voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post January]

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A New Platform [Intro Post January]

On the Train

After a very quiet latter half of the month of Catfish the calendar clicks over. Passengers wake up in their beds as usual to the passenger announcement. "Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of domino.".

Those that have been on board a while know that new months usually come with new people and so the message a few hours later will not be a surprise. "Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void imminent." A lurch and a jolt and they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform.

It will come as a relief that no one leaves this time, no one with packed bags to walk silently towards the barriers.

Added to that the platform itself holds more people then it ever has before. Twenty one figures, all the colours are represented. The ground is icy and their breath pools in white clouds around them.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see if steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles 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 but then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large and it holds twenty one figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. The air is cold, the ground icy beneath your feet. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. 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 into the cold step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. They are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is 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 not be a good thing also it’s very cold out on the platform. The train is warmer.

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. The store rooms have been restocked and it seems that water chestnuts are the month of Domino’s ingredient of choice! Any of orange team who who go to check the luggage cart will find a parcel containing gingerbread snowflakes, decorated with icing. One for each of the orange team, including new members, come share in the reward!

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

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 and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view 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."

Hopefully someone warns you that you really want to heed that warning because a moment later there is 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. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to voidspace!

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That's the first time in a long time, that someone has startled her, but looking up, she's not surprised. It's... something odd. She's never seen what they are before, and the woman holding them... NOPE. That's a boatload of no.

She looks at the thing talking to her. She knows what a book is, she reads enough of them, but how is one talking. "Are you a droid?" She asks. She's never seen a droid that looks like that.

Was everyone going to ask him that question? He is trying to do an investigation here. Since Joss is child, or at the very least looks like one, they Doctor reigns in his sarcastic comments and offers a half smile.

"Not what I got. I was hoping more for something along the lines of what engine's behind this wall but unless it's good ole' Freddy Mercury driving this thing, something's wrong with my Sonic. That's what this is, by the way-" He holds up so Joss can see it. "Sonic Screw Driver."

"What? No. I'm a demon." For all that he was clearly a book, this was his claim! "In fact, I'm Zetta -- the most badass freaking Overlord in the entire cosmos!"

He has no clue about any of that. The courtesan stuff. Though there's a good likelihood he'd understand it if she mentioned. (And then he'd likely be embarrased...that's neither here nor there, though.)

"Shit, kid, if I had a clue, I'd share it with you. That's a question I'd like to know the answer to myself." And by the expression on his face, the person who had brought them there would be very unhappy to be interrogated by this man.

"Just on the train, that seems to be where everyone else is headed," he replies, raising his hands. They're empty, of course--he'd slung the crappy orange rucksack on his back. "We're probably on the same side, assuming the color-coding means anything. I'm just looking out for my own people."

Which does not mean Bran would ignore anyone not on Orange, just some people took priority.

He stops coughing at last and takes in a deep breath. He has words he wants to say and he's going to say them.

"No-it was definitely you. I mean, unless you're like from an alternate universe than me? I mean it was like over a year ago and Cap and Mr Stark got in a fight over something-no one actually told me what. And then I got brought to Germany to help Mr Stark and you tried to punch me but I caught it and as like 'you have a metal arm?' 'cause that's awesome." Excuse him as he needs a minute or two to cough. He really should just not talk his voice is already really scratchy and he's gonna end up with no voice at all if he's not careful.

"And then I like webbed you and Flacon to the ground but his uh... drone thing got me and then some other stuff happened and Uh... I think his name's Ant Man? He got like sixty feet tall and I was like Hoooly shit." He pauses to cough again. "...any of this ringing any bells?"

It had been a good decade or so since he'd heard honorifics, but it still brought a smile to his face. He offered Eva a slight bow, then. He hadn't lived in Pittsburgh for so long he'd forgotten how to be proper.

"I'll do that, I'denno-sama." Okay, he was way too curious and he had to ask. He couldn't help it. "You...have a Pokemon? I'm familiar with them, but only in an arbitrary way, I'm afraid."

"Oh." Naminés expression shifted from confusion to surprise to warmth as she turned and met Ignis's gaze. "I am looking for my Cabin. I'm not sure how its counted or what..." She looked down at the band at her wrist. "-what sleeper four is."

Her gaze returned to his, her bright blue eyes warm and curious. "Do you know? I hope it isn't any trouble."

Her head lifted from the safety of her arms to meet the gaze of someone familiar. She'd met him personally for only an instant on the beach of Destiny Island and then once before that, when she hadn't had a body of her own. He'd been surrounded by darkness but she remembered the feeling of his spirit then.

This was the same man.

"Terra?" Her voice was musical and light as she quickly rose to her feet. She was still feeling a little dizzy but she pushed the wavering sensation away to meet Terra's greeting. "Yes. I didn't know you were here."

She paused awkwardly.

"It's nice to meet you." Formally.

He looks terrible and he feels terrible but is he going to admit it?

Hell no.

"What? No? What is there to even catch." Just ignore the brief coughing stint. He's still not sick. He blinks as there's suddenly a cup of coffee in front of him. He does like coffee, but he likes it mostly drowned out by sugar a cream.

"...Thanks."

Naminé lifted her head from the safety of her arms and peered up at the girl who had spoken to her. "Oh. I'm just-" She shifted and put her feet back down on the train floor so that she was sitting properly in the seat. "-a little dizzy. I'm alright. I just didn't sit down fast enough."

It was her own fault. The train and the bracelets had warned her but Naminé was in such a state of awe and wonder that she didn't always move fast enough to heed the warning.

"It's my fault but thank you for worrying about me." She paused a little awkwardly. She's spoken to others in the past but Naminé was not great at making friends. "I am Naminé. It's nice to meet you."

She smiled. "I like your hair." It was very cute.

Naminé flinched at the sudden touch on her back. It wasn't that it was unpleasant but it had surprised her. She hadn't had a body for very long and she wasn't used to being touch. It was a gentle feeling that blossomed a little seed of warmth in her chest at the car and tenderness of the stranger.

"Nothing." She uncurled from her position and sat up a little straighter. It was the only way she knew how to sit in a chair. "I didn't mean to worry you. I was feeling a little dizzy but I'm alright now."

She paused briefly and then added. "This is my first time on a train."

Misa has finally uncurled herself from hiding. She's starting to let her curiosity take over. If she's as trapped as people say? Well, she's going to find a way out, and find a way away from here. Surely there has to be a way.

She hears the familiar beeping of a droid and follows it and the sense of ~person~ that is near the source of the sound. Her fingers trail along the greenery, glad that there is something here for her to enjoy. She'd enjoy the governor's mansion on Canto Bight, but the man is handsy and that just ruins the fun of it.

She cautiously peeks around a corner, looking for the droid and its master.

"Hello?" She says cautiously.

The train's moving again and back into the void and not Peter's Spideysense is just on. Permanently. Maybe it's just because he's not feeling great. He's sitting in the dining car poking at soup he doesn't want to eat with his spoon because what else is there for him to do?

"Oh god..." He winces as this sense starts to feel more intense, the urge to run or hide building by the second. His sense only continues to scream about a danger he can't escape from but eventually it gets so intense that he just has to move, so he hops up and clings to the ceiling, holding his breath and waiting to see what to do next.

Misa is utterly confused. She's in cabin 3C. That makes sense, but none of the rest of it does. She cocks her head, seeing the seemingly simple hairstyle of the woman in front of her. Well, if the length is there, it would be fun to do her hair. Blinking, though, she realizes she's been caught staring. "I'm sorry, I was admiring your hair."

Misa's hair is caught up in what looks to be a simple style, but Padme would know how many pins are holding it in place.

"I don't know why we're here, either, Mistress." She says with a curtsey. "My name is Misa." She introduces herself, because that's the polite thing to do. She doesn't recognize the senator from Naboo, being as she's from the future.

There’s a small boy on the train who is completely unphased by the presence of a certain Sith Lord on the train. After all, he’s gone on a few murderous rampages of his own. His body count is nearly as high. One monster doesn’t fear another...

...Or so he tries to tell himself as he finds himself face-to-face with a seven foot tall behemoth who is exerting enough evil energy that even his own evilness pales in comparison.

“Christ God,” he swears appreciatively, “who, or what, are you?”

This is not a particularly uncommon reaction, so he gives the child some time. Watches her, helmet slightly tilted to one side to allow him to keep her in view if she moves any closer.

The way she shivers, he would assume a sensitivity to the Force, but her mind is open and dim, no trace of power. The susceptibility explains her reaction, though, in the face of what otherwise feels like textbook defiance. Idly, he looks through her feelings, reaching for impressions and any snatches of thought. It likely doesn't feel pleasant, but that is no concern of his.

"Why is it that I should enter the train?"

"So, no questions?" a cheerful voice asks. He may have to look down--Sarai isn't the tallest of females at 4'9, so she's definitely looking up at the young man.

"I'm Sarai, one of the Purple team leaders." As if he couldn't tell by the polo shirt she's wearing. The garb's still somewhat unusual to her, but the outfit Kumoko had given her was both a gift, and not incredibly practical for train daily life.

"Anyway, if you need any help, I'll be around!" She laughs, tail twitching, and waits for a moment, clawed hands tucked behind her back.

This chore thing is absolutely obnoxious and Dio is having none of it. He could be CLEANING the kitchen but no.

He's on his fifth round of trying to make ordinary muffins without having baked a damn thing in his life. His previous attempts lie cooling on a convenient countertop in various stages of inedibility. Who knows what their destination is.

Dio's attention diverts from his newest baking pan when the entrance opens and a ... a giant frickin crow pokes its head in. Maybe a raven. At the height of a normal human being and what looks suspiciously like one of the forced outfits the train keeps handing out.

The vampire considers this unblinkingly for a solid three or four seconds, stirring spoon clutched in one hand, before POINTING it at Paper. A blob of dough works on oozing off and towards the ground. "You!"

It doesn't sound friendly.

"Muffins! Do you know how to make them!"

Edited 2020-01-02 18:30 (UTC)

"You've just arrived as well then?" Whether the clothing is indicative of those who are new, Padmé can't say for certain. It seems that all who board are more or less the same, at least from her glimpses from the platform. Yet, the attire doesn't seem to vary too much either, other then some personal touches. Or, it varies quite drastically. Those who have been here longer? Something to puzzle out.

Catching his gaze, she does bring the leaflet up. "Has someone give you one? I'm not entirely certain whether I take everything for face value, but it offers a little insight on the matter. I fear it does raise more questions though."

It is not the first time he has been addressed as 'young man' by a genteel humanoid who does not look anywhere close to the right age for it, and he expects it won't be his last, either. He doesn't care for it at the best of times, but when he turns the majority of his turbulent regard against her, he recoils almost immediately upon brushing against her mind. The multimillennial weight of it.

Perhaps she has earned the right after all. Almost shocked out of his anger - but not quite - he considers her with more respect. Still.

"My apologies," he returns, with some sarcasm. "It is regretful that this train included those weak enough to be affected amongst its heroes."

Sarai didn't even attempt to hide herself, though she was definitely observing the man. She was fairly sure it was a male, yes, but most folk on the train didn't have many...extra appendages.

Well. Save she herself, so this was a bit interesting, but he wasn't Hyur, that she could tell, and there weren't others like him on Hydaelyn. Still, she couldn't help but watch. Still, she gave the fellow a wide and respectful berth--he was new, and even at the best of times, the new passengers felt wary, even with a kind welcome.

"I suppose you'll be wanting a cloak at some point?" It's not a teasing question, it's genuine. Sarai knew that in a place where she stood out, she was fond of covering up her horns and scales. "Do you need a foot covering, also? I can see where boots...don't suffice." He might not be on her team, but Eva was a friend of hers. No harm in keeping an eye out for her people, too.

3D. Padmé has memorized that already, although she hasn't quite made her way there. Like the droid, she is investigating, although unlike him, she doesn't process it the same way. Rather, she repeats things to herself, trying to prioritize what should be investigated first.

"Oh!" There is a little bit of surprise in her voice, before Padmé smiles. "Hello."

Which yes, is addressed to the droid, before glancing up to the individual in question. He would appear to be around her age, more or less. "Sorry. Hello to you as well. The droid is yours? I hadn't seen any since entering the train."

Padmé is all for learning new things, but not in the manner in which she has somehow been taken, plopped on a platform, and more or less given no choice in the matter. She's not foolish enough to know that life always goes the way that she wants it to. Life has already shown her that, but this goes beyond the scope of anything that she has experienced.

It's when things seem to settle down again, that she can walk, that Padmé does so. She does pause, one eyebrow slightly arched, hearing the man speak, and she is curious enough to question. "That can be taken rather ominously..."

"I do be wondering what do be on the other side?" A whole world probably, but they had no restrictions on most the worlds they visited so she wasn't sure why they were never allowed off the platform.

"No one did be leaving this time."

It is a curious thing, she decides, the different parts of the train. Some attempt to cover a variety of different features has been made, although a train is still just a train. Padmé has gone through some of the cars, like most others, taking in the new sights in an attempt to make sense of it all.

She does eventually find herself in the rock garden, brushing her fingers over some of the larger ones, but does eventually pause. It is not the appearance that draws her attention, at least no more than in passing, but rather the fact that the being seems to be floating rocks, much like a Jedi. Yet she waits, not wanting to interrupt.

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Page 19 of 89

A New Platform [Intro Post January]

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Re: Platform

The Train

Departure

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departure

Departure

Exploring! - Garden

dining car?

The Train

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01

wildcard:KITCHEN TIME.

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II

On the train

Train

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Rock Garden