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

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think I should be alright, so long as I'm careful. Let's not exhaust finite resources if there's no need.

[He can always ask Momo for help later on if he really can't handle it, but he thinks his body should be able to weather this much. And he's already moving to cover his mouth and nose with the bandanna, quinque tucked under his arm.

No doubt quite the striking image]

[She still looks uncertain, but... He knows himself better than she does. Even if she protested, it doesn't mean he's not actually fine.

She considers it for a moment longer, before she ultimately lets it go.]

All right, but if you feel anything is wrong, let me know immediately. I won't allow you to be one of the rescuees as well.

[Haise nods, taking hold of his weapon once more after he's secured his makeshift mask. It strikes him as something of a shame that he doesn't have the one from his undercover operation with his squad, but then again, that'd be no better at filtering in the end]

Couldn't help anyone else if I became a liability.

[He agrees easily, though the way he phrases that...]

Shall we get started?

Yes, of course.

[She then points towards the directions deeper into the tunnel, the same one she had been coming from. She already fulfilled her goal, after all, so it was safe to lead him back.]

Some of the workers are still down here, but I can't move the rubble on my own.

Let's get going then.

[Haise starts down the tunnel that Momo had pointed out, weapon in-hand. He wouldn't use it to move any heavy rubble, having no way to repair it if it were damaged, but he can handle that much with his hands.

Despite appearances, he was several times stronger than any human]

...I wonder how common this sort of occurrence is.

Judging by the walls, it seems as thought the collapse would've been inevitable.

[She says, even through the muffled speech from her mask. It wasn't something she could easily ignore, after all, when her ability made her have to research so many different elements.]

The soil is hard and dry, which doesn't make sense when it's this deep under. With the way they've been digging, they've already not only unearthed minerals, but in the end... the very foundation of the land they placed the machines on.

[Haise glances around as they make their way down the tunnel. Her assessment is sound, especially bearing in mind that they've been informed that this planet has been over-mined to begin with.

Seeing it firsthand, it certainly seems the case]

It seems they really haven't considered sustainability at all.

If they continue on this path, the planet itself could be in danger.

[Forget sustainability, survival was more of a problem.]

Honestly, I can't understand how anyone could just do this. Isn't this the main resource of the planet?

I suppose this comes of them being travelers... They may be entirely unconcerned with the shape this planet is left in when they move on.

[Something he has a distaste for, and it seeps into his tone as he speaks. This isn't something he can condone, and he can't imagine how a population as a whole decides on such a vampiric approach.

Moving from world to world, hollowing it out from within, and leaving it in this state to repeat the cycle just seems wrong]

... Nonetheless, we have the duty to protect these people. Even if we do not agree with it, it's what it is.

[And she would have a long, unapologetic talk with the chief of these men if she could. She doesn't like this one bit, the fact that they can easily destroy someone while they themselves ruin everything around them.]

Here, these--

[She gestures to the beams on the side of the tunnels.]

-- are the ones I put up. It should keep the opening steady, but I don't honestly know how many workers are here.

Yes, regardless of our personal beliefs, it doesn't change the value of a life.

[Haise had often gone out of his way to keep ghouls alive rather than destroy them, and so he has a track record of preserving life even if it might seem better not to. But he does wish they'd been brought here before this planet seemed on the verge of collapse.

Perhaps they could have changed something, back then]

Let's try and move quickly then.

[Haise gets a good look at her handiwork as he passes through, having no reluctance regarding the tunnel's structural integrity.

They've got Momo Beams on their side, after all]

[The structure was firm, but temporary, and even an amateur can tell. It was good enough to hold for now, but if the cave collapses too much, it won't be able to sustain it for long.

Haise might notice that there are empty carts around, and tied to them are boxes with wheels, same boxes that used to be in the cart.]

I found their transportation cart, but I had to remove everything to make sure they can use it.

That's good thinking. If many of them are heavily injured, that might be better than carrying them.

[He spares the carts a glance as they pass by before he turns his attention to the dark path ahead, focusing on trying to pick up on the sound or scent of any trapped workers.

Unfortunately, his sense of smell is rendered nearly useless by so much dust and dirt...]

Mm, and if not more people can enter, then all the more it's important to be able to transport that many people.

Unfortunately, on my own, I don't have enough strength for that.

[Hence why she went out to look for any help she can get. She's not aware of the issue he's facing, either way, and instead goes in deep to find any signs of survivors. She hopes, at least, that there are enough.]

I can match a handful of people by myself, so I'm sure we'll manage.

[If they had Shizuo around they might even manage that much more efficiently, but as it stands, Haise is confident they'll be able to transport survivors.

It's just a matter of finding where they're holed up around here.

When he hears faint coughing, he points at a path that veers to the right]

That way, I think.

[She's quick to move in the direction of the coughing, glad that her gas mark was working well when she sees the trapped worker. Already, she's worried, because he was under rubble, and she turns to Haise expectantly.]

Could you...?

[Help move the rubble.]

[Haise is quick to nod and step forward]

Help him move once I've gotten the weight off him, if you would.

[The words are quiet, but assuredly come with confidence. And having said them, he sets about the task of picking up heavy stones and moving them aside]

Of course.

[She's already checking for vitals while he works, asking the victim questions about their health. Their head, any painful sensations and the likes. It's standard, but important, because it's how she finds out he has a numb leg.]

His leg is numb, it is. There's a possibility it might be broken.

We'd better get him to a cart, in that case.

[Haise doesn't sound strained as he continues lifting heavy lumps of stone and moving them aside. He can only wonder how many areas are collapsed like this, and how difficult it might be to extract the trapped miners.

Whatever the difficulty, they simply have to find a way]

[She nods in confirmation, then once he's freed, she gently tries to lift him to his feet, careful to let him lean his injured side on her so he doesn't lose balance. It was a delicate process, after all.]

I can help him back to the cart. If you can, it would be best to look around for more survivors.

[And it'll give her enough time to produce another gas mask for him to use.]

I can to do that.

[She's right, and they need to be efficient about this. So once Haise is sure that she'll have no difficulty escorting the miner, he turns to look for more people trapped around here.

He's got no doubt there are more around, after all]

[It's not the most efficient method, but it's the only one she can go with as there's only two of them. So she does the job as quickly as she can without jossing him, even going to far as to give him a makeshift cast with bandages and a piece of plankwood in order to stabilize his leg before returning to Haise.

With the mask she had provided as well, he should be fine, but she can't help but worry.]

How many more...?

[Despite his size, Haise still manages to heft two unconscious miners under his arms. It makes for an awkward image, especially the ease with which he's carting them along, but he makes his way toward Momo with no apparent struggle save for the cumbersome nature of the activity]

Just one more further back.

[He tips his head toward the stretch of tunnel behind him]

[It is times like this that she can't help but be grateful for people with abilities different that hers. On her own, that would've taken much longer, so she doesn't mind the awkward sight that it caused. Instead, she offers a relieved smile as she nods.]

All right, I'll get him. We can cart them back up with these equipment soon after.

[Please stay stable before then, cave.]

[Haise nods, moving to deposit the unconscious miners in the cart along with their injured associate. It continues to be a cumbersome activity, but one he approaches with care]

Okay. I'll make sure these guys are ready to go.

[So long as they're quick about this, they ought to be able to clear out this stretch of tunnel without too much delay]

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