( tdm 11 )

[hownkai]

T E S T D R I V E

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 a gravitational field; however, more noticeable changes can be found in the overall morale as you prepare to descend. ☄ on your own There are plenty of other communal areas on the ship to explore! Pick a place, and see where it takes you. ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) H A I S T O S Unlike previously visited locations, the sweltering heat of this planet can be felt long before arrival. The surface of Haistos is not a place for those with a weak constitution. It’s in a constant state of low-level volcanic activity as its land masses are dotted with many volcanoes—all of them spewing black ash into the air. Breathing is difficult without the aid of a respirator due to the potential of breathing in ash, and the plant life is stunted, adapted to living in an environment with little sunlight. The weather is unpredictable, and ash-storms will often blow in fiercely, leaving people trapped for a hours at a time before they blow themselves out. But that same ash which chokes everything on this planet is what also provides its livelihood. Haistos’ volcanic resources are a highly sought-after commodity elsewhere in the universe, and as long as gathering the ash is profitable, people will continue to return. Looking closely, etched into the curling paths of ignimbrite deposits that swirl along the base of the volcanoes is a language that is easily translated by the MID, often resembling Latin. Carved over time by visitors and travelers, it tells a tale of fire and stone and power. Some might even say there are mystic abilities associated with these volcanoes, though the rumors and myths behind it seem to be nothing but a warning to those who think to go looking for it. It’s also hard to tell if the words carry any true meaning since there are no natives to question, and all those who harvest the ash can only tell stories. Still, it’s apparent that people from many different times have all added to the scrolling messages. A word of caution: you cannot build here. Stone, metal, and wood all burn, all crumble. Only what is true can survive, and fire will show its true quality. ☄ breathing sparks Despite the haphazard lay of the land, there are things to do. Or, at least, things to see. The rocky terrain often leads to some inactive volcanoes that are perfect for exploring and harvesting the ash that continues to rain down across Haistos. There are step-like structures built into the sides of the volcanic craters, narrow but sturdy. With each move down, the air gets even thicker, and your respirator takes longer and longer to filter the unbreathable atmosphere the deeper into the planet you travel. Yet, the risk of asphyxiation is worth what awaits at the bottom of the staircase. Still warm, the volcanic rocks that are sunk into the deposits are both smooth and clear as crystal. Most of these gems retain heat permanently and can be used to warm small spaces. Gathering too many together in a single place, however, creates a reaction with the limited air supply and can spark a faux volcanic eruption—yes, these rocks are capable of producing lava at an impossibly quick rate. Is it possible to outrun the flow and reach the steps before it begins filling the bottom of the crater? The only thing worse than a sudden swimming pool of lava would be the respirator finally breaking because of the abrupt, extreme heat, wouldn’t it? ☄ under pressure Despite being unable to actually build any structures of substance on Haistos, walking around the planet itself is surprisingly easy. Due to its unusual composition, the ground itself is a noticeable mixture of dark rock and shining surfaces. More than that, each step around the bases of the volcanoes reveals something both amazing and rather fascinating: the ability to create diamonds without much pressure at all. It only takes a single step or even a hand print. Take a break and sit to rest? Diamonds. Wrestling over what pile of ash is yours to claim? Diamonds. Tripping and falling and refusing to get up so that no one sees your embarrassment? Diamonds. Suddenly, moving around on Haistos has taken a whole new turn. Especially when it’s completely possible to keep what you make with your very own body weight. ☄ if you break it, you buy it Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet. At the base of one of the smaller volcanoes, this message is carved into the rock in large, curling script. The volcano is currently inactive and is dotted with openings large enough for visitors to enter through. Stranger than the message is the faint tinkling sound - almost like glass clinking against glass - that grows louder the deeper into the volcano you go. The intricate honeycomb of paths all lead in the same direction—towards the sound and a mellow blue glow. At the center, the sound is loud and the light illuminates a large space. Thousands of crystalline creatures swirl and bump against one another, the source of both the sound and light. They appear to be a cross between a lightning bug and bee, glowing and noisy and harmless. The beautiful sight may, or may not, be dampened by the fact that the cavern is littered with glass honeycombs that have been built up within the bodies of fallen travelers. It’s clear that the organisms didn’t harm them, perhaps the result of too much ash or broken respirators, and the honey they’ve produced is light blue and clear. It’s sweet if eaten, bright and citrus-y, and carries an earthy undertone, making the skin glow temporarily after ingesting. If careful, visitors may harvest the honey, but do not disturb the creatures. Their wings are sharp, and when agitated, they swarm out of fear. OUT OF CHARACTER INFO FAQ | LOCATIONS | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS | NAVIGATION For mature or graphic content, please label. For questions, please direct them to the FAQ. As always, be kind and have fun!

Comments

[deconstruct]

[ Andyr's brow creases, but he shakes his head, dismissing it. The Ren Faire thing isn't important. Whatever. (and that is an excessive number of swords, do you just break them a lot???) ]

A ship. [ His mind doesn't jump to 'spaceship', as, even in 3401, they don't have those. Boats, planes, the weird zeppelin looking things. not spaceships. ] Like what kind of ship, an airship? Going where? Who runs it?

[ Airships are expensive, someone has to have paid for it, someone has to own it.

Granted, this now makes escape much more difficult. ]

[freiheiten]

[Look, hes a little hard on them okay???]

It's a space ship, and don't ask me how I don't know either.

[The whole concept of space was still very new to him. He just knew there were stars in the sky. That was his limit.]

It's run by some civilians who call themselves captains. This isn't military, it's not a prison. [He felt like he needed to clarify that to him]

[deconstruct]

[ be nice to your toys, levi ]

A space ship.

[ the most deadpan of deadpans that could possibly ever be. a fucking space ship. Yeah, okay. Sure. ]

Prove it. [ or just get out of the way, so he can go keep looking for Mikal and find a way out on his own. As for the part about 'civilians calling themselves captains', Andyr's head just tilts, and he squints. Since when are all the worst things not run by civilians? Corporate civilians, for him. Even the military and prisons are synonymous with them. Son, there's something wrong in your head. ]

[freiheiten]

[idk about that he can dead pan pretty hard too yo. He moves out of his defense position and places his blades back into the holds that hang at his thighs.]

Can you not look out a fucking window?

[His eyebrow raises as he says that. Civilians are a issue when they are trying to control a mass. He would have rather this place been a military vessel. He was use to that and there would be more order. He turns and starts walking down the hall. He wasn't too intimidated by this guy since he does have any bullets in that gun. Levi still has the hunting knife on his thigh too in case he needs something quick. He was already thinking of the ways to use it if this guy was going to try something again.]

Come on.

[deconstruct]

[ they are clearly destined for biffles already. Andyr's eyes follow the weapon closely, to where it's holstered, and doesn't trust that it means hostility won't come later. the House guards tended to do a lot of things in the interest of trying to pacify. Andyr made a practice to completely ignore it. no matter how nice they wanted to handle him, they were still taking him to the same lab. ]

So show me a fucking window.

[ He just got here, asshole, oh my god. Levi turns and tells him to follow, and for a moment, Andyr stays planted where he is, like going deeper into the ship will make his chance of escape increase tenfold. and yet, where else does he go from here? plucking the gun up from where he'd tossed it, Andyr tucks it inside the blood stained guard's coat he'd pilfered for warmth, on his way out of Hapsburg. Even without bullets, he might be able to bludgeon someone with it later. Or trick someone.

Cautiously, with shoulders hunched and eyes skimming the area like he expects a booby trap to be sprung, he follows after the man, chains danging from the thick cuffs on his ankles making an obnoxious racket that Andyr doesn't seem concerned with. They'd been cut apart at the middle, so they aren't restricting his movement any longer. good enough. ]

[freiheiten]

You passed by two of them.

[He speaks dryly as he glances behind him to the man. He keeps leading him down the hall towards the observation deck. He knew that when he arrived be didnt believe it until he saw it through that giant glass wall.

When he glances back he takes in his state now. The blood, the chains, the crazy eyes. He must have seen some shit. He wasn't about to judge the guy, it's not like he hadn't been in the same position before. Just because he wasn't judging didn't mean he wasn't still cautious. The man did already pull a gun on him, he was still ready to gut him if needed.]

You should change soon. [He nods towards his clothes.] Others on this ship, they get antsy at the sight of blood.

[deconstruct]

[ at the comment that he'd just passed two of them, Andyr's abandoning this guy and whipping around, looking. windows windows, where did you go. portholes, is what he finds, little circles against the wall that seem more nautical than anything else, and he zips over to one, squinting out. granted, it's not that great of a view, and Andyr isn't totally convinced this isn't a projection. but why bother? weird.

either way, he lets it go, and jogs to catch back up with Levi, though still a few steps behind him, preferring it that way. at the subject of his clothes, he glances down, picking at the edge of his coat, dried blood flaking off a bit. hm. ]

They should. [ Back home, someone normal could pass by a Mouse getting the shit kicked out of him in the middle of the street without batting an eye. And considering Andyr's still convinced this is somewhere back home (what even is multiverse): fuck that, they can look at him all blood covered and have the mild interruption to their day. they should look, should be at least some kind of disturbed. This is what happens when you turn people into animals. ]

I like my clothes how they are.

[freiheiten]

[Levi pauses as the man runs back to one of the port holes. He watchesthe man carefully and waits for a moment. He knew how confusing and shocking this all way, he just did it ten days ago after all. When he sees the man he starts to walk again, a bit slower for him to catch up.]

If that's what you want.

[He wasn't sure how that would end for him. The last week there had been so much distrust among the entire crew. All it took was someone scared enough to call him out of it-- he wasn't sure who would be on the bad end of that confrontation though.]

This isn't your world. [He says that so casually. He probably had no idea. He didn't blame him. It took him seeing the ocean to really believe that this was real and he wasn't back home.] So I don't know what you're expecting, but I would start expecting something else.

[deconstruct]

[ 'This isn't your world' goes straight over his head, and Andyr assumes it to mean some kind of intimidating social scene or something, which he could really care less about. He wants to get his friends, get his freedom, and get to some rock somewhere where no one's heard of the KN gene and live the rest of his goddamn life.

Maybe kill everyone in every House on his way out, you know, whatever, if it's on the way and stuff. But Levi's advice still doesn't have enough in it to be worth considering for him, so Andyr shrugs it off, as he follows. ]

Well, you're not making any sense, and I don't really care what I'm supposed to be expecting, so. [ So kindly shove it up your ass. ] That's great.

[ Or that. Look, this is Andyr making small attempts at 'nice'. Sort of. Not really. ]

Where're we going?

[freiheiten]

I'm just telling you the truth.

[He shrugs in response and turns a corner to go down another hallway.]

Observation. It's the best view.

[And probably the only thing that will make him believe this is real. It didn't take long for him to get to the giant window. The ship was just hovering over the planet they were docking at, but there are still asteroids floating in the distance or falling towards the planet in a fiery ball. In the distance the blackness of space was given life in through the stars and others planets the glow, as well as vibrant rainbow spirals. Levi stands away from the window. His arms cross as he stares at the view. He comes here everyday, he hasn't gotten tired of it yet. He still hopes that he won't be the only one from his world to see this view.]

[deconstruct]

Consider the sentiment noted.

[ It doesn't seem like this guy cares much one way or the other, so Andyr isn't worried about hurting his feelings on it. Not that... Andyr usually cares about hurt feelings. He's not anticipating it, at least.

For the rest of the walk, he's quiet, and when they come to the observation deck, his paces slow, careful as he approaches, until he passes into the hallway enough to make out what's beyond the glass out there - stars. Millions, billions of them. Little pinpricks of light over a black canvas, and he's suddenly a little kid again, in his father's boat, sailed out into the port, away from the city lights, to watch the night sky. For a moment, Andyr forgets to breathe, as he brings a hand up to the glass, staring out into what seems like infinity. ]

You're shitting me... [ Best view indeed. And as he looks around, his eyes eventually fall on the inferno of a planet beneath them, tilting some to peer down at it. ] That's not-- That's not Earth, right?

[ Earth didn't erupt into a flaming hell-rock while he wasn't looking, did it? Maybe he hated most people there, but there were about five he was really, really attached to. About the only things that really kept him human anymore, these days. God, please tell him that's not Earth. ]

[freiheiten]

Earth? No, that's Haisto.

[He has heard of Earth before though. It seems like it is quite the popular place. Maybe that is where he was from too....who knows. It didn't matter that much, the history was lost either way. The people in his world didn't care about anything beyond the Walls.]

You're from Earth, I take it? I know others from that world.

[But who really knew if it was the same world, or just a similar planet. Space is weird and the multiverse makes his head hurt. He steps closer to the window, his arms still folded over his chest.]

I might be too, don't really know.

[deconstruct]

[ Haisto. He takes mental note of the name, filing it away somewhere in his mind to look into later, but it's more the pieces about Earth that have Andyr interested, turning some to look over his shoulder at the man. ]

Why didn't you know what I meant about Houses?

[ If he was from either, he should've known about them. Everyone on the planet, even the ones living with goats in mountain caves, knows about the Houses. ]

What kind of others? Human? [ he hates implying that KNs aren't human, but that's the more normal terminology - the normal people are human, the KNs are mice. it would get the notion across fastest to someone from his Earth. ]

[freiheiten]

[There is that word again; houses. He is starting to think the he meant less of the building that families live in and more of something else. His eyebrow raises.]

I've already told you. This isn't your world. In mine, houses are places were families seek shelter and live.

[He stares back into the darkness of space as he asks the next question.] Some are, some aren't. [He's seen some humans that have extraordinary abilities on this ship, while others are completely different species all together, but they still live there.]

In my world we have humans and titans. No one else seems to have those.

[deconstruct]

If you were from Earth, my world, you'd know.

[ which was what he'd meant about it. That's the only Earth he knows, and given the planet he can see right outside the ship proves enough about intergalactic travel, it still doesn't explain multiple dimensions or multiple Earths to him.

He frowns, looking back out to the window, and the endless stars beyond the glass, some flicking, some a constant light. He wishes Jehanne was with him. Even as she is now, even twisted and cruel and unrecognizable. Maybe it'd take her back to the same place in their memories.

Blinking, he glances to Levi, rolling the words around in his mind. ] Titans? What're those?

[freiheiten]

I'm not. My world's name has been forgotten.

[He was just guessing when he said earth. All human history that was outside of the walls had long disappeared. Names of counties, past heroes, and the even knowledge of basic landscapes such as the ocean or deserts were long forgotten or turned into forbidden fairy tales. The only thing people knew now was that God sent humanity the three walls to protect themselves from the monsters on the other side.]

Giants. Sometimes 3 meters, other times 15.

[deconstruct]

How do you forget your world's name?

[ with billions of people around to remember it? or record it? how would you ever forget? they still have names of cities written into history, nations, dead languages, but not utterly forgotten. not a whole planet. ]

So they're just... really tall?

[freiheiten]

No. They hunt us.

[He shakes his head. Oh, how he wished it was the easy. If they were just tall. The would be great.]

Humans lost everything when they came. We gave up our history when we went inside of the walls to escape them. We're maybe a few 10,000 left.

[deconstruct]

Hunt you for what?

[ After hearing the latter part, he has an idea. Something sick, something not entirely unfamiliar to him either. Much as he wishes it were. ]

And the walls will keep them you, you think?

[freiheiten]

I think you figured it out.

[They just eat. They don't stop. They didn't even need to eat, they have no digestive system. When they are full they just throw up the blood and bodies and search for more. It's a nightmare that too many in his world have seen first hand.]

They did. [Did. Key words.]

There are three walls. If one gets broken we move back behind the next. The outer wall was breached, we were working to get it back when I was taken.

[deconstruct]

Sounds like a fucked up fairy tale.

[ Giants that roam the land scooping people up and eating them. Like something for some knight to battle in a fantasy book.

Walls. So that's all that was keeping 10,000 of the rest of the world alive. Walls never last for long, they're always temporary. If Andyr'd learned anything in the six years in Hapsburg, it's that you can always figure out what new security device they put between you and freedom if you spend enough time on it. ]

You can't just kill them? Single them out, take them down one at a time? Or, hell, bomb them?

[freiheiten]

It's not a fairy tale when you live it.

[Again, he wished it was that easy. These things outnumbered them 3 to 1. As soon as they were outside of the walls they were swarmed. There was a reason why the Scouting Legion never got that far beyond the walls, or why getting recruits was so difficult. Everyone knew it was a death sentence.]

They regenerate. There is only one place on the titans body that can kill them.

[He points taps the nape of his neck as he says that. He has no issue sharing this with strangers. Might we well warn them just in case that portal brought some on the ship.]

We don't have bombs. We have cannons, guns, and 3d gear. [his hand comes down to the metal at his waist when he says that.] It's the best we have against them.

[deconstruct]

Not all fairy tales are happy.

[ like the ones with cannibalism and dismemberment and stuff. he had a lot of time to read in his cell, okay? either way, he's frowning, mind already trying to figure a way to kill these things, like it's a puzzle to solve. regenerate, only the nape of the neck kills them. really tall. hm. ]

If they knocked down one wall, they'll get to the others eventually. [ it's a foregone conclusion, he must know that too. ]

You can't snipe them? Find a high point and just pick them off? [ he'd said guns, right? ] How smart are they?

[freiheiten]

[He nods when Andyr says that. He definitely agrees there. He's never heard of a happy fairy tale actually.]

Yeah, they've tried.

[Humans won, but barely. It's been a long, hard road since then though. With the next suggestion his eyebrows raise and he shakes his head. This guy was still thinking with his own world's weapons. They didn't have anything like that.]

Our guns are flint. Even if we have someone who could aim that accurately, the power wouldn't be enough to kill them. [Welcome to the 800s, yo.]

Most are so dumb that they can't speak. We've come across a few that can though. They are abnormal.

[deconstruct]

[ he takes the news with a blankness in his features, a certain level desensitized to the grotesque and the horrific. he's been to those parties, back home. but they were mindless giants feasting on humans - they were business owners, trophy wives, politicians, chatting around a half gutted but still warm and living clone laid out like a fucking roast. ]

How'd you stop them?

[ If they're so difficult to kill, how'd they manage them once they were all coming at the remaining walls? especially with flint guns. christ. like knights fighting dragons, but more realistic outcomes. ]

Your Earth blows. [ just saying, man. but on the more serious side - ] Will they walk into traps?