voidtreckermods: (sparkly train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2021-05-01 07:50 am

A New Platform [Intro Post May]

On the Train

Like clockwork, the Voidtreckers are awoken by a familiar message this morning.

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Llama. Points have been updated on the system."

With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will 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 air is sticky and warm, the windows almost immediately dewing over with the humidity outside.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Azula, Prisoner, Amery Vallet, Dyme Graydon, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yoite, Piccolo, Bulla Brief, Xie Lian, Kurosaki Ichigo, Hua Cheng, Renee Corbin, and Ran Mouri; 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 find themselves on a platform, rich wood and pale stone forming a natural, tree-like structure overhead. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single set of tracks extending both ways into thick fog. The air is rainforest-hot, and the sound of frogsong can be faintly heard over the drip of the artificial canopy.

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 fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, and seems smaller with twenty-eight figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. 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 pours a strange assortment of people, over a hundred at least. 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.

Behind them, the doors close, and the train is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform.

The Train

After a short time, the fog clears and 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 nori, the ingredient of the month of Llama, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. For each member of Purple Team, a small silver box with their name on it contains a glittery cupcake.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, but at least they won't be alone in their confusion - since the sleeper carriages are now double-decker, and experience isn't going to avail the passengers in finding their rooms.

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.

The new double carriage's transfer ICP is active, allowing people to move to a double room should they meet the requirements with another person, though they'll have to move their belongings themselves.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers taking advantage of the fresh air, 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!
katzenpfote: (hurt)

[personal profile] katzenpfote 2021-05-02 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Coal and steam..." He's seen some prototypes of things, but nothing that works without danger of exploding. Hupperdook probably has things like that, if anywhere. He's not sure where in Xhorhas those things are built, exactly.

"I do. It took a while to learn it... it is far less accurate than inscribing the sigils for a circle I know of already, but it... can be done within a range." And not the same day as his tower, sadly. "I am missing many of my spell components. ... It will take a while to regain them."
4starlowclasshero: (Huh?)

[personal profile] 4starlowclasshero 2021-05-02 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
"Don't? Don't what?" Goku looked back and saw the sign before turning back to Vegeta and laughing. "Oh, that! Ahaha, don't worry, I wasn't! Maybe... okay, it's really tempting!"

A beat.

"Have you tried it?"
darknessinzero: (bare | there's a place i have gone)

[personal profile] darknessinzero 2021-05-02 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
Sigils and circles...not like the black portals in his scattered memories, then. No immediate connection, at least. But the mention of components has him considering the matter. "From what I have seen," he begins slowly, "there is quite a lot to explore on this vehicle - perhaps you can find something suitable for your work. I will admit, though, I am...unfamiliar with spells that require more than just one's own energies."

MP. He's talking about MP.
thawed_pride: (Nort-I don't have to listen to this.)

[personal profile] thawed_pride 2021-05-02 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
"I have yet to get a close look at the train's core to confirm the presence of a heart for myself, but she most certainly has a mind and a sense of reciprocity. But recently, we were asked to vote on a new addition to the train..."

He could only hope the lab had won. Otherwise, he'd have to get creative when those herbs he ordered were ready to harvest.

"So far as I have observed, while the train's recruitment method is highly questionable, she does indeed have benevolent intent, including toward us passengers."
renegadeprince: (annoyed 05)

[personal profile] renegadeprince 2021-05-02 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
Another pause, then a bit of a huff as Vegeta looked away. "Yes. When I first got here." Then snapping his gaze back to Goku. "Don't try anything stupid with it. It reflects back anything used against it, so if you punch it or use ki on it all it will do is destroy everything around it. Including our food supply." Even Goku should know not to mess with that, Vegeta nodding his head back towards where the food was being housed near them.

Vegeta is quiet again, though in a way of looking Goku over, almost sizing him up like he did so many years ago. "You haven't fought Broly yet, have you?" It's been awhile since he's been around him, but the difference is there, even if slight. Plus if Goku had been from later Vegeta would expect he would have gained more strength after their bout against the insanely strong Saiyan.
renegadeprince: (smile 05)

[personal profile] renegadeprince 2021-05-02 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
"You should be thankful, he's only really ever taken on one other student." Sure Piccolo seemed to help out others here, but nothing compared to with Gohan. Which maybe for the best from the stories Vegeta heard of the early days of that training, at least from a human standard. Honestly it sounded about right for what a Saiyan would do, maybe even a bit kinder. They tend to just send their kids off to take over planets by themselves.

"Did you ever tell him about being able to access that god fighter energy of yours?" Because that was of great interest to Vegeta, not that it would aid Piccolo in anyway. Short of there being some of god form for Namekians out there, and who knew if there was or not with how his people would spread around the universe. If anything he imagined Piccolo could give Cassie more pointers, not in the sense he knew how to use it, but just in the fact he's witnessed both Vegeta and Goku in those forms enough times to understand how they worked.
katzenpfote: (your turn to roll)

[personal profile] katzenpfote 2021-05-02 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
"Perhaps. And there are some spells I can do without components... not all that many, however." He could count! But then Ansem would be there with him slowly counting in Zemnian.
darknessinzero: (bare | a music box wrapped in wire)

[personal profile] darknessinzero 2021-05-02 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
She seemed to take in the opinions of her people, then - though Ansem was already finding the concept strange. How else could he refer to such, though? She had brought them here, and him, at least, out of the dark...for that, alone?

"Given the choice, I gladly take this one. If it requires some work on my part, if it is within my ability..." He trails off, not seeing a need to finish. Certainly, Even can understand?

...he's not sure how he feels about Even himself, though. But there must be more memory locked away - all he has to do is find it. Perhaps, then, he will be able to make a better judgement. Until then...

"...is this the best place to have a conversation? Or- perhaps I should find you later?" Even certainly seems willing to speak with him, but in the midst of a crowded train, it seems a bit...awkward, to speak in its main halls.
nutkrusher: (Brawler)

[personal profile] nutkrusher 2021-05-02 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Brought it up a couple times," Cassie says. "Didn't really dwell on it, though. Gotta train for the things that aren't gods, too."
blue_ice: (hands 2)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-05-02 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
Kaiba tipped his head. Hm. That's odd.

"Oh...then did you need help with anything? I know not everyone comes from a world where computers are common."
morganizedchaos: (you got a better idea?)

[personal profile] morganizedchaos 2021-05-02 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
"Sort of. This looks somewhere in the middle ground between a fabricator and a regular 3D printer - fabricators work on a molecular level so you can actually change the material type to a limited extent." Ghost reaches out to indicate the glass bottle. "Like, you couldn't turn this into plastic or metal, but you could turn it into silicon computer chips since they're close to the same thing, or one kind of plastic into another. The recycler was a whole separate machine, though, so you had to move the raw materials from one to the other yourself."

He takes the guide with an expression of mild glee. "You'll have to chain this to the table with it or it's going to disappear," he warns. "I know there's at least a few other people who are into the more hardware aspects of tech."
blue_ice: (solid vision)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-05-02 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
"I think we have to keep asking the train to keep it on the options list," Kaiba grunts. "I'll keep trying. But I'm being asked to build a number of new things with the equivalent of a phone booth in space, and they're going to hear about it."
scaledwolf: (037)

[personal profile] scaledwolf 2021-05-02 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
"You may, of course." Even with being king back home, he felt it weird for people to call him anything but his name. So having her call him Jon is definitely okay by him. And he smiles a little as he says it, because he definitely would like to be friendly with his roommates as well. "Not that I'm aware of, though my father had mentioned needing to tell me something important. But he died before he could tell me what it was." Could it have been about his true name, his true parentage? Possibly. He'll never really know.

he nods as he listens to her about what they're on. "A train. Interesting. I've never seen or heard of one before. The mode of travel usually used back home is horses, sometimes carriages for those of higher standing." Because that's the best their technology has to offer back home. Though he pauses for a second, because something in what she says just registers. "Wait, in the Underworld?"
intelinside: (i predict that i will always be with you)

Wandering

[personal profile] intelinside 2021-05-02 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
Phineas is, in fact, in the library; he'd decided to go ahead and page through Famous Voidtrains through the Ages after getting it from Udonta, though he may end up just giving in and checking it and a few others out.

He looks over when Jade approaches, noticing how much colder it's getting and definitely glad for the orange hoodie he's wearing, even if it had been too much outside. He's not weirded out or bothered, though, and returns the bright smile with a smaller one of his own, closing the book for the moment.

"I'm new myself, actually," he admits. "But I can still try. I've been asking a lot of questions."
thawed_pride: (Nort-I shall take it into consideration.)

[personal profile] thawed_pride 2021-05-02 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
He nods, clearly of similar opinion. The train hadn't rescued him from a bad situation, but she had granted him an opportunity to continue atoning for his crimes against the multiverse, where he may have otherwise been at a loss for what to do. As his goals and the train's aligned, he was perfectly willing to put in the work she asked for.

"There are soundproofed rooms well suited to private conversations, or simply blocking out the distractions of the rest of the train. We can speak there at length, if you are comfortable being truly alone with me."
blitzcheer: (a match to gasoline)

platform

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-02 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
I can tell you, but you're not gonna get a real answer. Wanna go complain anyway?

[ Tidus is looking out for anyone in purple, so the opportunity to speak up as this guy seems distracted - he takes it, giving them an amicable expression, a hand resting on Tidus's waist. He's got a hoodie tied around there too, but his shirt is the same purple as Woz wears. ]

I can tell you what's up, too.
magicurls: (wish well)

luggage

[personal profile] magicurls 2021-05-02 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Mami isn't picking anything up this time, but she's always ready to have a look around. The weapon's like nothing she's ever seen, and she takes it in with a head tilt.

"It surely looks powerful. But how do you attack with it?"
soldier_blade: (MKX_enquiring)

laundry

[personal profile] soldier_blade 2021-05-02 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Day one of helping to clean the kitchen, and somehow she managed to splatter something on her jacket. She wasn't normally this messy, but apparently this was one of her bad days and something had to go wrong.

Laundry was assigned to purple, but there was no way she'd just leave her clothes for them to collect-not for one hoodie. Soon as she was done cleaning up, she'd just take that and the rest of her laundry and leave it there.

Or rather, that was her intention, but she had to stop when she saw the young man staring at the washers like he'd rather be anywhere else. "I'd ask if you'd need any help, but I think I already know."

That he might be from a time or world without such machines would hardly be surprising; even in her own universes, not all realms had electricity, never mind washing machines.
10billionpercent: (This...is exhilarating)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-05-02 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
"I appreciate a good mystery and I do find that aspect exciting, but I do in fact, have a lot to do when I'm not here." Senku commented dryly. He looked about twenty, that might sound surprising or boastful.

"No, actually, they were on the planet to strip its resources, I believe. I'm not saying they were a better faction or anything of the sort, but what we did learn is that there are other factions." Senku clarified. "And the train doesn't want us to know what other options lie out there."

He shook his head. "I believe all the train has ever said is that it's the Voidtrecker Express, with nothing to quantify that. I think people assume it's an AI. We can't get into the engine room or get access to information about voidtrains and their programming either."

"Correct." Senku said, nodding at his assessment, something or someone was moving them. "No, actually." He commented. "The SCAs are my biggest research project at the moment, but even if you don't wear one on board and I don't always, it's not terribly necessary for me, you'll still find yourself waking up in your bed. I've been studying the SCAs for weeks. I believe they do far more than we think they do, and I believe they are the key to understanding our tether to this place."

He smiled and shrugged, he did this on platform days. He enjoyed chattering on about his experiments too, even if most people seemed to find them a bit tiresome. He accepts the hand, shaking it once. His right is the one his SCA is on, as opposed to his left which has his wedding band.

"Ishigami Senku, but Senku is fine. I really only use my family name in introductions these days, we have no use for it at home."
morganizedchaos: (now what's bothering you?)

[personal profile] morganizedchaos 2021-05-02 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Don't like chocolate?" If you thought that was the way to get rid of the nosy alien, you have thought incorrectly, Otoha. From the tone, Ghost is entirely aware that's not the actual problem.
blitzcheer: (so i said to becky)

train

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-02 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
The guy could just be reading, but it's something in the way he's standing there that makes it more than just that. Puzzlement, which isn't that weird in this place, but while Tidus is waiting around in another part of the carriage, he notices how the guy lingers and something in his body language, and he can't call to memory anyone that looks like him from. So, he decides to go over, figuring he might be able to help out - maybe, anyway.

"Hey," he speaks up first, coming beside the man so as to not make him jump (too bad). "You seen your ticket? You can stick it in that slot there," Tidus nods to the slim space, if that's enough to help Jon, "and bring up a passenger list. If you're interested."
scaledwolf: (046)

[personal profile] scaledwolf 2021-05-02 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Jon's in his purple hoodie as well, easily sited as a team member. Even if as he turns, the confusion is written all over his face. Because yeah, he's very new. Though he's partially happy that someone can help him with this. Grey eyes flicker briefly to those cat ears and then down to the tail and his curiosity almost matches his confusion. He's never seen someone with such on their person. But he's learning that there are all sorts of people on this train and he doesn't want to be rude about asking.

Besides, the question here is the strange machine and how he launders things in it at the moment. "We do not. Most of the washing is done in a basin back home, with a washboard." His fingers scratch at his chin just a little as he offers a small, shy smile. "Would you be able to help me learn how to use these?" He wants to pull his weight, to learn about what he'll need to know while here.
morganizedchaos: (now what's bothering you?)

roomies!

[personal profile] morganizedchaos 2021-05-02 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
"You've got the other bottom," Ghost says. His voice doesn't come from his mouth but from the phone tossed slightly haphazardly onto the bednch next to him. "Top with plants is Persephone - if you're from Earth, yes, she is that Persephone, some version at least - and the other one's Romeo's, and he's just a kid so no one's going to tell him he can't have the top bunk if he wants it."
blue_ice: (sacrifice)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-05-02 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Always," Kaiba confirms. The young man in an orange uniform has a briefcase situated over his lap, as he wants to get back to work as soon as possible. The sooner he works, the sooner he can stop thinking about other things. And that's the plan tonight.

He considers the reaction for a moment before continuing. "Is this your first time traveling like this?"
Edited 2021-05-02 04:43 (UTC)
intelinside: (and it makes me feel quite small)

III

[personal profile] intelinside 2021-05-02 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
Phineas had had a similar idea to Rui: Go from one end of the train to the other, figure out what all was in this place, get his bearings as much as possible. He'd lingered in a few carriages, though -- first in medical, and then he'd stopped for a while with the VR headsets in the games coach.

Now he was in the cinema car. Stopping to rest, arguably, but instead of sitting he was standing at the ICP and looking through the film catalogue. He noticed Rui, though, and when the ICP seemed to catch her attention, he moved out of the way, offering, "You can use it. I was just browsing."