EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

[futurologists]

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.

Comments

[winces]

[ her eyes fall to her feet when his assumptions land true, and her shoulders hunch for a moment under the weight of her guilt. there is another apology ready for him, burning a hole on the tip of her tongue, but he absolves her of the need to do so before she can even form the shape on her lips.

humbled by both his casual forgiveness, and the solemnity of the situation around them, she forces her back a little straighter, her eyes to meet his once more. ]

It's the least I could do, [ she says, which isn't really much of an answer. but she has been a soldier before, and witnessed death both at her side and by her own hands. for a while, she had been able to focus on her healing, but she is not nearly naive enough to think she could escape the reminder of death for long.

carefully, she comes to stoop by his side. ]

What would you like me to do?

[upshur]

[ -- she's kind. He's not a phenomenal judge of character - there are people better versed at that, the sort of people who can read another like an open book. Look into them and weigh them. Not him. He's an observer. Silent, for the most part, with a camera and a pad of scratch paper to pen his thoughts. A witness.

He wriggles his elbow at her, casual and dismissive. She's all right, even as she comes to his side and he shifts aside to make room. A casual motion.

It keeps enough distance between them. ] Tell you what. I'm about done here, so you can come back to town with me. I need to sort their things out for their families.

[ These are the bodies that are not going to make it back. Either the sands are going to swallow them, or the hungry birds are going to finish ravaging them. ]

[winces]

[ he notes how he shies away, but only because the body has always been easier for her to notice than anything else. she makes a mental note to be more aware of her distance the next time, so if the smile she gives him looks a little apologetic, it's not entirely his imagination. ]

Sure... And maybe once we're there, I can take a look at you.

[ her brows knit together as concern gradually colors her features. ]

You look like you could use some rest.

[ to put it kindly. ]

[upshur]

[ it's not her fault, and he'd like to tell her that - he's people shy at the moment, and loathes that he twitches away from just about everyone at this time. it's been a long, stressful night for him, capped off by his fresh arrival at headquarters - he's just... been moving. and moving. it's worked so far. ]

The crew at headquarters gave me a once-over, [ he lies, smoothly and without looking her in the eye. he'd gotten bandages to patch himself up, but had avoided a full work-up. innately, he doesn't want to know what they'd find and so, he's quietly avoiding the medical diagnosis of his situation. he's busted up, that's all he knows. ]

I'll sleep when the work's done, how's that? We all have to pull our weight. Let's head on back, before we get mauled by weird birds.

[ SAID LIKE A TRUE TROOPER! as he rises to his feet and -- nearly offers her his mangled hand, but chooses instead to lean down and offer her the crook of his elbow instead. kind of like a gentlemen does when they're escorting a lady. he is DEFINITELY not a gentleman though wow!! ]

[winces]

[ his GRAND AND OBVIOUS LIE (made only grand and obvious by his complete failure to even try to meet her eyes — you can't use old tricks on a veteran, boy) is juxtaposed by the oddly charming gesture, which is only made that much more endearing by how... out of place it looks coming from a man who looks about two breaths away from tipping over and joining the bodies at their feet.

cute as it is, the gesture sadly does little to actually abate her worry, but that doesn't mean she doesn't accept it anyway, smoothly slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow with a gentle murmur of thanks.

when she rises, she has to resist the urge to glance up, to reach up and pass a healing hand over the bruises that mar his face. instinct has her wanting to fix, to do something, but most of the time she has enough sense and propriety to at least ask permission first. his casual dismissal is worrying, though, because she's beginning to get the feeling she may never get that permission...

in an effort to stave off the urge, she bites down on her lip and glances aside. ]

Are you new, here...? I don't think I've ever met you before. My name's Olivia.

[upshur]

Brand new, I think. Barely had enough time to pick out my piece.

[ The magitek item, that serves as their communicator, he means. His own is fastened about his wrist, a rugged... bracelet with a dopey looking skeleton on it, the gems in the eyes - and it's the ugliest thing he could find, and he'd spent as little time as possible pouring through the box, looking for the least shitty looking item. He had barely stopped in Perdition's Rest as well, shouldering everything he'd arrived with and hiking straight out into the desert.

And here he was. Restless, in need of rest, and escorting a pretty girl back to town. Maybe his luck was bound to change. Right??? Fat chance. ]

Miles. I'm not taking you from - work, right? [ She'd been helping the wounded, a little earlier. He's observant. ]

[winces]

[ she swallows back the first response to come to mind at his words, the truth. that from what she could tell, he is part of that work, that this walk back is just as much for him as it is for her, though perhaps more so for her if only to give herself some peace of mind that he returns in one piece.

instead she smiles, giving his arm a gentle pat. ]

The other healers and I have taken care of the worst of it, and done all that we could do for those that are left. There's no need to worry, Mr. Miles.

[ leave that to her. ]