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HYPERJUMP | a panfandom sci-fi game. ([personal profile] uplink) wrote in [community profile] hyperlinks2018-08-01 05:17 am
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test:drive_01.

TESTDRIVE_01



THE ARRIVAL.

You wake up, wet and bruised, in the water.

You don't recall falling, but you recall a flash of bright light, and the next thing you know you're washing up on the shoreline. You can see two moons and a planet in the sky. Directly abovehead is a slash of oscillating lights that flash painfully bright with every passing second - and you witness a handful of silhouettes getting spit out of the lights, falling into the water with a loud splash.

It's a surprising sight; just as surprising is the fact that you're not alone.

A stranger you didn't notice approaching hauls you up onto your feet, checks you for injuries, and then you're lifted into a shuttle, where you're healed by the med techs on board. There are others like you who were pulled from the water and the sand, and they're in various states of healing. You're all soaked in seawater - and by the look of things, you're all equally at a loss about your situation.

An automated message keeps repeating over the PA system in English: "You are currently in Caius Allied Territory. Welcome to Alexandrina."

Where the hell are you?

You're now in Alexandrina, and we hope you enjoy your stay.



NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE.

It isn't your lucky day.

Something, somewhere along the line, goes incredibly wrong. Rather than keeping you at the shores of Alexandrina, the rift pulls you in and spits you out in a place that's a lot less watery and clear. The first thing you come to is the taste of dirt and grime, and the hustle and bustle of a city that doesn't have an off-switch.

Overhead, there are high-rises and towers that go up further than your eyes can see. It seems neverending, and natural light struggles to filter through the metal. The shock only starts to fade away when you hear the sounds of a struggle not too far away from where you landed. Investigating will lead you to a group of Caia Maxus harassing a few Terrans on a back alleyway. The Terrans are trying to sidestep their way out of this (they'd rather not get involved in a fight), but the Caia Maxus far outnumber them and all escape routes have been blocked.

No one else is stepping in to intervene. If anything, the rest of the onlookers seem to be encouraging the rough treatment. So now you get to decide:

OPTION A | YOU STEP IN LIKE THE HERO YOU ARE. You step between the two parties to try and avoid an escalation. You don't want to start trouble, or maybe you do and this seems like a good reason to fish for a fight.

OPTION B | YOU LOOK THE OTHER WAY. This isn't your problem really, so without saying a word, you head for the other direction. The Terrans weren't asking for help anyway, so maybe they could handle it. Best hope nothing will let you regret your decision.

Choose wisely. You'll feel the effects of your choices sooner than you think. Regardless of what you decide though, the Hypatia Rescue Fleet 409 will locate you a few Terran hours later. They'll tell you they have no idea how you ended up in Koriba, that's never really happened before, but they're glad they managed to find you before anything major happened.




THE NIGHT OF.

It's a lot to take in. You're on an alien moon, looking out to a planet that looks a lot like Earth but isn't. You can see the storms swirling around, the deep blue of its own seas, as you listen to the crash and pull of the waves not far from where you stand. The stars are different here too - there are no constellations that you recognize immediately.

Some of the older locals are lingering outdoors with you, and they nod at you as you make your way around the cottages. Are you headed to the beach? You might find a few couples having a moment there. Are you headed back into the cottages? If you peer into some of the windows, you'll find entire families sitting together, or parents tucking their children to bed.

If you're headed into the woodsy areas that extend away from the beach, you might hear a rustling sound or two - from something too large to be another person.

Careful where you walk tonight. There's a reason for lights out being a thing.




WELCOME TO THE 409.

It's the morning after your quick orientation into the Alexandrina settlement, and everything looks dewy and homey — until you start hearing loud splashes, followed by shots firing off nearby. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a bunch of eldritch horrors falling from the rift abovehead. They stand at roughly ten meters tall each, lumbering out from the water with angry screeching and flailing limbs. They're already kicking up a mess at the shorelines, and upending some of the makeshift outposts lining the beach.

The locals are shooting at them to keep them away from the settlement borders. Most of them are adults, but some of the shooters are as young as fifteen or sixteen, and clearly used to the kickback of the firearms they're carrying. One of these shooters pushes you forward, tells you to get moving. Another hands you keys to a vehicle and points you in the direction of the fleet — every able adult needs to help in manning the patrol lines, they say. The keys fit into a hoverbike, which in turn is armed with blast guns up front.

"Get up in the air and help the guys out," the stranger urges you. "We don't have as many men as we used, to. Get going, get going!"

...Maybe those bikes come with a how-to manual? On the bright side, at least you're not alone in trying to figure these bikes out.




NOTHING WASTED, NOTHING THROWN.

The beach is saved! You're drenched in monster blood, there's sand in places you didn't realize you even had, and your bike is in some form of damage after those first few crucial minutes of getting the hang of riding them.

Now comes the cleanup, and your character is armed with large chainsaws and buckets. The creatures need to be chopped down to smaller sizes before they can be properly incinerated, and everyone's kindly asked to suit up and get to chopping!

There are small stalls and tents lined up along the beach for various purposes to help with the process. There are refreshment tents for when the sun heat gets to be too much; there are portable incinerator ovens, which burn the creatures' parts down into fertilizer (no point letting it go to waste, hey!), there are shower tents for when you're done with the hacking and sawing, and at the far end of the beach, away from the gore and the carnage, is a beach barbeque bonanza.

From the way people act, this is a normal day in the 409.

So why not grab a saw, chop up some monster flesh, and have yourself a nice beef-flavored something? You've earned it today.




HYPENET.

C̪͇̜̞͇̲a̮̠̝͍̩̦n̪̣ a̦͖n̕y̯̪̪o̟̭͞n҉̩e͢ ̱̜̠͎̖̤h̘̝͔͓̳̪̠e̻̲̦̯ͅa̵r͈̜͙̣̜ ̧m̩͇ḙ͓͡?̩͈̲ͅͅ

H̷͖͇͈̮e̲͖❚❚͓͈̥̤̺͔ͅ—͍ N͎̦̫̯͔̯o͖̖͎̠̣̮ ̹̝o̬̦̠̫̮ͅ❚̱͈̺̝̥͞❚͏ ̳❚͉͎͜ş ̨͚̲͓͚̣̫s̙̥❚̮͚̻͠f̟̪̲̳̕e̥̞̲̝̝͟—͈̖


Whoa. What was that?

This is the first thing you hear as soon as you try connecting to the network. Something tells you this isn't something that happens often, but asking anyone who knows more about this place than you do isn't netting you any answers. The more people start looking at you like you're crazy, the more you're tempted to brush it off...

Connecting to the network again will trigger its original default message:

Welcome to HypeNet, DefaultUsername[xxxx]! You are now accessing the Hypatia Mass Network. You may input your personalized username and start chatting now!

Time to get some answers. Maybe someone else must have heard it too, right?



OOC NOTES.

Welcome to the first TDM of HYPERJUMP! We're trying something different with the Koriba prompt, so please bear with us. Cast your vote here! Both options have their own sets of consequences that will affect the first intro log of the game, so choose your actions carefully!

Additionally, the interactions in this test drive can be game canon if the parties involved agree to it. Everyone is also encouraged to use test drive threads for samples in your application. We are super excited to have you here, and we hope you like what you see. ♥


fuckingpassw0rd: (41)

[Arrival]

[personal profile] fuckingpassw0rd 2018-08-01 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Are you sure he would have laughed? Or would he just be trying to twist his clothing so that the sea water slowly dripped out, letting out a storm of colorful swears? Perhaps it was just at the mess of his entire situation and being dragged around (and complaining the entire time) that it hasn't been before now that Hank finally notices Connor. Surprise and a sigh of relief washes his face, but it wouldn't quite be Hank if he didn't complain about something.]

Fuck if I know. If you can't tell then there's no way I can.
collaborates: credit: <lj user="bungalows"> (pic#12449395)

[personal profile] collaborates 2018-08-01 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
( As if summoned, Hank is suddenly there and Connor would be a liar if it wasn't a relief to see someone familiar in this strange place. He's not sure how it changes things in terms of going home, but Hank is still a detective and just about a friend. His input is valuable, even as a human. Between the pair of them they must be able to find something that doesn't bend the known laws of physics and allow them to go home.)

I should be able to tell. ( Is there a sense of annoyance in those few words? Definitely. Even the look on Connor's face right now is one where he's trying not to look as confused as he's feeling and failing at it. New place, very little intel, nothing to go off of, it's like a detective's worst nightmare. )

For a hostage situation it seems well-thought out, if not a little lax in places.
fuckingpassw0rd: (20)

What's his canon point btw

[personal profile] fuckingpassw0rd 2018-08-01 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
[And if Connor has no idea, this leaves with Hank with very little to work with, as he so eloquently has mentioned before. While he looks pissed, it's not towards Connor, just the entire situation before them. Just this is the type of nightmare kidnapping scenario they try to prepare you at the force, but you never are prepared for.

..okay maybe they hadn't prepared for something that looked right out of a sci-fi movie.]


Figured the same No one cartel of Red Ice dealers would go through the trouble of setting up this entire theater just to capture us. Shit...I might be starting to believe this is actually happening.

[That's worrying. Even more so when they begin the landing sequence.]

How much science fiction novels did they cram into your programs, Connor? Might start looking through those.
collaborates: credit: <lj user="bungalows"> (pic#12443137)

thinking before using the "emergency exit" or just general good end game.

[personal profile] collaborates 2018-08-01 07:36 am (UTC)(link)
( Normally kidnapping scenarios didn't involve being scooped up off a beach or medically treated where needed. Even looking around, Connor takes stock of the fact that everyone seems to be in decent health. There are none of the injuries consistent with attempted escapes, no blunt force head trauma consistent with the butt of a rifle. Just a bunch of people all looking as confused as they are.)

It's too elaborate for a cartel, even if they had infinite money to spend on something like this it doesn't answer the question as to why. There would be more high profile people to be holding to ransom than us. ( The comment about it happening from Hank gets a look. Of course it's happening, it's certainly not a shared hallucination.)

I can't say they were part of my base programming. ( Should he tell the truth, or just commiserate? Best to just be honest, that way Connor knows they can start unravelling this whole thing.) Hank, the stars outside. They aren't ours.
fuckingpassw0rd: (40)

Okay! As you can see I'm clearly playing hostile Hank okay no I'll just go along

[personal profile] fuckingpassw0rd 2018-08-01 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know Connor, you did infiltrate CyberLife and woke up all the androids. Then again, the way they kidnapped me was just have that asshole show up and pretend to be you. [He shrugs. Connor's right, logically there is nothing about this that screams kidnapping. It sounds more like a rescue effort, honestly. Even the gelatin excuse-of-food that was given to him in his package.]

Too bad. There's a few that pop up to mind right now. Maybe if we somehow get out of this, I'll take you to Detroit's only remaining library.

[Look Connor, what if you were just a figment of Hank's current imagination okay? His own mind garden...okay no, probably not. At the android's comment he frowns, placing a hand on his forehead.] Shit. I can't believe this.

[He stops as the ship finishes landing and can't help but add a question that's been bothering him for the past few minutes.]

...it does beg the question as to how they speak English if we aren't in Detroit anymore.
collaborates: credit: <lj user="bungalows"> (pic#12449404)

I normally keep a few things static but the rest is totally open ♪

[personal profile] collaborates 2018-08-01 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
( Connor sometimes wonders about how that kidnapping must have gone down with the other RK800. But thinking back on it, it's the only time he's ever been tempted to tell someone to shut the hell up. I was going to say that same thing indeed. Connor takes a moment to straight his tie when he feels the ship land. Something tells him they're going to hear what's going on and they're not going to like it.)

If it makes you feel any better, we're both in the same boat when it comes to information here. ( See Hank? It's almost like sympathy! The mention of language stops whatever Connor is about to say and he pauses, turning the comment over to see what angle to attack it from. It sounds like they're talking English but if they're in a different place then there are a few possibilities, each one as strange as the next.)

It's possible that English is some common language even in this part of the Allied Territory. The probability of it is minuscule, but it's not completely impossible.
Edited (is* i can totally spell) 2018-08-01 08:33 (UTC)
fuckingpassw0rd: <user name=bungalows> (5)

I'm open to it all paths too 👍

[personal profile] fuckingpassw0rd 2018-08-01 08:39 am (UTC)(link)
[If ever asked, Hank would answer thusly; it as like you but with its sass turned up to 200%, going on and on about the mission and what he had been activated to do.

Oh and he probably really hated dogs. At least that's what Hank thought anyway.]

Don't you mean spaceship Connor?

[Please excuse Hank. It's Hank. He did appreciate the sympathy, really.]

Well if there's something I learned the past few days is the miniscule stuff ends up being true so if it means we're stuck in space who-knows-the-fuck-where and they speak English at this point I just won't bat an eye.

[He crosses his arms, visibly annoyed.]

Well...at least I'm not stuck here alone. Shit would have been boring without you, Connor.
collaborates: credit: <lj user="bungalows"> (pic#12449435)

[personal profile] collaborates 2018-08-01 09:36 am (UTC)(link)
( If the other Connor had hated dogs, Connor would have been so disappointed. Obviously it would have been a flawed android with some serious problems. Still, for all Hank's hard work at dad jokes, Connor gives the guy a reproachful look.)

No, I meant boat.

( Woosh, that's the sound it makes going over the android's head. The point about English is such a good one that Connor files it away for later. Hank doesn't seem overly concerned about it, apparently choosing the battles he wishes to fight for the day and Connor is going to try to follow suit. Brown eyes narrow as he tries to take in the scenery that's visible from the window. All he can see right now are small buildings hard to make out for the time being.

Wait, was that a compliment? That's enough to have Connor straightening his tie again. )


Likewise; your input would have been missed. ( Obviously it's time to return the favour; Connor knows you don't like complicated technology Hank.) Have you attempted to use your communications device yet?
fuckingpassw0rd: (24)

[personal profile] fuckingpassw0rd 2018-08-01 10:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Hank just signs and rolls his eyes at Connor's reaction. Really? all that buildup and...]

Oh forget it. [Last time he jokes at Connor. Well today, anyway. As he looks down at his device, there's a brief look of panic before he looks back at the android.]

I uh...Connor I can barely program my phone, do you seriously think I even took a look at this thing yet? I'm pretty sure I'll somehow set it up to detonate or something worse.

[He knows his limits. Current limits include; technology.]
collaborates: credit: <lj user="bungalows"> (pic#12443137)

[personal profile] collaborates 2018-08-01 10:55 am (UTC)(link)
( An attempt was definitely made. Hang in there Hank, he'll figure it out one day in time.)

I suspected as much. These things are more advanced than the latest we have back in Detroit but they aren't completely unfamiliar. It also comes with a built in user guide to help you out.

( And if it's still not sinking in, well Connor knows he's now essentially tech support. He even holds out his own little communicator cuff to show how not-intimidating it is.)

You just clip it on to your ear.