A New Platform [Intro Post May]

[voidtreckermods]

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!

Comments

Caleb Widogast | OTA

[katzenpfote]

[Arrival]

Caleb Widogast is not a man unaccustomed to stepping from one place to another. He can draw teleportation circles, after all - and his new tower is similarly strange from one moment to another.

What is strange is where he is. And what he's wearing. And this... bag of some odd material, and not being in Zadash, and the rest of the Nein are -

He takes a deep breath and snaps his fingers. Frumpkin, where is - ... he's not here.

It's that thought - that he's somewhere alone and wrapped up in strange material and too hot and too disoriented - that has him breathing deeply, clearly trying to stave off a panic attack while he tugs at the purple hoodie, trying to get it off.


[Room 1:A Lower]

The strange paper that he was given said that he was staying here, so he stands in front of the door, attempting to open it. He faintly wonders if he should cast a spell to open it and takes the paper out again, waving it in frustration -

Ah. Passing it over that strange tablet seems to have done the trick.

He steps into the room and is somewhat bewildered by what he's greeted with - literally none of this is familiar to him.


[Wandering]

This entire... carriage? It's strange and full of strange people and strange items. He starts wandering, his bag over his shoulder. It has his spellbook - he doesn't want to leave it, just in case. Pretty much every carriage is getting investigated, rom the luggage to the storage. Anything he doesn't understand is getting analyzed as much as he can, occasionally writing notes in the train-provided notebook.

Arrival

[flurryofbeaus]

"Caleb!"

Beau's voice rings sharp and clear over the confused din, and despite her small stature, she manages to give off the air of a humanoid siege engine as she hurries towards the one familiar face she's spotted in this sea of what the actual fuck is going on here. Hopefully there aren't any bruised ribs involved in the process.

She checks her temper as she gets close enough to see his face, and his hands scrabbling at a strangely constructed shirt that matches her own - she underlines the mental note she's already made to kick the ass of whoever decided to change their clothing while they were unaware - and mutters a quiet, "Shit."

This isn't the first time she's seen him on the precipice of panic. It's the first time in a long while. And while she sincerely doubts the strange, scratchy novice gear is the real issue here, fuck it, at least that's a problem that can be addressed.

"Hey," she says, forcing her voice to a steady register, and reaching one hand out towards him. "Let me help. Hands up."

[katzenpfote]

Caleb calms slightly at Beauregard's voice, taking deep breaths and raising his arms for her to take off the strange, stifling thing. He's wearing a strange shirt underneath it but that's less of a problem, and he breaths deeply once it's off of him.

"Th... thank you, Beauregard..." Okay. Okay. Now that the panic has passed, he can focus on their situation. "H... have you seen any of the others?"

[flurryofbeaus]

"No. I would've expected to see Yasha, at least, but maybe whatever dropped us here missed her." Which is - she's not certain whether that's a comforting prospect, or an unnerving one. Yasha being free means the rest of the Nein will find out about their disappearance in short order, but it raises the possibility that the two of them might have been targeted specifically.

She glowers at the soaring wood and stone - the construction is like nothing she's familiar with, though the heat and the frogsong are reminiscent of the island of Vo, or perhaps Urukayxl.

"You recognize any of this?"

[katzenpfote]

It does, at least, leave free the ones most able to track them - scrying having been incredibly useful or them in the past. Still, to grab the two with the most connection to the Empire, as well as the more booksmart among the group...

He doesn't like that thought.

"No, not in the slightest. Nor do I recognize that... carriage over there. Or the material of these clothes, or... anything. And I cannot summon Frumpkin."

There's a faint hint of distress in his voice - waking up and suddenly being in a new environment is something that's happened to him before, an it wasn't pretty. "... I suppose asking around might be the... ah. The first step? Try not to threaten them though." There's a tiny bit o a smile - he has to take his humor where he can get it right now.

Wandering

[azrthmtrnznthos]

"New arrival, huh?" Raven had caught Caleb while taking notes. It wasn't too hard to figure out, since he was someone she hadn't seen before.

[katzenpfote]

He looks up and nods briefly, putting his notebook down. He's been staring at one of the stoves, unsure as to what in the planes this thing is. "Ah... ja. I just arrived today. This place is... very confusing."

[azrthmtrnznthos]

"Too low-tech, or too high-tech for you?" Raven asked; she could probably help. "Has anyone given you the basics of the situation here?"

[katzenpfote]

"I am... more used to magic than this... technology." He's not even really sure what to call it. "We do not have 'trains' where I am from. Someone has given me the basic gist though, ja."

wandering

[darknessinzero]

Caleb finds the blonde man in the library, curiously leafing through some of the pages of one of the books. He looks up as the other enters, then offers a wry smile.

"You have the look of someone just as bewildered as I am at all this."

[katzenpfote]

Oh. Hm. There's something about this man... he mentally shakes himself and nods. "I have just arrived here... on this..." What did the pamphlet call it? "... Train." He pronounces it like it's a foreign word.

And given that the pamphlet appeared to be in Common for him, and he still doesn't really know what a train is, it technically is a foreign word to him.

[darknessinzero]

"Train," Ansem confirms, gentle as he cannot quite place the accent; unsurprising. Nonetheless, it does seem unfamiliar to the other. "As have I- so I am afraid I have few answers, if any. Only what I have been told- still..."

He gestures about them.

"...there is no shortage of reading material. It is my hope that some of them will even hold more answers than questions."

[katzenpfote]

"True. I plan to spend time here... I suspect my..." What should he even call her? "My f - friend will also spend time here. Her order operates out of libraries, after all."

wandering

[blitzcheer]

It's not unusual to see people wandering around, especially not on this day. Tidus is in the middle of checking out a suitcase in luggage, fairly large, a sack of some kind taking up most of the room, while a cluster of bottles and what appears to be two pairs of arm bracers sit tucked to the side.

But he looks up when he senses someone else in there, which isn't anything unusual either; lifting his chin in a nod.

"New? Getting a hang of the different carriages?"

[katzenpfote]

Ah. This looks like the end of the 'train', if the lack of a door on the other side is anything to go by. "... Ja, I am. It's... quite a lot to take in. I suppose it is a good thing I travel a lot, or else it would be difficult to get from one end to the other."

[blitzcheer]

There's a small laugh, more of a huff. "Oh, yeah. Better than it used to be though, now. You been through the cabin cars? They all used to be a long line too."

Lucky newcomers aren't gonna know the travel there.

"You fine with giant spider girls? 'Cause we have one that'll teleport people over to the dining car in the mornings. Shorter travel."

You know. As an option.

[katzenpfote]

"... Giant... spider girls." Uh. Explain?

Wandering/Wildcard

[namethattune]

The discovery that Yondu is installing a 3D printer onboard - one that can print multiple different types of things, provided it has the correct base materials - is exciting, to say the least, and it has given Siebren a project. To that end, he is seated at one of the table seats in the standard car, with a crate of robot parts on the chair next to him and a pile of disassembled components on the table in front of him, neatly sorted into piles - plating, screws, wiring, circuit boards, et cetera. He feels a bit like Senku, taking things apart with nothing but a screwdriver and determination, but it is better to have this done and ready to go than to have to attempt to take something apart in a hurry, and he has the time to invest today.

He pauses in his work and looks up as a stranger approaches. New people tend to share one of several common expressions when they arrive - anger, fear, or curiosity - and this seems to be the curious type. "I take it you have only just arrived?"

[katzenpfote]

He stops suddenly at the table, his gaze instantly drifting to the wire. Normally he might consider just taking it, but even if this isn't a shop he still needs to maintain professional courtesy. He nods at the large man - the height doesn't intimidate him given that he travels with a seven foot tall firbolg. He's less broad than this man, however.

"Ah, ja, I have. Myself and one of my... friends." They're more than that, but that'll work for now. "I... realize this might be a bit presumptuous of me but may I have some of t-that copper wire? I have been brought here with my spellbook, but not the components. I need to start from scratch..." Hm.

"I'm not sure how I can, ah... repay you? But I am willing to trade in something if you need."

[namethattune]

Material components for magic is not an unheard of idea, but it certainly doesn't apply to anyone else aboard the train - not that Siebren knows of, at least. He nods and makes a sweeping gesture over the table. "Help yourself. If I come across any more, I would be happy to set it aside for you." He pauses, thinking. "If you do not mind my asking, what else are you missing? It is possible others here may have what you need already or be able to source it for you."

[katzenpfote]

"I only need a small piece..." He starts poking through and finds a suitable piece that he won't have to trim very much. "I'm missing quite a lot. Many of my spells require a material component. Soot and things like clay or powdered iron or fleece might be easier to get my hands on, but things such as... eh... bat guano and phosphorus might be more difficult to find. Unless I can somehow acquire my component pouch from home..."

Some of that shit was really expensive. The life of a wizard is a broke one.

Wandering

[labcatte]

"Find anything interesting?" the orange and black striped tabaxi asks him. (Well, they look very close to a tabaxi, anyway. A fairly tigerish one.)

[katzenpfote]

He looks up and - oh. He doesn't see tabaxi that often. "Some of these things are fascinating. There was a little closet at the end of one of the sleeping quarters that had some kind of metal tubing sticking out of the wall. It... eh... squirts water, apparently."

[labcatte]

"Oh, the bathroom," they say, with a little nod. "Or, no, that would probably be the shower. I guess they don't have indoor plumbing where you come from, then."

[katzenpfote]

"EH..." He's not totally sure what that means, so... "No. It is not as if we don't have showers, it's just... I am more used to it being water poured over yourself."