Overseer: Vault 18 (Fallout)

[Pyritr]

Alright, I'm going to go ahead and call it with a unanimous vote for:

[X] Call a meeting of all department heads. (Takes 2 actions.)
[X] Call a private meeting with one of the department heads. Allison Levin
[X] Research retirement in the vault's history.
[X] Walk around, try to get the sense of the vault community.

Now for some rolls:

Spoiler: Rolls

Social Rolls against Speech at 65%


Research roll against Science at 40%


Notice roll against Perception at 40%



[dice]21271[/dice]
[dice]21272[/dice]
[dice]21273[/dice]
[dice]21274[/dice]

Both of those social rolls were failures. That was unexpected. As a Smooth Tallker, you get to make one of them succeed anyway. The other one will go badly. Do you succeed at:

[ ] Meeting of all department heads.
[ ] Meeting with Allison

 

[BENNYJETS]

In my opinion, we should be making the best impression with the department heads as we can. Allison Levin is one person opposed to several.

Sorry Alli, our social skills are gonna offend you lol

[ x] Meeting of all departments heads

 

[Loveschach]

We've already met them all individually, we can whip them into cohesion later. Making sure things go well on the small scale leads to the big ones.

[X] Meeting with Allison

 

[Pyritr]

We've already met them all individually,

Click to shrink...

On the contrary, there are several you have not met with.

 

[Omni]

[x] Meeting of all departments heads

 

[Pyritr]

Going to give this until tomorrow morning for any last votes, since I've got enough to start writing the research section for now.

 

[Pyritr]

Voting Closed!

[ x] Meeting of all departments heads
2 Votes

[ ] Meeting with Allison Levin
1 Vote

So the meeting will succeed. I will post back soon with some choices about what you want to accomplish from it.

 

[SouljaBoyTellEm69]

the 2-year hiatus after just a couple updates doesn't fill me with too much confidence. However, the premise is interesting and has been executed well in what's been done so far so i hope you continue.

 

[Pyritr]

You knew retirement is just a fact of life. It happened to everyone, and so there was no one to blame for it. Everyone knew that the vault couldn't support an aging population. Everyone knew it would be disrespectful to all the generations that had gone through the vault door before yours to even think about evading it somehow. Hardly anyone ever talked about it, and even jokes like "He's got such an ego he thinks he's exempt from retirement' were too crass to say in anything but the most familiar company.

And now, even thinking about it felt dangerous. It hadn't before, when you'd talked with your friends about what you wanted to do before you retired, or listened to the stories people made up about what adventures retirees got up to in the world outside of the vault. This was different.

Nick Hesting was going to retire tonight, and Allison had asked you to stop it from happening. And even though the idea was shocking, it wormed its way deeper and deeper into your mind. As Overseer, could you overrule someone's retirement? Were there circumstances that might justify that? What if the vault really would fall apart without Nick's guidance on how to repair it? Your training had made it clear that life-or-death situations for the entire vault weren't out of the question, and what you knew of history confirmed that.

But then what would the next person slated to retire say? The solidarity between citizens of the vault would have been broken, once everyone saw Nick get special treatment. Maybe you could just give him a couple more years, and then ask him to retire? Somehow that seemed even more wrong.

With your thoughts running in circles, you turn to the archives. People have been retiring from the vault for over a century, surely there would be some example of someone trying to make an exception.

The first thing you find is the Overseer's directive. Or rather, it flashed up when you actually finished entering your information as a new Overseer, which had slipped your mind yesterday.

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL OVERSEER EYES ONLY | VIOLATION VTP-01011 Vault 18 is designed to test the long-term social effects of reversing the normal human curve of power and authority. As a result, no department management terminals will accept entry from a citizen of the vault over the age of 30. As a general guideline, new department heads are to be appointed from the pool of recent graduates from the vault education system, and for a maximum term of 10 years. To further ensure that old ideas do not hold Vault 18's society back, and that there cannot arise a system where the elderly citizens dictate to the young directors what should actually take place, the vault has a retirement age of 45. Within one week of a citizen's 45th birthday, they must make use of the unique double vault door airlock system to exit the vault. Any attempt to circumvent this requirement will cause vital vault systems to shut down, beginning with food production, and ending with life support. Under no circumstances is the retirement process to be interrupted. This includes the Overseer and all department heads, though the limitation to 10 year terms and 30 years of age should preclude those whose retirement is imminent still being in power. As Overseer, you will also be expected to comply. The survival of your vault depends on your compliance.

Well… that was ominous.

Two wires connect in your mind, and before you know it you're pulling up the logs from fifty years ago. At first, you don't know quite what you're looking for, but once you remind yourself of the exact date of the cholera outbreak, it's rather simple to go back 45 years and look through the birth records.

Taking note of a few names, you go back to the dates each of them would have retired. Official notes are sparse, sometimes non-existent. At the end of the Cholera outbreak, a new overseer took over, and mostly talked about the clean-up effort. Looking through this Overseer's correspondance with a fine-toothed comb, you find a message to their security chief a few months later. 'There's a retirement tonight. I'd like you to post a few extra officers to keep an eye on things. We can't go through that again.'

You check a few more things to confirm. Medical records, death records, food production
records. Everything you see makes the image of what happened more clear.

Fifty years ago an overseer tried to prevent a retirement. Before the end of the month, food production and water purification had shut down. The Overseer tried to find a workaround while there was still plenty of food left in the vault, but the water supply became infected.

And then something happened. A riot? A Mutiny? A civil war? You weren't sure what to call it, but by the end the Overseer and her father, who she'd tried to keep from retiring, were killed. Gunshot wound, the death records said. And once the system registered that there wasn't a retired citizen still in the vault, everything turned back on.

You feel cold as your mind works its way back to the present. Retirement wasn't just a tradition, it was a requirement, and your vault was held hostage to ensure it continued.

Vault-Tec Protocols The Vault system is set up to ensure that you follow the basic protocols set up by Vault Tec over a century ago. Society as you know it is the result of previous generations following these protocols. Do you dare try to circumvent them?

"Overseer?" Came your receptionist's voice over the intercom. "The department heads are here for your general meeting. Should I break out the extra chairs?"

Extra chairs. Yeah, that makes sense. Just another reminder of how little you understood what was expected of you as Overseer. You press the intercom button. "Yes, please do. And go ahead and let them in."

The department heads start filing into your office. The ones you've met with recently, Allison, Nichole, David, and Greg, along with Fred Hatch from Water Purification with his sort of smug professionalism; Jessica Carter from Power Systems with her bubbly, upbeat persona; Krystine Card from Distribution, who looks tired and passes dirty looks around at the others; Dwight Adler from Morale & Education, who'd already taken out a pen and pad of paper to scrawl on; and the Reynolds siblings, Sam and Paula, who headed up Health and Life Support and Manufacturing respectively.

It occurs to you now, as chairs are brought in two by two to let them sit down in a half-circle around you, why the Overseer's desk has this oval shape. You're at the center of this discussion, and will have significant ability to guide it.

What do you want to accomplish here?

(Choose 2)

[ ]Talk about retirement, get everyone's opinions
[ ]Ferret out excess resources
[ ]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault.
[ ]Prioritize one department for extra support (Choose one)
[ ] Write in an objective.

 

[Dimonay]

I wonder how the vault can sense peoples ages.
If we can find that out then we might be able to disable/change it. Thought that could be dangerous.

 

[Loveschach]

If not for our incredibly low population I'd say that we should do exactly what it says, and then some. Send him out, and send a few people out with him so we could see if it is possible to colonize, and bring them back in as proof of concept. At the very least, I think we should find a volunteer to go out and return back in once he's determined if the surface is livable. But the real problem we have is that of population, we've only got about 250 people here.

[X]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault.
[X] propose research into the water supply, find out how 50 years ago the water became infected.
[ ] Write in an objective.
-[ ]Bring up the concept of a breeding program to expand our labor force in the long run.

They want a vault of nothing but young people? They're gonna get it.

Edit: Changed vote, looking into the source of the outbreak is also a great option.

 

[tellion]

[X]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault.
[X] Write in an objective.
-[X]Bring up the concept of a breeding program to expand our labor force in the long run.

 

[BENNYJETS]

I wonder how the vault can sense peoples ages.
If we can find that out then we might be able to disable/change it. Thought that could be dangerous.

Click to shrink...

It would for sure be dangerous but I think that's an important direction to explore.

I propose we vote to [ ] write in an objective, something like "[x] Tell department heads to assemble full system reports describing every piece of technical equipment they use."
If we are assuming it's some kind of tech observing the vault dwellers, we can check every machine and rule out anything that isn't reporting back to some rule enforcing system. Also there is plausible deniability for why we want that info.

(EDIT: Due to the fact that pipboys are likely what is tracking age, I suggest we look deeper into the cholera incident from 50 years ago)

 

[BENNYJETS]

So my votes are:
[X]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault

(Considering pipboys, I am editing my vote)
[x] propose research into the water supply, find out how 50 years ago the water became infected.

Maybe if we find out how it went down we can prevent it from happening again if a retirement incident happens again.

 

[Pyritr]

I'm going to point out that the Pip-boys are the most obvious culprit for tracking age. And you would assume that if circumventing that was easy, they would probably have done that fifty years ago, but literally no one from then is still in the vault so you don't really know.

 

[BENNYJETS]

I'm going to point out that the Pip-boys are the most obvious culprit for tracking age. And you would assume that if circumventing that was easy, they would probably have done that fifty years ago, but literally no one from then is still in the vault so you don't really know.

Click to shrink...

Ah, I should have thought of that. Thank you!

 

[Loveschach]

You make a good argument, my vote is changed. We should also look and see if there have been any other attempts at not retiring people, determine if there was a pattern or if it's a different sequence each time.

 

[Pyritr]

Voting Closed!

Spoiler: Vote Tally

2 Votes for
[X]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault
[X] propose research into the water supply, find out how 50 years ago the water became infected.

1 Vote for
[X]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault.
[X] Write in an objective.
-[X]Bring up the concept of a breeding program to expand our labor force in the long run.

Winning plan is
[X]Get a real sense of significant problems in the vault
[X] propose research into the water supply, find out how 50 years ago the water became infected.


This next week I plan to focus on this quite a bit.

 

[Pyritr]

You look out at the collection of people laid out before you. All the people who run the vault in which you were, until yesterday, just a citizen. And now they were all watching you, waiting to see what your effort to lead them would look like.

Taking in a deep breath, you got things rolling. "Before me, I understand Overseer Burdack was the only Overseer any of you worked under. That's just how leadership positions work. You're all used to the way he did things, to what he expected from you. Now you're going to need to learn what I expect from you, and I'll need to learn what you expect from me. Burdack ran this vault smoothly for ten years, at least as far as I'm aware, and I'm going to need your help to keep it running, and hopefully figure out how to run it even better."

"Now, I'm going to hear from each of you in turn about your department's situation and concerns, and spend a bit of time hashing out possible solutions to those concerns, and then I'm going to speak again about a few ideas I want to open the floor to."

Glancing to Allison subconsciously, you notice that she's staring down at her hands with a distant look in her eyes. She happens to be sitting next to you, so you turn to the other side. "Paula, why don't you start us off?"

Paula delivered her report professionally, giving you the impression that she was almost bored with the proceeding. She explained that while the vault had quite substantial manufacturing capacity, the supply of materials was shorter every year. She summarized the way that the vault's recycling program worked, but explained that they lost materials and ended up with weaker products every time they recycled the same set of materials. "We're currently able to keep up with demand, but recycling returns are sporadic and that leads to perennial shortages. And in shortages, we need to prioritize the most essential departments."

Next, her brother Sam spoke up, reporting on the vault's healthcare resources. "We're staffed for a crisis, so we're overstaffed in normal circumstances. As it is, my people are putting in hours with Education to train the next generation." The vault population, he explained, was healthy overall, and their medicine supply was well-stocked. When prompted about the life support systems, he said "It would be ideal to replace the air filters about twice as often, but the current schedule is adequate for air quality from what I've seen."

Dwight says that the upcoming cohort of students, about a three-year spread of the vault population's children, are "performing up to expectations," and updates you that they will graduate in two years. "Realistically the greatest challenge in my department is preserving the education and entertainment materials," he explains in his somewhat nasally voice. "Our holoreels need to be treated with care in order to avoid damage, and even minor wear can add up over the years. A few of our old movies are barely watchable."

Kristine explains that the vault's distribution system is working well enough, with people generally reporting satisfaction with the cafeteria, lounge, and commissary. However, some shortages have popped up recently, straining the system. "We had a one-day shortage of toothpaste, and apparently word got around and people responded of course by all coming in the next day and taking their allowed requisition of it, which meant that we were out for over a week." You notice a look pass between her and Paula, before she finishes with "We were eventually able to get that one under control."
David look a bit more professional today, as he talks up how well his department is doing, how they've consistently harvested a surplus, and he's made a point of storing dehydrated food every year. "We never know when we're gonna need it, so now we have it when we do."

Nichole reports once again that her security teams are in good order and ready to do whatever's necessary to keep the vault secure. However, she says that their equipment is a bit suspect, and their stock of 10MM ammo is low enough that they've only been able to do very limited range training, but that no one's had to actually fire a gun at a vault citizen in years.

Next, Jessica excitedly explains that the vault's power supply is running quite well, and that her fusion cores are good for another century at least. "Our stockpile of spare parts is a little bit low, but I'm sure we can make do with what we have for another year at least!"

Then it's Greg's turn. He immediately launches into a prepared speech, you suspect the very one he'd intended to deliver to you yesterday. He explains that the waste processing systems are woefully in need of an overhaul, and pleads for more parts and personnel. "I've got sewage piping that's been patched three, four times. It just needs to be replaced, but we just don't have the pipe. I need to install proper cleanout valves in half a dozen places, but I just don't have them. And my boys and girls are working around the clock to keep these decaying pipes together."

Fred follows that up, explaining that Water Systems has most of what they need, and somewhat smugly explains that his pipes need priority because they see continuous, high-pressure use, rather than the sporadic, low-pressure flow that the black-water pipes get. This starts an argument with Greg that you have to step in and break up. Changing the topic, he concludes by noting "We've also recently replaced our water purification system's main control chip, and have half a case of spares."

Silence falls over the room as attention turns to Allison. You mention her name to prompt her, and she almost robotically says "Maintenance can keep up with our responsibilities with what we have. I… understand everyone needs resources and personnel. My department is no exception. But we can make it work. We always have." She doesn't look at you as she speaks, and you quickly move on with the meeting in order to keep from embarrassing her.

Diminishing Returns The vault hasn't had an injection of new materials in almost two centuries, and it's starting to show. Unless something is done about it, the vault will face more common and more severe shortages over the coming years.

Hoarders Your vault population is prone to reacting to shortages by hoarding necessary supplies. This could quickly cause minor problems to become major problems.

There's a discussion around the table that quickly breaks down to bickering over the prioritization of different departments' needs, which the shortage issues have exacerbated. When the talks have become fully unproductive, you put a stop to them by changing the subject.

"As Overseer, I believe my most important duty is to prepare for and attempt to prevent crisis scenarios," you open. "On that front, I've been looking into the last major crisis, the disease outbreak fifty years ago. I've been looking through my records, trying to understand what exactly happened. I wanted to get your perspectives on it."

It's obvious that this isn't what your people expected to hear, and it promps a few glances between them. So you turn to Fred. "From what I can tell, it was a problem with the water supply. Can you explain to me what you think happened?"

Fred was a bit taken aback by that, but did his best to gather his wits. "Well, Overseer… I'll have to check my records, but from what I recall, I believe that the water purification system shut down entirely. I… believe my predecessors at the time attempted some form of workaround? He shook his head. "I take it as an object lesson of why not to mess with the systems that Vault Tec gave us."

Greg further adds "The waste treatment system stopped working around the same time. I don't know if it was related, but it must have caused a significant backup and overflow problem. And we'll see it happen again if we don't do something first, it was probably just a series of little problems adding up!"

You turn to Nichole next. "What about the security response at the time? There had to be one, even if it was just keeping people from panicking."

She shakes her head. "I don't remember exactly, but I do remember that my records get really spotty back then."

"Alright, could you please look into that for me? In fact, everyone, I want each of you to put together a report on what your department records say about the events of fifty years ago. I want us all to be fully informed about what happened so we can avoid anything like it happening again."

And with that, you wrap up the meeting. However, you also wanted to talk to Allison, and since she's already here you ask her to stay while everyone else heads out.

Once the door closes, an awkward silence fills the room as you look at her and try to figure out how to shift. She sits in the same hunched over position, looking away from you.

"Allison," you start. "I w--"

"I'm sorry," she interrupts, shaking. "I don't know why I said that last night. It was wrong to ask you to do that." She covers her eyes with her hands. "Do… do I need to resign?"

"Allison, no…" You sigh. You'd hoped to get a chance to talk to her about retirement, about whether she really could manage without Nick, about how to solve the issues with Maintenance's jury-rigged systems. But she was clearly not in a state to think things through right now. "I'm about to lose one valuable member of Maintenance, I definitely can't afford to lose the head of the department."

You pat her shoulder and give her a winning smile. "It's going to be alright," you tell her, making a promise you hope you can somehow keep.

By the time you're done consoling Allison and she leaves, you feel mentally and emotionally exhausted. Hitting your PA, you tell your secretary/security guard that you'd like to take a break and hit the lounge.

---

The vault lounge is the primary place where people go to relax and socialize. Moreso than the cafeteria, which tends to be more 'down to business', as it's so frequently filled with people grabbing a meal before a work shift.

No, the lounge was just a place that a vault citizen could spend a few hours, meet friends, chat with the bartender, and generally try to be themself, or at least attempt to be someone popular and likable. The shot of booze that Lynda slipped into each glass of nuka-cola unless you asked her not to helped a lot with that.

The middle-aged woman behind the bar spotted you as you made your way in, and raises an empty glass in the air in a sort of salute. "Hey, everyone, it's the new Overseer!" she calls out, getting the attention of everyone in the lounge. "Let's hear it for the new Overseer, and the next ten years!"

Cheering comes from every side as you made your way forward, and Lynda pours you a glass of nuka-cola, complete with ice-cubes and some booze to give it kick. Feeling a little shy at all the attention, you thank her and do your best to play it off cool.

Between the drink and the open, welcoming atmosphere, it's easy to let go of your troubles for a little while. You've got your work cut out for you as Overseer, having ferreted out all the vault's troubles over the last couple of days.

Then someone puts "Jumpin' Jive" on the jukebox, and the dancing starts. You get pulled into more than one dance, as people seem to just want to be a part of this moment.

Passing from partner to partner, song to song, hours slip away unnoticed. It's only when your Pipboy flashes a 'quest update' that you're pulled out of the moment.

11:45, December 30th, 2249 Retirement pending: Nick Hesting Overseer's attendance is required.

That brings your mood right down. You look up to see your security guard making his way through the lounge, and make eye contact with him. He nods.

With a sigh, you nod back and follow him out of the vault's hangout place, and out to the entrance, or as it's only been used since the bombs dropped, the exit.

You know you're running late by the way that everyone else is already gathered in place, but at least things don't seem to have gotten too awkward, yet. There Nick stands, surrounded by family and close friends. You're pretty sure those are his two daughters, holding each other and crying. You see Allison, too, doing her best to look strong and in control. She avoids eye contact with you.

It's a simple little ritual. You remember your part in it from the handful of retirements you'd attended: the Overseer's job was to publicly thank the retiree, on behalf of the vault, for their life of service to the community, and to wish them luck in whatever remained of the world above.

The room gets quiet as you arrive and move toward your position. They'd enjoyed the last few minutes extension, but everyone knew what was about to happen.

Except you. You take a breath, and reflect, thinking through what you'd learned in the scant days you'd had to get used to this position. A few options flash through your head, but you know you're going to have to pick one, and live with it. The crowd watches you expectantly.

[ ] Proceed with the retirement ceremony as normal.
[ ] Try to put a stop to the retirement.
[ ] Write in some other option.

 

[knyght]

[X] A mining operation for new resources is needed, the main computer doesn't want retirees to return ergo let's make a mine and secondary vault directly beyond the front door staffed with them. It is no at as if non-retirees can't come and go between both facilities to transport food and resources.

 

[Dimonay]

[X] A mining operation for new resources is needed, the main computer doesn't want retirees to return ergo let's make a mine and secondary vault directly beyond the front door staffed with them. It is no at as if non-retirees can't come and go between both facilities to transport food and resources.

 

[JohnnyIreland1929]

[X] A mining operation for new resources is needed, the main computer doesn't want retirees to return ergo let's make a mine and secondary vault directly beyond the front door staffed with them. It is no at as if non-retirees can't come and go between both facilities to transport food and resources.

 

[Omni]

[X] A mining operation for new resources is needed, the main computer doesn't want retirees to return ergo let's make a mine and secondary vault directly beyond the front door staffed with them. It is no at as if non-retirees can't come and go between both facilities to transport food and resources.

This.

We should ask for Volunteers to depart with him as aides, security and logistics. We can have Messengers come and go on a rota, but we need between 20 to 30 people to ensure productiveness and safety as the main exploratory/workteam.

 

[TheTrueArtist]

I like the idea of collecting resources from outside the vault, however I think we're assuming to much. For all we know it's a complete wasteland out there, every retiree dead from radiation. What I think we should do is run a test, asking Nick to stay close-ish to the vault and when morning comes make some noise or something to show that it's not lethal to be out there.

Once that's been done collecting a few volunteers, keeping in mind some departments are lacking manpower, maybe grabbing some people from security and engineering as a scouting party to get a preliminary idea of whats close by and what we can use.

Should also be very wary of bringing iradiated things into a rad free vault with humans that have had little exposure to radiation and more than likely have little medcine in the way of rad-x and radaway.

 

[Loveschach]

[X] A mining operation for new resources is needed, the main computer doesn't want retirees to return ergo let's make a mine and secondary vault directly beyond the front door staffed with them. It is no at as if non-retirees can't come and go between both facilities to transport food and resources.

 

[Pyritr]

Voting closed, with one vote for
[ ] run a test, asking Nick to stay close-ish to the vault and when morning comes make some noise or something to show that it's not lethal to be out there. Then send a few volunteers... as a scouting party.


And five votes for

[X] A mining operation for new resources is needed, the main computer doesn't want retirees to return ergo let's make a mine and secondary vault directly beyond the front door staffed with them. It is no at as if non-retirees can't come and go between both facilities to transport food and resources.

Let's see how that goes! Rolling for it
[dice]21861[/dice]

And that's a basic success!

 

[Omni]

I'm glad it was not a failure!

 

[Pyritr]

You look at Nick standing in front of that vault door, looking back at you with resigned expectation. Waiting for you to send him out of the vault, to who knows what, and to never return.

You feel deeply conflicted. This has been your vault's way of life for over a century. The last attempt to disrupt it resulted in so many deaths, that the vault population was only now starting to recover. What right did you have to disrupt it?

But at the same time, what right did you have to abandon Nick whatever fate awaited him, after all the years he'd served the vault? Was that how he should be repaid?

No. You couldn't do it. But you also couldn't just tell him to stay and assume it would all work out. There had to be another way.

Your mind raced as you realized you were running out of time. Everyone was expecting a speech to send Nick off, so you started speaking, stalling for time as you desperately tried to piece a plan together.

"This vault has kept us safe for seventeen generations of Overseer before me," you start off. "We've held together that whole time, depending on one another to keep this place working. Nick Hesting, you've done more than most of us to ensure that this vault continues day by day, and year by year."

"You've gone beyond the call of your duty as a vault citizen. And it's only right and proper that now, at the end of your career, you be relieved of the weight of that responsibility. And I apologize, Nick, that I have to ask more of you."

You could feel the crowd snap to attention. In that moment you'd gone off the script, and suddenly the routine ceremony changed, became historical. One way or another.

Suppressing your fear, you push yourself forward, reaching a hand up imploringly. "Our vault is quickly reaching a point of no return. We've all noticed the shortages, heard the rumors. We're running out of materials. And in the face of that, I can't discard such an important asset to this vault."

That prompted a gasp. Whispers. You needed to drive it home before they started to get agitated. You reached a hand out to the old maintenance worker. "Nick, you're retiring. I can't properly give you orders anymore. You're a free man. But what I am going to do is ask you to volunteer for something new. Something that might keep our vault alive."

That took the steam out of the crowd's response. They just stared in abject amazement as you did the impossible, as you brought the dead back to life in front of their eyes.

"You're going to go out through those doors just like your parents did, Nick, just like mine did too. But I'm going to ask you to give us three days to get you properly prepared for it." Three days was about the most you wanted to risk, to keep vault systems from shutting down on you. "And when we send you out, if you choose to accept this quest, you'll gather new materials for us at the vault door, and when the next retirement happens, we'll bring it inside. And then the next time, if there's anything you need out there, we'll make sure you get it."

You solemnly walked over to stand in front of Nick, and clasped your hands in front of him. "What do you say, Nick," you ask. You make it his decision, because you know the population will be more willing to accept it from him. And if you read him right earlier…

Tears come to his eyes, and it's clear he doesn't know what to say at first, but as the silence sets across the room, he can't help but offer an answer. He nods. "Y-yes, yes of course. I… I'd be happy to help, Overseer."

You reach out to shake his hand, and he pulls you into a hug. Someone in the crowd cheers; one of Nick's daughters. That starts the ball rolling, and soon most of the crowd, gathered to mourn someone they'd never see again, starts to rally. Nick is swarmed by friends and family, and you take the opportunity to back out of the scrum a bit.

Nichole steps up to your side in an instant, a hand on your shoulder. She has an icy look on her face. "Overseer," she whispers. "You really need to tell me when you're going to pull something like this."

You probably would have if you'd known that yourself. Still, you nod. "You're right. I shouldn't have sprung this on you."

"Well," Nichole said, her head stock still as her eyes slid across the room, assessing the situation. "You can't unsound this alarm. My people are going to be putting in extra hours for the next week, making sure the fallout from this doesn't get out of hand. But for now, I recommend you give the crowd a closing statement, and then we get you out of here before the mood has a chance to shift."

You spot Allison in the crowd, staring at you with a look of dumbfounded confusion, and nod.

Stepping forward, you wait for a lull in the jubilation, and cut in again. ""Thank you, Nick, for being a part of our future. And thank all of you, for supporting him." You raise three fingers in the air. "Three days! That's when we begin this new project, together!"

---

When you wake up the next day, you're not immediately sure if what happened the previous night was a dream. It's not until you get to your desk and see the terminal screen that you really accept that it actually happened. You held back a man's retirement.

Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink Clearance: Overseer Eyes Only Date: December 31st, 2249 Population: 426 Retirements Pending: 1 (!!!)

Checking the alert, you pull up an additional message:

Retirement over 24 hours overdue. Retirement MUST be processed before 01/07/2250.

Well, that at least gives you a clear deadline.

Next you pull up your daily messages, and wince as your unread messages goes well into the double digits. While your speech went over well at the aborted retirement ceremony, it seems now that the rest of the vault is hearing about it more than one person has a problem with it. You read one message thanking you for being the first one to finally say something about the insane practice of retirement, and next a message castigating you for ruining the dignity of Nick's retirement to wring more labor out of him.

Leaning back in your chair, you set about trying to organize your day.

What actions do you want to take today? (Choose 5)

[ ] Call a private meeting with one of the department heads. (write in which)
[ ] Read through the backlog of reports from one department. (write in which)
[ ] Take time to respond to the messages and smooth things over.
[ ] Write in a suggestion.

 

[Loveschach]

A week before consequences huh? Gives us some breathing room, but definitely want him out well before that time period.

[X] Plan Stockpile
-[X] Call a private meeting with one of the department heads. (Security)
-[X] Call a private meeting with one of the department heads. (Health and Life Support)
-[X] Read through the backlog of reports from one department. (Hydroponics)
-[X] Read through the backlog of reports from one department. (Manufacturing)
-[X] Take time to respond to the messages and smooth things over.


I want us to meet with Security to figure out how to keep the items on the outside of the vault safe, health and life support to figure out how we can keep Nick healthy and not irradiated. We're going to need to start sending people out with some basic supplies such as food and tools, so I want to make sure our production capabilities are smoothes out. Maybe next turn take care of Education, so we can figure out some skillsets that can be useful in the wastes. The final is to take care of the gripes, because low morale leads to mutiny.

 

[BENNYJETS]

A week before consequences huh? Gives us some breathing room, but definitely want him out well before that time period.

[X] Plan Stockpile
-[X] Call a private meeting with one of the department heads. (Security)
-[X] Call a private meeting with one of the department heads. (Health and Life Support)
-[X] Read through the backlog of reports from one department. (Hydroponics)
-[X] Read through the backlog of reports from one department. (Manufacturing)
-[X] Take time to respond to the messages and smooth things over.

Click to shrink...

Totally agree, you have my vote.