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

["If you're willing to listen." Keith isn't always willing to listen, but as she hasn't done anything to get on his nerves (because he doesn't know her) and she has an idea period, that means he's willing to hear her out. That doesn't mean he'll go along with it, but he's open to it. Besides, they're teammates. They should be sharing ideas right now.

And not dying in the process.]

What do you have in mind?

Those guards are mechanical, which means they must have something within that keeps them running. I could try to disable them through that, but I need to be within two meters of them.

[That was how far her vectors could reach, but if they could get ahold of the drones' vital wiring and cut them from the inside, then not only would it end the danger but it might help to improve relations between the Qorral and Audentes. Those drones looked like they were very expensive to make... At least the Qorral would still have the outer shell intact should they attempt this approach, keeping repairs at a minimum. Lucy figured she had to leave the natives with something since she'd been planning on letting most of their fracking machines go to slow their mining efforts.]

We can cover each other, and if any of them take flight I'll take care of those.

[Buuut... if they were just going to go in with guns blazing, she wouldn't really complain. Her DNA Voice was always hungry for violence.]

Sounds doable. I've got a shield, so I can keep you covered and deflect any attacks while you work. ... How are you planning to do this, by the way?

[Getting an idea of precisely what he needs to protect sounds like a good plan. While he waits for her response, he bows his head and listens for the robodogs on the other side. They're still noticeably there, but their cover is currently helping them enough that they aren't about to be found.

That's good. He's prepared for guns blazing (so to speak, as he uses a sword), but he doesn't want to fall back on that unless he has a good reason. His main goal here is to get inside and grab some of that argecite. He isn't going to succeed if he can't get past these sentries.]

My power is not something that can normally be seen by humans, but as long as you keep my body protected everything should go as planned. It's this power that gives me an extended reach.

[To demonstrate, one of her vectors snakes its way over to his shoulder and grips it. He probably wouldn't feel how cold it was through his clothes, but the pressure was still there. Lucy didn't make any hand motions, not even a movement of her head. She just thought about the vector touching him and it obeyed her will.]

I have more than one, so I can protect your back with them as well.

[Apparently, today is the day in which Keith sees the weird powers that some of the girls on the team happen to have. His features contort uncertainly when a vector hits his shoulder and latches on, but he doesn't feel any colder indeed. He can feel the pressure, and given the weirdness, he has to be conscious of not shaking it off. (He's a rude teenager, but he doesn't want to seem cowardly at the same time.)]

Something tells me that those dogs won't know what hit them. [Or. Grabbed them? Uh.]

Wanna get moving? [Yes. That is a natural transition in his mind.]

[Ignorant that her vectors have actually been seen, Lucy silently nods her head and prepares to run back into the fray, more vectors appearing to help protect both her and Keith, and to disable the guards. She can hear the canine-like drones shuffling around on the other side of their cover.]

I'll go after the ones closest to us first.

[She doesn't know about their poisonous tails yet, but it just seemed to be the option that made the most sense.]

Sounds like a solid plan. [For what it's worth, Keith probably couldn't see the vectors, merely being able to trace a line of one reaching for his shoulder once it hits, and that's all instinct. As it is, he nods, and begins to move forward, shield carefully bent back over the two of them in order to stop any lasers.

It goes well at first, right until a dog slams into Keith's side, knocking the shield down. He drops it quickly and slices forward with his sword in a quick dash, connecting roughly with the dog's midsection.]

[While her vectors couldn't protect them from the lasers like Keith's shield, they could swat the gobs of sticky glue back at the drones so long as she caught sight of them in time, which was a help with stalling the ones farther away.

Lucy managed to grab one that was coming right at her once it came within her range, two vectors phasing through the metalwork and grabbing hold of what seemed to be vital wires; she was familiar with human anatomy, but not mechanical dogs, so her best bet was to cut the wires in different places. With a staticky yelp and a twitch, the first drone falls to its side, all lights blinking off.

Then she hears the sound of the collision and whips around in time to see Keith strike with his sword, but she catches sight of another one taking to the air.]

You handle the one on the ground and I'll get the flying one?

[She gestures her head upwards at the airborne drone.]

Edited (noticed a mistake!) 2016-10-19 06:51 (UTC)

Sounds good. Shout if you need backup. [He shoves himself into a more stable position with a grunt and glares at the robodog in front of him. It begins shooting lasers quickly at him, rapidly firing every moment he comes nearer. It leaves Keith in a spot where he can't do backup, but without having multiple dogs on him, he holds his own.

His boots help him fly in closer, though they aren't meant for sustained flight, so after knocking the dog back, he lands in a crouch, and gets back to running swiftly, dodging lasers and planning for his next assault.]

[All Keith gets is a grunt to show she'd heard him, because most of Lucy's focus is concentrated on the airborne drone. There's a loud THUMP as her vectors push off the ground, sending her to join the robodog in the air, leaving behind two handprints at the spot they struck.

Yet another vector goes in for the kill, intending to swat the drone down to the ground like a swatter to a fly, but Lucy catches a silver glint in the sunlight. The tail blade is so thin that she nearly misses it, but a second vector manages to appear between the blade and her body, though not before the poisoned tip manages to nick her physical arm. It all happens so fast that Lucy doesn't notice the wound, save for the sharp burning sensation she perceives, and has a third vector hover over the drone before smashing it to the ground. The appendage's strength is so great that there's a sound similar to a car crash from the impact and the metal breaks apart, leaving the dog in pieces.

Only as she's falling back down does Lucy really begin to feel the poison's effects. Instead of her vectors helping her land on her feet, only one helps break the impact of her fall, sending her off balance and rolling on the ground. It's a struggle for her to stand up when it feels as though the world is spinning, but she has enough sense to fight to keep herself awake. If Nyuu came out now, it would be a disaster for both her and Keith. Her survival instincts were entering full throttle.]

[The worst part about a fight with Keith is that outside of his lion, he hasn't quite managed teamwork. He's had a few scenarios where it's worked out with him, but their actions were decidedly separate. One of those poisoned tips do get close to his face, but his mask drops just in time to stop it, forcing him to stumble back awkwardly and nearly lose his footing.

With a grunt, he plunges on, his safety in that situation granting him new-found adrenaline as he drives forward, cutting toward the dog ahead. He manages to leap up and force it to collide with the ground. It's a success, all in all, and he pants, turning ...

... and only then seeing what's happening behind him. At least the dog is destroyed, but it doesn't look like it happened without any casualty on this end. He casts a wary glance in the direction of the refinery doors and then back to her.]

What happened? [After a beat, he kneels closer. In the back of his mind, he wonders if he could have noticed this.

Probably. If he had been paying attention? Probably.]

[Lucy breathes heavily, her body sways even though all she's doing is standing in place, and her eyes don't look as sharp as before. When did she become so warm? She doesn't remember the sun being this hot before.

Her vision was swimming, as though she was looking at the world from underwater, undulating to the point where things seemed to change. For a moment, instead of seeing one of the drones, Lucy sees one of the boys from the orphanage who used to bully her... and who she murdered in her rage. His decapitated body just stands there with his arms crossed while blood spurts from his neck. Despite the fact that he's missing his head, she can hear him trying to say something, but she shakes her head vigorously in hope to make him go away, eyes wide with disbelief. He does, for now...]

The blade in its tail must have got me. [She pants as she speaks, putting one hand at the spot on her head where the throbbing was at its worst. As she looks down, she finally notices the small cut on her arm.] I think it might have some kind of poison on it, I'm feeling sick. [She grits her teeth.] I can keep fighting, though, this is nothing.

As long as you're sure ... [The truth is this: Keith is the last person to really judge someone wanting to keep fighting even if it's a bad idea. Most of the time, he's willing to keep going regardless of the stakes. If a fight needs to happen, it needs to happen. That's the long and short of it.

He pushes himself up, extending a hand to her soon after.]

Let's get this done. There might be something inside to clean out the cut. [He hopes. So far, Keith has no idea that something bad is about to happen. Poison is bad, but surely, surely, they have an antitoxin in preparation for a moment exactly like this. That makes the most sense to him.]

[There's a moment of hesitance just because she's so used to fending for herself, but in the end she takes Keith's hand and staggers to her feet, looking like a newborn fawn trying to get up.]

Right-- [She was going to say more, but the rest of her sentence dies on her lips as the drones morph into the orphanage children again. The boy from before reappears, along with his two accomplices and the girl she thought she could trust. The boy and his friends are all decapitated with blood spurting from their wounds, but the girl is covering her face with both hands, yet Lucy can make out an empty, bleeding eye socket from between her fingers.

They speak disdainfully as they surround Lucy and Keith.]

Aren't you cheeky, even though you're not even human... Lying to you isn't the same as lying to a human, so it's not bad if I do it to you... You have horns like an ox, so why don't you sleep outside like one?

[Their cruel laughter echoes in Lucy's ears, sending chills down her spine and making her quivering more noticeable. Even though she knows that these children are no more, she vividly remembers how much they hurt her, and the poison was making the hallucinations all too real. Lucy doesn't even see Keith anymore. To her, she was all alone, surrounded by the ghastly children, which is why she starts muttering to herself repeatedly, actually sounding scared for once:]

No, no, no, no...

[What the heck is going on? Keith's entire body tenses. The drones are closing in yet again, and he wonders why she's now repeating the word "no." Is it the poison? Is she afraid? Both of those things would make perfect sense, but he's getting the idea that he might be ... missing something.

Keith grinds both of his foots hard into the ground as he tenses himself, and he extends his hand out to his side to summon his bayard again. His eyebrows furrow, breathing somewhat quicker than normal—partly out of exhaustion, and partly out of confusion. He glances to her out of the corner of his eye, trying to make out what's going on.]

If you can't fight, find a spot to hide! [he says sharply, all too aware of a dogbot about to come in and make their days a lot more miserable.]

[In her trance, Lucy's brain processes Keith's words as something else entirely. She hears one of the headless boys yell:]

Cry! Cry and beg! If you don't... We'll have to hurt the dog instead of you.

[One of the broken drones lying motionlessly on the ground morphs into the bloody, battered corpse of her puppy and the memory of that day comes rushing back to her. It's too much. With an angry, primal roar, Lucy tosses her head back, causing the hat to fall off and reveal her two white horns. She didn't care if these children were already dead, she was going to kill them all over again!

Several vectors are summoned and grab at all the drones within two meters of her and Keith. Some are grabbed by their hind legs and smashed against the ground over and over; some are literally ripped apart; others are slashed clean in half or decapitated. The vectors are moving so fast and so savagely that they can be heard in the form of the whistling wind. All the while, Lucy is screaming in anger and hunches over herself while holding her head with both hands.

She doesn't stop until their surroundings are littered with various machine parts from the drones, her cries finally dying down until she's panting heavily. Slowly, Lucy lifts her head and sees the broken parts as blood, but it gradually shifts back to reality, turning into the remains of the drones.]

(ooc: Just a warning for animal abuse, blood, and gore in that second link!)

Edited (forgot the warning!) 2016-11-10 05:25 (UTC)

[That ... that definitely just happened. Keith stumbles backward away from her while she tears apart the drones. He's definitely had his violent moments, but he can't tell what is happening here. Is this a violent moment? Or is something weirder and scarier going on? It's hard to say.

What he can say is this: he continues backing away even when she's done, putting further distance between them in order to protect himself if needed.]

I ... [He trails off. Abandoning her seems wrong. But not abandoning her seems like a bad idea—at least for his sake. He swallows uncomfortably.]

Um, I'm gonna ... gonna go inside now, okay?

[This time Lucy is able to see and hear Keith, though her vision is a bit fuzzy and she was now experiencing tinnitus, muffling Keith's voice a bit. She doesn't need to clearly hear him to see the fear in his eyes, though, not after seeing it in the eyes of so many people before him; she knew that kind of look nearly by heart.

For the briefest moment, something flashes in her eyes as well. Is that... hurt? Why did being looked at in such a way still sting after all these years? Shouldn't she be used to it and totally immune from having her feelings hurt by now? Even so, Lucy isn't the type to readily apologize for her actions, so she doesn't, nor does she try to close the distance Keith put between them. Instead, she just kneels down to retrieve her hat, placing it back on her head and over her horns.]

That's fine. [Her voice shows no signs of dejection, or any sort of emotion really; a skill she picked up to protect herself.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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Sorry for the delay! Wasn't feeling too well the past three days!

no problem - I hope you're feeling better!

I am, thank you! And more free now that the Halloween party has passed.

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