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

[ex_mettacrusher33]

Precisely, Peri-pie. If you already forgive yourself, what does it matter what anyone else thinks? You know that you're a good person. You know that you're better than that now.

[His smile goes wider and somewhat more genuine.]

No one else needs to know anything more than who you are right now. [He outstretches a finger and taps her on the nose. No one needs to ever know the truth. They never need to know where you came from or what you did to get out. Isn't that the blessing of life?]

Haha. It's not lying if they never asked, eh?

[slapfight]

I do! I know it's not like that now. That's why I'm working with ALASTAIR instead of just trying to leave at the earliest opportunity. I don't have to owe this team anything- I'm doing it because I'm a changed gem who values life.

[she relaxes again- so much that when he boops her on the nose she just takes it. she'd left the sewers devastated, unable to condemn Percy for actions she, herself, had taken once, but that's over now! And so what if Percy never got his chance to fix things the way she did, and maybe if she had run into people different from Steven, she would have been in the same situation.

that didn't happen! the earth survived. she's fine.

it was just a thought.] It's so simple. Oh my stars, getting hung up on emotional things is so frustrating. I don't know how humans deal with that constantly overriding their logic.

[ex_mettacrusher33]

Eeeeeh. [Noncommittal hand-wiggle.] There's a place for it. Why, what would the world be like without a little love and kindness? Without people getting so swept up in the moment, staring blissfully into the eyes of their one true love!!

But really, now. What's the point in being so negative? Isn't it so much easier to just... be HAPPY? [No matter the cost?]

[slapfight]

[deep down, she thinks that's what Steven has been trying to teach her- an extreme form of it, to be sure, but still. why else would he think to watch a sunset and relax when the world was potentially ending around them?

and if that little song he taught her is true, there isn't anything that's worth more than peace and love on... well, some planet or another, not just Earth. that includes unnecessary fear and anxiety that no one but her would have to deal with.

and if she's the only one carrying it, then she can just drop it on a whim too. and focus on the positives.] Yes... Yes. We survived! We don't have to worry about any of that anymore. We'll go back to Oska and get new marching orders and all of this will just go away, anyway.

[ex_mettacrusher33]

NOW you're getting it!!

[Oh, doesn't she look so much better now? He sighs, happily, making to ruffle her hair again despite knowing full well she hates it.] It's all about putting things into perspective: the bad guy is dead. He's been punished for his hubris. We're curing the town and making sure that this never happens ever again.

We won, pumpkin!! Celebrate that, not your personal failures.

[Hm.]

So! Are we going to be helping with the curing efforts?

[slapfight]

There's no reason why we shouldn't. Holding people down and rounding up infected is easy for us. [she's feeling so much better and she's quick to just immediately jump into a topic that will keep pleasing her. Well, in a certain way. Mostly, she's only saying that to make her next statement seem less awful:] And then after that, we can do something that doesn't involve being chewed on by our teammates!

[that's what she really wants to do... once she's made sure Lance and anyone else she likes is well again.]