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

But if we don't end the mining efforts by destroying their equipment, how do we end it? [It's a sincere question that comes from a place of genuine curiosity.] And just to clear things up, I take this exploit extremely seriously!

[He assures, trying to look and sound as serious as possible for someone who seems incapable of being anything but cheerful and smiley.]

[He's rather distracted with the immense weight of the tower he's helping to support now, as it wobbles. He might be huge, but the tower is larger even than him, perhaps twice or more again tall than him, and no longer supported by more than a tenuous last cable. That means he's unable to hold quite the debate that he might have, if he'd been seated across the table from this creature in a conversation about hypotheticals.]

We end it by convincing them that their efforts are causing this and seeing them dismantle it, themselves! If we--nngh--destroy these contraptions, they will move on to hollow out another planet, cause another waver in the fabric of the universe! They will never learn!

[Rocky's screen takes on a politely doubtful smile. If the Qorral are anything like the humans from his own world, they already knew the error of their ways and simply refused to change. A destructive species would always be destructive.]

Unfortunately, as long as this mineral is required for their biological needs, there's nothing for them to learn.

Unless. They can learn how to synthesize the mineral without destroying entire worlds. But the desire to do so is up to them! Either way, I'd get out from under there if I were you.

[He warns, turning to climb his way through the jungle-gym of beams toward the skyward-facing side of the tower.]

You should let it go before you get hurt!

[As if letting go of the tower is the same as letting go of their argument. Even if Laedo was threatened, life and limb, this has suddenly become something more dire: his ego is at stake, at stake by a seemingly cheerful maniac.

Snarling, he huffs a bubble of magic towards the robot, attempting to catch him in a telekinetic hold.]

Not before you remove yourself from it! I wish no more scraps of metal in this mess of a field than their already are!

[If the magic takes hold, it gives Rocky the chance to experience being floated out of harm's way... but if he manages to squirm out of it, Laedo is going to have to rely upon more unconventional tactics... and he's already shivering with strain, putting more of his magic field into keeping the structure leveraged. He'd like to lower it to the sand safely, though with the strain... that isn't looking too likely.]

[The bubble catches him but he's reluctant to let it take complete hold of him and clings to the struts like a cat with its claws caught on the curtains. Soon enough, though, he's tugged free and allows the thing—the ...magic—to carry him to wherever it may. As if floating in space, he turns himself around by kicking and flailing, then sinks to the bottom of the bubble.

There's not much left to do now but watch and wince at the scene before him. Since the start of this mission, he's already had one person get injured trying to protect him and he's not looking forward to seeing it happen again.]

[It doesn't take long for him to reach the ground--in fact, the moment that the field comes in contact with the packed desert floor, it seems to pop, leaving Rocky to move as he pleases.

Laedo, on the other hand, is somewhat more at a loss to do so. He gives a low-throated snarl as the tower begins to tilt treacherously under him. The final cord that had been holding it upright snaps, but the askan had been prepared for it. He heaves, moving with the fall of the tower to hold it by its uppermost limit, levers it down to the ground with every shimmering muscle pronounced under his coat of fur. There is more magic at play here than is plainly visible; a creature of his size should not have had a chance against a thirty, forty foot tower. He's shoring up its integrity as it finally settles hard to the gritty earth, and he ducks out of the way at the last second, fearful of a crushed wing-tine or tail.

Afterwards, he sags and curls his head on his sinuous neck so that he can reach a palm up and cover his brow. Despite the augmentation to his physical strength he is still panting from the strain, and it's only after a few clearly exhausted moments where he can catch his breath that he cracks his knuckles to glare directly at the robot.]

Can we at least agree not to go dropping any more towers at the present moment? There are... others... that need aid yet still. If we... as a team... avail ourselves and find no other option, we can easily wipe these instruments of devastation from the face of the planet... later.

[As it touches ground, the bubble breaks and Rocky lands buttfirst on the sand. Then, he watches along with the workers as the fracking tower comes down, sending up a cloud of grit upon impact. The Qorral lament over their fallen tower but they finally seem to accept that it's beyond saving.

Before the sand has settled Rocky approaches the exhausted dragon, a look of apology on his artificial features. He shrinks a bit under the glare he receives but seems happy enough to listen. Once Laedo has spoken, he straightens at attention with a nod of his boxy head.]

Got it! We can save destroying their equipment for 'Plan B'!

[Communication? Planning? This almost feels like real teamwork! Looking over the creature before him, Rocky takes a few curious steps closer.]

Are you okay? I didn't mean for you to get almost crushed.

I'm... fine... [The askan seems suitably irritated under his veneer of fatigue, and he isn't quite the greyed out shade that might suggest a real dearth of magic. Yet perhaps it is not the physical trials that are weighing on him. Something about Rocky's unabashed enthusiasm has managed to prick Laedo's ego, left him feeling troubled on principle. Such wanton violence from an alien not even close to resembling a species Laedo's familiar with... will this be another case of struggling not to split his allegiance between teamwork and his own rigid morals?

He swivels an ear forward, then the other... then allows them to droop again in indecision.]

What are you? Who are you? What name do you go by, that I might understand your strange visage and your alien motives?

[All this in a strained, almost cantankerous tone. He's trying to get back to his feet, though in truth he's feeling light-headed and shaky from the earlier strain. He opts to work himself to a somewhat more dignified sphynx-like sit, even if it rubs his belly into the sand.]

[The beast might be weakened but Rocky still maintains a fairly respectful distance and seats himself in the sand before Laedo, his knees bent beneath him. While the pair of eyes on his screen serve no function in collecting visual data, they still convey a sense of 'eye contact' as he peers up into the dragon's face. Raising one of his weaponized arms, the metallic claws fold back against the barrel and the whole forearm begins to transform—pieces shift rapidly into a new arrangement and the cannon barrel collapses in on itself. In a matter of seconds, a humanoid 5-digit hand replaces the weapon and he holds it to his chest.]

Well, my name is Rocky and I'm a robot. [He starts, happy to answer whatever is asked of him.] I was built by members of the human race to serve and protect them from opposing forces. [Which means he was also built to kill other humans and wreck their shit, but one step at a time here!]

As for my face, my creators programmed me with human emotions and I was fitted with this head as a means of self-expression. [Though as he explains, his seemingly permanent smile seems to fade a bit and lose its cheer.] I suppose humans are more comfortable communicating with something that has a face...

[His gaze has fallen somewhat but he turns his eyes and his smile back up again soon enough.] What's your name? I've never met a dragon before!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject