❪ 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

[fakers]

[ a2's diversion works well, but unfortunately their pursuers are better prepared than they might have expected - largely because they have horses. so even with the head start blocking their path might have given her, it doesn't take too long for a few mounted soldiers to begin catching up with her.

though just as the first of the group is about to reach her, sword raised to cut her down, an arrow catches him right in the shoulder with enough force to hurl him from his horse. another arrow hits the second rider, then the third. unfortunately, the latter shots aren't enough to stop them entirely, though it at least causes him to panic a bit.

archer waits further up the path for a2 to reach him, bow raised to cover her retreat. ] Hmph. Hopefully I haven't done anything unnecessary.

[atwo]

[ the woes of being in a simulation like this, having her body 'human' in her, means her speed is limited to that of a normal person. that's why when actually feels fear when she hears the horses behind her, turning around with her sword in her other hand just in case she can take a strike to cut them down. it would be tricky using her non-dominant hand, but she can deal with it.

it doesn't come to that. her eyes widen at the sight of arrows piercing the men, making them confused about what is happening. for a moment, even a2 is confused, but then she realizes that this is her chance to escape. spinning around on her heels, she doesn't waste any more time when it comes to fleeing.

she closes the gap between the pair of them swiftly but when she can stop next to him, she feels slightly out of breath. ] ... Thanks for that.

[fakers]

[ managing to take some distance and catch his breath has done archer wonders, though he's still very clearly not at one hundred percent. he's actually using real arrows for starters, which is pretty out of the ordinary for him. it's a good thing he'd even bothered to bring these with him. when a2 reaches him, he lets fly one last arrow, forcing some of their pursuers to take cover. ]

Oh? I thought I was the one who should be saying that to you.

[ granted, neither of them really has time to dawdle and argue over who owes who what. instead he quickly turns, hurrying down the road. ]

Once we're out of sight, we can ditch the road. They won't be able to keep track of us once we abandon this path.

[atwo]

[ turning around one more time, she watches as the men are slowly recovering and getting back on track now. a2 can only nod her head in agreement because there's no need to argue right now, not when they're not safe. ]

Sounds ideal. [ time to follow him now. she's lagging behind just a little as she finds herself trying to tear of fabric from her shirt, but grunts as she finds it to be a struggle. she'll have to do that when they can actually stop so in the mean time, a2 is going to be holding onto her arm where she's been cut. ]

Some luck we have.

[fakers]

[ once they manage to get off the path, they can afford to slow down a bit. their pursuers likely aren't the best of trackers to begin with - all they really came prepared for was to receive a shipment of cargo, and kill the deliverymen if anything went wrong. in the back of his mind, archer hopes that the food at least gets to where it needs to... but he can't really afford to think about that now. ]

We can spare a moment to catch our breath.

[ he's noticed a2's wound, if only because of how she holds it. he pauses for a moment, before reaching down to his shroud and tearing a sliver of it off. this is just vr anyway - it'll be fine once he's out. ]

Give me your arm. [ he'll just hold out a hand expectantly. ] If we don't do something about that, they'll be able to follow the blood. [ or... whatever it is running through a nier android's veins. the point still stands. ]

[atwo]

[ can't expect a bunch of rebels to have all the skills a professional fighter has. despite the mishap, the plan worked out well -- people got their food and they don't have the weapons. it feels like a win/win situation to a2. hearing that they can slow down gets a small sigh of relief from her as she moves to a jog and then a walk. ]

I'm not sure if they're smart enough to do that, but, okay. [ No use in fighting. She'll hold her arm out because at least this will stop her from getting distracted again. ]

How are you holding up?

[ In regards to his own injuries because that couldn't have been fun for him, either. ]

[fakers]

True, but we've already made enough mistakes for one day. [ he takes her arm, wrapping the red cloth around her wound. beyond just staunching the bleeding, the cloth is rather good at hiding the wound, since the color of blood simply blends into it. ]

No, that's not true. I've made enough mistakes. [ credit where credit is due. he's never quick to apologize, but in this case... ] Sorry that didn't go as planned.

[ if anything, her professionalism deserves some of his in turn. ]

My condition is fine for now. Given more time, I'll be back at full strength. [ not entirely true, but good enough for the purposes of this job. ]

[atwo]

Point taken. [ not worth the risk. It isn't like stopping to do this will be any worse so she'll accept the help and be patient. when he takes the blame for himself, that catches her off guard. ]

I don't see how it was only you. I could have been quicker myself in the escape and fighting.

[ this is going to end up turning into the blame game. she shakes her head. ] It doesn't matter now, we got out and it's mission complete. [ which is all that matters to a2. she isn't going to sweat about the bumps because, in the long run, it's fine. ]

I'm relieved to hear that.

[fakers]

We did our job... the rest will play out however it will.

[ he has to actively remind himself that none of this is real; it's a fact he knows, but at times it's all too easy to let himself get lost in the dilemma. tsk, he really is still a naive fool, at his core. ]

It's a shame, but we'll have to make the trip back on foot. You can get your wound properly tended to back in the city.

[ though as he rises to get back up, everything around them begins to... flicker? for a moment he worries that perhaps his condition is worse than he thought, but it doesn't take too long for him to realize what's really happening. ]

I was wondering how much longer this would take. [ but true to his instructions, the virtual reality program seems to be shutting down, its purpose complete. he glances back at a2 again, if only just to make she he remembers her face for after they're back in the real world. ] We'll like meet again on the other side... so farewell until then.

[atwo]

[ she slowly nods her head. ]

It could be worse. ... Thanks for being a decent partner out there. [ gratitude is given when needed and this feels like the right time to do so, perfect timing as the simulation is coming to a close.

although, his words do puzzle her for a moment when it happens. oh well, it'll make sense once she's awake.

mission complete. ]