tushanshu_logs | Event | Console Crash Chaos

Event | Console Crash Chaos | Phase One

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That no-nonsense, brisk attitude will definitely warm Septimus's heart once they get to know each other. He listens attentively, growing more and more impressed--this is definitely someone rather more suited to healing than he is himself, despite what he can do with simple brute strength, as it were. More, it seems like hers works faster than his, and right now efficiency is even more crucial than ever.

"Some day, when we have the time, you'll have to show me this light magic of yours," he comments. He appreciates the details she gives him, too. After a moment, his face grows rather more serious. "That's a lot, and a lot of valuable skills. How much does it drain you, and how quickly? And what can you do to rest and recover quickly?"

She appreciates his dedication, at the very least, and the fact that he's putting aside whatever issue he might have, if indeed there is one, in favor of handling the crisis. "Certainly, someday. Much later." And she'll have to ask about his magic, in return, but that can wait. "The drain depends on the spell I use. Naturally, the more serious the wound, the more energy it takes. A simple recover spell is only a fraction of my strength, but severe, life-threatening injuries..." She thinks for a second or two, doing quick figures. "I could manage perhaps fifteen before being sapped of spiritual energy. In quick succession, that is. Typically my artes work fast, but they use my own energy in concert with the patient's own natural healing factor-- thus the faster my patient would heal on their own, the more efficient my artes are."

Her free hand moves to rest over her sternum while she's saying this, about where a pendant might hang underneath. It's an unconscious gesture, and she moves her hand to the pocket of her jacket as soon as she notices. "Certain foods, a medicine I have a very limited supply of, and sleep are the best ways for me to regain energy." The less effective methods, such as clocking things with her staff, are usually not efficient enough to be viable, so she doesn't bother mentioning them.

She isn't trying to scalp him, or shoot him with stone-headed arrows, or anything else like that--and she has talents which are both useful to him and nothing at all related to anything Marat. Frankly, there is very little that could have done more to convince him that, for the moment, she can be trusted.

The gesture is noted and stored, possibly half absently; he may not be the compulsive observer that his father is, but he will register things. Sooner or later he'll figure it out. He's getting more and more impressed with her, and is already running through possibilities. "How much of that medicine to restore energy do you have, can any more be made, how much sleep do you need to restore energy, and what foods and how easy is it for you to get them?"

It's a lot of questions in quick succession, but he intends to get as much use out of her as he possibly can. Out of all of them, of course, and he'll probably overextend himself most of all. But her usefulness has skyrocketed; she should expect to be used a lot.

Raine makes a level effort to answer in similarly quick succession, tackling each answer in turn as succinctly as possible. "Three gels." She shows him a small, translucent amber oblong, which she pockets again just as quickly. "I don't know how to make them myself, but I'd gladly sacrifice one for analysis and reproduction, if there was someone here capable of that. A full night's sleep is optimal, though short naps can help. And as to the food--" And she looks faintly embarrassed here. "Sweet fruits are best. Shortcake with them, even better. Coming by those right now, however, I'm not sure I'd care to bet on."

She has seen the ingredients for shortcake in the markets, at least. But she's certainly not the best person to make it. She can cook food to survive on, but baking is out of the question. Probably. And that's without even considering the problem of the chaos currently sweeping the city.

"May I?" he asks--and although it isn't quite perfunctory, he isn't exactly expecting to be told no as he reaches for one of those gels to examine. "I almost certainly can't do it--I have no idea what these are--but I think there are some people with machines and abilities to look at this. Definitely save at least one. I'll give you some names when we're through this immediate problem."

The list of foods makes him smile--he really can't help it, that's a little hilarious. With a mental note to adjust the stock of the staff lounge a little bit (after all, if it keeps up one of their healers' energy, it's totally altruistic), he files that away for the future. For now, she'll obviously need more frequent sleep than he will, but that's fine; she might well be more efficient than he is.

"For now, stay here," he instructs. "We're going to get people coming in, no doubt, and the more time I have free from healing to put things back together, the better. Rope the first free volunteer you see into chasing down some food that may help you; we might as well have some on hand."

She at least appreciates that he asked, and relinquishes the gel with little reluctance. It's less than half the size of a palm, a little bit squishy, and smells faintly of pineapple. "I'll do that. I don't know if they'll be replicable here -- there are certain different environmental factors that may affect them -- but it's worth trying. Thank you."

And she does catch the smile at the sweet foods. Well, she can't really blame him: it seems a little silly to her, too. But absent her brother's cooking skills, those are likely the best things to count on, and they will be of help.

"Right," she says, once he's done speaking. "I'll handle as much as I can." His orders are clear and sensible and she has absolutely no problem freeing up the person with a better idea of the lay of the land to coordinate and get things back in working order. She's becoming more sure that he has experience with command, unless she misses her mark by rather a lot, but such contemplations are for later. Now, unless he has other things to bring up, she's going to buckle down for a very long day.

Raine is just gaining more and more respect by the moment--although it is probably mildly unfortunate that part of that is coming from being sensible enough to just do what he's telling her at the moment. He knows it isn't personal, and it won't last--but crows take him if it isn't comforting that there are people who do know to listen to sense when they hear it.

(He's over-trained.)

"Obviously prioritize injuries by severity, but numbers are more important than thoroughness right now." He hates having to say it at some level, and it feels almost like shortchanging some people. But this is a battle, and right now, it's true. "Get someone stable and comfortable, but don't waste your energy. If they can make it through the night, you can keep treating them tomorrow. The more people can get treatment and get back to safety under their own power, the better."

If he had more healers, and a need to get people out and into combat again as soon as possible, he'd be using a very different strategy. As it is, this seems best to him. Most of the casualties are civilians. That means energy is more of a commodity than time.

It is a definite departure from her usual strategy -- that is, keeping people combat-capable and fast enough to get out of the way of magic -- but it makes tactical sense given the situation and Raine foresees no trouble adapting rapidly. "Understood," she says, eliminating extraneous words and questions. If problems arise, she's confident in her ability to improvise within the spirit of his directions; no need to request that every possibility be explicitly planned for. "Anything else immediately important?"

He shakes his head. "Not really. Reroute as many as you safely can to non-magical volunteers or medics. If there's anyone you particularly like working with among the staff here, take them as support; if I need them for something else, I'll find you another body to stand in."

Now that she's sorted, his attention's already drifting very slightly to whatever the next problem is likely to be. "Do however long on shift you can, then check in with me." Just so he can gauge what her stamina and energy actually look like. "I'll have you grab some sleep for a few hours. By then I'll know what needs attention most urgently."

And if it's more useful to keep someone with her power and versatility here holding things down while he gets some time in the field, or if he should stay to coordinate and get her out. "If anything changes, I'll update you."

Raine nods, and, noting that he seems to be done with her and there are people who need medical attention approaching, she turns away to start doing what she can.

The morning wears on into afternoon in a haze of injury after injury. The most minor ones she directs toward a volunteer capable of mundane first aid, but there's more than a few broken bones and bleeding that she feels necessary to at least get a start on healing magically, and a surprising number of people with something that responds like poisoning. It doesn't take long to make the connection to the spores some have mentioned. She prioritizes as Septimus directed, sends home who she can, finds places for those she'll need to see again tomorrow, or once she's had a chance to rest.

Perhaps four or five hours after she began, judging that she no longer has the energy to muster a basic first aid spell, Raine makes her way back to find Septimus again. She looks a bit the worse for wear, and she gives just a little more of her weight to her staff than she would ordinarily. "I'm out of commission for the moment," she says when she finds him, with little prelude. "I assume by now the spores have come to your attention?"

Septimus does not look much the worse for wear. He is, of course, given that he is alternating doing what healing he can (which the state of his tunic makes clear) with running the madhouse. But he started wearing steel at all times a long time ago to combat the nightmares, and years of training and metalcrafting and command have him keeping that weariness from his face and manner.

He glances her way when she speaks, and nods shortly. "Then get some rest. How long will you be out for?" From the tone, it's clearly a semi-absent question and just so he can wrangle the logistics. He might have to do a little more healing than before if she's gone--

And then his face darkens with irritation. "Yes. They have." For a moment he sounds almost murderous, and frankly if he could kill whoever is responsible for unleashing them he would, without hesitation. "How much can you tell me about them?" He'd like her take, as she seems fairly competent.

"Perhaps three hours. That, and food, should be sufficient for now." She hopes. At the very least she'll be able to press on, which is the important part. She hates to take the time, but in the absence of advanced magitechnology or an abundance of pineapple gels, it's all she can do.

"As to the spores, I'd need to look at them in their raw form for much concrete data," Raine says with a grimace. She's of much a similar opinion on the topic. "But I can tell you that exposure reads, to my artes, very much like poison. I'd hypothesize that the spores need to be internalized somehow in order to harm-- ingestion, inhalation, maybe an open wound. I can neutralize them in a person with a simple recover spell, but not if it's been a significant amount of time. I'd need more testing to be completely sure of the exact boundaries," she adds, anticipating a request for details. "So far exposure doesn't appear to be lethal, just unpleasant and possibly incapacitating if left alone or if combined with other problems."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event | Console Crash Chaos | Phase One

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