TEST DRIVE MEME, APRIL 2017.

[officialnotice]

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. That's basically the only thing you know for certain. Maybe a car wreck - metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Or maybe there was an explosion. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. You can't can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can remember.

It's also the last thing you remember from before you wake up here.

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed – the nursing staff greets you with a cheerful smile.

Welcome to Wayward Pines, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here.

option one

WELCOME TO WAYWARD PINES

The hospital staff had seemed very friendly, but ultimately unhelpful when it came to answering your questions, insisting you shouldn't worry about such things, and that it was smarter to just rest until you'd fully recovered.

That was some time ago. You've since managed to leave the hospital – either via escape, or simply by waiting patiently and filling out paperwork until they finally agreed to release you. Now you've found yourself in the small but hearty town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. It's a charming little place, and the people there are all friendly enough, more than willing to greet you on the street, or give you directions if you need them.

Unless you're asking for directions out of town, of course.

Some will simply smile and give you a hearty pat on the shoulder and ask why you'd ever want to do a thing like that? Others will get quiet for a moment, and direct you to the nearest sign posted near the doorway of every building.

Don't bother taking the road, either. Whether you walk or get your hands on a vehicle, you won't get anywhere. The road simply takes you away from town for a short while before looping around and bringing you right back in.

There's no use questioning things, and it seems pretty useless to try to leave. So really, why not stay a while? Everyone's convinced that you'll find something to love in Wayward Pines.

(For the purposes of this test drive, you're welcome to handwave the existence of basically any local business or activity.)

option two

INTO THE WOODS

You've just heard a scream from the woods.

I mean, it could've been an animal. There's bound to be some kind of wildlife amongst the trees, right? But then again, it did sound awfully... human.

Though all of the locals nearby conceal a flinch at the sound, they'll assure you it's nothing, if you ask them. Why, you're probably just hearing things! (But with an anxious undertone of stop asking questions.) If you're curious, though, and brave enough to go see, they won't make any move to stop you from going into the wooded area surrounding the town.

The trees are tall, and their branches are thick enough to block out a significant amount of sunlight from breaking through the canopy, leaving the forest floor a little dimmer and cooler than the streets of town.

Whatever the source of the scream was, you won't be able to find it out here. An experienced hunter might notice some signs of a struggle, and a few faint boot prints, but they don't really seem to lead anywhere in particular.

What you will find, if you walk far enough, is a fence. A big one - at least 30 feet tall, made of metal and concrete. It goes on quite a ways in either direction as well; follow the wall far enough, and you'll see that it connects with the steep, sheer cliffs that surround the rest of Wayward Pines, effectively boxing the town in.

In actuality, you'll probably feel it before you see it. A full 500 yards from the wall, when it's hardly a shadowy smudge through the trees, you start to feel a little bit tired, a little bit weak. Trouble is, the closer you get, the weaker you feel - like the wall itself is sapping the strength out of you, and the closer you get, the worse it feels. Any powers you may have had grow weaker in kind as you make your way to the fence, but even ordinary humans will find their strength sapping away. By the time you're close enough to read the signs and to feel the crackle of electricity radiating from the thick wires criss-crossing the wall's metal surface, you're too weak to stand.

Do you crawl closer still and risk electrocution, or do you crawl away and assess the situation once you're far enough from the fence to be able to stand?

option three

PTA BAKE SALE

It's that time of year again. The time when everyone digs into their wallet, ignores their diet, and spends a little time supporting the local school bake fair. You know, for the good of the children. And it doesn't hurt that Linda's Blondie recipe is honestly to die for. The school PTA has pulled out all the stops this year in the hopes of encouraging a good community turn out, posters advertising the sale plastering every street corner and stuffed into every mailbox for a solid week leading up to the event, and today is finally the day.

There's at least two dozen different tables set up with all manner of delectable treats, even one or two offering vegan alternatives for those inclined, not to mention a few others catering to some of the townspeople's more... unique palates.

Maybe you've got your own table set up with your wares, or maybe you were simply lured to the park today by the appetizing scents wafting through the air. Either way it seems like the whole town has come out to show their support today and why wouldn't they? Children are our future, aren't they? Or maybe it's just Linda's Blondie recipe.

Yeah, that's probably it.

option four

ON THE NETWORK

Though it's not as high-tech as you might be used to (or hell, maybe you're ren faire and it's centuries beyond anything you've seen), but Wayward Pines does in fact have a network to accommodate its citizens.

Go ahead, post a network post! Just note that the network currently has two basic functions. The first is audio-only and can be accessed from the telephones in each character's home. If an audio-based medium doesn't suit your needs (or aesthetics), be sure to take advantage of the Wayward Pines Message Board from your brand new laptop for the chance to communicate with your fellow townspeople in a text-based format instead!

( a few notes )

Welcome to our third test drive here in The Pines! Just one important thing to note:

Upon arrival in Wayward Pines, characters find themselves struggling to remember entirely who they were or where they came from. Memories return progressively over the next two weeks. You're welcome to play with this mechanic in any of these prompts, but it's definitely not mandatory! For more details on this temporary memory loss, see our FAQ.

Comments

[ouzel]

[ Unless they're buried under the sand of Scarif in some bizarre and improbable biodome, Cassian is pretty much in agreement with that. At Poe's question, however, the corner of his mouth quirks up. ]

Probably. There's at least one other, but she's someone I know. [ From before is the implied. ] I don't know about the rest.

[volitaunt]

[ He stares at Cassian in silence for several moments, then scrubs a hand through his hair like he's coming out of a reverie.

In a way, he is. His brain needed a second to reboot. ] They must'v thought you were nuts. And you've got nothing to prove you aren't.

[ouzel]

I haven't exactly polled anyone, to be honest, but I've got the impression that implying faster-than-light travel is a thing will get some raised eyebrows at the very least.

[ A shrug. ] The biggest questions are how we got here, what was done to us and why, but they aren't the only questions.

[volitaunt]

Yeah.

[ He looks up, past the treetops toward the cliffs. ] And how whoever did it comes and goes. You been out near their wall yet?

[ouzel]

Once; it was enough. [ In the middle of the night, too, and solo, so that had been fun, if his flat grimace is any indication. ] Do you have friends here?

[volitaunt]

[ Poe smiles instantly. Even with the specter of the wall and its barrier hanging in his mind, he can't not smile.

No, he hasn't known Finn long, but the guy gave Poe the one thing he needed at the moment when he most needed it. He gave Poe hope.]

One. Name's Finn. I can introduce you--he's a good man.

[ And he needs friends.]

[ouzel]

I've met Finn. [ Cassian also smiles. Who would not smile after interacting with that kid? ]

Big smiles, eats like he's starved, earnest to a fault? [ Cassian nods. ] He is good people, definitely.

They might give you your weapon back in a month, if you manage to stay out of the sheriff's notice until then. My friend - her name is Jyn - she's prickly and defensive but her heart's in the right place.

[volitaunt]

That's Finn.

[ In many ways (in ways he doesn't realize), Poe thinks of his friend almost like an avatar of possibility. The good that can survive and then thrive in spite of darkness. Someone worth protecting with everything he's got.

And that description sounds familiar. ]

Pretty sure I've met her. Didn't give me her name, so I can't be one hundred percent on that, but pretty sure. [ The thought of her and Finn meeting is... at the very least it'll be interesting. At best, entertaining. ] We're off to a good start.

[ Poe's expression darkens by a fraction. One thing left, one thing he should have considered before this point. He doesn't think Cassian is the type, but you never know.

He hates how hard it is to know.] Quick question. What comes to mind when I say First Order?

[ouzel]

If she didn't immediately kick your ass, I'm inclined to agree. [ Don't underestimate her is the message here, and Cassian is pretty sure that Poe can hear it.

At the question he blinks. ]

Nothing, actually. [ So either beyond his need-to-know level or...something. ] But if we're playing word-association, mine is Death Star, for the record.

[volitaunt]

[ That... was the opposite of anything Poe expected. And, as it is wont to do at such times, his mouth runs away with him. ] Which one?

[ouzel]

[ Cassian's eyebrows go up.

In the same moment his face goes pale and his lips thin out as he brings a hand up to cover his mouth, then his eyes.] Fuck. Fuck.

There was just the one. [ Of course it's naive to believe that the Empire wouldn't revitalize the program the moment they got the chance.

God, when Jyn finds out... Cassian shakes his head. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Oh.

Shit.

Wait.

What?

Just the one--] They went down. They both went down.

[ Because apparently that's something that needs to be said. How badly has Cassian's memory been messed with? ]

[ouzel]

I wasn't around for the second one, none of us were. [ He shakes his head. ] I mean, my team. We didn't make it off Scarif, so. This is news, to me.

[ Cassian gives a sharp nod, taking a breath in. ] Jyn's gonna lose it. Don't tell her, okay, it's...it's personal, for her.

[volitaunt]

[ A sarlac pit just opened up in Poe's stomach, and he's pretty sure whatever he does remember is being dragged down into it and eaten. There's no way. There's no way. ]

You were part of the-- You were part of Rogue One?

[ouzel]

[ Cassian nods, sighs. ]

Yeah. [ There's no pride, there. He is glad they did what they had to, and knew he'd die in that war. It's just...well he's here, for starters, and with what Poe just told him it doesn't sound like it was the lynchpin to winning the war.

Not that he'd thought it would be, at the time, but...hope springs eternal, or something. ]

Jyn and I. Bodhi, Kay, Chirrut, Baze. And everyone else.

[volitaunt]

[ He's really, really glad he's sitting down.

Several things occur to him at once: first, if Cassian died, then does that mean Poe himself is dead as well? What about Finn? If neither one of them is dead, then how is Cassian.... how is he so young? How are they both here?

And from the wild tumble comes something else:

This man is a hero. This man is part of the reason Poe's parents lived through that war. He's a part of the reason the galaxy has a chance to keep fighting, he... ]

You have no idea, do you. You have no idea how important it was, what you did. You.... [ And he loses the thread of whatever he was going to say. ]

[ouzel]

[ Cassian shakes his head, opening his hands in front of him in a 'what can you do' sort of gesture. ]

They weren't going to listen to her, about the flaw; my whole career, my life, hinged on decisions that weren't made by committee, but that one was. So we did what we had to do.

[ It's not justification exactly, it's that...Cassian has. Had? Led a unique sort of life. One where what he did wasn't seen as accomplishment or worthy of note or warranting whatever expression is on Poe's face.

It almost makes him feel uncomfortable, for all the blood on his hands, that this somehow negates that? He doesn't think so, not really. Neither does his subconscious. Then again, he didn't see how it all shook out in the end. ]

A problem with dying, I suspect. I'm glad it worked. They fired the Death Star, we didn't... [ Another shrug. ]

[volitaunt]

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

[ He sees it, the struggle to explain, that embedded resistance to praise. He swallows the knot in his throat and forces himself to relax, to engage with Cassian as he would with any other fighter, any other survivor.

It squeezes at a part of him, to know this man never had a chance to be the latter. ] My parents-- my mother, she--

[ Poe smiles, closes his eyes, shakes his head a little. He's not being as relaxed about this as he wants to be. ] My mother's name was Shara Bey. She flew with the Rebellion, during the battle that brought down the second Death Star. My father was Kes Dameron, a Pathfinder, special forces.

[ Poe stands and offers Cassian his hand, a kind of reintroduction.

It's hard, not to add that the galaxy owes Cassian and Jyn a life debt too great to repay. He knows it would just make the man uncomfortable, it's clear enough that's the case. But hey, just because he doesn't have to say it doesn't mean that Poe hasn't marked it on his heart. ] I flew for the New Republic under General Organa.

[ It's technically an accurate statement. Poe just isn't going to mention the rest of it, right now. That the General operated outside the bounds of the New Republic, when it still existed. The hunted, haunted part of him flashes on the image of those red lights in the sky over Takodana, but the smile in his eyes doesn't waver. ] In the blood, I guess.

[ouzel]

[ Cassian knows the name, Shara Bey, has seen it on reports, spoken to the woman once or twice. Pathfinders he knows - Jyn probably would have done well with that group, he'd honestly considered it for the brief moment when he'd considered that they might manage their way out of that entire situation.

So he swallows, nodding again, taking Poe's hand and shaking it in earnest. ]

General Organa?

[ That takes him a second, because of course the first person he thinks of is Bail, but that doesn't sound right at all. ] Leia Organa?

[ Okay, it's official. Cassian feels Old. Which is a very weird feeling, when compared to 'what am I doing on this planet in the afterlife, isn't there supposed to be peace after death?'. ] Sounds like it. I'd say welcome, but I'm still not sure what any of us are doing here. [ Or how, which has just taken a very strange slant. Being revived from the dead is one thing. Coming face to face with someone who wasn't alive when you were alive is something a little different. ]

[volitaunt]

[ At the sound of her name, he stands a little straighter, squares his shoulders almost imperceptibly, like he's preparing to salute or for inspection. ] General Leia Organa.

[ He might idolize her a bit. Just a bit. A tiny bit.

Poe lets go of Cassian's hand and claps him on the shoulder, the motion comfortable and familiar in spite of the impossibility of their situation. Poe has, to some degree, adapted to his odd position of acting without knowing or being allowed to know all of the details. Somehow that makes this easier, accepting Cassian's presence and adapting to it without yet knowing how it's possible.

But he plans on figuring that last one out. And, if at all possible, he plans on taking Cassian and Jyn back with him to D'Qar. ] I think I owe you a drink. Is there a bar in this town?

[ouzel]

[ Wow. Cassian is impressed, honestly; anyone who commands that amount of subconscious respect is good at what they do, and honestly there is something that feels really good and heartwarming that Bail's daughter is the one all this is form. Not that Cassian had the slightest hand in that at all, really, but still.

Cassian hasn't put much thought into 'what happens after' in regards to Wayward Pines. It depends on far too many factors he doesn't feel he has much of a handle on. People who have homes and lives to go to should definitely be able to get back to them, if all goes well.

People like him? That's a little more complicated. Into a box it goes. ]

There is, but if we're going tonight I'm bringing Jyn. [ Or at the very least inviting her. ] After all this I definitely need one. Or several.

[volitaunt]

[ Not complicated, you are both going with Poe, it is settled, done. You get to live in the future now.

Poe nods, liking this plan. ] And Finn. I don't know if that guy has ever been to a bar.

[ Clearly this needs to be addressed.

And there it is again, Poe's shit-eating reckless-pilot grin.] I can always use one or several.

[ouzel]

[ Cassian chuckles a little. ] Yeah and this one would be a good starting place, honestly. Not much really happens in it. Other than drinking. [ A pause. ] And the guy who is really into hockey.

[ Sign Cassian up for the Protect Finn at All Costs Club, please. He'll be vice president under Poe. ]

There's one other person...I don't think he's one of us. [ Tilting his head and considering. ] His name is Nyx, and he's good people. [ And that about rounds out the list of people Cassian Andor trusts. ]

[volitaunt]

Hockey? [ Da fuq is that.

Poe sighs. There will need to be adjustments, to live under the radar here. With Finn, that'll be... interesting. Maybe the memories will help them out.

(Yes, he met Finn working at NASA -- no, he really, really did not.) ] Bring him.

[ No hesitation. ] We're gonna need more than four people.

[ Yeah, five isn't a lot more, but it's something. That's when Poe realizes he kinda made that sound like an order, and he's not actually this guy's commander. He drags a hand through his hair, sheepish.] If he wants to come.

[ouzel]

Ice sport. [ There's something similar, on Fest, but it's not like Cassian can remember the name of it even before he ended up with a bunch of memories shoved into his head. ]

I can give you names. [ It's not that he doesn't trust the names he'd give, mind, but there's 'trust' and there's trust. ] The only clear aggressors in this situation are the ones at the sheriff's office, honestly, and they're only interested when you start breaking the rules; but there's enough surveillance going on that they might not need more than that.

[ Cassian chuckles again. ] There are entirely too many folks here who fought in someone's war.