voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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!

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"Senku."

Roland smiles in return, his eyes already on the said bag, a finger under his chin.

"Wow. To what do I owe the pleasure of a gift exchange? You know, that crate of food was a birthday present. You don't need to return the favor, heh." The jest comes easy enough; they were allies now, true allies, after all. He waits for the reveal, whatever it might be, a little excited at what's in store. Senku was quite the gift-giver.

He chuckled lightly. "I do know how birthday gifts work." He quipped, just as easily and while he could just hand over the bag, he would do it properly.

Senku removed the folded square, it was made of tan linen, as far as one could see and he tucked the bag under his arm.

"This is the flag of the Kingdom of Science." He grinned. "As designed by Yuzuriha."

The flag carried their insignia, two rockets crossed with a star above, which was the current symbol of the Kingdom of Science, adopted after their triumph over the Kingdom of Might.

Roland expected another handmade craft from Senku's deep well of expertise, but this was completely out of the ballpark. He's immediately enamored by it, the gesture of a flag not lost on him. For a minute, as sharp eyes soften upon scanning the insignia, rockets carrying a different meaning to him, he realizes this was symbolic of their victory too. Without the explanation warranted from Senku, it could only mean that they denounced violence just as much as Roland and the rest of his kingdom did. Both kingdoms, on both worlds.

He smiles warmly, hands drifting to the bottom corners of the flag, delicate in its handling.

"Senku, I don't know what to say. This is incredible. Thank you." How about that, for starters? "Is Yuzuriha a general of yours? She did a spectacular job. I...I'll carry this back home and proudly display the Kingdom of Science as our universal ally."

"I think it's a pretty good way to cement an alliance." He said with a bright smile.

"Ah, no, but she is definitely our top fashion designer." Senku hummed. "She made the balloon for our hot air balloon, the ship's sails, modern clothes that some people like, no matter how impractical they are at times, but the novelty of having something different to wear seems to be enjoyed at least. She also spent a long time reassembling broken statues. She was always into crafts and puzzles." He explained. "We've been friends since we were twelve or so."

It was because of her that he knew how to sew and make clothes, which he promptly abandoned after understanding it until the end of the world happened.

"I hope you do. It's something we gave our other allies and I like the tradition of it."

Top fashion designer? Well, he can't argue with that. Evermore has the likes of Halimede and even Bracken herself to design clothes that fit both fashionable tastes and utilitarian needs. The flag is admired for a few more seconds before he drops the corners, looking at it from a short distance with a finger to his chin.

"It really is well-made. Did Yuzuriha teach you how to sew things too? You're pretty good at the needle and thread yourself, Senku." If his coat is any indication.

Then, suddenly as if in delayed remembrance, Roland pipes up like a coiled spring jumping loose. Or as sprightly as a guy like him could be. "Drat! If I had known we were exchanging tokens, I'd have ordered you a copy of the Declaration of Interdependence!"

"She did." Senku said, smirking a little bit. "My ability to converse with people has vastly improved in recent years, before I met you, but all I knew about her at the time was that she liked things like crafts. I don't understand how that stuff works, at all, or why she likes it, at the time, so I asked her to show me. She showed me the basics, and then I read about constructing clothes and things and while it seemed interesting enough, I didn't find it really interesting to keep doing." He admitted with a bit of a shrug.

"Until, well you know. Now it's just an everyday thing." It was knowledge he thought he'd never need to use, aside from maybe mending something.

He chuckled. "It's alright, I wanted you to have our flag."

This is Senku, vastly improved...? One can only imagine a time when Senku was perhaps, less in the standard of socializing, but that was for ~~another event~~ another time. What matters to Roland is how dedicated Senku is, even with the admission of his own shortcomings; that learning how to sew and do arts and crafts was significant enough to warrant his attentions. Senku is humble in his exploration of different skills and it's one of the reasons why Roland's happy to have his respect.

"It ruined the surprise, but next time around, you're getting a copy too. All you need to do is sign your insignia, the same one on the flag, on that declaration and we're as good as gold. Signed on as allies until the end of our kingdoms, and may that be a long time yet."

The flag is folded neatly in his arms, but he doesn't quite deposit it in his Arms Band just yet. Wanting to feel it first, holding it with the reverence it deserves.

Senku couldn't say really that it was the skill he was trying to puzzle out, so much as the person. He didn't really understand Yuzuriha at all, there she was appearing before him and that was what she'd known about her, was that she liked doing crafts and puzzles. He'd thought that would help him understand her. It had, in its own way.

"I can do that, no problem." Senku confirmed with a smile. "I agree with you there, at least, we're not going down without a fight. We have some very important goals to get to, the collapse of our kingdom really isn't in the schedule."

He was a bit of a hard taskmaster that way.

"She'll be glad to know you liked her flag anyway, probably. Even though she's not a general, and doesn't really want to be one, she's got her own role. Everyone in the village does." Which was what he'd been talking about when talking about the community here. "And everyone having a role works really well for us."

"Not that I'm wishing more of your friends come to the Void, but I would be happy to meet her. She sounds like quite a character." And someone who wore Senku down, apparently. It's nice to know how tightly knit his community is; a kingdom similar to their own, budding and growing, roots settling in deep.

"Heh. I should be hanging this proudly. Where's a train flagpole when you need it?" Roland easily jabs, finally thinking it wiser to stash the flag in his arms band where it can be kept safe. He notes it down and absorbs it in his hammerspace, gold flecks of light to follow.

Senku hummed a moment. "She'd probably like you, but she likes everyone. She's someone like that, who's nice to everyone and gets along with them." He was thinking about her now, and Taiju and just considered it for a moment. "Anyway."

He chuckled lightly. "I don't think the train comes with one of those from what I've seen. Then again, if we had somewhere to put it, we'd probably have put one already." It was kind of a nice reminder of home.

"There's a few customs we follow now and again."

"Maybe I can make patches. Or ask Inigo to help me sew some. Closest thing to a flag at full mast, right?" A project to think about of course, but more than getting busy, it's a gesture of good will. Or a reminder that friends are never far away, even in adversity.

"I suppose the next in line would be an exchange of customs too, one each from us. But you know, I'm not a native of that world so I'll...have to dig up some stuff." Roland chuckles. Guess he's not the best Evermorian diplomat after all. Leander would have done far better.

"Patches?" He was curious to know what Roland meant with that.

"An exchange of customs. Hm..." Senku considered that, crossing his arms as he thought about it. "I'll have to think about what would qualify, or what would be good for that."

The ropes were easiest, but were village specific, not technically part of the broader community.

"No rush, Chief. All in due time. We've got a whole void's worth of travel to learn more about our new alliance."

And as for the other bit, he pats his sleeve, his smile pleasant.

"Yeah. Like the ones you sew on your clothes. A patch of your flag to wear on official duty, as a sign of friendship. Heh. Is it too cheesy?"

"No, far be it for me to criticise what you do in regards to your country." He chuckled lightly.

"Ah, I know what you mean. Wasn't something I ever really had though. I'm not sure why." It just hadn't appealed to his teenage sensibilities apparently.

Roland would like to correct him insofar as Aremica never really quite caught on to his suggestion to do that, but never mind. Let him be a geek about these things on his own time, and in secret. Gotta look the part!

"Well, flags are the standard." Pun intended. "And might be less work. Imagine how many patches you'd have to sew into uniforms once every turnover. But I guess our alliance isn't subject to the same rules. Who even knows how inter-dimensional politics work these days. We're all making our own rules, as we go."

Should he buy a book about it? He'll put it on the list. That, and telling Evan he's come up with something completely new on the fly. Oops.

He chuckled, wildly amused by that. "Sure, why not, inter-dimensional politics sound fun."

Senku should absolutely not be responsible for deciding on such a system.

"I don't know, I haven't tried to make either one." He hummed. "We also don't have uniforms." Senku responded as he considered that. "The original villagers have their own style, with a specific type of geta, their clothes tend to be very similar and they all wear ropes incorporated into their outfits. It's a specific type of rope and knot. I don't know how to make the rope." He explained.

"It was a fully formed society before we infiltrated it and brought science." Senku hummed. "I don't put my hair up often, but when I do I tend to use the same knot, kind of a force of habit. I follow the same rules around that that they do." Yes, Roland, he could tame his hair if he tried, although it was getting rather long.

Let's focus on that little fact why don't we? Roland jokes openly, eyes wide pretending he'd just heard the wildest thing.

"What? You can tie your hair? I'll believe it when I see it." Roland doesn't quite touch the top of his hair, but he does gesture to it from a distance, holding back a chuckle.

Senku chuckled lightly and without a word, summoned from his arms band a length of silk rope he had from the wedding. He held it with his teeth as he reached back, pulling his hair down into a ponytail at the base of his skull. His hair was getting pretty long at that point so it was definitely falling to his shoulders. It would be longer if it wasn't tied up.

He tied it off with a bit of an unusual knot on the top of the ponytail, so the little ends could be seen, instead of hiding that under the ponytail.

"Not really a magic trick." Senku snickered. "But it's a pain in the ass if I don't condition it." He didn't really care to. "If I did that it would just fall to my shoulders." He paused. "Well maybe longer. I need a haircut."

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

you know my weakness for dorky >//<

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