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

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

[ he does not get far before her hand reaches out, curling tight around his wrist. oh, he could very easily throw her off, she knows this. but that does not stop her from trying anyway. ]

You are going to fall where you stand at this rate. [ she takes care to retain her firm tone; somehow, it is not too difficult with all this anger and frustrating boiling inside her. ]

You need to breathe— [ because she very nearly feels like she's suffocating. ]

[ surprise alone stops him. anakin looks from her hand around his glove, the durasteel arm underneath unyielding, to her face. a sense of irritation bubbles to the surface, the only outward sign of which is the severe countenance he wears.

she's frustrated. he can feel it in the force. why, he doesn't know nor is he concerned by it. ]

I know my limits better than you do. I've been in worse situations than this and longer. Take care of the Qorral; they need it.

[ olivia has no connection to this force, nor does she know a thing about it. but she doesn't need it to feel the irritation that flares within him, feeling a ghost of it flicker in her own gut. her jaws clench, and her brow furrows further in her attempt to separate her own frustrations from his. ]

I will take care of who I want to, when I want to, and I could take care of you all if you'd only just listen. [ she does not hold anger like he does — in her hands it burns, and on her tongue she strains around it. ]

[ a muscle works in his jaw. anakin looks ready to argue — or to push her out of the way if she refuses to move.

his eyes flick away from her. the most dire of the efforts were already mounted. what remains can spare a minute or so. taking a deep breath, he rolls his eyes back toward her, studying her expectantly.

his expression is the flattest what that has ever awaited an explanation. ]

[ she tries not to buckle under the weight of that stare, but it is a feat in and of itself. he is kind, she knows that, she believes that, but in this moment, when he looks at her like that, she finds it difficult to remember just why.

eventually, she finds her voice. ]

There's... something happening inside you. [ it is a quiet voice though, and she struggles not to make it sound uncertain. ] I can feel it and... I'm worried for you.

— what?

[ his bemusement then is so obvious as to be comical. anakin blinks, and looks down at himself as if he will see the answer on himself.

as there is nothing, however — ]

There's nothing the matter with me, Olivia. [ assuming her concern is purely for the physical, ] I'm a Jedi Knight, trained in the Force. I don't tire easily.

[ she huffs a bit, the first true sign of impatience. ]

I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about in here—

[ she releases his hand just to press a finger to his chest. ]

[ his puzzlement continues. then it clicks, so obvious he knows not how he did not notice before.

anakin jerks away from her. ]

It's nothing. [ a lie. a lie so obvious it reflects in the tension that brackets his eyes, his mouth.

he turns away from her, and whirls back just as quickly. ]

Since when can you sense others?

[ she flinches even before he turns away, feeling the full force of his surging anger like a slap in the face. ]

I— Only recently, [ she hastens to explain, holding her hands up somewhat defensively. ] I-It's still new, I don't really know how it works, so I can't control it just yet, but.

[ that's not the point here, is it..? ]

I'm right though... aren't I?

[ she is. something is wrong. something has been terribly wrong for a long time, and it has reached a critical point. the intensity of his missing for his wife; the private grief for the family he would have had and lost; the black sensation of guilt at his perceived failures ( what kind of husband was he if he could not protect his wife? what kind of father to his child? what kind of jedi knight? )

luke proved catalyst and buffer. and now he's gone. gone without a word, without chance for goodbye, and all anakin has is a reassurance that he knows not if he can trust that he may see his son again. if he may.

so she is right…to a point. sitting down won't help. there is no healing touch that will soothe the soul. and his is wearied and worn and afraid, so afraid. anakin despises his fear above all. fear is paralyzing. but it takes so little to translate fear to anger. anger he can use.

when his eyes open, their blue is as cool and distant as the sky. ]

This isn't the time.

[ perhaps he is right. but she fears if they don't attempt to address things now, they may never get to.

he may never allow her to.

but she does not want to push, either, knowing more than anyone that the heart is more fragile than any other part of the body that her healer's touch can reach.

so she settles instead, for a gesture.

she holds her hand up, delicately offering her pinkie. ]

Promise there will be a time later?

[ he recalls the gesture, or one like it, shared between children. her question proves his assumption correct. anakin wants to laugh. really? he must now answer to some slip of a girl who thinks she can tell him what to do?

anakin looks away. his nostrils flare as he exhales sharply. she's his friend, something a lot like reason reminds him. she's worried. she's done nothing wrong. small as the realization is it's enough to cut through much of his offense. sighing, he returns his gaze to her.

his mechanical little finger closes softly around hers. ]

Later.

EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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