SAMPLE MISSION 2 - BIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY

During archaeological excavations near Athena Greco, a necropolis dating back to 425 BC was discovered containing seven mausoleums. Each mausoleum consisted of several catacomb-like chambers. Only two of the mausoleum buildings remain intact. Soon after the discovery, the archaeologists fell ill, at first with strong fevers accompanied by redness and burning of the eyes, followed by vomiting of blood.Within one hour, victims' skin became severely ulcerated and bleeding was observed from all openings of the body. No personnel having direct contact with the site have survived longer than 4 hours.

A team from the CDZ and the US Army Medical Research Academy for Infectious Disease (USAMRAID) set up a field laboratory where they determined the cause of the epidemic to be a new strain of the Ebola virus. Dr. Jackson Gilbertman of the CDZ in Atlanta has reported that this is the most lethal strain of the virus investigated to date. In an interview earlier this week, Dr. Gilbertman stated that, "This is not really a new mutated strain of Ebola, but most likely an ancient strain that has been locked away in the Athenan tombs for almost twenty five hundred years."

What is most disconcerting, is the finding that this "new" (ancient) strain, dubbed "Ebola-A425", exhibits increasing evidence for possible airborne transmission. According to Dr. Gilbertman, "Researchers from USAMRAID have done formal aerosol experiments in which as little as 400 plague-forming units of Ebola-A425 caused a fatal disease in monkeys within four to five hours. All exposed monkeys developed Ebola-related pneumonia, and virus particles were found in many different areas of the respiratory system."

No one who entered the mausoleum chambers remains alive. A three kilometer quarantine radius around the site has been ordered by the government. In order to contain the outbreak, no one is allowed to enter or leave this perimeter. National Guard units from the Greco Ministry of Defense have been sent to the quarantine zone to suppress rioting that is on-going in the villages of Phaetalos and Necros which reside just inside the perimeter.

The Greco government has appealed through the United Federation of Nations for assistance in eradicating the threat by disinfecting the surface of the earth around the site through the use of a controlled fuel-air explosion, however the overpressure of the blast will destroy the mausoleum and its burial chambers. As recounted in a final transmission from the archaeological team prior to the sudden and violent death of its members, valuable and undocumented inscriptions on a hanging tapestry are contained over the most prominent sepulcher within one of the interior chambers. Above the entrance to the mausoleum containing the tapestry is the symbol for the sun god 'Ar' with rays pointing to the cardinal points and inscribed within the circle of life (see photo). Two great lights were set in place by the archaeologists to illuminate the front of this particular mausoleum for night excavations, and these are known to be operating still.

Your mission is to have an autonomous aerial robot carry sensors from the three kilometer perimeter into the mausoleum where it will locate the tapestry and relay pictures of the inscriptions back to scientists for analysis and translation. Because of delays in obtaining approval to conduct this mission, the reconnaissance run must be completed within 15 minutes of launch from the three kilometer safety perimeter due to the scheduled purifying explosion.