❪ 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

[deadthenred]

[ He thinks. If Steve— if any Steve— trusts her, then so could he, since the basic rightness of Steve Rogers is the one thing he'd never lost faith in. Unless she was lying. Or this was like the time Steve'd gotten sweet on a Nazi spy, without knowing she was a Nazi spy.

But hell. What has he got to lose? ]

Do you want to meet?

[revlon]

[ Her reasoning is similar — this man knows Steve Rogers and shares the same name as his best friend, one he trusted implicitly and one she did as well. She can't quite figure out why this is, why there are similarities and glaring differences altogether. But perhaps it also explains why some people know the war she's fought in but also don't, why there seem to be different Earths.

God. What a headache. (She, too, could do with a cigarette.) ]

Just like that?

[deadthenred]

Just like that.
I don't trust this thing.

[ He does trust his own judgment, and his fists, if it comes down to that. He's survived this long, right? ]

[revlon]

Point taken.
The observation room, then?

[deadthenred]

Sure. I can be there.

[ And if she's good on her word, there he will be, leaning against a wall he picked for the vantage point, looking— well, looking like a teenager. He's not wearing any kind of uniform, but his hair is still clipped to regulation. He's also got no clue what she looks like. ]

[revlon]

[ She thinks she knows what he looks like. That is to say, she expects him to look like the Barnes she remembers, although upon entering the observation room, that is very clearly not the case. Luckily, the place is empty — and quiet — save for them and the vast expanse of stars beyond. It's a breathtaking view and on any other day, she'd admire it, but she isn't here to sightsee. She's here to, hopefully, find some answers.

Peggy crosses the room to the young man waiting for her, shoulders square and stride sure. Her military background is clear in both but her voice is polite, even soft, as she introduces herself. ]

You must be James Barnes. [ Bucky is a name she can't bring herself to say out loud just yet. ] I'm Agent Carter.

[deadthenred]

[ It would figure. All the girls Steve met were pretty. Some guys just had all the luck.]

That's me.

[ Bucky offers a hand to shake, a curved line on his lips that in other times and other circumstance might have passed for a smile. In his hand is a piece of paper he'd palmed earlier— a yellow National Registration I.D., the kind everyone in England was supposed to carry around. It has his name written there, along with an address he's scratched out, and Class Code B. 251 V. That meant he was going to turn twenty-one at the beginning of 1946, if he was going to turn twenty-one at all. ]

You can tell it's real, 'cause I haven't been here long enough to figure out how to get a fake one. [ There's something nice about having it, too, something that said who he was, a little paper square of normalcy. ]

And because if anyone was gonna rewrite the universe, I don't think they'd remember all the paperwork.

[revlon]

[ She does take that offered hand, her grip firm as she shakes once. Then there's the matter of that piece of paper — an identity card, of course. Everyone had to carry one during the war, as decreed by Parliament, and she scans the information on it with a practiced eye. And already, the differences between this young man and the soldier she knew are vast. The birth years don't match at all. This James Barnes is younger and that makes her brows knit; she's quiet as her gaze flicks from the card to him, scanning his face, then back down.

Finally, softly, ]

Bloody hell. [ The ID card is official, she knows that much. She's seen fakes in her line of work and his word aside, this has all the markings of the real deal. And he does make a good point: why bother with the paperwork when they're all starting over? Peggy hands the card back, shaking her head. ] I'd say "that settles it," but that isn't true, is it?

[ She huffs out a breath, one hand on her hip as she looks off to the vast windows, frowning still. After a few moments: ]

So, let me get this straight. You are, undoubtedly, a James Barnes. You've seen active combat in the war but not with the 107th. You know Steve — that is, Captain Rogers — but not me or the colonel or any of the missions we've done together. You've never heard of the SSR. But you do know the Howling Commandos, who, to my knowledge, operate alongside us. [ A pause. ] That's the long and short of it? [ Then: ] Are you from Brooklyn as well?

[deadthenred]

I'm from Everywhere, U.S.A. [ An army brat, he never stuck around much in one place, growing up. The closest thing to home was in Virginia. ] Never lived in Brooklyn, though. Not a bad place to visit.

[ That's the easy part. He breathes in, then out again. Peggy'd got it all square, but he feels like he has to add something. ]

What's Steve like, for you? This high? [ He gestures above his head. ] Blue eyes? Hair like amber waves of grain?

[revlon]

[ That's an answer that throws her a little and it's clear in her expression. Bucky Barnes and Brooklyn go as hand-in-hand as trouble and Steve Rogers. But she shelves that particular revelation for later when he asks about their mutual friend in question; and she almost cracks a smile.

Almost. ]

Amber waves of — [ Good Lord. Peggy clears her throat gently. ] Yes, to all the above, I suppose. A nose for trouble and a habit of gallivanting through gunfire in a ridiculously spangled uniform that attracts just as much attention as his shield. [ The words may be critical but it's clear there's a note of fondness for the man underneath it all. It's a little more evident as she pauses and adds in a kinder voice, ] Dances with two left feet by his reckoning but I believe there's potential.

[deadthenred]

[ "Amber waves of grain" was a joke. He's got jokes, folks. ]

Yeah, that sounds familiar. [ He can't help but grin: at least there's something in this mess that does. ] The star's like a painted target, huh? He's a real cutup. But where I'm from, he's got two shields, and I'm one of them.

[ God, he misses Steve. Steve'd know what to do about this whole mess, because Steve always seemed to know what to do. It was exasperating. After a minute, he adds. ]

I do know the Howling Commandoes. They're British special forces, HQ in London. But the last time I saw them was April of last y— April of '44. Steve and I only worked with them on loan.