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

[marriedanidiot]

"Tis alright." She smiles gently at her.

"You are new here, yes? Tis alright to ask questions, you know!"

[najaran]

"I guess I'm new.... I'm not sure what the comparison is though, or why I'm here. Alone. Or..." she pinched the edge of her shirt. "Why and how they changed my clothing...."

[marriedanidiot]

"The clothes I cannot answer - we all arrive here that way." She shrugs. "And new is fairly obvious, I should think!"

[najaran]

"Well, someone could have arrived since I have," she countered reasonably. "I don't know how I got here, so I can't ell if others are still arriving."

[marriedanidiot]

"On the platform, everyone who does not know what is going on is new." She shakes her head. "The rest of us, we've done this before."

[najaran]

"How often?" she asked quietly turning to look around, to take in as much as she could of the people, her shoulders hunching in a little.

How... how long had this been going on? Kidnapping people like this? And why? She wished Gooligan was here, if for no other reason than he could see better than she could, given she was still on the small side of things...

[marriedanidiot]

"Roughly about once a month, as the train counts time, we stop at a station. Folk leave. Folk arrive. How it is determined, none of us know."

She says, looking wistfully out the turngates.

[najaran]

"What happens if we leave?" she asked, thoughtful, still looking around.

[marriedanidiot]

"Nothing, as such." She shrugs. "But you cannot leave until tis your time to do so, try though you may."

[najaran]

"What happens if we try? And what about those who did leave, did they come back? If so what did they have to say?"

[marriedanidiot]

"Nothing." She says simply.

"You will find the gate will not let you throught, that is all. As to that, none that I know."

[najaran]

She sighed. "I wish Master Horowitz was here, he'd be able to figure this all out."

[marriedanidiot]

"Is he your teacher child? Alas, we have no way of controlling who comes with us, or not as the case may be. All we can do is manage as best we can with what we have."

[najaran]

She nodded. "Yeah. He teaches me all sorts of stuff, really. And he's one of the most the intelligent people I've ever met." She turned to face the gates again. "Has anyone tried to fly over them?"

[marriedanidiot]

She shakes her head.

"Not that I know of. You could try. I suspect, should you do so, that you will nto be able to, however."

[najaran]

She considered, then looked back. "Want to try with me?" she asked with a bit of a grin.

[marriedanidiot]

She blinks at her and shakes her head tolerantly.

"No. If you wish to test yourself, do so, but I am too old for such things."

[najaran]

She blinked at her. "You don't look old," she said somewhat surprised. Was she like Grubel?

[marriedanidiot]

She chuckles.

"My people do not age as you do. I have seen far more years than almost all on this train."

[najaran]

"Some people don't," she said, considering, then grinned. "Bet you're still younger than my Master though. I've seen paintings of him from ages ago."

[marriedanidiot]

"Maybe." She shrugs with a smile. "I don't know your master, after all."

[najaran]

She laughed. "Sorry, I just got used to discovering everyone actually knew Master Horowitz. It seems that way, lately, anyhow..."

[marriedanidiot]

"Ah, but you must remember - this is no longer your world. No one here could be expected to know someone from yours, any more than they can expect you to know someone from theirs."

[najaran]

"That's going to take some getting used to," she admitted, still feeling sheepish. "I just started getting used to being off Gilman Isle..."

[marriedanidiot]

She smiles at her.

"Tell me about him. Is Gilman Isle where you are both from?"