tdm 14

[hohnkai]

T E S T D R I V E

Survival is the exception "living is an act of courage." THROUGH THE INGRESS The Ingress has pulled you in. Your body experiences several sensations at once: being pushed forward as if a hand is resting on your back, momentary and startling blindness, a gentle ringing in your head. You have difficulty discerning whether it is hot or cold, but where you have been prodded is noticeably warmer than the rest of you. Some may suffer from dizziness while others are perfectly fine. Once equilibrium has been reestablished, you will notice you are standing on a rocky planet. Former crew of the Moira are there to greet you, and it’s a grim message they have to share. The Moira has crashed and is beyond repair, but there’s good news... the destination the crew has been heading towards for over a year? You’re standing on it. But before you get into exploration and survival, it’s best to deal with the effects of coming through a broken Ingress. ☄ slip and trip find your footing fast Coming through the Ingress has left your character with one of three changes - an age slip, a form of body horror, or an extreme weakness. The first, the age slip, will mean that the character is either older or younger and this change can’t be rectified during their first month in game. The second, body horror, comes in the form of an alteration to the character's body due to whatever they were carrying at the time they came through. If they were wearing a watch, it’s now fused to their wrist, clothes are permanent, knifes replace fingers, and many other alterations (anything goes) and it lasts the first month as well. The third, extreme weakness, can be a mental or physical decrease - weaker arms, legs, or the weaker ability to talk or do math. ooc: the choice of change is up to each player and this prompt can be game canon. ☄ introductions aren’t awkward as long as you don’t shake their hand too long A new planet. Physical and mental changes. Talk of a ship that crashed and a Hub that is home to the ‘creators’ of a technology you’ve never heard of. A lot is happening and the best way to sort through it is by getting to know the Moira’s crew. They’ll help you settle in and get you any care you might need, all the while informing you that the group is on its way to the center of the hub. Something that might seem mundane is an absolute necessity for survival. Ask a seasoned space traveling veteran for answers and guidance. ooc: this prompt can be game canon. ☄ dealer's choice just make the right one Characters have the option of coming through an Ingress that is any possible location on this planet. It can be inside a cave, at the top of a rock formation, etc. This means you can have your character have to climb or slide down, have them yelling for help, and have other characters see them and come to their aid. Your character's arrival is completely up to you, and since this is a unique situation that hasn't happened before, go nuts with it! ooc: this prompt can be game canon. 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!

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[patchricide]

"Keith is what?!"

Sorry, Hunk. If you wanted her to pay attention to the taco, you probably should have led with it. She tuned out the entire recipe as her brain attempted to process through that new information.

"But-- no, he can't be Galra. Earth is all the way-- and the Galra Empire-- since when has he been part Galra?!"

She looks angry, hurt, betrayed, disgusted, and above all that really, really confused.

[im_a_leg]

Pure shock washes over Hunk's face. His tongue darts out to moisten his lower lip before he says anything, and when he does speak it's slowly and carefully.

"I.. honestly thought you were over this by now. Look, it's not Keith's fault that he was born with Galra blood. Even he doesn't know how it got there. He didn't know until really, really recently. It doesn't make him a bad guy, just like the Blades of Marmora are on our side. And we have no idea how they got on Earth. Or if they did even. For all we know Keith's .... uhh, whichever relative got it on with a Galra did it in space. Could've even been generations ago."

He shrugged. "He's still Keith." Hunk held up a finger. "Actually he's a funnier Keith. He actually made a joke. It wasn't even a bad one."

And then he shook his head, frowning. "But you knew all this. You've known it for awhile now. For as long as the rest of us had. You're acting like it's brand new information."

[patchricide]

"It is brand new information! I never heard anything about this, and I wouldn't forget something like that! When did it come up?! Is this a thing like Pidge being a girl, where half the team knows and they assume the rest of us figured it out?!"

As far as getting over it? No, Allura is not over it. In fact, it looks like things are very literally back to square one, there.

"Wait, hold on. You mentioned something else. The Blades of... Mam...ara...?" She can't even remember how it's pronounced. "I don't remember any allies by that name."

[im_a_leg]

"I... yeah, it doesn't seem like something you'd forget. But I remember, Allura. Me and Keith went on a mission inside a Weblum for scaultrite -- and you know those are two words I wouldn't know in a million years unless we actually did this thing -- and when you got back you thanked me. Just me. When I pointed out that Keith helped too, you just walked off. Because you knew and you were mad at him for being born with that inside him. Why would I remember that if it didn't happen?"

It wasn't accusatory, it was genuinely confusing. Hunk had no answers here. And the furrow in his brow only deepend when Allura didn't know anything about the Blades.

"Yeah. That's how Keith found out. One of them savd Shiro back in the day when he'd been kidnapped, before any of us came out here. We trusted him enough to check them out and in the end even you agreed that they were legitimately against Zarkon. We all formed an alliance with them to help bring him down."

[patchricide]

She stares at Hunk, trying to make sense of this. On one hand, he's completely right. She can still remember her early school classes about Weblums. But...

"I never sent you on a mission to go inside a Weblum. And I can't see any reason why I would, when Coran practically wrote the book on harvesting scaultrite. Even I would be more familiar with their biology..."

Wait, she's getting off-subject. "Something is obviously wrong here. I don't remember anything about that mission, or about these Blades of -- of Whatever. We've been stranded here for months!" She frowns, thinking back.

"Hunk, you said that there was a wormhole 'way before' now? Was that the one created by the ship when we narrowly fled from Zarkon?"

[im_a_leg]

Hunk licked his lips again, nodding slowly. "Yeah. It put us all on different planets. You and Coran were on the ship, but Pidge got stuck on this planet full of garbage and helpful cute fuzzy things because of course Pidge got the nice planet, and me and Lance got stuck on a water planet full of cursed mermaids. Keith and Shiro almost got eaten by weird tiger.. monster.. things before Pidge came to the rescue. And after that..."

He ran a hand through his hair. "A lot of things happened. I don't know how to figure out if..." His eyes widened. "Okay, so there's a thing we found out about. A thing that you knew all along and didn't tell us. So if I say this thing and it's wrong, then you should probably give me a brain scan or maybe we're from different realities or something. And if it's right... well, if it's right I don't really know what's going on unless it's something ridiculous like me being from the future."

[patchricide]

"That's not what I remember happening. We entered the wormhole right after that attack destabilized it... and then, we fell out of the Ingress, an interdimensional portal on an entire different ship. Most of the paladins were missing, as well as the Lions, and the Castle. Even my crown, and Shiro's shoes."

She looks away, knitting her brow in thought. "A different reality might not be too far off the mark. Wormholes can do strange things if they become unstable. And while I haven't heard of a timeline fracturing, it would be closer to an answer than anything else I've heard."

A pause.

A sigh.

"But since we can't really be sure either way... let's hear it." Given what happened in that battle, she has a very bad feeling she already knows what this is.

[im_a_leg]

He almost just blurted it out. He could write it off partially to his own desperation to figure out what the quiznak was going on, but the rest of it was pretty much just because of who he was.

Then he remembered what a big deal it was, and he swallowed. He gave the area a quick glance around before scooting a bit closer, and lowering his voice.

"Zarkon used to pilot the black lion."

[patchricide]

Thank you, Hunk, for knowing how to properly handle this situation.

"Yes, he did. And if you see Shiro..."

She struggles with what to say.

"He doesn't remember the battle, so he hasn't figured that out yet."

It's suggesting not to tell him. But the fact that she isn't ordering him not to tell Shiro is a strange choice for the princess in command.

[im_a_leg]

Hunk winced a little. It felt like lying. Keeping something like this from Shiro of all people felt a lot like a betrayal.

"I'll only say something if I feel like I have to," is the best he could manage right now. Straight up telling him that right now on top of whatever the heck else this Shiro may not know might do more harm than good right now.

He worried his lower lip with his teeth, bringing his eyes up to meet hers. "Thanks, by the way."

[patchricide]

"That was what I decided to do, too," she offers, as if that somehow explains or justifies keeping the truth from Shiro for so long. "And there's never been a right time."

She looks grateful for Hunk existing right now. She hadn't planned to share that truth with any of the paladins, merely to cross that bridge when there was no avoiding it any longer. But honestly, out of the all the paladins to have as a confidant -- was there a better choice than Hunk?

Maybe he could even help her tell Shiro about it the right way, this time.

But anyway, she half-smiles at the thanks. "For what?"

[im_a_leg]

He gave her a slow nod, still slightly uncomfortable, but maybe that's just what happens when you're a leader sometimes. You know all this stuff that you can't tell everyone because it's better for the team or the mission. Not that Hunk was a leader, but having all this information that no one else seemed to have gave him a taste of what that must feel like. And it sucked. How did you balance that against family?

At least he could honeslty smile about this last bit, and he did. "You could've given me some Princessy order and told me not to say anything to anyone about it. Instead you trusted me to make my own decision. I appreciate it is all."

[patchricide]

There's a laugh in her voice as she points out, "Part of that might be the fault of my new position. They gave us all different roles on the crew, and they thought the best job for a princess and commander would be... veterinary assistant. Tending to pets in the medical bay."

She looks embarrassed about it. But in their defense, her bedside manner is actually quite good.

"Actually, though? I'm not sure if it should be kept a secret. But I don't know how I could possibly tell him. And if he tried something dangerous to reclaim the bayard..."