Test Drive Meme #1

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Test Drive Info

⇝ Test Drive Memes usually take place in a virtual reality simulation occurring in characters' minds that tests them for 'fitness' before they enter the setting officially. However, for the first TDM, it will be set in the real world and centered around the arrival of the first crop of extra-universal "recruits."
⇝ Test Drive Meme threads may be considered game canon so long as all parties agree to it.
⇝ Test Drive Meme threads do count for Activity Check.

Welcome to the Broken World.

You can't even remember how you got here.

All you know is that one moment you were in a world you were used to, comfortable in. It might have been a regular day or the most important day of your life, in the middle of a meal or brushing your teeth or the battle to save the world or the moment of your death. Whoever took you didn't seem to care what you were doing when you were taken, and now that you're here, they still don't seem to care.

You wake up after what seems like the blink of an eye, nauseous and dizzy but otherwise unscathed, possessions taken away, barefoot and dressed only in a set of plain grey clothing, like the most bland uniform ever imagined, in an empty room with empty walls and one single door with a small barred window and a single number printed just above it. The door is locked and cannot be broken by any means, you can feel your connection with any superhuman powers you had severed, leaving them just out of reach - you can feel them there, tingling at your fingertips or in the back of your brain, but you just can't get to them. There is no one to greet you or explain what's happening. You start to lose track of time, the only sound the distant ticking of what sounds like a massive clock.

Just when things seem hopeless, when you feel like you're about to go mad, there's the sound of a commotion outside your door. The sounds of a battle, or perhaps an infiltration gone just slightly wrong. Either way, when the door opens, there is a figure there with a hand outstretched.

"Welcome to the Broken World. Come on, we'll explain everything just as soon as we get you and the others out of here."

i. The Rescue

The moment of peace and freedom doesn't last for long.

Even while you're still disoriented from everything that's happened in the past few hours, the person who's just freed you pushes a gun into your hands. If you're familiar with guns, it's simple enough to use, with a recognizable safety and trigger, a magazine of bullets attached to the bottom. If you're not familiar with guns, well...the person who just rescued you will give you a minute-long introduction to it. Press this button, click this hammer back, pull the trigger to shoot. Nothing fancy, but enough that you won't hurt yourself or anyone else you're not supposed to be hurting. Probably.

After being handed the gun, the person rescuing you looks at you not unkindly and gestures for you to follow, leads you through a maze of concrete corridors to the entrance of the building. There, you'll find something of a small warzone, a battle in progress though almost completed, in the parking and courtyard area between several small, squat concrete buildings. There, huddled in the safety of the building's entryway, the person who just rescued you will point across the courtyard toward an encroaching patch of jungle and quickly explain the situation - you've been brought to this place by the Sylphid, long-standing enemies who will "eat your soul" and replace you if they catch you, and the person rescuing you is part of a resistance army intending to overthrow them. You're to make your way across the courtyard and into the jungle, where you'll find someone named Brycen, a blue-skinned man who will get you out of here even as the battle rages on.

The courtyard is mainly open, with a few benches and trees that can be used as cover, and there is a small group of Sylphid - the enemy, the people who took you and are now shooting at you, but who look like average everyday people - who are taking potshots at whoever crosses the courtyard even as they engage with the rebels. You'll be provided with suppressive fire from those same rebels while you cross the courtyard, but other than that, you're on your own unless you want to take the run with whoever else just got rescued.

ii. Race Through The Jungle

Once you make your way across the courtyard and into the jungle, you'll find Brycen waiting for you about a 10 minute walk in. The moment he sees you, he gestures you over and leads you a few feet further into the underbrush where there are a few All-Terain Vehicles parked in a small clearing. Shooting you a little grin, Brycen spreads his arms to present the vehicles, then heads over to the closest one. What follows is a quick explanation of how to use the ATV, a small hovercraft that can seat two. Brycen points out another ATV that is driven by a member of the resistance, and tells you that this person will guide you to the Witches Camp, where you'll be living from now on. But it's on you to pilot the ATV from here to there.

Well, you and your new friend.

See, there are half as many ATVs as there are people, and each one does seat two. Brycen gestures at the nearest extra-universal arrival and tells both of you to hop on. Now, you're both bound for the Witches Camp together, for better or worse. It's a long walk, so don't piss off your pilot!

Or overturn the ATV or crash it, because the path from the clearing to the Witches Camp is rough, without many trails or paths that have been carved out of the underbrush, something the revolutionaries have done to avoid being tracked back to their home. The ride will be bumpy, hover-vehicle or not, with a lot of swerving to avoid obstacles and dodging to avoid branches. Hopefully, you won't have a run-in with any of the local jungle wildlife, which can range from small, relatively harmless animals to lizards the size of small dinosaurs and wild cats.

It's a wild ride, but eventually you make it to the Witches Camp, a sprawling maze of low-to-the-ground buildings and markets interspersed with jungle for cover, and the rebel leading you keeps doing so until you pull up in front of Central Command. This building is one of the nicer ones in the area, and houses the Witch herself as well as the seat of the revolution. This is where all of the rebel plans are made and where new arrivals are put up.

iii. Welcome Home

Once you enter Central Command, you'll find that they've prepared space for you. First, you'll be led to the residential area of the large building and given the keycard to your new apartment, a small furnished studio apartment with a main living/sleeping area, a desk, kitchenette, bathroom with shower stall, and a walk-in closet for storage. Once you've been oriented to your new apartment, you'll be taken to pick your network device from an array of devices ranging from ultra-modern tablets that can fold into the shape of a phone to an equivalent of regular modern-day cell phones to magical tablets or books that can be interacted with by characters unfamiliar with technology. They'll also offer to alter your own phone or device to access the network, if you prefer that.

After that, you will be guided to one of the big board rooms in the Central Command, where you'll find a large spread of food on the table, ready to be dug into - all the staff at Central Command have brought food from home to share with the new arrivals. You'll also find notebooks and pens to take notes, because this is the official orientation, and you'll come out of it having learned pretty much everything about the rebellion, the Sylphid, how the rebellion originated and most importantly, how you got here and how you can go home.

This is where the rebels point out that helping them is helping yourself, because the only way to send you home is to commandeer the device that brought you here in the first place, and the only way to do that is to overthrow the Sylphid overlords.

After this presentation, no matter how accepting or skeptical you are, you'll be given a small stipend and set free to explore the city, linger around and chat over the potluck leftovers, go back to your apartment, make a network entry to meet other people, or whatever else you'd like to do. Want some new clothes? They can direct you to the markets. Looking to start learning magic? They can direct you to the Mage's Sector where you can find a teacher. Looking to dance your cares away in the wake of this terrible upheaval? They can direct you to a club in The Electric Heart that sells cocktails that'll erase all your pain for the evening.

Go wild. The Witches Camp is your new home. What will you make of it?

iv. Network

Once you've settled into your apartment in the evening, you're free to browse the internet and intranet on your new network device. Care to make an entry and meet the others in your same situation?

NAVIGATION

Comments

[bentheredonethat]

"Well, no. Though I do believe that was my intention," if he appeared a little on the backfoot at getting push back on a suggested course of action, it was due to the fact that it had been a long time since he last argued with Anakin.

That thought, everything that came crashing along with it, including the recognition of how he'd slipped into his old, high handed ways, saw the older man giving his head a shake in the next moment.

"Do as you wish," he said. Though he was moving to seek out Brycen to offer his help.

[ezra_of_lothal]

And just as quickly as Ben backs down, Ezra's defiance breaks. "Hey," he calls out, quietly, taking a couple of quick steps to keep pace.

"I'm sorry I snapped. Just-" He blows out a breath slowly. "I'm happy to help everyone here, too. Is there a reason you think I should head out ASAP?"

[bentheredonethat]

Ben turned when Ezra called out, and though his eyes were a bit more haunted than earlier the smile that touched his lips was genuine.

"Only that we could be offering a unique set of skills at both ends of this chaotic moment," he gave honesty rather than obfuscation, stepping back towards Ezra. His next words came once he was close enough so that they would not be overheard.

"Even without the Force, the ability to be calm and focused in uncertain times is trait none of us can escape," he had gotten good at wiping the word 'Jedi' out of his vocabulary; using 'us' instead of the word. "It may be needed there as well as here."

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra listens. Thinks that through, reasoning through, and nods, and then his chin lifts again, in resolve.

"You'll find me, when you can?" he asks, levelly. Force willing, he means, to imply. Neither of them can control what happens next, not really.

But neither does he like the idea of Ben just...disappearing on him, by choice, either.

[bentheredonethat]

Only days ago he had done everything he could to chase a lost, young Jedi away from him; for both their sakes. He'd failed, add it to his long list, but now he did not feel even a twinge of anxiety at the idea of catching up with Ezra.

Reaching out, Ben set his hand on the younger man's shoulder and gave him a nod.

"Absolutely, just make sure you're somewhere for me to find." Force willing indeed.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra broke in a real, full smile, at that bit of affirmation.

"I will." And then. "May the Force be with you." He didn't bow; that's not something Kanan had taught him. Many of those cultural lessons had fallen by the wayside to focus on the practical, in his apprenticeship, under the Empire.

Right now, he headed to one of the vehicles, feeling a little less alone.

***

When he spotted Ben again, later, he didn't go to him immediately, just met his eye for a second and carried on with what he was doing. Nor did he hover close during the welcome meeting, or even the meal afterward. He glanced over a few times, keeping tabs on the older Jedi, but he was also paying attention to everyone else around him too.

Eventually, he did come over. "So I was thinking I'd run some errands. Want to come with, Ben?" So they could talk more with fewer people around who might be interested in what they had to say?

[bentheredonethat]

Obi-Wan had felt an unJedilike sense of relief when he'd seen Ezra at the meeting. He didn't even try to scold himself for it, balancing it instead against the pinch of grief that came with the thought of Nari. Ezra had done the right thing, keeping his focus on the meeting and on interacting with some of the others gathered in the room with them.

Lost to his thoughts, Obi-Wan looked up with a blink when the young man joined him, awkwardly pausing before he caught up with what Ezra was suggesting.

"Ah. Yes. Wouldn't hurt to stretch my legs," it was a bit of a rambling response, but he set down the smeared vegetable and looked for a trash receptacle for his plate.

[ezra_of_lothal]

He clocked that Obi-wan seemed...distracted. Maybe being so cut off from the Force was getting to the older man, too. Well, as awful as that thought was, Ezra felt a little less like he was handling this all badly somehow.

"Exactly," Ezra agreed, easily, his gaze flicking around to double-check whether anyone was particularly watching them, as he kept pace. "Take more of a look around."

[bentheredonethat]

Were he to ask, Obi-Wan would explain that being cut off from the Force was actually one of the least challenges on his mind at the moment. It wasn't comfortable, and if he had the option he would not shut himself off again, as he had for the previous ten years. But those ten years were still fresh in his mind; he knew how to handle the separation.

Plate disposed of, the older man folded his hands together almost as if he wore a traditional Jedi robe. He tilted his head towards Ezra, eyebrows lifted.

"Did you have a specific errand, with which you wish to start?" Unspoken: did something catch your eye that you'd like to explore in greater depth?

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Well," Ezra replies, biting the corner of his lip thoughtfully. "I wouldn't say no to clothing that would, uh, blend in a little better."

He's not vain, exactly, although his personal preference is brighter colors. Mostly, he'd like to look less like a prisoner.

"And maybe a look over some more of the technology, here."

The magic, he's less sure what to make of, and is more inclined to be cautious about. "What about you?"

Above all, he wants to talk.

[bentheredonethat]

Obi-Wan grinned. It was a shade of his old, impish smirk but there was enough of a twinkle in his pale eyes to suggest something was amusing him. In this case he was being amused at himself as he gave an answer that sounded more like Qui-Gon Jinn, than Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I believe I shall let my feet carry me where they may."

Which meant he would either follow Ezra and let the younger man lead them towards the objects of his curiosity, or if Ezra chose to follow Obi-Wan? Well. They'd find what they would find.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Erza startled into mirroring grin.

"I guess we don't need to be able to feel the Force for it to guide us, huh?."

And with that, he set out of the common room to start heading out of Centeral Command.

[bentheredonethat]

That observation would earn Ezra a wider smile; one that was both proud but also even more genuine than his well practiced diplomatic expression. A slight nod of his head as well.

"Exactly," he confirmed.

Falling into step beside the younger man, Obi-Wan noted their direction and made no move to alter course. Ezra had good instincts.

Not that he should be surprised. Depa Billaba had been a student of Mace Windu's, and for all his inflexibility in some matters, Windu had been a powerful and well studied Jedi. Traits he had passed down to Billaba, and Obi-Wan would choose to assume that she had trained Dumas well; even if their time had been cut short.

Training that would have then made it's way to the young man at his side.

"How many years did you have with Dumas?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

Does he need that bit of approval from Obi-wan? Maybe not. He has a lot of practice being self-sufficient, in pretty much every way. Nonetheless, he visibly brightens for a moment.

And then his expression shutters a little at the question. The pain of losing Kanan in still incredibly raw. But he doesn't actively resist the question. This is part of what he wanted to talk about, even if it hurts.

"He went by Kanan Jarrus by the time I knew him. We had-" He swallows. "About four years. I'd been...on my own a long time. Street orphan. Then when I was 14, I spotted what looked like a group of smugglers stealing from an Imperial supply convey. When I saw him, it was like...." He smiles, bittersweet. "Everything sang. And then he turned and looked, not right at me, because I was used to hiding. Right where I'd been."

[bentheredonethat]

Ah, but Ezra you should ask yourself; does Obi-Wan need to give that bit of approval? Old Mastering habits die hard, even when logically Obi-Wan is well aware that any young Jedi, even an Initiate is self-sufficient in many ways.

Perhaps being aware of his mistake, perhaps as atonement for his assumption that Ezra would appreciate the approval, the older man was quiet and gave Ezra space and time to speak of his master. He made a mental note to refer to the man as Kanan, going forward, even though Obi-Wan could only picture young Dumas standing behind Depa. But if he was going to insist people see him as 'Ben', he needed to respect the persona other survivors had taken on, after the purge.

Part of him wanted to sympathize with the pain he could sense in Ezra as he spoke of Kanan. He had been Qui-Gon's Padawan for twelve years. Qui-Gon was dead over twenty years now, but he still felt pain when he thought of his Master's death. Still felt a ... warmth when he remembered seeing Qui-Gon's Force Ghost.

Then there was Anakin, Padme, Leia and Luke and Ahsoka.

No attachments yeahright.

Obi-Wan kept his thoughts to himself, though he gave Ezra an understanding smile and a slight nod of his head; hoping to encourage the younger man to keep sharing.

[ezra_of_lothal]

There's no apology needed, not from Ezra perspective.

"I stole from them," he explained lightly. "Figuring if they were stealing from Imperials, it might be something really worth trading or selling. And got caught up in their mission. And followed that...singing more, and found Kanan's lightsaber and, um, a holocron, although I had no idea what it was."

He paused, realizing Ben might be making an assumption that wasn't accurate. "I...wasn't raised in the Temple. I, um, I couldn't have been," he tried to explain, fumblingly. "I was born the day Palaptine declared the Republic an Empire."

He met Ben's eye, with a grim, knowing look, but he was pretty sure that math won't add up, on Ben's end. But that was the truth.

[bentheredonethat]

Rather than being scandalized at the first part, Obi-Wan could only chuckle softly and shake his head.

"Resourceful, and sound reasoning." He agreed with a wry grin. The grin faded a little as Ezra continued and auburn brows drew together when the older man worked on the math.

"That would have been ten years ago," he said in a pensive tone. "So when you met him, Kanan would have been in his, late twenties?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Ten years for you," Ezra agreed, steadily. "And yeah, he was...28, I think? I think that's right. Talking about his apprenticeship - the way things used to be- was always hard for him," he added, more quietly.

"He'd stayed completely hidden, shutting out the Force, under he met Hera. Who's a pilot, from Ryloth."

He smiled again, faintly. "She never forgot you, and other Jedi, and the trooper protecting her people. I know she helped Kanan want to be a Jedi again. Encouraged him to start teaching me."

[bentheredonethat]

Once again Obi-Wan folded his hands together in front of him, as if expecting robes to fall down across his wrists and cover his fingers. They didn't, of course, but that didn't stop him adopting the pose as they walked along.

"Kanan was wise," he said in a sad but understanding tone. "I cut myself off from the Force for ten years, only recently re-established my connection." Obi-Wan gave a dry chuff of not quite amusement. "Only days before I come here and lose it again."

He's heard some conversation about what it could mean to have the chip removed. He was going to need to meditate on what felt like the right course of action. Besides, the comment about Hera made him smile slightly, an eyebrow lifting.

"Thank the Force for Hera." He thought briefly of Tala, but wasn't quite ready to try to share his thoughts and feelings on the brave woman who had also been instrumental in getting him back on the horse. So to speak. "People like her, some of the others, they take a great risk for us. We're Force blessed when they cross our paths."

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra looked thoughtful at Ben's admission that he'd cut himself off from the Force for so long, and winced, at the idea what the older Jedi had finally let it in again, only to be caught off, so soon, without any choice in the matter

"Hera and Kanan, some of the other like you say, like that, they've been my family."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway. I've...I've had the Force all my life. It guided me, when I thought I was alone, I know that now. Being without it is-" He made a motion, like he was moving to tug at the gloves he'd habitually worn for so long. But he didn't have any gloves, here.

He didn't like this current state of affairs, to put it mildly.

"But I didn't know - I'd never heard anyone admit to being a Jedi or talk about the Force until-"

He paused again, and another smile flitted across his face. "I got caught, on the second part of that first mission I stumbled into, before Kanan and I could really talk. I still had the holocron on me." He made a disgruntled noise. "Didn't bother to search a ratty kid, I guess. I didn't believe, then, that anyone would come for me, but I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. Pictured daisies opening up, at a touch, because I'd worked on my own that, um, that could help make me feel better. And then came a voice- "

He had the entire message warning Jedi away from the main Temple memorized; he'd listened to it many times over the years. He skipped over the first lines, in this recitation, of past Master Kenobi confirming his identity to anyone who might have been listening.

"This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force," he quoted, watching Ben for a reaction.

[bentheredonethat]

As they walked and Ezra talked, Ben focused on listening to and cataloguing what the younger man shared of his past and his experience with the Force. He smiled a little at the comment about always having had the Force his entire life, a sentiment Obi-Wan shared, but otherwise was content to listen.

Until those final words. His own words, spoken back to him; hearing them for the first time. They pushed forward the memory of when he'd updated the warning message, hoping to drive the surviving Jedi away from the scene of slaughter awaiting them at the Temple. Walking through the Temple with Yoda, trying not to lose himself in the figures of friends, of the young and the old, innocents all cut down by both blaster fire and a lightsaber.

Anakin's lightsaber.

Obi-Wan gave his head a sharp shake, pushing the memory back down into the depths of the shadows in his mind and he took a deep breath; let it out slowly. It took a second breath to release the emotions that had threatened to rise with that memory, but when he turned back to Ezra, his expression was calm.

"I'm glad to know that message reached at least some. I know Depa would have been relieved that Du... Kanan survived, and that he found you."

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra has been around too many survivors, too many veterans, to not have a guess about where Ben's thoughts had gone.

And now he was regretting his method of confirming that he really is talking to Master Kenobi. Although he's also counting that as a success.

But he'd had more than one point. "That message saved him," he continued, voice gentle.

"And...it showed me what a Jedi can be."

[bentheredonethat]

Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Kanan showed you what a Jedi can be," he insisted in a low but firm tone. For a moment, it may have seemed as if he was going to say more, but instead he wrapped his arms around himself, fingers curled over his biceps and began to walk.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Well, sure," Ezra replied, with deliberate lightness. "Seeing him whip out his lightsaber to protect the people were rescuing was definitely the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and was part of what I was thinking of when I said yes, when he offered to teach."

A beat. "But it wasn't the only thing I was thinking about."

[bentheredonethat]

Though he felt as if he understood what Ezra was trying to do, at least what Ezra was trying to say, the older man couldn't stomach it. He was working through things but as Qui-Gon had said, they had a long way to go and for the time being Obi-Wan needed to redirect the conversation.

"Are you considering taking them up on the offer to remove the inhibitor chip?"

Redirect the conversation, completely derail the conversation, drop an Imperial cruiser from high orbit onto the conversation. You know, whatever worked.