Event | Console Crash Chaos | Phase One

[cherrywood]

Characters: ALL!
Date: April 17-30, 2014
Location: Keeliai
Situation: In an unexpected and bold attack by Malicant, the console system is completely shut down while food and supply locations all around the city are targeted by bombings.
Warnings/Rating: Explosions! Possible descriptions of related aftermaths, injuries, death, etc.

Shortly after eight in the morning of the 17th, the consoles experience a strange glitching effect. They'll display 15-20 seconds of static, interrupting anything being done on them at the time, before going utterly dark. No power, no signal, completely offline even to detection of their normal bio-mechanical signatures. No amount of energy influx will get them going again, though taking them apart (or trying to) will still cause them to melt into goo.

Within minutes of the console shutdown, explosions will begin ripping through Keeliai. The bombs are all timed as close to simultaneous as coordinating a city-wide attack can be, with many going off within seconds of each other, throwing the thriving morning rush into chaos. They tear into businesses and across public spaces, collapsing walls and blowing piles of debris into the streets. Places of high traffic quickly become evident as prime targets: marketplaces, hospitals, schools and cafes. The streets take only moments to fill with panicking, screaming kedan trying to pull their injured fellows out of harm's way. All told, the explosions take place across approximately a 10-minute stretch and their explosive yields are fairly high.

In addition to the bombs that cause destruction through their blasts, smaller bombs are going off around the city that specifically target food and water supplies, particularly where large stocks of it were kept such as grocers, produce markets, and the like. Rather than cause mass damage, these explosions spray out a fine mist of spores. Any perishables in their immediate area that are splattered develop an oozing black mold within minutes, eventually breaking down organic substances that turn to foul smelling rot and release their own mist, perpetuating the cycle. While skin contact with the mist doesn't harm, inhaling or ingesting it will produce shakes, fever, vomiting with a cumulative effect that has the potential to be fatal. It is much slower to infect the water supply but the sheer volume of rotting perishables will eventually put enough of the spores to taint water sources, approximately 6-8 hours after the original bombings.

The police force are out as soon as possible and within the hour are helping move the injured to safer locations with Evandau in charge, right in their midst and shoulder to shoulder with his subordinates. Not being stockpiles for any of the apparent targets, many of the Foreigner residences have been left undamaged and, wary of putting them in further danger by collecting large groups in public spaces, Foreigners may even be asked to take in a few individuals or a kedan family.

Despite the number of explosions, there are far more reports of injuries as opposed to casualties. The person or persons (or That Bad Guy) responsible for this were, for this attack at least, more intent on damage than on death.

---

LINKS
Fire Sector | Earth Sector | Metal Sector | Water Sector | Wood Sector
Treating the Injured & Safe Houses | Investigations | OOC Plot Post

OOC NOTE: Remember that the consoles and network will be completely offline for the duration of this aspect of the the plot running April 17-23, though Foreigner tech is not affected. Plot questions can be directed to this comment. Have fun!

Comments

Re: RADIO - EA-3A - OPEN

[whitelotustile]

Iroh had accumulated a lot of local instruments, so he'd showed up around the afternoon, them carefully packed with him. "I heard you needed some help." He didn't quite know how radios worked, but he knew how to boost morale.

[wherethestoryis]

Lois looks up, more than a little grateful. Someone looking closely might notice that she's the only one in the office at the moment--and that the coffee is suspiciously low. She may be dosing with caffeine to get through this.

"We really do, honestly. Looping recordings helps, but I'm used to very full newsrooms for this kind of thing." And from the look of things... no, a very full newsroom is not at all what she has.

[whitelotustile]

"Well, I don't know anything about news besides trading gossip, but I do know a thing or two about running music nights." Which was something Iroh was used to.

[wherethestoryis]

Lois can't help it; she smiles wryly. "Well, I won't run a gossip rag--or station, whatever--even if we had the material for it, but I'm sure people would appreciate some music broadcasting."

She pauses, then, tilting her head and sifting through her memory of the network. "I think I remember seeing an announcement--you run a tea shop, I think?"

[whitelotustile]

"I was opening it," Iroh said. "I have a shop back where I come from. And it's something I've enjoyed. There's nothing like making people happy with tea."

[wherethestoryis]

Lois can't help it; she smiles. She's not generally a tea person, but given how much she has to do right now...

"Well, then, as well as helping us with music, we'll absolutely pay for some catering of anything with caffeine in it--and food if you've got it." Lois Does Not Cook.

[whitelotustile]

"Some hot water will be all I need. I keep some tea leaves with me at all times," Iroh said. "Would you like some before I begin? "

[wherethestoryis]

"We've got that around, absolutely," until things get screwed over, but they'll tackle that as it comes. Then she blinks with more than a little surprise. "Ah, sure, if it's on hand. I'm pretty sure that coffee has long since gone off to meet its maker."

Newsroom coffee generally does, after all.

[whitelotustile]

"I'll just have to make it. It won't take five minutes, depending on how quickly the water can be heated. Though if you just have the water, I can heat it myself."

Because Iroh is very good at using his firebending powers to get water to the right temperature for tea. Because what else would you use powerful pyrokinesis for besides making tea and getting the stove lit?

[wherethestoryis]

Lois waves in the direction of the water cooler. Because of course they hashed one together. "We've got water over there, and some more in a room. After that mess with the water a while ago, we made a point of stocking some just-in-case.

Heat it yourself?" she adds curiously.

[whitelotustile]

"It's a talent of mine," Iroh said. "I hope you don't mind firebenders."

Really, he figured it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't like this place had his home nation launch a 100-year war on them.

[wherethestoryis]

"Don't mind at all--I've never even heard of them. What is it, exactly?" She is avidly curious now. Sorry, Iroh has a reporter with a long-term interest in superheroes and superpowers now on a brand new trail.

[whitelotustile]

"It's an ability people from my country have. We can draw the heat from our bodies into fire and manipulate it using the chi flow as our bodies move," Iroh said, demonstrating by producing a small flame in his hand with a gesture. "It's said we learned from the dragons of our world, who are natural firebenders. Other nations in our world have different elements they can bend. The core principles are the same, but each element has its own philosophy and style taught to bend it. Or philosophies."

Iroh was quite good at learning from other elements and adapting them to firebending, but part of it was to understand how each element was both alike and different from the others. Neither fire nor lightning didn't flow the way water did, but they did flow.

[wherethestoryis]

Lois listens attentively, mentally taking notes on everything. Chi flow--eastern philosophies, then, which is not something she's often familiar with. "What other elements do people work in?"

And then, after a moment, unable to resist: "Dragons? You have dragons?"

Because that's just cool.

[whitelotustile]

"Air, earth and water," Iroh said. "I'm certain there's representatives of all four here on the Turtle. Perhaps not earth, as the two earthbenders I knew have returned home." He knew there were more people from Korra's time, but he wasn't sure if one was a earthbender, or if he was still here.

"Yes. Air and earth also have animals that demonstrated bending for the first benders. Waterbenders learned from the moon instead."

[wherethestoryis]

Lois nods, not entirely surprised. It is interesting, however, that there seems to be Western elements with Eastern philosophy. She may need to delve into that more thoroughly some time. If nothing else, it would make for a fascinating story, and even if it's not for a news piece, knowing people's stories and understanding them is what she does.

"From the moon? Is it sentient?" Oddly, she sounds mostly just curious, not freaked out. Her world is pretty strange, though.

[whitelotustile]

At least Indian and Buddhist, but definitely not the Taoist elements. Not that Iroh would know any of those by the names.

"Well, the Moon Spirit is," Iroh said. "I suppose the old Moon Spirit was the one who did the teaching, for all that some can be observed just by watching the ebb and flow of the tides."

Iroh was familiar with the spirits, but he actually had seen the Moon Spirit. Both the old and new ones. Also a very annoyed Ocean Spirit.

[wherethestoryis]

"The old one?" Lois has instincts for a story, and this most definitely sounds like one. And it makes her wonder how that sort of things happens in his world.

Because in her world that whole 'spirit' thing would probably be a chosen moniker and someone would just take up the mantle when the hero died. His world doesn't sound quite like that.

[whitelotustile]

"Well, there was some trouble when the Fire Nation navy invaded the sacred grove where the Moon Spirit's physical form lived. Not everyone has the respect for the spirit world that I do."

Iroh had been tangentially involved in that, but he'd been mostly concerned with his nephew at the time. And in telling Admiral Zhao that trying to kill the Moon Spirit to stop the Northern Water Tribe's defenses was a terrible idea.

[wherethestoryis]

"That does sound like trouble," Lois observes. Frankly, it sounds like the sort of thing her father would have done, and when it comes to motivations behind military matters... as far as she's concerned, he never had great ones.

She can't help it; she snorts lightly. "In my experience, most people respect very little, or at least very little worthwhile." A life in investigative journalism has definitely left her cynical.

[whitelotustile]

"People can always change, though," Iroh said. "Especially with rather memorable experiences."

[wherethestoryis]

"They can," she admits. "But I guess I was thinking of people as a group, rather than individuals. One is much, much harder than the other."

[whitelotustile]

"Oh, yes. It is harder to connect to a group than one-by-one, though some people do have a talent for it. I would think this radio helps."

[wherethestoryis]

"And the ones who can are almost always either very good or very, very bad."

For a moment, she looks incredibly angry--even leaving aside heroes and dictators of the past, Lex and Clark are both huge parts of her life. It's a rather personal topic.

But then she smiles. "You're a flatterer," Lois tells Iroh merrily. "But that's definitely what Clark and I were hoping for."

[whitelotustile]

"Well, it is easy to be flattering when in a conversation with a charming young woman," Iroh said. "Thank you."