A new Platform [Intro post~ August]

[voidtreckermods]

For those on the Train

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Apple." The train announces as always as everyone wakes up the morning of the sixteenth. "Due to your success on Hub World #5739 your team points have been updated on the system. The on train shop has unlocked new stock."

For those going to investigate it might seem like the boredom of the last two weeks will be alleviated a little. More so after a few hours when there is a second announcement.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void imminent."

By now they should know to hold on as the train jerks and jolts. There is only fog outside the windows but the train soon comes to a stop. The doors hiss open.

As they exit into the fog they may notice Hibiki exiting from the luggage carriage door. She hasn’t been seen since the Hub World and they might be forgiven for believing she stayed behind. But here she is, backpack on her back as she walks through the station. She heads no call, reacts to no words and cannot be stopped as she walks to the ticket barrier and disappears through it.

It is impossible to follow. But you soon may be distracted because this platform is far from empty.

For new arrivals

At first all you can see if steam. Billowing around you as you come to your senses. You are standing, in clothes that are not your own, styles you might not even recognise. You are carrying a rucksack on your back. For a moment it seems to just be you, alone in the white haze but then the steam begins to fade and you realise you aren’t alone.

The platform is not very large, but it hold twelve figures all facing the tracks, all wearing similar clothing, even if one of them is a spider. The tracks stretch left and right into steam, or perhaps fog. Nothing can be seen to either side. There is a wall around the platform and the only entrance is a ticket barrier. It cannot be open, nor do there seem to be any staff.

What there is, is a train. Jet black and gleaming where it stands on the rails.Voidtrecker Express is emblazoned in the engine in gold. There is a hiss as the doors slide open.

Out step a selection of people, wearing clothes just like yours.

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.

Once on the train there is plenty to explore. A new sleeper carriage has appeared as has a medical bay. Neither were there before those already on the train had disembarked to meet their new travelling companions.

Each ICP shows the same message. The food stores have been topped up with new fresh food, though it seems that eggs are still predominately on the menu.

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. Those who boarded two weeks ago will know what is coming next.

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

[pleple]

I. New Arrivals

Ple Two is hardly even aware of what a steam engine is, the technology is so dated in an era where much of the human species' population lives in little metal cylinders orbiting Earth. The marvel of Minovsky's nuclear fusion reactor has made electricity the norm in almost all facets of everyday life, especially for those living in space, and she can only barely parse what she's even looking at for a split second.

Anachronistic mass transit?

It's hard to determine why she's even in this place, at this time. One's imagination in those last fleeting moments of life shouldn't contain a machine you don't even recognize, and what a strange way for an afterlife to be - and if she's alive, then what in the world is even happening?

...why is there a giant freaking spider?

She's just going to hurry up and board and hope it doesn't decide to eat her, and deal with her confusion second. "How disturbing..."

II. New Home

She's expected to live here. There are tasks set out before her, lessons to learn, and she's meant to sleep in bunks near strangers - so be it. Whatever is happening here she just has to survive.

Whatever the reason for her being here, she needs to get home, someday, somehow.

To begin with though, she's concerned that the only object she recognizes from home is the psycommu headset, meant to control a Newtype-use mobile suit from afar. As unlikely as it seems, if she can actually reach the Qubeley Mk II from here...

She sits down in her new room, door open, cross-legged on a bed/bench; slips it on, and focuses on reaching out for anything. Anyone psychic whose attention she hasn't pinged yet will almost certainly feel the amplified brain waves; everyone else will just see a very focused little girl with some weird headgear.

[knifewithnoname]

Another girl, she was about her own age. There were a few younger ones this time and it was a relief. It would mean that Tony, child protecting hero, would have more people to watch over.

Currently he seemed preoccupied threatening a spider monster. She was sure he could handle it and he would only get scrunch faced mad if she went anywhere close.

Instead she boarded the train again and wandered through the sleeper carriages, studying the names on the doors. Twenty One. That's how many there were now. She saw the girl sat on the bench with weird things on her head, she tilted her own head and stood and watched. Curious.

[pleple]

Make Tony watch out for people, he seemed perfectly capable. That was why Ple Two was just getting on the train and ignoring the monster, in fact, although she filed away that it might not be the only one of its kind. This was already incredibly improbable in just a few short minutes.

Ple Two was focused, but not so much that she couldn't notice someone watching her. There was no reception within range, anyways, so she cracked one eye open. "Can I help you?"

[knifewithnoname]

"No." She shook her head, she hadn't meant to disturb her really. But she is interested in all these new people.

"Can I be helping you. You do be being the one who do be being new."

She already knew everything there was to know about this train. She had been stuck on it far too long with not much to do. But for a new person... When she had arrived she had had many questions.

[pleple]

"...oh." Well, that's an honest answer. The kind of answer she'd give, actually, which is what throws her off.

The offer of help is - this girl has clearly not had a lot of grammar education - appreciated. "I'm not even sure where to begin, honestly... perhaps, where are we going, and why? Who put us here?"

[knifewithnoname]

She gets that, not knowing where to begin. Having so many questions that you weren't even sure how to start asking them.

"We do no be knowing who kidnapped them. We have no ever be seeing them. We did be being on a platform like this, maybe this one. I do no be knowing for sure but it did be looking identical. We did be being taken to a world and we did be having to climb a mountain, the train voice did be saying it did be being a practice mission. I do no be knowing what or who the train voice to be. I would be guessing if the mission did be being a practice then there will be being real ones next but I do no be knowing who we do be working for or what they do be wanting from us."

[pleple]

A voice. Practice missions. They have goals in mind for all of them, then. It's still taking the briefest moment of extra thought to parse the girl's grammar, but she's getting the hang of following how she structures her wording. Maybe that's just being what she is...

"So we've got a job to do. We don't know who it's for, or what our reward is, though." That's totally fair. "I don't think I like it."

[knifewithnoname]

"It do be being very stupid." She agreed with a shrug. "We do be getting points though, the voice did be saying we did be getting team points because of our success and there do be being a shop."

It's not the best reward, not for being kidnapped and dragged to different worlds and almost being eaten by an owl. But Tony had introduced her to chocolate and it was delicious so she will accept that as a reward.

[pleple]

And agreed with such blunt wording. Ple Two could appreciate that attitude. So, team points and little trinkets as rewards, like some kin of, what, summer camp? "I suppose none of the rewards are a ticket home."

[knifewithnoname]

"No. They do no be being." She wrinkled her nose. "Though someone did be leaving. I do no be knowing how she did be managing it though."

She had definitely tried to start a revolution and attacked the wall of where the drivers cabin would be with a sword, but that had just resulted in her getting hurt in return. Buttercup didn't think that was what had won her a place out of here.

New Home

[mtsilver_conquor]

It's not so much that Princess is psychic -nor is Eva- but it's a fact that pokemon are sensitive to psychic humans. Typically this would be no big deal and shrugged off. Human psychics are just that. Humans. but given where they are... Yea.

Princess bolts from the front of the sleeper cabin into Cabin E, Eva not far behind him with a surprised shout. "Princess?! I- Oh! Excuse me- A-Are you psychic?"

Don't mind the pink pseudo-rabbit-like pokemon staring at you, Ple Two, vestigial wings flared for balance as Princess stands on his haunches, roughly reaching above two foot in height (2'2 is Ple Two would know exact height).

Congrats, you have a curious pokemon and a face in hand pokemon trainer. "Ah- Princess, sit down!"

[pleple]

A newtype wouldn't normally be all that noticeable at rest, either; this headgear amplifies her mental signals, and is attempting to direct them towards a specific receiver that doesn't exist in this realm. Instead, it's picked up on by some kind of... mammal?

Ple Two blinks down at 'Princess' a strange sort of rabbit-bat crossover. "I'm... a newtype. This creature can feel that?" A cyber-newtype, in fact, made that way through artificial means, but no one needs to just know that. More importantly, what does it mean when an animal like this can feel those psychic waves?

[mtsilver_conquor]

"I-If that's a type of psychic, then yes. I'm sorry. Normally this isn't... like this. Not at home. but pokemon -animals from Arkea, my world- can pick up human psychics when they use their powers."

Eva sighs as she reaches down and lightly tugs an ear, as if to get the captivated pokemon's attention, only to yank her hand back with expert speed before she's bitten. "He'll get used to whatever it is you're doing, but right now... he's just curious, is all. Whatever you're doing, you have his attention..."

Het eyes are arrowed by the end of it. Blue eyes yes, but the headset and the way Princess is reacting- She can't be sure this isn't a Golden Eyed Child.

It's not, of course. Just a pokemon hella curious about this a 'psychic human' and more than a little homesick for anything like home.

[pleple]

"People call it that, at any rate. I'm not sure what it really... counts as..." This creature, this 'pokemon' is a bit rebellious towards its... owner? Any signals she sent out have faded for the most part without any conscious attempt on her part, but now she has this little thing's attention and isn't sure what to do with it.

It's... cute, she supposes. A bit frightening with how quick it is to snap, too. "I doubt I'll be doing much of it in the near future anyways. This is meant to tap into a sort of receiver..." Hm. No one here knows what a newtype is. Mobile suits are a more mainstream concept, but even those might be foreign here.

A completely different world, as others have said. "I haven't gotten a signal, though."

[mtsilver_conquor]

If anything, Eva just seems to be taking it all in stride and not even remotely worried about the display. If anything, she probably deserved it for trying to get the clfairy's attention that way. "Probably some sort of psychic ability at least, no matter what it's used for. Eventually, Princess'll get used to you doing that -psychics ware common on my world- and ignore you when it happens."

She hopes. It's going to get awkward fast if her pokemon keeps wanting to stare at Ple Two every time she does anything psychic-y, but it already seems the pokemon's attention's waning as he settles back to all fours, wings tucked against his side. "You could keep trying, but I don't think you will. If you haven't noticed yet, we only have one thing from home. Even our clothes aren't our own, so whatever you're trying to reach likely isn't with us."

[pleple]

"I guess we can settle for that as an answer. I... hope it doesn't just want to sit around here forever." Although with her settling down it seems to be relaxing, and she takes the headset off. At best, it might get a blip from her if she's ever in danger, senses reacting to keep her ahead of it.

"I still had to try. If there's any danger here at all, what's on the other end would make quick work of it." She assumes. Nothing here seems like it could stand up to a full sized mobile suit, although that man with the armor is interesting. "I'm Ple Two." A short name, and a number.

[mtsilver_conquor]

"No, his attention's already on the wan," Eva says with a small shrug. How long it'll take before Princess decides to wander off is another guess. Well outside of recalling the pokemon, but she's not that fond of doing it unless needed.

"Sounds like it's useful to have. Who knows, maybe it'll turn up." She hopes, but for the child before her seems rather mature, Eva feels she has a duty to be as hopeful and optimistic as she can while still treating Ple as a person. "I'm Eva. It's nice to meet you, Ple-chan."

She's just going to pretend that number is a surname. Yep.

New Home

[runs_on_batteries]

It was bound to happen with so many people arriving at once. He'd intended to greet and get a feel for everyone stepping on board the train, but that hadn't worked for a few people.

Case in point, he was walking through the new second sleeper train when he walks by a room and sees a rather unusual sight. Yep another little girl was sitting in the room on the floor with some strange headpiece on. She appeared to be.. meditating? He wasn't sure. He stays and quietly watches for a few minutes, curious to see what exactly she was doing.

If she stops and looks up, he'll give her a polite smile and a lukewarm wave of his hand.

[pleple]

Ple Two had kinda just jumped right aboard when she saw a man fighting a giant spider. That was so far outside of her range of experience that she really would rather just pretend it hadn't happened at all - even if his technology merited attention.

Her own wasn't helping her anyways. No matter how far she tried to stretch her mind out, there wasn't anything that could receive it to be found. And they didn't even give her a gun.

So she was just a child here, then.

This unpleasant train of thought is broken when she starts to focus back inward, and feels the man's presence before ever opening her eyes; she finally opens them, and glances up. And there he is, the man with the armor. "...hello. I see that you... weren't eaten..." Good talk.

[runs_on_batteries]

"It was touch and go there for a minute, but spider vs titanium... ," he jokes and shrugs, because very obviously it wasn't even a competition. Now that he'd learned more about the spider, he was glad he hadn't really hurt it. On the other hand, he was glad everyone witnessed it so there was a warning out that he wouldn't tolerate anyone hurting anyone else on this train. No one wanted Iron Man on their case, after all.

"I was trying to meet everyone on the platform but I seem to have missed a few. May I come in?" He glances around the room, curious who else this strange girl is living with. "I'm Tony Stark, by the way."

[pleple]

"Seems obvious, I guess." Who knows what a giant spider can do to armor though? Again, she wasn't going to just stand there and find out. Now the situation is resolved, and she can worry about what the heck she's supposed to be doing here.

"I hurried about when I had the chance," she admits. "And go ahead. I'm the only one in here at the moment, Tony Stark." Two other girls, both a bit older than her, unsurprisingly. "You can call me Ple Two."

[runs_on_batteries]

"Understandable," Tony remarks before stepping into the room. He'd yet to figure out if there was a reason to the room designations. This one appeared to be a fairly good one since it was all young women. "I haven't met Evie, but Madoka seems to be really nice."

He looks at her curiously when she says her name. "Ple Two. What were you doing a minute ago? What is that device?"

[pleple]

They should stick to setting rooms up like that, then. Gives her some peace of mind. "Madoka is pleasant. Nervous, though." Needs to stay away from anything really dangerous, or at least that's what she'd recommend.

Now the question arises of what to just tell people. No one here can use it against Neo-Zeon, and that 'Pokemon' creature gave away that she's a Newtype easily enough, but she simply has never had to deal with a situation like this before.

Perhaps she's best off not lying while she doesn't need to. "A Psycommu Controller Headset. It allows me to project my brainwaves to Psycommu systems from a distance - that is, mentally controlled devices."

[runs_on_batteries]

He nods in agreement. Madoka did strike him as shy and nervous- but you never knew what was just for show with some people. It was strange how some of the younger kids seemed to be stronger than some of the older ones. Case in point. This girl seemed really young and yet, not visibly upset by the situation.

The explanation about what she was using was fascinating. "Are there any such devices on this train? Can you determine that?" Anything dealing with 'mind' and 'control' he wanted to know about it.

[pleple]

This is like a vacation compared to what was happening in the seconds before she blacked out and ended up here. A concerning vacation, given that the things happening were very important things, but still relaxing.

"I've tried. Nothing on the train, and nothing within a kilometer or so." Which meant that she couldn't take advantage of her most useful talents for now. "I'd have felt it."