Test Drive Meme #01: The First

[atlasmods]

WELCOME TO KHARAS It's gonna be a real scorcher. Welcome to The Atlas's first Test Drive Meme! If you're considering joining or want to dabble in the setting a little then you've come to the right place. This post should ideally give you a feel for what it's like to play in the game...especially since this is how we're kicking things off! What does that mean? Basically that this post is considered game-canon and any inter/actions here will lapse over into the game once it begins provided both parties agree to keep CR when they are accepted. TDM threads can be used for sample requirements on apps! Still interested? Reserves open on the 10th at 00:00 EST, and Applications open on the 12th at 00:00 EST. Both close on the 14th at 23:59 EST. Make sure you're familiar with both the setting and arrival conditions before posting...and have at it! THE DESERT PLANET. WAKING You wake in a valley, gasping for air to fill your aching lungs. There are spots in your eyes. The midday sun hangs in the sky and temperatures have peaked at 100°F | 38°C. Every inhale brings with it the sensations of heat and thirst. Luckily? The strange pod you've arrived in contains some food and water. Rations. Two, three days' worth if you can manage to stretch them. But aside from that there isn't much, in the pod or your immediate surroundings. The only signs of life are the weathered and rusted-looking stasis pods around you from which others emerge, gasping or choking for breath once their lids open. Beyond that there isn't a soul in sight, and since each pod only opens once interfaced with... Who opened yours? SCAVENGE After the heat and disorientation wear off things start to become more clear. You notice the bizarre mark both your suit and the pods bear, as well as the rusted paneling and long scratches that run along some of them. It looks as though something once tried to claw its way into the protective capsules. And somehow yours held out. Others, well... Not so much. Among the pods of those who've survived and continue to wake, are the remains of those whose occupants couldn't possibly have made it. The fronts have been crushed in, hulls torn apart, sporting what looks like critical damage to the wiring or pods' integrity. This damage wasn't caused by weathering or the passage of time. Something deliberately tore them apart in search of whatever...or whoever was inside. Whether or not it's reassuring that no bodies remain inside is up to you. Careful inspection will reveal these pods look almost the exact same age as the one your character woke from. How long ago were they broken? How long have you been asleep? The only thing you can do is keep searching for clues... Maybe you'll get lucky enough to uncover the remains of the occupant's own rations? Although whether they're still good or even edible for your species is something you'll have to find out for yourself. They look...well. Ancient. SIGNS OF LIFE When you venture further into the valley and away from your pod, there's finally something other than sand and devastation to be found. Although not numerous, scattered here and there are clusters of a coral-like structure. Most of its stems are hard and rock-like, but closer inspection shows tiny tendrils of plant-matter which poke their way out of its tubes and vents whenever shadows are cast. But the moment you approach it? All signs of activity vanish and it goes deathly still. If you happen to travel further out from the protection offered by the valley's walls you may just be lucky enough to spot possibly the only actually green blue piece of vegetation on the planet: a single bunch of shriveled leaves. While not terribly exciting, at least it doesn't curl up and disappear like the coral...right? But just in case, maybe you shouldn't disturb it. ECLIPSE Especially when it gets dark. As the merciless the heat of the day gives way to the solar eclipse, the planet begins to transform: the tendrils of the coral emerge fully and appear almost life-like in the way they sway and grab slowly at the air. But be careful! If threatened or grabbed these tendrils will sting their attacker and cause itchy red blotches to form. And when we say itchy, we mean really itchy. And remember those shriveled leaves? Turns out they're more active at this time of the day too. As soon as the surface temperature of the planet drops to tolerable levels the leaves of this plant unfold and knit themselves back together until they form a full stalk & bulb-like head, from which an oddly sweet smell emanates. If left alone long enough, eventually what looks like water will begin to drip from the bulb. If it senses touch, the head of this plant will rapidly unwind and snap around whatever's closest...before it attempts to suffocate you with its moist secretions. MIST OPPORTUNITY The other strange phenomenon which occurs as the eclipse hits full-swing is the gradual formation of saturated clouds of smoke. They appear in pockets which come and go without pattern or design. One moment the desert is bare, and the next it's begun to fill with enough smoke to make visibility so poor it's easy to get turned around and lost. Luckily it's non-toxic and doesn't carry any kind of scent, so breathing it isn't a problem but something very odd happens when characters try to activate or meddle with their communicators in it: White noise. Although the suits can't broadcast any sort of message aside from their beacons, for some reason as soon as characters enter the smoke white noise begins and can only be heard while they're surrounded by it. Is it a signal? Some sort of message? Or something darker altogether... WILDCARD And of course, characters are always free to come up with adventures of their own. Feel like scaling the valley walls? Digging through sand? Meddling with alien technology the likes you've never seen before? Your rationsThe sky's the limit in: The Atlas! ...And there you have it! This TDM will be live until game launch on the 17th so please have fun, be kind, and if you have any questions at all please head on over to our FAQ! We are currently looking for help with apps/plot write-ups, so if you're interested please hit us up.

NAVIGATION

Comments

B

[pyroelectric]

[Unbothered:] Please. Don't be ridiculous.

... Well. I suppose you might ...

[dateme]

You're not even going to soften the news a little? I mean heck, even I know I'm doomed. But still.

[ His survival skills amount to putting food in the microwave after he grabs them from the fridge. ]

[pyroelectric]

Why should I? If you're going to be dead in a few days, I should think it hardly matters how I say it.

[dateme]

Well 'cause like...

Don't you wanna console me or something? [ Pretty, kind-of-scary lady? ]

1/2

[pyroelectric]

Hmmm.

[Flatly:] There, there.

[pyroelectric]

Feel better?

[dateme]

[ THIS FACE. ]

No.

I don't feel like your heart's really in this.

[pyroelectric]

Really. What gave it away?

I don't have the time to care about every fool who crosses my path.

But I suppose... if you swore loyalty to me, I would be obligated to protect you... feeble as you are.

[dateme]

Loyalty? [ Who talks about swearing loyalty these days besides gangs and the Yazuka?? Yeesh. ]

Like an underling or something?

[pyroelectric]

Not the most flattering of titles, but if that's what you want...

[dateme]

Not really. [ UPFRONT TO THE MAX. ]

But if it means you'll maybe give me some extra water...

[pyroelectric]

You won't be getting any of mine.

But you can have someone else's. If you can take it.

[dateme]

You mean steal? [ MAN...that's harsh. Unless she means from those empty pods. That he can do without remorse, the dead don't need water. ]

[pyroelectric]

[An amused lilt to her voice:]

Well, they don't call it "survival of the nicest."

[dateme]

You might wanna be careful, there's one lady here who's pretty stubborn about all of us pooling everything together and sharing. "Or else."

[pyroelectric]

That's adorable.

Tell me, what happens when someone kills her and takes all her supplies? Places like this can be so dangerous.

[dateme]

Well normally that'd be when you go to jail or something once the police catch you...

[ A z u l a pls. Inui is starting to worry here. ]

[pyroelectric]

And where are your precious police now?

[dateme]

...I have no idea. [ He's starting to wish he did though. ]

[pyroelectric]

You can go ahead and wait for them to show up if you want.

In the meantime, I'll be taking matters into my own hands.

[dateme]

And by "matters" you mean other peoples' rations and water.

[pyroelectric]

I mean survival.

[Calmly:] Did you know it can take weeks to cross the desert on foot?

[dateme]

No. [ he kind of wishes he still didn't. ]

[pyroelectric]

You have in there... what? Three days worth of food and water? Maybe less if you're a big eater. And the human body can survive in the desert without water for a day, maybe two if you're sturdy.

So that gives you four to five days to find civilization or water. Assuming you don't run into any predators at night, and nobody steals what you already have from you. That's a pretty big gamble, considering you know nothing about this place. Do you really want to risk it?

[dateme]

[ Azula are you making an argument for screwing people over in order to preserve his own well-being?

Because it's scary-convincing even if he doesn't like it. ]

No... [ But he doesn't want to have a hand cut off for being a thief if they devolve into that sort of situation either!! ] Isn't this usually where someone gives a speech about "sticking together" and "making sure we all get through it?"