A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Two days after they return from their mission they are awoken as usual "Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Egret. The shop has been updated and points have been applied to passengers tickets."

Those that go to check the shop terminals will find they have indeed updated, with the option to buy larger items and also animals. The morning goes on until just after noon there is a second announcement.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Though the fog is thick, thicker than usual perhaps, there are patches on sunlight shining through and it is pleasantly warm.

The doors open and the first few to disembark do so with rucksacks on, hoods pulled up, silent and almost blank faced. Cu Chulain, Dio Brando, Disreputable Dog, Heiji Hattori, Loki Maedhros, Maglor, Naruto, Thor, Tobias Fangor.

They walk to the barriers, show their tickets and disappear.

But on the platform itself there are once again new faces. All are stood, waiting for the train.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is 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 as people begin to shift or call out it will become apparent they are not alone.

The platform is not large and it holds eighteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. It's warm but foggy making it hard to see much, but there are clearer patches bathed in sunlight found across the platform. 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. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

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 with an abundance of onions, in case the passengers weren't bored of them yet.

Passengers who are not brand new will notice that the train has gotten yet longer again with a sixth sleeper cabin for new arrivals.

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. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

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 the Void!

Comments

[stillnewatthis]

On the Platform

Steam swirled around the immense shadow it concealed -- a monster, by all rights, to judge by its silhouette. Four legs on a body that looked like no animal, and what might be a centaur-like torso if one squinted and ignored the proportion or shape.

"I appear to have been kidnapped during an unauthorized shutdown," mused an accented, faintly electronic voice. Two yellow pinpoints of light shone in the figure's head as it stepped forward. Steam parted, revealing the creature to be every bit as unusual as its silhouette hinted, and perhaps more, being as Orisa was quite obviously a robot.

"An explanation is required," she added, as the vents on her fusion driver popped open and the steam around it drew into them as it sucked up material to recharge. Armored and armored weapon of war on the platform!

In the Train

"Oh dear."

Orisa was stuck. Very inconveniently, she was stuck in the passage between Sleeper 6 and the garden, blocking transit from any of the sleeper cars to the train at large. Her legs pushed hard against the floor, but she'd managed to wedge her torso right into the door in such a way that she simply couldn't get it free no matter how she pushed or tried to squirm.

"This train is not Orisa-friendly," she grumbled.

In the Train

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo was returning from one end of the train to the cabins when he found his way barred.

He stood for a few seconds just trying to work out what he was looking at, when it spoke. Again, he did not jump. But the feeling was there!

"Hey uh, you need a hand?" He offered with a somewhat uncertain smile.

[stillnewatthis]

"Assistance would be appreciated," Orisa said, a little sad that she was already letting Efi down. "I must adapt my programming to compensate for limited space here."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Uhm... Well are you going in or out?" Duo asked with a grin. He was pretty sure he was facing them, but he didn't want to judge or make assumptions. Maybe they could move their head placement? Who the hell knew?

[stillnewatthis]

"I was leaving the cabins to see the rest of the train." Orisa apparently thought nothing of the question, instead pointing towards the greenhouse car she was halfway into. "The cabins are also not particularly convenient for my size," she added. "This may be a problem."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"You're tellin me!" Duo was highly amused by the whole thing. Maybe he shouldn't have been, but it just screamed FUNNY to him! "Alright, hold on. I'm gonna jump over you."

He took a handful of steps back, gave the doorway a critical look, and then he took off at a run toward the trapped robot. He launched himself up and over, grabbed the top of the doorway in both hands to swing himself through the gap and over the robot to land nimbly on the other side.

"Alright! Now I'll push and you try and pull yourself out, okay?" He called over as he went ahead and started pushing the robot from behind. While he wasn't as strong as Heero, he wasn't a light weight, even though he knew he looked like a skinny wraith. He had strength where it counted. So Duo put his his shoulder into it and pushed as hard as he could.

Whether it worked or he made things harder for the both of them, that remained to be seen.

[stillnewatthis]

His help was very much appreciated!

...but not exactly a game-changer, considering Orisa's sheer mass. He might as well be trying to push a train car, or a cargo container -- the disadvantage of being not only an omnic, but an armed and armored one. Again her feet skidded on the floor, finding no purchase as the strength in her servos overwhelmed friction.

"I do not appear to be making any progress," she said after a moment.

On the Platform

[sizedoesntmatter]

Yugi really didn't know what to think. it was like a Duel Monster card come to life, but it wasn't. He wasn't sure what or who they were but they were here much like the others here. Brought here without knowing why.

So he figured he might as well at least say hello and introduce himself and maybe help if possible. "Hello there. You just be new and maybe a little bit confused right? My name is Yugi Mutout and I can at least try and answer questions you might have, but I cannot promise that I can 100% answer them"

[stillnewatthis]

No weapons, no armor, no apparent means of combat. This person could not be hostile!

Orisa lowered her fusion driver and lifted her hand in a greeting. "Hello! My name is Orisa. I am supposed to be in Numbani, but this is obviously not there. Could you tell me where I am?"

[sizedoesntmatter]

"Nice to meet you Orisa." Though admittedly saying that to something he wasn't quite sure what it was felt pretty strange, he also knew that she didn't come across as treating or something to worry about either.

"Well you definitely aren't in Numbani anymore. But I don't know what the place would be called beyond the platform for the train behind us. it sort of takes us places and we help on missions. Though it seems like that is only a once a month thing."

[stillnewatthis]

"I see." Orisa calculated for a moment, eyeshields swiveling around in a circle before they narrowed to make the yellow light behind them look like a slit. "Unfortunately, my duties lie elsewhere. I must return home."

[sizedoesntmatter]

"So you need to get home to perform them, but I am sorry to say that it seems like right now the train would rather you be on that." Otherwise, he figured she wouldn't be here in the first place.

He couldn't help but be a little sad that the other cannot do what they wanted back at home however.

[stillnewatthis]

"I must discuss this with the person in charge."

Orisa lifted her fusion driver again, just a touch. She would be diplomatic, of course... unless she was being restrained against her will, in which case she would need to present more forceful arguments.

in the train

[flatteries]

You see a lot of strange things on the train.

But this? Well.. this is pretty new. He's not sure what the.. person - person? it's talking, so it's a person, right? - even is. He's never seen anyone who looks like that before. But then again, he's also never seen anyone who could literally take up an entire doorway like that either. Inigo just stands there looking baffled for a moment when he first spots the sight.

Then he slowly approaches.

"Erm.. Are you.. stuck?"

Yes, Inigo, it's not like she's hanging out there like that since it's her hobby!

[stillnewatthis]

"I am extremely stuck." Orisa shifted the arm with a hand on it slowly around, hindered by her inability to move her torso, to try to grab onto the edge of the door. The angle was terrible, though, offering no leverage for her to pull herself out with. "I am used to wider doors."

[flatteries]

"Well, that would be one of the downsides of a train.."

He sounds just a tad awkward as he says it. Mostly since Inigo has absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation. It might just be one of the weirdest things he's encountered on this train yet, and that's saying something.

But still, he wouldn't be himself if he didn't at least offer to help out. The boy takes a few steps closer to Orisa, trying to assess the situation.

".. Do you think it'd help if I tried to pull?" He doesn't want to hurt her!

[stillnewatthis]

"It could not hurt, but are you strong?"

After all, Orisa weighed... a lot. She was an armored, armored omnic, who could absorb bus impacts without flinching. Yes, some people were certainly strong enough to move her, but not everyone by any means!

[flatteries]

Wow, Orisa, do you want an honest or a nice answer that doesn't bruise Inigo's ego to that question?

It's not like Inigo is weak, after all, but he's only a teenage boy. A trained teenage boy, but a human teenage boy all the same. Not exactly prime material for trying to get big, heavy things to move. But Inigo will be damned if he admits that out loud right after she asks it!

"Of course! What do I look like?" Don't answer that question, please.. He grins though, and then flexes. "Helping out someone in need is little effort for a great hero like me!"

[stillnewatthis]

"You are a hero? That is wonderful!"

Orisa took him very seriously, and so that declaration got nothing but delight out of her. Briefly forgetting her predicament, Orisa clapped her hand against her fusion driver. "You must tell me all about your heroism! I am trying to learn."

If you don't mind a late in?

[najaran]

Najaran stopped wandering to watch the odd creature suck in steam then she sighed in relief. This person clearly was a card! Which meant either there was a Cepter here... besides her, of course. Or maybe this new person would join her family. She tried to remind herself that other Cepters might attack her on sight, and there were too many innocents here for combat.... but maybe they could be friends. She was lonely enough already to try. So she headed over, a spring in her step. "Hello!"

[stillnewatthis]

Oh! That was not a hostile act. Quite the opposite! Orisa lowered her fusion driver and lifted her hand in a wave, eyes going all ^^. "Hello! Please, can you direct me to the person responsible for my presence here?"

[najaran]

"I'd happily do so if I knew who it was." Not knowing her own Cepter? Was it a her? "I just arrived here myself, and can't find my Master or Gooligan."

[stillnewatthis]

"I see. That is very troubling. You also do not know how you arrived?" The pattern here was fairly obvious...

[najaran]

She shook her head. "It doesn't seem like Dimension Door...."

[stillnewatthis]

"A door to another dimension? That sounds implausible at best. Dimensions are axes of measurements, not alternate existences as portrayed in science fiction!"

Orisa what are you even saying.