A New Platform [Intro Post February]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Three days after the Voidtreckers return to the void after their adventures on the biosphere world, they are awoken by a familiar announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen of the month of Jelly. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed, and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train for a while will also be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and the windows fill with the fog that means they are at a platform. The fog seems thicker than usual and as they step out onto the platform they will find it is cold, very cold. Icy fog sticks to their clothing, makes it hard to see very far; the atmosphere is dark and gloomy.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alexis Rhodes, Elfnein, Itsuki Myoudouin, Ken Ichijouji, MT, Neku Sakuraba, Nike Lemercier, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Rainbow Dash, Rei Saotome, Taichi Yagami, Tsubomi Hanasaki, Yuri Tsukikage and Zechs Merquise all pass through the platform, not looking back before they disappear through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam, billowing around them as they come to their senses. As their eyes adjust, they will see they are on a platform, glass and dark stone rising in sturdy arches around them. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single track extending both ways into thick fog.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own and a style they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze; then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large with sixteen figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. To both the left and right, tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out step a strange assortment of people. Some are human, some are less so. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple, though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

The Train

After a short time, the doors hiss open again. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there's anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would lead to something terrible. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information (see
'Publications'). The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, including several crates of avocados, the ingredient of the month of Jelly, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches full of spare blankets and pillows.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers braving the freezing fog, and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view again as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express." A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog-filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady itself. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Comments

[makeadragonwannaretire]

Azula's eyebrows knitted together as she focused on the girl for a moment then arched in curiosity the more she spoke. Either she was unusual, or Azula vastly underestimated children.

"That's thoughtful of you at least. Are you in charge of this car then? Some kind of shockingly youthful doctor?" She only sounded half sarcastic because in the last couple of hours she'd learned that apparently things outside of her world could be unimaginably weird.

[deage]

"I wouldn't trust a university that handed out a doctorate to somebody my age." Haibara does not tone down her sarcasm for anybody. It's just her default tone. Although the truth was simply that Haibara was older than she appeared, she doesn't volunteer that detail. "I just happen to know a lot about medicine and how it interacts with human biology."

God, if that wasn't an understatement.

"More accurately, I'm just managing medicine. If you need any, I can prescribe them. Other than that, you probably want to find Kurosaki or Wen Qing."

[makeadragonwannaretire]

Azula makes notes of those names for later, does she need some kind of medication? Absolutely!

Does she know that there are medications to help with her exact problems? No. So she moves on.

"I'll be sure to ask them if I need anything. And who are you if I may be so bold?"

[deage]

Haibara seems satisfied with this girl's responses. Successful social interaction.

"Ai Haibara." Just don't look that name up on the roster, because it's not there. "And I have the pleasure of speaking with....?"

[makeadragonwannaretire]

Azula is starting to relax a little too. It's nice when someone understands how conversations work.

"Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation though I am starting to understand how little that means here."

She hadn't exactly been flaunting her title around, but it still felt important to her. The title was a part of her that couldn't be taken from her.

"May I ask how long you've been on this train?"

[deage]

A princess, is it? Fire Nation doesn't sound like any nation in Earth, even accounting for an unreliable translation, but she's been to enough worlds at this point to accept that. A princess of any world could be a good contact, though.

.... or a major headache. One of the two.

"I can't say I've ever heard of a Fire Nation, but it's a pleasure to meet you regardless, Your Highness." She pauses for just a moment to answer her question, though, running the math in her head. "As for me, I've been here about... a little over three months?" Since Grasshopper, she believes. "A long time to be on a train, in any case."

[makeadragonwannaretire]

It felt strangely comforting to hear someone call her that. Maybe because since leaving on her most recent adventure with Zuko no one had shown her the proper amount of respect.

Even before that her status had fallen significantly.

"At least there are regular stops. Missions or not keeping so many strong personalities trapped in a tight space sounds like a recipe for drama and bloodshed."

A less then subtle way of asking how tense things might get between planets.

[deage]

Haibara is actually terrible for showing respect, but she is great at following social conventions. It balances out, sometimes. It is, at the very least, acknowledgement of Azula's station, which seems like enough for now.

"As far as I've seen, actual violence is fairly rare. We're all intensely aware of the fact we're in tight confines and there's no getting away from other passengers or from consequences."

Haibara can't help to think about her own situation. The woman who wants very intensely to murder Haibara is, after all, on this train. And Haibara is relying on this very notion to keep her safe. It's not as reassuring as she makes it sound.

[makeadragonwannaretire]

Azula started to move around the room again, opening and closing drawers to acquaint herself with the area, but moving slowly to try and not make too much noise.

"I'm surprised. I suppose I'm so used to foolishness of peasants that I expected less. But is there some kind of structure for punishments? It can't honestly be all based on the honor system can it?"

[deage]

Haibara pauses a moment at Azula's question. Not... necessarily because she's thinking of an answer, but that she's processing the question and why it would be asked.

"We tried to keep some sort of structure going, but there's honestly too few people, and with too many people coming and going at each station." The train leadership was an idea doomed to failure.

"Calling what's left 'the honor system' might be right, but it's also effective due to the closed quarters. If you're too much of a jerk, nobody will help you. If you're violent, there will probably be a half dozen people in the same car willing and able to fight back."

[makeadragonwannaretire]

"Familiarity breeds contempt they say...do they say that in your world as well?" She dismissed it with a wave, "It's something of a relief to hear even if the lack of structure makes me feel like we're doomed to failure."

There was always a chain of command in the Fire Nation. She just used to at the top of it.

"But the fact that the train is still here and some of you have been here so long must mean it works somehow."

[deage]

"It's hard to keep structure when anybody making up that structure could leave at any train stop. And every stop also brings in new people, who question what credentials people might have, or demand a position themselves. You can't hold an election every two weeks."

It's just expanding on what she hinted at with her last answer, but it works.

"I'd say our success is due mostly to the skilled individuals who keep winding up on board. Completely normal people like myself are a rarity."

[makeadragonwannaretire]

"Well that hardly seems fair to you." Azula remarked idly looking tired as she wrestled with the idea of such a chaotic set up.

"Have you at least learned some basic self defense? When I was your size I had already mastered more fire bending forms then many soldiers in our army."

[deage]

How nice for you, princess. Unfortunately, most people don't get a military training. Or fortunately.

"I have learned some basic self-defense, but this body isn't much good for it." Thank you, Mouri. Still a waste of time in her opinion, though. "I can use a gun, if you actually manage to find one of those." That's even more alarming, Haibara.

"What's 'fire bending' though? It sounds like a style of martial arts." Unique to the Fire Nation, no doubt.

[makeadragonwannaretire]

"I presume a gun is a type of weapon?" One they didn't have in her world, something to add to the increasingly longer list of "Stuff they don't have where I come from" that she'd have to investigate.

As for Fire Bending Azula actually smiled faintly "Precisely that. Well deduced."

She took a step back and made a simple gesture with her hand, swishing it back and creating an arch of blue flames from her fingertips. When it finished she held a fireball hovering in her palm just as easily as one might hold a fruit.

"You can see where I might prefer it to a simple blade."

[deage]

So it's... ACTUAL fire.

If Azula was expecting to impress Haibara, that reaction doesn't seem to be in the cards. Haibara's seen too much weird, unbelievably stuff by this point. Instead she just calmly takes it in, makes sure the fire isn't going to send a spark towards her paperwork, and nod.

"It's a weapon that can't be disarmed, I can see the advantage. Even a gun can be taken away if you can get close enough."

[makeadragonwannaretire]

If she's honest? She was kind of hoping for a little bit of surprise. Even children from her world are impressed by her unique talent for fire bending. It's blue after all!

But she does her best to hide any disappointment. "Close enough, so this gun has some kind of range on it?" She snuffs out the flame in her hand leaving not even a singed sleeve.

"The more I explore of this train, these modern things the more I'm thinking I may have been lucky after all to find you all. Perhaps if nothing else I can learn some new skills and techniques to take home with me once this vague mission is complete."

[deage]

"A gun is a.... I suppose the best way to describe it is as a miniature crossbow. It fires very small bits of metal called bullets, but with enough speed that it's impossible to see them in the air, and enough power that it will pierce your entire body." Not always - though a bullet left inside can be even more dangerous - but it was important to know when to truncate an explanation for clarity.

"Anyway, treating this train as a learning experience is a good way to look at it." It will, at least, be less frustrating that way. It outlines clear goals and can instill purpose. It's actually a very good idea.

[makeadragonwannaretire]

"Given everything else I've seen today, that sounds like the most reasonable thing technology could have offered." Like a tiny canon perhaps, but with the speed and accuracy of a crossbow. Who wouldn't want one?

"The alternative is accepting that I have no control over my life, I'm spiraling through a universe I can't hope to comprehend and being sent to risk my life and well being for people that don't deserve me." She only half joked but she found herself feeling a little better for having this conversation.

"I hope you won't mind if I bother you with more questions when the time comes. You seem more skilled then the others have been at explaining things."

And even as she said it she realized the implications of needing a child to explain these concepts to her. She really was at the end of her rope wasn't she?

[deage]

"I don't mind helping out, Your Highness, if it's within my abilities to do so." Haibara definitely doesn't speak like a child normally would, or act like a child normally would, and is more skilled and knowledgable than a child should be.

Hopefully Azula gets used to it without questioning it too much.