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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"It is kind of... weird that you got sick," Luke agreed, carefully peering over at him. "How is that even possible? We're literally in the middle of no where; it's not like a virus can project itself through the void and worm its way through the train."

"This?" The Doctor held his screwdriver up a little higher. "It's a sonic screw driver." He explains easily. "Good for all sorts of things except for, I guess, getting off this wall." He growls lightly before collapsing it back down and storing it in his pocket.

"So then, what do we think? Dodgey train traveling through the void? That's a bit concerning. Less so if whoever is doing it actually knows how to travel the void but I'm not much a fan of the kidnapping passengers bit."

"Sorry, sorry!" he pulls himself away from her as quickly as possible, and when he sees the barrier he backs off even more, until he hits something. "Are you okay?" Was she trapped? He wasn't sure what to make of her barrier, except that touching it was probably a bad idea.

Luke bit his lip, taking a step back.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, looking down at his own hand. He guessed it wasn't that much of a good thing, considering the... everything that was the Battle of Yavin. He took a breath, planting a smile on his face as he closed his metal hand into a loose fist.

"My father needed to remove it," he explained softly. "My ship had been damaged, and my arm was pinned -- mangled, really. If he hadn't cut me free, I would have died."

Huddled in her cloak and cowl up, but when no further attack came Raven let the shield dissipate. Her hand still up, dark-energy still ready. But his reaction.... "I'm...alright." Hesitantly, watching him for a moment, before she took stock of herself. "I'm alright. I've had worse hits. Glad it was an accident."

Finally dropping her hand, and the energy. Cowl up, blue cloak over purple-and-black train uniform. "It takes a bit to get used to the train's movement sometimes."

New Passenger

The fog was eerie but not entirely unsettling. It was unexpected and unfamiliar but Naminés has had some knowledge of other worlds, even if this was the first time she'd traveled to another place in her own body. It felt different: cold. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her slender frame. It was only then she noticed that she wasn't wearing her white dress anymore.

Her fingers tugged at the hem of the orange hoodie just as the fog began to fade. She had no idea where she was and she was surrounded by strangers.

Naminé pulled her hood up and went back to wrapping her arms around her torso. The longer she stood in the cold the more nervous she felt. This was a train, like the one in Twilight Town. Where was it coming from and where did it go? She tried to look at what was around the train but she couldn't see beyond the platform.

Questions rose around her, mumbled from the others on the train platform, but Naminé didn't have any answers. She tried to step back but lightly bumped one of those standing with her. "Oh. I'm sorry."

The Train

Naminé Stared at the train as it rolls to a stop in front of the group. The doors opened and people began to enter the train. It took Naminés wrist to yell at her before her feet finally took a few steps forward. The train was warmer than outside and despite the large clusters of people she felt the tension release from her shoulders.

She was uncertain but she took the time to read the message on the ICP and then take one of the helpful pamphlets. Naminé stood there for a fair amount of time, occasionally stepping to the left or right to move out of someone's way. The leaflet was helpful and when she was done reading she put it back.

The only thing she could think to do next was find her cabin and possibly meet whoever she'll be rooming with. She's never had a roommate before or bunk beds or much of anything.

It was a little exciting.

She made her way to Cabin B and hopefully sleeper 4. Naminé didn't actually know what the sleeping arrangement numbers meant. She looked a little lost but at the same time, she managed to slowly move in the correct direction.

Departure

She wasn't close enough to a seat when the warning echoed over the trains speakers and the sudden movement sent Naminé tumbling rather comically to the ground. She rolled a little before coming to a stop.

Lights danced in front of her eyes as she pushed herself to a more comfortable seated position. As the train steadies Naminé remains seated on the floor until she can trust herself to stand. She blinked and glanced outside only to feel another wave of dizziness come over her.

She stumbled into a seat that was hopefully unoccupied and curled her legs to her chest.

Naminé has heard stories about the different travel between worlds and has seen some of it herself. The gummy ship that Rikku had used to pick her up. But that wasn't on a track, it wasn't a train. The worlds aren't supposed to be connected. Did this train connect them or maybe it's just able to travel without those connections? Was something breaking as they traveled through this void of space?

She didn't have any answers to her questions and she didn't have the stomach to try to investigate. So she kept herself curled into a ball and waited until she felt like everything was steadying.

A Wildcard

[ooc: Feel free to pop in at any point of any of these posts. I sort of just did a block of what she's doing unless she's interrupted. I will match tenses if you want and if you want something that isn't this let me know! I plan to have her exploring everything. She'll be cleaning with team orange and likely want to learn how to do as many things as possible. She can also be found looking for art supplies eventually.]

"I guess. No one I know has shown, but that doesn't mean you'd be bereft. Especially since yeah, you got May." Renee nods at that, though she frowns more than a little when he coughs again. She's really not sure about all of this. Not when he sounds so sniffly.

"Do you think you--wait. Here, you put this on." She yanks her hoodie off--Renee's not completely immune to the elements, but she can handle being cold for a little bit.

"I'll go get you some tea and another blanket, real quick, and you scope for familiar new faces, okay?"

Whether he agrees or not, Renee will head back into the train to do as she's stated, and come back eventually with said tea and blanket.

I. Platform

The hitman was less interested in meeting new people so much as he was checking out the new train station. After everyone else exited the train and begun to mingle with the new passengers, 47 walked out and headed straight for the opposite end of the platform. With everyone else busy he knew now was a good time to make his own observations about the place they had arrived.

The station was clearly a different one from the last. The exit had a strikingly differing look from the previous stop and the stiles of a completely different design. But what 47 was truly interested in was how the passengers were blocked from leaving the stations when they came to them.

47 attempted to circumvent the turnstiles by vaulting over them, crawling beneath them, and even attempted to break one. All his efforts were in vain as no matter what he tried he couldn't get past a certain point. Almost as if there was an invisible force preventing him from making any leeway. Then there was a moment of stillness as 47 contemplated a more drastic measure to produce an exit.

The thought must have been discarded because eventually the bald man turned away from the barriers and gazed over the crowd on the platform. He still wasn't interested in meeting the new people but observing them wasn't out of the question. He was good at that and eavesdropping on conversations, too, was a staple way for him to gather information while in the field. It certainly wouldn't hurt him to "get to know" his fellow train passengers while he was stuck here with all of them.

II. Back on the Train

47 headed back to the train well before the departure from the station. He had observed a good deal of the new passengers and gleaned what little he could from the station platform itself with his investigation. Which was to say there wasn't anything new to really know about how the barrier at the train stations actually worked (though he had an idea or two for the future). But the passengers were easier to read. He had a mental list for everyone already, some with more bullet points than others. His memory was pretty good so he would never bother to write any of it down so that wasn't on the list of activities for today.

Instead, he simply wanted to find a quiet place to sort through his mental lists while the new passengers acclimated to their new surroundings. He knew they would be exploring. Despite the train having a designated quiet carriage, 47 actually preferred the rock garden. When the book wasn't making an annoying show of posturing, that is. He headed that way first, not in the least bothered by the rocking as the train began its departure, not even missing a step as he walked through the carriages.

III. Wild Card

[[Interrupt 47 anywhere you like. He'll wander around the train a bit as the day goes on. He's not really avoiding people so much as ignoring those that don't address him (like you do in public with a bunch of strangers at the store, etc). If you catch him in the kitchen he may be making a decent looking and wonderful smelling meal for himself. If you ask really nicely--]]

47 was beginning to get used to the little pink ball of fluff wandering around the train. The creature's vague resemblance to a rabbit was starting to cause old memories to surface though and 47 either spent minutes staring blankly at the pokemon or did his best to avoid it completely when he spotted it from afar.

This time he had a plan for the creature when he saw it next. There was something in his hand as he approached the animal and it most definitely smelt like food. He knelt down in front of the pink-furred creature and held out his hand for it to sniff.

"Yeah, guilty as charged!" She chuckled a little at that. A flick of her fingers and Renee called the rock to her hand, though she was careful to not make it a threatening gesture. It wobbled a bit, but the rock swerved around Paper and came to rest gently on her hand.

"Not sure we're doing the same thing, though you've got some good tricks! Sorry for being rude, but what are you, anyway?"

Amery looked up, immediately doing a double-take. Then he froze, staring at the other man for a long minute. "I could say the same," he managed.

He'd never met anyone who could come so close to passing for himself before in his life. He didn't know what it meant, or if it was some kind of trick or joke. He did know that it was unsettling and left him shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

He sniffles again and then tries to locate a tissue he might have stuck in a pocket somewhere before he takes the offered hoodie-now wearing two and not really feeling any warmer. He's shiver if he was any good at thremoregulation.

"Yeah, okay." He agrees, sniffling again right before coughing again. He should really just go sit down somewhere but he's not sick. He'll be fine. What was even around to get him sick? He was fine yesterday!

He coughs again and lets out a pathetic groan as he rubs his face. Is he sure he should be on his feet? Never mind that, now to see if he recognizes anyone.

Will blinks slightly as he looks up at the person who had just approached him. He looked partly human... but was he also a scorpion?

It was curious... But Will had also seen many curious things in his own world. This was perhaps not the oddest.

So he simply smiles pleasantly. "Hullo. I am Will Stanton. It seems like I was assigned to his room."

Peter coughs again, covering his mouth and then sighing. Really, all things considered, he should just be glad he went so long without getting sick.

"Yeah well... it was kinda weird that I got bit by a radioactive spider, too." weird is just kinda par for the course in his life. Weird and unfortunate. "That's just kinda how my life works-if it's bad and not likely to happen, it'll definitely happen at some point." He coughs again and groans, upsetting his throat again.

Startled still, Amery looked over. Clearing his throat, he stood up straighter. "A train?" he repeated. "Is that...what this is?"

They didn't have anything like this in Volstov; the most advanced travel they had was horse and carriage, assuming this train thing was for travel. He had that impression, at least, even if he understood nothing else about it.

Garrett blinked at the explanation of the glowing stick. That certainly did not look like any screwdriver the thief had ever used. It didn't even have a proper head! How would it screw in or unscrew anything?

Once more Garrett blinked from the unexpected barrage of questions and theories. He wasn't really used to this sort of thing. But he settled his limb back onto the ceiling and that seemed a cue that he was here to stay and converse.

"No one usually is," he replied wryly. "This your first kidnapping? You seem a little--" calm was not quite the word he wanted to use he realized and changed tracks mid-sentence, "--more curious than upset."

Luke let out a soft snort, reaching over to tuck the blanket around him more securely.

"Maybe you were born with a super power," he replied. "'Super bad luck'."

Okay, that was bad, even for him. He flashed a grin, before leaning back on his heels.

"Have you taken anything? Or tried to eat anything?"

"Strange would be putting it lightly," Amery replied, looking from the man to the train. "What is it?" And how did such a thing even work? He knew magic made a lot of things possible, like the dragons, so maybe this was in a similar vein. As alarming as it was, it was also fascinating.

Leaning forward a little, he attempted to catch a glimpse of inside of the train, maybe to spot something interesting. Of course, even if all he saw was walls and windows, it would be interesting to him. Then, he straightened up again, returning his attention to the other man.

This isn't one of those we escaped danger hugs or a simple I'm happy to see you again. Clara clings to him like she hasn't seen him in forever, as if she was certain she'd never see him again. Already she can feel the silent vow forming between them to not talk about it.

The hug ends far too soon for her liking but she's hoping it won't be the last one. So she takes his hand and gets to her feet. Dragging her own bag up with her.

Is it a lie when they both know they can't talk about future events? Sort of feels like one. Now she takes the time to look around the platform - another train. Hopefully without a killer mummy on board. "Not sure I approve of being colour-coded but blue's not a bad colour, at least." Looking down at her own appearance before over at the Doctor. He definitely doesn't look right without his normal clothing.

"Plenty of people for us to talk to. Maybe one of them knows where and when we are."

"Power?" She gulps. No. Nope. Nuh uh. Not possible. She doesn't have any power. She may not call herself a slave, but she knows what other people think about the auction.

She flinches at the dark emotions radiating from him and takes a step back, almost expecting a slap, like she did something wrong to bring them here. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand. You think I have power? And I'm no hero." She's not. Heroes do grand things, not grow up to be Mistress of a house, even if it is the Premiere House of Canto Bight.

Peter just sucks in breath because while he'd hesitate to call it a super power, he can't really argue that point either. "It's called Parker Luck, it's a family curse. Might even be the truth behind why Aunt May burns everything she cooks." He coughs again, closing his eyes as it makes his head ache worse.

"Can't take anything-Super metabolism-I'll just burn right through it." Or he'll be allergic to something in it and break into hives or something but if cold medicine works about like pain medicine does... well then he's gonna need something for his enhanced metabolism. "I had some soup earlier and coffee as breakfast."

So that reaction was fairly easy-going all things considered. Either the kid was a more curious type than frightened, or arachnes just weren't all that scary to most people brought here. A scorpion monster could get used to this. It was certainly more pleasant than the usual of Ryslig.

"Hello, Will. My name is Garrett." For some reason it was easier for the thief to talk to kids than most people. He experimented from there though to see how the kid reacted to his spider-y limbs. He reached out with one thin arachnid leg and tapped at the name plate on the door, next to his name in fact. "Same. Sleeping quarters, right?" He made a face. "Don't like being assigned things by strangers that don't make appearances to properly introduce themselves. Am I right?"

"What do you mean I'm no longer on Canto Bight?" She asks, incredulous. No, that's not possible. If she were taken off-planet... The Mistress is going to beat Jocko bloody. She knows that with the same certainty that she knows her eyes are brown. Unless Jocko were dead. Was Jocko dead? No. No he wasn't.

"And if you were trained perfectly as you claim, you would know that pointing is rude."

Misa doesn't like this place. She doesn't like it and she wants to go home. There will be tarts at home, and Bothanian peaches. She'd kill for a peach right now.

Well, maybe not kill...

"Are you asking or telling?" She snaps, wanting to be in a place where she is in charge, or at least to a point. She is used to bossing around older people. Mostly, the courtesans humor her, unless it's for the good of the house, or she's bringing orders from Mistress. But this... boy is not of the house, she doesn't have to be nice.

"If someone did not think so, you would not be here," he replies, implacable. He remains almost perfectly still, despite scorched eyebrows raising painfully behind his mask at her fearful retreat. "Refusal is pointless, the power to manipulate the Force is within you. I can feel it."

And if she does not control it, it will quickly become an irritant. Currently, he has no patience for irritants, and he does not expect that to change in the future. He folds his arms, pointedly casual. "Or, if you prefer, I will assume you think Darth Vader a liar."

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A New Platform [Intro Post January]

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