[color=00AEFF]”Still can’t believe you didn’t get light duty with a fucked up spine.”[/color] Vigdis shook her head, [color=00AEFF]”I guess we really are in the weeds, not just with power.”[/color] She wasn’t worried about things she knew well, the structure, the power... Or rather, she knew enough about them to conclude that she didn’t have to worry. And she was completely in the dark on the FTL drive and navigation. Not knowing how bad it was or wasn’t, she pushed it into a dark corner of her mind to be forgotten until it became unsustainable, and she was gonna deal with that impending mental breakdown later. What truly worried her at the moment - aside from conquest by a feudal lord - was their resource situation. They were already going through silver and copper at a rapid rate, and a good chunk of their steels would fall to structural repairs and that’s before accounting for potentially needing to replace a whole engine. Sure, they had the theoretical knowledge to make more, but could they direct the locals to build an entire steel mill or an aluminum furnace? Could they actually be built with locally-available materials? Maybe they could get a company of mages to help them liftoff…

[color=00AEFF]”Well, put so many differences into a small area - not to mention a backwards shithole - and you’ll never get it straightened out without a hard reset.”[/color] She shrugged. At his question, Vigdis started pointing out people. [color=00AEFF]”One side is some sort of hyper-meritocracy from the mountains. Mostly birds. Except big lizardman over there. His folk hail from an empire… up North? I think.”[/color]

[color=00AEFF]”The other group are some feudal shithole from the lowlands. Mostly the ponies. Religious bunch. Big boy over there is in charge of the detachment here. Mostly we’re going off what the first group and the independents told us, but he [i]has[/i] been an unfiltered asshole at least since the translators started working...“[/color] Unlike Ixtaro, Vigdis didn’t much care if someone from Silbermine’s camp was listening, though she was watching for piercing glares. If they were supposed to get to know the humans, they couldn’t hide behind masks. Figurative masks, she wasn’t risking blindness or something due to the atmosphere.

[color=00AEFF]”Lastly there’s a bunch of randos from all over the place that just happened to wander in here. Two scholars, a blacksmith, a burning tree... Funnily enough, they beat both of the big groups to first contact. Personally, they’re my favorite group so far.”[/color]

[color=00AEFF]”Mountain birds, Marsh ponies and Northmen Dragonborn are apparently in a cold war of sorts, each kept in check by the threat of the others. If you tie your army down attacking A, B will kick your ass sort of deal.”[/color]

[color=00AEFF]”And to add to this wonderful mess, we’re on a disputed border between the birds and the centaurs. Both claim we’re in their territory. So, yeah. They know of each other, and it would’ve been better if they hadn’t.”[/color] He was probably hoping for better news than he got, but you play with the cards you get. Well, unless you fold, but that’s just bad life advice, [color=00AEFF]”On a positive note, both sides agreed to trade with us, with food and fabrics that won’t be a fire hazard on the way. I can’t see any way this can spiral out of control into another pissing match between them.”[/color] The last sentence contained a considerable amount of sarcasm.