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Entry tags:
❪ test drive #7 ❫
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YOUR STORY BEGINS  The Storm came. You remember darkness, but you don't remember much after that. You don't know how long you slept, but the dreams were short. You remember the expanse of stars and galaxies in your direct view. Every world and solar system ever known to man was present in your dreams in careful, pristine detail. You also witnessed the Storm, which has devoured a fair portion of these galaxies. Your Earth and similar planets were assimilated by the Storm. Somehow, you knew it would be the last you'd see of your world. That was when she told you what happened. You knew that you'd be living somewhere new. The details weren't clear, but you knew it was a part of a deal with the entity known as Darma - once, you might have been able to speak to her, but now you are only met with silence. When you awake, you will find yourself in Thesa Station. Your body is still cold, you're hungry, and the halls seem frighteningly bare somehow. EMPTY HALLS ![](https://i.imgur.com/G8jldQW.png") Despite the absence of Darma and the rest of the Natha Orbiters, the station is still managing to sustain itself. Those that dig within the station’s log will find that it’s currently in some sort of Energy Saving Mode. While Thesa isn’t at risk of failing any time soon, people will notice that the ship will appear more dim and desolate. Malfunctions will be common, and while none seem to be life-threatening (yet), they are notably inconvenient. Fortunately, it seems the Orbiters were prepared for the worst, and in a potential response to these concerning turn of events, they've prepared some help.
The virtual assistant takes a wide variety of shapes, from adorable animals to metal paper clips with googly eyes. Regardless of what form they take, their mission is clear: to help in any way they can. It’s unfortunate, however, that they just haven’t been calibrated properly. Hence, they will appear at the strangest times— in the middle of dinner or an important conversation— sometimes they won’t even offer anything useful. Apparently they were designed after a program that existed once, but who really knows.... However, while they may seem like nothing but trouble at first, there are many occasions in which they can actually help. They are equipped with a whole wealth of information on how to keep the station operational. They can offer tutorials and step-by-step instructions on how to fix various aspects of the station and beyond. Their knowledge is extensive, and if they believe the refugee they're assigned to needs a different kind of help (a lesson in smiling or how to have adequate small talk being some of the many topics they're equipped to teach), well ... they're not against supplying it. Expect some invasive teaching. The virtual assistants are also all synced together. Meaning, if there’s a big enough problem, they can ping one another and assign refugees to help with certain parts of the ship. The only problem is that prioritizing may not be their strong suit. What seems like a simple issue could be exacerbated into a huge ordeal. What someone thinks is a fire in the main hatch could actually be a plumbing issue near the Mess Hall. They also seem to assign people arbitrarily. One can only hope all the refugees get along. SEND HELP  While no specific parts of the station are necessarily offline, a lot of the tasks the station would normally complete on its own will need to be handled manually. Fortunately, the main functions of the station are more than accounted for, however everything else will be up to the refugees. As there is no telling when the Natha Orbiters will return, perhaps it’d be wise to take this opportunity to learn to be a little more self-sufficient on Thesa Station. 1. There are some areas the Station can’t automatically clean without exiting its current emergency protocols. Each of these areas will be marked off on the map provided by Thesa's very own virtual assistant, Yppilc. According to Yppilc, one of the key places that would benefit from a good wash down is the airlock. As a fair amount of foreign matter travels through these doors, special suits will be provided for those cleaning the area. The suits will have a built-in communications system and will also include its own oxygen tank. A helpful feature to have, just in case someone may be swept out into space. Which happens more often than one would think! Cleaning too close to the controls can trigger the doors to open… they’re sensitive. The oxygen tank isn’t equipped to last very long, so you can only help comes soon. GIFTS FROM THESA  The Natha have bequeathed their will unto the refugees, the burden of watching over their dear planet not given without a token of trust. Everyone, those newly awakened and those already settled, will receive periodic urging from Yppilc to visit the VR facilities. These messages will grow more frequent, more frantic, the longer they go ignored - for the sake of sleep, it’s best to indulge the request. Load into the simulation, and the scene is mired by the confusion of battle. You and another stand on a low hanging precipice, overlooking a failing front line. The location and conditions of the fight vary, drawn from the memories and fears of the participants themselves. Olympia and Wyver, locked in a caustic war - and your new home is succumbing. Or your homeland, entrenched in conflict from the past, or from a dreaded future. While the scene laid out before you is chaotic, one thing stands clear; your allies are fighting a losing battle. Comrades fall, innocents flee, and the wounded cry out for help. The program has determined what could best spur you and your comrade to intervene, though the more stubborn refugees may need additional goading from their partners. Your next action determines more than the outcome of the fight before you. Choose wisely - this message is conveyed mentally in a garbled voice that sounds familiar and ethereal all at once. Jump into action and fight. Save an ally - perhaps even your partner in this simulation - from certain death. Or help those who cannot help themselves. Act, and you will find yourself imbued with a new power. Use it, and the scene will soon come to a close. Despite returning to the reality of Thesa Station, you’ll find this newfound power still within your grasp. A gift from Darma, to aid in the battles to come. OOC Note: Feel free to give your character any one power that would be classified as a ‘major spell’ on the ACP rewards table. These powers can fall under any category (Unaffiliated, Natha, Olympia, or Wyver), and must be reported by existing characters and new applicants here under the most appropriate header no later than September 8th 11:59PM EST. Please include a brief description of the power you’ve chosen. You will receive a response within 48 hours if there are any modifications required. SOCIAL-LINKED(in) By some miracle, there are still some quieter parts of the hall. This may be an appropriate time to check out your smartphone. Aside from the expected "Omage" app, there seems to be a new one called Social-Linked. There, you may find a profile waiting to be posted. The app allows for the user to fill it in, but there is also an auto-function! upon pressing it, it will generate a shockingly-honest answer based on the Natha's observation of your history. Roman will be your only friend in this app, with his very own profile: PROBLEMS IN STASIS  1. The ship’s malfunctions have reached the stasis chamber, a long feared outcome finally dawning on sleeping friends and families. Yppilc will be quick to notify all refugees aboard that the pods will need close monitoring. Whether you’re visiting to keep an eye on things, or simply there to see the face of someone dear, be careful. Bumping a control panel, or drawing a hand along the glass could trigger an emergency ejection. Lights blink and a mechanism hisses, and then the pod is gone. With the pod thrust into space, you’ll be left with nothing but a small screen displaying the chamber’s position. There are ways to retrieve it— such as climbing into a suit from the airlock or following Yppilc’s instructions. Regardless of approach, it’s imperative that you stay calm. One error, and you could eject another pod or cut off the view screen entirely. 2. The newly awakened won’t find a moment of respite. The errors that pervade over the rest of the station have altered the contingencies for resuscitation in a majority of the pods. Some may awaken with gaps in their memory, or an old injury yet unhealed. Some may be afflicted with new ailments, such as loss of a sense or severe nausea. Anything could happen, with the computer systems processing so inconsistently. Interfacing with Thesa in any way, from entering the VR simulator to accessing the medical facilities, can cause the same range of side effects, so even established refugees should take caution. FINAL OOC NOTES
As always, feel free to wildcard prompts within Thesa Station!
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. Players may submit an AC-length thread HERE from this TDM for 2 Natha REP. The due date for submission is September 16 11:59 PM EST. For this application cycle, there will be a cap of 60 and no reserves. Applications will be open on September 2 12:01 AM EST and end on September 4 11:59 PM EST. Thank you! |
poor keith
[God it's almost like it's Keith who just woke up from a supposedly months long nap, was informed that there are Balmera sized holes in his memory and that Earth was totally destroyed on top of everything else going on fpr being such a Debbie Downer.]
We're still throwing that party when they wake up though.
[Just so they're clear on that Very Important Point (tm).
But so long as Lance is now leading the way, he's inevitably going to poke his head into the wrong room because he doesn't know where things are on the space station and following his gut instinct really means following Yppilc's not so subtle mental prods to head to the VR facility.]
Woah....
[This isn't where he meant to be, but somehow it feels like he's supposed to be here. Weird. He enters the room to find a simulation all ready to go waiting for some kindly passing soul to hit start.]
What's this?
STOP LOOKING AT HIM AND TOUCHING HIM
That'd be kind of nice, if only their stay weren't so fleeting/questionable/etc. Then again, that's just how life is to begin with.
Consenting, being pleasant about anything would be to whiplashy, so he'll just mutely agree to the idea of a Small Celebration should the rest of the team wake. Similarly, Lance's nosiness goes unacknowledged just on principle. Lance being Lance. He's got every right to be curious, investigative of everything. It's all new.
He won't pipe up until asked; he's in the midst of stepping along and ultimately ahead of Lance as he ducks into the VR room--]
It's a virtual simulation area.
[Indifferently, more or less. He will follow in tow, per order.]
Anyone can use it. It's kind of like what we had back at the Garrison.
/AGGRESSIVE HAIR RUFFLES
Unable to help himself, he grins as Keith steps ahead and then makes his way over to the control area to take a closer look at the equipment.]
So these are... flight simulators? Battle simulators?
[There are some troubling questions to be asked about why the Natha want the refugees trained in these areas. The implication hasn't gone completely over Lance's head there, but rather than playing twenty questions with Keith he thinks it'd be easier to just... go for it. Keith did say they were for anyone to use so it's not like he's going to break something, right. He experimentally hits a button and the room immediately goes dark.
And stays dark for a couple of uncomfortably long seconds.]
...Uh. Is that supposed to happen...?
[Mercifully, the system boots up after and the two of them find themselves standing on the precipice of a cliff looking down at... what might be Plaht City, but the scene is grim. A Galra cruiser hovers above the decimated city, and soldiers march on the ground taking any human survivors captive. A guerilla force of civilians and Garrison members armed with primitive weapons rush out to make one last attempt to drive out the invaders or die trying.
Lance goes tense as he watches this, hands curling into fists at his sides. It's just a simulation, it's not real -- but that's when he hears a voice speaking in his head. Choose wisely it implores. Startled by the disembodied, vaguely familiar voice, he turns to Keith.]
Hey, did you hear that too?
>:T
[Not exactly flight simulators, he wanted to say, but that isn't entirely true. It depends, really. VR is always changing. Most of the time, the two things are one in the same. Battling, flying...
His eyes shift here and there as the space darkens. He'll step nearer to Lance -- not creating anything intimate. He's standing where you'd normally stand to partake in normal conversation, like a normal person.]
When you activate it...
[No, he's not angry, just slightly exasperated. He wasn't in the mood to experience some weird VR bullshit right then and there, but he can't rightly leave Lance here. Even if it's fake, sometimes it can be...a mindfucky experience. Plus, Lance would just end up being lost afterwards?! He doesn't need his phone blowing up, the subsequent lecture.
The cliff forms beneath him, the sight isn't anything pleasant.]
Huh?
[He hadn't heard anything specific; no words, distant noises. It's a simulation, but he'd still like not to have his ass handed to him....]
What did you hear?
[He'll toss a glance over his shoulder; nothing out of the ordinary. Some boulders, but nobody lurking about. Instinctively, he's reaching for his knife. VR-Keith doesn't have one, real life Keith, however, certainly does.
Maybe he should have kept some space between them....]
there there, keith
It told me to choose wisely? It's some garbled sounding voice. Weirdly familiar?That ringing any bells?
[Just listing out a few traits to see if that helps. Because of course that's how voices work, you describe them and then other people can magically hear them too, right? No? Creeping closer to the edge of the cliff, crouching nice and low to the ground to stay out of sight.
[The people below fire weapons that the Galra don't even bat an eyelash at. They allow the humans to fire simply because it amuses them to watch the demoralization of their enemies. A little ways down in the valley, there's an all terrain vehicle that looks a little banged up, but still functional.]
Just to make sure, there's no [Sarcastic finger waggling] magical catch to this right? What happens to us in VR stays in VR?
[Cuz if so, he's at least ready to go down swinging. But please don't swing that knife around, Keith. That'd be bad.]
no subject
--Why would that ring any bells?!
[Sure, he likes cryptids and has conspiracy theories for most things, but that doesn't make him attuned to all things weird. Of course, that isn't what Lance is implying at all, but it's where his brain goes.]
...Right, so you can answer your friend however you want.
[For the most part -- as logically as possible. Lucky for Lance, his knife finds a place at the small of his back once more. There's no immediate threat that he can discern, everyone gets to live a little longer.]
We should probably get closer to the fighting, it won't stop until we reach some goal.
[He's on the move now...because Lance wasn't the only one to notice that vehicle. He's goin' for it.]
no subject
They're not my friend!
[He shouts after Keith as he sprints to catch up.]
But if they are they should already know, I'm not letting this happen to our home without a fight!
[Despite Lance's protests otherwise, evidently that voice is a friend. Not long after Lance rushes off with the intention to fight, there's a weird, almost out of body sensation that he's been given a new ability. Something that might help in some way if he taps into that power.]
Keith - wait, I think the voice did something!
[And with a burst of concentration, Lance vanishes from sight and the simulation comes to an abrupt end, leaving Keith apparently all alone in the VR room.]
no subject
Lance has entirely vanished.
His attention shifts from left to right, whirls all around. There's no trace, even in the dirt, he can't discern any footprints.]
...Lance?
[His pulse beats hard in his ears. He's just gotten Lance back. He shouldn't have run ahead--]
Lance?!
[More demanding now, backtracking, frantically glancing behind different boulders as he retraces his steps.]
no subject
Right here, buddy.
[Real Keith's getting a hand on his shoulder... with an invisible hand, holy shit?? He glances down at where his body should be. Didn't Keith say that things that happen in VR don't affect reality...?
Confused and now audibly so, Lance focuses and becomes visible again. Still not sure how that happened or how that's possible or if this is maybe a simulation within a simulation now (???) but he's gotta tell Keith.]
Hey, I dunno what happened, but answering that voice gave me the power to turn invisible for real.
no subject
Ah...and there he is. He's about five seconds from telling him to quit messing around, but it sounds as if he can't really explain...himself. He's all for paranormal weird shit, but...
In moderation.]
...That doesn't make any sense.
[He is relieved, at any rate, that Lance has returned in solid-form.]
Quit talking to weird voices.
no subject
The voices were talking to me, I didn't want anything to do with them!
[Great, now he's getting defensive.]
I don't know how it makes sense, ok?! [Oh fuck it. He concentrates and poofs back into being invisible.] But it sure as heck happened anyway. You're the one who's been here longer, you tell me what's going on.
no subject
Well quit messing around...
[The fact that Lance immediately proceeds to Mess Around does nothing to quell his nerves.]
I might have been here longer than you have, but I haven't spent my time screwing around.
[Now he's lecturing open air.]
Stop doing that-!
no subject
[Gosh what a productive conversation. Lance remains invisible, in part because he wants Keith to acknowledge the phenomenon in a more level manner and in part because he's getting petty.]
Quit yelling at me already! I didn't cause any of this, ok?!
[With the loudest of loud sighs, he drags his hand down his face. This isn't the time to be arguing - he gets that, but Keith is making this hard. He reluctantly starts by making one conciliatory gesture of undoing the invisibility.]
no subject
[It's. Bothersome. Everything is downright bothersome. There is something unnerving about being spoken to by an unseen force. The disembodied voice sounding exactly like Lance does very little to make their circumstances ideal. Fortunately, he comes back to the corporeal level of life readily enough--]
Whatever you're doing, that's not how you use the simulation.
[Duh.]
no subject
[Look. As long as Keith's going to keep criticizing and telling him everything he's doing is wrong, Lance is going to throw some snark in his direction. He realizes this isn't actually putting an end to the simulation any faster, but he wants
Keith to stop breathing down his neck a little.]
no subject
On that note, he's going to storm away from Lance, make his way toward that vehicle -- close the distance between himself and it. Rather than hurl insults and try to lecture him on the how-tos of VR, he's gonna busy himself with learning the various functions and buttons through visual probing.
At least he's not taking off without Lance...]
no subject
He takes off at a run towards the vehicle to catch up with Keith a moment later and slides into the front passenger seat. Probably owes the guy an apology for freaking him out and not doing a whole lot to calm him down, but maybe acting like the past two minutes or so didn't happen is a better way of handling the situation.]
Any luck?
[It's like his tone hit a soft reset. Less defensive, more cooperative.]
I dunno how we're supposed to beat this. [A line that's been uttered many a time in the fight against the Galra, so he doesn't sound remotely defeated by that.] Maybe if we get this thing up and running and we manage to take over a Galra jet we can take out some of the ground forces to help out the resistance? What do you think, team leader?
no subject
Similarly, he's less-argumentative here and now. We'll see in ten minutes.]
Yeah, buckle in.
[Keith's not even buckled up, but okay. It doesn't look like they have a ton of gas to spare, and any military-esque capabilities of this thing are a mystery to him, but he could definitely bring them closer to the point of action. As it were, this particular vehicle won't do much to take out Galra jets...not on its own anyway.]
Maybe we'll be able to find one once we get closer. [Awfully convenient.] Blending in with the resistance makes most sense, we just have to stick together.
[So far so good.]
no subject
Aren't you gonna buckle in too?
[Then deciding he doesn't actually care to make THAT the nidus of more dumb bickering, he focuses straight ahead through the windshield.]
Blend in, ambush a sentry or a guard, take the weapons, see what we can do -- yeah. I think we got a plan.
[Is it gonna work? Debatable, but he's giving Keith a thumbs up to go.]
no subject
[It's like an automated response. He's more concerned with accelerating forward than he is with buckling in -- which he omits entirely. Fortunately we all know that Keith's an extremely responsible, reliable driver. Off they go, into the sunset, toward dubious circumstances.
At least it's a simulation.]
Sounds good to me.
[At least they're communicating with words and not sign language...]
no subject
Technically Lance knows Keith can drive. But in retrospect, he's really not sure why he let Keith do the driving. The terrain isn't exactly paved and the ride is stupidly bumpy.]
Keith! [Both hands on his side of the dash for support so he doesn't bang his head against something.] Where'd you learn to drive?!
no subject
Something about driving like Evel Knievel since he'd first been able to has him completely poised through the whole thing.]
You can get out if you want to. [Indifferently, just after sharply swerving to the right approximately 400ft from the site.] We're close enough now.
no subject
You're totally doing this on purpose!!
[But he's also not really showing any signs of getting out of the car, so he can't... hate Keith's driving that much??]
no subject
[Jeeze. He might be doing it on purpose a little bit, but it's proooooooooobably a big habit thing. He's pretty relieved Lance doesn't take him up on his offer; they're making it to the facility in no time at all.
He skids to a quick stop, parks, removes the key from the ignition though he could probably just leave it? Simulation...]
Did we decide on how to get in?
[Between here and there, he needs a quick refresh. It's a step old Keith would've overlooked, at least he's asking...!]