epidemiology | EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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

Please direct all questions pertaining to the mission to the dossier page to keep questions and responses in one place for easy player reference. General game questions should be directed to the FAQ.

If you haven't already, make sure you check out the Bounty Board for side missions! Remember you can also request bounty missions or submit player plots at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jesus christ, [ there he is. A dark shape just beyond the doorway, catapulted through the open space and not through the wall itself. Isn't that just luck for you.

He's moving, slowly. Rolling onto his front with a wince, leveraging himself to his knees. Hands wrapped around one another, held tight to his stomach like he's guarding old hurts. A litany, a string of curses escapes him, the way one might pray over a rosary. He can hear her, and he's slow to respond. Sorry for it, but he can't go any faster than this. He gets a leg under him, braces his weight on it - and leans far enough to locate her: ] Here. I'm here, it's okay.

[ Hoarse, thready. It's been - god, it's been so long since he'd talked to someone who -- looked like her. All normal and shit. Concern in her voice. His answer is

just like him ] Hi. Come here often?

[ Good thing for him, Shuyi hardly recognizes his curse words for what they are, though there must be some hidden reason why deities throughout the universe tend to be the top choice. She breathes a sigh of relief once he replies, which turns into a short bout of coughing as the dust continues to settle, as she comes closer, trying to keep close to the ground in case of another calamity. She isn't shy about trying to loop his arm around her shoulder and place a hand on his back to help him walk. Surely the situation warrants boldness.

Unfortunately (fortunately?) for him, the joke flies over her head. ]

This is my first time. [ She hesitates and knits her eyebrows. Is this a common greeting where he's from? Some kind of code to tell friend from foe? Maybe he's confused. ] You must have hurt your head.

[ ~~No!! Take his flirting seriously!!~~ Please don't. ]

At this point, what haven't I hurt?

[ Like her. Her hands are raw, they have to hurt her. Who's supposed to be responsible for her, anyways. Who's just let her run off, past those robo-beasts outside with their sicknasty venom or laser beams or whatever it was he'd seen other folks coping with. Who's left her to batter her hands until they're this wrecked. What the hell has she been doing, all on her own? It's a wave of concern that overtakes him, because she's normal and nice and not brandishing weapons or psychotic rhetoric about capitalism or religion or madness at him. And she definitely, definitely Does Not Sound Like Static.

Let's not think of the last. ] I'm okay, it's okay. [ Repeating.

She's got an arm around him, and he combats her by tucking a hand under the crook of her shoulder. It makes him feel better, pretending like he's keeping her up too. ]

I was looking for information. So, what's a nice place like you doing in a girl like this anyways?

[ jfc will you stop ]

[ She doesn't need weapons when she herself is one, and while he worries for her, she thinks about how fragile her new friends are and how afraid she is of seeing the dust settle after this chaos to find herself the last one standing. The ones like him, with his need to feel like he's protecting her instead of the other way around, are the ones most likely to jump into danger for that very reason. So while she nods slowly to his answer about information, she gives him a rather miffed look when he asks why she's here.

Why a girl like her is here. It sounds just like something her sister would say, the same thing she's been trying to shrug off her shoulders for so long. ]

You are the one who needs help walking and not I.

[ She sounds decidedly indignant, but she hates being angry. Her next words are softer. ]

If you tell me what information you need --in what form-- I will find it for you.

Wow, wouldn't you know - I'm feeling so much better.

[ Brief indignation or not, his response is reflexive. A habitual falling back on snide commentary and a physical steeling of his person. The tension starts at his shoulders and creeps down the length of his spine. She's only being helpful,

but it's still not the sort of thing he wants to hear: that someone else will do the work for him.

Logically, he knows it's not what she meant but god damn, this sort of thing is his job. Was his job. Might still be his job? Whatever. ]

It's just whatever's here. What relates to what we gotta' do - Deemers, ALASTAIR files and the like. Nobody's watching the shit here, so might as well sleuth around, you know?

[ He's not leaving. Not just yet. This is what always, ALWAYS gets him into trouble!! ]

[ Pride. Funny how everything seems so clear only when reflected in another person, even when she was the one who started it. She gives him a conciliatory smile. ]

I'm sorry.

[ Right now they're walking past a row of desks overturned and crushed by the impact with what passes for computers and files strewn about. She wouldn't even know where to start, but she does want to help. Turning about to check for any incoming danger, she finds an alcove least disturbed by the quakes and explosion and untangles her arm to help him sit down. ]

Rest here for now. After I find you all the files, it will be your turn to carry me out of this place.

[ A smirk, too. She's hoping that's a compromise he can accept. ]

[ ~~why are girls so great~~ ]

No, hey. Don't go out there alone.

[ She wants to help, and really - he can appreciate that. Finds him a sturdy space that's relatively unfucked with by the quake and everything, so he can take a deep breath and sort his shit out. But if she goes back out there, and something happens to her, he'll be so freaking pissed. Silently, he beckons to her - hands dirty, bandaged tight about obviously missing digits. Not like her own hands, which he points out. Is she aware of her own state -- jesus lady... ]

Just give me a sec, I'll go with you. I know what I'm looking for.

[ He just can't explain it. ]

Four eyes are better than two, in any situation. And I didn't catch your name.

[ Is he ever going to give it up? Shuyi has seen her share of overprotective men (they were, mostly, men) but she doesn't recall anyone quite so insistent even when he's clearly the one who needs protecting. She stands, watching and waiting quietly for him.

Would he change his mind once he knows what she's capable of? When her hands are battered and bloodied because she has carved holes in concrete walls and liquefied steel doors using nothing but her own blood. Maybe if she shows him-- no, he's kind. He thinks she's normal, in need of protection. She can enjoy this for what it's worth, for now.

With an amused smile dancing on her lips, she takes a seat across from him, legs crossed. ]

Shuyi. And who is the name of my intrepid companion today?

[ He's really not. :C There's a certain degree of "stubborn" combined with another measure of "paranoid" that's been mixed up inside of him and left to fester. The idea of letting her out of his site is unbearable, both because he'd hate to see her come to harm - as the act of meeting her has left him feeling some sort of responsibility for her well-being - and because he'd just hate to be alone. Again. He's had quite enough of wandering around alone, and now that there's someone around

he wants to

keep them there. ] Miles.

[ Shuyi sits, and he visibly relaxes, sagging back along the wall behind him. Like this, he can catch his breath. ]

I heard the crew was looking for intel out here, and. well, that's my job. Was my job.

[ He gestures, to her hands. The irony isn't lost on him - his concern for her, when he looks the way he does. ]

Like the distance?

[ It's partly a jest, though her attention shifts when he gestures to her hand, which she returns with a pointed look at his own. She doesn't know what cost him those missing digits, but her palms are battered and bloodied because she chose to use her power despite what it costs her, and she thinks that's better than if someone else had hurt her. Hurt him, that is. ]

Was it also your job to protect the weak? Like me?

[ She means herself. His insistence on protecting her. It didn't escape her notice that he relaxed only after she sat down. ]

Just like that, actually.

[ And miles to go, before I sleep. His father, educated and tenured and a book full of Robert Frost.

She says it in jest, but a wan smile curls at the corner of his mouth. It's a good name, dad told him. A strong name. The sort of name that went on and on and on, and so long as you know your roots, son, you'll go on and on and on too. With the pair of theme exchanging Looks at one another's hands, though, he eases his own out of sight. Slipping them into the pockets of his coat, buttoned up to his collarbones. It looks stuffy on him; this guy who stretches his legs out and sags in his makeshift seat with a tired sound. ]

Whether you're weak or strong doesn't matter a bit. I have a responsibility, as a human being, to people and that always includes protecting them. I don't care if you're Special Forces or what - you walk with me, I've got a responsibility to ensure you make out okay. That's just what's right.

[ Him hiding his hands away doesn't stop her from following them with her gaze, lifting her eyes to his face only a moment after. The sound of a faraway explosion diverts her attention from him as she keeps quiet, listening out for any indications of danger. There are stumbling footsteps in a nearby hallway, coupled with the sound of electricity in the air. It's one of those dogs again.

But instead of rising to action, she relaxes, mimicking his posture to lean back, closing her eyes with a long sigh. ]

You are so sure that protecting me-- [ She, whose own people has declared her dead and for good reason, out of all those other beings with greater claim to life ] --is right?

Why wouldn't protecting you be right, Shuyi?

[ The gears in his mind whir, crunch - grinding into actions. Immediately, he's narrowed in on the peculiar phrasing of her question. He rephrases it, bats it back like an offered hand, a kind word, an offer for help. It's one of many tricks of the trade, because while he honestly would like to know what's caused her to ask such a question - he also believes that it is right.

It has to be right. ]

[ That sound keeps getting louder, creaking closer with that telltale sparking sound, a canine howl halted in its mechanical throat.

Shuyi watches Miles as he responds in kind. They both know, she thinks, that the answer lies not with her but with him. What he wants from her is reassurance, a reason to believe that he made the right choice in assuming the good in her. She chooses against helping him in this endeavor, turning away to face the robot guard stumbling into the room.

She clasps her hands together, then draws them apart to reveal blue-white sparks percolating between her palms. This seems to confuse the drone, which stumbles about in disorientation, unable to tell forward from backward. ]

You should leave, Miles. I will wait until it leaves on its own.

[ Whatever she does, it feels like someone started playing the world's shittiest violin with a saw across all of his bones. The drone bobbles and weaves, drunkenly, and he rocks back on his heels - it's like being punched in the face again, ears full of the crackle and pop of sparks, lungs suddenly too small to work properly. It's like something is pressing a hand over his mouth and nose -- ]

Jesus.

[ More than that, she has something lively and electric dancing between her hands.

He doesn't want to leave, he just plain needs to. Something about whatever she's doing is rattling around, and the static buzzing in his ears is increasing in volume, furious and fighting back. ]

-- just let me know when you get out okay, okay?

[ He takes a step back, and then another. And then beats a hell of a hasty retreat. ]

[ She is alarmed, at first, to find Miles so affected by her little stunt when it's only supposed to affect things made of metal and plastic. Machines and robot, certainly not living beings made of flesh and blood. But she should have known better than to assume when most everyone here are much more than what they seem. She dials down her fireworks display, causing the drone to slowly but steadily make its way toward the two of them. Two steps forward, one step back. ]

I will.

[ It's only when he's gone that she realizes how much she hates being alone in a place like this, with a broken machine for company. She waits for a long while for the dog to leave her alone, unwilling to kill it just yet. Though she leaves her spot after close to an hour, stepping closer to pet its metal head, and shut it off with a controlled blast to severe its neck.

There. ]

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EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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