[EVENT] DISASTER RELIEF

[ironwood]

Characters: Anyone!
Date: 5th of May, 2015 (2016)
Location: South-east of Keeliai, near the shell’s edge
Situation: Unexpected disaster has struck one of the new radio stations outside Keeliai. Time for a rescue!
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings as needed.

The radio broadcast originated from a newly built radio-station on the turtle’s hind section of the shell, near his right some ways above his hind flipper. This is one of six and among the furthest out, and was built into the side of a shallow valley between scutes facing seaward, in prime position to be both protected from high winds and still be able to receive transmissions from elsewhere.

Until now. The valley leads all the way to the shell’s edge, and water has rushed into its opening like a bursting dam, roaring high up on the ridge and only petering out to an end nearly a half-mile inward. The water inland swirls with evidence of habitation: a table, chairs, soggy books, mattresses, other random detritus that might be found in a temporary dwelling or dorm.

By the time rescuers arrive the river flows several feet below the station’s level, but the station itself is obviously damaged. Parts of the outside wall have been ripped away entirely, revealing the gutted dormitory mostly bereft of furniture or personal belongings. Where the equipment met with water there are scorches on the walls and floor, and a fire might have broken out if everything weren’t so damp.

None of the electrical goods are working but the generator is still on, and sparking. Electrocution is a risk for anyone attempting to investigate the area, with the damage and the generator running.

The kedan living at the station are nowhere in the immediate vicinity, but a quick aerial search will reveal bright emergency flags laid out on a ridge some feet above the radio station, on a stable outcropping of rock. There are three women and one man all wrapped in thick blankets; two of the former are brunettes, the third a redhead, and the man is blond. He has a broken arm and one of the brunettes is dazed, half-unconscious. All of them are waterlogged, still coughing from water in the lungs, bruised and limping and shivering.

The redhead identifies herself as the senior of the group, but the dazed brunette is the one who deployed the SOS and was nearly caught in the flood.

They’re not sure what happened, explains the redhead. One moment everything was normal while they worked on the equipment and the next there was a minor tremor and a tilt, and the water came rushing down the valley. The man was outside and almost got carried away. They all might have, except that they were rescued.

The redhead seems unwilling to say more, but if pressed she’ll admit that she’s certain she recognised Commander Celaunn among the rescuers. Certainly their saviours vanished back into the mountains just as soon as the kedan were all safe. Though all of the radio operators will eventually admit to the same thing, if asked -- that they were rescued by Chihuelans -- none of them will say anything more than that or give any more distinguishing descriptions, and anything said against the Chihuelans will make them close-lipped and belligerent.

If any of the Foreigners perform a survey of the area, they’ll find that the shore-line along the shell’s edge, glittering in the distance, has shifted. Now it’s close, leading up to the inlet that the valley has become. Ridge descends right into water, bushes barely break the surface, debris is floating among the gurgling currents.

---

OOC Notes
This log will not be NPCed; the radio operators’ actions and personalities beyond the information given above will be at player discretion, as they will not be able to give any further information on their rescuers. The network post should be used for any IC plotting, and OOC questions can go into the comment marked below.

Comments

OOC: Questions

[ironwood]

Any player questions relating to the event can go here!

OTA

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery didn't wait to see if anyone else would respond to the broadcast or perhaps try to coordinate through it; he'd already lost about half an hour just for not being near a console right when the message first appeared. He took off outside the Earth Sector cafe where he discovered it and flew down to where he was sure the broadcast was coming from; up a mountain, the message had said. Don't follow the valley. One of the newly built radio towers which, by the sounds of it, was flooding.

When you could fly across the shell, it didn't take long to find the spot.

Skulduggery touched down near the damaged tower and made the rest of the short distance on foot, pulling up a randomised disguise as he approached out of habit. "Hello?" he called up. "Is anyone alive in there?"

When he didn't get a response, he drifted up into the air, keeping well clear of the sparking generator.

[redlightgreenlight]

She had been in the Hotel lobby when the message had come in and wasted no time heading out the door. She hated to cross the turtle in hound form, but four legs was unfortunately faster than two and calling on dark energy for added swiftness was easier when she was a hound. Valdis sensed Skulduggery Pleasant before she saw him, his dark presence causing a shiver to race down her spine. She came to a stop a short distance from the water's edge, lifting her muzzle to scent the air. Once she had pinpointed the skeleton's exact location, she retreated back a short way to shift, shrugging off the bag she had around her neck before resuming her human form and quickly dressing.

"Do you see anyone?" she called up to the skeleton when she returned.

[skeletonenigma]

If Skulduggery had felt Valdis nearby through the air currents, he didn't give any indication. He didn't seem surprised when he answered her, though.

"No. On the other hand, I don't see any bodies, and I'm choosing to view the glass as half-full." Skulduggery hesitated. "Or the tower, in this case. I'm going to go a little higher and see if I can't spot anyone. How do you feel about swimming?"

If the kedan workers weren't in the tower, after all, the logical conclusion was that they got swept out to sea.

[redlightgreenlight]

"Swimming depends on the currents," she replied, looking at the water that had rushed into the valley. "But I don't smell any death." Not sensing death was meaningless in this particular circumstance. The water could have easily washed away all death scent and taken the bodies out to sea, which was of course why Skulduggery had asked about swimming. "I can do a quick search for nearby souls, but that only works if they are still alive."

[skeletonenigma]

"Let's be optimistic," said Skulduggery, "and pretend they're still alive. Do it."

In the meantime, he drifted higher, looking out to sea. Pieces of the tower were visible in the water all the way out of the inlet, but it was impossible to see if there were any kedan clinging to the debris. If there were, they probably would have made themselves known by now.

Then Skulduggery noticed something bright red on a ridge high above the tower. He came down to land beside Valdis, the colour vanishing completely behind the rock as he descended; it wasn't visible from the ground. He pointed. "Up there. Can you sense anything from this far away?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She took a deep breath, allowing the colors of the world to fade. Skulduggery's soul was brightest, easily sensed for various reasons. She expanded her awareness outward, focusing her gaze on the tower, until Skulduggery redirected it. She looked up, following his direction.

"Yes," she replied as four souls came into view, faint and muted by the distance. "There are four people up there." She let the soul-sight fade, and observed the rocky face closely, evaluating it to find the safest way up.

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery didn't know very much about how radio towers operated, but given the size of this one before half of it was flooded and broken, four workers sounded like everyone had survived. The optimism train of thought was going remarkably unchallenged.

"You're not a fan of swimming," said Skulduggery. "What about flying? Have you ever flown before?"

OTA

[theideaguy]

Sokka had gotten the message right as it had come through, though he wouldn't be the fastest getting there. There's no way he could make it in time to the radio tower (not like he even knew where he was going at first) by foot, and so his first destination, after having collected his things, would be Stark Industries itself because he needed a ride. And not knowing how to drive any sort of vehicle, well... yeah, he needed to get on the organisation for that and find a way there. Needless to say, it would take a bit, not to mention the time to actually transport him and the other kedan helping out.

Sokka would be armed with his boomerang, a sword, and a trusty box of tools from the lab. But by the time he would actually get there in his vehicle, much of the saving of lives had apparently been done. By the Chihuelans? Weird.

But still, Sokka was going to take inventory of all the stories of the people here, trying to figure out what happened. If nothing else, he could report to Zanru at the end of the day... and beyond that, well... he might meet some people as he tries to assess just how much in the way of materials were lost... and how much could still be salvaged.

Re: OTA

[gathersnomoss]

Zelgadis had been delayed himself, getting supplies from the clinic when his own knowledge of spells was weak enougth to be at risk. really, for the thousandth time, he wished that they'd had some of the actual white magic users from home here. But he could help both with patching up people for transport and in surveying the damage. Even clearing some of the things. "Need a hand?"

[theideaguy]

Sokka has seen Zelgadis around from time to time, even if he didn't know him super well. "A helpful hand can't ever hurt," he says with a grin. "Our plan is to load up those that need more serious medical equipment in place of all the gear we brought out here... and if we have room beyond that, anything that needs obvious repair that's harder to do out in the field." He pauses for a bit, injecting an awkward silence. "Did you get any sort of better idea what actually happened? I mean, other than the flooding and the screaming for their lives bit?"

[gathersnomoss]

"Not really. I've been too busy to really do a detailed investigation," Zelgadis said. "Just enough to be sure I wasn't going to walk into more danger."

[theideaguy]

Sokka frowns a bit. No more information than he had. "Yeah, there's not really anything that indicates what's going on. Other than the strange, mysterious people that came to save them. Oh yeah, and that there was the massive flooding of the station. That's about all I can get out of people. I was hoping maybe you had talked to the right person that actually knew the whole story." Sigh.

"Have you been helping the injured then?"

[gathersnomoss]

Zelgadis nodded. "Clearing things up where I could, but mostly it seems like everything was just washed away. They might need to select a new site to build on after this."

[theideaguy]

Sokka frowns at that, knowing it to be true deep down. "Yeah, that's what it seems like. Still trying to figure out just how in the world it all happened. I mean, we're a floating turtle. Either we must have been hit with some pretty steep waves or... the turtle... nah, the turtle can't be sinking!" Sokka seems pretty confident about that... for a few seconds. "Wait, do regular turtles ever go underwater?"

Closed to Zatanna

[bigdamnhiro]

If nothing else, Hiro's been working on Kedan machines for a few weeks now, so he's more or less familiar with how they're constructed and wired on the inside. He's not much help with search and rescue, but he thinks he can at least handle the generator. He thinks.

He pauses in the middle of grabbing his toolkit and a pair of rubber gloves formerly used by Tadashi to scrub toilets (rubber gloves could come in handy, okay; waste not, want not), takes a deep breath, and then when he's sure he's not changed his mind and decided to go hide somewhere he bolts out the door.

He ends up waiting outside the hotel as previously agreed, hopping nervously from foot to foot and wondering just what he's gotten himself into.

[backwordscompatible]

After the quickest shower of her life, Zatanna changed into a fresh set of clothes--this time, something a little more waterproof--before flying back towards the site. She had only talked to Hiro once before, but figured that his hair and clothes would be a solid enough indicator to find him again.

Sure enough, once she touched down just outside the main Hotel entrance, there he was.

"Somebody call for a lift?"

[bigdamnhiro]

It takes Hiro a second to spot her literally flying toward him, both eyebrows shooting up in alarm. It's the second time he's witnessed anybody doing this unaided on the turtle, so he's not totally unprepared, but he's still looking skeptical when she touches town next to him.

"That'd be me, yep." He tries not to let nerves slip into his voice, but he doesn't do a very good job. "We're...flying, I guess."

[backwordscompatible]

"That's the plan. Of course, if you're too nervous, I can always carry you instead."

[bigdamnhiro]

"Wait. You mean that's not what you were gonna do anyway - like, this was gonna be some weird Peter Pan....thing...."

His voice jumps a couple octaves, and then he trails off. No. Nope. He's not prepared for this. He stands there for a couple of seconds, teeth clamped tightly together, grimacing down at his sneakers...and then sticks a hand out abruptly. Yes, that's a toilet-scrubbing glove.

"Nope. Carry me. Please," he mumbles. "Let's just get it over with.

[backwordscompatible]

Ew?

"So what's wrong with Peter Pan?" Mocking indignation aside, Zatanna shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't expected him to actually go along with the carrying idea; most people were rather excited to be given the chance to fly on their own. Alas. "Alright, if that's what you insist."

She casually slipped her hand into his as she muttered the levitation spell. A bright light of circles and intricate designs appeared beneath them as they slowly began to rise up into the air, supported by nothing more than her innate magical powers.

"Oh, I should probably mention: if you feel the need to get airsick...don't."

[highprofilerichkid]

As soon as Tony and Gene have gathered their small party, they're off. Gene's teleportation bubble envelops them, and they vanish from the Hotel, reappearing moments later at the coordinates Tony had given Gene.

"Yikes. They weren't kidding about the flooding." Tony surveys the damage to the station, and peers down the ridge at the rushing water only a few feet below. "What a mess."

[aquanimity]

She'd tried to keep Xion from coming, expressing concerns about her recovery, but the girl would have none of it, and, not wanting to hold up the departure, Aqua had been forced to relent. Now at the disaster site, she looks over the damage as well, a grim expression on her face.

"We need to find the workers. They have to be nearby," she says, warily eyeing the debris swirling in the water. "If anyone's injured, they'll need healing." Aqua turns her gaze to the wrecked building; like Tony has said, it's a mess.

[lordhotman]

When they land, Zuko doesn't waste any time going to and examining one of the walls that had been ripped open. Placing a hand on a piece that bore scorch marks.

"I can feel electricity. It's chaotic and dangerous. I'm going to check it out."

And with that, Zuko moves to go inside.

arrives to this thread 12 days late with starbucks orz

[wrathfulkhan]

That's not usually a group of sentences that go together.

"I'll work on getting the water back," Gene says from inside the armor. He has good control over the water ring; this should be easy enough. Knock wood.