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JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME
You awaken to godawful static overlaying a female voice that's too monotone to be anything but a recording. The static makes it difficult to understand the warning, but it's clearly a warning if your surroundings tell you anything...
You're buckled into a sturdy seat bolted to the wall behind you. Around you, there are dozens of others like you, some awake and others still unconscious, but it seems most of the seats lining the walls are occupied. The lights are dim, likely auxiliary lighting, leaving you mostly in the dark. You smell smoke and hear the sizzling crackle of electrical systems popping and shorting out. Some of the seats were jarred off the wall, leaving the occupants either wounded or dead. Count yourself lucky all you have is a headache and various aches accounted to whiplash.
You appear to be in a drop ship or an escape vessel of some form but the pilot is dead and the hull bears a massive gash where it buckled under the impact and sheered off. Through the door-sized opening, you can see vegetation. The air that wafts in is heavy with a humid heat, but it's obviously breathable.
Once you make your way outside, you'll see greenery: Trees, grass, and shrubs tangled with vines that grow wildly and suffocate the trees they climb. In the distance, behind the ship, you can make out a sandy desert that seems to stretch on endlessly. Forward through the trees, however, you may see a crumbling wall, but more importantly, you'll see signs of civilisation. Buildings and other structures seem contained within those decrepit walls. Maybe the natives can fill you in on what's going on, because the last thing you remember isn't being in an escape shuttle. As a matter of fact, you don't remember much about your arrival or where you are. But it's going to be a bit of a hike, better get moving. Though you might want to grab the backpack of supplies under your seat before you go.
With that, the power dies, leaving the drop ship in the dark, crackling and groaning as the hull cools from its catastrophic re-entry.
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[ Even as he says it, he gets to his feet, hoisting the bags onto his better shoulder. He casts his light around one last time -- he could grab another bag, probably, just to be on the safe side, but maybe it's better to travel light? -- before heading toward the breech in the ship's hull. ]
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Where are we?
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Because the trees and grass and bushes and everything is familiar in a way that things haven't been in, oh, twenty-six years? It's the kind of shit he'd see in books and on TV and in movies and--
--And it's probably a trick. Either of the mind or some external force. Whatever it is, Peter shakes himself, trudging forward. Possibly he's a touch more subdued than before, but hey, maybe that's just because reality is setting in. ]
We'll figure it out as we go.
C'mon, Lite Brite.
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[ She tries to sound annoyed, she really does, but she comes off as dryly amused, and follows him away from the wreckage. ]
I’m going to guess, just because this is the way my life seems to go lately, that there are probably big hungry animals in that forest. Are you armed?
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As for the forest, he peers through the trees and foliage, listens for the chirps of birds or the sounds of animals or anything. Hard to tell what's what, considering the people ahead of and behind them are making a fair amount of noise. But-- yeah. He has to concede the fact that he's got some shitty luck, and there's probably totally a crazy lion-tiger-dragon hybrid waiting behind a copse of trees. ]
I've got my wits, charm, and winning personality. [ Which is to say, no. ] But I figure if we hear any screaming ahead, that means we should probably book it in the opposite direction.
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Still, I’d rather take my chances with the city than the desert.
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C'mon. We'd better get going while we've still got daylight.
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Of course, she finds it fascinating. ]
This place is kind of nice, for a potential deathtrap.
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Oh, yeah. At least there's that. [ He sounds more amused than derisive. ] "Hey, if I'm gonna die, at least it'll be with some nice scenery." Ambiance is important, you know?
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[ says the thieving conman ]
And now that you've said that, I say give it like, fifteen minutes before something giant and angry comes careening around a corner.
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[ something slightly dark seeps into her tone on that one, but it's there and gone in a second ]
Get behind me if it does.
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so maybe he won't tell her he's a career thief, even if he moonlights as a good guy from time to time.
He clicks his tongue, dismissive. ]
What happened to giving me a shot at talking down any scary, man-eating monsters that cross our path?
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[ She didn't think he would take her literally!! ]
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I know. I'm joking, too.
But just so you know? I can take care of myself.
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Well. Just so you know I can set things o fire with my brain. And that's not a joke.
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[ uh. ]
... What?
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I mean, they say it's the best medicine, after all.
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[ Unless she just managed to nail an awesome headshot. In which case, the person in question is dead so it really doesn’t matter. ]
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[ A beat. ]
Can you seriously set stuff on fire?
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