Epidemic Exsilium: Stage Two

[initiates]

Date & Time: June 8th - June 14th
Location: Throughout Exsilium
Characters: Anyone participating in hunting down the sleeper agents; anyone participating in taking care of the ill, or being ill themselves.
Summary: Stage Two of the Super Virus Epidemic strikes; sleeper agents of the United Earth are revealed.
Warnings: Illness, violence, needles. (Those IVs, man!)

Sniffles and coughs aren't unusual during the spring, with people combating allergies even in the far future, and colds being as present as always. But with more and more people falling ill, and none responding to antibiotics, things are starting to get worrying.

The first death is of an infant, on the night of the 7th. It's not the only one: three more are recorded not long after. It's unknown about the state of patients who never presented for medical assistance. Those familiar with viral infections fear the worse, especially as the usually healthy demographic starts arriving, coughing and displaying symptoms of the same sort of illness.

If that's not enough out among the natives, the Initiative has received its own information and insight into the true nature of the virus. "Wasmannian" Agents, spies of the Initiative in the United Earth, have reported back information at great cost to their security in their undercover positions. There is a super virus headed your way. They've been shipping it in to the island since December 3312. These are the manifests. We've deciphered most the code-names. Good luck.

Now the Initiative turns to the Transports for additional manpower to hunt down the United Earth's sleeper agents, pick up the shipments of the virus, and track down its physical origins in order to do something to stop the impending decimation of Exsilium's population.

Things are getting scary. It's a sick, sad world out there. Where are you, in the middle of it all?

Comments

[reconnaissance]

( She's glad for the silence, if only because Oz does seem okay. Mostly? And idiot maybe, but okay. If she keeps talking, she's worried she'll just yell at him, say something she doesn't mean and then you have to mend bridges. Optimistic she can swing, but that pride is there to stay, a permanent Ellie fixture.

Carefully, she watches, grabbing another few piece of paper and trying to imitate the folds, and then-- hesitating when she forgets what came next, looking to Oz for a bit of help, eyebrows raised. )

[velveteened]

( he steps in a little closer and mimes what comes next - folding in the corners and then carefully partway unfolding them. but he also gives a nod of approval, because it's not looking terrible for a first try, he thinks. )

[reconnaissance]

( SHE IS GOING TO MAKE THE BEST FLOWER EVER SEEN IN THE WORLD OF ORIGAMI.

It's kind of nice. Ellie, she's a bit shit at art. Sketching and all that, she can admire it when other people do it, but she's pretty awful at it herself. Quietly, to spare her throat, ) I like this. It's like art with rules.

( There's a formula with how to make it work, and it's either a paper flower or a crane or whatever else, or it's not. )

[velveteened]

( it's not a way he'd have thought of it, but it makes him laugh a little. )

I'm glad. I used to make them for my little sister, when she was a baby.

( well, she's always a baby in his eyes, but still. when she was young enough to be fascinated by things like paper flowers and trail after her older brother everywhere like a particularly adorable shadow.

the laugh turns into a cough - more like, a few coughs - that he stifles with a hand, taking a couple of steps back from her. )

[reconnaissance]

You have a sister?

( That's... she'd never thought about it. Fi has a younger sister, Homer an elder brother, Lee has few siblings all younger than him, Corrie and Robyn were only children, like Ellie. It's good to hear about people's families, but it snags and catches on so many things. ) What's her name?

( Hoarse, and she hopes it's only because of the way the sickness is wreaking having on her system. And maybe his system, too, with that cough. ) Hey, sit down.

( She's not a total ass. )

[velveteened]

( he shakes his head once he recovers, waving her off )

I'm fine.

( leftover scratchy, dry throat notwithstanding. he's also feverish, but figures that all things considered - could be much worse off.

besides, this is a topic he likes talking about. )

I have a little sister! Her name is Ada.

[reconnaissance]

( sir


sir


don't you dismiss her, sir.

she frowns. ) Yeah, and I'm running marathons. There's a bloody epidemic, sit down.

( Love and tenderness and goodwill to all men.

And, even if she still looks faintly irritated: ) Tell me about her?

[velveteened]

( HE IS IN PERFECT HEALTH. the absolute only reason he does sit down is to humor her.

absolutely.

besides, it's not worth a fight when the other option is to talk about ada. he grins. )

Ada's a really sweet girl and easy to get along with. I'm sure you'd like her. ( only a cretin wouldn't okok ) She loves taking in cats, and they follow her around everywhere. She even trains them to help with her prefect duties at school! And of course she's very smart and diligent.

( baby sister *^* )

[reconnaissance]

(









that's all. )


She trained cats?

( How? What? He's got to be kidding. ) Are you her number one fan, or something?

[velveteened]

She did!

( hey if freyja can do it!

but that makes him laugh. )

No, no, I'm sure she has bigger ones. She just has that kind of personality.

( including possibly a boy but that's not allowed. )

[reconnaissance]

Hah. I thought big siblings and little siblings were meant to get driven crazy by each other.

( it's not that simple; she knows how her friends miss their siblings, how they all miss their parents. )

What about your parents?

[velveteened]

No, we always got along well.

( and in the absence of other playmates, it was just as well.

the question shouldn't be unexpected given the topic of conversation, but it blindsides him anyway and makes him go still, easy demeanor bleeding away. )

Well, my mother died not long after Ada was born. My father...

( he'd said last time, i don't remember what he looks like but that was to an anonymous child and anyway, not so true anymore. the pause is getting too obviously long, more than if he'd felt well, so he just concludes - )

...he was never home often.

( and never wanted to be, for hatred of his eldest child. )

[reconnaissance]

( Her expression falls with the revelation. Sometimes she wonders if anyone here is really happy, no matter what they seem like. Those were the kind of hurts that stuck with you; a parent's death. Worse, their voluntarily absence, and she's gently laying her hand over Oz's. )

Hey. You okay?

( He doesn't look so happy, any more. But if this was resting under the surface, maybe he wasn't all that happy, any way. )

[velveteened]

( he'd feel bad about her expression if he were looking at her to see it. talk of his father is not something he does often and never brings up himself, and among those from his world the nature of the relationship between duke vessalius and his heir is something of an open secret. he'd maybe not be so stricken at every mention if this weren't the case, but as it is he still doesn't know how to approach dealing with the fact of his father's attitude - or to even get into the sticky whys, of what he could have possibly done that his father would hate him so much from the very beginning, or why he'd take it out on ada too. )

Oh - ( looks back at her at the touch and question ) - yes. ( 'it'd be better if that thing hadn't been born.' ) But I'm sure he's very proud of her, nonetheless.