Play@YSDC

9:51 AM
In the kitchen-
"Oh," said Ellen. "I wish we could go over there and make sure he's all right. And the others."

In the private room-
"Thank you, I can manage for now," said Mr. Foo. "Your wife is a good doctor." He showed Tony how to gather intelligence and monitor alerts from all over the world. Over the system, the news reports indicated mass riots and chaos in cities throughout South Asia: New Delhi, Karachi, Calcutta, Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus, Tel Aviv. There was a large blast in central Istanbul. Libya had closed off its borders. Sudan was silent. Morocco and Algeria seemed to be in full fledged civil war.

Then an alert came in that there was a nuclear blast at a U.S. naval base in Italy, just as Ms. Foo entered the room.

"That she is," Tony beams with pride. "She'd be glad to hear that."

Unfortunately the news quickly dampens his mood once again, and he starts to wonder if they really could survive this. Even if they did, would there be anything left to rebuild?

He pales once the explosion at the military base is announced, but tries to find the bright side . "At least it wasn't on our soil, I suppose. Still, all this radiation is going to be tough to handle. Makes me wish I remembered how to duck and cover."

Mrs Foo listens to the report as she gives the men their tea. She fires something in Mandarin at her husband and then repeats it in English for Tony's benefit.
"They bombing all the bases with nuclear? Why? What about military base near here? If they bomb that, we..." she drags a wizened finger across her neck.

9:52 AM
In the kitchen-
"You must care about him very much," Cathy said to Ellen.

"Yeah, I love him," said Ellen. "I never actually told him that..."

"I'm sure he knows. And I'm sure you'll get the chance later."

In the private room-
"Just one base," said Mr. Foo, but then more alerts came in over the comm system. Another U.S. base, an Air Force base in Germany, just went nuclear. Then another base in England and one in Spain. That said, the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Med seemed to be intact. Reports of a U.S. naval vessel firing its guns into Naples, Italy. A U.S. base in Norway just went nuclear. A base in Iceland was overrun. A Base at Thule, Alaska was fine and on high alert. A base in Scotland seemed to be in quarantine. A nuclear blast in Marseilles. There was no news from Vienna, Zurich, Venice, or Milan. News traffic from civil authorities suggested mass civilian riots, many dead, overwhelmed authorities. Military could not hold.

Mr. Foo contacted Major Andrews again and reported the bad news.

Tony goes quiet. Sometimes, there was nothing to say. He listens to Mr. Foo fill in Andrews.

9:53 AM
In the private room-
"There is a protocol where a base commander can detonate nukes if a base is being overrun in order to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands," replied Major Andrews. "It's never actually happened before, but there's never been a situation quite like this before. That may explain what happened in Europe."

OOC,Everyone, please roll Listen. The base chance is 25%.

In the kitchen-
"But what if something happened to him?" asked Ellen. "Why has nobody come here from the T-Bone?"

OOC,Everyone, please roll Listen. The base chance is 25%.

Listen 25,[dice]0[/dice]

"Well hopefully that doesn't happen here, Major. I'm still not sure what's wrong with these people, but I saw one of the skinhead that got shot fall to the ground. Then he got back up a little while later and started 'draggin himself towards us, ignoring the gun he'd dropped! I mean, I just don't get it. But maybe people suffering from this sickness don't have the wherewithal to use weapons? If that's the case, we don't have to worry about them shooting nukes off at least."

listen,(25)[dice]0[/dice]

Mrs Foo just looks sad. It was a terrible mess; one that the young people might spend their whole lives sorting out.

9:54 AM
In the kitchen-
"I don't know," said Cathy, "but it's too dangerous to go back there. I won't risk my boys, and I don't think Charlie would want you to put yourself in danger. If he can get back here to you, he will."

OOC,[b]Ellen[/b]'s Listen roll (51% skill) in the kitchen: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Cathy[/b]'s Listen roll (60% skill) in the kitchen: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Bobby[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the kitchen: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Scotty[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the kitchen: [dice]3[/dice]

In the private room-
"From what I've heard," said Major Andrews, "the infected don't use weapons, but that doesn't make them any less deadly. In large enough numbers they can rip you apart, and they also spread the infection. Their bite will do it, and even their touch may be contagious. Whatever you do, keep your distance from them. We have also had reports of them being able to sustain a lot of damage before going down."

OOC,[b]Mr. Foo[/b]'s Listen roll (58% skill): [dice]4[/dice]

Ms. Foo,Though it was hard to hear anything outside this room due to its insulated nature, [b]Ms. Foo[/b] did hear someone calling out "Anybody in here?" from outside the front door, followed by a knock on it.

Tony absorbs the new information silently.

9:55 AM
In the kitchen-
"Thanks," said Ellen. "But what if he did come back and found the place all barricaded up?"

In the private room-
"Understood," said Mr. Foo. "Is there any danger of any of your missile silos being overrun?"

"That's always a risk. We don't know the situation out there fully, as we're not able to communicate with the silos. We have choppers out on patrol that can get a view from the air."

"If that does happen, could the silo commanders detonate nukes if they fear their silos will fall?"

"Protocol is that the base commander has to authorize it, but there's no telling what they'll do at the silos if they're desperate and unable to contact us. There's also the chance that the base commander would authorize it."

Mr. Foo nodded. "The prevailing winds are east. If that happens, the fallout will pass directly over us."

"That is a danger. Do you have a fallout shelter?"

"Not at the motel. It's possible there's one at the T-Bone."

"I'd uh, rather not have any fallout to worry about," Tony says. "Hopefully no one does anything rash. After all, we still want there to be a country after we get this illness contained. Given what's happening 'round the world, we might be the only ones left."

"Will we have time to get in shelter?" Asks Mrs Foo "Maybe we stock up with food, just in case!"

9:56 AM
In the kitchen-
"Then he'll knock on the door and we'll let him in," said Cathy. "We'll have to move the barricades first of course."

"What if he's being chased?" asked Ellen. "There won't be time!"

"Well, then he could climb in the window. We'll open it for him. He'll be fine."

In the private room-
"So far, it's not a danger," said Major Andrews. "We're still in radio contact with the missile silos, and none of them are in immediate danger of being overrun. Our forces should reach your position before they are in danger."

"We're not the only ones left," said Mr. Foo. "We're still getting information from various spots around the world. If they were all down, we wouldn't be hearing anything. Things are worse in Asia and Europe than they are here. The problems seem to be moving westward. It started in Asia earlier, and now Europe's starting to get as bad as they were hours ago."

"We'll all sure be glad when your forces get here Major." Tony says. "But we'll hold down the fort until they do."

Mrs Foo listens in and nods wisely. "Ah yes, Asia, Yurope then next here. Maybe there is danger in the darkness. We get ready for nighttime!"
She cackles evilly.

9:57 AM
In the kitchen-
"I hope you're right," said Ellen.

In the private room-
"Do you know yet how long before they get here?" asked Mr. Foo.

"ETA is about forty minutes," replied Major Andrews. "The teams have been selected and are being equipped, and the choppers are being fueled and armed. It won't be long before they're ready to lift off. Keep me informed of anything that changes with the world situation. We're counting on you."

Tony looks at Mrs. Foo strangely. Gee, that old lady's creepy.

But hearing the news of the help coming cheers him up. He looks to Mr. Foo. "Mind if I go and tell my wife and kids the good news? I'll be back in a few minutes." Assuming the other man agrees he heads off.

When the younger man has gone, Mrs Foo says to her husband,

Mandarin,"My great grandmother had a favourite fairy tale about the darkness spreading across the land and with it came monsters and the people went mad as soon as it touched them. This reminds me of that."

9:58 AM
In the private room-
"Will do, Major," said Mr. Foo. "Foo out." He nodded as Tony left, then turned to his wife and spoke to her in Chinese.

Mr. and Ms. Foo,"I have heard something similar," he said, "but the madness was already here. It just needed a catalyst to bring it to the forefront, like a spark igniting a tremendous fire. It's been said that civilization is only three meals away from anarchy, but it didn't even take that long."

In the kitchen-
Ellen looked up as Tony entered. "Help yourself to some food and tea," she said.

"Hey, Dad," said Bobby. Scotty was too busy playing his Nintendo Switch, which he had plugged into a wall socket to save and recharge its battery power. Cathy nodded but didn't say anything.