The piece of metal that Meredith had brought in had defied analysis so far. All that Leo and his team could confirm was that it was holy, but not its origins, purpose or even what it was made of.
Field Director Stanfield entered the room, and sat down at the head of the table. Z, Leo and Harland accompanied him. Z smiled at Cade, and Leo whistled appreciatively at Meredith
"Agents," Stanfield said, getting right to the point. "I'm sure you remember Carol Branning. There's bad news, I'm afraid. The young girl's is ill. Extremely sick."
"And we're ninety percent certain that it's do with the prophecies she's been making," Leo added, looking at a folder. "The symptoms are that of a severe case of the flu, but her medical readings are completely off the chart. Don't match any form of illness, bacterial, viral, genetic or supernatural, that we know of."
"And we're eighty percent sure that the prophecies themselves are coming from some sort of possession, though we're not sure as to the exact nature of it. Standard tests haven't revealed anything, and the more extensive ones are, well, impossible to perform while she's alive," said Harland.
"I won't lie, the Institute is very interested in her prophecies. But we will not sacrifice her in order to get them," Stanfield continued. "We have a team of medical scientists versed in the supernatural studying her condition and trying to forumlate a cure as we speak, but I have another lead I want you to follow up on."
"If it is possession, there are rituals we can use to remove the entity from her, safely. However, we need more information on said entity before we can perform one, otherwise we risk doing more harm than good. Especially since that we'd probably only get one shot at it," explained Harland.
"There's an archeological dig going on about forty miles north of Delphi. According to Dr Norman Ryland, the leader fo the expedition, he believes that he's found a network of caves that was used as a special site by the priests at the Oracle of Delphi, though he's unsure as to the exact nature of the site. Needless to say, if there's any information to be found on the exact nature of the Carol's affliction, it's going to be here. We've arranged for scientific and press credentials for you, as well as made the necessary arrangements for you to join the team. They'll be entering the caves shortly, according to our information. You're to blend in, assist them, and locate any information that could be of use to help Carol. In particular, information concerning the origin of prophecies, and if it is possession, what sort of entity is the possessor."
"Your prior experience with Carol, limited as it was, suits you better for this task than any other team we have available, in addition to Dr. Wells archaeological experience. And, of course, your field experience with the Institute means that you'll be far more likely to pick up on supernatural activity that regular archeologist's will just pass off as mythology."
"The ideal outcome to this operartion will be for Carol to remain alive, healthy and still capable of reciting prophecy. If keeping her a prophet isn't an option, then we need to know more about the nature of the mechanism behind the prophecy. Predicting the future is one of the top directives that the Administration has given since the Institute was founded. A private plane from the Insitute is waiting at the airport for you. Any questions?"
OOC: If you haven't done it already, please get your updated character sheets into the Rogue's Gallery.
