Chapter 2 : Volunteers

Loud but quicken footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Amiya : "Doctor, what's going on?"

Doctor : "This is a very important meeting, you'll see why soon."

Doctor and Amiya briskly walked towards the huge double door and pushed it opened.. A large oval table greeted them, surrounded by important figures all around Terra.

Kal'tsit : "Take a seat beside me."

Doctor promptly sat beside on her right while Amiya sat on her left. She looked around the room, scanning the people who sat on the table.

Amiya's thoughts doing a headcount : Okay, so it's Emperor Feodor, Wei Yenwu, Fumizuki, the Rat King, Lin Yuhsia.

Amiya then turns to Kal'tsit and whispers,

Amiya : "What are we doing here? I came here on a short notice."

Kal'tsit : "They are all invited by a request from a senior engineer which is also a scientist in the O.R.K facility."

Wei Yenwu, grumbling : "How long do we have to wait here?"

Fumizuki : "As long as it takes, I'm sure it's an important matter if we're gathered here like this."

Suddenly, a guy in a white coat barged into the room.

"Sorry, I am late. Now I have you all her-"

Kal'tsit : "Please introduce yourself."

"My bad, my name is Alek Sergey. I am the senior engineer of the O.R.K facility. I'm here to talk about the explosion."

Emperor Feodeor : "I've heard of it."

Alek : "The explosion isn't just a gas leak. The violent explosion didn't came from a gas tank, it would have been impossible. The explosion came from th-"

Kal'tsit : "The originite reactor."

Alek : "Yes the reactor. I'm sure you've known about it from the reports of your recently failed excursion."

Wei Yenwu : "So you gathered all of us here to pay for the reactor?"

Alek : "It's not the cost for the damage of the issue. We need your help to contain the originium that's leaking from it. Now it's not just some smoke, many people will die and will be covered in Originium. Here's an example of a victim and the city near the blast."

He plugged his computer to the projector and turned on the projector. Displayed on the screen was a man fully covered in black crystals. Black blood covered the floor. Surrounding him was Rhodes Island medics donning hazmat suits. Everyone in the room except Kal'tsit revolted and some almost puked. The next slide showed the nearby town near the facility. The place was abandoned due to the fear of turning into an infected. Only those who weren't willing to part with the city became a crystallized statue with black crystals protruding, as their bodies were frozen, unable to move. He moved on the next picture, showing the barren town, a layer of black carpeted the town.

Alek : "This is the victim of the effects of the blast. Now for the wildlife around it."

He moved on to the next slide. A bunch of slugs were covered in black spikes. Usually they would be red or yellow but they are now all covered in a black glow. Dogs were whimpering and growling at anyone who came near, the spikes on their bodies grew further into their chests. A picture of a botanic garden that was located near the power plant facility few kilometres away has turned from a luscious, rich greenery into a dead, black and brown eye sore, barely holding the greens that it has left, littering the floor with the rotting bodies of the fauna that once grew there. The dead plant decayed as the blackness latched onto them.

Lin Yuhsia : "Isn't this happening in Ursus? What's that gotta do with us?"

Kal'tsit : "The whole of Terra will be affected by it. Not just Ursus."

The whole room went silent. Their eyes widened and stiffened up. They looked at each other with uncertainty.

Emperor Feodeor : "So...what do we..."

He paused for a second. Amiya could tell that he is going through a range of emotions.

Emperor Feodeor : "What measures can we take to stop i?."

Alek : "We can send people over there and clean up the site. But in order to do that, we need some help. And that's where you guys come in."

The Rat King : "Don't worry, we will provide the funds."

Wei Yenwu : "And we will provide the help needed."

Alek : "The originium levels in the air are so high in the reactor that protection required will be costly. So we will knock off the originium-radiated chucks into the reactor and push or pour chucks of rock into the ground to block most of the flowing orignium smoke. In the meantime, we need a bunch of people to move to the underground mine below the reactor to divert the flow of the originium pipes that connect to it and the water pipes as they may

He then showed a picture of a blueprint of pipes that connected through the reactor.

Alek : "We then will send a bunch of people to the reactor and navigate through the 'buried' reactor and to shut off and dismantle the valves and to the control panel next to the reactor to see what can be done."

Alek then showed the next picture of a mine.

Alek : "The mining part will be extremely hazardous and dangerous. Luckily there is a bunch of miners and soldiers that were former Reunion members near the outskirts of Chernobog that may be willing to help us. If done correctly, we can divert the flow of the pipes to somewhere else that won't overload the reactor. There is risk that the mine might collapse but that's a risk that we must take. But we need some protection"

Doctor : "What kind of protection?"

Alek : "There have been a few spawns and unwanted attention lurking in the mines. They can only protect themselves for so long before they get overwhelmed by the infected wildlife. So we need some operators to protect them while they are mining."

Kal'tsit : "Don't worry, we can provide the protection required."

Alek : "Thanks, let's hope the cleanup will go well."

*Few hours after the meeting. Back at Rhodes Island*

Blaze opened the door of her dormitory, wanting to get a snack from the canteen. Her feet kicked something and she looked down. An envelope laid in front of her, she looked at the other door and noticed the same. She flipped the envelope, it was a letter from the Doctor. She ripped it open, a lengthy paragraph was dotted out on the page.

"As you may have known, there has been an explosion on the O.R.K facility. Despite being a few hours after the incident, the originium levels in the air are still much higher than ever. A suit has been created that can effectively withstand and protect you from the dangerous air. They will be dispatched to all operators so that they can join the expedition to the mines or to help cover up the hole to reduce the originium being emitted into the air."

Blaze sighed. "More work for me," she thought.

"The expedition down to the mines will take place with the help of former Reunion members that may help us, but we still need the help of some operators to protect and help them out. Burying the reactor will require a lot of work and effort as well. We also require the help of protecting and guarding the perimeter in case of any unwanted foes. Only some operators will be sent to the mission so if you receive this letter. You were chosen for the expedition. You can choose which mission you can go to

(Monitor&Guarding/Mines/Reactor Burial) Please circle the choice and place it into the HR department inbox by today. We will start the expedition tommorow."

Blaze rolled her eyes. To her, it was just another mission. She walked to the canteen, counting the coins in her hand and pondering on what snacks to buy. Suddenly, a bunch of doctors was wheeling someone, covered in white drapes. She noticed it but didn't think much of it. As she got to the canteen, she saw other operators holding the same letter as her.

"Hey!"

Blaze jumped. She quickly turned around to see Greythroat.

Blaze : "You scared me!"

Greythroat : "Sorry. I was wondering whether you have the letter."

Blaze held up the letter.

Greythroat : "So which part have you chosen."

Blaze : "Uhhh, I haven't chosen anything yet. I'm still thinking."

Greythroat : "You want to go in the mines. That's what I'm choosing."

Blaze : "Sure I guess."

Greythroat passed her a pen. Blaze signed off the "Mines" option. After Blaze bought her snack, she tossed her letter in her inbox. At her dormitory, she slumped onto the bean bag. The loud fluorescent light flicker over her. It will be a long day for her.