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

[nishishi]

[Doesn't need to be told twice! While he doesn't like being ordered around--(He's the captain, he gives the orders)--he's been here long enough to understand that everyone here were supposed to be a team and therefore helping out was just a normal part of the otherworldly adventure.

A bounce in his step and he's moving right up to the giant alien gem, and he opens his arms to recieve the Qorral she drops into his arms a little unceremoniously. Much to her surprise, he'll receive the poor thing without as much as a hitch. Turns out the pastaman can not only back up his claim of being capable, he hefts the guy over his shoulder in a pretty fluid movement, standing straight.]

Looks like you'll be leading the way out, then, big lady! And it's a little bit your face. You're lighting the way, after all.

[Shishishi. What a laugh.]

[hardnosed]

[ She's not precisely impressed, since it takes more than that to get to someone as space bigoted and battleworn as her, but she's certainly surprised when Luffy and his vermicelli arms handle the load deftly. There's a pause after he responds where it's just that weird laugh echoing through the tunnel, but then she straightens up and makes a dismissive sort of wave with her now Qorral-unburdened arm. ]

Jasper.

[ She's not a huge fan of formal introductions to humans, but she's also not a fan of spending however long this takes getting called big lady. Jasper keeps walking in the same direction she'd originally been going, which seems, counterintuitively, to slope downwards rather than up. She figures Luffy will follow her! ]

It's more reliable than the handheld devices you lot have got. [ Actually... ] What were you using?

[nishishi]

Luffy! [That's what we're doing, we're exchanging names, right? He doesn't seem too bothered at how cold and condescending the alien woman was being. Accepting the cold, gruff answers like they were absolutely normal.

It was weird, but he seemed to talk to a lot of cold, grumpy people. Why was that? He doesn't really know, and he shrugs the thought off easily enough as he arranges the Qorral on his arm easily enough.]

I was using this! [And from his pocket, he produces a flashlight. One of those ones you'd find in emergency kits, or in a car's glovebox. Big enough to make a pretty nice shine, but... he flicks the button and it flickers on, and the light dims before fizzing out completely.]

The power ran out so I got really lost. So I owe you a big thanks for helping me out from stumbling around back there.

[hardnosed]

[ She eyes that flashlight, clearly less than impressed, then directs her gaze back ahead. ]

Don't be grateful over a coincidence, [ she says, immediately brushing off the concept of any kind of thanks being owed. ] It's not like I was looking for you — you just got lucky. If anyone should be thankful, it's the rest of the team. Now they won't waste time on a search party.

[ "Because of your poor planning" goes unsaid, but implied. She'd probably keep on doing this dressing-down routine if she hadn't just realized the implications of what Luffy said. ]

You kept on going in the dark?

[nishishi]

Why not? Even if it was just a coincidence, you still helped me. Just take the compliment.

[Sorry, Jasper--he has no time for that negative stuff. He's still grinning like an Idiot as he pockets away the torch, deciding to ask Nami to help him find a way to get it working again later. He likely has no idea what batteries are.]

And yeah, of course I kept going in the dark! A captain never gives up, even when he can't see. So I kept a hand to a wall and just kept going until I saw you glowing.

[He ... sounds so impressed with himself.]

I couldn't just sit and wait for my crew to find me.