TEST DRIVE 006

[returnjourney]

RETURN JOURNEY: TEST DRIVE 006

Welcome to the Return Journey's test drive meme! We appreciate your interest. Our TDM features a small sample of events your character might encounter in game, which you're free to embellish or improvise with your own ideas as desired. Don't worry if you haven't read everything yet; while we recommend skimming our FAQ for relevant questions, critical information should be contained or linked within the prompts themselves!

TDM threads can be used as samples for applications. Players can mutually keep threads as game canon after being accepted into the game, though threads featuring non-canon ports or events may need to be adjusted.

We suggest putting your character's name, canon, and potential role (warden or inmate) as the subject. If you're not sure which role you want to choose, feel free to try your hand at both!

If you have any questions about the TDM, please ask here.

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The Peregrine

1. Welcome Aboard!

Welcome aboard the SFS Peregrine, a ship in the Admiralty's Transformative and Penal Reparation Fleet. It is presently circling the outer perimeter of the Oos Ring Galaxy.

Wardens have been approached personally by the Navarch with a job offer: Come aboard the SFS Peregrine to assist in the redemption of an inmate, and receive a miracle known as a windfall as payment. Even if you don't ask as many questions as you should, every warden will be treated to a short Warden Orientation video explaining their expected duties and conduct.

Inmates have died and been placed aboard the SFS Peregrine as candidates for reformation. You may have come willingly, offered a choice between death or redemption, or you may have been collected against your will. Inmates are also treated to an Inmate Orientation; you'll find you have less privileges than a warden, but more motivation for...latitude. Violence? Chaos? Bribery? Blackmail? Well, no one said the path to redemption was without a few bumps along the way.

Given staff shortages, some wardens may be asked for a favor. Rather than leaving directly for the Peregrine, you've been asked to pick up an inmate from the limbo between death and redemption. During this mission, wardens will have clearance to enter a snapshot of sorts, where the inmate died (so devoid of other living beings). You either have to talk them into willingly coming along...or bring their unconscious, fresh-from-death not-corpse with you in the Avro provided. Better hope they don't wake up on the way!

Inmates, in this case, you'll be presented with the choice of death or redemption from a warden rather than the Navarch. Or possibly not provided with a choice at all, if death has rendered you unconscious. Good luck when you awaken to find yourself in a small ship, with someone you've never met. Try not to cause any trouble.

2. Pairings

Pairings are a critical aspect of the dynamic between warden and inmate. While interactions between wardens and inmates are not restricted to those in pairings, this relationship is a bit more...inescapable. Inmates test the limits of a warden, whether they take a more typical or unusual approach to matters; likewise, wardens learn what makes an inmate tick (and hopefully cooperate). Chances are, your values will clash.

A pairing of any sort is as varied as the individuals involved in them. And today, courtesy of the Navarch's monthly announcement, you and your sorry partner have been paired. Temporary or permanent, with a warden for an inmate or an inmate for a warden, it's your first day together — out of at least a month, so good luck setting some ground rules and figuring out each other's breaking points.

3. Dorm Life

Hey, inmates! Ever gone to summer camp? Had a sibling? If so, you might see where this is going. If not, welcome to your first experience with shared sleeping arrangements!

The dorms are lined with bunks, though maybe they're better described as pods: futuresque capsules stacked two high, with sleek white paneling and cool blue LED lightning. Each bunk can be closed off with a sliding door privacy and boasts a bladeless fan for temperature control. Bedding is adequate. If such modest conditions do not appeal to you: consider not committing crimes against other people.

And just like with siblings or summer camp, you don't get a say in who your bunkmate is. Maybe you'll luck out and get a light sleeper who doesn't toss and turn in the night. Maybe you won't, and you'll end up with someone who will kill you if you snore. Whoever you get is who you're stuck with until further notice!

Wardens get much more hospitable quarters, but they may want to keep an eye out on the inmate dorms. Just in case an inmate does try to kill their bunkmate.

4. The Peregrine

The Peregrine's layout and protocols have been designed with its intended passengers in mind, who are primarily Earth humanoids and inclined towards certain social and cultural practices. If you're wondering why you are on a ship of Earth humanoids despite not being one yourself, please understand that all ships in the Admiralty have a population capacity. At times it may be necessary to assign other species to a ship of this type, based on availability.

As a warden, you have full run of the ship map. Inmates...less so, but that's nothing a little creativity can't fix, right? Just remember, if a warden catches an inmate somewhere that inmate shouldn't be, it falls on the warden to handle the matter. And if the warden turns a blind eye...well, let's hope neither of you get caught. While it won't result in anything as extreme as a demotion, wardens can expect to get a stern dressing down; inmates, meanwhile, will be reprimanded by the warden who found them.

5. Networking

Now that you've powered on your CommLink for the first time and sat through the short tutorial and appropriate orientation, you're ready to explore the wonders of messaging. Video, audio, or text, the world is your oyster and you surely have opinions on it.

There is no anonymous option and IDs must be some variation of your name. (IC, characters will have to try their luck and see what the communicator will or won't accept when they register; OOC, it's up to players to decide what name to use if the character has multiple names or aliases.)

Wardens have access to a group network filter, something that inmates lack, and can track inmates throughout the ship with their CommLink. Inmates, best avoid getting your device confiscated or monitored.

6. Wildcard

If it's in our game pages, you can use it as a prompt! The sky's the limit.

Comments

[clavesregni]

[A noise of indignation as the CommLink is tossed at her. She was using that, and he has the temerity to just pick it up and throw it? But she follows him curiously, the slight immediately forgotten.

There's a spot on the table he leads her to that's clearly meant for the CommLink, and while this technology is new to her, she's quick enough to pick up what to do. A few moments later, and dozens of holographic papers appear. Very tentatively, she reaches out and touches one.

It moves.

How curious.

Staring intently, she starts organizing them as she would physical pages on a cork board. No string to draw lines between them and no pen with which to scribble on them, but this is much better than what she was working with before.]

This is wonderful. Thank you.

[underscene]

( Cyro's known for some measure of audacity, yes. A slight uptick on his lips, hoping the boundary he'd just crossed might fade into the distance with the promise he was leading her to--a silent ask for forgiveness. Comes with the programming he'd say (and aren't all doctors in some form a bit bold, too often holding life in their hands). By all means call him on it sometime, Caitlyn. Until then, they arrive soon enough and she's quick to understand it. He folds his hands once more and watches her work for a moment. A dip of his head when she thanks him. ) You are most welcome.

( But having seen the previous effects of his intrusion, when Cyro steps forward toward her once more he'll ask: ) If I may? ( Gesturing upon palmed to the holograms, as if he had something to show her regarding the functions of the table. )

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's mind has already started to drift back to the problem at hand. She puts a map at the center, with the documents arranged roughly in the geographical area to which they pertain: one cluster of documents about the guards and fortifications near the perimeter, one regarding a patrol of native Britons in the nearby forest, one containing any information she's been able to find on the Roman commander, and so on. Her movements are precise and controlled, if still a little unsure.

She's about to start telling him about her theories when he steps forward. The derailment of her train of thought is momentarily jarring, but not entirely unwelcome. If there's more to learn about this technology, she's very much interested.] Yes of course.

[underscene]

( He nods once her permission has been acquired and approaches the table. ) I could tell you were about to speak, let me make this brief so I can listen.( A gloved finger unfurls toward one of the buttons. ) Notes and annotations, I think, might serve you. If you are more visual.

( He presses the button, bringing that same finger up to draw a line, an arrow, to circle something. As if on a board, a paper. And then, presses another button to erase. Afterward, Cyro steps aside to allow Caitlyn to continue with a nod. )

[clavesregni]

[If not for his apparent sincerity, Caitlyn might think his insistence on letting her speak is ridicule at worst and polite tolerance at best. The people she's met who have been willing to let her go on about her interests can be numbered on one hand, with three or four fingers to spare.

As she watches him curiously, following his fingers – she notes the gloves, tucks that bit of information away for later along with the glowing eyes and odd-sounding voice – she asks,] Do you find this sort of thing interesting? Solving murders?

[underscene]

Criminology isn't my field. ( A beat. He smiles. ) I have an interest in analytical minds. Familiar souls. ( But they still blink, the eyes. He would... no, he would feign interest regardless. Manners are hardwired into him. In this case, though, he does have an interest. More in her than her chosen topic, but that could change.)

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn isn't immediately sure what to make of that, but it's another piece of information that her brain neatly files and stores. He's not a detective, but he is interested in people who think like one. It's flattering, in a way, but moreso it's just nice to have someone to talk to.

She offers him a small but sincere smile before returning to the puzzle she's laid out.] If you look at the guard rotations, it becomes clear that they weren't as regular as they appear. The changes aren't frequent, but if you examine them closely, this man-- [She points to a name, drawing circles around it across a few different pages.] --is the one who was trading shifts with the others.

There was a band of natives nearby. Celts. They were at odds with the Romans, but you can see here-- [More circles, more connecting lines.] --they were patrolling the area near the Roman encampment, and some of the patrols match up with the Roman guard rotations. I suspect that this particular Celt [A name circled.] was sneaking away from the patrols to meet with the Roman soldier. The times match up. Whether they were plotting something, or having romantic trysts, I've no idea, but if discovered, surely the Roman would have suffered severe consequences.

[She glances at Cyro to see if he's following, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement as she continues to lay out her theory of the Roman guard sneaking off to have clandestine meetings with the Celt. A few more circles and lines drawn, tying the guard to the Celtic patrols in the area.]

That particular Roman was meant to be in guard during the time of the meeting, but once again, he changed his shift with another soldier. But the Celt was with his patrol at the time. [She underlines a description of the meal being eaten by the Celts at sundown on that day, which mentions mentions the presence of the suspect Celt. She's talking a mile a minute, totally engrossed in the story she's crafting.] If they weren't meeting, why did the Roman change his shift?

Perhaps the boy saw something he shouldn't have, but I'm not convinced. The Roman general signed off on this particular shift change, and if the guard meant to keep this a secret, why would he not having simply approached a friend to change shifts quietly? His other shift changes were not approved by the general in advance. I believe the general knew of the guard's activities, and used them to blackmail the guard into killing the boy. I just haven't figured out why the general wanted the boy dead yet.

[She takes a step back, frowning intently as though she can intuit the solution by simply staring at the shape the documents form around the map.]

[underscene]

( The story she weaves from these articles laid out before her is impressive. Cyro steps in, watching the way she circles and connects things from one piece of information to the next. The smallest details don't escape her as she continues to go over the story, talking about the guard rotations and suspicious activity therein. At first, Cyro is listening more to the way Caitlyn delivers the information and how she connects pieces of evidence but as the tale continues he can't help considering a few paralells to his own. Not that there were any romantic implications in his story, but the meeting up with those he should not had become routine.

Negus trusted him. For how long, though, would it all remain secret? If someone similar to Caitlyn caught just a hint. None of their keepers were particularly keen on detective work but he'd be a fool to think Negus entrusted it all to him and him alone. He did receive orders, and knew it came not from the person who gave it to them. And especially should he obtain his windfall. He'd need to plan here, now, and prepare for the unfolding.

He hadn't meant to get so introspective; her explainations temporarily fading into background noise until he'd realized how far into his own mind he'd gotten. A few blinks brought him back; his head tilting toward Caitlyn as she mentioned the boy perhaps seeing something he shouldn't have. He thought for a moment, considering the evidence laid before them. With a hum: ) Does there need to be a reason beyond disparity between two peoples?

( Cyro turns on a heel and rounded the table, observing the links and notes she's made. ) Two different sides is often enough encouragement, but your conclusion of secret rendezvous is not improbable.

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn opens her mouth, about to retort that there must be some motivation that drove the murder, but stops herself. The things she's seen the past few days, all those people tossed aside to rot in the darkest pits beneath the city, sick and starving – there was no real money to be gained in their suffering, no power, no secrets to keep. They were disposable, so they had been disposed of. Simply, as he put it, the disparity between two peoples.

Softly, she concedes,] Perhaps injustice doesn't need a reason.

[Her eyes follow him around the table, her curiosity piqued by his observations even moreso than by his appearance. Which side of a disparity has he been on?

She steps back towards the table.] But I'm right. I know it. I just need to find the final piece of the puzzle.

[underscene]

( Sure, there are motivations; there could be any number of motivations. Were they rational? Perhaps not. Sometimes 'you're different' is enough. He's seen it. Lived it. Had it's blood on his hands. You're not one of us. But those reasons weren't about money, not entirely. It was about power. Whether this was true in a scenario like this could be anyone's guess.

Cyro shifts. He, too, was about to say something--mouth cracking open, a breath, then closing. Does injustice need a reason? Lids narrow in deep thought. When he thinks about the system of Negus. How much he trust their truths...or his own, seeking... something that feels right. What does that even mean? He knows they don't care, but they made him to help people. )

Sometimes that you're on the other side is enough. ( A beat. ) But, what I'm more curious about is why this has captured your attention.

[clavesregni]

[It's a good question, one she hasn't asked herself - it just feels right, really. Her mind strays to the Firelights' wall, the faces of the fallen looking down on the community they'd given their lives to protect. Topsiders get headstones and statues to mark their graves; in the undercity, she's seen paintings and photographs. This boy doesn't even have a rock with his name on it.]

Someone ought to know the truth, I suppose. A boy was killed, and no one even knows why or by whom. The dead deserve at least that, don't you think?