Event: Expulsion (Day 24)

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, today is the twenty fourth day of the month of Apple." The morning announcement sounds as usual as dark turns to the ever shifting colours of the void outside the train windows. Some passengers may stir. It might be that they are an early riser or bad sleeper and get out of bed the moment the announcement wakes them or perhaps they roll over and go back to sleep.

Either way the morning rolls on for a few hours whatever they might be doing. Until a sudden judder runs through the train, followed quickly by another. Much like bad turbulence. Really bad turbulence. A third follows and there is a crackling sound before an alarm starts going off blaring loudly, the lights begin flashing red, white and red again.

"Warning. Void engines failing. Warning. Void engines failing. Warning Expulsion from void imminent." More shaking, worse each time, enough to knock them over and then a bang, the train plummets into darkness and lurches, sending everyone flying...

… They never crash land. Instead they float, suspended in the air. In the darkness it is hard to orient themselves or even understand what is happening. There’s a roar in their heads as pressure builds, their ears pop. "All systems critical." Breathing is hard, for one terrifying moment there seems to be no air to breathe.

"Oxygen levels stabilising." They can breathe, the pressure in their heads fades, their ears eventually stop ringing. "Pressure levels stabilising." They are still floating, suspended in darkness. "Gravity systems critical".

Emergency lighting flickers on finally, a red glow from either end of each carriage, in the cabins and along floor strips, enabling them to move without bumping into anything. If they can figure out how to move at all that is. Outside the windows is dark. Not the blackness of the void at night but the deep vastness of space. A few moments pass, enough time to just about process that fact before the voice over the speakers is heard once more.

"Passengers of the Voidtrecker express, due to technical issues we are currently experiencing void engine failure. Thank you for your patience as we endeavour to continue our journey as quickly as possible. We ask that all passengers help in securing the train for re-entry into the Void and on behalf of the Voidtrecker Express I apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Then there is silence. Broken only, no doubt, by the passengers on this now stranded train.

(OOC: Event information is here.)

Comments

Gym Car

[afterburner]

Well, Renee had promised the woman on the ICP that she'd go check the cars. It made sense to her, since while yes, the gravity was gone, it didn't make that much difference to her when she could kinetically make herself stick to the floor.

(It was probably better than flying at top speed through the cabs--for herself and others, as well...)

By now, her eyes have adjusted to the dark, though she still squints to see a little bit. Just because the red glow means her powers are active doesn't mean that helps her see at all. She'll take it, though, because she's not stuck floating.

"Anyone here?" She thinks she sees someone, but that could just be a beach ball or something, because who knew what all was in that closet...

Re: Gym Car

[deductiongeek]

"Up here!" he calls down. He knew the theory of navigating in zero gravity, but nothing had prepared him with the answer of what to do when you got stuck in the center of the room with nothing to push off of.

[afterburner]

"Okay, I see you, I got you, hang on a sec." Mostly because it was going to take all her concentration to do what she planned to, next. But she'd actually trained for this sort of thing, back at the Institute...

"So when I get close to you, I'm gonna try and grab you and you're gonna try and grab me, okay?" Just to make sure the kid was clear on what the plan was...

[deductiongeek]

"Mmm, I got it!" He squints at her, trying to get a better idea of where exactly she was in the darkness.

[afterburner]

It'll be easier to see her in just a moment--as her eyes glow red and she thrusts both arms down--it's just like watching a rocket's boosters ignite. But only for a breath, because that's enough momentum for her to come shooting at him. Renee reaches out her arms to catch him and clutch him to her, and they keep going. Perhaps a Lionel Richie song comes to mind, save neither of them are dancing once they reach the ceiling!

She does set him down, but holds his hand still. "Just 'til we get down. I can probably keep you tethered to the ceiling 'til we get back to the floor, but I don't want to take any chances, okay?"

[deductiongeek]

Conan wasn't entirely sure what to think about this. Despite having reluctantly accepted the multiple universe theory, this was his first encounter with someone with superpowers. For a moment all he can think of is how much the other detective boys would have loved finding out that people with powers were real.

In the meantime he just decides to go with it. When she sets him down on the ceiling he doesn't argue.

"That's okay! I don't really want to get stuck like that again. I saw a documentary once about how to move with no gravity, but I've never tried it before."

[afterburner]

"Yeah, I never got to do space training aboard the Blackbird. So I mean, I might've seen something similar, but actually doing it? Beyond me. I know how to use my powers though. But I might get you floating again once we reach the floor if I don't concentrate."

Renee just wasn't used to little kids. Nevermind the kid wasn't actually little, but she had no way of knowing that, so he was stuck with her being...her. Which meant nice enough to kids, but maybe a little patronizing. Her 'baby' brother was only a few years younger than she was.

But still, make it to the floor they do, slow going as Renee takes it. She probably could've just rocketed back down, but she thought it was chancy enough on the way up. "Okay, so were you planning on going anywhere after this? I can walk you there. I was sent to check on folks, anyhow."