters worse, the damage the natives have done to the rig actually increases the percentage of our output that goes to waste. It's why I can't meet Silvana's quotas."
"I can help you with these problems, Ogre, but I'm going to need you to make certain concessions here as well. I need you to promise me you'll install scrubbers on that cracking tower. That smoke is coming down as acid rain later. Also promise me you'll contract someone to ship your waste off-world. I know it sounds hard, even unprofitable, but as long as this rig keeps polluting Thalassa, these people are not going to leave you alone."
[Compel: +Heart, 1+2 vs 3/6. Burn Momentum (reset to 2). Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (4)]
"I'll sure try, Breaker," he said, "but it's not going to be easy to convince them that there's a good reason to do that. They don't really care about these small floating cities. There's maybe a few thousand natives on this whole planet. The only people they care about are company employees - and even that's only because we're highly skilled."
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 5+4 vs 4/9. Weak Hit. +1 Forward]
"I think I can help you with that, too," I told him. "Let's take a trip to your infirmary." He looked at me, puzzled. "Trust me," I reassured him. "I'll bet you find the answers you need there."
[Gather Information: +Wits, +1 Forward. 3+4+1 vs 4/7. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (6)]
We headed up to the infirmary. Several of the beds were occupied by rig hands. A few of them were there for injuries, but as I expected, some of the others showed the same symptoms as the elderly on the Argosy. Many exhibited respiratory complications, and some had lesions or tumors.
"What's your casualty rate on this rig, Ogre?" I asked him. "I mean, I know drilling is dangerous work, and injuries are going to happen. But I'm talking occupational disease."
Ogre considered the question for a moment. "It's pretty high, Breaker. Higher than any other rig I've worked on, to be honest."
The doctor nodded in agreement. "We believe it has something to do with whatever causes the more energetic quality of the crude," she said. "It's not just the normal toxic or carcinogenic effects. This is also highly teratogenic -" We both looked at her curiously. "To put it in laymen's terms, it causes birth defects. The Company doesn't care much about that, since rig hands aren't having babies on work sites."
[Milestone on Vow "Heal the people of Argosy": Mark progress +2 boxes (2)]
"These are the same effects that are happening to the people on the Argosy," I told them. "If you could see what I have, it would break your heart. It's not just a handful of people that are affected there. It's dozens, out of a population of only a few hundred. And the longer you work here, the more this is going to happen to their people... and yours."
[Compel: +Heart, 5+2 vs 5/8. Weak hit. +1 Momentum (7)]
Ogre hung his head in shame. Even the doctor appeared to be moved by the realization. "Okay, Breaker," Ogre said. "I'll do what you ask, but I'm still going to need to get our production back online. If you can help fix the damage, I'll do what you ask. Maybe you can even help me make some improvements to minimize and manage our waste output."
"You've got it, my friend," I assured him. "In fact, I know a guy who can help us." I tapped on my handcomp and hailed the Scrounger. "JONES, get your caboose down here, we're going to need a hand. Or whatever you call your manipulative appendages."
[End a Session: Breaker and JONES must repair the damage to the Abyssal Frontier before Ogre will agree to stop polluting the waters of Thalassa. +1 Momentum (8)]