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

No, not even close.

[Don't make her Doraemon, gods.]

We'll have to leave behind anything that can't be brought.

[And she self-consciously pulls her clothes closer together, as if somehow that would erase the judgment she just received from this stranger she met. She definitely looks embarrassed, if not a little put-off, by the assessment.]

Got it.

[If it were one thing or another, Keith might not notice that she was embarrassed. He's not good at this stuff. But the combined appearance of everything seems to give him the clue.]

Uh, sorry. I was just wondering. [He can make his bayard appear out of nowhere, but it doesn't involve any reaching like that.]

It's... fine. It's not something to worry about at the moment.

[At least it wasn't her competency he questioned, even as she abandons the lance and keeps the shield, thinking about how to improve the weapon even further.]

What is that thing, anyway?

[The shield he has, that is, from where her eyes trail.]

Oh, it comes with my bayard. All of the paladins have one when we're ready to go out and fight on our own. Um, where I come from, anyway.

[Paladin is more of a general term, so he realizes that the last bit of clarification might be needed.]

It automatically generates when I need it to.

[Given it is neither a man nor a horse, it's probably a proper term for it rather than a common item. Futuristic technology? But what is it made of? She's not sure, but she knows she's itching to learn the intricate mechanisms that form it.]

I see. There's nothing like that back where I'm from, so it's completely foreign to me.

[Though speaking of---]

By the way, I'd like to get one of those dogs to bring back. Destroyed is fine.

Huh, do you have a reason why? [His curiosity isn't because he thinks it's a bad idea. That sounds like exactly what Pidge would do here. He just wonders what she plans on doing, and if he should tell her about Pidge.]

I need to study its material. I want to see if it's something I can replicate.

[It seemed sturdy enough, maybe something they can use to work on better weaponry for their members. Of course, it's an experimental thought, and not one with merit quite yet.]

I need to know the material to create something, after all.

Oh. [That makes more sense. That would also explain why she couldn't just pull out any old gun.]

That's probably a good idea. If you need to mess with its ... insides, I know someone who might be able to help. [Hunk would be better, but he knows that Pidge knows her way around this stuff, too.] You can find her over the magitek—she's "southpaw" on there. [A beat of realization, in part because Pidge is just as prickly as Keith sometimes.] Uh, tell her Keith sent you. Sometimes she can get weird.

[She's a bit surprised at the offer and it shows, since they barely knew each other but...]

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. For now, let's--

[Oh never mind, dogs are back.]

Let's take care of them. [That seems like the best thing to finish what she had to say. The dogs come in overhead, but this time, Keith is ready for them. He motions toward her to back him up while he's fighting, and he jumps up to slash at the first one.

At least this will keep them busy for a while longer.]

[ooc: we can wrap it up here!]

EVENT ★ THE FRACKING FIELDS

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