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

[gundamofthedesert]

"Oh, this is something from your home?" He'd guess Kree was something from his homeworld as this was not something he'd ever heard of.

"I'll be sure to look through it and see if I can help with maintaining it."

[yondu]

Oh, the weird moment in which he has to consider how much to tell someone as young as Quatre. Talking to an adult about why he knows this tech is a lot easier than talking to someone younger, 'cause he doesn't like putting that in someone's head.

He searches for a middle ground. "Kree have a pretty big Empire back home. Not the most moral of species, but I grew up around 'em an' I learned to use their tech. Now, 'cause it's an Empire an' they were always out to conquer other places, most of their stuff is made to be adaptable. They can settle right into somewheres new.

"That said, I definitely ain't too good to use it. I put up with 'em long enough to earn my piece."

[gundamofthedesert]

"Oh, I see." Quatre doesn't question it any further than that, nodding his head. He might have been able to guess the hidden subtext if there had been enough hints at it, but he wasn't going to read something in there that wasn't implied. So he'll take it as it is.

"That's good their tech is adaptable then. Makes it easier to use even here on the train since there are so many here."

[yondu]

"Not to get all philosophical about a printer, but if the somethin' bad can do somethin' that weighs more in good? Then people oughta consider it. ...Not all Kree are bad folks, anyway. Had a few on my crew."

He decides that the printer is done enough and goes to have a seat and prop up his feet. Just to babysit for a little while in case someone ambles by wanting to disassemble the brand new thing. Hey, its a very real possibility.

"If you need to make any notes for people you could just make 'em inside the book. Don't think it'd hurt none."

[gundamofthedesert]

"Hmm... it's true. Not all from specific groups are bad. Some of our best allies started out against us when the war began."

Yep, he was no stranger to fighting. He certainly didn't look it thought. He sat down in a chair as well with the book flipping through it.

"I can try, but I know there are some people who won't even bother if they can't look at it in one page."

[yondu]

It's always sad to hear, even if he's starting to think that it's a train standard. Kids that come in come from a background where too much was expected of 'em way too soon. He snorts softly at the observation. All this unfortunate wisdom coming from the mouths of babes.

What makes the train pick so many of them?

Anyway, he can't help but agree about the notes. "Well, it's better than nothin' I guess. What did ya do back home? Military?"

[gundamofthedesert]

He nodded. "I'll see if I can condense it to one page so someone can follow along without too much effort."

He looked up at the question. "Currently, I run our family business. But for the war, I ran away from home because I thought that the only way to achieve peace in our world was to fight for it. I disowned myself as it was against my father's belief that peace could be achieved without fighting. It was more of a rebel faction than actual military."

[yondu]

"So I guess you either agreed with 'im later or you turned out to be right, if ya ended up bein' able to go home."

He sits lazily, general demeanor fixed in an easygoing slouch as he's settling in for a good long wait.

"What kinda war was it? What about, stuff you fought with, things like that."

[gundamofthedesert]

"I don't think he ever actually disowned me, just that I did it to myself. And my sisters weren't going to stop me from coming back."

He conveniently doesn't mention his father in that list or what his father actually did. That was not a good memory and he was not proud of what he had done in response.

"The Earth's various military organizations were trying to control the space colonies, at least that's how it started. People were dying for no reason other than they were in the colonies. So scientists began to build the Gundams to fight back against them. One of them was connected to my father so I agreed to pilot the Gundam he was working on."

[yondu]

It sounds complicated. At least he had bigger family to go back to, though. Even if the kid's dad didn't sound all that communicative.

"Well that's real Kree of them." Yondu says with a tip of his head. But a lotta races go through that. Anyway.

"What's a Gundam?"

[gundamofthedesert]

"So that is something the Kree would do? Sounds rather universal, someone wanting to be in charge and injuring anyone they can think of."

It was kind of depressing to think about really.

"A Gundam is a mobile suit... a giant robot that we sat in to pilot. We used them to fight against OZ."

[yondu]

"Yeah, it was. They had a lotta worlds under their control 'cause they was military focused. Had a real bad habit of plowin' through other species to enhance their military, too."

Universal constants were the worst. Even the type spawned from convergent evolution.

"I think I heard other people talkin' about big ol' robots. How big we talkin'?"

[gundamofthedesert]

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's a shame that there always seems to be someone willing to hurt others like that."

He smiled. "I think there are others here who had them back home or at least there were. Sandrock was 16.5 meters... so greater than ten times my height."

[yondu]

"Well, shit! Bet those are somethin' to see in a battlefield. They for groundpoundin' only or can ya take 'em airborne?"

He leans forward, arms folded on his knees. As horrible as his history is, and for all it made him fit to work with groups, he's still a creature of war. It's in his nature to be a hunter, and he's down to hear more about it.

[gundamofthedesert]

"Yeah, they were. At the beginning, they were one of the largest mobile suits to exist. Then OZ started trying to copy them... mostly ground, but they all had thrusters. My Gundam Sandrock and Trowa's Gundam Heavyarms were mostly used on the ground. Shenlong and Deathscythe used their thrusters more often than we did. Heero's Wing Gundam could transform into an aircraft so it was definitely both.

Eventually, they were all modified to go into space."

[yondu]

"Not bad! Not bad. I didn't have to deal with too many mechanized units but I always liked the look of 'em. Just had that big imposin' deal out on the field. I liked it better when I was on their side."

While it is a huge bonus that his arrow is Hull Piercing, it is a major disadvantage that he is very squishy and can be stepped upon. And before he got quite as good at his arrow as he got, he did a whole lotta runnin' from bombs and such. Best he didn't have to run from feet, too.

[gundamofthedesert]

Quatre chuckled. "Agreed. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be fighting against us when we first appeared. At the time, not only were they one of the largest, but they were stronger than any other suits that had been made.

We all had our own methods, but our targets were military installations, not civilian locations. At least that's what we intended. In the beginning, we all pretty much worked alone but we eventually started working together."