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FINAL TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 10
The words ring in your ears as in the darkness of your dream, a copper glow pulses, slowly enveloping you. It is not a feeling of comfort that surrounds you, though — as a distorted voice whispers in your ear, you feel it: cold dread, and a sudden certainty that everything is about to be irrevocably changed.
It is to this daunting realization that you wake, and as your heart slows into something resembling a normal tempo, you notice something you should have noticed immediately: you are not in your bed.
1.0 White walls, clinical yet clean, sparsely-furnished rooms. You may wake in one of three rooms: a room with only one bed, a room with two beds, or a room with four beds. Those waking up in rooms with more than one bed notice that they are very much not alone. Perhaps the other occupants of the room are still sleeping, dreaming the same dream as you just did, or a regular one after returning to the station just a few days ago … or perhaps you wake to the other person in the room watching you.
What you do is entirely up to you: yell in surprise when you wake to someone staring at you? Or maybe you’ll try to sneak away before anyone notices you...
2.0 Those with life-threatening injuries find themselves awakening in the infirmary, in a regular hospital bed. Most of their injuries have been treated, and any lingering illnesses or conditions will have designated medicine bottles on the table next to the bed.
White curtains surround the bed on both sides, giving an illusion of privacy. But is that a rustling sound you hear? Some footsteps? Perhaps you’re not the only one in need of some medical attention... or you've attracted the attention of those with experience in medical aid, and they rush to your bedside, surprised about this sudden new patient.
It is not just for your injuries that you may want some company, but also for leaving the infirmary — you can’t stay there forever, after all, and will have to make your way through the hallways of the station to the living quarters, and claim a room and a bed there.
Once you’re up, you may notice there’s something in your ear: an earpiece that, when you become aware of it, quickly runs you through the instructions for how to use the network, a recorded message by a female voice that explains exactly why you’re here… and leaves you with a map of the station.
So what else is there to do but to explore? Best get to know what is now your new home.
3.0 When trying to decide where yo go, you may find your way to the armory, where you can try to work the machine there to make yourself a weapon — perhaps to replace one that didn’t come with you to the station… or maybe you want to be prepared for the future. The recently-returned team members will surely recommend having a functional weapon with you.
4.0 After you’ve exhausted yourself training, it’s time to grab a bite. For that, you should head to the kitchen, which is equipped with all the basic appliances you might need, and ingredients for most regular dishes.
5.0 A welcome reprieve to the cold, dark space that surrounds the characters can be found in the sunlight room. A skillful illusion surrounds anyone who steps inside the room: you can hear the trilling of birds, feel a light breeze caress your skin as you walk through a grass field. The illusion has been programmed to reflect the seasons — the leaves in the trees are currently bright with all the colours of autumn: orange and red and yellow; and the air is crisp and clean. If you follow the path, you'll be led to a bridge rising over a sparkling, babbling brook, a few fallen leaves floating on the water and falling around you like very bright raindrops.
With an illusion so authentic it may leave you longing for a nice glass of ice-cold lemonade, it is easy to forget you are in space at all. Perhaps that gives you comfort, or just makes you miss the real nature all the more.
6.0 If you’d rather choose tinkering over nature, the lab is guaranteed to provide you with some entertainment. Glass vials and jars of chemicals sit on shelves in a surprisingly beautiful display of colour on one side of the room, while the other side of the room contains stacks of boxes containing assorted equipment: cords, bolts, panels, buttons, gears, gadgets, gizmos, and thingamabobs. The downside is that the parts available seem to have no apparent method to their sorting. So get digging, and you may just find exactly what you need to make what you’ve always wanted to make!
7.0 As you wander back towards the common areas, you may notice a room off to the side. The room takes up a chunk of the common area, and on its unassuming door is a little plaque that reads, 'The Ximusic room'. Should you enter, you will find a sound-proofed practice room that contains — yes, you guessed it, band equipment that even the most musically inclined should be satisfied with. So pick up an instrument, saunter up to the microphone to belt out your favourite tunes, or take a seat at the side of the room and enjoy others' playing.
8.0 If it’s items you’re lacking, though, some time after your arrival, the earpiece alerts you to a new message.
As you make your way to the platform, you'll see there is nothing amiss in the neat piles of items on it. There’s clothes, shoes, dishware, skincare, books… even a couple of CDs, and a few cute stuffed animals. So sort through what there is and grab what you want, before someone else does!
Maybe you have taken the warning to be ready seriously, or maybe you’ve heard someone mention the simulation room and want to see what the fuss is all about — whatever the reason for your walking into the room, the first few moments don’t seem too exciting. It isn’t until there’s another person in the room with you that the door suddenly slides shut, and the scenery starts to change.
7.0 Simulation on the Fritz: However, what it changes to is not one of the simulated missions. Instead, the room draws on its occupants. A little flash of memory here, a familiar scene there — the room molds itself after what one (or both) of the people in it know, perhaps a place they’re familiar with: the university library you used to spend hours and hours in studying, or the castle you’ve been trying all your life to conquer.
Or perhaps the room is torn between which person’s memories to draw on, and it ends up producing a strange mix of both: a busy street surrounded by lush forest instead of buildings, or a spaceship sailing on open sea.
As there is no simulated mission, there is no completing it to get out… so look for the little things that are not quite right in the simulation: a shimmer in the air, a grey brick in a red wall — a token of sorts. Finding it will make the simulation die down around you as the room goes dark again.
8.0 Mission — An Open Door: As the simulation starts, the scene that unfolds around you is a gilded hallway. It stretches on and on behind you and in front of you; along its sides, there are countless doors. Some are lavishly decorated, some made of pure gold, some of wood; some are decayed, looking like they might fall apart by mere touch; after a heavily reinforced door comes a door made of frosted glass… and so on.
But the longer you stand in place, the more you start to feel a sense of urgency: you must keep moving… you must find it. The orb. It’s there, behind one of the doors. All you have to do is choose which one to open.
Oh, you can open as many as you want, but be careful: you never know what is lurking behind them. It may be that you open one and step into a room that is nothing but air; it may be you unleash a horde of hungry monsters. Or perhaps you luck out and get a room that is just a room, with lavish couches and plush pillows, and maybe some grapes and apples set in a bowl in the middle of a gold-decorated table.
It’s not just the orb that you need to find, though... because just like in real missions, you receive a message that tells you your task — one that you have to complete, if you want the orb to help you in your quest to undo your regret.
● ● ●
N O T E: Additionally, there are three personal tasks provided to each character as they enter the simulation. In-game, each character will be given one task. For the purposes of the test drive, we’re leaving it to players to pick a task for their character and run with it.
A Tell someone what you are most ashamed of.
B Let a teammate get injured during the mission.
C Steal something from one of the rooms.
F Y I
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves are now open!
• Apps open September 26.
• For any questions regarding TDM, please direct them here. For questions about the game, please refer to the FAQ.
Have a clue about the upcoming mission—
no subject
You still have your gun. [ he points this out mildly. ] So I'll just have to stick close to you. Most would consider themselves lucky for such a gift.
[ he doesn't wink again, because he has inspected his glove and those are definite teeth marks in the leather. wonderful. he perks, though, at the mention of his nickname. ]
My mother used to call me that. [ she's not calling him anything anymore since he banished her to the southern colonies, but that's neither here nor there. ] And why not? I'm not here to jump when a talking ship tells me to. It would at least have to be a talking dog.
[ but he can see the distrust in the other man's eyes, that a talking ship might be preferable to listen to than a flesh and blood stranger. nikolai doesn't extend his hand, but instead bumps their shoulders together as he beckons him down the hall to continue their search for the orb. ]
Well, come along. These doors aren't going to open themselves, and you've got the only gun. I'm Nikolai. King of Ravka, if that's important to you.
no subject
King of Ravka. A place he's never heard, and doesn't know, except that some of those words are familiar. Nikolai. It sounds so much more colonist than any name he's heard in months. They share a similar language, it seems, if not the same world. The desperate pining is almost overwhelming; the desire to be close to home so intense that even a silly childhood nickname makes him sore.]
Cain. [And that's it: a simple lie, continued.] Royalty, huh? You must really want something bad if you're here. Thought rich, spoiled guys like you'd get everything they needed. [He weathers the jostling, tempted to knock back harder before he reminds himself this isn't another fighter and there's nothing to prove. He's on his own.] Guess I can't call you printsessa even if you look more like one than a king.
[With a dark-eyed, suggestive look, he quickens his pace to overtake Nikolai down the hall.]
You're gonna let me keep the gun, even after I just told you my task means I have to let you get hurt?
no subject
Almost everything. [ he does wish to be free of the darkness, so much so that's hard to think of much else some days. would he give up cain's life for it, if that was the orb's price? he wants to say he knows the answer. ] Do you want to call me that? I also answer to "handsome" or "sweetheart."
[ he very much suspects that cain wouldn't just let him get hurt, but wouldn't feel much remorse if he had to shoot him himself. but they're just getting to know each other, so he's confident that will change. ]
Seeing as I don't have a weapon, one of us should. [ nikolai stops beside cain at the next door, pressing his ear to the wood. ] We're all here for a chance to undo our regrets. I'm not here to send anyone to their death. I thought I was a team player until I came here, honestly. But I guess I'm just stubborn. I don't like rules. Not sure what's inside, but will you spot me if I open this door?
[ too late, he's already opening it. ]
no subject
Didn't say I was gonna let you die, [bitten between teeth,] maybe just a scratch, they can fix that easy— fuck, hold on a minute!
[The door swings open. Beyond it, the room is dark, and cold, and cavernous. After a few moments of eerie silence, Cain takes a tentative step over the threshold, gun drawn, head turning to check all corners of the seemingly limitless black space.]
Do you see the orb thing, or whatever it is we're supposed to get? 'Cause I don't.
[A few more precarious steps inside and Cain finds himself standing at the shore of a dark, innocuous pool of water. Brow furrowed, frowning, he glances back to Nikolai for confirmation of what he's seeing. As soon as he turns, the water ripples — and in a flash, something long, wet, and tentacled has latched onto Cain's ankle. It happens almost too quickly to track.
He's dragged off his feet and down into the pool. Water closes cold over his head; he'd managed to get in one shocked swallow of air beforehand, eyes staring dizzily up at the glassy surface of the pool above him as it fades further and further away, as he's dragged deeper and deeper under. In panic, Cain pries the knife strapped to his calf and begins stabbing the leg of whatever creature has hold of him — he hears a faraway screech, inky blood like oil gushing from the wound — he's released, kicking furiously upward, breaking the surface of the water, gasping.
And then sinking again. As becomes clear by the disordered thrashing that follows, Cain does not know how to swim.]
no subject
he doesn't have the chance to investigate the thought before cain is dragged under. every terminally reckless nerve ending in nikolai fights to instantly spring into the water, but he doesn't, dropping to a crouch, his hands splayed in the cold, inky wetness as he tries to see through the dark. bubbles churn to the surface, a garbled howl sounding from below, and then cain breaks the surface several meters away with a furious gasp.
relief floods nikolai, until he recognizes the all too familiar movements of a drowning man. cain, with all his panicked flailing, is perhaps just as dangerous to him as whatever monsters lurk below.
nikolai dives into the water, disappearing below as he swims toward cain, circling him. he's saved drowning men before — never pleasantly. something silver flashes. cain's knife, still gripped in his hand, ready to accidentally — or not — sink into nikolai's flesh to repay the favor of attempting to save him.
he swims up behind him, rising to the surface for air and hooking him beneath the arms, pulling cain flush to his chest. it's like trying to hold a live wire still. ]
Cain. [ nikolai's ease falls away, wielding a tone that could command armies. ] If you keep struggling, you're going to —
[ a cold vice clenches around his ankle. nikolai draws in a sharp breath to fill his lungs, then they're both dragged down again, the thick waters blocking off all sound. the creature, down only one tentacled limb from cain's earlier attack, swirls the rest of its legs around them, and nikolai knows if they're caught, they're done for. he reaches for cain's knife, prying it out his grip, then releases cain with a shove upward. nikolai twists around to dive toward the creature, sinking the blade into one black eye socket.
the same inky blood spurts forth in a blossoming cloud, blinding him, his eyes and nose suddenly burning. he recoils, trying to swim away from the poisonous substance, but everything is dark now, his sense of direction lost. ]
no subject
Then they're under again, and it doesn't matter. This time he does get a whole mouthful of water sucked down, until everything is subsumed by the blackness and he suspects this is how he's going to die. Not a bullet in the stomach; not rotting in a prison cell. It's strange, because he's never feared water before. Never had a chance to. Never imagined it could be something like this.
His hand is pried open, knife taken away, and he's shoved back up. Inelegant thrashing manages to get him to the shore, or close enough that his boots find gravel, and Cain collapses heaving onto the bank. He spits up water, shaking and sick. It takes a few moments to realize he's alone.]
Shit. [Cain looks over the pool wildly — ripples beginning to calm to glassy stillness.] Shit, shit, shit, shit... you idiot...
[He could leave him. It would satisfy the requirements of the mission. But they haven't found the orb, and Nikolai — was nice to him. He's a king, somewhere, to someone. That's more than Cain will ever be, more than his life is worth. He thought he could do this, yet even with panic seized around his heart, a leaden rock in his chest, he doesn't think he can. Cain paces the shore, kicking rocks into the water as precious seconds slip past, agonizing in this indecisive turmoil. He can't even swim, so how is he supposed to help? Or maybe it doesn't even matter. Maybe he just needs to be the distraction.
Cain wades back in, waist-deep, screaming to the beast below.]
Hey, asshole! Up here! [Kicking more, churning up frothy black water, eyes scouring for a sign of Nikolai in the depths that he might be able to reach.] You want me? Come get me, you little fucker!
no subject
he stays below water this time, swimming beneath the beast to plunge the blade into its fleshy underbelly and and flaying it open. this time he's prepared for the onslaught of dark liquid that pours out, pushing through the black cloud to catch cain's thrashing body against his, pushing both of them toward the surface.
and then they're free. or at least they're free to tackle an entirely new problem, which is cain's maddening attempt at drowning as fast as he possibly can. ]
You came back for me. [ common sense tells him to let cain go or he will drown them both. but if cain sinks again, nikolai doesn't know if he can find him. his eyes are bloodshot, his vision too blurry to even see the shore. ] Cain, look at me. I have you. I'm not going to let you drown, but I need you to help me right now.
[ he puts a hand to cain's cheek, gloved fingers gripping his jaw firmly. cain's pulse jumps against his fingertips, but his hold is unrelenting, his voice quietly commanding. ]
Look at me. I have you.
no subject
Something changes, and the next he's aware, there's a strong grip around him and his head has breached the surface. A voice, commanding; textured fingertips against his skin. It should be reassuring. It might have been, if his chest wasn't full of seawater.
Unresponsive, Cain soon passes out, sudden dead weight in the other's arms.]
no subject
by the time he wades to shore and throws him unceremoniously to the hard sand, he knows without a doubt he's not. he wastes no time in pressing his mouth to cain's, exhaling sharp breaths, then pulling back to doggedly pump his chest. ]
Come on. [ nikolai mutters under his breath, counting his compressions in his head. he returns his mouth to cain's to fill his lungs with warm air, gently tilting his chin up, his lips salty and metallic from the creature's blood. ] Come back to me.