TDM 2

[hownkai]

SEPTEMBER TEST DRIVE MEME

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ABOARD THE MOIRA

Whether adjusting to space travel has been difficult or not, there is always something to be done. From working to leisure, the Moira offers a multitude of opportunities to get to know your crewmates a bit better. Exploration of the ship is highly encouraged, but as another planet grows closer to being docked, things start to get a little hectic. You'll notice a slight change in the artificial gravity as the Moira is pulled into the planet's gravitational field; however, more noticeable changes can be found in the overall morale as you prepare to descend.

☄ in the mess hall:

Things have been pretty smooth sailing thus far. There haven't been any unexpected horrors or accidents, and no one has gone missing. Later in the evening, you find yourself hungry and decide to check out what's on the menu. Making your way toward the mess hall, you discover that the door is closed and a sign has been posted directly in the center. It reads:

We don't know who did this or why, but action will be taken if it is not fixed immediately.

At the bottom, in very small print, it is signed by the captains. Venturing inside, you find something irregular about the room, and it's not what you might have thought. Finding the culprit, however, is hardly on anyone's mind. In fact, the kitchen has been closed until everything on the tables has been "fixed". Decadent foods and desserts from many of the planets explored in the past are laid out like a feast. There might even be liquor, but who knows how strong that stuff is. Consider this a thank you for all the hard work and effort you've put forth as a valuable crew member. Whoever said the mess hall wasn't for messes was sadly misinformed! It's party time.

☄ on your own:

There are plenty of other communal areas on the ship to explore! Pick a place, and see where it takes you.

PLANET EXPLORATION

Unlike some of the previously found planets, this one is populated. However, the majority of the natives are located in one central area near a very large body of water. At some point, it might have been a lake, but due to some abnormal constructional designs, it has been transformed into a well-maintained connection of underwater cities. Still, accessing them may prove to be difficult. Your MID warns of no pollutants in either the air or water. Yet, it has problems translating the language spoken between these humanoid beings—if they even speak at all. Most of them appear friendly, more than welcoming, but what's to be said about someone (or something) that doesn't wish to talk?

☄ the submerged:

I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary.

Exploring the surrounding areas, which consist of marshes and some small trees, doesn't yield much. There are little resources and no fauna to speak of. The natives continue to lure whoever dares to follow closer to the water, their gestures open and curious. There is nothing to hint at the dangers that await anyone who wanders within arm's length of the shore, and if you do... Hopefully you weren't traveling alone and a friend is there to attempt dragging you away from the tight grip of the thing suddenly yanking you into the murk of that lake. They will fight to keep you, sink their hands and fins deep enough to draw blood; it calls more of them up from the depths to bring you down. For they need you like air, are desperate to call you their own, and if you surrender, how are you to ever describe the the last thing you see?

Is that what happened to the all those ships found crashed here and there, buried beneath mud and moss? Is this what became of the people aboard them? How ironic the dead say even less than the things that got you.

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OUT OF CHARACTER INFO

FAQ | LOCATIONS | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS | NAVIGATION

For mature or graphic content, please label. Test Drive Memes are not game canon but can be used as samples in applications. For questions, please direction them to the FAQ. As always, be kind and have fun!

[ art credit ]

Comments

[not_too_close]

[If curiosity were something that David could feel he'd feel it in spades. The desire, so to speak, was an unerringly human characteristic that had developed in David over time. He only wanted to witness firsthand what a specific set of events and actions could result in.

This particular situation, currently, has his complete attention.]

Of course. We could go now, if you'd like? [He gestures down the hall.] I don't know that they are in a position to negotiate. From what I've learned, we've all been pulled here through a machine located on this very ship. Our captains have stated that they do not control the process.

[He sticks out his hand, fingers clenched as if he's holding a scalpel.]

Hold it lower, at your waist. It'll give you more power behind it.

[pallantias]

[The man’s words don’t bring much clarity to the situation. If anything, they only raise new questions. Like what kind of machine could have brought her here from a bandit prison in the middle of nowhere? Why can’t the captains control the process? And, most importantly, what is the likelihood that this is all a crock of bullshit meant to convince her to peacefully follow along?]

I know how to hold it. [The words are snapped, irritation covering confusion. She takes a few steps forward, tilting her head towards the end of the hall where the man had gestured earlier.]

Walk in front of me.

[not_too_close]

Of course.

[He'd taken into account her posture, body-type, armor, and demeanor to make an assessment of how to use the weapon. If she wished to utilize it in her own way, who was he to stop her?]

As you wish.

[David turns, his entire body shifting in one fluid, yet stiff, movement. He begins down the hallway.]

What will you say when you meet them?

[pallantias]

[Athena follows him from a distance, though close enough that any passing crewmembers will assume the situation regarding the “disoriented arrival” is being handled.]

I will ask what their intentions are in holding me here.

[Her tone is terse. She doesn’t seem to have high hopes for the conversation.]

Though if they are lackeys of Atlas, I doubt they’d tell me as much.

[not_too_close]

What is Atlas?

[He continues to walk, sure steps that take him from one hallway to the next without faltering.]

I do not know what their answers will be, but I assure you, miss, that if they do not want you to know something, you will be able to tell.

[David had every confidence in her.]

[pallantias]

Arms manufacturer and PMC running operations on Pandora. Any sort of war crime you can imagine, they've done it. [Her normally stiff tone grows surprisingly emotive.] If I have to return, it will be on my terms, not as their prisoner again.

[Spoilers, “her terms” involve a lot of people dying gruesome deaths.

She isn’t sure how to take his next comment.]

I take it there is some sort of enmity between you and the captains of this ship. [He is taking her to them knowing full-well she’s liable to stab them after all.]

[not_too_close]

Of course not.

[David held no enmity towards them at all. He did not, could not, hold a grudge against them for their part in this, as small as it supposedly was.]

I only wish to assist you better. [A tilt of his head she won't see.] And see what you and they might do in such a situation.