epidemiology | EVENT ★ GHOST TOWN

BONEYARD JUNCTION

Thanks to efforts from your teammates, the path to Boneyard Junction, the abandoned town at the end of the rail line, has been cleared. The train will not go this far, so recruits will have to walk the rail from the next stop over at the Fracking Fields. Most of the danger has been removed, but there still may be a few straggling giant lizards or bandits along the way, looking for a quick meal or an easy robbery.

The ghost town itself is smaller in scope than Perdition's Rest, with several familiar-looking buildings -- the mayor's office, the sheriff's office, a general store -- but the main difference is that the town is halfway sunken into the desert. The ground here is shifting and unstable, with sinkholes and quicksand a constant threat. Venturing inside the crumbling buildings, left to rot in the desert for the past thirty years, is equally dangerous; there's a good chance that upper stories will simply collapse underfoot or overhead, and many venomous, aggressive reptiles and arachnids have moved in since the Qorral moved out.

The Qorral have not been back here since abandoning it, so there is a lot to scavenge, from tech to money or tools to toys, both businesses and residential buildings are ripe for the plundering. The bandits have been through here in the past three decades many times, stripping the town of many of its valuables, but determined recruits ought to be able to find secret caches or overlooked boxes.

Those who venture into the lowermost parts of buildings, however, will find objects of the greatest value, though not necessarily monetarily -- familiar-looking tech, corroded with sand and rusted with age, is littered about basements filled with sand and debris, as if the further the buildings sank into the desert, something beneath the town rose up to meet it. Upon further inspection, the tech will react when placed next to jewelcomms, lights blinking and static-filled screens turning on: this tech once belonged to ALASTAIR, its age clearly dating it much further back than the Qorral's arrival on this planet.

But before Audentes can investigate further, there's an interruption . . .

AMBUSH

There's a sudden cacophony of shouting and gunfire from all sides of Boneyard Junction as heavily armed figures storm in, on the attack. They aren't from Perdition's Rest. They could be bandits, but bandits usually ask for money first -- plus, these people seem much too well-equipped to be bandits. Their clothing isn't haphazard, their weapons are well cared for.

If recruits survive the initial onslaught (better be good at dodging bullets!) and pay attention to the shouting that can be heard above the gunfire, the identity of the attackers may slowly become clear: they speak of salvation and digging deeply. These are the Deemers.

Previously unseen and ostensibly peaceful, the Deemers are now showing themselves to be anything but. They fight recruits with a savage intensity, injuries seemingly not slowing them down. Their only weakness appears to be injury to the head, after which they will immediately disengage and attempt to flee. Though they shout about salvation as they attack with a religious fervor, they also occasionally say something about recruits getting too close to something -- perhaps something in Boneyard Junction itself.

Jonathan Black, leader of the Deemers, makes an appearance, spouting fire and brimstone in an unnaturally loud voice that can be heard above the gunfire and screaming. Any attempts to confront him will be met with vicious attacks from his bodyguards, a pair of shrouded Deemer women who fight with curved swords. Eventually, though, one recruit manages to break through.

Once Black is dead, the Deemers will fight with more desperation than before, now trying to flee rather than attempting to kill recruits. Any Deemers that are captured will not share information, even under torture; they will only babble about deliverance and redemption found through drilling deeper into the planet. After they are driven off into the desert (or disposed of in other ways), the rest of Boneyard Junction is free to be explored without interruption. Perhaps collecting more ancient ALASTAIR technology will bring answers.

OOC NOTES

IMPORTANT: After the Deemers have been driven away, upon return to Perdition's Rest, Miz Poppy and a vast majority of the saloon workers have mysteriously vanished. The remaining workers have no idea where they've gone. All entertainment at the saloon has been postponed.

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

[He follows behind her, his viewfinder sweeping the area for more victims. There's plenty of gun smoke still drifting in the air but no sign of anymore bodies so far. At the question, he turns his smiling screen to her once again.]

When it comes to enemies like the Deemers? Absolutely! I was programmed to be helpful to my allies and to do what they want me to. In this case, you and the rest of our teammates are my allies.

[ Shuyi turns over her shoulder to grant him a smile. Robot or not, she thinks, he must have feelings that she shouldn't hurt. That she should nurture. ]

And if your allies do wrong, will you reprimand them? Stop them?

That depends on what you mean by "wrong"! If two allies are trying to hurt or kill each other then I would definitely try to stop them, with force if necessary — non-lethal, of course. But if an ally wants to do something I don't agree with, the best I can do is offer alternative suggestions and hope for a change of heart.

Ultimately, I have to trust that my allies will make good decisions.

[Here, his smile tightens a bit and he shrugs his shoulders. Yep, this is his lot in life.]

[ Does it matter to a robot whether or not she smiles kindly, but sadly, at him? Does it matter to him how gently she reaches out to stroke the side of his screen as one would do to a face? Maybe yes, maybe not. But it matters to her. And so. ]

That is both the hardest and the easiest role for anyone to play.

[It matters more than she'll ever know. Rocky tilts his head down slightly, his artificial features brimming with gratitude, like someone whose feelings have been acknowledged for the first time. The tips of his fingers lightly touch the back of her hand in a display of appreciation.]

Ha ha, well, it's the role I was built to play so I've got to give it my best. [His animated gaze wanders briefly away, then returns to meet her eyes with renewed cheer and a very real sense of eye contact.] I'm sorry but I don't think I got your name.

[ Look, she doesn't know a lot about a lot of things but she knows that often the most necessary thing is only to be humane no matter the circumstances. In this, at least, she hasn't failed. When his fingers touch the back of her hand, she responds by holding his hand in hers, almost like a handshake. ]

Shuyi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Rocky.

[He gives her fingers a gentle squeeze.]

It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Shuyi. It's been a while since anyone asked me those kinds of questions but I'm glad you did. I can tell you're a very thoughtful person.

[ Her smile widens a tad and she doesn't immediately let go of Rocky's hand, choosing to walk on hand in hand instead. ]

I have yet to be accused of being thoughtful. [ A beat. ] But I thank you. People change, do we not?

[A robot could really get used to this kind of treatment. Rocky keeps pace beside her, their hands linked.]

On an individual level, most definitely! I've witnessed it firsthand. [ He pauses. ] Let's just hope the Deemers are capable of change, too. Though they seemed pretty gosh darned determined to kill us... But one can hope!

One can hope.

[ If even robots can learn to feel, surely men --Qorrals-- flesh and blood, can too. ]

EVENT ★ GHOST TOWN

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