❪ 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

[coolerjunpei]

it's sad that i want to believe that. aliens aren't complicated, you know?

[valcurie]

What makes you say that?

[coolerjunpei]

uh well
you could tell me basically anything weird was aliens and i'd be like, oh yeah, cool. how am i going to challenge that?
so it's pretty easy swallow compared to a lot of other things.

[valcurie]

That's true. It is a simple explanation if it means, 'beyond what I can know'.
Sometimes it is used for things however that have a simpler explanation that you could figure out using Occam's Razor. But I guess that is splitting hairs here, since everything about this situation is pretty much on the 'not very likely' side of the razor.
I know someone who would guess aliens as a joke. Given the situation now, I don't know if we should have laughed.

[coolerjunpei]

you're talking about how much of this is a guessing game, right? in that case, isn't it true that a big storm cloud eating the earth is a pretty simple explanation, technically speaking?
but that still doesn't explain the internet in 1487, so i'll stick with aliens.

[valcurie]

Maybe that's true. But that's not the only thing they told us. Or something they didn't tell us.
Actually, there is another explanation, and fortunately an easy one! Just different calendars. I was in the Middle East before getting here, so that's according to the Islamic Calendar. They would have been online in the early 21st century according to the Georgian Calendar.

[coolerjunpei]

at least we're better off than the natives down there. it's not like i'm dying to trust these stormchase guys, but it could be worse.
and THAT'S the razor at work! didn't even need aliens!
my math might be a little off, but i think that makes me a little behind the times. it's good old gregorian 2028 in my history.

[valcurie]

Hopefully we can help them, whomever we need to work with.
True enough! Except for all the aliens around us. Hopefully there are no killer ones.
A good time. But has the technology been any problem? ( Before her time, for sure. She doesn't remember exactly when the lunar base was built, but she's pretty sure that's before it. )

[coolerjunpei]

guess that's something to do.
you mean the technology here? it's fine, i've seen enough movies to know what i'm doing.

[valcurie]

Unless you have other plans. ( She means it as a joke, but she is aware that there are probably troublemakers among the salvaged. )
At least science fiction movies have some practicality. Though perhaps a few fantasy ones would have worked just as well.

[coolerjunpei]

maybe i'll plant a flag somewhere. this space rock claimed in the name of junpei!

[SO cool... YEAH...]

hey, do you know if they have movies here? i could go for some future sci-fi right about now.

[valcurie]

Junpei? Is that Japanese?

Actually, I can't say that I know. I have been looking for some other things but have yet to find them. If you do happen upon some, please let me know.

[coolerjunpei]

yeah it is. moved to america when i was a kid, though.

alright, movie hunt! who do i call when i find some?

[valcurie]

Ah, so it is your name! It's a better name than something like John, Chad, or Matthew, at least.

Angela Ziegler, or Mercy, if you need a doctor.

[coolerjunpei]

i'll give you chad, but what's wrong with the rest? they sound like normal enough dudes. [Granted, half of his friends go by weird codenames and the other half probably should... details.]

hang on. you have a separate doctor name?

[valcurie]

They're rather boring, don't you think? I can think of at three other countries where those names are just as common. It's nice to have some name diversity; sometimes when you've had to work a triple shift, John A. might just start to seem like John B., even though they are very different people.

More like a codename, from when I was a member of Overwatch.

[coolerjunpei]

no offense, but i think it's better for me if a hundred johns show up to your shifts instead of, you know, me. not that doctors aren't great, but considering...

i'm seriously jealous you get to have a sick codename. (haha, sick?? get it??)

[valcurie]

You're a healthy young man who's never been sick a day in his life?

But I hope that's not a serious reaction. On a scale from one to ten, how much are you itching for one? ( Yes, she does, though he might regret it!!! )

[coolerjunpei]

picture of health. strong like an ox and whatever. totally.

1 to 10 for a codename? i give it a 25. 25, 26. i've got parameters to meet, though.

[valcurie]

Something else, then? You know that doctors are sworn to protect your privacy. ( one moment, she's going to try and be helpful now )

[coolerjunpei]

is this about not wanting to go to the doctor? i don't get along well with needles. kind of embarrassing when you're older than 6...

[valcurie]

Not at all, Junpei. Trypanophobia is actually quite common. Nearly ten percent of the population has it to some degree. There are plenty of ways around it.

[coolerjunpei]

is 1 of those ways going to be a codename? because then you have my attention.

[valcurie]

It could be. But not after just one visit; it would have to be at least a few. A codename is something you earn, right?

( She's given out stickers before, but never a codename. A first time for everything? )

[coolerjunpei]

whoa whoa whoa, i have to get a shot first? i'm clean! vaccines all up in these arms!