TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[space_aces]

WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

Your journey only happened because of your benefactor, so it begets that it starts at your benefactor as well. SUPERBIA, which is as much of a location as it is an entity, is where everyone's search for Fortuna begins.

There's not much of a welcome party: shortly after their fateful encounter with SUPERBIA, in which they swore to join the quest to find Fortuna, the new Privateers will find themselves afflicted by a sudden change in perspective. See, teleportation is a tricky process, so from SUPERBIA's point of view, why not make the target destination none other than itself? One highly disconcerting moment later, and the Privateers find themselves inside the belly of the beast.

The vast mega-structure is shockingly lonely, void of anyone other than the Privateers. Those who look off the metal satellite and to The Network for intelligence (or take a skim at the Space Wikipedia article) will find out that the surrounding space is clear for lightyears; rumors have it that the place is cursed. It won't take long to understand why.

1

Overclocked

The innards of SUPERBIA are that of an impossibly scaled up computer, and the Privateers start right in the middle of it. You are the spider living in the dusty PS4. Literal rivers of coolant, transistors the size of mountains, landscapes made entirely of circuitry. The sky, bounded by a distant metal ceiling, is constantly alight with coursing electricity that cracks the sky with lightning storms. It can be assumed that the Privateers are the first living things to set foot here, because such a place is not ever meant to be traversed by delicate, organic, mortals that worry about things such as "temperature" or "voltage". SUPERBIA needs not lifeforms to continue its operations; why design for them? Traversal itself is difficult: unscalable walls and perilous drops are common to encounter. The only company the Privateers will find are oddly adorable maintenance robots, which sadly seem too occupied by their directives of maintaining the massive machine to offer any assistance (or even acknowledgement of their new guests).

It is immediately clear that the most urgent priority is to get the hell out of here. Before your adventure ends at the starting line.

2

Skeletons In The Closet

If one stays inside SUPERBIA, either by getting horribly lost or losing all common sense, one will notice a peculiar pattern emerge as one gets deeper into the bowels of the mega-structure. Passages shrink and become more level, and the incredible hostility and danger of the surroundings fade away, until one comes across areas which were definitely intended for humanoid organisms to use at one point.

The construction of these areas is cramped, unfurnished, and dreary; they are reminiscent of artificial environments meant to handle harsh external conditions like a submarine or bunker, but they are entirely livable. One can eventually find distinct rooms, but everything in them has crumbled to dust and their original purpose is nigh impossible to discern. Deeper investigation may reveal the few items that have stood the test of time. While it is more plausible for life to have existed here, that doesn't seem to be the case now. What happened here?

3

The Shipyard

In the opposite direction, when one finally reaches the outer edges of SUPERBIA, they will be rewarded with the place to pick up a spaceship and a stunningly beautiful view of outer space. The outside of SUPERBIA has no atmosphere to get between you and the stars, and they shine brightly, like a beacon calling one out into the first steps of adventure.

The shipyard is already filled with countless space ships of every size, form, and function, all autonomously constructed by SUPERBIA's factories over the countless years. What's the harm in taking one or twenty out for a spin? Even if one has no intentions of permanent ownership of the vehicle, it's not like SUPERBIA will miss it. For a Privateer with a more specific vision, however, there are kiosks around the yard which will allow one to design their very own space ship down to their exact specifications. When the process is done SUPERBIA's matter printers will have it out and space-ready right before your very eyes.

If a Privateer has a ship, vehicle, or large item that they intended to bring with them, they will also find them here, neatly parked in the Shipyard. Why didn't SUPERBIA extend this courtesy to the pilot's themselves? The answer is revealed as soon as the owner makes a closer inspection: the inner contents have been rearranged, like a whirlwind was unleashed inside and assorted loose items thrown around. Now aren't you glad your transportation was given special attention, and the same didn't happen to your innards?

4

Hot Crewmates in Your Area

But how will a single Privateer man an entire space ship? No worries: when one steps into a ship, the strangely endearing maintenance robots will suddenly take acute interest. The robots will follow inside and immediately start assuming the duties of a spacefarer, eliminating the need for extra hands on deck.

Even still, there's just no eliminating the want for a human touch, though. Thankfully even that dilemma has a contingency plotted by SUPERBIA.

Communication devices are easily available on every space ship. They come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from huge stationary consoles to portable smartphone-like screens. But whenever a Privateer attempts to access the Network, a pop-up will appear, obscuring the whole screen.

Tell me a little about yourself. Are you a LEADER or a FOLLOWER? What is your best feature?
The device will be rendered unusable until one relents to the pop-up's demands and provides answers to its questions. What will these be used for? The mystery will be solved when a social media app mysteriously installs itself on the same device, with profiles preemptively made for every Privateer. Each Privateer's profile consists of their given answers, paired with embarrassingly candid photographs. SUPERBIA has eyes in many places it seems.

Comments

[astrogator]

[She gives him a careful, searching look. He seems to be voicing the very same concerns that she'd never speak aloud. That they aren't skilled enough for this. That in selecting them, SUPERBIA made a mistake.

Of course, that's pure projection on Ari's part, but she's entirely unaware of it.]

It doesn't seem real at all. I've never seen a shipyard on a scale that even came close to this.

[But it is real, and if Ari can reassure herself, she can reassure him as well. It doesn't matter that they're technically rival competitors, because it should at least be a fair competition.] It'll be a trial, I don't doubt that - but you're here for a reason. Why shouldn't you stay? You wouldn't have been invited if you didn't have a chance of success.

[jumpedship]

This? This is no shipyard. Ships are... sturdily built, wooden, with bows and sails. These.... things. They are otherworldly. Unholy, even.

( not that laenor has ever considered himself terribly devout, but these 'ships' aren't something that look even remotely close to normal by his standards.

to her credit, he does seem to be warmed by her enthusiasm, though no less wary. )

I am a dragonrider. I've no place on something sails the skies that is not a dragon.

[astrogator]

[Ari's eyes widen. If she felt unprepared for this, as a recently-qualified spacer lieutenant, how much worse must it be when you're from a world that... well, it went beyond isolated old-frontier colony if he wasn't even familiar with space travel. This was practically first contact.]

Otherworldly is right, but there isn't anything to fear from them. These are starships, and when you're sailing between the stars, wood and canvas won't hold up. You need metal, and an engine to power them, although - look there! [She points towards a distant ship with resplendent solar sails, the light glinting brightly off them.] They can have sails. After a fashion.

[As eager as she is to introduce him to the wonder that is spacefaring society, she can hardly ignore that other claim of his.] You ride a dragon? As in, a giant flying lizard? [The words might be flippant, but Ari's curious, not dismissive.]

[jumpedship]

Starships...

( he says it slowly, incredulous, as he looks out on the sea of, well, just that. he couldn't find a better word to describe them if he tried. the concept, placed in those terms, makes perfect sense. he even finds himself nodding. sea ships sail across the narrow sea to chart paths and find unexplored lands; starships must do the same, but within space.

he laughs, breathless. )

Stars. Will the wonders ever cease?

I suppose after discovering all there is to discover among the Seven Kingdoms and the Riverlands, the lords must find something to conquer. But the stars themselves? ...Do we really have a claim to the Heavens in this way?

( that's perhaps a larger question than he'd meant to propose. answering hers will likely be much easier. he smiles. two different worlds, clearly. everyone back home knows what a dragon is. )

They do look like lizards to some, if your lizard was as large as servant's quarter with wings twice as wide.

[astrogator]

[Servants is an outdated word to her, but that doesn't stop Ari from picturing the mid-levels of Cardalek Tower, where the staff who looked after the Company families were housed. She'd never paid much to them attention as a child, but she recalls enough for the mental image of them being filled with an enormous winged lizard to be startling.]

You must be fearless, to get on the back of a great lizard like that. A dragon. [Would she try it, given the opportunity? She likes to thinks she would, but she's never even ridden a horse.]

The stars aren't there to be conquered. They're there to be explored. When my people first went out, we found many empty worlds to settle. [Which had led ultimately to one of the worst wars they had ever seen, but there's no need to complicate things. It was a long time ago.]

Did your ships ever do that? Go out in search of new lands? I do think that exploration is our birthright; it's in our nature - but tell me, what were you told, before you agreed to come here? [She's hoping that he wasn't misled, or she might have to revise her opinion of this whole operation.]

[jumpedship]

( he brightens considerable upon hearing that. )

Any sane person would have their reservations, by travel by dragonback is truly great fun. It is swift. Efficient. You can impress your neighboring kingdoms by performing an alley-oop right before their chamber windows and singeing the hair from their chef's whiskers. If you enjoy your time upon starships, you'll be a natural upon a dragon.

( starships, gods, he still can't believe they're talking about something so fantastical. )

In the past, I'm sure. But most all lands have been discovered by now. Most oft, we use our ships for trade and transport. On darker occasions, battle. A necessary evil, and one I take little joy in.

( sure, he loves to swing a sword on the training grounds, but he's not in any rush to go on a murdering spree. )

I was promised a quest in search of adventure. And, at the time, I can't say I'd imagined... this.

[astrogator]

[His description of dragonback travel makes Ari grin. It sounds like the sort of stunt flying she enjoys. She listens to the rest of what he has to say, and nods.]

That's true enough. There is a quest, and I'd be very surprised if it's not a great adventure, out in the black. You'll do well enough. I've always worked aboard starships, and that's exactly the purposes they're put to. Trade, and transport, and battle when it's necessary. To protect the people of the colonies. Nobody takes joy in it, but it's our most important duty.

[She affects a very serious, soldierly attitude when explaining this, but it doesn't last long; it's followed by another youthful smile.]

Although now I wish that I could fly on a dragon! It's sad that I'll likely never even see one.

[jumpedship]

You're quite knowledgeable, then. ( he says it like it's a fact. ) While I'm sure my experience on the boats won't be for naught, it will take some time to re-acclimate my skills to a skyfaring ship rather than a seafaring one.

( and she sounds reasonable, responsible, all the other 'R' words that make for a good captain. )

I'll join your crew. No need to ask again.

[astrogator]

[Ari is taken aback by this, because she didn't think she'd been asking. She'd expected, with her own lack of seniority, that she'd eventually have to fall in with some senior captain, even if they couldn't hold a candle to her Captain Kavarai back home. The young lieutenant is nothing if not ambitious, though - and isn't Laenor right? She is knowledgeable, by comparison to many of the other people here. He's offering her an opportunity, and why shouldn't she take it?

She reaches out to take his hands in hers. At least she knows how it's done, in a situation where you can't stop to draw up papers.]

I accept your contract, and you'll have my protection and that of my ship, for as long as we fly together.

[Once she's done with the formality, she's all too quick to jump into her plans.]

Many of your skills are going to carry over, I'm sure of it. You'll know the business side of things well enough, and if you've experience in strategy then all you have to do is begin to think in three dimensions, and you'll pick it up very quickly. The technical matters can be taught - or delegated, if it comes to it, but it's always best to have your own understanding. Anything that you want to learn, I'll show you, and in return I'll have your honest thoughts and advice, always.

[Ari knows what sort of a leader she aims to be, and it's not the sort who surrounds herself with sycophants.]