A New Platform [Intro Post January]

[voidtreckermods]

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!

Comments

[happyends]

Madoka is very much not used to taking selfies, but she apparently doesn't seem to do so badly on it anyway right now. She manages to smile cutely on both pictures. (Then again, smiling cutely is pretty much Madoka's #1 skill even if she may not realise it herself, so that's a given.)

When the pictures are taken though, she's instead quickly distracted by Tony's last comment.

"Oh..! Yes, of course, I'll go help right away! Please excuse me, mister Stark, mister Ignis!" She quickly bows politely before uprighting herself again. At the very least all of this seems to completely have kept her mind from worrying about the newest intimidating blue team addition for the moment. Maybe taking the pictures even got her a bit giddy, since she glances around for a moment and then drops her voice's volume a little, almost conspiratorial. "Don't tell Evie, but I'll try to make extra big sandwiches for you both!"

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony smirked at that, though he didn't respond. He wasn't sure whether to deny that they were a vow or not, so he left it unsaid. Instead, he closed his eyes and let his mind wander to the soft, comforting brushes of Ignis' hand.

It was curious how something so quiet and serene as this time together could also be so powerful. It spoke to him on a deep level that he could be content with simply resting and doing nothing more in his lover's presence. Sure they hung out quite a bit and there were times he'd read or work on projects while Ignis occupied himself with another activity. But this.. this was new. Neither of them were doing anything other than enjoying the other's company. Was this what Ignis had been needing? It was something simple that Pepper would've liked too. Morgan would've gotten bored after three seconds- that thought alone, curling his lip into a small amused smile.

He opened his eyes and looked up at the man holding him. He felt like he should say something or do something, but nothing came to mind. After a moment of pondering that, he simply closed his eyes again and settled more firmly against Ignis' side. Perhaps he should've fought a little harder to stay awake, but it was peaceful, safe, and warm.

[marriedanidiot]

Nerdanel shakes her head. "You are correct - the Istari are ainur themselves, just... in disguise, as it were. And the Ainur are the powers of the world, the spirits who shaped our world and bound themselves to it, to live as it lives, sustained by it and sustaining it. They are divided generally into two divisions, the lords and ladies of the Valar, those great powers who rule, and the Maiar, those of lesser might in service to the Valar or simply too much a part of the world. We don't have much interaction with many of the Maiar, though, as few choose to take physical rainment to be seen. Some of the more powerful or curious might, and I know my kin in Beleriand spoke of good relations with many of the rivers that bordered their lands. My father was himself apprenticed to Lord Aule, as indeed was I and my husband, in our time, who is the Valar of the Forge and the Mountains, the stone and earth."

[faithfulson]

Luke leaned back as she made the attempt, making a disgusted face himself.

"I don't even want to hear it in jest!" he protested.

[luckybucky]

It takes ever ounce of restraint Bucky has not to say that's nether here nor there. Every last ounce.

"Well, good luck," he replies dryly. "But from what I understand, the train's going to keep you for as long as it wants, and I doubt you'll be able to get anything back before then."

[luckybucky]

He flashes a grin. "Well, why don't you tell me what you like, and we'll see if I can provide," he suggests, shifting a little closer. "I know it sounds like a line," because it kind of is, "but I've never met anyone quite like you." Lucky for him, it's also the truth.

[luckybucky]

He doesn't understand, that's very true, and he wants nothing more than to protect her from the world she describes. Still, that's not where they are, so the best he can do is make sure she's safe and taken care of here.

"Then let's find the kitchen and get you something to eat. Have you ever had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" he asks, offering her his hand.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Ah, I see. The Corporate Sector of a galaxy! Your civilization must be old and experienced, to have carved up a whole galaxy and designated it's sectors for special purposes. Or perhaps, this is a number of different civilizations that have made an agreement?" And naturally, he hasn't heard of her world, never having been to her universe. Nor does he expect her to have heard of his world, for the same reason.

"Mostly desert? Then you don't have to deal with snow and ice, only with heat and dryness. I have heard that the southern regions of my own world are beautiful, but I never journeyed there to find out for myself. What are your deserts like? And how do your people guarantee that they have enough water?"

[so_dark_a_road]

Or perhaps the changes really do occur as though by magic, with the cars coming into material existence instantly but out of the sight of the passengers?

"Nope! Nobody requested the garden car or the new sleeper. Not so far as I know, anyway. The train provides us with a means to give feedback and make requests, but it's only been a day since that was instituted. And it's not clear whether those requests are taken into consideration or not."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin comes close enough to read the text on the front of Prisoner's journal. "Your name is Prisoner? Seems a little impersonal. Do you have any other name than that?" His voice is friendly and inquiring.

Curufin was startled when he first laid eyes on this being, but he's probably less horrified than another person would be. He comes from a world that where strange beings and strange events are not all that strange. If the VoidTrecker brought this person on as a passenger, it's pretty likely that he has some characteristics that make him a good bet as a Void Warrior, and that he'll be willing to help out.

[flatteries]

"Not at all. I haven't even heard of that word before."

Not even on this train, which is surprising. He's heard a lot of things he's never heard of before showing up here in passing while moving around the train. But droids have never been one of those things. He doesn't even think they have anything like that on the train, surely he would've noticed as much by now...

"Although you may find other people who know about them if you would ask around on the train. Everyone has knowledge of different things, considering we all come from very different places."

[sensitiveapple]

Misa looks up at the young woman. "Mistress, what reason would I have to lie?" She asks gently. It seems like this young woman knew the Emperor. Knew him and liked him. That didn't speak well for the woman's taste, really.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Man, you really are a quitter. I'm stuck on a train so I should just give up and wait?" This guy didn't understand anything about anything! "No way. There's too much to be done for one more little speed bump to stop me!"

[faithfulsupport]

He was actually surprised that Tony hadn't tried to change the subject or do something similar when things got too serious. But Ignis was pleasantly surprised and didn't comment further. It didn't keep the smile off of his face either.

It was odd for the advisor too, to be sitting like this. Back home they were on the run from the Empire though they tried to relax whenever they could. He would try and figure out more time to carve out for just this.

They didn't have to talk if they didn't feel like it. They could also talk about whatever if they wanted to. But the stillness and peace were priceless.

Looking at Tony now, he waited to hear something but no words were spoken so he remained quiet. So when his lover snuggled into his side, it wasn't long before he realized his iron knight was asleep. Kissing the top of the dark head, it wasn't long before he too fell asleep.

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis glances at Tony to get his phone back and promptly scowled at the older man. But then he mentions Evie and sandwiches and before he knows it, Madoka is running off after promising extra big sandwiches.

Turning to the older man, there's a look on his face. "Tell me that wasn't some sort of ploy to get her away from us." Because he was enjoying Madoka's company.

[littlepaperbird]

He tilted his head, perhaps a bit flummoxed at the conversation. People needed help everywhere in one way or another.

"Can you not leave, then? It may be a bit of an ignorant question - I feel that if you truly feel that way and you could leave you would have by now."

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony watched with a satisfied smirk as Madoka raced off to make sandwiches with Evie. He remembered what the blue haired woman had said about the girl and knew he was in good hands.

His eyebrows raised in surprise at Ignis' words before settling back into something more amused. "I could certainly tell you that if you'd like," Tony responded. He waved a hand in the direction she'd gone. "Look how happy she is? She loves to help so I just gave her something she was going to enjoy doing. More to the point though, well done with her. You're on your way to being a first rate dad."

[tholes]

He's prepared to wait as long as necessary. Despite the era they both grew up in, Steve does think that tears are okay sometimes, especially in private. She caught him crying once, not too long before he stood her up, so fair is fair. When she's claimed more emotional control, he offers a lopsided smile.

"You look fine." To him. The touch takes him a little by surprise, but only because he's just not accustomed to it anymore. The last few years have been pretty rough. "Apparently I do age, Peggy. Just very slowly."

[democratically]

"Just in the ruins?" As that sounded less than pleasant, especially if his world was overrun with such types. Padmé wasn't naive enough to think that the galaxy was sunshine and happiness. She knew of the dark undersides, of all the different variety of crimes that could be committed by people. Naboo was, thankfully, not one such planet. Or was it simply the ruins that these types tended to conjugate towards?

"Well, there are those who have the ability to use the Force. It's- It's the energy created by all living things, that surrounds us and binds the galaxy." Not that she was familiar with it, as it wasn't something that Padmé could feel let alone use. There were the Sith, although Padmé didn't know much about them, and she wasn't really going to speak of them either. "The Jedi have the ability to use it."

[tholes]

Okay, that is definitely new. Not the powers thing - he's seen enough in a decade of modern life to realize that both his world and other places have people with powers. It's just that the reaction seems to be toward him, and Steve isn't sure if it's just because he's there on the scene. Or something more personal.

So he drops to one knee and peers underneath the bench/bed platform.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle anyone. Are you alright?"

[tholes]

Steve is conflicted. On one hand, he feels like he's right. They are all in this together, even if some of the residents have been there a lot longer - like Tony, no matter how weird that is. (How is this his life again?) On the other hand, it does feel a little like the cracks from the decisions everyone made in Berlin will never heal.

He'll never be sorry for standing by Bucky, but he can regret the splintering otherwise. So he lets Tony go without protest and turns toward his other friend.

"I won't ... chase you down, Buck. But if you ever need anything. Anything at all. Just come find me."

[tholes]

Okay. So you're from here or claiming this as your territory?

[ He gets that much, at least. Although -- ]

What's a Netherworld anyway.

[tholes]

I still do. [ Although more for murdering punching bags than lifting weights. ] Steve Rogers. I fight a lot.

[ And now that they're both standing. ]

Is a modern psychic different from a regular one?

[tholes]

[ You know, Peter, 'Captain America' is just a guy named Steve. Sure, he's also a super soldier but Peter also has special abilities. It's just a matter of age and experience. ]

Great. I'll follow your lead.

[ And stick close enough it could conceivably be called "hovering" once they get there and find tea and cups enough for two. ]

[tholes]

[ Hey, he'll take a hug - as awkward as it is - from a not!dead Tony Stark any day. While they butt heads on a regular basis, or did up until the ... well, everything, and especially the Snap, Steve has never been able to shake the sense of familiarity that Stark brings with him. He's tried very hard to keep his memories of Howard separate from the man's son, but they have a lot in common. Sometimes, like now, it can get a little overwhelming.

So shifting to a slightly different subject is gratefully accepted. ]

Why did you get sprayed by an extinguisher? Were you on fire? Was something near you on fire?

[ These are all legitimate questions, okay? Even as Steve is stepping into the other man's domain. While Tony tidies himself up, Steve takes a look around. The pillow arrangement is odd, but it also might mean there are three occupants instead of four. And he's never been fond of judging people for their personal relationships. Especially ones he doesn't know about -- yet. ]

Oh, jeez. [ His stomach clenches at the memory. ] If it's any consolation, you showed that son of a bitch just how strong humans are.