Olovom Strain Stories

''This page pertains to the collaborative "Thrive Universe" project, and is not necessarily part of Thrive's official development. More information here and here.''Original Post is here.

Hulgor, a trooper within Olovom Law Enforcement, stared into the rioting masses before him through his white helmet's visor, its glow as visceral a blue as Giree hemolymph. He kept a tight grip on his riot shield with his left hand, and clutched his stun baton in his right.

The new disease - the Olovom Strain, they'd called it - had raged for about half a year, and the civilian population had grown bold and restless. Of course, Hulgor believed, this was only the mask coming off - having once been a civilian himself, he could vouch that the average Directorate citizen was little more than a crazed, desperate animal. This view had never been stronger than it was now, with the enraged horde in front of him, beating against his shield and letting loose a chorus of vitriolic chants and profanities.

Of course, for the mask to come off in a place like the Directorate, there had to be a reason - his squad sergeant, Glovank, had briefed them that an emissary from the High Council itself had come to speak with local authorities. Speculation ignited among the common folk that there was an ulterior motive. Specifically, that the shuttle the envoy would arrive in was also loaded with a cure to the Olovom Strain, meant only for the authorities to use. Needless to say, even without proof on the matter, many Giree decided to come and demand this cure be distributed, or even seize it by force. Held at bay by the Olovom Law Enforcement squads (I mean, seriously, what did they expect? Hulgor had asked, to no one in particular), protesters and would-be looters alike snowballed into a mob.

One of the rioters grabbed ahold of Hulgor's shield, and earned a blow to the head for his troubles. Another snatched at the baton's head, only to recoil in pain at its high voltage. The crowd redoubled its efforts, forcing Hulgor and his peers to bash forward with their shields in order to maintain ranks. Even so, it looked as if the horde would break through at any moment.

Suddenly, the mob began to back away. The rioters in front of Hulgor diverted their gaze to to something above and behind him. As for Hulgor himself, he didn't need the crowd to quiet down in order to notice the ground's rhythmic tremors. Evidently, Olovom Law Enforcement had seen fit to escalate their response; the tremors were the footfalls of Discouragement Units.

In Hulgor's mind, the rioters had every reason to falter. Discouragement Units are towering machines designed with brutally effective crowd control in mind. Already, the air was filled with a shrill metallic sound, and some of the rioters, well aware of what would happen next, shoved their way through the crowd in a bid to escape. In seconds, however, the mechanical whines ended, replaced with the sight of small metallic canisters arching overhead, into the mob. A similar shrilling returned, this time organic in origin, as a sickly yellow mist rose.

A key thing to consider is the Giree's biological similarity to mollusks. For species like humans who needed to evolve thick, impervious skin, a careful response to the situation would leave them with irritated eyes at worst. However, to the rioting Giree, exposure to the gas was nothing short of excruciating. This was not the case for Hulgor and his fellow enforcers, thanks to air filters built into their helmets.

In a matter of minutes, the mob had retreated entirely. All that remained were faint trails of the yellow gas, and the cold metal canisters that had contained it. With the rioting over, Hulgor looked behind him. The first things he noticed were the gleaming Discouragement Units, the launchers on their right sides still primed for another barrage of canisters. Each main structure was shaped like a torso, with a blue visor-like targeting screen located along the "chest,' and supported by a pair of digitigrade legs.

The second thing Hulgor noticed was Sergeant Glovank - set apart from the troopers by his back armor, with shoulder protrusions - speaking with a Giree wearing a black trenchcoat and peaked cap, clearly a Directorate Intelligence Network agent. "Marvelous, aren't they?" The agent said, gesturing toward the Discouragement Units. "And piloted remotely. I don't doubt we'll have fully autonomous Units rolled out within the next decade." He cleared his throat. "So, Sergeant, I have it on good authority that Olovom Law Enforcement is experienced with ensuring civilian adherence to lawful commerce."

Glovank nodded. "We've ended several black market rings during our time of operation, sir. I served in a sting on one myself."

"Good, good," the agent said, nodding in turn. "Then I suppose your men are capable of doing to same to smugglers? We've received reports of smuggler activity on Olovom, apparently taking advantage of the recent epidemic. They've acted well outside of Directorate-sanctioned boundaries, and I would hate to see Olovom Law Enforcement fall short of stopping yet another facet of this humanitarian crisis."

"Of course not, sir," Glovank said.

"Excellent," said the agent, who patted Glovank on the shoulder. "Expect your superiors to brief you on these smugglers within the next few days." With this, the agent turned around and walked away.