voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post April]

A New Platform [Intro Post April]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen 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 after lunch. A lunch that may be a bit sparse: between the big eaters and the stress bakers, the stores have been stretched thin the last two weeks.

"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 steam is thin, with blue skies seen above. The sun shines brightly down, warm light pooling on the platform.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Cassie Lang, Glorfindel, Jessie Custer, Olivia, Paddra Nsu-Yeul, S’reee, Thea Queen, Wei Wuxian.

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, open, with a vine-covered wall stretching high either side of the barrier. 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 eighteen 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 doors close behind them.

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 plenty more tomatoes.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. There is a suitcase stocked with spare wash kit items, for those who are running low as well as a box labelled Do Not Use Yet that is full of small 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 who are making the most of the sunshine. 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

What is it you expect the mug to do, Emporio? It's a mug.

It's not a kind of mug that's normal for the train, though. Nice white ceramic with a shiny gold T logo on it from some unknown company...

It also rattles on the floor, just a little, at the sound of his voice, like a particularly glitchy video game asset.

Well, for a bit it's nor-

The Mug is Haunted

-that's not normal!

Relatively frozen in place, Emporio mostly reacts- specifically, Weather Report reacts, mostly by summoning a tiny, tiny raincloud over the mug. It even sparks. It starts raining.

aaaaaaaa-

The mug clearly does not like the rain, rolling out of the little raincloud quickly and almost aggressively, though it's in a direction perpendicular to Emporio rather than directly opposite. Once it's fully clear of the raincloud, it turns into a person, an adult guy who is clearly new to the train, with a phone clipped to his belt.

"I hate rain," Ghost 'mutters,' the phone on his belt rendering the synthesized voice at far less volume than usual before he actually turns to the (really spooked-looking) kid. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Oh god! Oh no! Oh g-

~~is this the work of an ENEMY STAND,~~ "Uh."

The rain cloud is still doing it's thing for a moment, though he manages to get the presence of mind enough to mentally convince Weather to stop. The boy blinks. "...Why were you a mug there..?"

Yes because the real question isn't 'why were you a mug'. He's just accepted that apparently this man could be a mug.

That is honestly the easier answer. "It's quieter down here." Sometimes you just need a break from being a people, so. mug.

"It's sort of out of place though isn't it? I can see why you wouldn't use the Quiet Rooms, since other people might want them, but the front makes it look kind of suspicious..."

He frowns, thinking to himself. "...I guess not as many people use the ghost quiet rooms, but those are still a bit busy too though..."

...He's not even going to address the second comment because what. Okay, so, kid can also do things with actual ghosts, apparently.

"There's people passing through there all the time," he says instead. "Not so many coming down here. There's not really a reason to, right?"

"When someone has a disagreement with the train...possibly." He frowns. "You might have better luck in Luggage- actually, I don't think anyone would find a mug strange there either; luggage is already full of suitcases that don't belong to anyone. But I know sometimes people come here to even just...shout....so."

Not the best spot to hide as a mug. "Do you want me to show you that room anyway by the way? No one can see the door, so people wouldn't knock on it, and I like to hide there sometimes too."

"There were lots of people coming and going from there earlier," he says. "And someone's smoking back there, so I figured they must come and go pretty frequently." He's familiar with the smell of cigarettes, though he doesn't know how frequent the culprit's habit is.

"And thanks, but don't worry about it." Better not to mess with the powers of someone else when he's not entirely sure they understand how they work.

"Oh- right, because of platform day... ...Luggage is where packages arrive..." Hrm.

"I still think there's a better option than this carriage, but I guess we'll find out..." Tragically, there's really no power to be interfered with when it comes to the Ghost Room- it just sort of exists, in the exact state it used to be in. There wouldn't be anything to interfere with...well, anything.

It would completely go against what it is.

"If it's normally not that busy down there, I might use it." It's closer to the sleeping cabins, for one thing. "One or two people isn't that bad, it's when you've got upwards of twenty or thirty all in the same place."

Which isn't actually all that hard to do on the train, considering there's a hundred people and the vast majority of them need to eat.

"The days that we reach the platform are the only ones where people can purchase things from homeworlds through the on-board shop," Emporio confirms. "So it's basically like a 'mail-day' for everyone on board. Other than that, I think the most you could expect is people at the front of the carriage- that's where the breakfast stuff is kept. But the very back of it, that would probably be empty for the most part."

"That's good to hear. I'll give it a day or two to calm down, then." Emporio gets a smile for the tip. "Thanks."

"No problem. Are...you going to be okay during the missions though, if you need to stay away from everyone that much..?"

He's a little worried about it getting overwhelming now...

"Unless we're all packed in together, I'll be fine." And even if they are, it's not the kid's job to worry about adults. "And it'll be better once I adjust to this particular mix of people, too."

They are all still strangers at the moment, after all.

Phew, well that's good. "Right...you just got here huh," he observes with a nod. It seems obvious enough at least. He feels like news about a guy who can turn into a mug would spread fast. "People definitely come and go every two weeks, but for the most part they stick around so...hopefully you can adjust quick? We shouldn't have a mission for a while either, so that gives you more time!"

"I'm adaptable if nothing else." Hopefully you can adjust quick, as though his life hasn't already been lighting a fire in the middle of an already-double-burning candle. "Figuring out something to do with myself is probably going to be the harder part. I'm not used to having a lot of free time."

Free reign, sure, but there was always something that needed doing, something that needed attention, and the overall feeling of rushing that held him so tight in its grasp for the last few days hasn't abated yet.

"No?" For himself, he had nothing but free time in a sense...

But then again he also had little to do with it.

"Hmm...when you're more familiar with who's here, you could probably find a few things...there's a library for one, but there's also a games car- and there's a lot of board games and things there!"

"Yeah. I noticed the library's kind of sparse-looking, though." Not anything that would take him much time to get through, at his reading speed. "I'll probably end up cooking a lot."

"I think it's because most of the books were bought- so people have to add them one by one..." Not a lot indeed.

"...Oh- hmm...you should check to see when each team is cooking as it comes up then," he decides after a moment. "The train only has so much food, so it's best to coordinate with the group that's supposed to be cooking I think."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A New Platform [Intro Post April]

MUGS FOR CHILDREN

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