Author's Note: Interrupting the final phase of the trials here to put things in a new perspective. Things are still happening in Panem despite the demise of the old.

….

Disaster

In many respects, it was only a matter of time. People had been sent back to work for the good of the nation, but much of the old persisted. Equipment was old and no amount of improved safety regulations rushed through by the new Secretary for Labour was going to change that. Initial training had been poor to non-existent and new workers were being introduced to old systems. In retrospect, it was a recipe for disaster.

Poppy knew the decision to send workers back into the iron ore mines had been difficult. It had been one she agonised over and spent many hours in conversation with central government on. But ultimately, she signed off on the decision to send District Six's own workers back into the mines.

Now there had been a collapse at the largest mine. Land had fallen in on a large scale and left workers and equipment buried under the rubble. People had died as a result of her decisions. It was not the first time that had happened by any means. Poppy had lost count of the number of deaths she must have had a hand in. But it was supposed to be different now. For the affected families, it would seem as if nothing had changed at all, and for Poppy, she had let her people down after they had put their trust in her.

She was completely devastated but worked to resolve what she could straight away. Her office turned into a coordination task force, organising immediate rescue efforts, and galvanising the people and equipment they had. It was not lost on Poppy that rescue could be another dangerous task so she resolved to reward each brave worker appropriately as soon as she could.

Poppy had lost her own parents in a work accident when she was eight years old. The thought of rendering more children orphans or sending families into dire financial and material situations weighed heavily on her mind and she found herself second-guessing her decisions when she would usually feel confident.

She contacted Paylor's office to inform them and was immediately directed to General Connelly who would be tasked by the president to lead the governmental response. His first action was to gather a rescue effort from his home of District Thirteen, comprised of those prepared to work on the site itself as well as medics prepared to assist the doctors who had moved to Six in the previous months. They would be able to arrive quickly and could provide the most immediate assistance. To Poppy's surprise and immense gratitude, some of the rescue force consisted of survivors from Twelve who had worked the mines and similar rescue operations there. It seemed that people were willing to join a cross-district effort to help those in need.

Poppy had also contacted her fellow Governors. Merino in Eight was the first to respond, both as a friend of Poppy's and as a fellow leader. He acknowledged that there was little to spare in Eight but that he was going to prepare a shipment of bandages and dressings that were being made once more in his home. It was not much, but he was determined to do something, despite his lot in Eight.

The Governors in Seven, Two and the Capitol were especially keen to lend a hand. Teams of people, ready and willing to help were amassed and put on hovercrafts along with rescue equipment stored in the Capitol and from the quarries of Two. Districts could now collaborate, and the Capitol-based government was willing to help when one of the districts was in difficulty. They were determined to mitigate the impact of the disaster.

By the time rescue crews had arrived from the west, people from Six and Thirteen had cleared the perimeters of the impact. Those trapped on the outskirts had been freed and medical attention was being provided. The resources from Two would be needed to try to find survivors from those lost in the centre of the collapse.

Poppy had also arrived on the scene but was not met with the usual reception. People were angry, hostile to her presence and deemed her at least somewhat responsible. Camera crews which had arrived with one of the rescue teams managed to capture a moment where an angry relative of someone still trapped lashed out in her direction, only to come face to face with Linden, now guarding his partner.

Poppy was ushered back inside and returned to her office to continue coordinating the response efforts with central government. Meanwhile, additional crews were arriving from further afield in Six and other districts. People originally from Six but now living in the Capitol were trying to return home to assist wherever they could, and government figures were also planning to arrive imminently.

Such a disaster would have been felt on an even greater scale had the old system endured, Poppy realised. Now people could help if they wanted to, and the government were taking the lead in coordinating a cross-Panem aid effort. But it did not minimise the fact that people had died, and her people would be finding their now deceased colleagues within the mess of the mine.

Poppy had immediately suspended all mining work indefinitely and ordered the safe evacuation of all those currently working in Six's iron ore mines. Nobody else was going to be put at risk. There would have to be an alternative to resources produced in Six for a while and nationwide priorities would have to be adjusted. She was not going to sacrifice any more of her people.

….

General Connelly was charged with leading the government response to the crisis in District Six, but he was proud of the way people from across Panem had responded to their neighbour's need. His home was once again finding its place at the centre of the response, bringing its people, willing to risk themselves to aid a fellow citizen. Their doctors had reacted swiftly, sending whoever they could spare in the knowledge that medical care in Six was lacking despite all current efforts and that their geographic proximity would leave them the first incoming medics at the scene.

He was ready to visit, bringing with him a small contingent of government representatives. Timothee Bell, the Secretary for Labour would join him, sensing the first crisis of his role, and something he felt he shared some responsibility in. Bell figured his efforts so far were nowhere near enough. But the country had changed remarkably in such a short space of time and there was so much that needed to be done, no one person could achieve everything in mere months.

Sam Driscoll, the new Secretary for Transport was keen to return home. He had not worked the mines personally, but Six was his home and they were the people he represented whilst on the Council and he always had their interests in mind in his new role. He would show his support, provide a hopefully trusted link to central government, and help his people.

Halley was of course eager to be at her friend's side and was also planning to take a small contingent of scientists to conduct tests to assess the ongoing stability and safety of the mines for future use. She was also arranging a group who would arrive from both Three and the Capitol to fix and upgrade existing machinery and tools.

Given much of the work undertaken in District Six was essential for the national recovery, finding a way to continue work would be essential. They would need to diversify in order to help them now and in the future. The current system was not sustainable. But it would not be as straightforward as training people to set up power lines in Five and giving them the skills, knowledge and equipment to take home. Entire factories and plants would need to be built. Thirteen would have to increase its steel production capacity, production would need to take place in the Capitol, and perhaps as a long-term plan, production could be set up in District Twelve, making use of its proximity to Six.

General Connelly would hope that their arrival would not cause a further headache for Poppy and Six's wider leadership. Parts of the district were simply not ready to accommodate visitors and the government was also functioning from the half bombed-out former Justice Building, leaders having decided to prioritise rebuilding homes. Halley would stay with Poppy whilst the rest occupied the house in the Victors' Village opposite which once belonged to Max, District Six's first victor. They would take their rations with them so as to not take food from Six. They would do everything they could to help and not hinder Six's recovery.

….

It was a complete disaster. There was no other way around it. Lives had been lost, hundreds were injured and many more were putting themselves at risk in the rescue operation. Paylor knew sending people back into the mines was a difficult decision, that there were risks involved, but collectively the decision had been made. Production was necessary and steel was needed for key projects such as reconnecting the districts and facilitating inter-district trade. Infrastructure had collapsed and progress needed to be made.

But these people, like so many others before them, had fallen victim to governmental demands, to their needs being pushed further down a list of priorities. Paylor felt responsible for what had happened. In the Panem-District Trials, they were seeing the worst of the old, casting judgment on the past and Paylor felt as if they had made similar mistakes. People had died on her watch.

Nobody was so naïve to think that there would not be challenges nor that a new system would immediately make life infinitely better. But after the successes of the recent elections, the arrival of foreign aid and increasing public trust, this was a significant blow. How they respond would once again be a test.

But General Connelly had galvanised his people and was now in District Six. Her government would support the people, acknowledge their grief and work to make things better. They would also work to ensure that something of this sort could not happen again. Paylor trusted Halley and the scientists she had amassed to carry out their tests and determine the safety of the mines, not just in Six but in the other districts too.

It was another signal that wholescale change was needed. They could not bring in the new hampered by the old. Workers needed more than lunch breaks, shorter days, and increased pay. They needed to know they would not be killed or injured at work and with business in disarray, it was the job of the government to make it happen and to implement long-lasting standards.

Before General Connelly left for Six, the cabinet had decided on a motion of collective responsibility. They would acknowledge their part in what had happened, and the consequences of decisions made at governmental level leading to lives lost. Poppy would not shoulder the responsibility alone when she signed off on the decision on the back of evidence and plans led by them. More should have been done to ensure safety and readiness for a return to mining operations.

Paylor would deliver a statement to the nation and particularly the people of District Six where she would address the responsibility of her government. Statements would follow from General Connelly, Timothee Bell and Poppy about the rescue efforts, the status of medical treatment in Six and the plans for the coming days.

She would also need to address the matter of security for central and district leaders. Paylor had witnessed the incident caught on camera where an angry District Six resident lashed out in Poppy's direction. She could not have elected leaders under attack. Six's previous, immediate post-war leader had been killed and Paylor was not going to watch over attacks on or threats to other leaders. She had sent trusted security workers from the Presidential Mansion to the districts to assess each leader's security and to stay if necessary.

But when she made a direct call to Poppy's office in Six, she was informed that Linden had taken charge of Poppy's security arrangements. So, when Paylor had finished her speech and tuned into the broadcast from Six she was not surprised to see Poppy's arrival, flanked by Johanna and Enobaria whilst her men cleared the way first. Clearly, the victors would always look out for their own and only trust their own, and in all honesty, she could not blame them.

Like Poppy's own had rallied around her, Panem had come out in support of District Six and its workers. Even some of the survivors from Twelve were involved, using their unfortunately gained expertise in helping the rescue crews. Paylor had already resolved that a disaster like this was not going to happen again. Panem would become a safe place to work, and her government would have to reconsider its strategy to returning the country to work and productivity. The need for progress would have to be balanced with a review of working conditions, the equipment being used, and the training people had had. It would be another significant task, but one she was willing to undertake. Their efforts would be worth it if people could work and contribute to the national rebuilding without their personal safety being compromised. They had already started to make progress across many areas but an event such as this highlighted the challenges that were still ahead.