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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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.

Are your coworkers here, too, or is it just you?

[He said it so professionally, but maybe that was what it was to him. Or maybe there wasn't a distinguishing line between friends and coworkers. Did Chrom feel the same way when it came to people like Frederick?

Maybe not. Rules of royalty seemed to work a little bit different and in spite of her exposure to it, she still didn't really understand it. Olivia never had been built for nobility.]

[His lips pursed briefly, a small (pouty) frown, at the question. Like he wished his answer were different.]

Nah, it's just me here now.

[Elena was gone and no one else had ever showed up. Did he want them to? Mixed emotions over that one. Sure, he'd love the familiar company. But even he, in all his selfishness, didn't want anyone here. No sense in trapping anyone else in this damn situation.

His demeanor brightened again though. He refused to be brought down.]

That's fine. The train gets the ace of the squad and everyone else can handle the jobs back home! That's what needs to be done.

[Oh. She tried not to look too disappointed on his behalf because in truth, he didn't seem terribly put out by it. Just because she wasn't sure how she would have handled things alone didn't mean anyone else would be much the same. If anything, she was only holding together as well as she did based on the rumour that Inigo was somewhere aboard.

If she didn't have that, Olivia wasn't sure what she would have done.]

W-well. I'm happy then, that we have an 'ace' with us! Does that m-mean if I need anything, I can come to you and you w-won't mind helping?

[He was absolutely devastated that he was all alone but he wasn't going to let that show. Especially not in front of a stranger. The cute girl didn't need to know he had a weak spot of any kind, not to mention anyone else for that matter. Keeping up appearances was a big deal to him.

Aaand she was asking him to look out for her, how did that happen. Oh, right. He told her he worked for the Public Safety Division. (Not a lie!) Of course.

He cocked his head as he gazed at her in curiosity. Then slowly smiled.]

Of course I'd help you out, yo! I know a plethora of things that are super useful for just about any sort of situation. Ya need me, and I'm all yours~.

[In the moments that fell between them, she wondered if she might have overstepped somewhere. An apology sat on the tip of her tongue, but it never came because not long after, he spoke again.

She loosed an audible sound of relief. She'd only just met him and she was already asking if she could go to him for help. Presumptuous on her part.]

O-oh. I...

[But the way he said it. There she went flushing to the roots of her hair all over again. Did he have to say it like that?]

I'll t-try not to trouble you too much. If there's.... a-anything I can do to help, too, I'll do my best!

[Of course he had to say it like that, he was a punk! He couldn't help himself, really. Besides, she made it too easy.

He grinned cheekily at her reply. He was enjoying this too much.]

Don't worry your pretty little head. I can handle whatever you throw at me, little missy. I'll take you on.

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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