Mission 4. Bugs and Drugs

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A recent power outage was caused by a fight between to employees at a power station. Both men were killed in the scuffle after falling into a turbine. The altopsy revealed that one of the men had been under the influence of a narcotic of unknown origin. This narcotic had also been found in the blood streams over several other recent victims of remature death.

The Team's mission was to discover the source of the narcotic, assess the threat level it represented, and recommend any necessary actions.

The problem had so far been confined to the poor area's around the phobos space elevator, where the authorities had chosen to to take a lax attitude towards the local drugs trade, as cleaning it up had been judged to be unprofitable. This is where the team began it's work.

It soon become apparent that a recreational drug called "Bliss" was responsible. Sold as creating a low level, long term high, it's cheap price had helped it to become popular.

Dr. Lowell examined a sample of Bliss obtained by the team. He found that rather than being a pharmaceutical, the pills acted as a carry medium for a genetically modified parasite.

This parasite burrowed into the lining of the stumach and intestines. Once there, it excreted the toxins found in the victims blood stream. The initial effect was indeed to creat a low level high, but as the parasite multipled within the host the amount of toxin entering the blood stream increase, producing increasingly detremental effects such as loss of judgement, increased aggressive urges and halucinations. Most worrying of all, the parasites could be passed out with the hosts stools, entering the water system. Test showed that the parasite was resistant to standard water processing operations.

This raised an immediate problem with control the spread of the disease. While the team tuck measures to control the spread of the disease, RAM made sure that an emergency plan was in place. Durrant was supplied with an enough explosives to destroy the sector, if it was deemed necessary.

Meanwhile the team continued to track down the source of the Bliss parasite, tracing it first to a local gang known as "The Frat Boys", and from them back to a Lunarian warehouse manager on Phobos called Christian Merlot. He in turn was reciving shipments from members of the Black Brotherhood. However, after interceptin a shipment and interigating the pilot it was discovered that the pirates were only making the shipments under duress. They were beng intimidated by the Mercurian military into making the shipments, with threats of being hunted down by fully equiped warships if they failed to comply.

Given that creating a genetically engineered life form such as the Bliss parasite is technically demanding, it is questionable to to whether or not the Mercurians had the scientific skills to make it themselves. Given there wealth, it seems probable that it was created somewhere else. This ultimater supply remains unknown, though RAM operatives are working on the task.

Wipnail suggested a scheme to cover RAMs tracks and provide them with an opportunity to increase military spending and crack down on piracy, giving Mars a chance to increase it's contol over the space high ways. He suggested that the compound be detonated and the Black Brotherhood blamed for the assault. His plan was approved and implemented.