❪ test drive: #1 - the overflow ❫

[natha]

YOUR STORY BEGINS     The Storm came. You only remember darkness, but you don't remember much after that. All you know, perhaps, is that it was cold as you slept. You don't know for how long you slept, but the dreams were short, at least. You remember the expanse of stars and the universe that came in view. Every world and solar system ever known was displayed in your dreams in careful, pristine detail. You have also witnessed The Storm, which has devoured a fair portion of these galaxies. It was a dark, thick smog; ominous in appearance and ever foreboding. Your Earth and similar planets were immersed in The Storm. Somehow, you knew it would be the last you'd see of it. That was when she told you what happened, and how you can help. You knew that you'll be living somewhere new, even though you never asked for it. The details here weren't clear, but you knew you'd made a deal with Darma. Not long after, you'll wake at Thesa Station — Your body is still cold. It was all a dream, but somehow, you knew it wasn't — now, will you keep that promise you made to Darma? PROMPT: THE MESS HALL     It's fascinating to the Orbiters how such a dull room can be turned around so completely with people in it. All meals are served by Roman, and while all the food is delicious, some of it is a bit odd. Is that neon green soup? That’s hideous. If you happen to be in the mess hall at a particularly unlucky time, you and the food will suddenly begin to drift. Someone’s got jokes, and they’ve turned off the gravity control. Now it’s just you, your fellow refugees, and the floating sea of food. Wait, did that person just chuck a pie in your direction? PROMPT: TRAINING MODULES     While it’s all nice and well to familiarize oneself with Thesa Station, it is most advised that new arrivals venture out a bit. Not physically. No one is quite prepared for that yet. However, there will be several virtual reality training programs set for those who dare to be adventurous. For those who aren’t and don’t dare, well— good luck, all the same. Be advised, however, that participating in one of the training modules will start you off favorably with the Natha Orbiters’ in terms of REPUTATION. Once seated and appropriately strapped in, the system will automatically whir to life and the dense foliage and forestry of a section of El Nysa will open up. According to one’s map registry, it clear to see that it’s miles from the outer gates of Olympia, but not as far enough to venture into any other territories. So, in that sense, you’re safe. 1. Or you could have been, but unfortunately the wilderness is home to various types of beasts and monsters hailing from different universes and galaxies. On the bright side, perhaps one of them will be oddly familiar to you. Or maybe someone else who is currently synced is willing to give you that extra helping hand. Fortunately, if you’re powerless, there are options. From telekinesis to flight, there are strange abilities one can adopt and “test” out in the virtual reality. Granted, you’re only limited to one at a time. They say in the near future, some of you may be granted these abilities under certain conditions. But, please practice some caution. You aren’t alone in the system, after all. 2.. Who do you fight for, the VR system will ask you individually before you enter the module. The righteous Olympians, or the free-spirited Wyvers? Whatever your choice, when you enter El Nysa, you will wholly and truly believe your allegiance. A. Working together: You now have to suffer the consequences of your choice, as you and your partner have been captured by guards of the opposite faction. Now jailed and soon-to-be tortured, you must find some way to negotiate your release. Perhaps you’ll find some means to escape without detection. Maybe you’re the “fight your way out” sort of people. B. Facing your enemy: That person you stepped into the VR with? They’re out to capture you. Or maybe you seek to capture them. 3. When you enter the virtual reality, things aren’t exactly how they’re supposed to be. Maybe that’s natural, especially if this is your first time, but the problems here seem a bit more fundamental. Maybe you find yourself under a parental safety lock, and you’re suddenly censored. Exposed back? Censored. Body suit? Censored. Or replaced with a mascot costume. Worst of all? You can’t sign out. Not right now, at least. Regardless, whatever it is— ridiculous filters, body alterations, or even body swaps with other users... you are assured it’ll all be fixed with due time. Zasere sends his humblest apologies and promises no more wire chewing, or so the announcement states. PROMPT: STASIS UNIT     You have found the massive section of Thesa known as the Stasis Unit. There’s no special access required to access this part of Thesa Station, but refugees are warned that it may not be for the faint of heart. Here, in large pods that nearly cover every square inch of the space, are all of the people the Orbiters have managed to rescue. Your loved ones, your greatest enemy, your next door neighbor— you might find them here. These people are in a state of deep cryosleep. Due to the damaging effects of The Storm, their bodies are not yet ready to be awoken. PROMPT: HANGAR STATION     You find your way to the hangar station. Here rests are a factory worth of docked mobile suits. You recall how the Orbiters had previously spoken of a "space frontier," but only after seeing this you realize how real their words are. Most machinery have marks of wear and tear, assurance that they have indeed been used before, and an assembly of others are going through repairs and maintenance. No one seems to care that you've just strolled in. In fact, there seems to be a couple of the aircraft that beckon you to take a closer look. Maybe you’ll only look on the outside, maybe you'll be greeted by the hand of a mobile suit extending toward you and welcoming you to its cockpit. You go out and explore SPACE!!! Unfortunately, that mobile suit should have warned you it only had 20 minutes of flight time left in its system. Or, perhaps, you’re a particularly ambitious pilot and you’ve strayed past the designated perimeter. Either way, the HUD display is now blinking with errors, cropping up with a single message: DISTRESS SIGNAL. 1. You’re the poor sap who happened to chill around the Observation Deck. Unfortunately, everyone seems busy with the influx of mobile suits out and about, and the only one who can answer this distress signal is on the Navigation System, well, you. Hope you can figure out the controls fast enough. Guide the pilot back to the safety of the hangar using the most efficient route possible. Keen Navigators will find an instruction manual that provides a shortcut to automatically return a suit back to base. 2. You’re actually sitting in a two-seater mobile suit. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Maybe you were unwittingly dropped down a hatch, or dragged along for a joyride by your ambitious co-pilot. Either way, it looks like help is going to take some time... PROMPT: OMAGE     Upon receiving your mobile phone, you will be asked to set a username. Voila, you can now access the network! You can choose to send a message to the entire network, specific usernames, or you can try out the Orbiters’ service, Omage, which connects you to a random user. They thought this might be a good way for their new guests to make friends with each other... Connecting to server... Looking for someone you can chat with... You’re now chatting with [username]... Say hi! PROMPT: WILDCARD     You are welcome to write any scenarios in Thesa Station! Characters have been granted temporary access to the Observation Room, and are encouraged to study it carefully. FINAL OOC NOTE     These threads may be carried over as game canon if players choose! Players are encouraged to submit TDM threads as application samples, but they are not required. Please direct any OOC questions to the questions thread below! A Training Module thread of AC length on the TDM may be submitted for 1 NATHA ORBITER REPUTATION POINT after acceptance. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

training!!

[insurgent]

[ Jyn Erso has been locked away before, has fought on the prison yard (and lost), and has been known to escape, on occasion. Normally in such situations, she has help. A concealed weapon, a contact on the outside...a sassy robot.

Here, she has Rhys. And her cellmate is certainly...lively, if nothing else. An improvement on the last one, who promised to kill her. For a few minutes, she remains silent, eyes wandering the cell as she fiddles with her kyber crystal necklace. Sometimes, structural integrity becomes second to efficiency, in times of war. ]

[ Sharply — ] Why would they want us to fight for them, if we can't even defend ourselves?

[ Translation: stop whinging before the bosses decide that they're both useless. They're meant to be soldiers, aren't they? By design, a simulation ought to include a route to success — a win, even if the other paths proves deadly. She doesn't doubt that any pain will feel real, at the very least.

She tilts her chin up, challenging. ]

Does that arm of yours do anything?

[ anything useful, of course, like shoot lasers. ]

[rhygret]

Wh--yes?? I don't see how though, the tech these guys are using is practically nonexistent.

[ Rhys is so used to using his arm for hacking and data mining that he regularly forgets that it's a robot arm and actually pretty strong. This happens to be one of those times as he turns to look at Jyn, annoyed. ]

We might as well be at the dawn of time here. [ An exaggeration. ] I can't hack anything these guys are using!

[ Rhys is not a soldier. Or a fighter. Or even a very solid tactician (at least, no one ever listens to his plans when he comes up with them). He's a businessman and before that, middle-management. Rhys's combat experience mostly consists of trying not to die, and wondering how he made it out alive. Probably some sort of cosmic lucky break. Several of them. ]

[insurgent]

[ A hacker, huh, she files that away for another time. Normally, his skills would be useful, but they're both far from advanced prisons like Wobani.

Without warning, Jyn walks up to him and, if he doesn't move away, she'll grab his arm, lightly attempting to pull it her way for a closer look. Her own annoyance has given way to curiosity. Plotting, not squabbling, is what's going to get them out of here. ]

How sturdy is it?

[ Can she use it as a crowbar... even though it's attached to person... maybe.

Look, these jail bars appear old school, maybe even rusty, so the jailbreak methods need to be suitably retro as well. ]

[rhygret]

Pretty sturdy? Why?

[ Things Rhys constantly forgets: that while he does have a robot arm for practical job purposes it is also a robot arm and therefor much stronger than his human one. He can actually lift his own weight and then some with it which is saying something.

Nine times out of ten? He punches with his non-robotic. It's sad. Which means he also doesn't quite follow Jyn's train of thought just yet, holding up and flexing his chrome palm. ]

[insurgent]

[ Ah, there it is — hope for an escape, glimmering in chrome. Jyn drops his hand and moves her attention to the grate or jail bars on the fourth wall of their cell, pushing and prodding metal to test for weaknesses. ]

Because now we have options. [ WELL. She stands again and gives him a once over. Despite her efforts to appear neutral, a frown pulls at the even line of her mouth. ] Do you know how to throw a punch? A proper one.

[ Dude looks pretty wiry, though she can't really fuss about appearances, being half a foot shorter than him and still trying to order him around. He mentioned the hacker thing, though, which makes him fall more on the side of desk jobs than field work. ]

[rhygret]

[ To be fair plenty of people shorter than Rhys have either kicked his ass or tried to kill him, so it's really not that much of an advantage for him. Especially when he looks over to his left hand at the mention of a punch.

His flesh and blood one. ]

...Yyyeah. Sure? Yes. I mean come on, it's a punch. It's not like it's, it's hard or anything. [ Rhys has totally thrown a punch before. ]

[insurgent]

[ While she follows his gaze, she doesn't comprehend the extent of their miscommunication. Fortunately, she isn't convinced by his reassurances, either, if only because of the times she wandered back to Saw Gerrera, more bruises than skin.

If you've ever thrown a punch properly — painfully, then you know that your knuckles may bleed.

Perhaps metal is more forgiving. ]

It is hard. [ said without mocking. One hand flexes and releases at her side. Muscle memory. ] I fractured my hand, the first time I punched a boy. [ because of course it was a boy. ] Show me your fist.

[ So demanding... ]

[rhygret]

[ Is it sad that when she says "punched a boy" Rhys immediately assumes that's a threat and he just needs to maybe shut up a little? He won't, of course, but he does let out this awkward, forced laugh as he gives Jyn a little more room than before. ]

Right... That's. I've had that happen before. I-I mean I didn't fracture it or anything, and they were an adult and all but it hurt?

[ ...This is sounding less and less impressive. ]

Why--why do you ask, exactly?

[insurgent]

[ Jyn once again can't surmise why he's nervous. She cants her head to the side, visibly assessing Rhys once more. Is the arm the result of some traumatic injury? Do tiny girls often have a go at him? Whatever leaves him skittish makes her life more difficult. Is it a little sad? Sure.

If it helps, there's a non-zero chance that she'll punch him at some point. Not today, hopefully, but stay tuned. ]

[ softer. ] Because if you throw a punch with your metal arm, we can break these bars. [ She makes a sweeping gesture towards their prospective exit. ] 'Course you have to get it right the first time, or we'll attract the guards' attention.

[ Successful or not, they'll be noisy. ]

[rhygret]

Ohhhh...oh! That's what you meant.

[ His beautiful face lives to charm another day and Rhys's mood improves considerably. But that does leave the issue of their escape riding on his ability to punc, which is admittedly near-nonexistent. ]

Yeah, alright. I guess that could...work? I mean I didn't guild it with punching through iron jail bars but how hard can it be, right?

[insurgent]

They're old and rusty. You're new.

[ Definitely the nicest thing she has said to him so far, as thanks for going along with her idea. She strides over to him, intent on showing him exactly how he needs to do this to minimise the risk. Facing him, she extends her arm and balls her hand into a fist. ]

You know you tuck the thumb under your other fingers but not inside them, yeah?

[ phrased as such to show some faith in him... but not enough for it to go unsaid... ]

[rhygret]

I...did not know that, actually. [ But it's good to? That probably explains why it hurt so much that one time he punched a bandit.

...The first time he punched a bandit. The second time Jack had taken control of his arm and guided him through it and used his robot arm instead of his human one. That helped.

Rhys copies her instructions now though, metal fingers curling into an unpractised fist. ]

Is this right?

[insurgent]

[ Something pulls her mouth upward, almost a smile. ]

Yeah, actually. [ Well. ] A bit tighter under — you want to hit with your knuckles, not the flats of your fingers. Also — [ she steps forward and if he doesn't pull away, she'll use her demonstrating hand to gently pull his wrist, aligning his fist with his foreearm and angling the wrist slightly down. ]

Start aligned but pointed down. And then you just, y'know, swing. Don't wind it up, but do follow through. [ glancing up, she searches his face for comprehension. ]

[ She remembers lunging for the boy, the way her hand vibrated from the improper swing, how he knocked her to the ground. How she had to fight dirtier than she intended to turn the tables.

This isn't too high stakes, being in a simulation. All Rhys has to do is loosen the bars, enough to pull a piece out or dislodge a gap big enough for a tiny gal. ]

[rhygret]

[ He doesn't pull away and actually watches pretty carefully even if he does seem a bit distracted. Rhys glances back to Jyn's face a few times since it's not very often anyone gets this close to him and takes hold of his hands. It's almost never now that he thinks about it, actually, and he feels just subtly hyper-aware of it.

Almost enough that he gets a little distracted and stops listening. ]

--Follow through, got it. Should be a piece of cake, h-heh.

[ That's just his usual stuttered laugh. It's not any more anxious than normal or anything as Rhys moves past her and heads over to the bars, looking down at his cybernetic hand.

It is definitely not made for punching.

This will probably be fine.

Rhys lifts his arm and pulls back the way he remembers feeling jack guide it, clenches his fist tight...and then swings it forward into the bars with a loud, resounding CLANG! that the guards with definitely hear. But on the bright side? The metal actually bends and warps outwards when it happens, the hinges in the wall shuddering as grit and dust fall from the fastenings. ]

[insurgent]

[ Well, that went far better than she hoped. Her eyes widen a fraction, but she wastes no time. With a much harsher touch than last time, she claps Rhys on the back — or maybe it's more of shove forward. Compact as she is, she darts forward seconds after and slips through the opening.

This is where the fun starts, right? The familiar thrill of escape. ]

Told you it'd be fine. [ not in so many words... ] C'mon.

[rhygret]

Y-yeah, that went...well. Surprisingly, heh.

[ Rhys did not think it would?? But she's already moving on ahead which means he doesn't get very long to pat himself on the back (mentally, it's more gentle) before he's struggling to follow after her. He's not nearly so compact so it takes a bit of work and turning sideways to follow her out the opening he's made.

Just in time to hear some shouting from down the hall. ]

--Weeee should get moving.