» TEST DRIVE #001

[reveriemod]

TEST DRIVE #001

( 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 3 . 1 ) » VIRTUAL

But the alcohol isn't even the most interesting part of your discovery (depending on who you are, of course). No, what catches your interest is a second, smaller room off from the main bar room, which looks to be some kind of arcade. There are a few VR sets lined up against one of the walls, and surely, they can't be working, right? Nothing is on this rust bucket. And yet, if you put it on, the display comes to life.

It's a pretty simple HUD, and when you move around in reality, you move around in the virtual world you've just entered. It's a luxurious world, full of brightly, saturated colors, making it just a little obvious that it isn't real. Ahead, there is a jungle, a temple, and a city. You can play around, slay some monsters, have some fun, but you can feel yourself growing hot, like the VR helmet is burning your forehead.

And when you try to take it off, you find that you can't. The HUD glitches, the sound cuts off to a blaring alarm, and an error message appears, in glowing, blinking red letters: FINISH THE MISSION. Will you, despite not knowing what the mission even is, or will you fight to get the helmet off?

( 0 0 4 ) » MALFUNCTIONS

(cw: body horror, bodily functions, gore, blood, death)

The fabricators function well enough, until they don't. One day, one moment, everything's all right — the food doesn't generally taste amazing and sometimes downright awful, but it's nourishing and filling no matter what your dietary needs — and the next, things go a little haywire.

In short, the fabricators are malfunctioning.

Oh, they're still producing food that looks and tastes much the same as before, but now there are some unexpected side effects.

NB: Characters may experience any of the following side effects: nausea ranging from slight to debilitating, the sensation of being happily and affectionately — but not overwhelmingly — drunk, bone-deep exhaustion and weariness that makes it hard to move, or repeated hallucinations of loved ones screaming for help, reaching out to characters and leading them down abandoned corridors or being killed by unseen forces.

The extent to which characters are affected is up to players, as is whether you'd prefer to play this more lightheartedly or tackling more serious themes. If the latter, please provide warnings in subject lines where necessary.

( 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 5 . 1 ) » NETWORK USERNAME

When you first turn on your communication device, it requests for you to pick a username to identify you on the network. It can be anything you want. However, as you try to input a username in your wristband to access the network, you get the following message, along with a small, but irritating, warming sound:

this username is already in use.

What does this mean? Is there other people around? Were there other people around?

( 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

[tumang]

[ There's plenty of what ifs - Mei could be a Hybrid, she could be dead. But whenever Prax wavers, he'll find Amos there. She might be dead, or worse. But at least Prax would know.

He nods, turning back towards the window. ]

We'll all get home. Whatever home means.

[ He doesn't exactly has one. ]

You're going back to Ganymede, once everything is done?

[contorta]

( if someone were to ask prax what amos' home is, he'd say the rocinante. it's the only place he's ever seen amos live in, of course, but it's also a place where he seems comfortable. where he knows who he is and what he's doing, at least, if nothing else. and where he has people he cares about, though that is to some extent an assumption on prax's part.

he assumes home for amos means the roci. for him? )

I don't know. There might not even be a Ganymede anymore, with the way everything's been going.

( it'll depend, too, on what happens with mei. if she's alive. if she's well. he'll do whatever she needs him to do. )

[tumang]

The cascade.

[ Amos had been on Ganymede when everything had gone to shit. He remembers everything about it, even if the face of the 50 odd people they saved are blurred together, in the haze of the shots Naomi drugged him with. ]

The moon's still around. It can be fixed, doc.

[ Prax needs a home, for himself and his kid. He needs his plants back. ]

[contorta]

( fifty people aren't nearly enough. fifty lives are still better than none. prax can't imagine having to make those choices, though he fears that the path he's on right now might mean that he has to. what would he do? and could he live with himself?

will he be able to live with himself if it turns out that mei doesn't make it? )

Yeah, it can. But that's not the same as saying that they will.

( but amos is trying to hard to be hopeful and prax — prax can't deny him that even though he's trying to brace himself for the worst. it's a constant war between hope and everything he's seen. he smiles and it's only half-forced. amos deserves better than his doubt. )

I'll figure it out. Once we have Mei back. ( we. he can't imagine doing it without the crew of the rocinante. without amos. )

[tumang]

[ It's barely hope, at this point. It's just that he can't have Prax lose sight of what matters to him. If he does, if he wavers, then how is Amos ever going to manage, himself? Amos needs to be able to hold on to something - to someone - who is better than him. ]

Yes.

[ Once they get Mei back. And they will, whatever state they find her in. ]

And in the meantime, this place can do with a bit of sprucing up.

[contorta]

( prax can't lose hope, but he can't cling to it endlessly, either. at some point, he may need to figure out how to go on if there's no chance of rescuing mei, or if his little girl is gone. he hopes it won't come to that, but — it might.

he can't carry that and amos' needs, even if he doesn't realise that amos might need him at all. especially if he doesn't realise it.

he takes the change of topic gratefully, brightening a little because at least this? this is something he knows. something he's good at, too. ) Did you see any plants anywhere?

[tumang]

[ If Amos was to carefully consider the state of his relationship with Prax, he would think it's mutually beneficial. They need each other, in some ways. But Amos isn't one to examine these things very carefully.

And he's not looking at Prax anymore, just feeling his presence next to him, the two of them shoulder to shoulder as they stand by the window, looking out to a world they don't know. ]

No, but some girl found shit meant for hydroponics. There are fittings and casings around, kinda like on the Roci. It's similar anyway. So I'm sure you can work your magic.

[contorta]

( prax doesn't see that. he doesn't realise that amos needs him as much as he needs amos, if in an entirely different way. he is the kind of guy to examine these things carefully, at least sometimes, but he's missing information here. a pretty big chunk of it.

for now, it'll stay missing, but they have this: their shoulders barely touching as they look out into the unknown. it's comforting to talk about hydroponics. it's comforting to have something he knows, something he's good at. amos' presence, too, is a comfort. )

It's not magic, you know.

[tumang]

[ Amos lets out a tiny snort, nostrils flaring in amusement. ]

Give me a reactor core and I'll rig you anything you need. Plants? It's all magic and mystery to me, doc.

[ Which was another thing that he found fascinating about Prax, and what he could do. Their two sets of hands, fixing machines and plants. Their two sets of hands, Amos's for killing, and Prax's for nurturing life. ]

[contorta]

( prax huffs out a breath, amused despite himself. for a moment, at least. they can't focus on doom and gloom constantly, can they? prax isn't sure if not thinking of mei every minute of every day is some kind of betrayal, but he figures it probably isn't. she'd want him to find her, but she'd want him to find what happiness he can along the way, too, wouldn't she? that's the little girl he's raising. )

Reactor cores are mysterious to me.

( what a pair they make. )

[tumang]

My point exactly.

[ Amos smiles - genuine, this time. It feels like it's the first time since he arrived here that he is, and it feels strange, almost. He's missed it, just like he misses sitting in the galley with the crew, talking about some random Earth thing with Holden, eating Alex's food. Working on whatever is necessary with Prax. ]

Anyway, I think the girl found some seeds. Do you have your communicator? I smashed mine.

[ Maybe there's access to stuff posted before Prax even arrived onto the station. ]

[contorta]

( prax glances at amos just in time to catch the tail end of that smile and it prompts one of his own. it's an automatic reaction, almost, but he feels better for it. )

I'd love to take a look at them.

( he pulls his communicator from his pocket. ) Yeah. Here.

Why did you smash yours?

[tumang]

[ Amos taps through, pulling out the girl's message, along with the attached picture of the tubbing and filters she found, handing it back to Prax. ]

Here, have a look.

[ Then, he shrugs. ]

Oh, I woke up locked in a closet. Had to smash it to get myself a makeshift screwdriver.

[ The way he says it is totally neutral, like it's nothing. ]

[contorta]

That's a good start.

( he means the tubes and filters, not amos waking up in a closet. that isn't a good start at all. )

Locked up?

[tumang]

Yeah. No doors, no windows, no nothing but some grooves in one of the walls. Got lucky and found some screws, hidden under sealant.

[ Amos shrugs. ]

There was a vent behind it. Crawled out.

[contorta]

Not a pleasant welcome on the station.

( in comparison, his own headache and slight nausea don't sound so bad. )

[tumang]

No worse than most hangovers I've had.

[ Make it a joke. It doesn't matter now, it's done. ]

Met this girl while I was in there. She has some really high tech implants, the kind of shit that's way beyond anything we've seen.

[contorta]

( it does matter. )

Yeah? How old is she? ( he can't help but think of mei. of what strickland might do to mei. probably no implants, but — he's seen one of the hybrids. )

[tumang]

Late teens, I'd guess. 18 or something? I didn't ask.

[ He's not the kid-friendly one in their crew. ]

Why?

[ He's worried about the answer, and it shows. ]

[contorta]

No reason.

( it's both true and it isn't. )

I was thinking about Mei.

[tumang]

[ When is he not thinking about Mei? ]

Well yeah, but - oh.

[ Okay. More carefully, Amos puts a hand to Prax's shoulder again. ]

We'll keep an eye out, okay? If she shows up here, we'll find her. If not, we'll find a way home. That's all there is to it.

[contorta]

What if—

( amos makes it sound simple. straight-forward. prax wants to believe that, but it isn't quite enough to ease the hole in his heart, the ache in his chest, the fear in his stomach. )

What if we make it back and it's too late.

[tumang]

[ What if. That's always the question - what if she's a hybrid, what if she's dead? All valid thoughts, and Amos can only think that at the very least, then Prax will know. No more questions.

Amos doesn't say anything for a while, thinking it over. ]

You can't think that way. You've got to keep going, Doc. Fight for her.

[contorta]

( it's a question that feels all the more pressing now that he's here. not even on the roci, taking steps toward finding his little girl, but somewhere he doesn't know. somewhere he can't leave, apparently.

he never felt stuck or trapped on ganymede; he does now.

but — ) You're right. ( he swallows, looks down. )

/scene?

[tumang]

[ Amos nods, and squeezes Prax's shoulder again, just - because, he can tell that's what the doc needs right now. The willingness to keep going and fight some more to get to his little girl. Amos has not wavered in that goal for a moment. ]

Hey, have you seen the rest of this place? I'll give you a tour.