SEPTEMBER TEST DRIVE

[thespaceopera]

THE FALL TEST DRIVE MEME
(Or Spring Test Drive for you Southern Hemisphere folks!)

Got someone you want to try out before you app? Well this is the post for it! Feel free to use anything that fits in the setting of Drift Fleet! Want to play bumper shuttles? Want to go wild in a med bay? Play around with the current plot? Have at it!

Threads from the Test-Drive may be made game "canon" but DO NOT count toward AC!

FOR NEW PLAYERS: You DO NOT NEED an invite to participate in the TEST DRIVE! If you decide to APP into the game, ONLY THEN will you need an invite from a current player!

Helpful Info for Ideas!:

September's Star System

Game Details

Test drives are posted SEASONALLY, so the next one will be in December!

Comments

[bryces_pup]

[Oh Justice, you've just stumbled upon a common conundrum of the place. No, she's not happy here, but honestly, it won't be much better for her back home. At least she's safe from the taint's effects here. Back home, her time is running out. Either way, she can't win. It's just beyond awful, and she struggles with it on a daily basis.]

I remember it that way, oh yes. But, to me, that was almost ten years ago.

[The memory's fuzzier with the passage of time, but she can still recall saying her good-byes, not knowing it'd be the last time she'd ever lay eyes on him or Anders. If she had known...]

Like I said, it's been too long, my friend.

[whatisright]

[Ten years. Wardens are supposed to die about thirty years after they're tainted, so Justice has missed about a third of her remaining life. This revelation disturbs him--is this what it means to care about mortals? That he will know them, care for them, and at a moment's notice, they're dead? Their death is different because they linger, but he thinks he will miss the Warden Commander when she dies, no matter how many fingerprints she leaves behind.

He has not moved his hand since she squeezed it, so he taps one thumb against her hand. The hum of her presence is much louder when he's touching her, insisting on his attention and swirling with all the pieces that make her unique, but he doesn't mind. It is the hum of a friend.

He doesn't know how else to express his feelings, so that is all he does. Hopefully she understands. She's always understood him remarkably well for a mortal.]

When do you last remember seeing me? [She talks like it's been a very long time for her, not just since his time, but since she's seen him at all.]

[bryces_pup]

[Unfortunately, it's a shorter time period for those who became Wardens during a Blight. Riona's lucky if she's got a few more in her yet, but she's not holding her breath. It's a race against the clock, but it always is, isn't it?

With Justice, it's all about the little details. With most people, a tap of the thumb would just be a reflexive gesture, but she knows he conveys meaning with it. Everything he does has meaning to it.

But here, she recognizes they're beginning to trek into dangerous territory. This line of questioning could lead to her explaining events that could very likely cause pain. But it's not something she could avoid forever, not with him. Even now, she wonders if he's picking up on her uptick of apprehension.]

The last time I saw you was the last time you saw me, when I went home to Denerim. [Technically, the last time she saw him was in the fleet, when one of her crew mates managed to separate Justice from Anders some time back, but that's entirely too complicated to have to explain at the moment.]

[whatisright]

[This time, the furrow in his brow deepens. So the last time he saw her was supposed to be the last time in at least ten years? That wasn't his understanding at the time, so that must mean that either plans changed or something went wrong. He doesn't like the idea of not seeing the Warden Commander so long. It's ridiculous, he knows, because he's only known her for a short time compared to the span of his life, and she has a responsibility to the kingdom at large as queen, but he can't deny how he feels. He's grown accustomed to her steady presence and the idea of not seeing her for so long when her time is so limited doesn't sit well with him.

Or perhaps he's destined to go back to the Fade soon, or he even dies before she returns. The thought of going to the Fade should comfort him, but he would be sorry to leave the mortal world behind, much less do so without saying goodbye to the mortal who helped him the most in the waking world.]

Did you choose to remain in Denerim permanently? [He can't fault her for it if she did. She has responsibilities there, and the Orlesian Wardens coming in are taking over most of the day-to-day anyway. He doesn't really like the Orlesian Wardens and they don't really like him, but that doesn't mean they can't do their job.]

[bryces_pup]

[And here they tread on a subject she's not quite sure how to handle. It hadn't truly been her intention to stay in Denerim and not return, but things had changed unexpectedly. Anders and Justice disappeared, the others went on long missions far away from Ferelden, and duty elsewhere kept her occupied. She reached out when she could, but it had been difficult, and no one had been able to locate Anders and Justice. Not until the news broke years later about what happened in Kirkwall. While Anders and Justice made their choice, in a sense, she felt she bore some responsibility for it. They had been her men, and where had she been when they needed her most?]

In a sense. The First Warden sent orders down, and many from Vigil's Keep were sent into the Deep Roads on a classified mission, miles and miles away from Ferelden. Keeping touch became very difficult.

[Here she dances around the truth. The others had been sent on such a mission, that was true. She just leaves out the part where Anders and Justice hadn't joined.]

[whatisright]

[It's a testament to his augment that Justice doesn't sense her slight deception. Instead, he sees that she's unhappy, and it's not hard to guess why. His attachment is not one-sided, after all, and responsibilities aside, it's never nice to go a long time without seeing someone one cares about. At least, Justice doesn't think it's ever nice, but he only has his limited experience and Kristoff's memories to go by.

But going away on a mission... he can understand that. Darkspawn need to be dealt with, after all, even if he's sorry that he won't see her again for a long time once he goes home.]

Then there is nothing to be done about it. [He respects duty, though he is glad to be allowed to spend some time with her now, separate from that.] How long have you been here? [Being in a new world must be strange for her, the distressing interactions with friend-but-not-friends aside.]

[bryces_pup]

[It takes a lot of willpower to hold back that sigh of relief. He seems to have accepted her answer, with its embedded lie of omission, and changed the subject accordingly. She knows the conversation about his future and what happened in Kirkwall is unavoidable, but now isn't the time for it.]

Sadly not. [In so many ways.] I've been here for over a year and a half now. I suppose I've gotten used to it, though I returned home for a time.

[Ten years to be exact, though she'd only slept for a week or so here. To say that had taken some adjustment was an understatement. She'd fallen asleep as a young Warden-Commander, bright and full of optimism, and when she woke up, she'd aged about a decade, and some of that light had gone out of her. Some days, she really wish that had never happened.]

[whatisright]

[Continued here.]