voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

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A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Duo had been up and down the train several times so far, just wandering and seeing who he would meet each time. Because every pass gave him someone else, something else to see and it was amazing. He'd yet to spend more than a little time in his actual cabin.

So it was his, maybe third, pass through the games room where he bumped into a guy who he could only have called beautiful. Why the hell were there so many good looking people on this train? He was beginning to think the train had some kind of weird fetish. Though his theory fell apart when he wondered then why the train would have hooked him into it's numbers.

It wasn't so much as the pretty boy looks that caught Duo's attention though, than the lost look in his expression. So he grinned at him. "I think it gets better!" He called over to him. "Least, so far people haven't been too weird!"

Noct was broken out of his train of though by a chipper voice. He turned to look at the young man and, for a moment, words escaped him. He shrugged, not really sure he agreed. "You think so? I think it's only going to get weirder." He hadn't been through anything like this before, but his trust level wasn't very high.

"I guess you're right on the people. Most seem pretty okay."

"Nothin said weird can't be good!" Duo replied with a laugh. To be fair, they were both in agreement there. Duo wasn't the most trusting guy around. Friendly? Hell yeah. Helpful? Sure, if it suited him. But so far he didn't trust anyone he actually met, no matter how nice they seemed to be. You never could tell.

Still, despite that, his smile remained open and friendly as he chatted with the new guy. "Yeah there are a couple strange ones, but generally they seem harmless enough."

Noct snorted. "I guess so. All of my friends are pretty weird." He admitted. He wasn't excluding himself from that list, either.

"So, obvious statement, but I'm guessing you're new to all this, too?" He figured making acquaintances couldn't hurt in the current climate. "Name's Noctis, by the way. Just call me Noct."

"Hey, me too! Something in common already." He definitely had weird friends. Heero alone could hold the monopoly on weird if he really wanted to. And he was stubborn and competitive enough he would probably try.

"Duo. Just call me Duo." He grinned and gave a little mock salute, just teasing the other guy. There was, after all, no real and logical way to shorten his name. It was pretty short already. "And yeah, new to these parts. Fresh off the boat. Still got that new car smell. Just learning where things are right now. How bout you? Gettin around alright?"

Noct laughed softly. Weird friends were a strange thing to bond over, but it could be worse. Being new was also a nice way to bind. "I guess I'm getting my footing. I have no idea what this whole train deal is...but it's better than the situation I was in before I got here." Less time creeping around the Imperial Keep was okay in his book.

"You were in a complex situation before you got here?" Duo asked with interest. There was something curious about the different ways that people had found themselves on the train, what they'd been doing before they'd woken on the platform. He was as diplomatic as he could be since he figured asking for details from a stranger might seem creepy as hell.

"I'm sure you'll get your balance in no time. Just take it in stride." Duo grinned widely.

"Yeah...life was going completely to hell, honestly." Noct said, not minding being open about it. It wasn't like he was there anymore, so he had nothing to hide.

"I guess so. You seem to already be pretty comfortable." Noct noted. "I'm guessing you're pretty adaptable?"

"Dang, well I guess this would be a nice change, huh?" He asked with a sympathetic smile.

Then he laughed and leaned against the nearest wall with his arms loosely folded across his chest. "Gotta be in my line of work. But yeah, just taking things as they come. To be fair I didn't have much in the way of prospects so didn't have anywhere to go." He shrugged. "This will be an interesting change of scenery for me!"

Noct nodded. "Yeah, definitely. I feel like I can breathe, at least."

He tilted his head as Duo spoke about work and prospects. "You seem kind of young to be working and all that. Maybe you can finally relax?" He knew his view was a little skewed, since he was rather sheltered.

"Glad for ya, buddy." Duo's smile was wide and actually very genuine. He could understand how a situation could become so stifling that a chance of scenery could be like a breath of fresh air.

"You have no idea!" He laughed. "Guess you could say I'd just been part of a war effort to end all wars... When I blipped out of there and ended up here, they were working toward peace. So no need for someone like me."

Noct smiled, grateful for the sentiment. "Thanks."

Hearing about war was a bit close to home. He wondered if there were people this young on the front lines back home. "Well, peace is good. And everyone has worth. I'm sure you're worth more than what you did for the war..."

"Actually, pretty much pegged as a terrorist for most of the war." Duo laughed again, though there was a little less humour in it. "Even when you become a hero, hard to ignore years of hatred for that."

"I was just gonna keep my head low. Maybe go back to my old friends and join the salvage business." Not nearly as exciting as piloting a Gundam but it was a decent living. Maybe he'd save enough money and get a shuttle of his own and start his own business? Who knew?

"Enough about me! Don't wanna bore you with that. Peace is good though. People deserve that."

"A terrorist...?" That was a pretty hefty title, but he was considered one the empire, so he couldn't judge, honestly. "I'm sorry that it's been so rough for you."

Keeping your head low seemed pretty appealing. "I'm not bored. It sounds fascinating, honestly. I've never really had a chance to get to know many different people."

"Oh nah man, it's all good! Bet there are people with it way worse than me!" And besides, he was only telling the parts that were common knowledge. Or at least the parts he'd allowed himself to already reveal. Nothing too personal. Just his job description.

"You're gonna get that in spades here! Saw a green dude earlier. Scared the hell outta me!" Duo laughed and cocked his head to the side curiously. "You the sheltered kind or... is your world not very populated?"

A green man. Green. Okay, that was pretty weird. "Is he, like, an alien...or...?" No, maybe he didn't want to know.

Noct scratched the back of his neck. "I guess just sheltered? I'm Prince...no, guess I'm King now...of my country back home. And I don't know if you have monarchies where your from, but we tend to be kind of sheltered."

"Apparently!" Duo replied cheerfully. He didn't go into the whole 'probing' conversation he'd had with Trowa. That had been disturbing enough. Duo didn't think sharing his theories on aliens and their kinky ways was going to be welcome here.

"A King, huh?" Duo grinned widely and moved to sketch a little bow before Noctis. "Well, Your Highness, I didn't realise!" But then he started laughing as he straightened up, and it took him a half minute to actually get himself under control because suddenly he was reminded of Relena. Yes, they kind of had monarchs back home. He'd known an honest to goodness princess. But she'd been a piece of work... And sheltered to boot. So maybe there was something to that?

"Sorry, sorry... Not laughing at you!" Duo promised once he'd caught his breath. "Just... remembered some psycho chick who used to chase around a friend of mine asking him to kill her. She was a Princess!"

Noct sighed, covering his face with his hand. "Glad she makes me seem normal then." He looked back at Duo. "I'm really a pretty simple guy. I like video games and fishing. And sleeping. Love sleeping."

"Gotta say, you're not what I expect when I think 'royalty'. Then again..." Duo made a little gesture with his hand and shrugged. "My history with that kind is limited to prissy Queens of the World."

"Y'know... never been fishing in my life. Always figured it was boring. Throw a line in some water and wait for hours hoping some poor fish will take a nibble." He grinned. "What do you get outta it?"

Noct shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a simple guy."

He thought about fishing for a second and smiled softly. "Well, I think fish are cool. Just the different types of fish and the different types of baits and what not to attract them is interesting. You can't just through a line in if you're looking for a specific type of fish... and fish is delicious, so when you catch an edible one, there's that..." He sighed softly. "But I guess the biggest thing is it shuts my mind up."

Duo listened, he wasn't judging at all. He'd given Noctis his opinion and now he listened to his, and he understood it. At least from the others point of view.

"I guess, living the way you do, getting a bit of peace and outta your head for a while isn't such a bad thing, eh?" He Noctis as understanding a smile as he could, not that he could really understand the pressures of being a Prince or a King. He was born a streetrat and grew up to be a... well... he still had a lot of growing up to do, so that was still up for debate. But he was definitely nothing close to royalty.

"Yeah... When I'm fishing, it's just me and the fish." Noct said. "But I don't think that my troubles are any worse than anyone else's. I guess I just have...like anxiety, or something. I worry about stuff I probably shouldn't worry about. Like my friends hating me."

"Think a lot of people feel that way. Maybe not all the time, but it's somethin that bides us all together." Duo grinned. "Shared anxiety that we're just that annoying we make even the people who are supposed to like us, hate is." Or maybe he was projecting. Yeah, he was definitely projecting a little bit there.

"Yeah, that's exactly how I feel. I'm glad someone understands." Noct smiled. "I'm feeling a bit better now, having spoken to you. I know you probably didn't set out to do that...but thanks."

"Hey, if I can help I'm happy to!" Duo replied honestly. He really was pleased that he was able to make Noctis feel even a little bit better. No, he hadn't set out to do that. Just chat up a fellow new guy and find out about them, but he wasn't above doing the guy a solid and listening to his problems.

"So no problem! Us newbies gotta stick together." He continued with a laugh. "But for real, I think you'll be okay. Seems there are a lot of people who've been here a while and they seem happy enough. We just need to work out where we fit in, right?" Duo was very much the square peg trying to fit into a round hole, but he'd make it work.

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