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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[For something so random and inane, the little sing-song wasn't the worst sound coming out of the room. Reno paused in the doorway to listen as if having stumbled upon a forbidden scene. Not sure he should really interrupt he stayed in place for a while, hesitant to enter.

He couldn't stand here all day though. Besides, she'd catch sight of him watching her like a creep eventually. That was probably the exact moment, in fact, that he finally pushed off the doorway and sauntered into the room as if it were no big deal and he hadn't just lingered there awkwardly for half a dozen minutes.

He had a set of red headphones on him though they were hanging around his neck instead of on his ears--when it was loud in this room he'd put them on while he worked (or while he didn't work depending on the day as he had a little hide-y-hole in the storage area he liked to perch in and laze about whenever he was avoiding running into certain people). Her singing had caused him to ignore them for the time being. The rest of his clothing was purple despite his choice in headsets. Look, he had a favorite color and he couldn't help but grab it instead of his assigned color when he got the choice. His train clothing was worn in a similar fashion to how he wore his business suits: haphazardly, with the shirt untucked and the jacket thrown wide, as delinquent as possible in other words.]

Not bad for an amateur.

[He commented casually as he sauntered in with a bag slung over one shoulder.]

[One could call Olivia's observational skills into question. One could do so and it very likely wouldn't be contested either. Even she can admit that once she's 'in the zone,' she is genuinely in the zone. Wherever she is, Reno's entrance and accompanying address, brings her right back to the very real, the very solid present.

Colour fills her easily. Strikes right up along the features of her face and into the roots of her bubblegum pink hair]

...Hrk!

[It seems to be the best initial response she can come up as her courage withers away like a flower in winter. She struggles to put herself back together in one piece in the breaths that follow and after a moment or two of sheepish laughter, which does very little to create a smooth transition of conversation.

Clasping her hands together, she fidgets as she moves to give him more than what is likely enough personal space. Silly Olivia, thinking she'd be the only one to be using the laundry room. Silly, silly Olivia.]

E-er. Thanks? Thanks. [If only because she hasn't found a way to actually refuse Reno's aptly-phrased compliment.] I'm sure you need the... all of this to do your... to clean your clothes. I can l-leave you to it! [At least there is one commonality regardless of where she may be. Olivia still can't converse properly for beans.]

[Reno stopped as he watched her reaction to his entrance and quip. He stood there with an amused quirk to his mouth and brow, holding back a larger reaction to her everything. There was quiet confidence in his stance, an easy assurance that bled through his laid back manner, a matter of certainty that he was perfect or damn near close to it in his own eyes. Nothing could really hold him back. It was in total opposition to her self-conscious, frantic, overly anxious mannerisms.

He flashed her an easy smile as he batted his eyelashes in a not-so-coyly manner.]

Cute.

[Indeed, her stammering embarrassment and awkward attempt to accommodate were somehow endearingly adorable. He'd seen some low-level execs in the Shinra Building act in similar manner around him but none were quite as adorable as this unintentional cutie.

He shook his head, sending red strands of hair bouncing around his face. He swiped a hand up and back through his hair.]

Don't worry about it. Ain't like it's a joy to be in here working. Company ain't so bad, yo.

Oh, nonono. N-not really.

[There it is. 'Cute.' Cute? No way. She's not cute. She is a great many things, but she is very much not cute! At least, so says the same voice in Olivia's head that feels it necessary to protest just about every single nice thing someone could possibly have to say about her.

(Because what reason could anyone possibly have to say something nice.)

Her gaze, as pink as her hair, braids and loose alike, drops from him, betraying that uncertainty where she can't keep eye contact with him for long. Maybe it was the batting of his eyelashes. Maybe it's just because Olivia really is that awkward. Quite possibly a combination of both of those.]

Should you be saying that about someone you d-don't know? You have no idea what m-my company is like. I'm not very good company at all, I don't think.

[Not that it stops her from resuming hanging clothes which do seem to be hers. More of that orange that arrived in, and some other things that were as close to dancer garb as she could get. It might not be the same as what she's accustomed to, but maybe eventually... she can get her hands on something more familiar.

Until then, it seems her dancing will have to be put on pause.]

Two is better than one.

[He states it casually. He's begun to move again, heading towards one of the washing machines. He hates doing chores but that's life and he hates being reliant on others more than anything else. Besides, no one said he was actually doing his assigned chores. Nope, never. He was just taking care of his own shit.

He glanced back to her with another friendly smile.]

If I say you're good company, you're good company. But you can just stand there and look pretty if it makes ya feel better, yo. I don't mind. [Don't mind that wink of one bright blue eye at ya, darling Olivia, it was just him being him.]

[He's so stubborn. Olivia just wants to trip and fall all over her words and protests, but even as her lips part and she's trying to find a way to argue with him, none of it comes out. At least, it's little more than a plethora of awkward sounds that manage to escape from her.]

E-er. I... I don't mind keeping you c-company.

[Even if she can't understand why he'd want her to be so. It's hard to keep that leashed inside and not flying out of her mouth.]

Do... you come up here often?

[Somehow she manages to squeak the words out, a painful reminder that graceful conversation is still not her forte.]

[Reno chuckled good-naturedly at her words. She was so shy it was adorable. Admittedly not usually his thing as he tended to like a good challenge, there was a certain appeal to it coming from the right person. She was pretty to look at and with her youth the timidness was adorable rather than off-putting. If she was lucky, she'd out-grow the shy nature and trade it in for either a refined demureness or sly coyness.

He shook his head as he replied to her words despite the silliness of them.]

I mean, personally I try to avoid it all costs... but there's no getting outta it forever. Gotta have clean clothes to look sharp, yo!

[Inane as the conversation may have been if he was going to hold it he was going to give it his usual amount of flair.]

Edited 2021-02-06 06:25 (UTC)

[At least she was trying. Olivia and the concept of lacking familiarity usually led to her fleeing in the opposite direction. That she was staying her ground in Reno's presence was grounds enough for a sliver of inward praise.

His response was... Well. Not wholly unexpected. On the contrary, it sounded like something that one of the Shepherds would have said. Olivia aired a laugh, a bright grin spreading across her face.]

Maybe you'd enjoy it m-more if you made a habit of doing it with someone else. And then you can look sharp and h-have the laundry done.

[It was as easy as that, right? Olivia made it sound easier than it probably was. After all, he could have been the sort who had a difficult time finding others he got on well with.]

[A sly grin spread over Reno's lips as he glanced at her through his eyelashes.]

So. You offering to be my laundry date every week?

[She walked right into that one.]

O-Oh—

[Olivia transparently hesitated for several long moments. Date? Was that really what she had agreed to? It hadn't exactly been her intention to, but...

Well.]

Er. I... I-I guess so? [What could possibly go wrong?]

[Reno chuckled softly as he waited for her answer--and then when it came, he was almost surprised. Then again, she was so shy and polite...maybe she didn't have a choice but to be nice about it.

Maybe he should stop teasing her now...]

Score, haha...!

Now, you ain't gonna stand me up, are ya little missy?

[...nah.]

N-no. I'd never.

[Well. That might not have been wholly true, but Reno didn't exactly have the same aura about him as a certain noble from her history. Surely with or without Basilio, Olivia could at least attempt to defend herself from future like situations.

There was Inigo too, or so she'd heard.]

Also, it's uhm. Olivia.

[She motioned to herself. Olivia. Because she wasn't sure how she felt about being called 'little missy,' though she detected something like affection when he said it. Cutesy. A pet name, perhaps?]

S-so Olivia is okay.

Nice to meet you, Olivia.

[Almost formal-like, almost polite.]

The name's Reno. I'm the ace of the Turks and don't you forget it, yo!

[Aaaand then immediately back to delinquent man-child. He said it good-naturedly though, almost as if it were a joke, but his confident grin said, too, that he meant the first part. He liked to self-style himself as the ace of the department. It wasn't entirely wrong, it just wasn't actually official.]

Heheh... Though guess I'm just the ace of purple team here on the train. Gotta nasty reputation but don't you worry about that. I ain't-- You know, this ain't home. But it could be worse, yeah? What do you think of the train so far?

[Speaking with him was a bit like verbal whiplash. For just a moment, he seemed... different, and then he went right back to being... himself? Olivia couldn't even tell, considering she didn't know him well enough to make that assessment.]

I won't f-forget!

[As if she needed to say so. No one who knew Olivia ever could have accused her of intentionally getting on someone's bad side, whether that meant forgetting them or somehow intentionally upsetting them.

Her eyebrows knit together when he made mention of 'bad reputation,' and though she had plenty of questions where that was concerned, she didn't even know where to begin. Somehow she suspected she'd figure it out in time whether she wanted to or not.]

I think... it's large. And c-confusing! But everyone's been very nice. I'm still learning my way around and getting to meet people. It's... disorienting.

[And uncomfortable. Deeply uncomfortable, considering Olivia for all of her genuine kindness and heart, she just simply wasn't very good at being around people.]

[He laughed at her quick reply, light and airy, fairly genuine. Like she was telling him a joke. Who laughed at that sort of thing? This guy apparently. In his defense, he laughed because he thought it was cute more than because he'd frightened her into responding so quickly.]

That's what she said.

[No context. He didn't elaborate. Not that he expected her to get it, but he didn't want to burst her sweet, innocent little bubble. He moved onto his actual reply quickly.]

I guess I can see that. [Normal people got easily overwhelmed, right.] I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually. It ain't letting go of ya too soon if it can help it.

But don't worry. We'll figure out how to get off this damn thing one day. I'll do it myself if it takes me a lifetime.

[As expected, it went right over her head and only left Olivia looking... perplexed. So perhaps, no different than she already had.

But just like that, he smoothly moved along, almost as if he'd never said it to begin with and as such, Olivia either didn't think it important enough to question it, or... she simply didn't have the opportunity to. She nodded along slowly, knowing that he wasn't going to be the last to say that to her. These things took time and it seemed like she had an overabundance of that.

She'd get the hang of things eventually. Didn't really have much of a choice, did she?]

No one knows how to leave yet then either? [She frowned for the hint of a moment before deciding it wasn't good to focus on that. Instead:] How long have you b-been here, Reno?

Hmm. The only people that leave don't do it of their own will. And the train gave the impression it didn't really expect or want them to leave either but couldn't prevent it.

[All that talk of being linked to the train and how sometimes it was too faint for the train to keep them. The line broke, the people left. Maybe safer that way if the train couldn't protect them but also concerning because it didn't have an answer for where they went when they left on the platforms. Seriously, what the fuck.

The seriousness left him again as he brightened up, smiled at her once more, and went on to answer her second question as if he hadn't just contemplated the seriousness of their situation there for a moment.]

Four and a half months. Too many! [He laughed it off.] But I can roll with the punches. Part of my job description.

[The more she heard about the train itself, the more she simply didn't get it. What was the train, truly? Why? Yet it didn't seem like anyone really had an answer for any of that. At least not yet.

Maybe eventually...]

That's some t-time. [She tipped her head thoughtfully and then found herself perking up a tad when he continued.] What is your job description? Are there actually j-jobs on board?

Huh?

Oh, yeah. Uhh. Well, no. I mean, not really. I meant back home. I'm part of the Public Safety Department. We investigate special cases and help keep the peace and all that jazz. [To put it mildly.]

On the train there's not much to go by. 'Cept for what the passengers come up with on their own if you pay attention. [Which some people were better at than others but that was besides the point.] But I guess you could say purple team is best at covering whatever's needed. Like, we help out the other teams from time to time or take care of side quests that don't fall under the jurisdiction of the other teams' usual gig.

Works for me 'cause I like to move around to wherever the action is! That's why I joined Black Squad. Not a train assigned team, obviously, but one someone from my world made up to help out.

[Public safety department. That sounded safe. Although to be fair, he wasn't what she expected when she thought public safety anything. Not that he was a menace or anything like that, but Reno certainly didn't carry himself like...

Well. The closest thing she could think of was someone like Frederick. He was no Frederick in the slightest.]

Oh... Hm...

[That team talk again. She'd heard plenty about it when she had initially arrived, though still really didn't understand what it was all about. She knew that the team she'd been assigned to didn't really participate in combat, and she'd been told that people were divided up specifically.

Reasoning as to why remained a mystery.]

So you... are like a mercenary? [Olivia thumbed at her chin, immediately thinking of someone kind of like Vaike. As she thought on it more, she realised the two of them probably would have gotten along quite well.]

[It's all right, Olivia, no one in their right mind would accept Reno as a member of a Public Safety anything on his own word alone. That would just be crazy. He really didn't seem like a 'safe' sort. Quite the opposite.

Reno's initial reaction was to scowl at the comparison. No, he was definitely not a mercenary. Mercenaries were vagabonds, unreliable and fleeting. Their loyalty only lasted the length of one job and only so long as the money flowed. Mercs just weren't good enough as far as he was concerned.]

Hell no. I've got better class than that. My job is permanent. I've got more reliability and pride than that sort of freelancer shit. I've always been a company man and I'll continue to be no matter what.

[He looked at her as if he was trying to see inside her head, see what she was thinking. It was hard to tell that she meant the comparison simply due to the nature of her world. He was aware, though, that she probably didn't mean it as an insult.]

My job may take me around the world but I only work for one company. I'm loyal like a dog, yo. Ain't gonna quit when the going gets tough and the pay thin. Got more integrity than a simple-minded merc.

[Class. ...Class? Words like that meant likely something completely different to someone like Olivia, who was pretty certain she hadn't been born into anything special and the only reason she really was at present, was because of... well.

Chrom. He was really the reason for most things, it seemed.

To her, mercenary, sellsword, prince, farmhand, a lot of those things didn't seem to matter in the grand spectrum of things. People like Vaike and Lon'qu, after all, were good people, regardless of whatever their initial impressions might have been.]

Uhm...

[She frowned then, wondering if it was even the right thing to do to try to correct him. Maybe if she knew him better... But maybe if she put it in a really meek, diplomatic way?]

I knew some mercenaries back home. They were very dependable, though. And they were always nice to me. I don't think they're so b-bad.

[Perhaps she'd been lucky, though.]

Edited (I BROKE THAT HTML...) 2021-02-19 03:03 (UTC)

[He didn't seem to ~~care~~ mind what she was saying. He had this way of ignoring bits and pieces of what he didn't care about and still moving forward anyway. Just like a little punk.]

Lucky you. They got skills but mercs aren't the best kinda people to look to. Like I said, they're more a temporary solution. Hire 'em for a job and then dispose of 'em.

[He shrugged and moved about his business for a minute.]

You won't see me trading my job for anything else though. It's got the thrills and steady pay. And good company.

[It was always a slippery slope thinking about home but the thing he missed the most was definitely his fellow Turks. He kept his smile on though, a certain fondness in his expression and tone whenever he mentioned 'good company'.]

[He did not seem convinced and Olivia decided it was definitely not her play to try any convincing of any kind.

Instead, she found herself peering over at him as she lifted another article to hang for dry.]

It sounds like you have many friends, then. I guess that's what r-really matters. Having friends and being able to have a good time. Or at least being able to work w-well together.

[But the way she traipsed around it kind of betrayed that she still wasn't really sure what he did outside of odds and ends here and there. Maybe that was all he needed.]

[She didn't need to know what he did. Someone so innocent deserved to stay that way. Besides, it made it easier on himself. Not that he doubted for a second that she wouldn't hear about his misdeeds at some point. Not much else to do on a train but gossip.]

Yeah! My partner's the best but all my co-workers are great. All top-notch operatives. Smart, skilled, good at getting the job done. That's what matters.

A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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