ataraxioff | TEST DRIVE MEME 001

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TEST DRIVE MEME 001

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

A R R I V A L
You wake up, alone in the dark. There's a breathing tube jammed down your trachea, and you're suspended in a tube of clear blue fluid. Through the fog you can see shadows of movement, the muted sound of alarms crying. Upon registering your level of consciousness, the gravity couch drains the fluid surrounding you and retracts the breathing apparatus; the doors in front of you open, and you're suddenly dropped several feet onto the opposite wall.

It takes you several minutes to catch your breath and gather strength in uncooperative limbs; more time still to climb up through the debris to the hole in the outer wall high above. You emerge in bright sunlight, surrounded by an immense jungle. As your vision clears, you realize you stand on the hull of a colossal spaceship, crashed on an alien planet. There's a shout behind you, and as you turn, figures climb over the curve of the ship towards you: your rescue party, weathered and scarred by the efforts necessary for survival.

B A S E C A M P
A ramshackle spread of tents and shelters built out of resources salvaged from the ship and gathered from the jungle. Not sleek, not clean, but alive: people coming and going from tent to tent, heading out into the jungle or returning with freshly foraged food. Some are working to build more shelters or improvize working tech out of parts salvaged from the ship; some are cooking; some are just taking shelter from the sun for a while. Whether you find somewhere to help or apply your skills, it's probably a good idea to get to know your neighbors.

E X P L O R A T I O N
The jungle is dense and green, teeming with life, high calls and cries of strange animals and birds, the low buzz and murmur of insects. There are no paths or notable markings; go too far into the trees and you may not be able to find your way back. Dangers hide in the shadows but there's also food, water - or perhaps you're looking for more, pushing further in a search for answers about this planet you're now living on.

Or you can turn your attention to the crashed ship, the huge bulk of it balanced precariously on the edge of a cliff. It creaks and groans in its delicate position, audible from a distant but all the louder should you venture inside. Dark corridors made even more dangerous by the damage to the internal structure, debris and obstacles blocking progress, and any wrong step could cause it to collapse in on you, or send the ship over the cliff. But finding any tech, resources or supplies might just be worth the risk.

C H O O S E Y O U R O W N . . .
Hunt or flee from strange creatures in the jungle, take a try at rock-climbing down the cliff-face, or practise in-game gained abilities. Ataraxion is currently without a network until one is built, but test-driving on a prospective one is also totally fine!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I can fucking guess that, Algidus," AJ replied. She gave him a proper looking up and down before she thumbed at her dirty nose. "What happened to you, anyways? you just... get made different, or...?"

"What happened to me? Nothing 'happened'. My species simply changes over time due to exposure to different habitats and environments. Glacius had a freezer to retreat to during most of the winter, but I was forced to take respite in the cool of the ocean," he explains. He has mixed feelings about how he's changed, physically; it's nice to have that extra aspect of differentiation, but at the same time it had really worked against him when it came to blending in in the Box. He suspects that will be less of an issue here.

"What's gonna happen out here?" AJ asks, pushing for more because she's curious, not at all because she is concerned. (She's concerned, that's a lie... but she's not going to let that on if she can help it.) "You going to turn, uh..." She glances at the acid river, then decides not to push that far. "any different? Is that part of why you're pissed off?" Whether or not she meant to, she's noticed his mixed feelings.

"I..." Algidus pauses, suddenly realizing that he hasn't thought about this at all. Amidst all of the other huge problems he'd found heaped on his shoulders when he woke up here, physical adaptations hadn't seemed terribly pressing. The heat will also be a problem, but he's not sure how much he wants to discuss that weakness just yet. There is a part of him, left over from Glacius undoubtedly, that feels like she could be trusted with the information... but tossed into such a strange and potentially dangerous world, the alien is trying to stamp that down for the time being. He goes with a general answer that is still truth.

"This environment is drastically different from anything I have been forced to exist in before. My appearance may change again, in time. But it will be gradual, and will probably take months for the first signs to begin emerging."

"Well that's something. Shit. You look like you have the universe's worst sun burn to begin with. I'll..." she can't believe she's saying this, but she laughs and goes with it, "I'll bring you any ice I find out of that big metal dispenser we got woken up in."

Algidus can't believe she's saying this either. Back when he was in the Box, he felt like he had to pick his battles carefully and scrounge for whatever sort of support he could get. Here in... wherever this is, it hasn't even been all this long and he's already got somebody offering to help him. It pings off of a bond that had been forged before their differentiation, and the dark creature actually lets a smile slip through he tempers himself, trying to bring up a dubious stare.

"Alright, what are you trying to get out of me if I agree to this?"

"You've got muscle," AJ replies flippantly, her hand literally flapping descriptively over the length of him, "and you said it yourself, you're ready to go hunting the alien vole-hog things that live out here. Do I look like I'm fucking adept at swinging tree to tree to chase down my supper? Fuck that, there's going to be a time when I get caught for sneaking around that shanty shit hole. I could... you know, use support."

And the degree of a bond that they'd formed before their differentiation does not wholly account for it: "Anyways, you know how shitty things can get. When fuck-heads are in charge everything can go to hell and keep you crammed under its thumb no matter what you do. Nobody goes lone wolf on that and survives, not for the long run."

"Yes... I do," he rumbles, his gaze dropping as if he was considering the horrible machines that used to churn below their feet. That they were... supposedly free of that was definitely a relief, but there was no guarantee that this planet wouldn't play host to its own share of unique terrors. "You know," Algidus continued, his gills fluttering--something akin to a human wetting their lips, "I don't know why, exactly, it was just you and me that got dumped here out of all of the other ones but... I'm glad for it."

Edited (extra wordsss) 2015-08-25 02:50 (UTC)

"It's a start," AJ replies, hedging back a little. She's hesitant to play that card, she doesn't know where Algidus is taking this. "I don't fucking know if anyone else is... isn't real, I didn't know all the faces before... before shit." Thinking back on it is making her edgy. She glares at him and then turns her back on him and the river, stalking back to the jungle. "I plan on finding out, though. Gotta watch, take a tally. Should be a clearer idea of who's useful. You want a deal?" Much safer to stay on what's needed, what's at hand. "I'll trade you some of that information if you can find something edible out here."

"We're real," Algidus declares, his voice so adamant about that it almost sounds fervent. That has been a sore point for him ever since he realized his state of existence; it's something he continues to grapple with. Either way, the subject change is one he's glad for because he's not up to heaping his innermost conflicts on people just yet, even if he has ties to this one. "It's not an if, it's a when. I'll find something. Then we'll be eating better than most of the sorry humans in that scattered little camp."

"Good," AJ scoffs, dropping her gaze and hunching a little, giving a smaller snort. "They were eating leaves, you know that? What the fuck kind of shit hole is it when that makes good living? Who the fuck is running this place?"

Wait, she's asking the wrong person for that. She half-turns to him, flapping a hand. "I know, I know, I'll find out."

"Leaves," Algidus responds in a perfectly deadpan voice. He can't imagine being able to get the full amount of nutrients and calories his body needs just from leaves; he could probably survive, but he would wither. "If that's all they'd managed to find then whoever is in charge needs to be replaced." If there was any central leadership. He hadn't stuck around very long to find out.

"Let me know if they need any persuasion in coughing up information. Some people can be stubborn. They need... prodding."

"You want to replace them, you'd better get your icicles on some meat," AJ snorts, but she pauses, looking over her shoulder at the alien with some serious thought. "You know what, I might just. I'll tell you who and where if... you know, anything comes up that's worth the effort." Worth the effort to vent steam, or worth the effort to get real information? AJ isn't sure, though some overlap would be nice.

"Where do you want to meet up again?"

"I don't care about replacing them; I don't want responsibility for a bunch of sniveling humans. I'm merely pointing out that whoever is currently leading is doing a poor job." The alien seems fairly flippant about the prospect, though the brief ire to his voice over that one word suggests that he's struggling with some aspect of the equation. He's happy to focus his attention elsewhere.

"Meet up? That's a good question. That camp seems to be about the only remotely organized set-up that I've come across but I don't think it would be wise to conduct this sort of business so close to so many eyes and ears. Maybe somewhere in the ship itself, though... with its precarious position on the cliff and all that groaning coming from the inner structures, I'm not sure how stable it is."

By now, AJ had stopped in her tracks and had turned towards Algidus again. She sets her hands carefully over her chest, canting her head just a little as she considers him. "That river," she says, thrusting her chin out, "we could follow it up stream. Find a place that looks good, easy to spot, but out of the way. Nobody's gonna be coming up here anyways. That shit's impossible to touch. We could turn that mocking shit to our advantage."

"Could be worth a look. There doesn't seem to be much else this 'river' can offer us." This is still said with a hearty note of disgust, but at least Algidus doesn't allow himself to get sidetracked into more ranting this time around. "I'd hack a path through the jungle for you, but I don't want our steps to be easily traceable."

"Do I look like some fucking princess?" AJ squawks, but she's thinking back on the days and days of pouring rain when Glacius would hold his icy arm over her... over Jolene's head to keep the water off. She scowls, feeling a rush of frustration over the misplaced fondness. Algidus might find this coincidence of their finding one another potentially useful, but if it's going to be like this, AJ isn't sure that it's more inconvenient than it is worth.

"Aliens first," she prompts, mostly because she wants to see how he and his wide-arcing spines are able to handle the dangling vines and overgrowth that seems to edge in on the water's banks.

Algidus snorts, more amused by the human's indignant retort than anything else. He doesn't seem terrible concerned by all of the plant life that's dangling from overhead; he isn't trying to skirt around them as he walks, but rather cutting right through... often times literally. If the points of the large, tough spikes that curl up from the back of his bulky trapezius don't cut through on their own, then the alien shifts one of his hands up into a small sharp point to sever them. Meanwhile his green eyes stay locked ahead to make sure the path he is taking is still a viable one.

And for the most part, even if it's a scramble, it seems as though the trees and plants are dipping right out over the water, which means that they are able to follow along at a pace that is somewhat better than agonizing. AJ doesn't say much, but she splits her attention between watching Algidus blaze trail and the jungle around them. Despite it all, and even for a hot-blooded creature, this place is muggy and hot and awful. She winds up trying to cram her sleeves up. The rags she's wrapped around her feet need to occasionally be re-done; there's no great way to avoid stepping on the occasionally awfully prickly plant, and they weren't doing great from her escapades running across a sun-soaked metal ship hull the first day she'd arrived.

If she'd looked half-way reasonable when she first arrived, by day three or so she's a pit-stained, rat-nest tangle of hairball who looks about as miserable as Algidus has been during the worst of his tantrum... but it's a slow burn. AJ's going to develop a permanent scowl before she's twenty-five at this rate.

Eventually a boulder juts free from the jungle growth, projecting out into the water. A single twisted, miserable little tree is growing from its top, its roots winding down the boulder's surface, vines swaying from its unusually large and pithy leaves. AJ throws another branch at Algidus from behind, too hot and tired to talk and grumpy enough that she feels it is a worth-while method of getting his attention. "Here, fuck. Stop here."

Speaking of tantrums, the horrible weather bearing down on them seems to be giving Algidus half a mind to throw another one. The shade of the canopy provides some respite from the bright hot sun, but absoltuely no defense against the sticky humidity. It's the absolute opposite of the brisk, bracing cold air of his homeworld; it makes him feel like he's trying to push his way through some sort of thick fog in addition to all the plant life. He's doing his best attempt to remain composed, but the longer he has to keep chopping his way through the more aggravated his motions become, and the longer they keep walking the more his breath starts to hiss through his gills.

It's why, when AJ throws another branch at his back, the dark icy alien's hackles go up immediately. He whips around, his brows drawn together and his pupils contracting to slits so thin they're barely visible against the green glow of his eyes. "Stop... doing that," his words start out sharp and then tail off into a lower growl; despite his frustration over literally everything right now, he at least seems to have the sense to realize that exploding on someone who's just offered to help him is one of the most counterproductive things he could be doing right now.

He also realizes that the human trailing along behind him looks... almost as terrible as he feels. His pupils dilate again and he seems to actually looker her over... it makes him feel a pang of something that he detests, and he spends a good couple of moments trying to grapple with it, to push it back down. When that fail to work he caves in and decides to go with the next quickest way of dispelling the unwanted feeling. "Come here," he grumbles.

"I'm not getting over there, you're going to shove that stick up my ass," AJ snaps back, bare moments from flipping her shit. "Listen, this is the fucking place, alright?! We'll meet here, we don't go any further, fuck this planet and fuck that shitty little shanty town and all the fucking miserable fucklords in it! Fuck you, fuck me, fuck all of this!"

That outburst made the alien's head rear up indignantly, never mind the fact that it was exactly what he wanted to be doing right now, too. This was why he hated associating with humans, this was why he hated trying to be--ugh--helpful. He let out a mighty huff. "I simply the cold of standing nearby me might be a welcome reprieve, but fine! If you are going to be so ungrateful then melt in the heat for all I care!"

With that he folded his arms and parked his ass in the stupid green grass. Tantrum engaged.

"Ugh, you're fucking impossible!" She throws her hands up and, all but vibrating, gives him a 'what the fuck are you doing!?' stare-down, feeling at once ashamed and confused under the simmering rage. Why in fuck is he trying to let her into that space, they barely know each other, this place is fucking horrible and for all he knows maybe she's out to carve his icy flesh out, too.

...He doesn't know about that, does he?

AJ drops her arms and pinches her lips fiercely, feeling awful. "If I stay with you, we'll be getting nothing done." Though the niggling worry, 'I might like it' crept into her mind before she locked it down.

"I only meant for you to take reprieve for a little while," he grumbles-- arms still folded, back still hunched. "Are you expecting me to have you latch onto me for the rest of our stay on this miserable planet? Pah, I feel like I can barely stay cool enough as is!" And, truly, his microweave was flowing over his body very quickly, a warning that he was in dangerous territory, that it was working overtime to keep him from beginning to melt. At least all the bright rays of the sun were providing it with ample power to do so; his species' engineers truly were brilliant ones...

"Do what you will, human. I have made my offer and you spurned it."

AJ looks like she's beginning to vibrate with all of her barely contained frustration. It doesn't help that she's feeling heat-sick and exhausted and hungry and thirsty and there's an alien made out of ice water who could relieve about three of those things without much work who is offering at least one solution but he's so fucking scummy she can't bear to come closer.

She'd throw another stick if she had one.

"Listen," she spits. "I just don't want you thinking I'm coming over there because I'm fucking weak. I'm not! I'm only doing this because you and me know the shit that gets pulled when you go off on your fucking own in the places we've been through. I'm just doing this because we should stick together!" And she's been stepping closer, plunking her ass on the undergrowth nearby, scooting the rest of the way like an angry little dog.

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