TEST DRIVE #002

[reveriemod]

TEST DRIVE #002

( 0 0 1 ) » WAKE UP

Were you asleep or were you unconscious? It doesn't matter: when you come to, there's an odd taste in your mouth and there's a low-level mechanical hum in the air. Your head hurts and you feel nauseous. You aren't anywhere you know: everything around you is metal, from the floor you lie on all the way to the ceiling. You are dressed in a jumpsuit you definitely weren't wearing before.

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite."

The message repeats on a loop. If you look for its source, you find a comms device on the floor next to you. The logo on its wallpaper says REVERIE TERMINAL. Upon closer inspection, you find the same logo on your jumpsuit.

Welcome to your new home. What choice do you have but to explore your surroundings?

( 0 0 1 . 1 ) » WAKE UP WHERE?

When you wake up, you find that you're not alone. But more importantly, you find that you're in a closet. An empty closet, bar you and your new companion. It's small, cramped, and there is no door that you can see. The ceiling is low, there is barely any lights, only some coming from the tiny flashlight clipped to your suit's shoulder. You cannot be sure that there is any air coming in to the room.

Are these grooves in the wall supposed to mean something?

( 0 0 2 ) » OBSERVATION DECK

There were no windows in the corridor you woke up in and no windows in any of the crew quarters you might have checked for occupants — but there are plenty of windows on the uppermost level of the station, deck 1. In fact, there are windows from floor to ceiling all along the circumference of the station's circular deck, and it's possible to walk along it all. What it shows is a strange solar system you've never seen before and a planet that might resemble one you know, but certainly isn't the same.

You're in space. You don't know where you are. Neither does anyone else.

( 0 0 3 ) » BAR

On deck 3, you find the bar. Tucked away from the crew quarters, it's dimly lit, there are bar stools thrown down on the floor and what looks like some very old drink spills, crusty and dark against the bar top. But there is alcohol here, or at least, what you think is alcohol, in bottles with faded labels, most of them indecipherable. Take a drink, get drunk, start a fight, or start a party? You're stuck on this station, might as well make the most of it, right?

( 0 0 4 ) » SPACEQUAKES

One second, you are is walking. Magnetic boots are on, the ground feels solid enough, for a metal deck in a space station. Everything is perfectly fine, or at least as fine as it can be, given that you still don't know where you are or how you came to be here.

The next moment, it's like everything explodes around you. You're thrown against the wall as sparks erupts from electrical panels, as the whole station rumbles and shakes around you. You fall to the deck, earning yourself scratches from the grating. When you look up, it's like nothing has happened. No wires hanging from open panels, no flickering lights, no more shaking. Like an earthquake in space.

( 0 0 5 ) » NETWORK

The comms device you found next to you when waking up connects to a station-wide network, REVERIE NET. You have the option to post video, voice or text messages.

What will you share?

( 0 0 6 ) » WILDCARD

The station features a variety of locations, from sleeping quarters free for the claiming to a dirty swimming pool and a bar that still holds alcohol (though some of the bottles seem to have been opened a while ago).

Go wild, but don't wreck the place. It's your home for the foreseeable future, after all.

Comments

[oorah]

[ frank comes around the corner with max just in time for it to hit. he manages to wrap his arms around the dog before they go flying, providing a cushioned landing for the terrified pit. THIS. IS WHY. DOGS NEED. MAGBOOTS!!!!! he lets out a yelping bark when the shaking stops, trying to squirm away from frank. and that's when they both notice the girl on the floor. ]

Shit.

[ thankfully, the dog is on it before frank can be. he's a big guy and it takes him a second to peel himself up and get standing again, leaning back to engage the magboots and blowing out a breath. max is already up on his namesake, sniffing around her in a concerned manner. ]

Anything broken? [ he calls before shuffling over to him with his usual lumbering gait. he means on her, the station is oddly unmarred. ]

[revvedup]

[ she's a little too disoriented to be sure, but she could have sworn she heard a dog barking. but that's impossible -

nope, not impossible. that is definitely a dog sniffing at her as she pushes herself off the floor, and the situation is so bizarre that between it and the fact that there's no evidence of the earthquake that landed her on the ground, max wonders if she's hallucinating. but then she hears the dog's owner approaching and addressing her.

she groans, rolling over to a sitting position and rotating her wrists - the right one's a little painful, but not broken - before bending her knees. ]

No. [ although her stomach feels that much more uneasy now. she looks up at the man after a wary glance at the dog. ] You felt that too, right?

[oorah]

[ she looks nervous and he isn't sure if it's the dog or the spacequake or both so he motions to max for him to give her some space. ] Back up. [ he commands, but max is having trouble tearing himself away from her scent. something about it is familiar and he can't put his paw on it!!! but when frank gives him the dad look he backs off with a sad little look of his own, backing away from her a few paces. ]

Yeah, and it's gonna bruise. [ not like that looks new for him by any means. ] ...Did you just get here?

[revvedup]

[ it's a combination of everything, if she's honest. her feline dna makes her a little bit anxious around dogs at first, and this one seems calm enough but she's been on edge since arriving. the spacequake hasn't improved that state of mind. ]

Yeah. A couple days ago. [ she starts to get up at that point, bracing her hands against the wall and floor for support, but then something about his wording strikes her and she looks up at him with a puzzled frown. ] Did you not?

[oorah]

[ he offers her a hand if she wants it, he can tell she went down hard and could probably use the help, but he won't force it. ]

I've been here three weeks. [ an uneasy little shrug as max finds his place at frank's side again, but he's still studying max quizzically. ]

[revvedup]

[ she doesn't, but the offer is noted even as she ignores it. even as she stands, she finds herself having to lean forward, bracing her hands on her knees until her stomach settles back into a state that's more manageable. she's scrolled through network since arriving; she knows that this is normal, but it's kind of worrying that she's not getting over it as quickly as she's used to.

(maybe the gravity's just hitting her particularly hard. she's never been great at handling vertigo.) ]

Three weeks? [ she straightens, slowly, and regards him with disbelief. he doesn't sound like he's kidding and she doesn't think he is, but it sounds insane. ] Wha - how is that possible?

[ has she been here that long, too and just not known it? the idea makes her stomach start turning again. ]

[oorah]

[ his hand drops easily, not surprised in the least by the rejection. ]

I stopped asking questions around the time I figured out we were in space, so. [ he shakes his head and shrugs a shoulder a little helplessly. it's not really true, but it fits the narrative well enough for now. ] You sure you're okay? [ physically. clearly everything else is fucked. ]

[revvedup]

[ that earns him a weak laugh as she pushes some of the hair that's fallen into her face out of it. ] Yeah, fair enough. I just hope I haven't been asleep or whatever for that long. [ the idea of that may honestly be more disturbing than the idea of being in space. ]

I'm fine. [ it's spoken insistently, like if she says it firmly enough it'll be true. then her stomach rolls unpleasantly and she grimaces. she curses internally, then admits something closer to the truth. ] I'm not hurt.

[ the dog is still sniffing the air, looking at her curiously but not approaching. she nods to it. ] What about him?

[oorah]

I don't think it works like that. [ he really hopes not ] Since I've been here people have been showing up at random. Sometimes it's only one a day, or even zero. Sometimes it's a whole bunch.

[ which isn't any bETTER exactly, but. yeah. he accepts her insistence that she isn't injured at face value and looks at max, who in turn looks up at him. ]

Same with Max. I just woke up one day and he was here with me.

[revvedup]

I don't know if that makes it better or worse. [ her eyebrow raises at the name, although it's not like 'max' is really an uncommon one. she holds her hand out to him, waiting to see if he'll approach or just keep sniffing from afar. ]

Is he doing okay in space? [ it seems valid, she doesn't know how well animals are equipped to handle space. (although he seems to be doing better than she currently is.) ]

[oorah]

Honestly? Me neither.

[ he gives a little shrug before moving back just a pace so he's not holding max back from checking out their new friend. it's with extreme caution that he pads along the grates until his wet nose can press against her hand, ]

He seems to be. I want to make him magboots though. [ suck it amos this is a worthwhile project!!! ] But he's a dog, you know? He's good. [ A Good Boy even ]

[revvedup]

[ she lets him sniff for a bit, then moves her hand and starts to gingerly pet him, starting with the top of his head before moving to scratch his ears. if he's aware of the feline, he's not letting on in a way that would blow up her spot, which is a huge relief. although keeping hidden appears to be the least of her problems. ]

Under normal circumstances, anyway. [ her attention moves from the dog to their surroundings, and she looks at them in disbelief. everything feels so still, especially compared to a few moments ago, that it feels like they're being tricked, lured into believing they're safe. ] Does that happen a lot?

[oorah]

[ max seems really interested in this lady, enough that frank takes notice of it. but it isn't an aggressive way, so he doesn't comment or try to step in. the pit accepts his pets but emits a low whine of uncertainty. WHAT ARE YOU ]

Uh. No? Not that I know of anyway and I don't know much. [ frank catches the dog's eyes and he stops whining, but stays close to other-max's side. ] But that's the first time it's happened to us. Should add, though: a lot of weird shit has happened to us. [ just not this specific weird thing ]

[revvedup]

[ his whine has her worried that he's catching on to what she is, so she stops petting him after a final skritch behind the ears, stepping back a bit. her attention focuses back on the man, since he's mentioning a few things that are very pertinent to her current situation. ]

Yeah? Care to elaborate?

[oorah]

[ not really but he will anyway. frank holds up his hand where there's an ugly scar across his palm and healing burns up his wrist. fun times. then he's ticking off his fingers as he tries to think of it all. ]

When we first got here the food machines were making people sick, and see things. Then there was the time a door tried to swallow my friend - she wasn't the only person it happened to either. Then screaming in the walls - or laughing and talking. People were hearing different things, but if you tried getting inside you passed out. That sucked. Some people woke up with wires under their skin, they had to cut 'em out. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, it's been a nonstop thrill-ride.

[ while simultaneously being super boring since they can't actually DO anything about this shit. max takes the initiative to come back to frank's side and his hand reflexively lands on the dog's big, block head. he pants happily, "smiling" at max #2 ]

[revvedup]

[ max's eyes widen at the damage as he holds up his hand, then focuses back on what he's actually saying. he mentions the wires underneath people's skin and she wonders if that's what happened with his hand. something else that really catches her attention is the door, considering where she'd woken up and how she'd gotten out of there, and then there's the mass hallucinations and illness.

and now earthquakes, it would seem. ]

Is there anyone here who's native to the place?

[oorah]

To... the space station? [ it's not such a dumb question, but it comes out before he can stop himself. there's naomi who's never been on a planet before, always been in places like this. and then he remembers seeing the stuffed animal in jesse's room. there had been kids here. so maybe it's not such a stretch after all. ] No. We're all imports, or claim to be.