EVENT ★ THE SICK AND THE DEAD

[futurologists]

THE LAST HURRAH STATE OF WOODHURST Things are bad. There's more infected on the streets every day, ravenous since their would-be victims are all boarded up in their houses. Audentes members who are infected are likely feeling ravenous now, too, and some of them are far gone enough that they might need to be subdued. The city is in a state of panic, and the military has been given permission to use lethal force if necessary to stop people from leaving quarantine; keeping the virus contained is the number one priority of the federal government. As for the local government, all non-essential persons have been given leave until further notice for their own safety. The police department is still running, but they're in a constant war against the infected, forced to retaliate fatally more and more each day. They have no time to focus on any other crimes. Some citizens would be thankful if Audentes ran some "errands" for them — attempting to loot what's left of the stores, for example — or accompanied them outside as protection. Many people have family to see, some of them on the other side of the city, but it's nearly impossible to get there without a bodyguard of some sort. Someone could possibly make some cash this way, but there's something more important to do. MEANWHILE . . . The hospital, formerly chaotic, has devolved into outright bedlam. Theft and fights with the staff are increasingly common, and frenzied people are constantly demanding a cure the doctors don't have. Fortunately, it looks like Audentes does. Science-minded recruits have been hard at work creating a vaccine, which is widely available already, and a cure, which is rolling out slower. Administering the vaccine is risky, as it requires escorting people to the hospital without getting killed, as well as hoping the infected constantly wandering into the hospital have been taken care of. Administering the cure is even more so; it's highly recommended that the infected be unconscious before being given the cure. Even Bristol sufferers have to sleep! If not asleep, knocked out or otherwise sedated will do. It is absolutely not recommended for anyone to go at an angry infected with a syringe, but it's not like anyone's going to stop you... except maybe the infected. Escorts and security guards are necessary at the hospital. The police department has offered their services, with their main priority being the vaccine. Until everyone is vaccinated, the city can't afford to think of a way to safely administer a cure to the infected population, so anyone interested will have to do it themselves. Stock up on syringes at the hospital and get going! DR. PERCY For those more interested in seeking out the source of the virus rather than treating it, it's not difficult to surmise that "Doctor" Percy is hiding out in the sewers. Very deep in the sewers. He's apparently built a subterranean expansion: a series of winding, metallic tunnels with many forks and dead ends. Be careful when exploring, as you might run into one of Percy's robotic bodyguards before finding him. But once he is found, tucked away in a wide cavern . . . It seems he's preparing a hasty exit, with almost everything packed up and his human disguise dropped. Without it, he appears to be an alien of some sort, but not one that Audentes has run into yet. His skin is amber, smooth, and slimy. He has several pairs of wide-set eyes of different sizes, but no nose. His mouth extends far across his face, and below it is a wattle, not unlike that of a turkey. Peeling off him at all times are scales; apparently, he's shedding more than just his disguise. He's completely alone, without another Zymandis agent in sight, and not a particularly good fighter. Subduing or killing him would be easy, especially when it's several against one. When first encountered, he says nothing if spoken to, and only attempts to run. If attacked, he will summon several robot bodyguards -- seven-foot-tall bipedal constructs who only listen to Percy's commands, directed via remote control. They will fight to the death to protect their master, who will use the distraction to again try to run. It looks like the choices are clear: Audentes must choose whether to non-lethally subdue him or kill him. If subdued, what happens to him afterwards is still up in the air. Whatever your decision, it's highly likely you'll meet some resistance from the other members of the team, so get ready to argue. CYOA Each character will only be able to officially do one of the following choices. Confront Percy. Protect citizens. Spread the vaccine/cure. Other. For the sake of tallying, we ask that each individual character submit their choice separately rather than in a group. The Dr. Percy encounter will be open for 48 hours only, after which participants will receive the outcome, which will be based on their choices. The rest will be open for 7 days, will not receive a reply, and will only be used only for tallying purposes. Making a choice is not mandatory, but the choices will affect whether Audentes passes or fails the mission. You may of course thread out other options, but they will not count for the purposes of the pass/fail tally. Again, you may only officially choose one option per character. OOC NOTES Because this log is being posted late in the month, threads are eligible for March or April AC, but not both. Though the encounter with Percy will be a short one, the rest of this log will last two IC weeks. After that, characters will be immediately rifted away from Woodhurst without warning. THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE CURE: As the virus is not a degenerative disease, characters will suffer no lasting (physical) trauma caused by it. Side-effects from the cure may include nausea, weakness, vertigo, rash, brain fog, numbness of the face, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, or vomiting. This may last for anywhere up to four weeks. THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE VACCINE: Side-effects may include irritability and hunger for anywhere up to four weeks. Questions about Woodhurst can be submitted to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time. All bounties listed with a 3/25 due date are now closed. There are two open bounties remaining on the Bounty Board, which will need to be turned in by the end of the mission on 8 April. ( 1 2 )

Comments

[assent]

No, it is... not that I did not want it I was just. [ She pauses. ] It hurt, I suppose. Perhaps I was just being selfish, but it does not matter now.

[ Though he keeps talking after, and she obviously made a mistake of actually looking at him before as her expression starts to crumble a little. There's a lot of meaning that comes from that for her, and it's something he might understand in how much guilt both of them carry with them for their own situations. He should know that she wanted to do well to try and make up for her own shortcomings at home. Here, she's managed to make a difference.

That means a lot. ]

I-- [ She tries very hard to keep a straight face, but her lips are twitching into a watery smile. ] --would like that.

[predomination]

[it does matter, though, but he can't make up for what he didn't do by harping on it. he may harbor a lot of guilt, but his method of dealing with it is fixing it going forward.]

It's not always going to be your niche, Sonia-san, but we help each other out. And I know you're intelligent enough to keep pace with Peter-san, Sieglinde-san, and myself.

[assent]

[ She doesn't know what to do with this, but in the end she can't regret bringing it up because maybe this was what she needed to hear anyway. That maybe, just maybe, she really has found a place here.

There's a second, then another and another where she doesn't say anything like she's weighing things out. This time it's her who steps forward, latching on in a hug in the way it should have been five or so minutes ago. Her hold is a lot tighter now, more sure of herself.

The "thank you" she whispers is much softer too. ]

[predomination]

[he hesitates this time before raising a hand to the back of her head, avoiding the stroking and the vaguely condescending words this time to keep from spoiling it.]

It's going to be all right now. We'll figure all of this out and go from there.

[We. Not I. And perhaps that's all he really ended to say from the start- an admission that he can't do this on his own and never could. for all of his myriad of successes, there's been too many demerits as well. perhaps he needs balance.

he can't promise some things won't stay the same. Zymandis looms ever-present and he's willing to get his hands as dirty as possible to figure that problem out and he'll use people to do it, but it's nice to know he has a port in the storm. people he feels he can trust- people who at least seem to be trying, bit by bit, to understand him and call him out when he's pushing too hard.

it's a new start, and his old sins can't take precedence here. perhaps when his pink slip finally comes up and he can return home, he'll be the sort of man who can put Ichigo back to rights and be the sort of person who doesn't engage from the sidelines masterminding everything. he has a long way to go, but...

it's a start.]

[assent]

[ It's something, better than we "we" he had said on the call when she knew he didn't consider her a risk. Compared to him, her own abilities would not be enough to cause too much harm before they were stopped. Her chaining herself in her room, struggling by herself there yet unable to fight the restraints she put on herself gave her proof that even when at her worst, there was a means to control herself. She doesn't know the extent of it, but she imagines that wouldn't be the same for him -- but that doesn't mean others cannot try and help.

Contact was supposed to have made all of this easier, yet neither of them had really allowed it for their varying reasons.

Now, at least, she can look back and see where things started to go wrong. ]

Yes.

[ She only says the one word though, instead leaning into him more now that it feels as though he is listening. ] We shall.