tdm 5

[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. ) ERIS — 6578 Welcome to one of the sister Eris planets. This one, unlike many of its counterparts, is incredibly high dollar. For visiting individuals, it is mandatory to wear clothes befitting of such a status. For those aboard the Moira, it means discarding work attire for the formal wear they have been provided. Characters will find the temperature moderately cold, a late fall to early winter feel, and their outwear must reflect the prestige Eris—6578 is universally known for. Any sort of trading is strictly done through computers and electronic orders--nothing hands-on as it's considered beneath the inhabitants to indulge in such outdated means of interaction. Unlike most systems, money is needed to purchase things on Eris. The captains have given the crew unlimited credits; with each transaction, simply "pay" with the MID. ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) ☄ lavish living Fine dining? The movies? Or perhaps gambling? Whatever your tastes, Eris caters to everyone and everything—the more expensive, the better. There is no limit to what can be done when one has the money to spend, and this lifestyle reflects in the people and surroundings. Even sex is a very ornate process held to the highest discretion. Feel free to indulge, but know that it isn't without its consequences. ☄ taken In its underbelly, Eris—6578's main function is the trade and trafficking of bodies for one of two purposes: to be placed in a situation where you are made to kill for another's enjoyment or are tortured and killed based on the client's personal tastes. Each scenario is designed to fit the paying customer's predilections and is often carried out in places secured and private. Remember, money is no object. Therefore, the extent of what they do or make you do has no boundaries either. 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

[warandpeace]

[He huffs air as he's hauled up, almost comically having to wrangle his crutch and keep it caught with the leg that's against his back. Well. Better than nothing.]

[He was that kind of man before, long before the MSF. When he had confidence, before he let himself fall into Big Boss's shadow as so many before did, following him as if he truly was a legend. He knew this wasn't that legend, it wasn't the man that fought for his loyalty, that demanded Miller at his side, and then threw him away. The man answered to "Snake", yes. But "wrong guy"? That doesn't make any sense either.] They won't go beyond their personal grounds. It's too much of a risk. If you exfiltrate the area then they have to cut off the pursuit or risk being cornered as a danger to the public or other business properties.

[He at least looked into it before he took on his risky mission of helping people out. He didn't expect to end up some Miller-shaped stole again though. It's also hard to think when he's bobbing up and down, making loose attempts to think up ways to slow the enemy or speed them up.]

[soldiergenes]

[ Despite the fact that he's balanced on Snake's shoulders, Miller holds up that air of professionalism, speaking like he's still got all the control in this situation. This isn't his first rodeo, that much is obvious, and Snake finds a strange kind of nostalgia hitting him even as he runs like hell.

Despite the fact that it's dark and he's only vaguely familiar with his surroundings, Snake had made sure to get his bearings even before his capture, having studied a map of the city prior to the Moira docking. So he has an idea of what direction to head.

So he runs, keeping his hold on Miller firm the whole time, and doesn't slow down until he's certain that they're no longer being followed. Once he gets to that point, he circles around to the back of a closed shopfront, confirming that no one else is within earshot before he sets Miller down against the wall. ]

I need to bring up a map on my MID, figure out the safest path back to the ship. [ He's all business too, but he can't help but steal some glances down at Miller's face now that he has the chance.

It's really him. Master Miller, before he'd actually earned that title. Snake turns his attention back to the device mounted to his wrist, swiping through menus to pull up the map. ] ... You think I'm Big Boss, don't you? [ He shouldn't go there, not yet, but it's not like he can just ignore it either. ]

[warandpeace]

[Now that he can get a good look at him, he pushes himself into an upright sitting position and does so, watching him with the MID.]

I did. But I know he's not the only one.

[There were clones, and there was V. "V has awoken." A man tricked into thinking he's also the boss, his equal, but Miller knows the poor man is just another decoy. As important as one of those balloons with sound. This one is just flesh and blood, and never chose his role.]

[This is a Snake. But maybe not the one he knows.]

What's your name? Your real one?

[soldiergenes]

[ Miller's comment is vague, but he must mean that he knows about the Les Enfants Terribles project. Judging by Miller's age, Snake would have been at least ten years old at the time that he's from, so it's not out of the question that he's aware.

It does sting a little, though, to realize that Miller had known all that time and yet had never actually told Snake the truth. No, he'd been forced to learn that from Liquid.

Even now, Snake finds himself reluctant to give out his name. He's pulled up the map by now, and for a moment he focuses on that, picking out the route back to the Moira as he considers what he should do. Master had always been good to him, and had taught him well. He'd even been there to back him up as he'd gone after Big Boss during the Zanzibar Land Incident. Snake never got the full story about what happened there, and for all he knows, whatever falling out hasn't even happened yet for Miller.

Miller's going to learn his name one way or another, and despite everything, Snake trusts him. With a sigh, he drops his arm back to his side, gaze somewhere on the ground as he speaks. ] David.

[warandpeace]

Clone...? Another type of copy...? Doesn't matter. I'm sorry for all of you. Not a burden someone should be saddled with.

[He gets up to his feet on his own, but his legs are unsteady. He's not bad at what he does, but he's still new to this. Years down the road he will have given up his foolish pride- he's not too far from doing it now. Knowing that he lost everything. That he can't just build for Boss, anymore, he has to build for himself.]

[But he's still not sure what will make him feel whole. No use cramming things he's not sure of onto himself permanently.]

Good work in getting out of there. Performance like that, you could have been trained by the Boss herself. [He means it as a sincere compliment. She was an exceptional woman. A legend in the business. He never knew the history there, just that she helped train Naked Snake.]

[Hopefully one of Big Boss's copies actually did her memory justice.]

[soldiergenes]

[ Another type of copy, Miller says. Whether he's just speculating or there's something else going on, Snake can't say, but now isn't the type to get into the details of Big Boss' legacy. Maybe when they're back on the ship, though it's not exactly a favorite topic of his. He would rather be judged on his own merits, rather than being compared to his biological father.

Snake wonders how much he'd managed that during his training under Master Miller. How often had Miller looked at him and seen a person, rather than one of Big Boss' sons? Well, that's not a question he can expect an answer to now.

The compliment is unnecessary, and Snake doesn't know what to do with the praise. He's heard of the Boss, of course, aware of the sordid history between her and Big Boss, but she may as well be some distant story to him. ]

Actually, I was trained by you. [ He says it casually, not wanting to make a whole thing out of it, and then starts to move out into the road. He looks over his shoulder at Miller, slightly skeptical. The fact that he's running around without any kind of workable prosthetic is downright impractical. ] You gonna be able to walk the whole way back?

[warandpeace]

[Things Miller wouldn't even know yet himself, not really. The truth is after Eli, he knows how very different those children could be. For Eli, it was worst case scenario. Hard to say what happened here.]

[But if he trained him, if "David" isn't pulling his only leg, then maybe he got lucky.]

Yeah. I'll be fine. [A little unsteady, but he's determined with it anyway. If he trains this man, maybe that means he's better off later.] I'm still getting used to it. [He's just been carried out of a bad situation. He guesses he should explain himself with that much, but now he's giving this young man a much more scrutinizing look.]

[soldiergenes]

[ "Still getting used to it" implies that Miller only lost his arm and leg recently. Snake had never gotten that much information out of him about it, just that it had been a POW situation. Asking anything further would have been out of line.

But when Snake compares the Miller he knows, who'd had complete control and been comfortable with his artificial limbs, to this...

Well, he has to say something.

Doing what he can to keep his pace on the slow side, Snake glances over at Miller and his hobbling gait a few times before he speaks up. ] It's not gonna do you any good, trying to get around like that. You should see if someone on the ship can set you up with some replacements. [ It's not that hard for Snake to fall back into old habits with Miller, even if it is a younger version of him. He's already opened up a lot more than he ever would have with some random stranger, that's for sure. ]

[warandpeace]

Still thinking about it. I guess I want to be sure before I attach something to myself permanently.

[It's as good an excuse for now as any. But they still hurt. He doesn't know if the limbs would help. If they would matter. If they would make him feel better in the long run, or like some sort of Frankenstein's creature, feeding off the advantages of complacency as Huey did.]

[It's hard to accept help anymore. Help can come with so many mistakes.]

I'll keep looking at options, though. [Keep looking. As if he has been looking.]

Did you have a good childhood? [An odd question. But to Miller... well, in recent times it's become significantly more important.] With good parents? Or at least people that acted decently enough?

[soldiergenes]

It doesn't have to be permanent.

[ Snake realizes that Miller must come from sometime in the 80's, which means that he's not as familiar with what kind of technological advances would be available to him here. That's why he wants to be clear on this: he could probably switch out his prosthetics from day to day if he felt like it, and if he had someone to help him.

Not so comfortable with where the conversation goes next, Snake unconsciously starts to walk faster, as if he can escape the unpleasant line of questioning that way. ]

I didn't really have parents, I was brought up in the military system. I was treated well enough.

[ He's definitely aware of others who'd had it much worse. Raiden, for instance, though the list goes on. ]

[warandpeace]

Oh.

[Just the simplest, disappointed noise, because that's how they chose to raise one of them. Stupid. There really was no chance at a normal life for them.]

Sorry. [And Miller picks up his own pace. It requires longer strides, but he can keep up. The situation is awkward, yes. But now that he's here- It makes him feel a little less alone.] It hurts, too. [He returns to the subject of potential prosthetics.] I'm not sure what will help or hinder that. If still feeling my fingers will change anything. Will you tell me what I end up doing.

[soldiergenes]

[ All things considered, Snake's childhood had still been a lot closer to normal than Liquid's. It's all a matter of perspective. At least he hadn't grown up knowing that he was a clone, some inadequate copy of a man who had been elevated to the status of a legend.

At the end of the day, Big Boss had just been another person. Snake had proved that for certain when he'd managed to take his life.

(Miller had supported him on that mission, but what would he think if Snake told him now?)

It's easier to discuss what Miller does about his missing limbs, than to get anywhere near the subject of what happens to Big Boss. Snake probably shouldn't be sharing anyone's future with them, but he can't bring himself to refuse his master. ]

By the time I met you, you had prosthetics on your arm and your leg. You were comfortable with them, too. They didn't slow you down for a second. You trained not just me, but plenty of other FOXHOUND recruits. Got a bit of a reputation, actually.

[ Somehow, the memory is still a fond one. While Snake doesn't outright smile, there's a hint of it in his eyes. ]

[warandpeace]

Good. [Terse response, but it sounds warm enough. It's a place he would like to be. Not just with the prosthetics. But somewhere where he's actually making changes.] I trained before. When I was in Colombia. I had a reputation there, too...

[His father was a drill sergeant. For all that war, life, it all crushed him, he admired the way that his father's students always remembered him as a teacher. He can see how he might go back to that, from what feels now like disrespect and thanklessness.]

[He's pleased to see that expression, though. It does seem different, even if it's just a younger version of the Boss's face. It's that respect he's not seen in so long.] You'll have to show me more of what you can do. [Which is a little ominous because it's a given that he will critique when he does.]

[soldiergenes]

[ Snake has a vague memory about how Master Miller's start had been somewhere in South America, but it's not like he'd ever been privy to that many details. Master had managed to keep this air of mystery about him, and while Snake had been his prized pupil, it hadn't been enough to get him to spill that much information.

He had a better idea of why that was now. Snake couldn't hold Miller's secrets against him because he had plenty of his own.

It's surreal to realize that he might once again have the judging eyes of Master Miller on him. Snake doubts that his younger age will mean that his harshness is tempered any. He grunts out a laugh and shrugs. ] Sure... but if you find anything lacking, you should blame it on yourself. [ It's a joke, even if he delivers it with a straight face. He'll have to see if Miller can pick up on that. ]