voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post September]

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

Listen, this has been most of her life, she has thoughts.

"I got dragged to somewhere else. But because of....a lot of stuff, at the end of it, I got a dimensional hopping ability," Razzy said. "I've been on a grand tour of all the worlds people were from with a friend of mine when I got pulled to Diagad."

"Wh- really?" People can just do that? The information has Tidus's eyes widening; then, looking around, he points to no particular part of the train.

"Can you hop outta here?"

Do dimensions and void fall under the same category? Tidus sure doesn't know and hasn't taken even half a second to consider this!

"No," she said and her expression is immediately annoyed. "First thing I tried when I got here and tried a bunch on Diagad. Which is complete bullshit."

....no one watches their language in a murdercave, not even in front of the twelve year old.

"Also tried reaching out for the other avenues of dimensional travel that people already had or made and that doesn't work either. Its annoying. I was perfectly willing to come back! I wanted to help Danny, I didn't need to be kidnapped," she said, crossing her arms.

He's not going to say anything about the language. But he does spread out his hands, a kind of unhelpful gesture, but tone sympathetic.

"Welcome to the train - that's how it works 'round here. Doesn't matter if you wanna be here, don't want to. But that's how it works in other places, don't it?" Right? "Other worlds and...people, that drag you to do whatever elsewhere, where they want you."

So it seems to go when you've had being kidnapped by strange entities happen before.

"I agreed to Sabra. They said it was very important I was willing," she said. "Couldn't go home until the agreement was honored, and there were certainly plenty of people who wanted to leave early."

A lot of people wanted to leave early.

"But at least I agreed to go there. I was going to willingly come here without this whole restricted power nonsense to. I owe Danny a lot, no way I couldn't help him."

"Sounds like a first, honestly." Agreeing. "There's a few folks who say they got picked up elsewhere - by gods, or something else. Had to do this or that for them. Fight, usually." On their behalf.

"...but, hey. Guess if you ever get untethered, you can try coming back? That'd be a first, if it works."

How ever one finds a always-travelling void train.

"Its always bloodshed. Guess its not worth doing if people aren't getting hurt," she grumbled. "I don't think an unwilling person would have given them what they wanted, which might have been why they bothered."

"There'd be a couple of ways too. Especially with Danny here. I already had several ideas before I even left Diagad," she said. "Though now I guess I'm just here until the mission is done or collapses under its own hubris."

There's a scoff, humoured. "Not a fan of getting signed-up for a job you didn't agree to?"

Far from serious, but it's more than people usually give away, maybe. But when you come from a scenario that let you sign-up for what you were getting into, it figures that she would be less than impressed by this.

"I really, really don't," she said.

For all that Sabra was terrible, at least it was made clear just how sketchy it was upfront. She KNEW she was getting into a bad time. She just believed her life experiences would be enough to get through it to get a wish that would be worth it.

Which....well, it was.

Still sucked.

"Like, is it so hard just to ask for help? There's a lot of good people in the multiverse."

"Reasoning doesn't really work with train." Said, with far too much experience. "You can get it to go along with some ideas: adding new carriages, new items to the shop... but for everyone who says they would be happy to stick around and help out? It... doesn't really change anything."

Doesn't change anything meaningful, anyway.

"We've just got to help each other. Which-" he shakes his head some. "You need anything, or wanna ask about something, I've been here a while. I help with Purple Team too. Name's Tidus."

"Reasoning rarely does, at least not without a lot of time or threat of violence that actually matters," she said. There is a lot of experience in regards to that. "Something about the ability to just jerk people around just makes people so unreasonable."

"I'm Razzy Elric. I'm on purple, but....it seems less...together then the teams I'm used to?"

"Train put us in teams," he says with something on a shrug. "To be honest, the team part doesn't matter save for mission times. What you've got for supplies, who's your healers, who can do what. We don't all stick to the same team, and that's not something you want to tell people to do."

He waves a hand. "I wouldn't."

There is a frown at that. A deep frown. "Feel wrong to call it a team," she murmured and shook her head.

"So its just kind of color code what people should be doing, but not really telling them too?"

"Basically." That's what it came down to, didn't it? Tidus raises a hand, his SCA around the wrist. "Day of the mission, this goes off and you get your mission jobs. That's it - that's all the train gives you. Anything else here? Supplies, some organising - that's down to us. We just try and make sure that everyone's got healing and food, and whatever else we can get in. Trying to keep everyone up to date, and spreading info as we get it."

There's a pause, and he adds: "We've tried getting the train to tell us what the teams even mean. Won't do that, either."

"More than likely a mesh of skills and personalities. Probably importance on skills since we don't have to all live together, but the conductor is running under the idea that we're all doing the mission we're assigned. Probably thinks whatever mission was usually get assigned is what we're suited for," Razzy said. "At least, that's how people were put on teams in Sabra. Patterns cropped up quick."

"So they just tell us what to do and put the effort all on us, huh? Really lucky that people are usually good." Because it seems like that'd fall apart real fast if not.

"You know, even that doesn't make much sense. Personalities and skills - you get all sorts in every team. Some can't even go with their own teams because they can't handle it. It's like you said - they're not what you'd call teams. But, we do what we can."

Given the circumstances, and most of them are willing to do the jobs needed. If for whatever reason.

"I'm guessing you're used to fighting, weird stuff- everything it sounds like we do here?" He asks, waving a finger up in a circular motion at the last of what he says. This kind of thing.

"...that can happen at times. Getting a team right everytime is...rare," she said. She never saw it on Lacerta, but she knew it was a problem on other teams.

"I'm more used to weird then what people would call 'normal,'" she said with a snort. "Fighting, saving the day, mindfucks, end of the world situation, and putting in the effort and organization to keep daily life okay. Frankly the fully stocked kitchen is a welcomed surprise."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A New Platform [Intro Post September]

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