  
WELCOME TO THE TEST DRIVE and thank you for your interest! Though the game hasn't started yet, we've put together a mini-mission with a few different goals for your characters to pursue. In the interest of flexibility and allowing players to experiment with the game mechanics, we invite you to pick your own broodmates, experiment with abilities and specializations, talk to each other and maybe make up some pre-established cr, and generally play around however you like. This test drive will not be game canon, so take this chance to go nuts!
For the full experience, we strongly encourage players to write up a short blurb about what their fellow characters might know about them either through shared time on the Station or through the Nest mental link. Handy links can be found at the bottom of this entry if you have any questions or want to place a reserve.
HELINOS TOZ
...is the smallest galactic empire located in the second disk of the Silver Halo Galaxy. For thousands of years, the neighboring CONFEDERATE OF BAL and INIVIAL COR(P) have eaten away at Helinos Toz's territory and now have reduced the once-great empire to a single moon ruled by the Last Empress. Though she is a child who owns little in the way of property on the galactic stage, the Last Empress still holds a precious seat in the shrinking Galactic House of Chairs. From this seat she and her allies have managed to keep a stranglehold on the throats of Bal and Inivial’s expansion efforts into the fourth and fifth disks of the Halo. She has accomplished this task by viciously excising loopholes in galactic regulation. Paradoxical though it may sound, the outer rings view the Last Empress as one of the few remaining heroes for the common man against the absorption of either the Bal or Inivial, a symbol of the dangers the two great empires present and a name and a heritage that even today commands respect. While Bal and Inivial may have radically different galactic goals and famously spend their time hounding one another in the house of chairs, they can agree on one thing: the Last Empress and her tiny moon kingdom are a thorn in their side. In an effort to pluck it, Bal and Inivial have joined forces to do away with the Empress and her moon forever.
While a direct attack on the ground empire moon would be an undeniable act of war, and would result in heavy sanctions which would only serve to set their goals back further, there are ways to destabilize the moon without actually putting boots on the ground. Inivial has decided to sacrifice one of their own assets to achieve this: the planet which the moon orbits. Helinos Prime is a cold, dead rock, without it's own atmosphere, as well as the site of a significant Inivial mining operation. It's this very operation that Invivial intends to utilize. By mining directly to the planet’s core, they will harvest a massive amount of heavy elements, cutting heavily into the planet's mass and degrading it's orbit in space-- making it a risk to surrounding inhabited worlds. Galactic regulation demands such a threat be absolutely absolved- by total destruction. Further, it states that these dangers must be dealt with in no more than eight hours, regardless of any other sanctions or treaties. The act itself is quite sterile: a beam weapon located in the first ring which is capable of destroying most planets in a single shot as long as alignment is correct. And once the planet goes, so too does the empire moon.
But even getting rid of the empire’s last land holdings wouldn’t do away with the Empress herself, which is why the Confederate of Bal’s massive armada has opted to choose today for a sprawling training exercise in their space above the empire moon. As is their right under the Secrets and Sanctions treaty, they have refused the operation of any other space traffic in that sector until their exercise has been completed. The paperwork is filed, notarized, and finalized. Under the guise of the Bal and Inivial’s mutual animosity, the two super powers mean to trap the Last Empress with the very rules and regulations she’s spent her young life manipulating to keep them both muzzled.
In summary: the Last Empress and what remains of her small royal envoy are stuck quite literally between a dissolving rock and the hard place of the Confederate of Bal’s guns with no diplomatic wiggle room. Should the empire of Helinos Toz fall, the majority of the house of chairs will turn in favor of expansion and it won’t be long before the Halo’s outer rings become the stage for a vicious war between Bal and Inivial. Those citizens of the outer rings will find their lives drastically changed as those two powers dash to make opportune land (and space) grabs. If the Last Empress can be saved, she might be able to successfully reveal this act of aggression for what it is, and use it as a way to rally the rest of the house of chairs, around her and the interests of the outer rings she stands for, against Bal and Inivial.
YOUR MISSION is to help the Last Empress escape the empire moon before it can be vaporized by Inivial, and to slide her and as many of her retinue as possible through the lines of Bal’s armada undetected.
PROMPTS
ONE • DEBRIEF: NOT AS SEXY AS IT SOUNDS
You've been given your mission file (see above) and outfitted with the appropriate gear to see it through. Today that means thermal suits designed to withstand face melting temperatures and a small cadre of ships that seem awfully familiar... if you're not mistaken they're the same ships currently in formation above Helinos Toz. You can ask Prince where he got them or Cathaway for some flying advice, but you probably won't get answers that makes any sense. Hopefully some of you know how to fly. Hug your friends, say your prayers, and wave Station 72 goodbye because it's time to...
TWO • HITTING ROCK BOTTOM
...sabotage a giant plasma drill! Down on Helinos Prime, Inivial's massive mining operation is a veritable labyrinth of tunnels and substations. Luckily you've been provided with schematics (if you feel like using them), and with some trial and error you should be able to navigate your way to key points in the mining operation. It won't be possible to completely stop the machine from coring the planet, but you just need to buy a little time. Suggested targets are the drill's targeting interface, its coolant systems, and its auxiliary stabilizer vents. How do you do that? Time to use your imagination. On the plus side, no one's around to stop you. Inivial already evacuated their on-site personnel which, come to think of it, might be a bad sign.
THREE • HURRY UP AND WAIT
With Inivial's drill momentarily on pause, it's time to rescue an Empress. Does she even know you're coming for her? Well, she'll find out eventually. There's room for six extra people on the ships provided, meaning you have exactly enough room to smuggle her and her closest advisers off of the empire moon. You've got six hours before you can (and really SHOULD) leave. Right now it looks like there's time to kill. Get to know the locals, the moon's bustling trade port, or its local population of cute dragonbirds. You have a collapsing planet below you and a veritable wasps nest of ships above you. Enjoy it while it lasts-- or bypass it all and wait for your window of opportunity with the Empress and her envoy.
FOUR • INTO THE WILD BLACK YONDER
The stealth ships can travel invisibly while in atmosphere, but there's no tricking the sensors of the Bal's ships. Luckily you fit right in-- almost. Pretending to be Bal ships might make the most sense, but what if someone notices you're out of drill formation? Even worse, what if someone detects you leaving the empire moon? No Bal ship is supposed to be down there. You could always try finding another ship to take into space, something with a little bit of stealth or maybe a harmless trading vessel. Then again, no one's supposed to be coming off the moon and into this space at all. Think fast, talk faster, or hope your pilot is really good.
FIVE • WILDCARD
Honestly? This is your show. Go surfing on some subterranean lava flows while stalling Inivial's mining efforts, try to take all the Empress's gold leaf dining room chairs with you when you evacuate the empire moon, or maybe you're done with this whole mission alltogether and want to try hijacking a ship from the Bal's armada and flying it out into space until this whole thing blows over. There's a whole galaxy out there; what else could be waiting for you?
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onemind) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
emptynesters2016-02-03 09:43 pm
no subject
What? No! I'd never be caught dead in a dress, they're for girls.
[ He quickly tosses it in one of the piles on the floor, adding to the mess he was complaining about just seconds ago. There's a deepening frown on his face as he crosses arms tightly over his chest, acting like he'd never touched the garment at all. But once she rips the sleeve off the jacket, that frown turns considerate. ]
Hm. I kinda like it better that way.
[ Which may be a bad thing.
Never trust a DRAMAtical when it comes to fashion, just no.]no subject
Hey, you know you're like, mentally connected to me right? And we're all kind of the same person now? and -
[ She can't help it, she's so damn happy to do it. Loud in her mind as if to prove the point: ]
I'M A GIRL!
no subject
[ Connected or not, that rude move was unexpected. Aoba's hands fly to his cover his ears and block out the sudden yelling, but it's no use. She'd screamed it directly into his head like the symboite was a megaphone, loud and clear enough to make the growing ache there swell into a sharp throb. It's pain Sly Blue is all too eager to relish in and share through their connection, but Aoba does his best to keep it all contained on him. It's a few seconds of hunched over wincing before he's recovered enough to yell back- ]
What was that for?!
[ Just with his mouth, though Blue nudges him to inflict her back. Show her what their voice can do. But Blue can shut it. ]
We aren't all the same person! Our heads are all connected, but our bodies and brains are still different. And I'm a guy! A guy who doesn't wear dresses!
[ Which is the most important point to get across here. ]
no subject
Ow , god, what the fuck is wrong with your head again?
[ She shakes herself of it viciously. Humming forcefully in the barest attempt at self defence against the throbbing pain that seems to roll off of him. ]
I don't see why you're so touchy about it, it's just a dress. [ and she does just love winding him up again. ] Besides you're like - way prettier than I am anyway.
no subject
It's... the other guy in my head. I don't have the medicine to keep him quiet anymore.
[ Trying to suppress the voices in your head in any way doesn't please the Nest, apparently, even when they cause you regular headaches. And even though they all have other voices now, Aoba quickly realizes how absolutely crazy he sounds and goes bright red. Even brighter at the accusation of being pretty. In fact, it flusters him so much he can't come up with any argument other than- ]
Wh-... N-... No I'm not!!
[ If she listens closely, Gaige might hear the Aoba-like voice that's cackling deep in his head. Weird thing is, it's definitely not Aoba's laugh. ]
no subject
She so snaps back, quick and mean. She's shot things bigger and meaner. ]
Well tell him to shut the fuck up, I don't care what he thinks -- [ paused. considers. ] -- unless he starts saying to eat people. Let me know about that straight away.
[ Her anger is sharp, and by complete whiplash, gone in the next. Grinning. ] Sure you are. It's not a bad thing. I don't get to look at anything pretty that often. [ Is she hitting on him? Probably. Does she care he's not interested? Not even slightly. It's true, year stuck on a planet where people mutilated themselves for pleasure, pretty things weren't what she saw very much anymore. ]
no subject
and not the right ending if cannibalism is what you're into.But speaking of sensitive people, so is Aoba. ]
N-no I'm not! Guys aren't pretty, I'm a guy.
[ And still so deeply intrenched in gender rules thanks to growing up in an old fashioned, slow-to-change society. Memories of being teased and crying alone, of being mistaken for a girl due to his hair, come rushing to the forefront of his mind. ]
You'd look better in any one of these dresses just because you're a girl!
[ Is hitting on her in turn? Not in the slightest. All vibes being put out through the symboite say he's just plain upset. That these are things that go in their correct boxes, and how dare she mix them up on him.
Basically, he's so deep in the closet he's living in Narnia. ]
no subject
Dude seriously? I look good in whatever the hell I wear because I'm hot as hell, not because I'm a girl. What sort of backwater planet did you come from where shit like that matters?
[ She shrugs, then tugging at the jacket to settle it the way she wants around her shoulders. ] Besides, I know a guy whose twice your size who can like punch all your blood out of your body, and he freaking loves it when he gets to be pretty.
[ She leans back in the mirror, checking herself over, yeah - still got it. ]
new account!!
Well that's... that's fine for him. I don't care, others can do whatever they want. But I'm not that way.
[ Doesn't sound like this guy has to worry about being mocked or hurt for expressing himself the way he likes. Aoba doesn't think it has anything to do with the planet or place he came from on it. Maybe if he were the size of that guy she mentioned... or the size of Mink... or if he had someone like Mink protecting him...
He shakes his head and unfolds his arms to run his hands through his hair. They've dallied enough in this place. ]
Are you done in here yet? We should see where the others are with getting the Empress out of here.
no subject
Sure dude, whatever you say. You're the one that's all worked up about it.
[ She turns quick and sharp on the heel of her shoe, jerking motions that as ever -- are like she can't keep still. Internal motor running, violence of any kind did that to her. Body humming and buzzing over the back and forth feed. ]
Want to grab anything else before we head? Last chance for trophies. [ Says it all animal grin taking it's kill. Flash of white, white teeth and another little giggle. ]
no subject
No, I don't need anything here. Too much of a hassle.
[ And this is such a hassle. Watching over Gaige, making sure she didn't go off on another unnecessary violence spree, that's a hassle. Like watching those three brats wreck his store, only dangerous. He'd much rather just do the job they were assigned and get the heck out, especially since he's sensing her desire for destruction beginning to brim over again.
It's a feeling he's all too familiar with, one he struggles hard to keep suppressed, like most other things in his head. He has to stop and wince at the headache still pounding at his temple before following her out, a hand pressed to his forehead. ]
I hate hassles.