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Entry tags:
❪ test drive #6 ❫
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YOUR STORY BEGINS  The Storm came. You remember darkness, but you don't remember much after that. You don't know how long you slept, but the dreams were short. You remember the expanse of stars and galaxies in your direct view. Every world and solar system ever known to man was present in your dreams in careful, pristine detail. You also witnessed the Storm, which has devoured a fair portion of these galaxies. Your Earth and similar planets were assimilated by the Storm. Somehow, you knew it would be the last you'd see of your world. That was when she told you what happened. You knew that you'd be living somewhere new. The details weren't clear, but you knew it was a part of a deal with the entity known as Darma. Not long after, you'll wake at Thesa Station. Your body is still cold; it all felt like a dream, but somehow, you knew it wasn't —
CLEAN-UP CREW  While everything has wound down significantly from the strife and destruction of battle, the frozen image of Ysverai, the massive, rotten dragon, and the hole he tore in El Nysa's sky, on several screens of the station is a constant reminder of what took place. New and old refugees alike will notice that prolonged exposure to these images will leave them with a disquiet that gradually builds to actual pain. The discomfort starts from a crawling sensation, insects over skin, and gradually becomes unbearable. They will begin to hear the cries of Ysverai’s pain and suffering, first whispers, then echoes, then wails. Even after Refugees tear their eyes away from this footage, a strange itching sensation remains beneath their skin for several minutes. The dragon isn’t a matter for them to deal with, however. Darma made it clear that the Natha will find a solution. For now, everyone is encouraged to assist in the clean-up of the cities currently frozen in time. However, in interest of the current events and the fact that the refugees still have much to prepare for, they will be offering this help remotely. Several stations are set up where refugees can remote control drones to map out areas and pick up some of the lighter weight debris. Those more well versed technology are encouraged to assist those who may be having trouble getting started with the unfamiliar Natha tech. It seems like it’ll definitely take some getting used to, though. On the bright side, they’re pretty durable drones so if at first you don’t succeed, press the next button? To keep morale high during the clean-up efforts, one of the Natha have set up large hoops around dumpsites and a scoreboard program in the control room, though there's no sign of any directions or rules to be found. That's right, you can play a mechanized version of… some sort of game while you're helping clean up El Nysa. Just make sure you don't get too carried away with competitive spirit! For those looking to pilot something more heavy-duty, there are also cockpits set up for remote control piloting of basic mecha. These are very similar to the VR simulations offered on the station. However, they will not work without a partner. To be able to successfully move one of these, two refugees will be required to connect their minds and pilot in tandem. This may be a daunting task, but with the extensive structural damage to the cities, it's a necessary one. Piloting will require trust and cooperation to make it through. The more connected the pilots are, the more agile and powerful their mecha will be. For those who can’t seem to get on the same page, coordination will be a pipe dream. PROBLEMS WITH THE SHIP  By now it’s likely clear to all refugees, new and old, that for all that they may appear to be infinitely powerful, the Natha Orbiters have been shaken by the recent events on El Nysa. The details of Ysverai’s revival were somehow obscured from their view, and while they’re focusing their efforts on the planet, certain… abnormalities again begin to arise on Thesa Station. The most prevalent of the problems plaguing the Station are the malfunctioning doors. Walking through a door that should lead to a bedroom or kitchen (or, for the truly unfortunate, a toilet) will suddenly take refugees somewhere entirely different and possibly even new. And while this may lead to some accusations of breaking and entering, at least these mishaps can be quickly rectified by an apology and a hasty exit. That is, unless the door refuses to open again — the locks also seem to be malfunctioning. Still, those that find themselves transported somewhere familiar, though off-limits, should consider themselves lucky. Thesa Station is far more vast than most refugees are aware, and some of them might find themselves wandering into a uniquely sticky laboratory. This area appears to serve no purpose other than to house dozens of slimes. These slimes appear not only in a variety of fun colours, but with a variety of not-so-fun abilities ranging from harmless (spitting bubbles) to deadly (spitting fire). Regardless of what abilities a slime possesses however, they are all relentlessly friendly, and characters will need to be careful not to accidentally bringing one out with them once they manage to escape. Unfortunately, that’s not the only situation to escape from. Whether it’s in the mess hall or the bathroom, many will find themselves suddenly rising off the ground. … with everything else in the room, too! It seems like gravity control is also on the fritz. Fortunately, most open spaces aboard the station have a small control panel that can correct these effects. The only problem is getting there. Hopefully at least one of you refugees took that anti-gravity safety course. SUMMER TURNS TO WINTER  The news that the refugees should begin preparations for a return to El Nysa may come as a surprise given that the planet still remains frozen, but it appears there is one community that has somehow withstood Darma’s intervention: an area known as Nadril where time continues to flow freely. Not much information is available regarding this destination, other than the fact that it is isolated, and, more importantly, that it is cold. (Maybe characters should consider the malfunctioning thermostat plunging the temperature to below zero in certain areas on the station as preparation for their upcoming journey!) There are other resources available for those itching to take action, of course. There will be a new supply pack delivered to each room containing gear meant to withstand freezing temperatures — both clothing and storage gear to keep water rations from freezing. Characters will also be alerted to new training programs available in the VR room that are designed to assist with survival in the snowy regions of Nadril. The training programs will consist of a variety of tutorials that will assist in winter survival. Naturally, there will be courses on how to start fires, find food, and build igloos to withstand the frigid temperatures, but that’s not all. Due to the Natha testing their systems, there will occasionally be strange occurrences. For example, refugees may experience a snowball or two pelting them from out of nowhere, or they may suddenly find themselves being cloaked by a snow yeti costume, amongst many other inconveniences. Hopefully that doesn’t detract from the lessons to be learned here, as some of the training programs can include extreme weather survival, including the perils of snow storms or avalanches. SOCIAL-LINKED(in) By some miracle, there are still some quieter parts of the hall. This may be an appropriate time to check out your smartphone. Aside from the expected "Omage" app, there seems to be a new one called Social-Linked. There, you may find a profile waiting to be posted. The app allows for the user to fill it in, but there is also an auto-function! upon pressing it, it will generate a shockingly-honest answer based on the Natha's observation of your history. Roman will be your only friend in this app, with his very own profile: STASIS UNITS  During this time of crisis, the Natha have done their utmost to ensure the safety of those in cryosleep. However, due to the nature of recent events, they will be asking some refugees to do a quick check on some of the pods in the stasis unit. While they are definitely looking for any damage that may have occurred over these past few weeks, they also seem interested in getting a deeper insight into some of the occupants. On each control panel for the pods, there's a new application, asking observers to add notes and commentary — the Natha are looking for a more personal understanding of their sleeping occupants. Refugees are tasked with providing evaluations of the sleepers, based on both their knowledge of those from their homes and on what they can observe just by examining them in their repose. The application asks for how useful you think the pod's occupant would be in a crisis, what their skills are, what their best feature is, if you'd take them with you for a long walk on the beach, and so on… And, of course, all answers must be recorded out loud. Anyone passing by could overhear these evaluations, flattering or less than. FINAL OOC NOTES
As always, feel free to wildcard prompts within Thesa Station!
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. New players may submit an AC-length thread HERE from this TDM for 2 Natha REP. In addition, old players who have not submitted rep for the Hour of Ruin log may also submit a TDM thread for 2 Natha REP. The due date for submission is July 15 11:59 PM EST. For this application cycle, there will be a cap of 60 and no reserves. Applications will be open on July 9 12:01 AM EST and end on July 13 11:59 PM EST. Thank you! |
no subject
[ Holy cow is he excited to have more Starfleet. ]
I'd say it's too bad you got sucked into it, but you're a captain.
[ So, you know, getting sucked into shit is their job. ]
no subject
[ there's only one person on her ship who calls her kathryn and it took, ironically enough, an unfair dire scenario to bring them to that point. it's yet to be seen whether she'll require others to use captain or janeway, but she's more than fine with not standing on ceremony around someone of equal rank. ]
How long have you been here?
no subject
[ Most people call him Jim anyway - while he runs an efficient house, it's a comparatively casual one. Still, the offer for familiarity is a sincere one. At home, Jim has (had? has, in his stubborn opinion) very little in the way of equal peers, as far as rank goes. Almost his entire generation of Starfleet cadets were killed at Vulcan. Everyone is either older, or - well, just older. But they'll be younger soon.
Ah, that question. His smile turns lopsided. ]
We've all 'been here' for nearly an Earth year, in stasis or otherwise. I've been awake for about five months.
no subject
[ it's a selfish question to ask, but one she allows herself nonetheless. one that may possibly be a cruel reminder of that which is presently out of reach for the both of them, but it's been such a long time since kathryn's heard anything genuine about their homeworld that wasn't tales from the crew or overplayed holodeck scenarios. talking of earth is not a priority at the moment, but he's injured and is far more familiar with this place and their current situation than she is.
and something tells her they have nothing but time. ]
no subject
Counting the months here, in the neighborhood of four years, [ he says easily. There's something like a verbal shrug tucked away in his tone. Does Captain Kirk get homesick? Well, not for the blue marble; he misses his people, here. He's too much of a wanderer. ] Yorktown Starbase had been the closest significant Federation outpost for a while.
[ Old starbases are constantly being retrofitted, renamed, decommissioned, turned into mega-satellites. Who knows which one he's talking about, really. (Surely not something on a far-flung arm of the Andromeda Galaxy, a couple decades before Ambassador Spock's timeline would inch into the area!! would it heckin kill these people to make an AOS map i guess so) ]
You?
no subject
[ or would have been. she's not too sure if there's even an inkling of possibility left in the cards, but she'll cling stubbornly to whatever hope there is. ]
no subject
Here, it's easier to talk when we aren't crammed into a desk drawer - [ he pushes the button, nothing happens. ] C'mon, [ he mutters, finding the camouflaged manual release at the top, pushing it to no avail. Somewhat aggravated: ] I spent weeks fixing you, don't pull this shit.
[ He pokes the button again and the door wooshes open, revealing the
80s future Alien aestheticcommon area for this cluster of rooms. There, dang. ]no subject
it's not until they're walking into the common area (good lord, who designed this place? it's like some 20th century assumption of the future gone horribly wrong) that she provides him with an answer. ]
My ship is currently in the Delta Quadrant. Or was, however that works out.
no subject
Jim can't help it, looking impressed and excited like he wants to ask a million questions about what's out there. The Delta Quadrant. He'd just keep going and going, out into nowhere, anywhere, for a million years. (Maybe that's where he'll go, off into the unknown, and not into the void.)
But she doesn't seem thrilled about it, and he schools his expression. Slightly chagrined. Sorry, sorry, reeling in it. ]
On purpose?
no subject
More or less, [ is her answer, but it doesn't really answer anything. how they came to be in the delta quadrant was a long story, and while they weren't brought there by choice, they did choose to stay.
or rather, she chose to stay by giving the order to destroy the caretaker's array. it would have gone against everything the federation stood for were she to sacrifice the ocampa in the process of returning home. perhaps it wasn't the choice other captains would have made, but it was the only available option to her — the right option, the starfleet thing to do. ]
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You want to talk about it. [ A guess, based on the way she brought up Earth, asked that question. He gets it - they aren't supposed to screw up timelines, and she said she's past his time, which can mean anything from ten years to a thousand. The gap between what someone wants to do and what someone should do is one he's familiar with. ]
no subject
There's not much to discuss. Not much that would fall into that grey area between what agrees with protocol and what doesn't. Though I suppose said protocol has yet to be put into place in your time.
[ her attention wanders for a moment from him to the coffee machine as the machine lets out a hiss, followed by an all too familiar scent. it disarms her a bit, melting away some of her harder edges. ] Is that coffee? Real coffee? [ as in brewed from coffee grounds and not a synthesized replication? ]
no subject
[ It's hard to tell if he's being serious or not; there's humor, but also something like concern. Light enough to be easily brushed off, though, if she wants. For now he leaves the topic alone, because there are a dozen reasons why discussing it would be fine. Bringing any of them up while the station and the planet are already in such a state, though.
Yikes. Internal sigh. Instead: ]
Uh, well, this is an alien planet we're hovering over, I have no idea what this actually is. [ Jim pokes at the glass container in the center of the machine, dutifully filling with hot liquid. ] Tastes like coffee, though.
no subject
[ but the coffee does better at holding her attention, and she likely paints quite the picture as she kneels next to the archaic machine so that she's eye level with the container and the liquid splashing into it. the heat radiating off the pot is comfort enough, like an old worn blanket she misplaced somewhere and found again by accident. ]
Smells like it, too, [ she says. ] It's been a long time since I've had freshly brewed coffee of any kind.
no subject
Jim watches her approach the coffee maker like someone courting a precious baby animal and can't help the laugh that escapes him. ]
You have been out there for a while, haven't you. [ He's gotten used to replicated coffee, preferring it at least to the kind from his academy dorm's lobby, which always tasted scorched. ] Hopefully I pushed some acceptable buttons on this thing.
no subject
That's far better than I could have done, [ she comments, skipping over the attention he brought to the length of time she's been out of contact with starfleet. not that he knows she's been out of contact. for all the man knows, starfleet is manning missions out into the deep, far regions of space like they were with the gamma quadrant and the bajoran wormhole. ] I can rig Voyager to fly with both nacelles offline and environmental controls sitting at thirty percent, but I can't work a toaster to save my life.
no subject
Still only running on two nacelles? [ He fishes some mugs out of a cabinet overhead. ] And here I am daydreaming of something with six strapped to the back of it.
[ The mugs clink down on the bench, coffee machine still gurgling away. ]
no subject
and, as if to answer an unspoken question— ] We had coffee, but it wasn't the genuine article. Replicated, for the most part. We experimented with some substitutes, but nothing ground from leola root goes over well with your tastebuds. That's a blonde roast that's far too blonde for my fiery tastes.
[ that red hair tends to go well with her personality. ]
no subject
I can't taste the difference between replicated and real coffee half the time, [ he admits. ] I think if I ever had proper 'great' coffee I wouldn't recognize it.
[ He just wants the caffeine in his system like an IV drip. ]
What's leola root?
no subject
A horrible, yet infuriatingly versatile plant native to a few worlds throughout the Delta Quadrant. It tastes awful, but is rich in nutrients and is quite handy during a shortage.
no subject
ANYway. Coffee's almost done. Nearly there. ]
A food shortage?
[ Detective Kirk on the case-- no he's just trying to be chatty, and supportive. (Another captain! Starfleet!! His foot didn't fall off! What a fuckin' week.) ]
no subject
Food shortage, power shortage — sometimes both. The final frontier isn't always the most welcoming or friendliest of places, though I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.
[ he was one of the original explorers of the unknown, after all. going into command school off her original science track, she never thought she would find anything in james kirk's career useful, and yet his archived logs were among those she listed to the most, especially early on in their journey. perhaps lately she'd taken to listening to reports made by the likes of a different enterprise crew, given their experience with the borg, but kirk's were always worth revisiting when she found herself in a bind.
many of the precedence for exploration, after all, were built on the backs of the foundations he and his crew set. ]
no subject
Though lately it's been more playing the worst table tennis match with Romulus than sincere exploring, so we've had to bump back into subspace comms range more often than I'd like.
[ Also like.. the Borg.. what a conversation that's gonna be once they Realize Things About Timelines. ]
You'd think they'd chill out eventually-- [ ah, coffee beeps. Jim fusses to get the container free, and goes ahead and pours a mug, sliding it over to Kathryn. ] Knock yourself out.