voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post March]

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

PLATFORM STOP: MONTH 17
(QUICKSAND)

BEFORE ARRIVAL

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day 1 of the month of Quicksand. Points have been updated on the system."
The voice of the Voidtrecker Express welcomes passengers at the same time as always, sometime after breakfast. With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later, as the colours of the void outside the windows blur more and more.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. The weather is cold and damp. 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.

ON THE PLATFORM

1. THE ARRIVAL

At first, all your character can see is steam billowing around them as they come to their senses. But as their eyes adjust, they find themselves on a platform.
It is cold, a slush of ice and rain on the ground underneath their feet. It's not currently raining though. The platform is made of black cobbles, slippy under their feet, dark stone gates serving as barriers giving the impression of a severe and grim place.

They stand in clothes not their own, in a style they might not even recognise. They're carrying a rucksack on their person, and for a moment it seems to just be them, alone on this platform. Before the fog starts to subside, and they'll see they're one of eleven figures: all facing the tracks, and all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies, the latter in one of four colours. Purple, red, blue or orange.

But then there's a roaring sound to get their attention, and out from the fog arrives a train. A sleek black, it it reads The Voidtrecker Express in gold lettering on the side. Every one of the doors hiss as they open automatically, and out pours a strange assortment of people, over a hundred at least. Some are human, some less so, with a majority wearing the same hoodie of four colours as they do, though some sport outfits in a variety of styles.

The train doors close behind them, and the vehicle is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform. A group of people head towards the gates of the platform, their expressions blank and unaffected by their surroundings. Ansem, Connor, Curufin, Elle Days, Freddy Fazbear, Margulis, Murderbot, Potato, Vexen, Will Stanton and Yota They disappear through the barriers, but no one else can - all people can do is wait until the train re-emerges, finishing whatever changes it's making.

2. BOARDING THE TRAIN

After a short time, perhaps ten minutes or so, the fog clears and the doors hiss open again. Everyone will feel a pull when they do, a need to board, and those from the train may encourage new arrivals to board. This feeling grows into one of apprehension and turns worse the longer they stay off-board.

For those that do board, they may find themselves in a few different carriages, but most likely the standard coach. A row of seats sit available, with a few tables between each. More likely than not, some cookies have been set out with jugs of drink, and cups available for pouring.

For those that don't, however, they're likely to attract attention if they're spotted. And if that fails... an unfortunate end will await them.

3. DEPARTURE

Do a little exploring, if you will. But people will have half an hour total from the train's arrival before a second horn sounds, encouraging any stragglers taking advantage of the fresh air to board. After five minutes from this, the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train begins to rumble with activity, and the platform starts to disappear into a fog as the voidcraft moves. A female-coded artificial voice echoes throughout the train.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express. 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.

ON THE TRAIN

1. EXPLORING

With nowhere to go but through the train's carriages, this is a good time for newcomers to explore. For veterans, it's back to your everyday life aboard the Voidtrecker Express.

¤ New arrivals will notice a screen and console in every carriage sharing the same message, and a stack of leaflets in holders by them offering further information to the curious (see 'Publications'). There are lavatories available on each carriage on one end, with another console with a deposit box under it at the other. This is the train shop.

¤ It'll take some time for newbies to figure out the layout, even if there's only two directions to go in. Go one end, and you'll find the food stores and washing utilities. This month's key ingredient is pineapple, and you're sure to bump into others curious about what's in the stock.

¤ Go to the other end, and you'll find the sleeper cabins. Plaques sit on the wall by each door with the names of their occupants, and one of these will be yours - hopefully, they'll figure out that swiping their ticket against the doorpad will open it up to them. 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.

¤ At the farthest end in this direction is the luggage carriage, where passengers who have bought items from the train shop will find their purchases. There are also medical kits for every one, each labelled with their full roster name. These are scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags, but there's also a small fridge and kettle here with bottled water, for those who want a quiet drink.

For those of Purple team who go looking for their reward they will find simple boxes of cupcakes to share out. There's a cupcake for all of purple team, even the new arrivals, share in your new team's success!

2. ACTIVITIES

But of course, there's also everything in-between those two directions, and the people in them.

¤ Areas of note will be the training gym, where there's always regulars training to pass the time. There's a training board offering services, but maybe you'll find someone who catches your eye in here. Or even its gear?

¤ Is your character used to the appliances to be found in the kitchen? Depending on when your character wanders in, they may find someone testing out a recipe, preparing for lunch, or even dinner time.

¤ The library offers a quiet place, with a fair selection of books from fiction to non-fiction. Is your character interested in learning more about the void? Picking up an action or adventure book? Wow, there sure are a few magazines.

¤ There's also media to consume, from the games car, the cinema, to the arts carriage. Ever played a virtual reality game? Wanted to learn how to fly? Have you seen a screen of moving pictures? There's now documentaries to be found in the cinema's catalogues, from How To programming, Void-related topics, and sports.

3. REST AND SLEEP

¤ Time is difficult to track in the void, even with the few clocks around showing a 21 hour time. But the windows allowing a view of the kalediscope void will shift to a pitch black once the time reaches 12, and keep for the rest of the day.

¤ Breakfast, lunch, and dinner time is usually announced by whoever's cooking that day, and when. Sometimes it's decided by the team chores; other times, it's decided by who wants to be cooking.

¤ But sleep eventually comes to all, even if they don't want it to. When 21 hours have finally passed on the train, all passengers, whether they need sleep or not, will see black - only to start a new day in their cabin beds, with the sound of the train's automated voice greeting them with a 'Good morning' message.

NAVIGATION ~ GAMEPLAY ~ SETTING ~ CHARACTER INITIATIVES ~ QUESTIONS

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"Really?" Well... maybe he shouldn't be surprised. He came across a lot of worlds that didn't have computers. Some had some really incredible people, though! With fantastic cultures. And it didn't mean primitive by any means. Spirituality counted for a lot, and as attached as Hunk is to technology, he knows that a race can be advanced in machinery and primitive in matters of the heart.

"Sorry then. Didn't mean to confuse you. It was a big guardian thing, created to protect the universe with others like it." That's simple enough to understand. "It needed to bond with a person to work right, so it picked me." He likes the yellow lion but why it picked him? He'll never know. It could have been a lot happier with someone more excited for the job... not that the liberation part was bad.

"But hey, at least food's easy to understand between cultures. It's one of the necessities of all species. Even if we can't always eat each other's food, we know that we need it. I don't know where the word came from. But cream puff is way easier to understand."

He probably shouldn't get too inventive with the ingredients yet, even if the temptation to incorperate the pineapple is there.

"It's alright. I've learned a lot about it while I've been here - it's just...different." Robot-based worlds are still kind of weird to him, in a way he'll never be truly comfortable with, but he doesn't need to say that to anyone from a robot-based world. "Why did it need to bond with you?" There are a number of aspects of Hunk's world that just aren't clicking with his understanding - that one's just the most easily accessible.

"Cream puffs," he repeats. That is easier, and he'll take it. "Okay. You said you wanted to put the pineapple in them?" Given that Ryo's only experience with pineapple before today had been a warning not to put it on pizza, he's definitely willing to watch and learn here.

"It had something important to do to help people and it needed someone. And I think it needed someone that wanted the basic things it wanted. I've been sort of wondering if that's why I'm here, too. It's a pain in the butt, but it makes it easier if the train had something important to do, and it really does need us for it."

Cooking, though? That's way easier to deal with.

"We can do the chocolate recipe first. With the pineapple puffs, we'd make a pineapple filling to use instead of the cream. We succeed at the chocolate one and then we move up, right?"

He tries so hard not to look uneasy as Hunk talks about what the train wants, but he doesn't entirely succeed. Not after the fiasco with sending them home. "The train had a crew before us," he says, trying to ease into it. "They went missing, and it wants them back. That's part of why it brought us on board. The other part is, it doesn't really get to choose - there's something else driving it." A pause, as he tries to figure out how to connect the dots in a way that makes sense to someone who's been here for six hours instead of six months, and then: "How smart was your lion robot, back home? Did it think for itself?" Probably, if it was choosy about partners, but he can't assume anything about another world.

Except that maybe Hunk's world had pineapples and also cream puffs, if he's this confident. "So, half and half, then?" A beat. "I mean, I've never seen these before, and the only thing I know about pineapple is that someone told me not to put it on pizza, so I'm following your lead."

That context problem again, but from the other side. Hunk has the Castle of Lions and Voltron as a reference, but as much as he complains technically, even if he was chosen, he did willingly become a paladin. It might have been out of necessity.

"Smart, but it still needed someone to control its finer functions. It could occasionally run in on its own, short actions like a recovery or to shield someone from a blow, but it couldn't fight or form Voltron on its own. It needed me. It also missed it's last Paladin."

Which he's glad the man's soul finally found rest, but he knows part of him remained a part of the Yellow Lion. Maybe a part of Hunk would to, in the way attachment to the Lions goes.

"Important but completely unrelated to mechanical intelligence question. Have you ever tried sushi? Because they're delicious as a desert for sushi."

Ryo can't help but draw the parallels here. Hunk bonded with a machine that could think enough to remember its previous crew but not be self-sufficient, and now he's here, dealing with another one. He nods. "The train thinks, but not really. It brings people in because something else is making it, and it does its best to take care of us, but it doesn't actually think like a person, or know. It does listen to us, and it learns, so that's something." He doesn't know nearly enough about robots in general to know what that says about how the train was made, but he at least knows that much about how it works.

He pauses - this isn't the first time he's been asked about sushi. "I haven't, but I've heard of it. It's more of a port city dish, isn't it?"

An exasperated look crosses Hunk's face, but it's not really an angry one. Because last time the lions were really needed. He sometimes fantasized about someone more fit, more willing to take on the role of paladin being chosen in his place, but also didn't regret his service.

He's not delighted over it. But maybe he should give her a chance, right?

"It sounded like I won't always have to fight. At least according to other people."

But he dusts off his hands and gets to dough prepping. "In my time its an everywhere thing, but it is more popular if you're closer to the ocean and can get fresh fish. And you guys just got a load of fresh fish. Are you willing to try raw fish? 'Cause I know some rolls that use cooked salmon if you don't think you're ready for that." He is already one hundred percent planning on cooking him something.

He doesn't miss the look, but also doesn't comment. Everyone handles arriving on the train differently - no sense in calling attention to it. "You won't have to fight at all if you don't want to," he says instead. "Mission tasks are assigned by color, but you don't have to go with your team - you can pick what's best for you. Orange team gets a lot of computer tasks, so I usually go with Purple or Blue depending on the mission."

He moves the box with the muffin and cinnamon roll ingredients to a different counter, out of the way, and heads back to prop up the recipe card, keeping an eye on it and on Hunk and doing his best to follow along. "I guess? I mean, is it good raw?" He doesn't know what preparation goes into making sushi - he's thinking of fish straight out of the river, and he's caught enough of those for the idea not to be appetizing.

"Yeah, I think I'll probably go low conflict where I can. I really prefer fixing things." Or cooking and bringing people together. That's nice, too.

"Salmon is good raw, if you prepare it right. It's not like you take a bite directly out of the fish or anything. Unless there are bears on board that'd appreciate that sort of thing. Are there bears on board? There are talking cats so it seems plausible there might be bears on the crew."

Woops, slipped off on a little bit of a tangent there. Back on track. But you know, it is strange that he's in a place in his life where this feels like a pretty reasonable diplomatic knowledge to have and ask about. "If you have any recipes from home, I could try and pick them up. I love learning about other people's food."

"You'll definitely want to go orange, then." Generally speaking.

He's not entirely certain Hunk hasn't read his mind just now, but it definitely addresses what he'd been worried about. "Oh. Okay." That makes a lot more sense. "I don't really do a lot of cooking like this at home - it's mostly campfire cooking." He and Endon manage well enough over a campfire, but he's not going to pretend it's anything near the recipes that the train provides them.

A beat. "And I'm pretty sure we don't have any bears anymore." Pretty sure. "We do have a dragon, but he prefers chicken." He says it like it's a completely normal thing to say, because once you get to know Jingyi, it is.

"Oh man, there are wizards and dragons and talking animal friends. And at one time there was a bear and I missed it." He pauses his stirring just briefly basking in the whole idea of there being a ton of really cool things that he wishes he could show his friends. It's been a while, but it's a case where you haven't spoken to someone in a while, find an internet link that perfectly reminds you of them, and have no way to send it. That is the feeling he's having now.

"Are there ninjas? Keith would have definitely wanted to meet ninjas. Even space ninjas." Different space ninjas to the ones he hangs out with.

There's half the thought that Lance would probably get his butt kicked a lot but... he's not been like that for a long time. Allura changed him. And he's never fully recovered. But okay he's gonna get back to stirring.

Edited 2022-03-07 08:56 (UTC)

"To be fair, I think it was a robot bear? And it just left." For whatever that happens to be worth. They're also missing a few of their wizards - he still misses Caleb and Essek - but they've been gone for a while, and he doesn't bring that up. They'll find them again eventually and bring them home; until then, he needs to keep looking forward. "But there are other mages, and gods, and all sorts of people, and most of them are friendly." The less said about Kabuto, the better.

He does have to turn that question over in his mind. He only vaguely knows what a ninja is thanks to the stories in the cinema car, and he's pretty sure they aren't accurate to most worlds (or possibly any world). "Maybe? You'd have to ask."

"Aw. A friendly robot bear would also be cool." Even if it didn't eat salmon.

"Yeah, I mean... I've noticed. Most of the people are really friendly here. Even the ones that aren't happy to be here. And the ones that are mad aren't usually 'dangerous' mad, just the usual 'oh better give them some space' mad."

Because Hunk's been trying his best to see the good in a bad situation, and the best in the people around him. And for the most part, they've been very nice. But for some reason he sounds a little sad when he says it, considering the stability of their situation.

"Are they actual gods or like... people that are people that got mistaken as gods? Because if they're actual gods that's really gotta suck for someone. Alright, preheat the oven and I'll start putting these bad boys on a baking sheet."

"For the most part, the people who're mad here are mad at being here at all, and space generally is the best option." He shrugs, takes another look at the recipe card to get the right temperature, and heads over to the oven. (The fact that there is a "right temperature" that isn't just "hot" is still a little mind-blowing to him, even though he's gotten used to how the ovens work.)

He pauses as Hunk speaks again. "They are actual gods, it is rough on their worlds, and please don't ever mention that to Thanatos." It's insight on Thanatos's mindset that he probably shouldn't be giving, but it's not like Thanatos hasn't talked about it himself, and Ryo doesn't want Hunk to wander into that particular issue. It would hurt them both, and it's best to avoid that.

"No problem. To be honest I'm probably too afraid to talk to gods anyway." If he knows what they are, anyway. "I get nervous easily and might not be able to get my mouth to work."

Though he is idiot enough that he might try to randomly warn Zagreus that his feet are on fire just to be sure that he knew. Though in actuality, if help was needed and food could be offered, he'd be fine with it.

"Not that they're bad people or anything," he adds quickly. "That's just like the extreme of speaking in public with the entirety of public being One Person." And he can do that. You know, it's just a big new thing you'd have to get jazzed up for.

He can understand that sentiment, at least. Persephone had been kind to him to start, he'd gotten over his nerves with Thanatos when it became obvious that Death Incarnate needed help, and Zagreus...well, Zagreus is Zagreus. He sets the oven to the correct temperature and turns back around, offering Hunk a smile. "Well, I can either introduce you to them, or I can not point them out at all and let you meet them all by accident. The train's not very big - you will meet them eventually."

"I mean, I guess? It's always easier to meet people through someone else, right? Do gods like deserts?" Are pomegranates too much of a loaded fruit? He could make pineapple pom crisps. Those would go over well, right?

He doesn't know. "I'll give you a piece of duct tape that you can slap over my mouth if you need to." He jokes a little bit, using a pastry bag to form little dots of batter on the baking sheet. It's then that he moves to the side, carefully guiding Ryo into the taking the bag from him so he doesn't accidentally drop it.

"Now do little spots of batter about that far apart. They'll grow as they bake." He's sure Ryo's got this if he can already do the other things he mentioned.

Introductions it is, it sounds like. "They do! Persephone likes honey, and she's made...um...it's small, and it has lots of honey and nuts..." The word he can't remember is baklava. "Um- anyway. Thanatos likes baked goods, though you may have better luck offering to share them with him and Mort, and it's always good to have Mort on your side. And Zagreus will eat anything - he's easy to please and very friendly." There are other gods on the train, but Death technically isn't one and he doesn't have much to say about Elidibus, so he'll stick with the three he knows well.

He watches Hunk pipe the pastry onto the sheet - that's new - before carefully accepting the bag himself. "Okay." He does a few, slowly and carefully, before looking back up at Hunk for approval. "Like that?"

"I can make a lot of things with honey and nuts." Honey pecan pie, baclava, honey and walnut baked salmon, french toast squares... Surely there's something. He nods approvingly, though. Leave it to Hunk to develop some god-feeding anxiousness. Because he likes a challenge, but you know... Gods... and stuff.

"Yeah, that's right. And as long as you remember the spacing you should be good to go." It seems like Ryo is familiar with dough expanding. In the meantime he can help him get set up with the cream filling for after they're done.

"Who is Mort?"

"Okay." He turns his attention back to the sheet and continues piping, with a bit more confidence now that his attempts have been met with expert approval. The pastry dots are still carefully spaced - he knows a thing or two about operations that require precision. "How many do we need?"

He blinks at the question - he probably should've seen that one coming. "Mort is Thanatos's Chthonic Companion. He's a little stuffed mouse, except he's also alive." Despite Thanatos's insistence that he doesn't have life powers. "He's very protective of Thanatos, and he loves snacks."

"I'd just fill it up until you either run out of batter or run out of room. If you have the materials for it, it helps a lot to have extras just in case you mess up."

Especially if someone's still learning. The worst that can happen is someone has to eat the ugly mess ups. Of course you have to take a picture first if it looks goofy terrible, but if you can't then you bask in failed delicious glory.

"So like a hellhound, but a plush mouse? Right?"

That's the correct takeaway? He thinks?

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A New Platform [Intro Post March]

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