Arc II - Fill the Land With Smoke

[Doctor Who]

Umm, patient zero.. Uh, yeah, hold on," he begins to fumble with his datapad. "Oh, uh, my name is doctor Sagar, sorry."

He finishes whatever he's doing, and an image of a burly, old, half-sith appears. The man looks like he'd spent a lot of time in the woods, and scars dot his face and arms.

"This is, uh, Chizyum, he's a trapper from the southern woods. He was in town recently, after, uh, umm, he had been trapping some stuff. Mentioned something about a cave he'd never seen before, and he went in to look. He said, uh, that he, uh, didn't see anything, And, umm, abut 4 days after coming back he complained of some bad dreams, fell unconscious around lunch time, and has been asleep since then. This was about 3 weeks ago. The spread has, ummm, been rather random since then. People in, uh, contact with Chizyum don't seem any more likely than those that haven't been in contact. Treatments, well, all the, umm, basics, [runs through basic Star Wars medicines], but as far as we can tell we, umm, there, uh, isn't anything really wrong that the medications can affect."

---

There is one non-Sith in the room with the infected. The rest appear to be part Sith, even if only minorly part sith.

[ThreeBFour]

Waz'aru's ears perk up when he hears the Doctor mention the cave the trapper had found. It seems he was going to have something to do afterall, other than changing bed sheets. "Um, excuse me Doctor Sagar? He says sliding out from behind Arca, where he was trying to stay out of the way.
"I have a couple of questions in addition to those of Arca's. Has anyone tried to search out this cave, which seems to me to be a possible source? And I know Arca would get to it eventually, but his mind is a durasteel trap and everything is orderly, mine not so much. Sorry, rambling. What is going on with the human child over there?"

[ShadoWarrior]

Arca patiently waits for Sagar to answer his impetuous companion's questions before he adds a second round of his own.

[Doctor Who]

"We, uh, never sent anyone to look for the cave. After the sickness began to spread we couldn't risk, ummm, anyone going out away from the village, in case they fell, uhh, ill. The kid, is, umm, the, uh, only pureblood human to fall sick so far. We don't know."

[ShadoWarrior]

Arca attempts to get Sagar to elaborate, "When did the human boy become ill? Who did he come into contact with before becoming ill? I would also like to know if there are any other patients who have not been brought here to this ward, and if so where they are? We must try to contain this, whatever it is."

[Doctor Who]

"In this town, this is, ummm, all the patients we have. Other settlements, uh, around the, uh, planet have their own issues, although it does seem to have outwards from here. The boy, umm, like everyone else that got sick, was simply carrying on as, uhh, normal. The boy never came into contact, umm, with Chizyum, but in the flurry of people falling sick we couldn't, uhh, see who exactly he had interacted, umm, with."

[ShadoWarrior]

Arca inquires further, "The other settlements that have patients with this same malady, did their patients have any contact with anyone from this settlement before the became ill? We need to know if this settlement is the focal point of the spread of this illness or whether it is spontaneously appearing in multiple places at the same time."

[Doctor Who]

"As far as we can tell, umm yes, the infection did start here and spread outwards, although no consistently. The town just, uh, about, uh, 20 minutes down the, umm, road north from here has no sick individuals, but the one beyond it, uh, does."

[ShadoWarrior]

Arca considers ... Finally, some useful data. Aloud he states, "We will need to attack this problem from two directions. First, we must send an exploration team to locate and enter Chizyum's cave. While that is underway, we will need to try to identify how this illness is transmitted from patient to patient. Whether it is airborne, contact with bodily fluids, or even casual contact. We must also attempt to isolate the causative agent. Is it chemical or is it biological? And we must map out how this disease progresses and whether the current status of those affected is an endpoint or whether we should expect worsening symptoms."

[Doctor Who]

"I, umm, am not really the, uh, best person to ask for help, uhh, with planning anything like, umm, that. Honestly, I, ummm, I have only been on the job here for 4 days since my boss got the sickness."

"I'm willing to help get people together to go look for this cave," Zyla interjects. "Jarkyc said he knows the area, so we can probably get his help too."

[ThreeBFour]

"That was my general thought Zyla, although we may want to get some bio-hazard gear, maybe just breath masks if we are going inside. Waz'aru says and hesitates momentarily. "Maybe we should ask our soldier friends for some kind of stun weapons, just in case."

[ShadoWarrior]

"Until the disease vector is identified I must insist on sealed suits. Whatever it is may be able to be contracted through the skin or be small enough to pass through a mask's filtration."

Spoiler:

If you never had the pleasure, watch the original (1971) The Andromeda Strain. Teach you a thing or two about containment, amongst other things. And it's a damn fine movie, too.

[Doctor Who]

At the mention of stun weapons, Zyla sighs. "Guns are so inelegant, but that's a good point. We don't want to kill any leads. ST-3R, Trixie, are you going stay here and figure things out in the town, or come with us? And where'd Varc run off to? Or are we all going to go as a group?"

Spoiler:

I've read the book, never seen the movie

[ShadoWarrior]

Arca addresses Sagar once more, "Doctor, may I see your datapad? I would like to review your notes. I think it's faster if I read them for myself than if I continue to barrage you with questions." And it will give you time to compose yourself.

[Doctor Who]

He readily hands over the datapad, though he leaves it plugged in.

[DeepSpacer]

"Better to stick together, I think. Orcam said it is not safe to travel alone. So it's probably not safe to be in groups of 2 or 3 either." says Trixie, a little concerned for the safety of herself and others.

Spoiler:

"Jarkyc here has been to Galidraan before, says to be careful of the deep woods. Locals think it's haunted. Whatever is out their, haunted or not, it's not good for those traveling alone," Orcam says.

[Doctor Who]

Seeing Arca engrossed in the datapad, Zyla suggest, "Why don't we go get stuff ready then, while Arca finishes doing whatever he's doing?"

She heads out, bumping into Varc just outside and catching him up.

[kanila]

Varc thinks on the information for a minute. ”Well we need to learn more about this cave. And while we’re at it we should figure out what’s going on with the forest. Chances are they will be connected.”

[Doctor Who]

The group manages to get together the EVsuits, and the Republic soldiers prepare to come with you. None of the locals want to risk going to the cave.

Jarkyc mentions he can navigate the woods, but if others would like to help him look for the cave once they get close to the mountain, he welcomes the help.

[what specific equipment other than EV suits are you all getting?]

[Doctor Who]

Kitted up in the suits, the group and the Republic soldiers advance into the woods.


Jarkyc takes the lead, glancing left and right as he goes. The woods are oppressive, cold, dark, and filled with the low sound of birds and of animals hunting in the distance. "Bee cautious, sometimes the predahtors in this world cahn be surprisingly hostile."


The human soldier, Joral, and Nikto, Ka'ran, march in the middle with Orcam and the hover sled. They have their rifles out, and you all notice that Ka'ran holds his gun in his left hand, rather than his right.


Zyla takes up a position in the rear, along with Carran. She fidgets uncomfortably in the full suit.


You all walk for about an hour through the forest before the trees begin to become slightly more sparse. The edge of the nearest mountain is becoming much more visible, and the ground much rougher and uneven.


[perception checks, hard with one setback. Also, say where you walking if you wish. ]

[ShadoWarrior]

Arca travels relatively close to Zyla.

Spoiler:

Arca Gavalun; Tales of the Old Republic; Perception check:
1 Failure, 1 Advantage

[kanila]

Spoiler:

Varc; Perception :
0 Success, 2 Advantages

Varc stayed near the front of the group.

[DeepSpacer]

Trixie feels a bit hesitant and wonders if this was a good idea. She has mixed feelings confronting the possible source of this affliction, but also desperately wants to help the inhabitants here. She lingers closer to the back as the conflict swelling inside her causes her to slow her pace temporarily.

Spoiler:

Emotional Strength … Compassion. Wants to help those she comes across and her compassion may lead to self-sacrifice to aid those who need it.

Emotional Weakness … Weakness. May let evil persist because it is too difficult to deal with.

Motivation ... Cause: Help the Helpless. Trixie seeks to give voice to the voiceless, and help those who cannot help themselves.

Spoiler:

NPC; TotOR; Perception Roll:
2 Failures, 1 Threat

[ThreeBFour]

Waz'aru walks near the soldiers, studying the surroundings and their reactions to it. He was slowly getting used to the feel of the heavy stun pistol riding low in the thigh holster Ka'ran had acquired for him.

Spoiler:

Waz'aru; TotOR; Perception :
2 Successes, 2 Threats



@Doctor Who as Strain or do you have another use for it?

[Vergence]

Agreeing with Jarkyc, ST-3R covers the rear of the investigative party. As the droid starts to become aware of environmental shift in terrain, it adjusts the visual settings while still steadily holding onto the Model 77 tightly.

Spoiler:

ST-3R; TotOR; Perception + Goggles (removes setback):
1 Success, 3 Threats