voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post September]

On the Train

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Nebula. 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 doors open. As usual, those who leave first notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. A-Qing, Atem, Beauregard Lionett, Casper LeBlanc Jr, Donatello Versus, Frankie Bacon, Ichiban Kasuga, Kumoko, Lena Sabrewing, Mami Tomoe, Mono, Peter Parker, Reno, Shi Qingxuan, Tobari, Wen Ning; all pass across the platform, not looking back. And then they're gone, disappeared 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. The platform is open to a bright blue sky, speckled with a couple of clouds. It's very warm, enough that they will not want to stay in those hoodies for long. Behind them through the fogs is a set of barriers, set in a brick wall and in front of them is a single set of tracks extending both ways into that same 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 on the foggy, blistering hot platform; then the fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, but it is enough to hold the 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, perhaps ten minutes or so, 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'). They will also find a bunch of posters around the train and might notice the new clock in the standard coach.

The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, the ingredient this month is a strange meat, yaddon tail.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. There is a box labelled for purple team containing a stick of rock for each member of purple team, including those who are new. Join in your teams success!

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. In most rooms, the occupied beds are obvious, leaving the spotless, empty spaces for the newcomers. 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 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Mm. And Nina can usually heal things after battle... I bet she's the one who healed up my shoulder." Unless he healed it himself? Everything's fuzzy from around the middle of that battle.

"... Ah -" He turns his head away from his injured shoulder, wincing in pain. "Ow... this way hurts..."

"Its possible. Healers are pretty fast," she said. And she's used to healing magic not doing it all the way.

"Huh? Oh, right, sorry. Yeah, it stings. It means its killing things that could get you sick though," she said. "And need some pressure to make sure it doesn't bleed too badly when its open, but doesn't cut off circulation."

On the other hand, she is very well practiced at this.

He doesn't question her, just winces every so often. He's not sure what 'killing things that could get you sick' means, or what 'circulation' is, but she seems to know what she's doing.

"Ah... okay." He goes silent other than small noises of pain as she works.

She is careful to not make it too painful, but sometimes that's what happens.

But she is efficient, getting it cleaned, some stuff to help it heal, and wrapped up. "You should change this at least once a day. More if you bleed a lot," she said.

She then grabs his hoody and focuses and there's a crinkle in the air as she puts a light layer of frost on it. "Put that on. It'll help with your bruises while I look for cold compresses. That frost will be gone in a few minutes anyway."

He looks at the hoodie and frowns, putting his shirt back on before pulling the cold hoodie on as well. Ugh. Cold. He hates the cold.

"What's a cold compress?" The two words together don't make a ton of sense to him.

"Its like this thing you can usually strap onto a bruise and stay there a while. It helps with the swelling and pain," she explained.

He nods and shivers a bit, resisting the urge to tear the thing off of him. "O... oh. I'm I'm just not... good with the cold."

Razzy paused. "Like...elemental weakness not good, trauma, or just hate it?"

"... Elemental weakness. And I just hate it." So yes, no, and yes. "This level of cold won't hurt me, I just... don't like it. At all."

"Well, that's a problem for treating bruising," she said. "The weakness could negate the help it might do..."

He shrugs. "I... we usually use magic. So it doesn't matter... but Nina isn't here."

"There may be magical healers on board," she said. "But its also dangerous to rely only on magic. There's too many things that could negate power. But physical treatment is a lot harder to do without things getting really weird"

"Why would magic be n... nug... negated?" He's pretty sure he knows that word. It at least means 'no'.

"There are a lot of reasons," Razzy said. "Usually a stronger power repressing it, but there's devices, or like radiation, and probably so many other things that do it. I've seen a lot of very powerful beings get cut off at the knees when it comes to abilities, including literal gods and demons. But basically, it pays off to not rely on power too much."

She is going through the supplies with a thoughtful look. "Biggest thing is swelling...there should be ointments..."

"I'm... okay. Really. They didn't hurt me that much." He's going to pretend he understands half of what she's talking about. He's doing his best.

"I really don't... think you need to go through all of this trouble."

"Its what someone of Lacerta does," she said, pulling out some vitamin K ointment. "Okay, this should help reduce the swelling. After that, we can put on a heating pad and that should help the blood that's already trapped."

"... And then that's it?" This has all been a little overwhelming and he kind of just wants to curl up from all of the attention. He's used to some kinds of attention, but being fussed over is kind of new.

Newer.

"For now. You should rest a few hours, let your body heal, and then check how things are after," she said.

He nods and then looks away. "You... you're a kind person. We don't even know each other but you're going through all of this trouble..."

"That's what people do. Sometimes the world is cruel and harsh and sometimes kindness isn't something people can afford," she said, bringing over the ointment. "Get your front. I got your back."

"But if people can afford kindness, most will choose it. I met my brother that way. Something terrible happened to Lacerta and the next thing I knew, a lot of people went out of their way to help us." Reviving a dead team was not a cheap task. Despite a frankly traumatic time, the amount of people she saw helping them when she was alive had shaped a lot of how she saw the people of Sabra, even when kindness couldn't be afforded.

It was a lesson to judge people when they had a choice versus the worse situations.

He takes the ointment and starts to gingerly put it on his bruises. "I know a lot of kind people... but I also know a lot of people who want to capture me. I want to believe that they're the different ones. Not everyone from the Empire can be like that..."

A New Platform [Intro Post September]

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