❪ test drive: #2 ❫ THE OVERFLOW

[natha]

ORIGINAL POST

THE PROLOGUE     Many people in stasis seem to be medically sound enough to wake up, brother. Are the preparations ready to go? Yes, I've long prepared myself for this. Watching them everyday has been truly rewarding. ... Right. Yeah. Okay, let's get them ready to wake up. We should keep their minds active to ease the transition into consciousness. A simple VR program should do the trick, I think. I will boot one immediately. There! All systems are green. Their consciousnesses are linked. However, their minds appear to be too active... They may be over-stimulated, brother. Huh? How can that be...? Can we pull them out safely? Not from my end, no. This may be too large for us to fix alone. Do you think...? Yes, I think so... It will have to be done organically. Can you send out a message to our refugees? Of course, brother. I will send one swiftly. We must be sure to fix this before Darma returns. There is urgency in the Orbiters' request. Refugees currently in El Nysa are asked via mass message to please return to Thesa Station virtual reality area immediately. Zasere tells them that the next set of Refugees are scheduled to wake, but there's been an issue. On Thesa, refugees will find that the people in stasis are still apparently trapped in slumber. Most of them are complete strangers, but there's a chance you may recognize a familiar face or two. Normally, these people would wake up from their pods without issue, but due to a malfunction caused by the unforeseen force during The Descent, they have to go through extra measures to make this possible. Those in slumber require extra stimulation, something to keep their minds active. What better than a simulation of an area of El Nysa? Keeping their minds active requires an extremely involved simulation. Those subjected to the VR (prospective characters) will find themselves completely immersed in their new environment, believing themselves to be native Olympians. To wake up from the simulation, characters must work together to accomplish a certain objective(s) in the icy tundra. Characters in-game will be aware that this is a simulation, but this is good practice for properly interacting with El Nysa natives, isn't it? An AC-length log thread on this TDM may be submitted for Two (2) Natha REP points HERE. Please read the OOC note at the bottom of this post for the terms. PROMPT: WINTER CAME     The wind in the icy wasteland is bitter and frigid. You are wrapped up in a winter coat, but even still, the cold bites at your skin and leaves you yearning for a warm fire. Perhaps you're a merchant from the city, here to make a delivery, or you're a royal guard, sent to patrol the area. Who are you? The sky is the limit. One thing is certain — you won't snap out of your new identity until you finish a task. 1. Due to the vast diversity of the creatures on El Nysa and the fact that new ones are constantly being discovered, an important objective is to carefully chronicle different species. Unfortunately, to research these new species, they happen to need more than just a visual. More than just fleeting glances in over a snowy hill. Researchers are constantly looking for ways to secure... You guessed it! Blood and stool samples. The supplies for the former will be given. Supplies are offered in a small box; one per person. In this box is a small dart that will automatically procure a small touch of blood, and easily shaken off so the creature will be able to securely escape. As for the latter— well, they'll give you a plastic bag if that counts. Look, sometimes to get a job done, you have to get your hands dirty. Specifically, they seek samples from a newly recorded rare beast known as a Klep. Kleps spend much of their time hidden in caves, so hitting them with the darts will be tricky. They are also nocturnal, but you may be able to lure them out of the cave with fish as bait. When struck with a dart, you must grab the dart and escape immediately, as they will charge you, and killing such an endangered species is illegal. As for stool samples, well... Once you find a pile, you will have plenty of sample to work with. 2. It's cold, to say the least. Too cold to continue forward. Whatever you were doing, you must stop and seek shelter. Looks like your goal is clear, at least. Get warm. Not finding a way to sustain heat, whether it be seeking shelter, building a fire, cuddling up, or all of the above, will likely end in serious consequences. 3. You are stuck in a dilemma. On one hand, you are set to work for Olympia. One the other, you're not completely sure what is really expected of you, or who the man who gave you this mission truly is. You and your partner are meant to protect precious trade cargo for them. You were told that these were essential supplies for one of the outer colonies. They assured you it was mostly food. In loading the cargo onto the supplied wagon with your partner, however, you noticed something inherently off about it. The weight and even the sounds of some of the contents inside definitely don't sound like food. Moreover, some boxes are more obviously more concealed— draped in black sheets and reinforced on all sides. You've also caught wind of rumors that you are potentially being utilized to supply advanced weapons and other contraband to Wyver terrorists in the colonies. But what do you do? Refuse to make the delivery, and people in the colony will surely starve. Try to remove the weapons and only deliver the food, and you will be killed on sight for being too suspicious. Make the delivery as-is, and not only will Olympians die at the hands of terrorists in the future, but you will betray your country. Decide quickly... 4. There are many dangers associated with traveling in such an isolated, harsh environment. You must help each other to survive. Perhaps someone has fallen on thin ice, and requires a rescue. Maybe someone is on the brink of starvation, and you must share what provisions you have. When you come to, you will awaken in Thesa Station. All will be explained to you by Zasere or Sael via telepathic link. Your world is no more. The Storm has consumed it. We offer proof in the Observation Deck if you desire it, but it won't be an easy thing to stomach. We offer you a new life, in our planet of El Nysa. We just ask for your help in maintaining the vitality of El Nysa. What can we offer you in exchange for your help? 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: GET REKT     The Orbiters have noticed that some of the refugees really miss their video games. The technology in El Nysa could be much worse, but it definitely leaves much to be desired. Which is why, after expressing relief that everyone awoke safely, the Orbiters have decided to provide a little fun in the form of video game competitions. Anything from old-timey arcade machines to state-of-the-art computers, consoles, and VR headsets (though you may be a little tired of VR right now...) is available, and yes, they have your favorite games! Enjoy PAC-MAN, Starcraft 2, or perhaps Dance Dance Revolution! Teach a friend how to play. Get unnecessarily angry and competitive. Most importantly, have fun. Keep fourthwalling to a minimum, please. Recommended playing: QWOP 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     Please give toplevel priority to prospective characters! Current characters wishing to thread these scenarios with other current characters are encouraged to create separate logs. However, threads between 2 current characters are not eligible for Natha Orbiter REP. 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 TDM thread of AC length may be submitted HERE for 2 NATHA ORBITER REPUTATION POINTS. Current players may submit their thread at any time, and prospective players may submit a thread after acceptance. Please note that threads must contain at least five (5) log comments from your character. A toplevel counts as a comment. Network threads are not eligible. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[rhygret]

Yeahhh...h-heh. You uh, you get used to it? O-or maybe you don't, I don't know. There aren't any Vaults to hunt here so it might be a little different for you.

[ But Rhys would be happy to hire him to hang out with him and generally let him stand in the same vicinity ]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[RHYS no. That's probably the worst news Zer0's heard yet. It's like a hundred times worse than the Jack thing. What's he supposed to do if there aren't any Vaults? Get a job?

Oh this sucks. This sucks so much that the most disappointed ":(" ever is going to pop up from Zer0's helmet.]

Guess I'm job hunting. / Inconvenient dilemma, / This will be a pain.

[All Zer0's good at is murder and poetry, and he's not actually even good at poetry. Maybe he'll luck out and someone will need an assassin or. Whatever. Man this sucks.]

[rhygret]

[ HE'S SORRY HE DASHED ALL YOUR DREAMS... He didn't mean to :'c But there is probably a lot of assassin work to be found so that's a slight plus? Just not nearly as much wanton violence and bandit lords to deal with. ]

They have bulletins down on the planet for bounties and part-time work if that's something you're...into? I-I don't actually. Know. What it is you do besides Vault H-Hunting.

[ aka tell him THIS IS A PERFECT CHANCE TO UP THEIR SOCIAL LINK ]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[Assassin work is okay, as long as his targets actually put up a fight. It's not even remotely satisfying otherwise.]

What else do I do... /

[Actually pretty much everything Zer0 does anymore revolves around Vault Hunting or just. Murdering shit. Up until now that was pretty much all he needed to know how to do.]

I've taken a few odd jobs. / Whatever needs done.

[By odd jobs he means literally odd, the Vault Hunters were asked to do some weird shit sometimes.]

swoons at those skills

[rhygret]

[ That...doesn't tell him much, but if he takes odd jobs, then there's always a chance right? Rhys has to ask: ]

What if...w-what if I hired you? Not--not now, but maybe in the future?

omg >///<

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[Rhys is the oddest job.

Considering that the last time Rhys looked Zer0 up for a job they'd ended up fighting a Vault monster in a giant fucking robot how cool is that, he's willing to see what he can come up with for him here. At the very least, a Rhys job probably has a high chance of being entertaining.

So, he gives a little nod.]

I don't see why not. / Out of curiosity, / What do you do here?

[rhygret]

Well it's not much right now. [ Rhys should admit that first and foremost. ][ Corporate dictatorships don't exist, can you believe it?? ]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

Understandable, / You did say you were new here. / A good job takes time.

[See the actual worst part about that is that you can't buy guns from vending machines. Or get away with murder. The hell is this place.]

[rhygret]

[ Rhys could not puff up with pride any harder than he does under that glowing bout of praise understanding. Fiona and Sasha probably wouldn't have seen it that way, but then again he doubts they've ever had a minimum-wage position. ]

Y--yeah! Exactly. Thank-you!

[ His fanboy levels are over 9000 right now. ]

It's only temporary of course--The real work starts when I get my own business going.

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[Hey man Zer0's just being realistic. He's going to have to start small here too, which totally sucks because what the hell is a highly trained assassin murder machine Vault Hunter going to do in a place like this?? Hopefully he can find someone who really wants someone else blown up or else Zer0 is going to be super bored.

WELL ANYWAY he gives Rhys a shrug. He's not sure why he's thanking him but sure, whatever.]

What sort of business?

[rhygret]

[ marry him ]

Mar-- [ EXCUSE HIM, HIS VOICE JUST CRACKED. ] --In the market. Trading and selling, f-figuring out what's worth money now that Eridium's not a thing anymore...

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[ Only if Rhys can defeat Zer0 in hand to hand combat, and then beat Brick in an arm wrestling competition

Zer0's gonna be a bro and not point out the whole awkward voice cracking thing. That would just be rude.]

Sounds pretty boring. / Necessary to know, though. / Keep me updated?

[rhygret]

[ the sad part is that he would try if it looked even a little plausible

But man, wow does that make Rhys light up. Remember how giddy he was inside of Gortys that one time? That's him now. ]

Yeah for sure of course I mean, pfft, chyeah! D-definitely. Do have like uh, like--like a phone number I could call or an ECHO...frequency....

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[ It's mostly pathetic, but also kind of adorable in a really sad way.

Rhys. Rhys calm down holy shit.]

Would ECHO frequencies work here?

[He has no idea, BUT, he does have a phone number. It's probably all zeros somehow but he's giving it to Rhys, whatev.]

[rhygret]

[ He can't calm down ever when it comes to Zer0 alright this man's thirst is incredible and Zer0 literally just asked Rhys to probably maybe call him and NOW HE HAS A REASON TO ASK FOR HIS PHONE NUMBER. This is better than every Mercenary Day he's has in his life up until now combined. ]

Pr...obably not, actually. But they did give us cool flip-phones. Retro, right?

[ Retro is cool right???? Vintage??? ]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[ Will he crap his pants if Zer0 texts him a smiley? ]

It's... kind of lowtech. / There's things like these stasis pods, / Whats with the old phones?

[ you'd think a civilization with all this high tech shit would have cooler phones ok. ]

[rhygret]

[ It's really more of an excited piddle??? ]

I actually don't...know. About that specifically. There's a lot of weird stuff here that doesn't exactly make sense? But it probably has something to do with the planet below us. It's pretty backwards in terms of like...everything.

Those guys down there don't even know there's a secret base in their moon.

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[ew dude]

That's unusual. / Any idea as to why / They're kept in the dark?

[rhygret]

[ love him!! ]

Well...they are pretty backwards. It'd probably blow their minds and--and not in a good way? These guys though our escapes pods crash-landing was some sort of lucky omen in the form of a meteor shower. They're nooot exactly the brightest bulbs in the bunch.

[ Look at how articulate he gets when he's trashing other people ]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[EARN IT]

Zer0 makes kind of a half chuckle/ half 'tche' noise. He is amused by this. You've amused him, Rhys.]

Backwards like Pandora, or not as bad?

[because damn son there were some backwards people on that planet goddamn.]

[rhygret]

[ rhys has a new quest and will never stop until it is complete.

Also hearing that noise is literally one of the best moments of his entire life hands-down. ]

Uhh...neither actually. They still have governments and kings and queens and stuff. It's weird. And that's not even touching the fact that they use actual magic instead of digistructing. That literally doesn't exist here. They have steam power and that's...it, dude.

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

[Good luck Rhys you're gonna need it.

Zer0 kind of just. Pauses. And crosses his arms. Huh.]

Actual magic. / So, Bunkers and Badasses. / We live in a game.

[SOUNDS FAKE BUT OK. Honestly though would it be any weirder than anything else that's been happening?

Not really. Zer0 will just have to get used to living in fantasy wizard land or whatever.]

[rhygret]

That's...pretty much it, yeah.

[ But Rhys sounds a little bit excited about it in that nerdy way of his. ]

You uh, so. You know the game though? B&B? Do you--do you play? At all? Would you--like to? Play?

[ WITH HIM?? ]

[gh0stamidstthec0mbat]

... It's been a while.

[If you're literally living in a weird fantasy world, why would you want to play a game where you pretend to be living in a weird fantasy world? Zer0 ponders this for like two seconds before he's like "FUCK IT". The hell else are they supposed to do in their free time here? He gives Rhys a little shrug,]

Sure, I'm in.

[rhygret]

[ THANK you. Finally someone gets it and doesn't automatically assume that it's some weird sex thing!! The only other person Rhys has tried to explain this to definitely thought it was and it was the most awkward experience.

But also, like. Come on--Zer0 said he'd play. Rhys is thrilled right now. ]

Awesome! That's--great, that's good. I'll uh, should I...could I run it? I-I've played Bunker Master before I mean, so I...know what I am doing. That is what I am saying.