❪ 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

[rhygret]

Yuh--you broke my finger!

[ Rhys almost shrieks that. Almost. It's more mortified (and insulted) emphasis on the "finger" part of that sentence with a healthy amount of alarm mixed in for the rest. Because he is alarmed by that and...very much less so what Giovanni does to the two guards. Rhys matters more in his own head and they were going to kill those guys anyway.

Still. He stresses the importance of his poor finger as he holds his hand up pointedly--mindful of putting it anywhere near Giovanni now of course--where it's still bent entirely the wrong way. ]

Why would you do that?! Guuagh!

[ So about keeping quiet and sneaking past the guards to start that fire... ]

[ofobedience]

[It doesn't bypass his attention, the fact that this man seems more concerned over one broken finger than the brutal death Giovanni has wrought on the guards. There's a strangeness to that, an odd dislocation, as though the man hasn't quite put together the fact that he could soon find himself in a far more painful situation if he continues to be a thorn in Giovanni's side.

No matter. That's something that can easily be rectified.

Giovanni glances back over his shoulder, pausing briefly in the doorway of the cell. SMiles genially.]

I suggest you shut up and get a move on, or I'll leave you to a far worse fate. Imagine, if you will, what they'll do to you should they find you here with their dead friends. Or what I'll do to you if you can't keep quiet and give our position away.

[And he exists the room then, not waiting to see whether the other man will follow.]

keywords are appropriate

[rhygret]

[ It doesn't happen right away. Rhys needs to feels sorry for himself a few moments longer, short-lived sounds of pain and anguish escaping him and he grips his wrist hard. If he had the constitution for it he'd have several things to say about how life-like his pain is. It actually feels like his finger's been broken.

The only thing that motivates him to drag himself up off his knees is the fact that if he stays here with two dead guard, he's guaranteed to get much more than a broken finger. If this is how vivid things feel in the simulation he doesn't want to go through the torture part of this test.

Sweat on his brow from the strain, Rhys drags himself up with is a cough and sniff, stumbling out after the albino. ]

Wh...when we g-get out of this you'd better--you'd better hope there's someone who can f-fix this...!

[ He'd also like to comment that he's significantly more useless like this since he's down to one hand instead of two, but...it's Rhys. he was already pretty useless. ]

fffft Giovanni is, indeed, a bag of dicks

[ofobedience]

[Giovanni doesn't so much as glance in the other man's direction as he begins to drag himself up from the ground, can't see the expression on his face, the strain written there. He can smell it though, in the form of the sweat that slicks his brow and the unmistakable reek of pain, a scent he knows right down to the core of himself and which, even now, makes something rattle and spark in him, the quiet desire for more. He keeps himself in perfect poise, though, keeps moving along the stone corridor that leads out of their little cell, lit only - as Rhys had discerned - by the dim flame of sconces lining the walls. Plenty of fire then, plenty of opportunities to set their little plan in motion. A good start.

When he responds, his voice is a quiet thing, little more than a murmur, but despite that and the deceptively cheery tone that trips off his tongue, there's something underlying it. A steely kind of promise.]

And you'd better do as I say and keep your voice down, or I'll be forced to remove your capacity for speech. I wonder how much more it would hurt, to have your tongue ripped out of your mouth.

[He's already discerned that the guy is going to be little more than extra baggage here. Really, Rhys ought to be thankful that Giovanni's decided against killing him and leaving his body to rot beside the guards in the cell.]

[rhygret]

None of that would be a problem if you hadn't almost ripped my finger off! [ Rhys hisses, spiteful--but quiet. Giovanni's warning isn't ignored despite how upset he very obviously is over his current predicament. ]

What am I supposed to do like this?? It--argh, it hurts! You ass. You didn't need to actually break it.

[ And yet he still follows Giovanni like he's the leader of this operation for now, watching him more than their surroundings. ]

[ofobedience]

[To be fair, he's already beginning to regret his actions. Not because of the pain caused, no, but only because the man's incessant whining is wearing on his nerves, leaves him wanting to take the guy's head in his hands and twist, to listen to the satisfying sound of bones snapping before leaving him in a lifeless heap on the ground. But for all he knows, he needs this man alive in order to 'win' this simulation, and considering that they've started this now, he may as well see it through to its conclusion.

Besides. Perhaps he'll find some use for him, sooner or later.

So he just gives a put-upon sigh as they continue along the corridor, his own voice little more than a susurration of breath as he responds.]

You're making a terrible fuss over one little broken bone. How tedious it must be, to be so pathetically fragile. And really, if your acting skills had been up to scratch, there'd have been no need of it. You only have yourself to blame.

[He continues on, eyes already on the dim outline of a little alcove ahead that seems to conceal a set of stairs, and faintly he catches the scent of a draft, of an opening to the outside. He begins to move a little faster, hoping to discover that those stairs lead upwards.]

[rhygret]

[ ooc; moved to here!