[EVENT] A STROKE OF SABOTAGE

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL
Date: April 16th-April 30th
Location: Keeliai, various
Situation: Just when you think things are working a little too well...
Warnings/Rating: To be added as needed.

---

It starts small - a few greenhouses have seen their crops wither, and the kedan frantically scramble to find the cause. By the time they do, it’s too late. Three days later, the problem seems to occur in every single one of the major greenhouses and hydroponics stations; plants withered and dead, and several kedan sick and showing signs of Dust poisoning after contact with the water supply. While there were no deaths, all had to go to the Healers Guild and several had severe enough reactions that their stay was more than just a brief treatment and overnight observation.

The initial response from a few of the more superstitious kedan is that the run of bad luck has culminated in the ruin of their efforts. More level-headed kedan will be inclined to take a more scientific approach. Kyde and a number of chemists are called in to take samples.

As one might expect (or not, as the case may be), Dust had been somehow integrated into the water that feeds the hydroponics and greenhouses, which wound up killing the plants and sickening the kedan. While it hadn’t made it into the main water supply for the city, there was clearly enough of an organized effort that it affected the public greenhouses and hydroponics systems. Every piece of equipment that comes in contact with the water will have to be flushed to prevent another die-off. It's a big setback, and the process will take several weeks to complete, reigniting concerns about food shortages.

The culprits even left a calling card - painted on the walls or tarps is a message: MALICANT WILL RISE.

Tensions are high everywhere in the city, and morale is low as the culmination of the kedan and Foreigner’s hard work was ruined and, while they aren’t back to square one, there is an enormous amount of work ahead. Going forward, there is an urgent call for the development of better filtration systems to keep out toxins while still distributing essential nutrients, and better security. The kedan will be looking toward Foreigners for assistance in these matters.

---

OOC: Various starters are included in the comments below for different facets of the plot, or you can make your own! Please direct any questions to the April Game Itinerary post. Thank you!

Comments

OTA [cw for subsequent threads: descriptions of blood, gore, body horror...y'know, fun horror stuff]

[upshore]

Miles had just thought he'd caught a bug that the Walrider was fighting, since the damn thing was practically his new immune system. Mild dizziness and some chills - but maybe the chills were the weather, he couldn't quite be sure.

He goes for a jog late one night to clear his head, maybe get the ol' inner ear back to normal with some physical activity. It's cloudy; the moon is hidden, and he's found himself in one of those rare parts of the city where he's completely alone.

Then he hears, very quietly, the rattling of chains. His breath catches.

No.

Walker's dead, he saw the guy get turned into chunky tomato sauce by the disaster now sharing his body, he's dead. It's not real.

The dragging noise gets louder, and he hears heavy breathing.

Oh, fuck me.

He crouches down, trying to hide, trying to keep his breathing quiet and calm and even. Then he hears a voice he never wants to hear again.

"Oh goddamn it, how did you get out? We're gonna have to do something about those hamstrings."

Tears begin to leak out of his eyes. No. Not Trager. No. He got crushed. Miles saw him. He's dead!

Then it comes to him. He doesn't have to hide anymore. He never has to hide again.

It's painful, being stabbed with pins and needles all over his body, but he releases the Swarm. It curls all around him like dark smoke, and he stands, looking for the men who hurt him, and smiles.

They have reason to be scared of the Walrider. They will have reason to be scared of Miles Upshur.

[lasergrenades]

With the sabotage, everyone is on high alert, and that means more night patrols from the air. There's been incidents all over the city, ranging from minor to significant, and they've been happening randomly, so there's no way to tell when a fight will break out. Pepper is about to turn back for the evening when a red light flashes on her HUD, outlining suspicious activity.

She banks towards the area, and what she finds is... a person, surrounded in some kind of cloud that shifts almost like it's alive. Carefully, Pepper gets a little closer, hovering well above them in the air.

At this distance, she can get a better look at who or what she's dealing with and after several seconds of confusion, Pepper breathes in sharply. This is not the first time she's seen something like what's before her now, even if the memory isn't her own.

Miles. Walrider.

This can't be good. There is no way in which this is a good thing, at all. Pepper needs to keep Miles from hurting anyone, and figure out why he's in this state later. She drops closer, still airborne, and opens the faceplate. "Uh. Miles? You, um, you don't look so good. Are you, er, okay?"

It's a stupid question, but Pepper has no idea how coherent Miles is right now.

[upshore]

Not especially coherent or lucid, Pepper, but thank you for your concern all the same. It will eventually be much appreciated.

He doesn't recognize what's hovering before him. Nothing hovered that he'd ever known. Something from Murkoff. It has to be. They've sent something after him. He doesn't have to be afraid ever again. Ever.
"
"Ḏ̩͍̰ͨ͐͌͘i̶̥̘͈͉ͫ́̌̌e͖̗̩͉͉̳̤̿ͮͫ̚̚,̠̥͉̥̲̯̎͌̔ͩ͌͝͞ͅ" he says, the sound like the screech of static, and a word might be under it if Pepper can filter the signal out from the noise.

He reaches out towards her, all black and silver, and the Swarm surges forward.

[lasergrenades]

Pepper is not especially familiar with the Walrider, but what she knows of it is violent. The swarm tears people apart, can throw them around like rag dolls, and she is under no illusions about it's ability to attack her and infiltrate the armor. It might have to work at digging into the polycarbonate steel, but she's fairly sure he would get through.

He. It? Whatever, not important. She yelps when he reaches for her, hurtling back out of reach. Attacking Miles doesn't seem like a thing that's going to help, but she can't just let him run amok, either. She needs to distract him.

This is gonna hurt.

"Miles, stop. Think about what you're doing!" Pepper calls, and even as she's speaking, there's a swirl of shadows and her ka appears on the ground to Miles' left, long sword drawn. If Miles keeps going for Pepper, he'll find he can't attack her - that assault will get redirected at Vee. "Please, I don't want to hurt you, and I know you don't want to hurt me. Well, normally you don't, because you're a journalist, not a murderer. Use your head."

[upshore]

The armor darts back away from the Swarm and begins speaking. He doesn't care. It's from Murkoff. It's after him. Destroy it. D̜̞͍̲̼͖̐̇̏͂͞͡e̸̸͓͛̌ͬs̸̳̯̞ͭ͑̈́͑ͅͅͅt̆̌͏̰̳̻̘r̨̪̝͇͍͓͉͊͗̾̒̄o̸̧̫̲̲͆͌͌ͧ͟y̴̫̦̜͓͖̜ͦ̊ͨ͢ ̖̫̘̯͇̀ͯ̂̂̓̓ͧ̿͠i̟̬̭͚̲̰ͫ̉͆t͚̭̜̱̒̂͑̋̅ͥ͊!̸̜̯̤͕̜̖̬̎ The static roars in his mind, the pins and needles all over him, like a thousand thousand bullet ants.

He pursues it, sending the Swarm ahead, but he's redirected towards another armored shape - a bigger one. Reinforcements. It must have done something; some kind of magnet to lure in the nanites.

He'll destroy the magnet.

Roaring, he focuses his attack on the newcomer, the sound crackling in an unnerving way. A human throat shouldn't be able to make that kind of noise.

[lasergrenades]

Vee swings at the Swarm as it approaches, attempting to swat some of it away. It's not particularly effective - swords against nanites is not an equal-footed battle - but they aren't attacking Pepper directly and that's what matters most.

The noise Miles makes causes shivers to run up and down Pepper's spine, and she can feel the way the Swarm is trying to dig into the ethereal form of her ka. It stings like acid, and Pepper winces, but Vee's effect will give her a chance to get through to Miles.

And by 'get through to him', Pepper apparently means 'tackle him to the ground'. Mostly gently, but she'll do her best to hold him down. The faceplate is still open, which puts her at risk, but it'll be hard for him to recognize her with the armor fully closed. "Miles. Wake! Up! You are Miles Upshur, not some mindless cloud of robots, and you are going to remember that!"

[upshore]

Destroy t̬̙̥̬̆̅ͨ́ḧ̇̅̊̀e͉͔̼͉̰ͭ̄ i̸̤̳͗͆̊͆ͥ͒͒͝n̒͌̀̽͑̎̂҉҉̛̼̺̯̬̺̺͙t̛͆͑̽̋͢͏̱̻ḙ̞̱̥͈̍ͮ̈r̛̯̤̱ͫ̔̂̋ͭl͓͆̂͊͜oͮ̓̊͞͏̘̯̮͚͍̤̻ṗ̛̪ͮͣ̅͐̌͝ȩ̙͓̱̭ͩͫ̄́ͧ̎ͥͅr͉̹̤͍̬̠ͪ͒ͪ͋̈́̓̊̾. He's going to destroy both the sentinels and he'll be free. He focuses his efforts on the big one, and--

--he's tackled to the ground. The Swarm is otherwise occupied, otherwise he'd have made himself intangible, but it breaks into two; the larger part fighting the armored menace, the other returning to free its host.

It's not just a sentinel. Not just armor. It's...a person?

A person.

The smaller arm of the Swarm stops just before reaching her, the host frozen in indecision.

"Ḋ̯͇̮̬̖̭̻̑ͣͤ͆͐ͪo̮͖̖͇̟͔͍̾͌͌͌̓n̫̜ͦ̋̌̓̈'̳̄ͬt͎̯̱̖͔̼͑̓̿ͨ͋ ͉̦͇͖͔͖̓ͦy̗̓͌͆̋ő͑ͪͯȗ̬͈̬̯͔͗ ̺̙͚̘̪͕̮̅ͫhe̥͔̩̣̼͎͖͐͑̈́a̰̠ͣ̔̂͐͂r̩̠̹̻̱̞ͩͪ̉ ͍̓̊́̐͗̃̚ȋ̮͈̬͈̗͎̈̌ṱ̼͖͈̗̥̌̽̑ͦͯͮ?͚̮̖̗̥̳̒ͧ͑̊̈́͑" Miles asks, sounding a little bit lucid, his voice still distorted but shaking, obvious terror in his silvered eyes.

[lasergrenades]

By now, Pepper has figured out the hissing static coming out of Miles' mouth is words, and she's been doing her best to parse what exactly they are. That last is clearer, barely, and the armor's computer helps with a probable 'translation'.

He looks terrified, and Pepper doesn't let him up but neither does she move to hurt him - just restrain him. It's like he doesn't know what he's doing, and that's almost as scary as the Walrider itself.

"Yeah, yeah, I do," she answers loudly, willing away the tremor in her own voice. "That's you, Miles. That's the Walrider, and--" Pepper flinches with the Knight's pain. "--and you need to pull it back, before you hurt someone. I'm your friend, Miles, and I need you to get a hold of yourself right now! I need your help here!"

[upshore]

The Swarm stops entirely and begins to recede as he realizes what he's doing. It doesn't go back into his skin yet, though - she's in the way, and he's still feeling threatened, though not for any reason that Pepper would be able to see.

He shakes his head, just a little, still looking her straight in the eyes. "N҉o͠t́ t́͡h͘͢͝a̸͝t," he says, still sounding terrified. "T̡͢h͡e̵̕ ̢c̨̡ḩ͘ai̵̛͘n̸͠s̸̴͢.̀."

[lasergrenades]

Vee feels a little less like she's being assaulted by a swarm of angry hornets. What Miles is saying is getting clearer, and that can only be a good thing, but-- chains? Pepper's expression clouds with confusion. That can't be good, if Miles is hearing things.

"No. No chains. Just you and me and our defense grids," she says, loosening her grip on him a little since he seems less volatile. "There's no one else here, Miles. You're safe," Pepper insists. "You don't have to fight anyone."

The last thing anyone needs is another Foreigner hallucinating and attacking someone. Bakura getting Dusted was bad enough and--

Oh.

"Miles, I think you've been drugged," she adds, now sounding worried. "Please tell me you can calm down."

[upshore]

Drugged. His heart pounds and the Swarm rears up - not in aggression, but agitation. The last time he'd been drugged it had been a syringe into his neck from behind, and it had gotten him neck-deep into Walrider territory to begin with.

He closes his eyes for a moment and tries to keep from hyperventilating. Calm. Calm. Heather had taught him meditation, and while he still isn't great at it, he's at least got the basics down. There's static in his ears and all over him, and he tries to quiet his head.

"Shit," he says, still looking like something out of a horror movie, but at least his voice is nearly back to normal, and his vocabulary is a lot more like himself.

[lasergrenades]

Pepper can feel Vee tense when the Swarm shifts again, but no attack follows it. They're getting somewhere; Miles is sounding more coherent by the second.

"Yeah," she agrees, and finally glances over her shoulder. The Swarm hovering there is highly disconcerting, but she is sort of in the way, isn't she? "I'm going to let you go now, okay? Just take it easy. We'll go see Raine, she can help," Pepper says soothingly, and slowly, carefully releases Miles. She stays kneeling beside him, however. "Keep breathing, you've got this. You're safe," Pepper reminds him again.

[upshore]

When Pepper moves away, the Swarm settles down over its host. Miles yells as it reintegrates with him. It hurts - pins and needles but a thousand times worse, static, bullet ants. He keeps breathing through it all, even through the pain, even as his vision shrinks to a tiny point.

The process takes ten long, agonizing seconds, though it seems to take longer. When it's finally over, he looks normal again, and like he's run a marathon, leaning his head back, his eyes closed, drenched in sweat.

"Fuck," he says breathlessly. "Fuck."

[lasergrenades]

It doesn't take a genius to see that recalling the Swarm is seriously painful, and Pepper grimaces watching the process happen. She lets Vee fade to the background - the Knight will be there with a thought, but no need to add potentially threatening stimuli to what Miles is dealing with - and waits.

At least Miles looks more like Miles, and not some creature from the abyssal realms. Her hands flutter over him for a moment before she decides that touching him may not be a good idea right this very second.

"Hey, see, you did it," she says encouragingly, but there's worry still evident in her tone and her expression. "That-- that, uh, looked like it sucked. Think you can sit up? I can give you a hand."

[upshore]

"Hooray," he says, his voice cracking, still not opening his eyes. "Yeah, I think I can sit up. I'm...gonna need help, though."

Yeah, he pretty much never wants to do that ever again, ever. Once was enough.

[lasergrenades]

They really need to get Miles to the Healers Guild and fast, just in case he loses his grasp on what's what again. At least she has an idea of how to pull him back off the ledge.

"Yeah, here," Pepper says, taking one of his hands in her own, hoping the gauntlets won't be a problem. She places the other on his shoulder to help pull Miles up slowly. Standing can happen in a minute or two. "How're you feeling? Still-- still hearing something or is it gone?"

cw: implied gore/body horror

[upshore]

He's about to say he's okay when he hears the sound of bone shears slicing. Trager. He's stalking Miles again.

"Somebody's got to win and somebody's got to lose here, I don't make the rules." The shears slice again. They're closer.

Miles starts shaking and looks down at his mangled hands. "He's here," he says, choking back a sob. "Trager's here, he's going to take more--"

Fingers first. Then balls. Then tongue. The nanites start prickling at his skin again, and he suppresses a shout as they emerge, remaining just above his skin.

[lasergrenades]

Oh, crap. Pepper gives herself about five seconds of sheer panic when the nanites start to hover over Miles' skin again, and then yanks her helmet off. It might help for him to see her a little less armored.

"Miles, look at me," she orders. "Trager is not here. It's just you and me," Pepper reminds him. "Just you and me. I won't let anyone hurt you, okay? I need you to trust me on this one so we can get you some help."

And keep the healers safe. It would be seriously, seriously bad if he freaked out and sliced one of them up by accident.

[upshore]

He looks at her, but he doesn't really see her for a moment, lost as he is in his terror. He thought he'd put it behind him, Trager's dead, Walker's dead, Billy's dead and that one was directly on Miles, he's a murderer, oh God...

Tears are beginning to leak out of his eyes, but he wills the nanites back, and he shakes with pain as they're re-absorbed, biting his lip until it bleeds, trying not to make a sound. If he makes a noise, if his clothes rustle, if he breathes too loud, they'll have him. He's still shaking, clearly not quite in the present.

[lasergrenades]

Stopping a drug-induced panic attack is not something Pepper has training for, but she has to try. If Miles kills her, at least she'll come back in a few days; kedan won't be that lucky. Really, though, she'd like not to activate the revenge protocol she's accumulated.

He's in pain and he's scared. There's only one of those Pepper can do much about, unfortunately. Whatever he's seeing and hearing, she needs to disrupt again.

So she hugs him. Gently, but firm, wishing it were easier to get out of the armor like this and hoping it's still enough. "Take some slow, deep breaths with me, Miles. In and out. You're safe. Slow down, just focus on breathing. Nothing else matters but that right now, just breathe. There's no one else here."

[upshore]

Miles jolts when she hugs him, and his skin prickles, but the nanites don't re-emerge. It'd take too much energy, and his head is swimming already. At least it's not his wrists. At least she's not holding his wrists.

He tries to breathe like she says, but it comes out as more of a gasp. The fear is still there, roiling in the pit of his stomach like angry snakes, but he tries to listen. Her words sound like they're coming from very far away, but he tries to focus.

He gasps and shudders a few more times before he can get a decent breath in, and even then it's not much. But it's more normal and less like someone fearing for his life, so that's a little better.

[lasergrenades]

It takes effort to be still, but Pepper waits, and listens. "Good, there - just like that. Air is good for getting your brain to think straight. In and out, nice and slow. I've got nowhere else to be, we'll get you through this."

The thread of words mostly dissolves into a comforting ramble, half to give Miles something to listen to and half to keep her calm.

[upshore]

He keeps trying to breathe, and he manages to get a few deep breaths in. The sounds are gone - no more chains, no more shears, no more Trager.

There's some heavy breathing in his ear that isn't his own. Little pig.

He tries to ignore it, and tries not to hyperventilate. It takes great effort to keep his breathing even, and after a few moments he starts sobbing.

"Fuck," he whispers. "Fuck."

[lasergrenades]

Pepper can't help it - she laugh, but it's a desperate, almost hysterical sort of sound; the kind of laughter that happens when you're sobbing your eyes out. It's incredibly hard seeing him like this, and Pepper has to keep it together for him.

"Yeah, sounds about right," she agrees, drawing only far enough away that she can look him in the eye again, keeping her hands on his shoulders to steady him. "Just keep breathing, nice and slow. Breathe with me, Miles. That's all you have to do. Nothing else, just breathe. You're safe. Just breathe and I'll take care of the rest. That's all you have to do."

Vee, intangible, is still on guard. She'll protect Pepper, but she'll also keep anyone from stumbling upon the pair and disrupt the fragile balance Miles has managed to reach.

[upshore]

He keeps trying to breathe like she says, but even though the worst is over, the worst has happened anyway.

He'd lost control. He'd almost killed someone. Drugged or not, in control or not, murder was still murder. He already has one death on his hands. He doesn't want any more. And everything the Walrider had done - no, that he had done - is burned into his mind with crystal clarity.

He can't look her in the eye. Not after what just happened. Not after what he just did.