Torg Episode 5: Pandemic

Mr. Lorenzo Ferri
Director of Operations, Asia-Pacific
Delphi Council
USS Ronald Reagan
Director Ferri,

Peace!

I report with pleasure that our Storm Knight team has completed its assignment in the Living Lands. A pandemic has been averted and the town of Bethlehem is safe for now.

Our period of recovery and training aboard the USS Reagan was uneventful, and we are grateful for the hospitality and the opportunity to formalize our relationship with the Delphi Council. We are pleased to be registered storm knights, and we look forward to a relationship in which the rights and freedom of every member are afforded the utmost respect.

Our mission began on July 22, 2020, with a briefing aboard the Reagan. While the operating environment of the Living Lands is wildly different from that of our previous missions, the team was eager to assist when we heard of world-renowned epidemiologist Dr. Richard Davis’ reports of a potential pandemic in the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Our arrival at the mission area was complicated by an attempt by a local family to escape the quarantine on the town. Sirocco was able to stop their vehicle[1], and a shootout between local Sam Whitmore and the border guards was narrowly averted by the quick thinking of the team.[2] While their vehicle was not salvageable, the Whitmore family was uninjured and was relocated to a military holding facility.[3] They were later confirmed to be uninfected.

Upon arrival in the Bethlehem city center, the team established contact with mayor Matthew Clark and ground commander Col. Simon Bell of the US Army. With chain of command established, we proceeded to the local CDC. CDC team leader Dr. Jane Lloyd briefed us on the nature of the pandemic — patients developed a violent obsession with leaving their lives behind and entering the Living Lands. Dr. Davis himself had been victimized by this effect during the course of his investigation, which led to his demise during an attempt to escape quarantine. Our Edeinos companion Tek identified this psychological effect as something similar to that of certain entheogenic[4] substances consumed by his people. An interview with a surviving patient reinforced this conclusion.

With this in mind, the team investigated Dr. Davis’ residence and uncovered additional records which he was not able to send to the CDC before his death. Using these records, the team deduced that the pandemic was caused by drinking water from the Lehigh River — a river that flowed out of the Living Lands.

After warning the CDC, the team embarked on an expedition upriver. Our entry into Edeinos territory was marked by a velociraptor attack. We report that these raptors are unusually aggressive and intelligent, using pack tactics and exploiting the ever-present mists to execute devastating hit and run attacks[5]. They ignored Oliver’s attempt to lure them into attacking him and instead targeted the oldest, frailest target — me. Their claws can pierce conventional infantry armor and their hides are resistant even to explosive hollow point rounds. I will make no bones about it — it was pure luck that no team members were killed.[6] We recommend that future teams go in with heavy magical support — Sirocco’s defensive spells were critical to our survival, and it was he who resolved the situation by controlling the creatures.

After fighting off the raptors, the team encountered an Edeinos village belonging to the Yutuk tribe. The village was larger than normal due to a large influx of immigrants — the missing citizens who had escaped to the Living Lands. These residents were in the process of transforming into Edeinos and appeared content with their lot. Nonetheless we were able to identify patient zero from the CDC records and convinced[7] their Optant to share his knowledge of the situation.

The contaminants that had tainted the river and caused the pandemic were coming from a gospog plantation. A cure would take time to fabricate and would require a blood sample from patient zero. After some debate, the team decided to perform a scouting trip before determining the next course of action.

The team approached the plantation, marked by a crashed Airbus A380. Having brought no high explosives with us,[8] we decided to use the fuel in the airliner’s fuel tanks to burn down the plantation. Our initial stealthy approach was foiled by raptorine gospogs of a form we had not encountered before. These raptors were even more physically powerful than the ones in the forest. Credit should go to our melee specialists Blade, Keoshi, and Oliver, who engaged these super-raptors in close combat at extreme risk to themselves[9].

The situation was further complicated by the arrival of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.[10]

Faced with a combination of Contradictions and physically superior adversaries, the team performed a tactical withdrawal to the river. Sirocco was able to release and spread the fuel, dousing the T. Rex and allowing the team to set it on fire. As the conflagration spread, the enormous carnivore chased us to the river and was finally brought down by focused fire from every member of the team. Blade performed the killing blow. At Oliver’s signal, scout archers from the Yutuk tribe finished the job by igniting the fuel-soaked plantation with flaming arrows.

As we watched the plantation go up in flames, it was only then that we remembered that this was only supposed to be a reconnaissance mission.

Our return to Bethlehem was uneventful. We were able to secure a blood sample from patient zero, and the CDC was soon able to synthesize a vaccine and a cure. Most of the transformed were able to return to their former identities. Relations with the Yutuk tribe remain cordial. The team is ready for its next mission.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Jean Charles Myriel, S.J.
Storm Knight
USS Ronald Reagan
July 24, 2020

Other Storm Knight Team Members:
- Keoshi, Nippon Tech special operative
- Gabriel Alexis, Nile Empire Hero
- Oliver Caufield, Orrorsh operative
- Blade, Orrorsh Daywalker

Footnotes:

[1] See Airbag.mp5 from Keoshi’s suit video archive

[2] While I understand the council’s concerns, shooting the pistol out of Mr. Whitmore’s hands was a calculated risk — my cybernetic eyes and cyberpapacy weaponry make such feats of marksmanship very feasible.

[3] A subsequent interview with the Whitmores indicates that they are psychologically intact and that there are no hard feelings — especially from the children, whom we provided with ice cream. Thank goodness for wizards and their faithful butlers.

[4] A substance that induces a religious experience in the imbiber

[5] See Clevergirl.mp5 from Keoshi’s suit video archive

[6] My injuries were substantial and required magical healing. I’m bringing armor next time, Contradiction or not.

[7] While the Optant was open to diplomacy and even provided healing, his son was opposed to even speaking with outsiders. This should be noted by any future ambassadors to this part of the Living Lands.

[8] I beg you to reconsider the ban on issuing large explosive devices to the team. We promise to use them responsibly.

[9] See Holyshitballs.mp5 from Keoshi’s suit video archive

[10] It is unknown why the T. Rex chose to focus its attacks almost exclusively on Keoshi. Perhaps it prefers canned food?