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

[dragoonrouge]

That does get a raised brow from the Miqo'te, "I tend to spar with a few more restrictions than that, 'tis no good if you walk away from a spar with broken bones or half your blood painting the ring when you still need to be battle ready. Accidents happen but I will pull my punches if it looks like it will result in serious injury."

[bakegarasu]

"Ryo will end up healing me anyway because he won't leave me alone." He doesn't sound annoyed, though. "I'll let you set the rules. Most of my trainers just called out 'time' when it was over."

[dragoonrouge]

"Healers seem to be the same across all worlds in that regards. My brother is the same though I would certainly get an earful as he makes me aware of exactly what he thinks of my intelligence even if it pales in comparison to the tongue lashing that he gives his husband."

Once they reach the training carriage Q'uila removes her hoodie and folds it up at the side of the room, "Warm up first and then we can start. If I notice a large injury or if a move is likely to cause such a wound I will call time and we disengage."

It would be clear to Otoha that Q'uila's fighting style requires a degree of flexibility from some of the extreme bends that she starts working into her stretches and that the well-defined muscles underneath the burns along her arms suggest that it requires not insignificant upper body strength.

cw: implications of abuse

[bakegarasu]

He notes the burns and sets his trenchcoat aside. The sword at his hip is in a sheath that's covered in wrappings. for what reason, it's unclear. Because Tatsunoko never told us. He rolls his sleeves up and stretches a little bit, less for his benefit and more for her assessment.

His left arm is free of injury or marks of being in the sun, significantly lighter than the other arm. His right arm carries a number of burns, but they're not from any sort of monster one would find on an adventure. They're small and round, suggesting some kind of cigar or cigarette.

His build is skinny, more legs than torso. He's not ripped by any means, but he's not scrawny. Without the coat in the way it's a bit more obvious that a lot of his power is, indeed, in his legs.

"If we need to we can call a healer from the ICP."

Re: cw: implications of abuse

[dragoonrouge]

The attention paid to her Q'uila equally returns to Otoha as they get ready: balance, potential range of movement, musculature. And although she doesn't comment on that she would have to be blind to miss those very purposeful burns as she shoves that information down and into that burning, furious part of her mind to sit alongside all the other cruelties she has seen.

Stretching done, Q'uila bounces and shakes her limbs out, "I can heal for a quick fix but 'tis good to know that we have a quick way of requesting help if we need it." A twist and tug of aether has the familiar weight of her lance appearing in her grip as purple aether twists around the sleek, sharp lines of the weapon.

She gives it a spin a swipe to settle the weight and lowers into a ready stance with a grin.

"On the count of three then. One. Two... Three!"

[bakegarasu]

He draws his sword and holds it almost lazily, watching her movements. A lance... he hasn't fought against one of those before. And she obviously has magic... right. Expect nothing, just react.

Otoha does not fall into a ready stance, but when she calls 'three' he moves at almost superhuman speed. In a flash he's crossed the distance between them, starting with a basic swipe across the torso to test how fast she is.

[dragoonrouge]

Otoha's speed right off the bat is a pleasant surprise that has Q'uila rapidly splitting her grip on the lance and shifting it to block the sword trying to dash across her torso before leveraging her lower centre of gravity to spin and lash her lance out at Otoha's legs to force him back.

Mindful of her momentum she rises slightly and follows up with two quick thrusts, one at each side Otoha's torso that flows into a spin of her body and a twirl of her lance that lashes out in a slash towards his sword arm.

[bakegarasu]

He steps back at the spin, dodging each thrust with a slight movement of his body. The slash is met with one of his own, holding the lance there and pushing. It's pretty clear that he's strong, and if her lance were a normal, nonmagical weapon it would start taking damage pretty quickly at this point.

Otoha breaks the parry to dart out of the way, trying to circle Q'uila and hit her from behind. He's also eying that tail, wondering if that's a decent target or too far. It almost seems rude in a way that even he doesn't like.

[dragoonrouge]

Q'uila's impressed, Otoha's strength and speed seem like nothing to sneeze at from how he's dealt with her lance so far and circling out of her view towards the obvious week point that is her tail is a smart move. It's a shame it won't work, her ears rotating to help her keep a fix on his position.

A quick change of grip is all she needs to send the bottom of her lance jabbing towards his gut far faster than her previous attacks with the attack allowing her to twist around and await Otoha's next move.

[bakegarasu]

He takes the hit but doesn't flinch, retaliating with a series of slashes towards her arms and stomach. He's a little impressed at her speed as well - most people would have already been hit several times by now. He's not afraid of getting hit by that lance... he can use that to his advantage, actually.

[dragoonrouge]

Otoha's slashes are quick enough that Q'uila can fully manoeuvre her lance to negate all of them and so she chooses to block the slashes directed towards her stomach and takes the cuts to her arms in order the close the distance to start weaving a barrage of powerful kicks in between swipes of her lance.

She doesn't banter as they go but her smile gets increasingly wider and more excited as they continue to trade blows.

[bakegarasu]

He keeps going, blocking the swipes with his sword and ducking away from the kicks when he can, which isn't always. He does push away from her at one point before leaping in the air to try to deliver a powerful downward slash. It's no dragoon jump, but for a human it's pretty damn good.

[dragoonrouge]

The sensible thing would be to push Otoha off or redirect his jumping slash to the side once she has her lance up to halt the slash. Instead Q'uila goes with the momentum and collapses towards the floor to try and throw him off balance at the lack of expected resistance and, when she's nearly horizontal, digs the tip of her lance into the floor and heaves using the leverage to flip Otoha to the side so that the miqo'te is straddling him and forcing the body of her lance down towards his neck in a move that would certainly injure his windpipe if his sword wasn't still trapped between them.

[bakegarasu]

The strength is surprising, but he catches the lance and slashes so the weapon is forced upwards. He frowns and launches himself backwards to get some distance before gathering his strength and launching towards her like a cannonball. He's got his sword in one hand, and as he gets close the other hand goes to force the lance down so he can spring off of it and slash towards her back.

[dragoonrouge]

Reaching out to grab the lance was a mistake that Q'uila wasn't about to let someone make in a friendly spar, she really didn't want to have to explain to Otoha's medic friend why the man would have large aether burns on his hand let alone how to heal them and so she wills the lance back into Hammerspace.

The lance vanishes just before Otoha could reach for it and Q'uila uses her now-freed hands to grab onto his forearm and unsheathes her claws. Better to heal smaller puncture wounds than aether burns. Combining her strength with his momentum Q'uila flips Otoha over her shoulder and sends his back crashing into the ground before capitalising on the move to try and restrain him.

[bakegarasu]

Ugh. Well that's not going to work. The flip is annoying and not something he's used to, though Koumyou flipped him the first time they fought, so whatever.

He wrenches his sword arm free, trying to butt her with the hilt so she'll move. He doesn't care about her claws dragging on him, and the fact that most people would is what he's banking on. He's aware it can be weird to deal with an opponent that can't feel pain.

[dragoonrouge]

She can't fully dodge the butt of the sword with how close she is but she does manage to duck her head slightly to make it a bit more of a glancing blow as she wrenches his other arm. Otoha may not be able to feel pain but he'll certainly be able to hear the crackle of electricity and the way his muscles seize up as Q'uila pumps a low-level Verthunder spell through him.