BTE TRYOUT THREAD #2
Gearhead and Miranda (Cornflakes and Black--Snow)
You awaken feeling strangled, coughing and choking as you fall to your hands and knees. Your eyes open wearily - and you see nothing. Gasping for air, you glance about wildly, disoriented, and realize to your horror that you're in the middle of a vast, black emptiness. Terrified, you instinctively grasp at the void about you for something - anything - solid. You realize that despite the enveloping darkness, your arms glow with a strange light - suddenly you pause and rack your brain for any hint as to what's going on. The last you remember clearly is being sold to Tartarus Inc. You remember them strip-searching you, your last possessions taken away before the coarse-mannered guards threw you into an empty cell. Everything about it seems a struggle to recall - clouded and fogged as though a distant memory.Gearhead and Miranda (Cornflakes and Black--Snow)
Welcome, a cold, hard voice speaks. It's not the infamous SCAMPS of Tartarus - it's a woman's voice: cruel, hard, and utterly devoid of sympathy. You're wondering what you're doing here. Try not to trouble yourself about it.
A glow brightens to your right - in surprise and slight fear, you scoot back across the floor as you try to assess the new threat. A human form, dressed in a Tartarus jumpsuit, appears and crumples to the floor, choking and gasping for breath.
I'm so sorry, the voice says with an air that makes it clear her words are merely a formality. I understand that this experience is mentally agonizing. We're far from perfecting cryotech, you see, but you are here to help us correct that. You are our test subjects. If you ever want to awaken, both of you will cooperate. You've always cooperated with us before, so I have no doubt you'll do so now.
Your mind whirls. You vaguely remember being pulled from your isolation cell - you remember being marched down a hallway, blindfolded, cuffed and gagged - something injected into your arm. That's all you remember. Cryotech? That doesn't even exist...
Then it sinks in: You've always cooperated with us before. "Before???"
It's "brain maintenance," the voice explains in a resigned, curt tone, as though she's said it a hundred times. Cryotech has a tendency to leave one vegetative. Now, the both of you... make your decision, and we will begin.
The void hums, and shivers to life - six pale, golden hexagons of light appear pm the floor around you, spaced well apart. On each: a short paragraph of text.
You feel like you've done this before.
But which to stand upon? And who is this person next to you?
Makeshift defenses
You find yourself fleeing from the authorities, but run out of fuel near a small outworld moon. Forced to land, you take refuge in an abandoned building at the edge of a ruined colony. Either you set up defenses and hold them off, or you die. It's as simple as that.
Ship venting
You're planning on hijacking a gunship, and have made it to the bridge. Your next order of business - vent the ship to kill the crew. It'll sell for an immense profit - but only if none of them remain. They're sure to put up a fight.
Bank heist
A fairly stereotypical bank heist set on an old-fashioned midworld. Hold civilians hostage, get the goods, and get out before the authorities arrive, or you'll have a shootout on your hands.
Artifact theft
Steal an artifact from deep inside an enormous derelict alien spaceship. What could possibly go wrong? Take it and try to escape the wreckage before it decimates you.
This tile has the silhouette of a spaceship underneath the text.
Town search
In a busy marketplace, try to hunt down and question a particular target without attracting too much attention. You're also trying to hide from a group of people that want to kill you, but your disguises work well enough - for now.
Something different
You are thrown into a random mission without any idea of what you're up against. It may or may not suit your abilities and loadout.
A question mark dominates this particular hexagon.
Spoiler: SHOW