TEST DRIVE MEME.

[futurologists]

A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME Welcome to the Viridian Sea, a rolling body of water populated by a small number of islands and an even greater number of pirates and merchant ships. Sailing, rum, and high-seas adventure is the name of the game for this mission: after the freshly-recruited volunteers (that's you!) are welcomed into Hathaway, they are sent via controlled interdimensional rift to deal with a certain pirate ship that has been causing a certain amount of trouble. The crew of Red Scream, a murderous band of Mako pirates, has been reaving a path of destruction through the sea, scuttling ships of merchants, civilians, and other pirate bands alike. They have also kidnapped a governor's daughter, asking an exorbitant ransom to return her at all, let alone alive. If this wasn't enough of a reason for Hathaway to intervene, Red Scream's current goal is firmly pointed at a legendary treasure buried in a crater somewhere in the Viridian Sea. Hathaway analysts have studied the crater and found that it was definitely caused by a temporal shard cast off from the Merging. And if Red Scream gets its hands on the shard, it'll be bad news. The crew of Little Squid has reached out to Hathaway for help reaching the treasure. The ship and crew are both small, but they are an optimistic and hardworking bunch, and are willing to equally split the treasure with Hathaway as a reward -- they just have to reach it first. ▸ PROMPTS Your mission is simple: reach the treasure before the Mako pirates. If you have the time, you can try and save the governor's daughter -- it's not why Hathaway has been hired, but her father will likely be grateful enough to grant a reward. ONE ▸ GOING ROGUE. High-seas adventure not your cup of tea? The tropical islands dotting the Viridian Sea are flush with distractions, including pirate havens replete with gambling, food, and liquor. It's a hedonist's paradise -- if you can avoid displeasing the heavily-armed locals. TWO ▸ LITTLE SQUID. Ever been on a brig before? The crew of Little Squid are happy to show you the ropes -- literally -- and teach you how to be a master seafarer in no time. The only food on board unfortunately consists of salted meat and hard bread, but there's plenty of rum to go around. Life on the seas is tough, especially during rough weather; unfortunately, they have no cure for seasickness, so if you're afflicted, you might want to head below decks and wait it out. But the view during calm waters is unlike anything else. THREE ▸ RED SCREAM. It was bound to happen: Little Squid runs smack dab into Red Scream on the race to the treasure. Board the enemy ship or wait for them to come to you, but either way, you'd better be ready for some close-quarters combat. The Mako pirates of Red Scream are humanoid sharks with teeth to match, so in addition to their cutlasses and blunderbusses, you'll want to avoid being bitten. If fighting isn't your specialty, you could always hide below decks of Little Squid and hope you don't get noticed. Or, if you're feeling bold, you can board Red Scream and look for the governor's daughter, who is being kept in the captain's quarters -- she's about six years old and ready to fight, so get ready to have your hands full. FOUR ▸ THE TREASURE. Finally, Little Squid reaches the island where the treasure is. There are caves throughout the island where more standard pirate treasure is found -- gold doubloons in rotted old chests and the like -- but there's also a massive crater formed where the temporal shard plummeted to the surface. The crater is a wide hole with sheer walls, so you'd better find someone who can fly or brush up on your spelunking skills. The further down you go into the crater, the darker it gets, but somewhere on the bottom an eerie blue light is glowing. The source is the temporal shard: make your way through a winding tunnel system to find it and retrieve it. But beware -- the shard has attracted temporal insects, ravenous, time-eating bugs that can slow or hasten the flow of time just due to their appetite. Find yourself in their presence and you'll be moving in slow motion or you'll suddenly be aged 50 years. The only way to stop the effects are to kill the bugs and retrieve the shard. FIVE ▸ CHIT-CHAT. It's your standard network option. Maybe you've got a little downtime and you're bored. Or maybe you got lost in the caves and you think you saw a g-g-ghost pirate. Maybe you're just trying to figure out how the hell this magical jewelry thing works! No matter what, you get one username to identify you and one only -- if you don't enter one, it will default to your real name (for example, Voldemort's would be tomriddle.) Choose wisely... or make it assfarts69, if that's your thing. More information on the jewelcomms can be found on the devices guide. SIX ▸ WILDCARD. Do whatever the heck you want! Explore the jungles and waterfalls of the islands, have a party on the beach, try to befriend a dolphin. The world is your oyster. ▸ OOC NOTES Welcome to the first test drive meme of Futurology Season 2! Because the season hasn't started yet, this test drive is meant to be a mini-mission, similar in feel to the missions we have in-game but on a much smaller scale. Since no characters currently have official specializations, we also have no specialized prompts, but plan to in the future. However, feel free to play as if your character is level 1 of whichever specialization you would like to choose. Please be aware this test drive is game canon. Questions about the game can be directed to the FAQ. If you've been with us before, you might notice things look a little different around here. Make sure you check out the welcome page for the basic rundown of how your character joined up with Hathaway. For further information about the game, the full navigation has all the links you'll need. Apps will reopen to the public on 6 January, with early apps for returning characters opening on 4 January. Apps will close when we reach our 60-player cap or on 15 January, whichever happens first. We hope to see you then!

Comments

three; sorry not sorry

[ceruleo]

Are you sure you couldn't be convinced to change your mind on either of those?

[refashioned]

Are you seriously asking this without knowing a single thing about me?

[ceruleo]

You're sharp, good head on your shoulders, definitely above-average self-preservation skills, which, you know. Definitely an advantage.

Sounds like my type.

[refashioned]

So, because I can tell that I don't want to be eaten by shark pirates and whatever other crazy things lie ahead, that means you want to go on a date with me?

Someone HAS told you that you're the desperate type, right?

[ceruleo]

Excuse you!

I'm 'open to new experiences'.

[ Desperate. ]

[refashioned]

And what if I am a shark pirate recently defected?

[Hypothetically.

Because otherwise, she'd probably smell terrible.]

[ceruleo]

[ ... ]

A likely story.

[refashioned]

Having someone who knows the inner workings of the enemy is important.

[ceruleo]

If you were a pirate shark with insider knowledge on how to take these guys down, you definitely wouldn't need a bodyguard.

[refashioned]

Fair enough.

[Hypothetical situation over.]

My point still stands: you swiped right without even knowing what I looked like. It means you're desperate. It means you're going to end up agreeing to a date with a shark pirate, or a similar nefarious individual, all because they were seeking help.

Which, need I remind you, I wasn't looking for a date. I was looking for protection. Professional assistance. I suggest you don't ever consider that as a future career, unless you want to get a reputation for seeming predatory.

1/2

[ceruleo]

[ omg ]

2/2

[ceruleo]

Point made.

[refashioned]

[Huh.

That was easier than expected.]

You didn't join up to get a date, did you?

[ceruleo]

[ HE'S A GOOD KID OK, HE DOESN'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK HE'S 'PREDATORY' JEEZ!!! ]

Uh, no! I signed up because it was the right thing to do. Universe-saving's kinda my thing, you know?

Why are you here?

[ Let's conveniently leave out why he's actually here. ]

[refashioned]

Right. Universe saving. A few days ago I wouldn't have ever believed that.

I'm here to secure my future. I know we can do a lot of good here, but honestly, we're glorified mercenaries. Emphasis on the "glory." If they can help me out, I have no choice but to take it.

[And if it doesn't work out for her, she figures she can find a way out of it.

As it is, she knows what she said was awfully vague, but explaining the whole "Daddy is evil, blah blah blah, Lodge Industries, blah blah blah" isn't really what she's here to do.]

[ceruleo]

[ He can't blame her; he didn't really believe it until it was happening to him. ]

Sounds pretty desperate.

[ 'No choice', really? ]

[refashioned]

A little.

But I was also raised with a certain appreciation with opportunism. If someone can get a dog talking, I knew I had to listen.

If you can make things better for yourself and your loved ones without them knowing how it happened, wouldn't you?

[It's a grand plan put into motion, the level of Machiavellian action that her father would appreciate if he wasn't betrayed by his own daughter.]

[ceruleo]

I mean, yeah.

That's more or less why I'm here.

Well.

Right next to saving the universe.

[refashioned]

If you don't mind me asking, how are you so certain that this is the right thing to do?

If someone wasn't good, they wouldn't exactly tell you that in their sales pitch.

[ceruleo]

[ 'Because Keith confirmed it for me, and I TRUST THAT GUY WITH MY LIFE' is probably not a convincing answer. Neither is 'I pilot a robot cat the size of a football field for a living, so nothing surprises me anymore'. Hm. ]

It was sold to me as a 'you get what you put in' sort of thing. You don't seem like an altruist, no offense.

I mean, I can always leave if it turns out not to be what I need, but if this brings me closer to taking down the Galra back home, then it'll be 'right' enough for me.

[refashioned]

re: being an altruist, you'd be surprised.

[Note: she definitely considers herself to be one.]

As for the rest, it makes sense. It's opportunism, just couched in more outwardly altruistic terms.

So, I get it. I'm just far more paranoid of their actual intentions. Mercenaries aren't always the good guys in movies.

[ceruleo]

Pretty sure Han Solo was a smuggler, and he did pretty well in the end.

I mean, we're both here, right?

[refashioned]

Han Solo should not be your standard of excellence. Part of his reputation is being unable to fulfill deals with other business men. Do we really want to seem that unreliable?

We are both here. That doesn't mean as much as you think it does.

[ceruleo]

That's what you got out of that?

Okay, sure.

[refashioned]

My point is that we can do better.

It's a confidence booster.