annexedmeme | Test Drive Meme #1

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!test drive meme

Test Drive Meme #1

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"The Grand Army of...?"

She has to stop, altering their course again, and spotting one of the reptiles they'd been warned about - though thankfully the nearly horse-sized animal seems more startled than she is, darting off into the deeper jungle.

"The Clone Wars ended...that was over thirty years ago," she replied. She shook her head.

"Dunno how much you want to know," she added, from there. "But you must mean Anakin Skywalker - I mean his son, Luke."

Tech may be having problems with his thinking, but his reflexes are still up to speed as he brings his gun up, ready in case the large beast decides to prove hostile. He releases a breath as it runs off, feeling better as they put more distance between them.

Thirty years... It's a staggering number to someone who's lived but a few years over a decade, only because the number is effectively double for their altered aging. "So you're implying that we are from completely different periods of time..." As though being displaced in a different universe wasn't enough.

"I was unaware that General Skywalker had a son, but then given what I understand of Jedi culture I suppose that was not something anyone would have known..." And yet he can't be completely surprised. For the one mission they'd pulled with Skywalker, it was obvious that the Jedi played looser by the rules than the Council seemed to allow.

"It's a very long story," she replied, flashing him a smile. "And if I'm not lying, and you're not lying, then we have to be from different times, no?"

She came to a large clearing, bursting out of the undergrowth.

"And let's just say there are exceptions, and things change a lot."

[OOC: So after I started on the TDM (or I just missed it) it went up that Fandom OCs aren't accepted, so I won't be applying anybody. This is a nice thread, I'm willing to finish it out, but figured you might want to save your efforts. Either way, great to see Tech out and about! :)]

"I think neither of us have much reason to be lying about such things," Tech says grimly. His concerns are still very much focused on the fact that there is something capable of reaching beyond multiple planes of existence. Admittedly there's a bit of fascination in that as well, but probably something to consider later. Right now, it's just amounting to more of a headache.

He can feel the adrenaline rush waning now that the worst seems to be behind them, but he keeps his guard up out of habit. There won't be any real relaxing until they've got some walls between them and whatever lurks in these jungles.

"Yes...things do change a lot," he murmurs. His squad has been on a rollercoaster of change ever since the end of the war.

(OOC: Sadness! I've been enjoying this thread, and I'm up for finishing it out with you if you are. I have never gotten to play him off other StarWars before.)

She looks over when she gets a chance.

"If I remember the histories right - it must be a bit jarring, being separated from your brothers," she offers, gently enough. "I'm definitely not helping by being Future Girl, unfortunately."

[OOC: I sure am! Your Tech is great!]

The possibility that the rest of them might not be here with him has slowly started to dawn on him, which leaves him with a confusing jumble of feelings he doesn't know what to do with. They'd never just not be there, after all. At a different location, operating independently until they could reconvene, yes, but all with the knowledge that they were out there somewhere.

Throughout the previous firefight Tech had kept an eye out for any of his squad, but he'd seen nor heard any sign of them. On the whole, perhaps it was a good thing. But now this somewhere might not be anywhere physically reachable by normal methods of transportation. Anxiety is not an emotion he is very well acquainted with.

"Jarring...is a word for it," Tech agrees with a small grimace. "We're still trying to find our footing, but our squad for the most part, remained together. Well, except for one of us." He sighs. "I would hope at least the future turns out for the best. So the Empire is no more?"

(OOC: Yay! And thank you!! Vol'tha's been a lot of fun, I'm glad to have been able to play with her :])

"Dead and gone," she replied, "though a Remnant fights on. But it's just warlords now, no real threat outside their own territory. Or very little of one, at any rate. There's a new order of Jedi Knights to try and help the New Republic get its footing."

She altered course once more, though it seemed like the hard stuff was behind them, not, the jungle less thick, less oppressive. The path ahead still seems obvious, thankfully.

"The problem is the Emperor did his level best to take what he could with him - the history of the Clone Wars gets a bit...murky."

It's not a surprising thing to hear. The galaxy alone is huge, the Empire with more than its fair share of ambitious people. Something so far-reaching and with that many loyal to its cause would not vanish instantly. Tech nods. Separate territories and delusional despots could be easier dealt with if needs be. He does perk at mention of a new order, along with a new Republic.

"I'm relieved to hear that the Jedi still live on," he says. "I'm only sorry that we clones were used to wipe them out to begin with." That the Emperor had held onto any secrets was expected. Tech himself isn't sure of how much involvement Palpatine had, but for how smoothly everything fell into place, there had to be some considerable planning done. It was almost admirable, if one overlooked the losses and sacrifices made for it to happen.

He hopes that the clearer path ahead means that they're closer to their destination, watching the trees and underbrush pass by them in silence for a moment or two.

"Nobody blames you," she says, before the silence goes on too long. "It's a bit obscure how you were coerced into it, but there's a lot of talk about the clones going mad. Being forced into it. And Palpatine had decades to obscure what happened, after all."

She offers him a smile.

"And Ryloth? Ryloth never forgot what the Grand Army did. I spent most of my life in the desert, and even I still heard stories. Hah, my father would be so happy to know that his daughter was a Jedi, working with a member of the GAR."

"That...would not be completely wrong. I don't believe the truth of it was even widely known amongst the clones themselves." Clones going mad... After having seen how easily the troops of Depa Billaba had turned on her at the drop of a hat, he supposes he can see how those not in the know would think that they'd somehow just lost their minds.

"It would appear that we were from the very beginning created to ultimately destroy the Jedi Order. All clones were implanted with an inhibitor chip, or so it was claimed to be, which in fact turned out to act as a sort of switch once a specific order was issued. It could not be resisted," he says solemnly. "That order signaled the end of the Jedi and the war."

With there being less things to dodge out here, Tech manages to allow himself to really rest against the seat backing. It's an uncomfortable ride but even more so being tense all this time. He glances over at the Twi'lek, a flicker of a smile appearing at her words. "My squad had a mission in Ryloth some time ago. From what I heard, there were still some clone troopers loyal to their original reason for being there, loyal to the people of Ryloth despite the Empire's occupation. It's good to know that the GAR can still be remembered for the good they fought for."

It's a diabolical plan - simple, durable, and done right under the noses of the Jedi Order. It sounds exactly like what she'd known of Palpatine, really.

But there's at least better that they can speak about.

"Sounds about right. The legends are many. I'll bet you and yours are in there, too."

Tech breathes a faint chuckle at that. "Well, if you've heard anything about Clone Force Ninety-Nine or the Bad Batch, that would be my squad," he says. With their atypical methods he wouldn't be surprised if there were rumors that cropped up even with the initial secrecy of their squad's operation. He lifts his head, trying to make anything out ahead or glimpse their lead hovercraft.

"Has this new order of Jedi been established long?" He wonders if they'd had any part in taking down the Empire that had destroyed then.

"My father would have had all the stories," she said, a bit wistfully. "I can't remember most of them now. But I'm willing to bet you my last decicred you're remembered on Ryloth, too."

She shook her head at the latter.

"Luke Skywalker started to search for other lost Jedi or Force sensitives immediately after the Emperor was killed - but we've still only been training for two...three years now? He started with less than a dozen. There's nearly two hundred of us now."

They'd definitely be remembered by Cham and what was left of his freedom fighters, at least. While he's not sure how things have panned out since their rescue operation, the end of the Empire still means freedom and a well-earned peace hopefully for many territories, Ryloth included.

"That...is impressive," Tech says, brows lifting at the number. "I imagine having no Empire nor the Emperor to worry about has greatly affected that."

"Not that some of the warlords haven't tried," she replied, "but so far none of them have come close to succeeding. And each year, there are more of us. Give it a few decades, maybe we can start to be what the Order once was."

She pauses.

"Well, an improved version, at any rate. It's not the same order, after all."

Clearly there was room for adjustments and improvement for the fresh start of a new Jedi Order, especially if there was no guidance from surviving veterans.

"All new? But then I would not be surprised if the numbers of anyone from the old Order have waned over the years." Not impossible though. There were padawans, species with prolonged life expectancies. The real question, Tech supposes, would be whether they would be willing to show themselves after such a traumatic experience.

"We have some of their teachings, but so few survived. There are padawans who made it, but after so many decades..."

She shook her head.

"So much was lost, but we're piecing back together what we can."

Tech nods solemnly. "We tried to save one, but after seeing his troops kill his master, he did not trust us. I do not know what became of him, but perhaps we were at least able to give him a chance."

The Order had received a crippling blow meant to wipe them out. "You must be doing something right to have such numbers already," he observes. "It's a relief to know that the Jedi still continue on in some way."

She's beginning to like Tech quite a bit. The clones who had tried.

"Simple math, really. Of the original twelve, ten are still alive - a few more came from outside of that, like my master, who was self-taught. So that was...thirteen, in the end, maybe? Each of them trains one more, that's twenty-six...if each of them trains one..."

She smiles.

"It can grow quickly. It's less...top-down from before? We all learn from each other."

Put in that perspective, it makes much sense than thinking that one person had gleaned new trainees on their own. This thing clouding up his thinking processes is quite annoying. "Ah, of course." Tech nods.

It's a grounding conversation and he can't help but be curious. Even with time a major factor between them, and for all that there's a lot to be figured out of this place and the circumstances surrounding their being here, this subject is something he can easily digest and willingly focuses on in the interim. "That seems like an ideal course. Learning is probably quicker that way. Are there still ranks?"

[OOC: Welp, the interactions here are so great, I tossed another Jedi into application instead. :P So if Tech comes, too, he'll find someone from the same universe...just a few thousand years back. :P ]

"Yes, but also no," she replied, with a grin. "We still have masters, and trainees - but it's not as formal as it was. We train who we can find, so we don't start with children, either - and we don't discourage attachments, either. We've learned from the old Order's mistakes."

"Mistakes..." Perhaps some were more obvious than others, but Tech only had as much of an understanding of how the Jedi operated as he was able to find available, aside from the limited times he and his squad had directly worked alongside them. He understands the ranks, had a general idea of their abilities, but practices and tradition were sometimes unclear between text and what he's observed.

"Not kept exclusive, then. The Jedi for all that they were renowned for their efforts in the war were effectively overlooked at its end. It's...unfortunate, but it's probably played out as the Emperor's hoped."

"From what we know, Palpatine manipulated the galaxy for decades. He had powers no Sith Lord in thousands of years had possessed. The Jedi, thinking their ancient enemy long defeated, grew complacent. By all accounts he was...a terrible foe."

And one who had cheated death to return to ravage the galaxy more than once, unfortunately.

Eyes widen behind his goggles at that. "Palpatine is a Sith Lord? Well. That does put some things into perspective." As well as bring up so many more questions. There's only so much to be found about the Sith that it goes hand in hand with the Jedi belief that they no longer existed.

"Terrible foe seems an understatement. I'm not surprised that his machinations have gone on for so long. The fluidity in which things changed from the Republic into an Empire was startlingly quick and without opposition. If it wasn't so terrifying one might almost have to admire the amount of control over so many moving parts to pull it all off."

"Surprise," she replied, a bit ruefully. "There's a lot we don't know, but that smoothness is part of the reason why - he was prepared to wipe out any potential trail that could be used to duplicate his success."

Test Drive Meme #1

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Good place to end.