spacehorses | Test Drive Meme

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Test Drive Meme

Did you want to test your characters? Do you want something that you can use for an RP sample without digging up an old thread? Well, here you have it. Pick one or multiple prompts below or, if you want, make a prompt of your own. Just be sure to tag around so that everyone gets plenty of exposure.

1: Explosions in space! Space Bandits attacked the space colony everyone was visiting! Dozens of fighters and mobile armors fly through space, locked in deadly combat. Are you among those battling to save lives? Or are you watching from the windows, praying everything will be safe?

2: Explosions underground! You were part of a trading party, exchanging supplies with an underground penal colony when alien animals burrowed through the walls and started assaulting convict and Confederation member alike! What are you going to do?

3: Explosions over the city! The Colosseum is shooting off fireworks as part of a concert or a sporting event! Are you watching in the crowd, a main attraction, or watching the bright colors from the city?

4: Explosions on an asteroid! You're either observing, guarding, or mining an asteroid! It's rather dull, save for the explosions that rock the ground under your feet. It looks like it'll continue to be just as slow, but... was that something moving in the shadows there?

5: Explosions on a space station! As you approached a research station, you receive a distress signal! Fire's broken out and their systems aren't up to spec! Can you do anything? Are you a part of a scouting crew or out for a joyride in your new yacht? And is this an accident, or something more sinister?

6: Explosions at the gym! Explosive competition! Swimming, weightlifting, running, boxing, someone has just challenged you! Whether they know it or not, you're going to do your best to show them up.

7: Explosions in the past! A star has died! The Fleet is flying through the nebula it left behind, with swirls of beauty as far as the eye can see. If you're the type, you can watch it all you like.

8: Explosions on the road! Most of the traffic on the Teuberg is computer controlled, but some young showoff took his off the grid and promptly caused a wreck! Traffic has been backed up for almost half an hour now, with no way out for you and the people in your vehicle. Are you close enough to see if anyone needs help? Or are you just stuck with people who are as late for their appointments as you are?

9: Explosions in the marketplace! Explosive bargains! You're in a trading hub, surrounded by stalls of all kinds selling every type of merchandise you can imagine! Luckily, you've got enough money to handle a few purchases here. Will you buy one of those daggers on display? An incense burner? Some alien fruit? Or maybe you're on the run from the corrupt guards? Or perhaps you're the one doing the chasing, did someone just steal your wallet?

10: Explosions in your mind! The explosive inspiration that drives this world! Make up your own prompt!

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[ And she doesn't know about you, Kevin Cecil, but for Rena Lanford, there is, in fact, always time for praying during an alien raid.

With hands clasped, head bowed, in the same way the good chaplain ever did teach the children of Arlia, born and found alike, she closes her eyes, and calls out within herself, over and over, that lone, sufficient word--- please-- and lays hands on the wound.

The answer comes, as always, in light.

Even Kevin, turned away, might feel a ghost of its warmth wash over him from behind, see it illuminate the shadows cast by the walls on either side of them in a flaring glow-- comforting, bright, pure-- that holds, for a heartbeat, two, before ebbing again. ]

[He was about to tell her she had nothing to thank for. Protecting humans is a preferable job than...others. It is the least he can do after all the trouble she is going through. However, his thoughts are completely derailed by the warm and gentle aura coming from Rena. It is surprisingly familiar. Home, like an unforgettable wound. Are there saints among their species as well? His creator has never mentioned...

The ground is shaken by the collapse of a nearby building. Kevin collects himself and places a gentle hand on her shoulder.]

It is time.

[ The simple awe written on his face as he looks at his leg (whole and unmarked) and then at her, and then at his leg again, might do little to dispel Kevin's preceding line of thought.

Rena opens her eyes at Kevin's touch; her handiwork apparent, she drops her hands and breathes a sigh, relief audible. A complete heal, after all, she wasn't entirely sure--- but it was enough, then. She glances over her shoulder and nods, wordlessly, before turning back to the man. ]

Can you stand?

[ He startles, seeming to come back to himself. "Yes-- yes I can." And he does with alacrity, nervousness returning as the ground rumbles once more. Rena gets to her feet as well, the urgency of their situation back to the forefront again. ]

Alright. We're ready.

[To be able to convey such blessings without suffering, Kevin is more than a little taken aback. However, there is no time for hesitation, let alone philosophical monologues. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, visualizing the half-remembered city map, and then runs towards a narrow street.]

This way, please.

[The poorest, most isolated neighborhoods will fail to immediately attract the raider's attention. That is their safest bet. He stops to look over his shoulder, checking if his new travel companions are following.]

Edited 2014-01-20 18:17 (UTC)

[ They are indeed, and the pace they're cutting is certainly a vast improvement from before, with the man himself practically at Kevin's heels; Rena brings up the rear, a little further behind, glancing to the side at the latest building to crumble. Is it just a trick of the light, or does she look that bit paler than before?

(it's okay, she tells herself, trying to ignore the added fatigue in her knees. All they have to do from here is run. They're going to be alright.)

"You said Zeta-7, right?" The man pipes up as they move through the narrow street, newfound adrenaline giving strength to his voice. "There's a cargo-only transit tunnel that runs from here to the edge of it, if it's open it'll be a straight--"

Shot, he might've finished, were it not for the deafening CRASH behind them that cuts him off, and the accompanying tremor of pavement and adjacent walls; the wreck of a mobile armor lies in a small crater on the main street they'd left behind, its wings clipped for good.

More pressingly, said wreck is aflame, and vehicles aflame, as tends to be common knowledge, are often on the verge of one final explosion. ]

[Even Kevin knows about final explosions, yes. And that is why he merely acknowledges the man's explanation and hurries faster down the narrow street, listening to the others' footsteps. If what he says is true they have a narrow chance. The odds are...He creates another discreet barrier to protect them against the falling debris. That is when he notices there is something amiss about the lady's footsteps. ]

Madam, are you hurt?

[Never slowing his pace, he grabs her hand and pulls her closer to properly examine her face. His sources are divine and so virtually limitless, but healing can be draining, he knows that. ]

Edited 2014-01-21 08:07 (UTC)

[ Footsteps which falter a bit as the ground shakes beneath them, a hand briefly braced on a wall before moving on again. Truly, there might've been nothing amiss at all if that treatment had been the first exercise of her powers that ill-fated day, or if they'd been in less of a hurry, that it had been necessary to draw deep from what reserves remained.

So focused is she on putting one foot in front of the other, the hand grabbing hers takes her off-guard-- she almost stumbles, but catches herself, and her surprised look up gives Kevin a good view of distinctly pallid cheeks, rather than the red flush that might be expected from physical exertion.

Her eyes are still bright, however. ]

I-- I'm fine. [ Firmer, with a smile: ] I'm alright. Let's keep going.

[ She's falling behind, isn't she? Ah, that won't do at all. ]

No. No you are not, madam. Please, allow me to assist you. I possess some healing powers as well, though I must confess I have never tried to heal a...

[The vehicle explodes in the background. The barrier, which was mostly aimed at the attackers above, still manages to halt the blast. It does not, however, stop a second explosion from their side, which sends them flying against a scorched building.

Kevin has been holding Rena's hand all along, his attention focused on her. He...He has lost the human. ]

[ There had been, she would recall later, a protest on the tip of her tongue even before he was done (born from deeper urgency, frustration, that she should be the one slowing them down), words that might have tumbled forth had the world not whited out in fire and sound.

After which, for some unknown time, she could recall nothing at all.

For buildings, you see, are not often kind to bodies tossed at them like dolls. Luck or grace has it that back and shoulders take just enough of the impact, and the back of her head only what remains; still, said remainder leaves her slumped beside him in the moments after, a thin trickle of blood dying her white collar a human red.

Sorry, Kevin, but it looks like you're on your own for now. ]

Edited 2014-01-21 21:47 (UTC)

[His eyes alight on the human remains first and, after a probably excessively long pause, move to Rena.

He might be able to save this one, at last. The human is delicately covered with his black jacket before he puts his ring on and touches Rena's forehead, hoping that will work. The lady is not human and he doesn't dare try anything more powerful in this solar system. There is a high chance he might end up needing to carry her to Zeta-7. Perhaps even attempt to fly her above the clouds, now that that there are no longer three of them.

[ Her injuries do not seem grievous, at the least, but gashes in the scalp could use due treatment, and aches and pains likely await her once she's awake.

Just as well there's little more than that. For wait as Kevin will, with dust and smoke still hanging heavy in the air, the stone on his hand seems uninclined to bestow any of its blessings on her. ]

[This is not good, but now at least he knows the ring doesn't work. The best chance they have is flying, after all. He gathers the young lady in his arms and takes flight, beyond the dust and smoke, beyond even their attackers. Hopefully, nobody saw them, and if they did, who would believe a tale about a human shaped figure cross the skies with an unconscious girl?]

[ Who would, indeed. The tale might ironically be more convincing had the teller of it chosen to describe machines, or aliens, or alien machines, rather than so ordinary a subject (and therefore extraordinary an event.) For the present time, at least, the raiders are either too preoccupied with the battle, or their sensors ignorant of minor heat signatures, to notice the movement of two small lifeforms(?) through the air, where the air is once more cool against the cheek.

Kevin's bundle of cargo stirs a bit in his arms. ]

Mmm...?

[ ...strange, how nice the wind feels. And the sky past Kevin's face (why is Kevin's face there?) seems closer than before. ]

[He didn't expect her to wake up so early. With a determined look on his face, he flies faster towards Zeta-7, which has become much easier to locate from above.

Covering her eyes with a gloved hand, he whispers in her ear:]

Please, madam. It is important that you keep your eyes closed.

[That, of course, will not conceal the flapping of a gigantic wing against the wind.]

[ There is no reason (she feels no reason) not to trust him, and so she does, letting her eyelids close again. The dull throb at the back of her head seems to fill the space within with cotton wool, making proper thinking difficult.

A scrap of memory a year old flits by, of breezes just like these, ridden through on the sway of a great creature's back, rocking up and down with every beat of silver wings. Just as they were doing, now.

Ah, but this Synard is missing... something... ]

Are you... hurt?

[ Reaching up with a hand of her own to cover, gently, the one on her face. ]

[Even as confused as she is, the young lady has good ears. He would rather she didn't notice, and hopes the knowledge will fade away once she is safe. If the ring didn't work on her, it is very likely that his less harmless powers will not work either. Changing her memories is probably out of question, so he'd better make this trip as uneventful as possible. For now, he focus on offering her a smooth flight. After all, she is bleeding, and probably still in pain.]

I am fine, madam. We are almost there, so please try to rest.

Edited 2014-01-22 10:07 (UTC)

[ Rest has a welcome sound to it. But were they not unable to do so, moments ago? They'd had to... no, they were still running, weren't they? To safety. They were getting to safety. They were...

They.

The word lodges in the stream, and she holds fast to it. It's important, because... ]

Where's...?

[Fortunately, he alights in front of what he believes is Zeta-7's entrance. It is open and seems to be a straight way to salvation, just like the human predicted.]

I am so sorry.

[He carries her toward the entrance, the sound of collapsing buildings still shaking the ground beneath them.]

[ The area is deserted, what few residents in the area having long made their escape. The green glow of emergency marker strips trail on into the tunnel, both lighting the way in and letting stragglers know that this door yet lies unlocked, and only need be sought and knocked on.

She does not understand, at first, what he is apologizing for, and so is quiet as they touch ground again; only when her closed eyelids tell her they have moved out of the light of day do her fingers tighten around his hand. Just a little more. ]

That's not... [ Possible. (Fair.) He'd been alright, she'd healed him, hadn't she? So why-- ] ...did we leave-- him?

Edited 2014-01-22 11:08 (UTC)

[His footsteps echo into the tunnel. After some consideration, he presses a button on the door. Sometimes it is hard to figure out which is the right one, and he has grown to second guess his own choices more often than not.]

...There was an explosion. I believe it was quick.

[It wasn't. It rarely is. One second can unfold into millions of years when a human dies. And he was not there for him.]

[ The button is the right one, as luck would have it (absent as it has been elsewhere today), and the door slides open to permit their entry into the elevator; a utilitarian crate, with room within its reinforced walls for a hundred souls at one time. It might well seem cavernous with only the two of them inside.

An explosion.

Ah. That was the missing piece, then.

How can you be so sure? How did you know? What if there was something---? But that the words stick in her throat, lump heavily there to hitch her breath with quavering; unable to force them out, she shakes her head in mute denial instead. Kevin's gloves might feel a bit damp, now, under the fingers laid over her eyes. ]

[He lifts his hand from her eyes, for now there is nothing to hide. The ground keeps trembling around them, the explosions closer and closer. It seems they are leaving just in time.]

You did what you could to save him, madam.

[Those are empty words and he knows it. The young lady stayed behind and risked her life to save the man. No matter how much she did, she will believe she could have done more. ]

[ Nothing to hide but the eyes themselves-- and so she does, with her own grasping hands, smaller and poorer a shield they might be. Her heart aches, more than anything (everything) else of her body.

You cannot save everyone. She knows the truth of this well enough, has lived more than once the reality of too many in need for her to provide for all, even if she were to give up all she had. Of circumstance snatching away too often what had been fought tooth and nail for. But still, even if this man's words are right, even if she had done all she could... ]

...I know. [ Hoarsely, barely above a whisper. Any louder and the words might not come at all. ] I know. But still... he's gone.

[ And is that not, in itself, reason to grieve? Let alone for how close, how close they'd come. ]

[That is the problem, isn't it. There is little comfort in the knowledge that one's efforts were incapable of changing the outcome. The only possible measure for a human's life is life itself. The best thing he could ever tell her is that at least she didn't make things worse, which is more than he could tell about most of his own actions since the day he was born.

He offers her a handkerchief. Let her grieve. Someone has to.]

Yes. Yes he is...

[The elevator door opens to reveal an infirmary. There are still some doctors left behind and no more than a dozen patients. It seems that they are safe here. Soon the young lady will be restored to health just enough to board the next ship.]

Edited 2014-01-22 16:39 (UTC)

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