  
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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emptynesters2016-02-03 09:43 pm
no subject
And she much less cares to bond with anyone. To open up. To rely on anyone else but herself. She knows how to serve - others, and herself most of all - but she doe not want to care.
So, she does not answer Cathaway. She merely smiles softly and observes her. ]
Like the ones before us? Were they attentive to their best interests too?
no subject
Do you mean like this body with you now or the others you don't see on the Station? [A complicated concept and a difficult one.] It's true that there have been many hosts before you and your brood. Some of them adapted as necessary, some did not.
[A component under her hands clicks into place. Satisfied, she withdraws her hands fully and closes the panel.]
We find the latter tends to go poorly - for everyone involved, not just the individual.
no subject
Her eyes follow Cathaway's movements, keeps silent as she speaks. Does not even answer the question even when paused, lets her draw the conclusion herself. In any case, she does not expect a proper answer, and said non-answer is delivered promptly. Never a yes or a no from their mouths. They like to divert the path the questions propose and walk around to a completely different route.
But there is always something to be taken from their words.
The click of the control panel draws Bambi's eyes back to Cathaway's face. Her head tilts gently. She smiles. ]
Would you be willing to tell me more? I would like to learn to become better. [ At what, exactly? Not something she cares to share more than the vagueness it carries. A better link? A better liar? It is locked away. A secret. ]
no subject
Of course. We will do anything in our power to help you.
[What use would there be to not? Assisting her is like bandaging a wound or tending a cut. They have no use for secrets and hers are a blind spot. She smiles at Bambi; Cathaway is distant and focused in the same breath.]
What would you like us to tell you?
no subject
Eventually.
Bambi walks closer, soft steps, poised. Could almost glide. Closer to Cathaway crouched in front of the panel and the tinkering and fixing, but not too close. A polite distance. Close enough to be a presence, far enough to not overbear. Wallflower. ]
The others. [ A pause. ] Would it be rude of me, to ask what happened to them?
no subject
It isn't, though the answer is unlikely to satisfy you. [An assumption based on what she (they) know of young hosts. She has been asked many questions, including this one. She tends to know which people are glad to have asked and which simply frustrate them.]
Some are merely elsewhere. Many are lost forever. We suspect, but cannot guarantee, that others are simply beyond our reach. Unfortunately, our purpose is this place so we cannot always extend as far as we'd like to look.
no subject
As for the answer, well-- Bambi has learned that it takes a lot of work to dig in until you find the answer you need or want. An obstacle is something she can easily leap, cryptic as it is, vague as it is.
She is quiet and attentive as she speaks. She does not interrupt until she is sure Cathaway has finished. ]
You mean it is possible to leave this place? [ Softly spoken, tone still and not eager, making sure it transpire that she has no intention of throwing herself out into open space. ] Why would one want to leave?
no subject
[She says it patiently, mild. There are a hundred hundred universes out there, and in many of them are hosts doing the work they have been made fit to do.]
The work is necessary and so they go, as you will.
no subject
No matter. She continues. ]
Forgive me, I have not-- expressed myself properly. [ A pause. ] I meant, if one could leave his brood. Reject the Nest he has been offered so kindly. Leave, on one's own.
no subject
Forgive me. We misunderstood. [There is, maybe, just the barest edge to the statement. Perhaps if Bambi was slightly more willing to ease her vice grip on her mental link, such inconvenient delays might not occur.] There have been cases where a host refused their symbiote, but in most cases one of two things happen. Either they are killed in action due to their poor connection, or they destroy themselves in an attempt to remove the symbiote. Some may choose to leave the Station physically, but that doesn't mean their link is broken merely... very far away.
[Simple enough.]
no subject
But this time, the answer is satisfactory. Could be better, but Bambi doesn't push her luck. While she is known to take gambles, she also knows her limits. Navigate the waters where Cathaway swims is complicated, to say the least. So she has patience. And she has time as well. ]
Does it cause pain when one is lost? To you? To the brood?
no subject
It's like losing a limb. [Cathaway closes the panel. The cover seals back flush with the rest of the ship's exterior hull.] You must remember you are no longer just your own body. You may not feel their pain, but you will feel their loss if happens. We all inevitably do.
no subject
But she doesn't say anything of it. Instead, she listens, like a proper student, teacher's pet. Eyes tracing over Cathaway's hand, following her little movements.
Then, to her face. ]
I understand. Thank you. There are still many things to learn.
no subject
[Not even she knows the full extent of the danger they face; she suspects, given time, she may be allowed to learn more - to touch more - to feel more, but much in the same way that she suspects Bambi could eventually become an effective nester, there are no guarantees.]
That said, we are happy to assist. If you have any other questions, we will answer them as well as we're able.
[Perhaps with patience, that nebulous blockade the girl had put up - like a dark spot in Cathaway's vision - would fall and all her usefulness would come to bear.]