[hr][center][sub][color=cecece]DAY 1[/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [color=cecece]STEELWATER [RD-PRS - Ground Level Trauma Unit][/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [color=cecece]Afternoon[/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [@Aeolian][@Exit][@Prisk][/sub][/center][hr][table][row][/row][row][cell][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5383761][img]https://i.imgur.com/3xZtJvi.png[/img][/url][color=2e2c2c]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/color][/cell][cell][quote]

[color=8d8e8f]
A steady drizzle began to fall as Peter, Emilia (Clarke, he improperly called her), and the BlackRock soldier came upon the clearing of the forest. Without the canopies to provide respite from the rain, they would undoubtedly find themselves slightly wet before arriving at the UDF Portable Research Station. Based on current conditions, a downpour was inevitable, so they would need to move quickly to avoid the falling torrents. Peter could see the PRS station in the distance, the large domed structure grossly out of place against the natural skyline. 

With the demise of the large beast, its corpse flattened against the soiled earth, Peter noticed the smaller nearby stigma scampering away with the hive mentality of a bee colony. They really were like insects he thought. But the young Funérailles gave no further mind to the monstrosities as he and his new "group" passed by the remnants of an Aeonic battleground. While his priority was to save the young girl, their war efforts had not gone unnoticed.

---

Inside the PRS, Emilia handed off the young girl to a [url=https://i.imgur.com/EMbwLZa.png]nurse[/url], her slumbering body hot and limp like an overcooked noodle in his arms. Peter read the name on the nurse's scrubs, [i]Krishna Patel[/i], it said. The nurse became alarmed as soon as he felt the unnatural heat radiating from the girl's body. 

[color=silver]"What happened?"[/color] he asked, optically surveying her ailing condition. 

Peter stepped forward, a familial light in his eyes as though the young girl were his own flesh and blood. He couldn't contain the urgency in his voice, [color=gold]"She's infected. I think she has a fever. Can you help her?"[/color]

[color=silver]"Shit..."[/color] the nurse muttered through gritted teeth, [color=silver]"Not up here. We'll have to get her down to the Research Wing. Follow me."[/color]

With not a second to lose, Krishna turned from the trio and headed towards the Research Wing. Naturally, Peter began to trail him, but then stopped. He turned back to Emilia and the BlackRock soldier, bowing like a knight from the Old World. With his unusually old-fashioned uniform, and the european-esque Freidalian sword and shield strapped to his back, the soft-faced battle medic could easily remind someone of a knight's young squire straight from the fairytales. Anyone familiar with the island of Freidal could easily recognize his origins.

[color=gold]"Thank you. I'm in your debt."[/color]

A fleeting, tepid smile graced his countenance, and then he disappeared behind Krishna.

---

Peter and Krishna were not in the Research Wing for long. Peter, not having the proper authorization, was forced to wait outside the entrance as Krishna was quickly ushered inside by a luscious womanly voice instructing him to settle the girl on an empty table. As Krishna reappeared through the sliding doors, Peter sighed in relief.

[color=gold][i]She'll be okay...[/i][/color] he hoped.

Peter caught a glimpse of Isolde leaning over the sleeping young girl as the doors shut. He could of sworn he saw a smile creep upon her lips, its form somehow malign. But Peter simply shook his head, erasing what he'd thought he'd seen. Besides, he didn't recognize who Isolde was anyways. He only knew her by name.

[color=gold]"Can they save her?[/color]

Krishna shrugged, [color=silver]"I'm not sure. Probably? But let's head back up. We shouldn't be down here."[/color]

Peter nodded solemnly, following him. He looked back one last time at the closed doors, thinking only of the young girl. As they passed through the second level, Krishna paused, finally taking in Peter's form fully since he arrived. Peter was a slight young man, almost delicate-looking even. With a fresh scar on his cheek, wet hair, and a sodded uniform, he looked a bit homely. Krishna gestured toward an empty bedroom as noises of clanking utensils and the savory smells of meat and starches wafted from the nearby dining area.

[color=silver]"Do you need new clothes? Maybe something to eat. You look..."[/color] Krishna went silent, looking Peter up and down, with sympathetic eyes, [color=silver]"like shit, bro."[/color] 

Peter blinked, his eyes trailing downward so he was peering at himself, [color=gold]"Do I?"[/color] he asked, his tone serious and inquisitive, not at all understanding the slight tease in Krishna's voice. Peter was always a bit literal with things, not quite understanding the nuances of humor. Krishna let out a laugh, [color=silver]"Yeah, a bit...but, I can't imagine what you've dealt with out there. Those monsters freak me the fuck out. I'm still pissed the UDF deployed me here. Just my luck eh?"[/color] 

Peter nodded agreeably, not sure how else to respond. In truth, his thoughts were still distracted by the young girl. And then he thought of his boyfriend, Milo, and his heart sank a little. He wondered what Milo was doing now. Probably getting into some kind of mischief, he reckoned. 

[color=silver]"Anyways..."[/color] Krishna continued, trying to break the awkward silence, [color=silver]"What'll it be?"[/color]

Peter thought for a moment, ultimately deciding on neither, [color=gold]"Actually, there's something else I need to do."[/color]

---
Back in the trauma unit, Peter was kneeling next to an injured soldier on a cot. The man had wounds all over his body; burns, cuts, and a gash on his leg that went deep to the white meat. The soldier was unconscious as Peter rested his hands on each wound and filled them with a mystical healing light. If anyone wondered who he was, they would at least know through this spectacle of magic that he was Aeon. Though, in such instances, Peter cared little about being clandestine. When it came to fulfilling his duties, Peter was often the type to forgo his own well-being, a natural condition of his chivalrous nature. Hours on the battlefield left him bruised, cut, and exhausted, with his heart hurting every time he overexerted his spiritual magic to heal this soldier.

But he didn't care.

In this world, the pain of war was a reliable reminder to him that he was not just a songbird locked in a gilded cage for the UDF to control. 


[center]
[hider=NPCs]
Lost young girl (12 or 13 yo)
[img]https://i.imgur.com/NCgPnXh.jpg[/img]

Nurse, Krishna Patel
[img]https://i.imgur.com/EMbwLZa.png[/img]
[/hider]
[/center]
[/color][/quote][/cell][/row][/table]

[color=99945e][b]Summary[/b][/color][hr][color=99945e]

[color=cecece]DAY 1:[/color] Peter, Emilia (carrying the lost little girl), and Christina finally arrive at the UDF PRS. Peter thanks them both for their service and says he is now indebted to them. He then follows the nurse who takes the girl to the research wing. Once that task is done, Peter and the nurse, named Krishna, head up to the second floor. Krishna tries to make casual talk with Peter, who seems uninterested in the conversation and distracted by other matters. He noticed a badly injured soldier in the trauma unit when he first arrives, so instead of changing his wet clothes, eating, or getting some rest, he takes the knightly/chivlary route and goes back up to the trauma unit to start healing the badly wounded soldier. Every so often Peter clutches his chest in paint because he has a heart condition that causes heart pain whenever he overextends himself physically, emotionally, or magically.
[/color]

[hr][center][sub][color=cecece]DAY 1[/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [color=cecece]STEELWATER [RD-PRS - 3rd Level Research Wing][/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [color=cecece]Afternoon[/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [@Aeolian][@Salsa Verde][@Krash][/sub][/center][hr][table][row][/row][row][cell][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5383761][img]https://i.imgur.com/OjKGhlK.png[/img][/url][color=2e2c2c]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/color][/cell][cell][quote]

[color=8d8e8f]
There was a crack of thunder as the rain picked up around the PRS. Down in the restricted Research Wing, Isolde and her new associates were finalizing the last components of the fever agents needed to abate the fever of the infected patients. Isolde seemed calm, filling a syringe with a clear concoction and capping it tight. Once it was ready, she began administering it to the bed-ridden subjects, along with the help of Dr. Poole, Dr. Helene Khan, a medic named [url=https://i.imgur.com/0Ruvsu6.jpg]Amy[/url], and Isolde's personal assistant Oerba. 

When a nurse came from the ground-level trauma unit, a young girl cradled in his arms, Amy let him in. Isolde motioned for the man to put the child on the nearest table, and once he did that, she immediately asked him to leave. He shrugged, doing as he was told. Amy approached the unconscious girl, but Isolde shooed her away, proclaiming that she would take care of the girl's injection. Strangely, a peculiar grin graced her lips as she peered down at the child. While no one seemed to notice, Isolde slid the girl's bed into an isolated room, slyly locking it behind her with a specialty passcode. 

Once she returned to the main research wing, the inoculation process was swift, time being a commodity they did not have for leisure. As Isolde had predicted, not everyone could be saved. Through her peripherals, Isolde caught glimpse of Dr. Helene Khan standing over a lifeless body, the infection specialist breathing heavily.

In truth, at least a third of the infected patients had succumbed to the stigma fever. Dr. Poole relented to the reality of their situation, taking off his glasses and wiping them slowly with a solemn look in his eyes. Isolde finished the last injection in her patient, extracting the syringe and discarding it in the nearby waste bin. She continued to look at Dr. Helene Khan, the woman's heaving not yet subsiding. 

[color=silver]"You...."[/color] the woman muttered, anger seething and visceral in her tone. 

Isolde raised an eyebrow, [color=8882be]"Excuse me?"[/color] 

Oerba and Amy, huddled in a corner, looked back and forth between them nervously.

[color=silver]"You wanted this to happen didn't you?"[/color] Dr. Khan asked, though it was more of an accusation than anything. The doctor walked up to Isolde, standing in front of her, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. [color=silver]"I watched you taking your sweet merry time while these patients suffered."[/color]

Isolde sighed, feigning pity, [color=8882be]"My dear. If this is about your idea to contravene the process, then frankly, I could not allow you to do that. There are UDF protocols that must be followed."[/color] The aristocrat clasped her hands together, letting them hang leisurely. 

[color=silver]"My idea could of saved them all!"[/color] Dr. Khan yelled.

Finally, Dr. Poole stepped forth, resting his hand on Dr. Khan's shoulder, his attempt to pacify her fuming. [color=silver]"Alright, alright, calm down. Let's stay civil."[/color] Neither woman seemed to notice his efforts. It was clear he wanted to remain neutral on the matter.

Isolde shook her head, [color=8882be]"That's a bold claim"[/color] she retorted, slightly amused. [color=8882be]"In any case, your idea went against strict procedure and these procedures exist for a reason do they not?"[/color]

The women argued for a several minutes thereafter, exchanging quips and backhanded slights all in the name of belief and science. Perhaps though, it was less of an argument and more of Dr. Khan losing her shit while Isolde smiled coyly and hit her with all the facts that her reputation and expertise made her known for. In some ways, Dr. Khan was on track for a position like Isolde. The infection specialist was smart enough at least; too bad she couldn't control her temper. That and Isolde just didn't like her.

[color=silver]"I don't give a..."[/color] 

Before Dr. Khan could finish her statement, Isolde motioned for Oerba and Amy. [color=8882be]"We've already wasted too much time here. Excuse me."[/color] she cut in, walking away from Dr. Khan and pointing to a stash of unused syringes and a bottle of lethal injection formula. Behind her, clouds of black smoke practically billowed from Dr. Khan's ears. Isolde turned to the medic, Amy, [color=8882be]"One dose in the brain should do the trick. Now, move quickly before they reanimate and wreck havoc on us all. Heaven forbid."[/color]

[color=silver]"Of course,"[/color] Amy said, dutifully moving to complete her task. 

Isolde then turned to Oerba, noticing she had calmed a bit. [color=8882be]"Oerba, I need you to...." [/color]

Before she could finish, Marcus, her son and bodyguard, entered the wing, having gained access by proxy of Isolde. [color=silver]"Mother, the rest of SWARG have arrived. They're here in the trauma unit."[/color]

Isolde thought for a moment, only nodding to acknowledge his announcement. 

[color=8882be]"Relay a message to Errikos Rigos. Tell him to find me at nightfall. I have something very important to discuss with him. An opportunity of a lifetime, if you will,"[/color] she said with a smile. Despite her immediate responsibilities, Isolde had not forgotten or forsaken her machination from the day before. This Aeon, the one she had been spying on with her shadow moth the entire time; Errikos was the key to her goals. And if he refused, well...she always had a contingency plan in place for such circumstances.

Marcus seemed confused, prompting an eye roll from Isolde, [color=8882be]"Child, he's the burly fellow from Cetra East Command. He may go by 'Virus'"[/color] she elaborated. [color=silver]"Ah. Yes mother,"[/color] Marcus said flatly. He came was quick as he went, off to find Errikos, wherever the Aeon was in the PRS.

[color=8882be]"As for you, young lady..."[/color] Isolde continued, turning back to Oerba, [color=8882be]"have Eunji Park come see when she is ready and able. War is unkind and she may not be in a suitable condition..."[/color]

[color=8882be][i]...or even alive[/i][/color], Isolde thought fleetingly.

Oerba, as acquiescent as ever, quickly exited Research Wing. In fact, she hated being around the infected. Any reprieve from their presence was a relief. But just as the doors were shutting, Oerba turned back and heard a loud harrowing scream coming from inside the room. Oerba looked on through the glass window slits, horror in her eyes.

Amy was on the floor, blood spilling from a nasty bite wound on her arm. She was wailing in agony, [color=silver]"It bit me! It bit me! Goddamnit, it bit me!"[/color] Clutching her bite wound, she tried to move away from the infected patient who had unfortunately reanimated before she could put them down for good with the cranial lethal injection. There were a few more [i]stigmafied[/i] patients twitching on their cots, slowly rising as their undead bodies worked to reorient their locomotion. Maybe for three or four in total.

Perhaps it seemed, Dr. Khan and Isolde's quarreling cost them too much time after all.

Dr. Khan and Dr. Poole stood behind Isolde, aghast. [color=silver]"We have to leave!"[/color] Dr. Khan exclaimed fearfully, heading for the sliding exit doors. Isolde grabbed her arm, stopping her. [color=8882be]"No,"[/color] she said firmly, [color=8882be]"We cannot risk reanimated humans infiltrating the rest of the station. You know the protocol."[/color]

[color=silver]"Who cares about Protocol, I'm not gonna die here."[/color] Dr. Khan proclaimed, trying to wrench her arm out of Isolde's grip, the latter only tightening it further.

A turn came upon Isolde; her eyes narrowed into thin sharp slits and seeped with a venom most never saw from Isolde. She was good at hiding it.  [color=8882be]"Your desire for self-preservation will be your undoing Dr. Khan. Try to leave this room again and I'll feed you to them myself."[/color] 

Isolde let go of Dr. Khan, who in that moment, seemed more afraid of her than the reanimating undead patients. Dr. Khan didn't move, she was frozen in fear.

[color=silver]"What do we do?"[/color] Dr. Poole asked, his eyes switching back and forth between a bleeding Amy and the reanimated figures, all of which focused their attention on the poor woman and were walking slowly towards her. Amy was on the opposite side of the room, so much blood spilling from her mangled arm that she was slipping on it and couldn't find her balance. She kept screaming, [color=silver]"Please help me! Please!"[/color] 

With Amy serving as an unlucky distraction, Isolde slowly inched towards the other corner of the room behind the reanimated patients. Dr. Khan and Dr. Poole, followed in tow, staying close to her. They were betting their lives on Aeon, which was better than most bets people played into. [color=8882be]"Simple..."[/color] Isolde whispered calmly, [color=8882be]"we survive until help arrives..."[/color]

[color=8882be]"If you value your life, you'll stay in the darkness, no matter what shadows you think you might see."[/color]

Isolde's eyes turned black, like a starless night. As her powers activated, darkness filled the pocket of space around them, swallowing them whole and keeping them hidden from the reanimated patients. Through experience, Isolde had discovered that not even stigma or stigma-infected undead humans could see or hear in her darkness. It was handy magic that aided in her own self-preservation throughout the years.

Unfortunately though, it [i]seemed[/i] that it was too late for Amy. The undead were just nearly upon her.

----

Outside the research wing doors, Oerba could see everything unfolding inside. She quickly ran up to the next floors to find someone, anyone that could rescue the Research Wing before it was too late.

[center]
[hider=NPCs]
Dr. Poole
[img]https://i.imgur.com/0hXxm9V.png[/img]

Infection Specialist Dr. Helen Khan
[img]https://i.imgur.com/mPMQZUL.png[/img]

Medic, Amy
[img]https://i.imgur.com/0Ruvsu6.jpg[/img]

Oerba
[img]https://i.imgur.com/k0WCDmD.jpg[/img]

Marcus Featherswallow
[img]https://i.imgur.com/6D2iTHz.jpg[/img]
[/hider]
[/center]
[/color][/quote][/cell][/row][/table]

[color=99945e][b]Summary[/b][/color][hr][color=99945e]
[color=cecece]DAY 1: [/color]Isolde inoculates infected feverish patients with the fever agent in the Research Wing, with the help of Dr. Poole, Infection Specialist Dr. Helen Khan, Oerba, and a medic named Amy. 1/3 of the patients don't make it, so they need to destroy the brains before reanimation. A nurse brings the young unconscious lost girl to the research wing, but Isolde hides the slumbering girl in a separate room and locks it with a code. No one notices this action.

Dr. Khan and Isolde continue to go back and forth with one another. Marcus reports that SWARG  has arrived at the portable research station, so Isolde tells him to relay a message for Errioks to meet her at night so they can discuss an opportunity. Errikos is revealed to be the one that Isolde was spying on with her shadow moth. Oerba is tasked with asking Eunji to join Isolde in the research wing when she is able.

Amy was supposed to inject a lethal serum into the brains of the deceased patients before they reanimated. But Helen and Isolde's "quarreling" caused delays and Amy gets bit after 3 or 4 of the infected patients that died, reanimate because of the stigma. Isolde hides herself, Dr. Khan, and Dr. Poole within her darkness magic. Amy, on the other side of the room, appears to be a lost cause and is likely to be killed by the reanimated deceased patients before help can arrive. Outside the research wing, Oerba witnesses everything that is going on in the wing and runs up to find someone, anyone that can help with the dangerous situation unfolding in the research wing.[/color]