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

[sekimorinashi]

[ She sighs, brushing her bangs out of her face and wiping the sweat off on her sleeve. ]

What a situation we've got on our hands, huh?

[ex_adept136]

I'll say... But I guess our missions are seldom simple.

[Zeta-12 wasn't so tough, but what he understands is that such a mission is a rarity]

[sekimorinashi]

[ She doesn't want to talk about it in detail with all the Qorral about, so she simply grimaces lightly at him and gets onto her feet. Most of the commotion actually seems to have calmed down by now, so that's ... something. ]

At least they didn't lose everythin'.

[ex_adept136]

[Haise nods, shifting to rock back onto his heels and stand. He links his hands and stretches his arms overhead, joints popping in the process.

He'd been holding onto that machinery for some time]

That much is pretty lucky...who knows how expensive it'd be to replace?

[sekimorinashi]

[ She gets onto her feet too, with a soft sigh. ]

Maybe expensive enough that it'd give us time to do our job. Or maybe if they'd lost it all they woulda moved onto another planet early.

[ex_adept136]

You may be right about that. I wonder how sustainable this system of theirs is though.

[One day, they might well run out of planets to mine hollow like this one.

Not to mention, there's the fact that they're ruining worlds with this mining to start with]

[sekimorinashi]

Jumpin' from planet to planet 'cause ya suck 'em dry? Doesn't seem very sustainable to me.

[ She's with ALISTAIR in that it needs to be stopped. But if that means sacrificing all their lives doing that ...

It becomes a question of how much more than what. ]

[ex_adept136]

It makes me wonder if they've ever explored any alternatives.

[If they haven't, perhaps it could be just that simple.

Then again, synthesizing a mineral may not be a simple prospect]

[sekimorinashi]

Who knows ...

Guess we can't exactly ask 'em either.

[ Might bring attention to why they're here, and she highly doubts they would be happy about it at all. ]

[ex_adept136]

Unfortunately, I think we are pretty limited in that regard.

[And it's a shame, since it might be simpler if they had that information to begin with]

[sekimorinashi]

Mm.

Well, best get down into that mine then. If anybody's still in there. Comin' or are ya gonna stay out here?

[ex_adept136]

I'll join you. Things seem to be settling down a bit out here.

[And surely, their associates can handle the rest]

A wrap? c:

[sekimorinashi]

All right.

[ And, honestly, she's glad that she won't be in there all alone. ]

Let's go.

[ Into the darkness. ]