A New Platform [Intro Post March]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day One of the month of Kazoo. 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 is thick, the air is warm and humid and there are rumbles of thunder, the air heavy with the promise of rain.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alfredo Martini, Daia, Enna Alchiba, Lord El-Melloi II, Natsuno Yuuki, Nita Callahan, Saku Gyousou, Sakura, V and Wen Qing

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, and seems smaller with twenty-seven 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.

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'). Those not new to the train will note the addition of an eighth sleeper carriage. The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, it seems the month of Kazoo is defined by the tomato and there are plenty of them.

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 as thunder rumbles further and the storm threatens to break. 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

[worthallthis]

They don't look at her until the song's done, though they're aware of her. When the music moves into an instrumental piece, still jazzy and still from the 30s, they glance sidelong her direction. "I wasn't bothering you, was I?"

[consider8]

Eight shook her head, averting her gaze to the stack of platters in her hands. A tinge of magenta flushes on her face.

"It's a good song."

"What was it called?"

[worthallthis]

"That one was Bei Mir Bist Du Shein," Soldat answers with a curious head tilt. They don't even try for eye contact; they're not fond of it, and she looks embarrassed, aw, poor kid. "By the Andrews Sisters. I can play some more like it, if you want."

[consider8]

"Bay Mir Bisque..." She gets lost in the words, but looks him over at the suggestion. Rather than answer them directly she gives a small nod before returning to her work.

"I haven't heard that style before." She manages, carefully dropping the platters to the edge of the sink. "It sounds..." Old. "...traditional."

[worthallthis]

"It's somewhere between Yiddish and swing," Soldat explains amiably. "I actually don't have a ton of Yiddish songs, but I do have more by those singers." They queue up another couple of their favorites Andrews Sisters songs to play next. "This is the music from when I was coming up." Which means, hey, maybe it is kinda old... they're in their 90s now, after all.

[consider8]

SHould they look over at Eight as she stacks the platters, they would see that the tips of her hair tentacles are bobbing a little in beat with the rhythm. When she catches the word 'army' she wonders if this is somehow a military anthem, but... no, it doesn't have the same effect as the music DJ Ocatavio has them listen to. More like... dancing?

"What's boogie-woogie? And what does that have to do with being in a company?"

[worthallthis]

"Boogie woogie's a kind of dance, or a kind of music," Soldat explains easily. "The story here is the musician got sent into the army, and it made him sad because he couldn't play the kind of music he liked. So the army brought in the rest of a band, and then the army got to hear some great music instead of boring old field drills."

[consider8]

She understood that immediately, and it... sounded more civil to do something like that. "Do humans like it better if they let the boogie woogie boogle player play his music instead of fighting? It sounds like his company would enjoy it."

That sort of specialization was not unheard of, but usually that type of distinction was made for more specialized fields, like engineering or octo weapon maintenance. Still, she thinks that would be great for morale.

[worthallthis]

Soldat glances over at her, taking in her apparent age and the whole... tentacle hair thing, and decides not to let her know that it's absolutely fiction and war wasn't like that, at all. "I think most people would prefer to listen to some fun music than fighting. I didn't know this company, though. I was in a different one, back then."

[consider8]

That got her to stop and looked them square in the face. "You served too? What branch?"

She didn't know much about human militaries and the idea of learning more about them was fascinating. And they seemed like the type that would not mind talking about them in more detail.

[worthallthis]

"The army, too," they say with a little shrug, their own gaze going back to their work, currently mixing up the cheese for the lasagna, "but the army was big enough that you could be part of it but never meet ninety percent of the other soldiers. I was in the 107th division, until I joined a spec ops unit late in the war."

There's also the issue her saying "too", and they're not sure if she means "like the soldier in the song" or "like me". She seems awfully small to be an actual soldier. "Were you in a war?"

[consider8]

Her eyes grew wide at the number. 107 divisions? that meant that the army they were in had over 1,000,000 people in it!! The numbers, provision, planning, tactics boggled the mind. The joining of spec ops was also impressive, the same as the Amazones back at home.

The fact that they were here, on a train, grating cheese was truly astonishing.

"Oh... uh..." Her attention returned to wiping down some plates before letting them soak in the water. Shoot, compared to them, her accomplishments were going to seem paltry. "I was... in the Tentakeel Squadron Second Rearguard. Two years ago, in the Second Octarian Invasion." Not hardly impressive, she knows, but she did see action. And lost. "Before coming here I was assigned as Agent Eight of the Squidbeak Splatoon." Which makes her laugh more than anything. "It's hardly the same as a standard military force..." ...but seeing as one Agent, an old man, and two pop idols were able to clear out the entire Octarian Invasion force, she's a little more proud of her accomplishments in that group.

[worthallthis]

"My spec ops unit wasn't a typical military force, either," they say, not judging at all, except maybe whoever put a teenager in the goddamn army. "There were only seven of us, and we'd go into places nobody else could. Brief strike missions."

Strike missions. They shiver once, suddenly making the connection between the old team and the goddamn STRIKE teams. Fuck HYDRA-- they stole literally everything from Steve, didn't they.

(Focus on the kid. The conversation. Right, yeah, thanks.) "Was yours kinda like that? Or was the Squidbeak Splatoon something different?"

[consider8]

That question... caused her to pause. As newly entered into the Squidbeak Splatoon, she didn't really think too far in what their mission or structure even was.

"There are... five? No, six of us." Four agents, one commander. "Loosely defined, the objective was to protect the surface from any threats that could threaten the civilian populations."

"Though... I would not call them anything remotely 'typical.' They are more like a group of highly skilled crazy that are surprisingly effective at achieving their objectives."

[worthallthis]

"Sounds a lot like the Howling Commandos, all right," Soldat says, sounding amused. "I'm gonna tell Steve that. His team was definitely highly skilled crazy. The objective was probably a lot more narrow, though. They mostly only dealt with a pretty specific threat."

[consider8]

"Well... when I say that they fought against threats to the surface, in truth they mostly wandered aimlessly and somehow managed to stumble into trouble." Yet despite that, she can't help but smirk.

"And you? You were a part of the Howling Commandos?"

[worthallthis]

"Yeah, second in command, under Steve. I don't remember a lot of it. But I remember enough to know it still sounds a lot like your group." Maybe with slightly better intel. Soldat knows they had a couple people feeding them locations and mission objectives, shunting them around Europe. They don't clearly remember who those people are, though.

Not important right now, though. She's clearly new, they would definitely have remembered the tentacle hair. "And now you're here. You doing okay?"

[consider8]

Not as new as Soldat thinks, as she had been hiding away for about a month, but the sentiment is all the same. Or... perhaps they were referring to the chores? "Mmm. The cleaning is fine. In basic we were drilled with the proper care and maintenance of our tools and supplies. And I enjoy seeing things in their proper condition." She frowns a little at the sink. "...I'm just avoiding touching water as long as I can."

She doesn't mention the why, as she recalls Ichigo revealing to the entire train her weakness to water, and was pretty sure that was common knowledge now.

[worthallthis]

Blame the mun, who somehow had it in her head Mimi was new, oops. The reveal of her weakness was, however, definitely before Soldat's time. So they look between her and the sink, and ask, "Whatever for?"

cw: graphic depiction of harm

[consider8]

Well... it was a good thing to mention, but she figured she'd show them. What was supposed to happen was she was just going to dip her hand into the water and show a small bit of water damage...

...but as the platters enter the water, they shift, causing her to instinctively try to correct the clatter from crashing to the ground. Both of her exposed hands enter the water for a few seconds as she corrects them. Eight gasps as she pulls them out, revealing that her hands have... lost their skin. Rather than show exposed muscles, her hands appear to have instead show hand-shapes of bright magenta liquid.

Her eyes are wide and she looks over at Soldat.

"...ah..."

"...this happens?"

[worthallthis]

"Jesus Christ!" Soldat darts over, much faster than an objectively large and metal-laced human ought to be able to go, and-- and stop, hovering. They're really, really not sure what to do there. They definitely herd her away from the water, tucking their hands under hers (not touching, just underneath them) as if to keep the liquid from leaking away and hitting the floor. "What the hell, a stack of dishes is not worth you getting hurt!"