voidtreckerexpress | A NEW PLATFORM [INTRO POST JANUARY]

A NEW PLATFORM [INTRO POST JANUARY]

On the Train

Despite whatever Voidtreckers may have learned or how they feel about those revelations - or reminders - of the precariousness of their situation, the train flies ever onward.

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Poi. 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. The weather is dry but there is a chill to the air and a strong breeze." 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. Dairine, Okada Izō, Rapunzel, Satoru and Siebren; 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 thirteen new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours and 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 long with a grassy mound behind them. It is blustery and the air is cold, they will be glad of those hoodies.

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, windy platform; then the fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

Thirteen figures, 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'). The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, with cans of corned beef lining the shelves.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. Those from purple who go to find their prize will find a large box containing a gingerbread train for them to share. Plenty enough to go around, even for the largest team.

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.

Snow Time: Rock Garden

Winter seems to have followed from Osiga and nested in the rock garden. There's a chill that nips in the air and a light snow (real snow) fills the air. A thin cloudy haze at the top of the carriage seems the source. Yet the kaleidoscope of the void will assure that this is no timely world stop.

People might have seen it occurring the night before. Snow falling heavy before tapering off with an odd precision, leaving a heavy blanket over the carriage 'ground'. By morning of Platform Day, a miniature winter has descended, ripe for snowforts, snowballs, angels and snowmen.

It's not just the climate that's changed. Many statues and rock features are missing or moved. Digging below the snow reveals soil now frozen but providing a barrier between the bare floor of the carriage. Keen eyes will see changes are made with safety and available space in mind. The fountain has been emptied but the pond and streams are frozen solid, allowing intrepid spirits to try slide-skating over the surfaces without the risk of breaking through. The mosaics are still around, and enchantments are in place to protect paintings and paper decorations from damp. Any plants have been sent to sleep or taken to safety.

The benches are still around. Paths and bridges are covered with fresh snow, but, as the day goes on, it's trampled down and or scattered. Najaran's woodfolk may be glimpsed near Jingyi's shrine or hiding in the shadows of rocks and statues still present, perhaps even buried in the snow and peeking out. Shy around humans, though those with pointed ears or Hylian lineage may find an easier time interacting.

There are signs on both doors of the carriage warning of the change and mentioning the dressing carriage will have winter gear, and it does: with hats, scarves, gloves and ice skates in a variety of sizes. Dispensers with warm drinks such as coffee, hot chocolate and hot water for tea are available in the Games Carriage.

Early the next day, the snow will be gone and the gardens returned to how they once were.

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

Resuming Control - Standard Car

After the usual platform situation, this one with its own unique emotionally barbed circumstances, Yondu's sitting in the standard car with his assortment of training handcuffs, made from clear materials so he can teach with them, all from worlds he's familiar with but varying in complexity enough that they're good practice for what they might end up coming across. He's at one of the booths using a self-made lockpick he's working away at one with a magnetic connection the circuitry inside visible as the clamps loosen and fall open. It's the only way he can feel in control of his situation, with tiny little motions like picking a lock or collecting information to dump at the feet of potential allies or picking fights he knows he's outclassed for just to pick a pocket or plant an item.

New people might notice that he's one of the people who doesn't wear a train uniform, but rather personalized leather gear. He usually wears his coat even if he is in the train uniform (and it's for everyone's benefit 'cause as a Centaurian and a Blue Team member that'd just be too much blue).

He stops what he's doing, setting down the current set of cuffs he's working on and reaches for his cup of coffee. His persistent distant look is shaken into an offended startled sneer as he lifts it to his mouth and discovers it disgustingly cold, muttering a quiet, "Shit," under his breath, and shoving the still full cup off to the side. He doesn't feel like going and getting a new one. To hell with it.

General - Around the Train

It's a mood that he has for much of the day, just little random motions to keep up on his practice. He spends time in the greenhouse, plucking altered peppers from a tree and warns anyone that comes near them, "Careful around those, get 'em raw in your mouth you ain't gonna taste nothin' for a good while." That willfully weaponized thing is hyped up to the strength of a ghost pepper.

Later he's hanging around the training car, mundanely trying to throw objects up high into the air and whistle his arrow in loops around it when its in the air, doing his best to stay out of anyone's way with it. But he's distracted, and when he atomizes a stolen tennisball with his vicious murderstick he mutters a little, "Welp.... woops."

Or even later he's sitting in the library, trying to read his new book on void metals and then just slowly melting down the seat in a magnificent failure of posture as his overstressed cynetically strangled brain refuses to retain information unless he reads it a minimum of nine goddamn times. He's frustrated (a commonality for a bunch of people right now) and tired and bitchy and all the things that are generally normal for him. But hell, at least he's been sleeping full nights again, so he's gotten that back. Woohoo.

He tries to remind himself that nothing is truly certain yet. That they know what should or could be happening to them, not what is happening to them, and he's proof that some of those things can't be happening to them. That there are deviations from the rules and options for all of them and he's tried to say as much in his clumsy way. There has to be fixes. And even with the worst-case scenario, people on the train have the means for a correction even if they have to go through a life-renewing crewmate to get there. The old Ravager continues to come up with every other possibility 'cause he can't keep losing people, and he's going to violently fight against that sense of helplessness that he let eat him for far too damn long.

Jake's still reeling from that winter display when he finds Yondu seriously a work again. So many cuffs. So intricate, so challenging...he plops right down to check it out.

"Hey, are we doing escape drills now? You don't waste a second with the new recruits."

"Eh, people get bored quick here. Need somethin' to pass the time." He makes light of it, sitting back and sliding a pair of the Nova Corp cuffs across the table to Jake. "Have at it."

He muses out loud, then. "Sure wish I could get my hands on some of that Ministry tech that the Inspectors had. But I think that's askin' a little too much of our new buddies."

"Okay. So do I just slap 'em on like I'm Houdini? Or. I should work the mechanism while they're off first."

As much as he's a genius, he doesn't want to push his luck too much. He gets to work, poking and squinting at it...but the words do catch his attention.

"Which tech did you want?"

Yondu Udonta | OTA

standard

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At the Library

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Re: At the Library

Training Car

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Garden

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Library

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Standard Car

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Training Carriage

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Library

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