hyperlinks | test:drive

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. ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ummmm.

_{[ Maybe he would have responded more confidently to somebody asking him to go on an adventure five years ago when he was a teenager and living on a hellmurder island— before he knew much about himself and found out how cowardly he really is. The word adventure alone used to bring such naive brightness to his eyes and he'd jump into the fray and deal with his wrecked nerves later. Now that he is matured and has become moderately less socially awkward and a little more educated on how to interact with people, he's more careful with his answers. ]}

Goodness gracious, I reckon you're right! It's not an everyday occurrence you get rattled and rolled and tossed plumb out of the blue onto some ominous moon.
_{[ why did it take him this long to realize it's not an everyday occurrence and that yeah, this probably is a great excuse for an adventure. ]}

By George, I wasn't quite gung ho to the max about adventuring, but with some coaxing I'm bound to cave in, so consider my interest tickled, m'am.
_{[ I said he was moderately less awkward, not completely.. ]}

[ ... what an odd child. something about a kid like this feels familiar, but drake will give his agreement a good-natured chuckle, nodding her head toward the beach where the sound of crashing waves can be heard. ]

Then make sure you keep up. [ she's only 5'1, so there's a good chance jake's taller than her, but her strides are strong; swift. it's almost like she knows where she's going even though she's just as new here as the rest of them. ] And don't call me "ma'am"! Makes me feel old.

_{[ Well, he thought he was pretty short for his age, but 5'8" is a pretty good difference next to this busty lady. He'll try not to get too distracted there.
And yeah, he's childish enough, but at least he's drinking age now. For the record, his favorite is the new style bourbon from Earth C, not like he drinks excessively much like say this pirate lady, but the drink would probably be something different nobody has ever tried before. When trolls became bartenders the drinks got a lot stronger. ]}

You've got it, missus!
_{[ Missus it is. And she's quite ahead of him but he hops off the ground and flies towards her, landing right by her side when she challenges him like that. ]}

I say, I couldn't help but notice you're sporting quite the relic of a revolver there if that isn't too bold to say. Um. Just because you're gun is hecka hold doesn't mean you are! You must be from the past or some timey-wimey shenanigans.

[ 'missus'. that prompts a bark of laughter from drake, and she shakes her head. ]

Captain! [ she'll reach over and give jake a light punch on the shoulder. ] If you must call me anything, call me that. Or Boss.

[ drake lifts the gun from her shoulder and twirls it around her finger, letting it glint in the moonlight. ]

You've got a good eye, kid, and you're smarter than you look. [ she won't let him take it, but she'll hold the gun out for jake to get a better look at while they walk. ] What else can you tell me about this?

_{[ Captain! Wait, is she really a captain? Jake's not sure, but that would explain a lot of things if she is. ]}

Aye aye, err, captain!

_{[ At the next question, he analyzes the flintlock, daring to reach out and touch it at least. Will she allow that? ]}

Um, quite! _{[ SWEATS.. way to be put on the spot.. ]} It looks to be 16th century; no doubt a new contraption for someone from that time period.. but where I'm from it's really an antique! _{[ squints.. ]} It looks like.. it could be French? The oldest one I carry is from the 18th century, so I've never gotten my paws on one that old before.

Do you, uh.. wanna see some of mine too?
_{[ OH BOY.. tickets to the gun show.. ]}

test:drive_01.

night of... yes

BE PREPARED TO BE BIG SISTER'D

AW SHIT

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