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

[really_sketchy]

She noticed the smile and returned it in full force. "I hope we can speak again soon. Thank you." She gently released his arm once they were on the train and offered him one last smile before stepping over to read the pamphlet and then properly explore. She didn't want to take up any more of Edge's time.

[really_sketchy]

"I'm in Sleeper 4, Cabin B. So if you need me you can find me." Naminé was probably one of the few people on the train who will end up using her bed as a place to relax and draw. She needed to find the materials first but she was confident that she could.

"I'll let you know if I find out more about the train too. Okay?"

[stealsyourheart]

Peter would be so surprised to know Kaito's IQ, wouldn't he?

"Well, maybe don't push yourself when you're sick and you might get better faster." He grumbles, stirring honey and shoving it at Peter.

[usernamesarecool]

"Yes, that't the Time Vortex-spreads out in all directions-happening at all points in the universe?" He doesn't miss that claim about Will being and Old One.

"Stuck on the slow path. I hate the slow path-I much prefer to skip the boring parts, how about you? Always out for adventure?"

[onehandsomeslickninja]

"Mine should be too, now," he said a bit wistfully. And here he was, missing it.

[sensitiveapple]

Dead

"I think there are others here from before me." She says. "Telli mentioned something about the Hutts, and they've been gone for years." She explains, hoping that helps. Her hand is still on Padme's arm, and she's wishing that Padme wasn't sad anymore.

[sensitiveapple]

"No, it's milk. From..." She bites her lip then sighs. "Dantooine maybe? I'm not sure. It's not fathier milk, that's purple." She shrugs. "And usually poisonous." She doesn't know anyone that drinks fathier milk, though she supposes some race or another could.

"They don't have the peaches though. Bothan peaches are a purpleish red with a bright pink center with gold seeds." Just in case he comes across any. "They are really good, and Freema always makes tarts and pies with them." She picks at the last half of her sandwich. "But then, Freema makes most of the food in the House."

[orangewayfinder]

He wasn't sure if the cabin numbers and all that were important but if Namine had hers memorized it must be important to her. So Terra nodded.

"Let me know if you need anything."

wrap up here?

[really_sketchy]

"I will. Thank you Terra."

It was selfish of her but she was happy that he was here. At least, she wasn't alone and maybe they could find a way to help people while they were figuring out the train.

[luckybucky]

Bucky has no idea what either of those things are, so he just nods in agreement. "Well, if I see any of the peaches during a mission, I'll make sure to snag a few," he promises. He doesn't say anything about the rest because, well, there's nothing to say. She's homesick, and he can't really blame her. He might've been, too, if he'd actually had the time to start his life anew.

"I guess the only solution is to discover all the tasty things from other places we've got hidden away in this kitchen car," he decides lightly. "Make our own tarts and pies, I'm sure everyone would enjoy them."

[sensitiveapple]

She smiles a bit sadly. It's not that she's homesick, per se, she just misses a couple of people: Jocko, Freema, Hurog, and Nina mostly. They're the ones that have taken care of her the most during her time at the House.

"There's a store!" She says, brightly. "You can buy things from home, sometimes." It's the only reason she's going to be doing chores. Because chores mean she can buy more in the store and she's going to be getting certain things.

"Can you bake?" She asks. She can't. Freema hadn't gotten that far in her education.

[democratically]

"I hope that it is." Offering a smile, as she knows how hard it can be to have conflict on your planet. There had been some good things that had come from it, but she still would have preferred it not to have happened.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

"We sure put enough work into getting it that way!"

Conflict was in many ways inevitable, especially given the presence of monsters in the world. But if things went down to a much more manageable level, wasn't that a very reasonable achievement?

[democratically]

She cannot say that she is a large fan of the Hutts, but she had hoped that they would change their ways, not simply be gone. It's a breath, before her hand moves, to rest on top of Misa's for a moment. "This place does seem to like to grab us from all over..."

[sensitiveapple]

Misa nods her head. "There are people here that don't know what system they are from!" Which... is super weird.

[signseeker]

"I don't know if I seek out adventure," he says slowly. "It rather has a way of finding me." He sighs. "I could endure the slow path, I think. Many humans have spent their entire lives on it, after all." And it had not been so long ago that he had not known there was anything else.

"But it bothers me that I don't understand why."

He frowns over the rest. "I can't recall any of the others ever mentioning a vortex to me. Not even in the Book of Gramarye."

[democratically]

"At times, it seems conflict does come easier and peace is harder to come by in turn." And yet it is far more sweet, at least Padmé would say so. She is not someone that enjoys all that comes with war.

[democratically]

How...? Although she supposes if they never received a formal education and never learned anything beyond the name of their planet. That could explain it. She knows some who never left the planet of their birth. "They must be surprised if you speak of it with them."

[sensitiveapple]

She shrugs. "I've not been off Cantonica since I was four, so the only systems I hear about are from the traders and the people who come to the House." It's normal, right?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

"Especially when you have people pushing conflict for their own ends." Almost none of the worst of what he'd endured would have come to pass if not for the machinations of, ultimately, Zemus...

[shockinglycaffeinated]

"If by 'nice' you mean utterly horrid I completely agree." A look of disgust crosses her face as she continued.

"If I'd wanted to traverse through jungles and swamps I'd have stayed on Nal Hutta."

[shockinglycaffeinated]

"If we continue being sent on missions to dying worlds Vader's power would be extremely helpful," she thought for a moment before she continued cautiously. "The man I know values honesty above all else, and I doubt that has changed. Once I find Luke and get him out of his funk I can see what he thinks."

She grimaced after a second, "although he'll definitely be biased."

[luckybucky]

“There is?” He asks, eyebrows going up. “I must’ve missed it,” because he wasn’t going anywhere near the ICPs, probably.

“I’m not too bad at baking,” he agrees, “but I’m a little out of practice. Maybe I should see if that store you mentioned sells cookbooks. It’s a lot easier to get things right if you have a recipe.”

[democratically]

She hadn't thought to question too much of Misa's life, although she does consider now. "The House? Fellow traders or a store?"

[democratically]

"Unfortunately." As there are those who do dig their heels in and refuse to budge in the least. Compromise is what tends to be required, although not all want to acknowledge it.