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

[tech_nically]

Stealth missions aren't exactly their favorite sort of mission to do, but they can manage when they have to. Rokuro's only fortunate that he has Tech to deal with rather than someone like Wrecker. Even as they go, Tech can only imagine the complaining his larger brother would be making. They might have made it across the courtyard faster with Wrecker's tendency for a more direct approach, but as such isn't the case currently, the clone puts the thought from his mind as he follows Rokuro's lead.

He proves to be quite good at it too, crouching, pausing, watching- ever on the alert. They may not have ranks between them but Tech's willing to defer so long as they know what they're doing, and by Rokuro's caution it's evident that the ninja's no stranger to going unnoticed.

Tech looks no more flustered than earlier, turning his head back towards Rokuro after casting a look back to make sure they've remained unspotted. Maybe once the adrenaline rush fades, once things quiet and he can let his focus slip to other things, anxiety might find a proper foothold, but for now, he treats this as a mission and their objective has not yet been reached. He gives Rokuro a nod.

"Ready when you are."

[noisecomplaint]

"I am ready." As ready as either of them will ever be. Their 'plan' is reckless, but staying where they are is suicide. Rokuro locks eyes with Tech, returning his nod, and surges into motion.

They'll have a grace period of anything from a couple seconds to a couple minutes before the Sylphid notice they're on the move. Upon sighting, the hail of bullets is immediate. Rokuro doesn't dare look behind himself for Tech, not until he skirts the edge of the gate and comes around the other side. Instead of hurtling forward he throws himself back against the wall, waiting for the other man to appear.

If they're lucky, Tech will show up alone, and they can run off side-long towards the jungle and lose their tails amidst the dirt. If they're unlucky... Tech will show up riddled with holes, or surrounded by unfriendly company.

Either way, Rokuro has decided he will not leave him. There is no point to life without honour.

[tech_nically]

It wouldn't be the first reckless plan Tech's ever gone with. Sometimes the best plan is to just keep moving, and in this particular situation they have little other options.

Tech lets his body move out of reflex, years of early training isn't something that's so easily forgotten. Ducking comes out of instinct upon hearing the first shots in their direction. He flinches aside purely out of luck as others threaten to come too close. His own gun barks sharply for a couple of shots before he's met with that telltale click, and he's not one to linger as he swings his attention forward again, hastening his pace.

The gunfire picks up again, but Rokuro will only hear one set of feet hitting the ground as Tech nears the outer gate. He comes around the wall, quick to seek new cover just around it, and perhaps just a tiny look of relief to find Rokuro there already. It's but a brief look spared as he turns his head back towards the open way, listening for anyone following as he catches his breath, left hand holding his gun at the ready despite it being emptied, but he figures he can still use it as a bludgeon if it comes down to it. The upper arm of his other sleeve darkens from too close a call of the return fire.

[noisecomplaint]

Rokuro returns Tech's look with the barest hint of a smile... which quickly dissipates the moment he notices the man's bloody sleeve. An injury is bad for multiple reasons. Firstly, because it means his partner may be bleeding out or temporarily disabled, and secondly because blood has a scent.

Without waiting for permission or approval, Rokuro wipes his hand down the front of his blood-soaked shirt and smears it down Tech's sleeve.

"Better to smell like predator than prey." Then he jerks his head in the direction of the jungle, none too far away now. Rather than making the obvious choice and heading straight in from the gate, it would make sense to go parallel for some distance.

Rather than speak, and potentially give away information (they have no idea how close the search party is), he simply takes the wrist of Tech's good arm and pulls him along towards a particular dense and unruly section of the jungle.

Even if they're spotted, the people following them might think twice about entering the jungle in a way that requires crawling through brambled underbrush on their hands and knees, especially when it makes carrying a large weapon all but impossible.

[tech_nically]

Tech manages to suppress a grimace as Rokuro adds more blood over his sleeve, or perhaps the added pressure, for which it seems he only barely notices his injury then. It isn't too deep so far as he can tell, but it stings. "That is highly unsanitary," he feels he must comment, but between Rokuro covered in someone else's blood and the possibility of others coming after them, he doesn't press the issue. His brow furrows at Rokuro's reasoning, but he nods, just before the other leads him into the underbrush.

Wandering into unknown wilderness without proper guidance tools seems like a bad decision, but at least Tech doesn't seek explanation. He can understand enough the reasoning, mentally marking the direction of the compound they've left although so long as they've got their back to it, they shouldn't get too badly turned around. He tucks the gun into the back of his waistband, following Rokuro's lead.

[noisecomplaint]

"My apologies." Said entirely unapologetically, because he isn't actually sorry, and he's also busy feeling his way through the underbrush. Rokuro is of no great height or width (hips excepting), so crawling through the tunnels and burrows made by animals is hardly pleasant, but not overly difficult. With some pushing of bramble and snapping of twigs, he can make some additional space for the much larger man following behind him.

"Given the softness of the earth, we will both be entirely camouflaged by the time we leave the bush." A 'polite' way of stating they're both going to be so absolutely filthy that painting one another with dirt to blend into their surroundings is no longer required.

"Do you believe your arm to be a problem?" Hygiene aside, as it will be some time until they can stop to clean the wound, he could quickly fashion a tourniquet of some kind.

[tech_nically]

It's a lot more inconvenient crawling around in such places without armor, that's for sure. About the only good thing is that there's no extra bulk to snag, but it's a toss-up as to whether that's a good tradeoff for having to bear the brunt of grabby twigs and thorns. Dirt seems the least of their problems.

"I suppose that will save us the extra trouble, anyway," Tech murmurs. They don't even know how far they've yet to travel through this jungle, once they reach their rendezvous.

He glances at his arm, but between the extra blood slathered over the tear his sleeve and how dimly lit things are, it's difficult to tell how much more it's been seeping. "It's not causing a hindrance. Thankfully it was only grazed, but it might be best to bind it once we have the chance," he reports.

[noisecomplaint]

"Indeed." If only 'roger' was a thing in feudal Japan.

At a certain point, Rokuro can't feel the scrapes and scratches anymore. He's aware his hands are forearms are filthy, coated in mud and spotted with blood, but there's no stopping. Not until they've been moving long enough that they're out of the Sylphid's immediate perimeter. It's impossible to know exactly how far they've (literally) crawled, but as the underbrush becomes increasingly dense, and the air thicker with humidity, it's clear they have hit the 'proper' jungle.

"I believe there's a clearing ahead. I hear something. Water, perhaps." As anticipated, the burrows open up into a small glade enshrouded by trees, with a tiny stream trickling through it. Not unlike the woods of Ueda. Rokuro waits for a moment, listening for the movement of anyone other than Tech or the animals surrounding them, and upon hearing nothing breaks into the open.

Tired, bedraggled, and thoroughly done with this shit, he simply remains on his stomach for a moment, listening to the sounds of the water and taking in the speckled sun through the jungle canopy.

[tech_nically]

The tension is starting to wear on him, but then they've been on the move for a while between now and the breakout. Tech doesn't allow himself to think back on everything just yet, having a feeling it would be overwhelming. It's easier to just focus on the now.

Water... That's a promising sound. Giving Rokuro a nod, the clone commando continues to follow the other's lead, and at least their slow going makes it difficult to accidentally bump into him. He waits, feeling his arm throb, but keeps himself still until Rokuro moves again, signal that things are clear.

He drags himself out of the underbrush with a ragged sigh, resting his forehead over an arm as he catches his breath.