epidemiology | EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

THE EARTHQUAKE

One day, early in the morning before the mechanical rooster at Amos Zephyr's farm even crows, there's a sudden rumble in the distance. Perdition's Rest shakes and the ground roils, knocking things off shelves and startling the mechanical horses in their pen. Look out the window and you'll see Qorral locals blearily stepping out into the street, murmuring anxiously amongst themselves: Earthquake.

Ever since the argecite mines started to dry up, the Qorral colonists have been turning to fracking in order to pull all available argecite out of the planet as quickly as possible. The technique has caused more and more earthquakes to shake the planet, though the fracking fields are far enough away from the town that damage is minimal.

However, the fields and mines aren't as lucky. The mayor rushes out into the street, his assistant and Sheriff Holladay flanking him, and asks for any willing heroes and adventurers (that means you!) to venture out to the fracking fields and assess the damages. Though the tunnels aren't being actively mined, there were likely miners and other workmen inside, so there will be rescue needed as well. Get your provisions ready and hop on the train: you're going to work.

THE FRACKING FIELDS

The fracking fields are a wide open swath of land peppered with looming, iron machines going on for miles. These machines are the Qorral's final attempt at scraping the last remnants of argecite from the planet before abandoning the colony and moving on for good. This destructive practice is causing obvious instability to the planet, but they don't seem to care. This is what their species does: seeks out argecite, mines it, and moves on.

The fields are dry and dead, with no plants around -- and now, after the earthquake, there are sinkholes. The iron machines are falling into the sinkholes, slowly being swallowed by the planet, with desperate workers trying to pull them back out. They could use the help -- but be sure not to fall in yourself.

Grotesque alien birds circle overhead, searching for the dead or the dying, workers caught in the collapsing earth. Save them before they're swallowed by the earth or swallowed by carrion birds -- and if you're too late, the locals would be happy to have their loved ones returned to them intact.

Also found in the fields is the Argecite Refinery, a massive factory filled with machinery meant for the refining of the crystal before it is to be shipped back to the Qorral home planet. The outside of the factory is surrounded by a 610cm (20 ft) tall electric perimeter fence, whose energy shorts out sporadically after the earthquake cracked the service box. If you're quick enough to make it through one of the gaps in electricity, don't relax quite yet -- there are malfunctioning guard drones throughout the facility, the earthquake rattling their sensors and making it impossible for them to tell friend from foe. The drones resemble dogs, though they are capable of folding their legs in for aerodynamic superiority when they take flight. They are equipped with energy lasers to destroy, sticky glue to slow trespassers, and a thin blade in the tail to poison attackers. The poison is quick-acting, causing hallucinations and fever, but it is not deadly.

Inside the factory, the machinery has collapsed in on itself from the earthquake; electricity sparks from damaged wires, dangerously nearby spilled oil drums or pools of standing water. Fire can start at any second. There are factory workers here that need rescuing, but also a variety of inanimate objects, including barrels of argecite, machinery parts, files, computers, etc. Anything that isn't bolted down needs to be moved outside of the factory before it explodes. Of course, no one is really keeping track of what's inside...

THE MINES

The Qorral have been digging in the mines since arriving on this planet 30 years ago, but recent efforts have shifted to fracking after the argecite veins slowly became depleted. The mines are still maintained by a skeleton crew of workers, making sure there is no build-up of dangerously flammable gas and patrolling the tunnels to look out for cave-ins -- which, after the earthquake, have happened in spades.

The tunnels are winding and deep, turning in on each other and ending in dead ends or sudden, steep drop-offs into the dark. There are workers trapped within, and some at Perdition's Rest have said that their thrill-seeking relatives -- typically teenagers -- have gone missing. It's possible that they have found themselves trapped in the mine, so it may be a good idea to look out for them as well.

And even deeper in the mine, there is a writhing, pale danger: sand worms, blind and hungry, wait in the dark. The earthquake has begun to drive them further up the tunnel, their tooth-lined maws open as they slither through toward the surface. Those focusing on the fields above may find a straggling sand worm or two, thrashing wildly in pain from the unfamiliar heat of the sun. This will definitely put a damper in the rescue and recovery efforts, so take them out as quickly as you can -- with as little damage to the fracking equipment, please.

OOC NOTES

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't know, how many are in there?? Nevermind, let's just get as many as we can!

[ She hopes that it's not many, but if there are more than they can get in one go, then they might need to find a way to break the rock into pieces so they can be moved aside. But that will take time, and time isn't exactly on their side right about now. ]

[Meallan flashes her a wide smile, liking the certainty she has, and slides down to start wiggling through the opening.]

All right then, I'll see how many there are and start getting them out, but tell me if you have trouble. I'd rather no one be under it if you have to let it go.

[With that he disappears into the darkness, and after a moment someone starts to scrabble through from the other side, a young woman looking wide-eyed at her saviours and struggling to get through before taking off for safety. Meallan pokes his head out briefly once she's clear.]

There's about five of them, teens poking about where they shouldn't I'd say. Can you keep it in place for the rest?

Urf-- yeah, I think I got it! Just hurry!

[ Especially if they're stupid kids; the thought fills her with... not Determination, but something very much like it.

She doesn't even bother trying to flash a heroic grin at the women who's been freed, too busy grimacing and showing rows of sharp teeth. ]

[Meallan doesn't bother with wasting time to reassure her that he'll be quick, he just ducks back out of sight and quickly starts leading - and in one case dragging - the rest of the kids towards the gap and freedom. A couple of quick to clamber out and run for safety, but he has to coax another to give it a try, the boy protesting that the rock might come down any moment, and needing a shove to get all the way through.

Then there's another pair that he hurries through, and finally Meallan himself wriggles through the gap, all too aware of how long his strange new friend has been holding the boulder aloft, and he's barely clear when he's shouting.]

That's it! You can let go now!

[ Undyne unceremoniously drops the boulder when she gets the word; probably not the best move, as another shudder wracks the cavern, but other than some pebbles that fall from above, it sounds like most of the damage is on the other side.

She spares the kids a look then dusts off her hands, looking to her teammate. ]

Are they all okay? Or are we gonna have to carry some? I can take at least two, three if the third can hold on...

[Meallan drops ready to run or dive for one of the kids if the shaking dislodges something else, but after a moment it all seems to settle down again and he straightens and lets out a slow breath.]

They're mostly fine. A few bruises and cuts from what I could see. [No one had had particular difficulty with climbing through the gap to safety given the chance at least, though he supposes he could be wrong about that; fear could motivate someone to push through a lot.]

Let get 'em out of here, then. Come on!

[ She gestures to the kids for them to follow, herding them as best she can. ]

Don't remember seeing you on the team before, you new?

[The rescuees don't need much prompting to get out of the area, and Meallan keeps pace with the blue-skinned woman behind them, his attention mostly on the others but not so much that he doesn't give a wry smile at the question.]

Hardly. This is my third mission now, but there's enough of us that I haven't managed to speak with everyone. You?

Oh.

[ Yeah... yeah, there are a lot of people on the team. More people than she's known in her entire life. It'd be more overwhelming if it wasn't still kind of a little thrilling to be out of the Underground in its own weird way. ]

Guess this is my fourth with this team, even if I didn't finish the last one. Fifth if you count... the other one.

[ Something about the way she shivers says she doesn't feel much like explaining more than that... ]

EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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tidying up old threads, feel free to drop!