revivalprojectooc | Spring Test Drive Meme!

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Spring Test Drive Meme!

Welcome to the Current Test Drive for The Revival Project!

This game is a spin-off from the closed The Drift Fleet game. For more information about the game, including more details on the setting, please check out the FAQ here or the premise here.

A thread on the TDM will be required for all applications. Please view the FAQ for information about how this works. Any questions about the game please direct to the comment section of the FAQ as well.

If you are a Drift Fleet alumni bringing your character from the game, please label your character as 'DFAU' on your top level. Also, keep in mind you have complete flexibility on how your character comes here. They could be taken before endgame, after endgame, two years after, one year before, etc. It's up to you! If you want to completely restart your character, they're not considered DFAU anymore and won't need the label.

So go! Explore Agra 10! And, as always, HAVE FUN!

Thread ideas:

- Explore the city! There's a map here and a bit more description of some of the buildings here. Most of the buildings are run down and have clearly been abandoned for years; fortunately, the water treatment center appears to be working, but power is intermittent and unreliable. The hotel seems to be the most crowded, but you might want into what appears to be an abandoned storefront and find someone else scavenging or even sleeping.

- There are spaceships! That's right, there are currently several small spaceships grounded in the hangar. They appear to have power, but only one ship will let you enter. (For test drive purposes, the ship that will let you enter is up to you, so just pick whichever name appeals, and go for it!) The other ships won't open for you, but it might be worth poking around the one that will...

- Do you hear a storm? A giant, power-altering storm has been ravaging part of the planet for a month. It shows ghosts of people you know and those you don't. It drains you of any super-human abilities and tries its best to keep you from getting to its origin. Are you going to try anyways? Or are you going to chase the whispers of people from your past? More information can be found here.

- Can you hear me now? Upon arrival, your character will have on their person a small, handheld communications device. Maybe they know exactly how to use a computer, smartphone, or tablet, and immediately blast out a text or video trying to figure out what's going on. Or maybe they're not so tech-savvy after all, and everyone is about to get a lovely shot right up your character's left nostril.

- Wildcard! You're welcome to use any previous test drive scenarios or previous game events as a basis for a thread/situation, or simply make up your own! Keep in mind that you're currently stranded on a planet with only basic necessities, but there is enough food and fresh water. Creature comforts, however, seem to be distinctly lacking...

code bases by tricklet

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And that's really just the more obvious scars. Jon has come to joke about starting a collection after all.

He nods at Cal's reply, then elaborates "That is the Eye. The ceaseless Watcher. Or simply the fear of being watched, followed, found out... That." What he will not go into detail about, is the role of the Archivist as avatar of this particular Entity.

"How long?" Jon looks over at that question, seeming confused for a moment and then as if he's counting back before making apologetic gesture with his hand when finally answering "Seven years? I think I spent four of them in the research department." And yet it feels much longer than only barely three years that he's taken over Gertrude's place. But then again, time. Jon still isn't too sure he hasn't spent weeks or maybe even months in that dreadful coffin.

"You mentioned being sensitive to this Force, and that there are multiple ways it can be of use." Jon decides to permit his own curiosity to show "Is there something you tend to use it for?"

"So...where you're from, you have actual representations of these concepts of...what was it, destruction, paranoia, that sort of thing?" It sounds like a dangerous thing to focus on, and even though he doesn't voice it, the look on Cal's face is very much one that suggests 'Why..?'

He doesn't much like the idea of this Eye, not when he has more literal threats keeping an eye out for him and his friends back home. Although he'd like to believe he's safer here, habit and the proof that there are still those who have found themselves here from his own galaxy have kept him from saying too much about himself, at least any more than he has to.

That doesn't mean he won't answer questions, and as Jon responds to his, Cal considers. Seven years is quite a while. Even five years seems almost a lifetime ago to the padawan, and yet at the same time never far away in memories so fresh it could have been but a few days.

"I use it to survive," he admits, a humorless smirk tugging at one corner of his lips. "Things have changed a lot, back where I'm from, and with those of the Order I used to belong to." He pauses, taking in a slow breath as he casts his thoughts back. Back before everything fell.

"They called us Jedi- those who studied the ways of the Force. We were trained young, as soon as we were realized as Force-sensitive. Jedi were meant to be protectors, peacekeepers. And then came the war between the Republic and the Trade Federation and its allies, and the Jedi were called to fight for the Republic to try and maintain that peace."

"Fears." Jon clarifies somewhat flatly "They are the manifestations of fears. There are fourteen, existing outside of reality and... It's far from public knowledge they exist. I only learned about them a year ago." And he does miss the blissful oblivion of not knowing. As for that unspoken why... Well. Jon very much would like to know that as well.

And even though his own world gets to endure attempts at dropping an apocalypse or another on it every few years, wherever it is Cal is from, the young man doesn't appear to have it any easier. Regardless how you put it, war just remains a dreadful thing. Always so much closer and so much more imminent for everyone involved.

The description of this Order Cal mentions, gives Jon a short pause. He's more used to hearing of orders in a more religious sense. And in a way this one may be as well? This Order of the Force? Training young people to use their connection to this Force to become peacekeepers and then plunge them straight into war. Well. Maybe it is a military order after all. Or something in between. Jon hasn't yet decided how to picture it.

"And you were drawn into that war. I am sorry to hear that." Though it makes that comment about survival very understandable. Part of war remains trying to survive.

Cal can understand why it would probably be better that such things not be realized by the general populace. People dealt enough with their own fears to have the addition of knowing their fears literally take on physical forms. And yet he's not sure what the point of researching these entities is if it's not for public knowledge. Perhaps it's something along the lines of studying the Force.

Jon isn't the first to liken the Jedi Order to a religious sect. Many with only a vague understanding of the Force thought as much, and for most of the galaxy the Jedi were merely figures of legend until actual Jedi set foot on their worlds to help protect or liberate its people from Separatist control. Cal wouldn't have called them a military order, but he couldn't say that it wasn't when they had become so deeply involved in the Clone Wars.

His nod is barely perceptible, a minute tip of his head. "It ended abruptly, five years ago." He'd been only about fourteen then, the same as many padawans having accompanied their masters into numerous heated battles. "That was...when the Order ceased to be. We were betrayed, and suddenly the Jedi were named the enemy. The Republic and the Separatists were merged into a Galactic Empire, and it continues to grow."

There's a lot he omits, but it's clear it's an uneasy topic for him as he looks away, intent on keeping his thoughts from going too far down those dark corridors of the memories that still so vividly haunt him. BD-1 peers over his shoulder hooting at him, a welcome anchor that he latches onto with a weak smile and a light brush of a pat on the droid's head.

It would be nice if it were as harmless as mere studies for the sake of gaining understanding rather than feeding the never ending thirst for knowledge of some ceaselessly observing patron and inadvertently increasing its power to theoretically summon it into that very world at some point in the future and plunge that world into endless terror. It's really not that this is the sole reason this Institute had been founded to begin with. Except that... Well. Maybe it is. There just happens to be a bit of a competition among these powers of dread to see which one might ultimately succeed.

Though Jon isn't exactly bound to share everything he has managed to unearth so far. Especially not the details he's still struggling to come to terms with himself. And it's not like he's going to cause an apocalypse here, right? And yet his curiosity remains unchanged.

For now he's happy to listen. And learn about this unfamiliar world. The term Galactic Empire has him frown, however. That sounds more as if Cal isn't referring to but a single planet. Which is an odd scale for Jon to think at. He's already struggling to think globally at times.

"You were hunted." He concludes, setting aside the galactic measure. An entirely different sort of survival. And one he can sympathize with after having been a target of the Hunt for some time.

"From defender and peacekeeper to... I am sorry to hear that." Jon says with a genuine display of compassion "I assume you had to hide who- Or what you are."

It comes naturally to Cal, having been to many worlds and unable to claim one as home. Coruscant had been the closest thing, and it wasn't an option he ever thought of returning to, not after everything that had happened. He's not sure what he'd classify Bracca as, despite having stayed there the last five years in the wake of the betrayal. It hadn't been the most welcoming place, and everyone looked out for themselves.

Jon's conclusion and the assumptions to follow receive another nod. "The Empire made it clear that the Jedi were the enemy. If they weren't killed on sight, they were turned, twisted to the dark side." That, he'd only found out recently, and it's still a difficult thing to swallow.

"Now they work for the Empire as Inquisitors, hunting any surviving Jedi. I managed until recently to fly under the radar. Now it feels like everywhere I go, the Empire's already established a presence. But I'm done with hiding."

“Dark side?” The confusion is genuine. Jon has met the Dark. Looked at their dark sun and not only survived, but destroyed that thing. But a dark side? Side of what?

At least from the sound of it, these people were more like... Well. Jedi turned evil? At least as long as one assumes that these Jedi were the good guys. Oh, how Jon hates this line of thinking. Reminds him on some bad piece of fiction.

But he sets that thought aside and instead just nods himself.

“I... know that feeling of not wanting to hide any longer. At some point running his gets... Tedious. Exhausting.” He lifts his eyes up and directs them forward, in the direction they are headed. Towards the storm. Just another thing he has chosen not to hide from.

"The Force itself isn't inherently one or the other, but those who wield it for the wrong purposes are those who have touched the dark side, and those who continue to relish using that power are dangerous."

Cal can't really describe it in black and white, not when he knows a repentant former Jedi who had in the heat of a moment given in to an outburst of emotion, not when he's talked to a self-proclaimed Sith who speaks reasonably and sees benefit in peace.

They won't have to go far for the storm at least. Ships had been required to get to it as it lay further from the city. Now that it's on the move, it's not difficult to see how close it's getting, heralded by the winds that pick up, flashes of lightning splitting the thick darkness on the horizon.

"Yeah... Especially when who you want to avoid is just about everywhere." The bitter smirk he feels doesn't quite materialize on his face as he looks out towards the storm. Speaking of things you'd rather avoid... Well, at least he knows what to expect. ...which doesn't make him feel any better about it, but he'd told Jon he'd go with him, and a Jedi, even a not-quite Jedi, keeps his word.

The sound Jon makes is anything but a laugh, but it sure matches the bitterness of Cal's unseen smirk "...just about everywhere, indeed." Even here he can't entirely shake that feeling of being watched.

Jon falls silent when the storm gets clearly notable in the distant, now that they have left the city behind them and buildings are less of a visual obstacle. It does look bad, though it feels even worse. This is a bad idea, isn't it? Cal has already said so and Jon is inclined to believe him. And yet...

His eyes drop down to the recorder, still clutched in his hand, his finger resting on the record button, yet not pressing it. After a moment, his eyes shift to Cal and that odd little robot on the younger man's shoulder.

"I feel like I'm nowhere near understanding this Force of yours, Cal. Though I think I would like to? It sounds... Complex. Interesting." He glances over to the storm, then again, back to Cal "But I also think you should go back. Into the city. Find somewhere safe, find shelter. You said it yourself, this storm is dangerous. And I know I shouldn't go myself, but... I just can't. I can't not go. And I'd hate to put you or your little friend there in danger only because I'm a fool that can't turn around."

This time a crooked smile does surface. "I think even a Jedi has only so much of an understanding of the Force. It's why some devote their lives to the study of it, and even then it's just so much. Saying it's complex is probably an understatement."

It seems Cal has an inkling of what Jon's about to say next, careful concern replacing the faint smile. He shakes his head.

"There won't be many places that are safe if storms like these keep up and we can't figure out what's powering them," he points out. "You won't be putting me in any more danger than can be expected, and at the very least if something happens out here, there aren't any cliffs to accidentally fall off of if you chase after figures that aren't really there."

He shouldn't be surprised by this response, should he? No one likes being told what to do, regardless how much goodwill lies behind the request. At the very least Cal seems perfectly capable of surviving? Still Jon doesn't like it.

Jon's eyes fall back on Cal, and for a moment, maybe two, there is an intensity in his look that hasn't been there before.

But in the end, he doesn't try it. He doesn't try to compel the younger man to turn around and leave. Instead, Jon shakes his head as well clearly disapproving. And while he won't attempt to compel Cal, he is not above raising his voice sharply. Though at least he's not outright shouting yet, merely getting a little frustrated "It's not a good idea, Cal! I may not know what exact sort of storm this is, but that's why I can't not go there. Obviously the only sane thing to do is to find a basement. Some sort of... Underground shelter! Wait for it to pass. But I can't!"

It's that look that makes Cal step back, and even behind him he can feel BD-1 twitch and sink lower, a cautious hoot emitting from the little droid. There's definitely more to the archivist, and getting on anyone's bad side is the last thing the padawan wants, really. All he wants to do is to help.

He manages to keep a calm mein as he meets Jon's look, not challenging, but waiting. Only the slightest furrow of his brow suggests a frown as he hears the man out. "I may not understand your reasons, and maybe you won't understand mine, but if it's as you say, then that's exactly why I can't just let you go off on your own. Because it's not safe to go alone."

Up in the mountains it was too easy to lose track of those he'd come with, and he still thinks they were fortunate just to make it back in one piece. He's not about to say it's any safer here, much less does he look forward to being cut off from the Force again, but he's loathe to leave anyone to the storm and its effects either.

While he maintains the glare for a little longer, it is quickly becoming clear that he won't be winning this argument. So with a sharp exhale that doubles as a sigh, he takes his eyes off Cal and redirects them forward, all intensity making room for wariness.

"Of course." he half mutters to himself, but them begins to move forward once again "Just know that I don't approve."

A pause.

"And don't get hurt."

Don't get hurt accompanying a monster. The sentence lies on his tongue, but remains unspoken.

Cal doesn't necessarily feel good about winning this argument. The situation itself is a no-win, but at least they won't be fighting about it.

Watching as Jon steels himself, the padawan nods, even as the other has turned to face the storm again. "I know," he says. He'd felt that disapproval, but he hasn't changed his stance.

"I'll be careful." That's about the normal for him anyway, these days. Drawing in a deep, quiet breath, Cal prepares himself as best he can. "Here we go again, BeeDee," he says quietly, and the little droid beeps, hunkering against his back.

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Spring Test Drive Meme!

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