test:drive_01.

[uplink]

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. ♥

Comments

caleb widogast | critical role

[potential]

( the night of )

[ The circumstances of his arrival on this planet, in this place, are still weighing on Caleb. His many layers are still faintly damp, but the lingering hangover from Hupperdook is mercifully gone. He's thinking about the impending fight as he skulks between cottages. His magic isn't quite there; every time he reaches for it, he feels it fizzling.

The low-level thrum of panic won't let him rest, so he walks through the cabin, past the villagers, to the beach. Even the stars are different here. It's staggering to think how wholly he has been displaced. The sky has changed. How far from home has he managed to land?

Of course, looking up and fretting isn't the best approach to walking along the beach. Instead of treading on sand, his boot comes down firmly on a fellow stargazer. ]

Ah. [ Caleb hops back a step. ] I didn't see you down there.

[ It should probably have crossed his mind to watch for anyone laid out on the sand. Even the threat of the approaching storm or the inescapable worry over current circumstances couldn't really ruin the beauty of the beach. Caleb takes another step back, prepared to just start walking back the way he came depending on the response he gets. ]

( nothing wasted, nothing thrown )

[ At this point, Caleb needs to get off the bike. It's a miracle he's alive, and a bigger miracle he hasn't crashed. It takes him a long moment to loosen his grip from the bike, and relax enough to take in the aftermath of the battle.

The monsters were beaten back. That should be unquestionably good, but Caleb doesn't feel much in the way of relief. He survived something that he's reasonably sure he shouldn't have, but the complete severance from any modicum of familiar reward only leaves room for weariness. He's not going to get anything out of having survived this. In Wildemount, there had at least been some sense of progress. Here, he's been jettisoned so far back it's as if he's never started. Caleb slumps momentarily in his seat, before he shakily descends.

And when confronted with the direction towards chainsaw and corpses, Caleb immediately doubles over and vomits. Great first impression, right? ]

( network )

widogast: Hello?

( wildcard )

[ do whatever, i'm down to roll with it. his canon point is episode 24. mark any spoilers for later critical role episodes, please. ]

network

[283]

lawbringer: Great conversationalist.

[potential]

I wasn't sure how it worked.

[ or if it worked. ]

Is that your name? Lawbringer?

[283]

More like a hobby.

Is "Widowgast" your name? Sounds sexy. ["Widow ghost"?? She doesn't fuckin' know.]

[potential]

[ sklgdjaslkdf ]

My name is Caleb Widogast.

Are you—

[ the communiction breaks off momentarily while caleb tries to come up with a more neutral term than "crownsguard." ]

Is it your job to keep people in line?

[283]

["Caleb" is less sexy than Widowghost. Gotta say.]

My job as in do I get paid for it? No. A girl can dream, though.

I'm a gun for hire at the moment. Well, guns, whips, whatever.

[potential]

[ he is a constant disappointment fwiw ]

Are you here because they hired you, or did you wake up in the surf like I did?

[283]

Wet and wild, same as you. Though I am hoping they've got a job opening somewhere. I can't stand being bored.

[potential]

Yes. I would prefer to find work as well. I had been traveling with a group recently doing odd jobs.

[ a very, very sanitized version of events. ]

I have the impression we have been drafted into service here.

[ ironically what caleb and the mighty nein had been trying hard to avoid. ]

network:

[juniberries]

altea: Hello! Do you need help with something?

[potential]

I don't think so. I wanted to see if it would work.

[juniberries]

Well, then it seems you have your answer.

[potential]

Yes.

[ instantly regrets having initiated conversation tbh ]

Are you familiar with all of this?

Nothing wasted nothing thrown

[glitchinthesystem]

OH SHIT! [ Is what the young teen yells when the guy suddenly beside him started heaving up what he probably ate for lunch that day. Now, he had not been use to monsters or zombies or whatever the hell this was so he's unnerved himself after it all. These were things of his nightmares, the things that lurk out in the wastes away from the safe domes. So when it was finally all over he had just fell over on his ass and sat there trying to collect himself. He kept a brave face, but only to keep the mental shuddering from physically coming to the surface.

Then came the guys telling them to cut the monsters up and well...there goes this old guy getting sick beside him. In any other circumstance Glitch may have been annoyed at a stranger losing it near him...but this wasn't any circumstance. A glare is shot for a small moment at the sick man before it goes back to the other guy. ]

Hey, fuck off. Go chop those bodies yourself. This guy here can't do it and I sure as hell won't if I'm gonna be taking him back to get cleaned up.

[ Honestly, he felt like he could be sick himself too. It was a miracle Glitch hadn't lost it when this guy did. But, was he being considerate to the sick stranger beside him? Maybe. Though part of it was just to use this guy as a way to get out of it. ]

[potential]

[ The yelling oddly makes him think of Nott. It's the same brand of aggressive defense Caleb suspects she'd have directed at anyone still trying to press a chainsaw (a chainsaw?) on Caleb back at home.

But still, he should be fighting his own battles. Or at least finding the balance between presenting a pitiful figure and attracting too much attention. He's back to square one in a lot of ways, and Caleb finds himself uncertain of how he had once managed to walk that line. ]

I just need some air.

[ Though he doesn't really object to the idea of missing out on hacking up corpses of monsters he has yet to identify. ]

Lead the way.

[ Caleb knew the way. But he at least waits until he's sure he isn't going to be striding away alone to set the pace. But then, as the silence stretches, Caleb realizes he might be expected to make conversation, and that's not going to be great. He glances nervously at his newfound companion, eyebrows raising in alarm. ]

[glitchinthesystem]

[ Good news for Caleb, this boy didn't feel like getting personal or trying to make much conversation. He's quick to just start leading the way for this man, going into a fast walk towards the cleaning stations. However, the smaller teenager gets wind of that nervous expression on this ancient man's face and well; he returns it with a perturbed expression of his own. ]

What? Did you WANT to stay over there? [ Though by the guy's body language he doubted it. Was this guy up to something or did he think Glitch was up to something? Hrm...

Whatever. There's a shrug of his shoulders as they reach the cleaning station, a tent with a shower inside. Glitch stepping aside , gestures to it with his hand. ]

You first. You look like you're gonna huck you're guts out in about two seconds.

nothing wasted.

[tauropolos]

[ It is, admittedly, thankless work. There is no honor in chopping up bodies even if the effort is to revitalize the land and feed the soil. The technology the people here use is foreign to her, and she has no advantage as she has not been called here like a true Servant might be. The effect is jarring, and Atalanta scans the area almost aimlessly, her keen eyes and ears taking in the sight of the bodies, the terrible smell of oil and machinery--

And then the sound of someone vomiting nearby.

Atalanta's ears perk up at the sound and she spies Caleb doubled over, his coat a mess. With care, she wanders to his side, and a metal gloved hand touches his back. ]

Easy.

[ His first battle, the first sight of death? There is a brief clench of sympathy around her heart, though she has always delighted in battle. Perhaps he is injured. ]

Should I get someone to aid you?

[potential]

[ Kindness. Caleb feels a twin burn of embarrassment and shame; surely there are others more deserving of this attention. And more to the point, he shouldn't be drawing any attention to himself. If he'd have been quicker, he could have made it into the bushes.

Introductions are never going to be his strong suit. And it's more apparent now without someone like Fjord or even Nott around to handle these initial interactions. He forces himself to straighten up, swallow the taste of sickness in his mouth. ]

No, no. It's nothing.

[ This is hardly the first time his nerves have gotten the better of him, and Caleb is too weary to hope it will be the last. ]

It's—the corpses. [ He waves a hand, noncommittal. He is counting on the assumptions she'll draw to save him from explaining any further. ] I wasn't prepared for it.

[ Truthfully, it's not the corpses specifically. It's the whole mess of events, the fight on a machine he could barely control and the shock of somehow surviving it. The gory aftermath was just the tipping point. ]

network

[sketchery]

fancypants: oh my gosh

caleb is that you???????

well i guess it can be like, another guy named widogast

hi i'm jester!! it's nice to meet you

[potential]

widogast: Yes, it's me.
Where are you, Jester? Are you okay?

[sketchery]

fancypants: oh!!!!!!!!!

caleb!!!!!!!! i'm so glad you're here

you know this is cool!! it's kind of like the spell that the traveler taught me but i can say as much as i want and as many times as i want in a day

the typing thing isn't as fast as just saying stuff out loud but we can talk where ever we want now too probably

i think you can hear voices instead of just reading too!!

oh

i'm okay! i mean i haven't really found anyone yet but i'm sure they're fine

it's like really different here

have you found nott???

[potential]

[ ]

widogast: I haven't found Nott. Or any of the others.
But perhaps they've chosen names on these devices that aren't clear enough for us to identify them.

[ awkwARD PAUSE ]

I'm glad you're alright.

[sketchery]

[ wow?!?!?!? ]

fancypants: oh

well they're probably doing really great, there's a lot to see here you know

i think i saw a pastry shop while i was walking but everything i saw in there looked like, super new

and kind of weird

maybe there's a bookstore too!! maybe we should go looking for a bookstore, caleb

do you have frumpkin??

[potential]

widogast: You should take care you aren't allergic to anything.
And no. I do not have Frumpkin right now either.
But I would like to see the bookstore here. I will look with you after the pastry shop if you tell me where you are.

[ will he ever find jester??? ]

[sketchery]

fancypants: psh i'm not allergic to anything!!

do you have to summon him again?? we can go find incense, right??? i'm like, pretty sure we have gold so we should get frumpkin again

although... i don't think we can use gold anymore to pay for things :(

oh!! someone showed me how to use that, it's a sad face

aaaaanyway, you should come with me to the pastry shop!! they're all probably really delicious, probably :)

that's a happy face!!