❪ 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

i'm very sorry for the late!

[monuments]

[ For all his capabilities, he's still unable to read minds, so he takes what he says at face value.

Thus, he feels empathy. ]

I thought the same, you know. Switch places with them. [ Clark may be a superhero, but he's quickly realizing he's not really that great at consoling others. Not when he's out of uniform, anyway. ] To switch places with one of them.

But, I think it's better this way. It's going to be rough down there, based on the simulations. [ Clark looks at him expectantly. ] Have you done them?

it's all good! <333

[twofates]

[ He can tell from the other man's tone, the way he speaks, that he probably genuinely wants to switch places to spare them from being trapped. That's what good people do, how they think. But he's also correct in thinking maybe it really is better for them to be there right now. It may be safer, in the end. ]

A few. But it felt familiar to me. [ The fighting, the stress, panic, and fear were all he'd ever known once. So in a strange way, the simulations feel like home. Of course, the circumstances are vastly different, but the instincts and training needed are similar. ]

How did you feel?

[monuments]

[ A soldier, then? Clark observes him for a quick moment, unable to contain his curiosity. He sees the scar on his face. Maybe a veteran. His X-Ray vision seems to support this theory; as his eyes rake over the shattered metal around his chest, he accidentally shows his concern in the way he returns his gaze to Roman.

Clark is really bad at this. He laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. ]

It wasn't familiar at all. I, uh, grew up on a farm, then I worked in the city until recently. Nothing at all like the jungles in the simulation... it's a little daunting.

[ At least the one he had gotten. ] So you're a soldier?

sorry for all the words XD

[twofates]

[ He's not far off in his line of thinking at all; though never technically part of any official branch of the military, he'd been raised as both a child soldier in South Africa by the very people who'd killed his parents, and then similarly indoctrinated by the woman who'd saved him and raised him as her own son. Though, what she'd offered was shelter and family in return for absolute obedience. He wonders if he could have escaped her long ago had he been a stronger person. In the end, his almost desperate need for family and some connection and anchor in this world had overridden any of his misgivings and instincts against what was being asked of him.

He doesn't miss the way the other man looks at him, studies him, and for just a second, he feels tense about it, wondering if he sees something bad in him, unworthy somehow. Roman's appearance is a little...off-putting, perhaps, and his disjointed conversational skills do nothing to instantly endear him to anyone, he knows that. But he pushes down the instinct to defend himself - he doesn't need to, he realizes quickly. There's something in his eyes that's genuine, something he thinks he can trust to be a real emotion, not a deception or ploy to show concern in return for something from him. ]

I was.

[ How to explain what he did, though? That's the part he knows will destroy any hope he has of actually connecting with anyone here. ]

What was it like, on a farm?

[ He's intrigued by the chance to glimpse a life that may have been more normal, perhaps even happy. ]

FEELINGS ARE GOOD

[monuments]

[ He catches that, too — the slight pause, a hitch in his heartbeat. Clark knows he'd hit a sore spot with the way he looks, doesn't mean for his gaze to make others feel naked. He wouldn't know how to deal with it, if the man had taken it negatively. Thus, he's thankful that he manages to blow it off with a little bit of talk. He should be careful about that, about looking at people in such a way.

At least now he can surmise that other perhaps some form of PTSD. Clark isn't one to make such a diagnosis on someone he'd just met, and he's definitely not a therapist, but — he just gets a feeling that he's damaged in some way. Hurt. The price of war.

Clark smiles, glad to have the topic shifted to something more light-hearted. He leans against the dividers, trying to stay casual. He has many memories of the farm he grew up in, of Smallville and the little house behind the cornfields. Wonders if he can take his mind off of it, by taking the man there with him. Clark considers his words carefully -- ]

Well, it's quiet... but not the kind of quiet you expect. Not like in space. You hear crickets, you hear the wind. The swing set swaying - I remember hearing a squeak by the rope when it's windy. My dad's trucks, he's always fixing something, when you hear the roar of his engine you know he's left and when he's come back. [ Clark smiles at the memory. He misses his father terribly. ] It's peaceful, I think.

The only bad thing is everyone knows each other. No secrets. [ He laughs lightly at the irony of it. ]