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

Mm, well... I do think you're very heroic in your own way, whatever the reason.

[And anyway, he's helping out, and that's more than she could ask for in this situation. She's idealistic to a point, and she's well aware of that fact. However, she can't simply bring herself to ignore the times he's helped her out too, like now.

She still doesn't feel adequate, and the fact that he has to stop her from overexerting herself shows she still has a long way to go. However, he's also been the one who's supported her the most since she joined, so she can't exactly think badly of him no matter what he says. She does, after all, respect strength even if character is something that she considers to an extent.]

Then, as a fellow recruit, I can still rely on you, right?

[They pushed past the mouth of the tunnel. Ban cocked his jaw out and offered Momo a depleted expression in return. Out of the rest of the recruits he had met, barring Papyrus, Momo had given him the most credit. It was clear he was going to have to change that and she was going to have to see him for the drunken monster of a human being he was.

He didn't quite deal with it well when faith was given to him with so little cost.]

Oi, missy. Do you drink? We're gonna get drinks when this is all over with.

I'm underage, actually.

[She seems embarrassed, at least, at the question. It wasn't as if it was the first time she's been mistaken to be older than she is, so she's quick to assume as such.

She's not aware of his thoughts, doesn't get to correct it, and it's for the best. It's hard to explain, sometimes, the merit of simply trusting someone for their skills.]

But um... thank you for the invitation. I'm afraid I have to decline.

So? [Ban scowled at that. It wasn't the first time someone had told him that and it confused the daylights out of him. Coming from a city in which ale was better than plenty of the food and also safer to drink than the water--he essentially grew up drinking with the older men when they didn't kick him around.

He pointed to his chest, bemoaning the strange habits of his would-be cultural descendants.

At the same time, he dragged the miner he had over his shoulder to a stretcher and set them down gently enough to not disturb them any further. Ban puffed out his chest in irritation.]

I started my ale label collection when I was half your age. Half of you recruits come from damned dry wells if I've heard anything.

Times have changed, Mr. Ban. Rules in my country states that the legal drinking age is at 21, and I don't intend to break it.

[Or, to put it bluntly, she can't help it if he's an old geezer. Though, she does sympathize, not enough to change her stance on the matter.]

Many of the recruits are below that age too, I believe, and from the same country. That might be part of the reason for it.

[Ban glowered at Momo as if she was the driving force behind this 'anti-beer' movement. He drew his hand into the bag of holding and pulled out a leather-bound book. He proceeded to shove it into her hands.]

We're goin' back in and you're gonna look at every page on the way down.

[It was full of ale labels, each one glued to a page. Every single page was full.]

[Wait, what?]

Why would I need to do that?

[She's not going to drink even if he makes her. She'll fight him like an angry cat.]

Just do it. Every one of those labels represents a good time and a learning experience.

[That suggested--it wouldn't surprise the reader or the narrator to assume that Ban had tried to get beer down the throat of at least one angry cat in his life.]

[And yet she starts reading anyway. Knowledge is power, after all.]

Even so, I don't plan on drinking until I am of legal age by law. I don't plan on returning with a track record like that.

[He seemed to relax as Momo opened the book to look over the labels. There were occasionally poems and quotes on the labels. Even in his time, more prominent bottlers tended to enjoy flourishes of language.]

What kind of society runs like that? It's weird, taking that kinda stuff away from people because of age. Don't you folks know it's great for bonding with others?

I believe the rule is due to the fact that they want to guide children and teenagers to a moral path. Drinking itself may not be an issue, but addiction and lack of inhibition could cause recklessness. Teenagers, in general, are very impulsive.

[That said, it wasn't as if adults were much better but...]

It's easier to have control once you're older, I believe, especially when society is as large and intricate as ours.

Sounds like a crappy way to teach morality.

[Ban shoved his foot against a cart that wasn't loaded and began pushing it onto the main track. There were still some supplies to handle back down in the cave.

He shoved the cart forward and it began to roll after a great deal of grinding.]

By the way--you're lookin' much better.

Society has progressed extensively, and there are so many people in the world that not keeping rules like this could only serve to make things more chaotic.

[She says, though thinks about what he says anyway, even as she smiles at the concern.]

I've eaten a bit, but I suppose the rest did help. Thank you for insisting on it.

[Snorting without a smidgen of grace, Ban gave the cart another push after following it along.

Sure, he could have thrown the thing over a mountain if he wanted but the point was to keep it on the rails and not send it sailing blindly and dangerously into the shaky mine shaft. Delicacy was a bit more important, there.]

See? I must not be too shabby a teacher, then.

Perhaps on some aspects, but I stand by that asking a minor to drink is far from legal.

[She says, though her smile is more amused, laughing rather than knowing, as if she found it to be a funny joke.]

Speaking with you is always such an odd experience.

[Ban bit back his response to that, finding his eyes rolling aside to look to the cart rather than Momo. As irritating as it was that she found him to interesting rather than just disgusting, he had to admit the same. He had a certain fondness for strange and new conversations.

Plus, she was awfully tolerant when most other people would call him out. Momo's sense for rationality and her decryption of his points was interesting enough. What made it tolerable was that she didn't make it a point of pride to hold over his head. He usually disliked it when someone proved him wrong and they lorded it over him.

In this regard, it was oddly respectful even if he got sore about it.]

See, now you're sayin' it like it's a good thing.

I don't get to meet a lot of people like you. I think it's a good experience.

[At the very least, in his own way, he has been very considerate of her. He may not always like how she is towards him, but he has yet to do anything that she had found to be completely disrespectful of her stance as well. Well, being pushy about drinking aside, which she suspects is him retaliating to her insistence on a friendly, if not at least neutral, relationship.]

Is it that bad?

Yeah. That's really bad.

[With one hand planted on the cart, Ban led Momo back into the mining cavern with a worrisome expression on his face. He was resolved to take her word as it was and believe her but it didn't seem pleasant.

More so, it worried him that he cared that much that she was so welcoming to ideas like that.]

Your nickname should be 'Miss Mark'.

Miss Mark?

[She's definitely caught off guard by that, and looks at him with curiosity. It seemed out of line from their conversation, and it's enough to distract her from his previous concerns.]

Don't get it? [He would really be surprised if Momo didn't know what a 'mark' was. Though, it wasn't entirely something that would stick him in disbelief. She did give the impression of a lady who hadn't quite settled herself in the sort of atmosphere he had grown up in.]

You really dooon't ♪?

You're teasing me.

[She huffs, though tries to stay professional nonetheless, only crossing her arms as she gives him a pointed look. Wow, don't make fun of her.]

What would the reference be?

Obviously.

[The grinding of the cart had become minor as they began moving downward.]

I'll remind you, I'm a criminal~. A 'mark' is an easy target for cons and swindlers.

[Oh. Huff.]

I'm not that easy.

[I mean she sort of is, but she tries to pay attention.]

I'm just not scared of you, that's all.

I know that~. That's why you're easy. [Ban was well aware that he was scary by conventional standards. He was tall, he had a scar and he was a criminal. People worried about those visual tricks of his just as much as his history.

Really, he thought he was scary for totally different reasons.]

When you aren't afraid of somebody--you tend to let your guard down around 'em ♪.

With someone who worries about the fact that I let my guard around them so much, I feel secured in knowing you won't likely harm me.

[In a way, she's saying he's a softie. Maybe.]

EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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