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Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)


The Harvardville Airport Incident was a bioterrorist attack committed in the American city of Harvardville. The incident was perpetrated by Dr. Curtis Miller, who sought to force the United States government to reveal the cover-up of its involvement with Umbrella's bio-weapons market and development in the lead-up to Raccoon City Destruction Incident. Miller himself was used as a tool by Dr. Frederic Downing, the real mastermind of the attack, who planned to use the attack to highlight the need for the WP Corporation's new t-Vaccine, and demonstrate its effectiveness to any groups interested in purchasing both the t-Virus and its vaccine over the black market. This attack is also notable in having taken shortly after the arrest of Federal Bioterrorism Commission head Morgan Lansdale; as such, the clean-up operation was instead handled by the United States Army Rangers.

Background[]

As a result of the 2004 Terragrigia Panic, the effectiveness of bioweaponry was demonstrated to terrorist organizations, who sought to add viral weapons such as the t-Virus to their armories. WP Corporation, a major American pharmaceuticals manufacturer, was quickly hired by the Pentagon to develop a vaccine for the virus in order to limit the damage. Its Research & Development head, Dr. Frederic Downing, motivated by greed, instead plotted to destroy much of the vaccine and smuggle surviving samples to any interested black market buyers along with the virus itself.

Planning[]

Downing constructed a large plan that would allow him to escape while shifting any blame onto others. In the first stage of the plan, Downing sold t-Virus samples to a small terrorist cell of Miguel Grandé loyalists around August 2005. Terrorists had previously used the virus in a bioterror attack in India. In accordance with the top-secret Anti-Virus Weapon Protocol No. 7600, President Graham ordered for immediate military aid to assist in eradicating the biohazard threat, hiring the WP Corporation as a private contractor to provide its experimental t-Vaccine for their efforts, despite the unethical nature of testing new vaccines on humans. TerraSave, at the time still a small American NGO and protest group, was "leaked" purposefully limited information as to the attack by Downing, leading them to believe that the WP Corporation had conducted illegal and inhumane vaccine trials in India which they were attempting to cover-up. The resulting pressure weakened the WP Corporation's stocks, and put the company in danger.

In the second part of the plan, possibly taking place in October, Downing provided Curtis Miller with samples of the t-Virus. Having lost his family in the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident and having grievances with both the WP Corporation and the United States government, Downing intended to have Curtis (having already been ejected as a member of TerraSave for his extremist behaviors) publicly commit the attacks in Harvardville, so that his role in events would go unnoticed. Curtis met with either Downing, or a representative of his, at the Savoy Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

Finally, Downing planned to distribute the WP Corporation's entire shipment of the t-Vaccine to assist in the planned attack. This would work to limit the initial damage and prove its usefulness before having them destroyed in order to make the samples sold to terrorists the only ones in existence while, again, blaming everything on Miller.

Airport attack[]

On October 23, 2005, the t-Virus was released into Harvardville Airport as WP Corporation researchers traveled to Harvardville for the National Medicine Conference taking place in the city. Senator Ron Davis was also in attendance. Known for his heavy investment in the WP Corporation stock and his role in the sterilization of Raccoon City, he became a controversial figure lauded for conflict-of-interest when defending the company after the India bioterror attack. Also in the airport was Frederic Downing himself, who wanted to be in the area ready for the attack, officially awaiting a meeting with Davis. Both in and outside were TerraSave protesters, further represented by Claire Redfield.

A man infected by Miller, Wolfgang Johnston, was let loose into the terminal awaiting Atmos Airlines aircraft where the delegates were to arrive through. The airport police chief and two of Davis' personal bodyguards were infected in the first few minutes, with panic ensuing quickly. The terminal was closed for the evacuation, though Redfield was able to rescue Davis and several other survivors and find shelter in a VIP room. Downing and Miller successfully escaped, with the latter being recognized by Redfield.

Downing of Flight N538-GA‏‎ []

Degeneration - Crashed aeroplane from outside

The passenger plane carrying the first victims of the outbreak crash lands into the airport.

A second attack took place in the air as Flight N538-GA was attacked by an infected passenger. A WP Corporation employee invited to the congress was infected prior to the trip by an unidentified individual. Transforming into a Zombie, he began attacking the passengers and crew. The aircraft, now out of control, crashed into the airport terminal shortly after landing, allowing the infected who survived the crash to escape into the airport.

Rescue[]

Degeneration - Airport quarantine from above

The airport was quickly placed under quarantine and sealed-up while the state Department of Health and USAMRIID investigated if the t-Virus was involved. Outside the airport the Special Response Team, a Harvardville special police unit, organized the lock down as medical tents were brought in with a number of doctors. Airport survivors were then slowly allowed out through the entrance and taken to the tents for a full check-up. The WP Corporation sent its entire stock of t-Vaccine in anticipation of it being the t-Virus.

Degeneration - Leon and the SRT unit

The rescue team discuss the plans of their mission.

By nightfall, the government had reached the verdict the agent was indeed the t-Virus and President Graham called for the immediate elimination of all samples through use of special forces personnel. US-STRATCOM agent Leon S. Kennedy was ordered to the scene; having experience with the virus in Raccoon City, he led S.R.T. members Greg Glenn and Angela Miller - herself the sister of Curtis Miller - into the airport via helicopter to take part in a mission to rescue Congressman Davis. The rescue team united with the VIP room survivors, by this point the only uninfected people remaining, and made a run for the main entrance. The escape proved dangerous, with Davis accidentally knocking over a child and Glenn being bitten and infected. The group, sans Glenn, successfully exited the building otherwise unharmed and received immediate sterilization. With no other survivors left inside the building, a United States Army Rangers unit moved in and eradicated the remaining hostiles.

Claire soon after learned of Downing's connection to WP Corporation and that the secretive vaccine trials they had conducted in India had been sanctioned aid in response to a bioterror attack that had been covered up in order to avoid further escalation and conflict with the Republic of Bajirib. She also learned that it was because of TerraSave's actions, that the company were unable to act quicker in inoculation, resulting in more casualties (including Glenn's). Nevertheless, as the use of WP's experimental t-Vaccine was inevitably cleared and after inoculations were finished, a bomb hidden in the WP Corporation truck exploded, destroying the remainder of the WP Corporation's samples. This served as a pretext for Claire Redfield to be invited to the WP Corporation's Air Dome Laboratory by Downing, where yet another attack was being planned.

Appearances[]

Appearances for the Harvardville Airport Incident

In chronological order:

Sources[]

  1. Resident Evil: Degeneration
  2. Resident Evil Archives II. BradyGames. p. 215. 
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