voidtreckerexpress | Event: Expulsion (Day 24)

"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.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tony looks down at the floor, wondering how they had gotten to boards up last time. Why weren't the panels just floating away like everything else? Bad floors!

His attention goes back to Manabu when he starts talking. "Uh.. sure. How is it going to stay in the cup? Or.. is there a cup? Ever wonder how you pee in space? Or god forbid, the other thing."

"There's...methods for that," Manabu replies slowly, his tone flattening. Good god, he hadn't thought about that. He's trapped in a train full of passengers who have zero space-based travel experience that involves that much; someone's inevitably going to be making a mess...

"But don't worry about that right now, okay? I'm going to grab a bottle-- that's the easiest. So just, just sit tight for a second, yeah? I just gotta run to the kitchen car."

"Methods for.. peeing?" Tony asks, looking highly amused at this idea. He was working on thinking up his next joke when Manabu says he's going to leave to get water.

There was some apprehension in the idea of being alone again, but he didn't say anything about it. "Sure. You go do that. I'll wait here." Maybe. He might find something else to do or sees something shiny. Perhaps he'll try that nap thing.

If he were to stop and think about it, this really isn't the weirdest thing to happen aboard a train in crisis, right? No plant-based alien invaders, no vending machines rigged to explosives, no ghosts...

Yeah. This is probably fine!

Granted, he'd love to be able to meet up with Lightning to problem-solve about that engine, but...but not without Tony being of securely sound mind first.

"Alright, Mr. Stark, here's some water. Let's see if we can't...uh..."

Returning to the car yields a whole lot of no Tonys. Manabu trails off mid-statement, frowning at the empty spaces ahead of him.

God. He didn't go off and try that bathroom stuff already, did he?!

"Tony? Toooonyyyy..."

Manabu tries to keep his search rather discreet for both their sakes; he's not sure he's ready to share with the class about how he might've had a hand in drugging Tony the hell up, with him either twirling around like a drunk squirrel or worse if the chemicals reacted badly on a longer timer. So he keeps his calls relegated to the spaces he's apt to poking his head in...

Those spaces are toilets. He just has to be sure.

But also, considering what Tony was on about -- engines and floors and whatnot -- he makes his way back up to the first sleeper car, propelling forward with use of the overhead rails.

"Tony? You in here, buddy?"

Tony had continued to think his idea to get to the engine and make all this annoying crap stop had overruled his vague memory of someone telling him to stay put. It hadn't been much of a fight, really.

Manabu reaches the doorway just as Tony cracked the panel back open with a loud bang. "Took you long enough Rainbow," Tony jokes. It also was helpful that everyone panicked and left their doors hanging open.

Unfortunately, getting the panel open had caused enough momentum that it was taking the older man a little time to right himself back in position to continue his plan.

"Gah! Tony! Stoppit!"

Manabu pushes off the door opposite the room and low-speed tackles him, and the two go spinning into the room until he can catch hold of the table bolted down.

"I told you to stay put, you know! Not...not tear up my room!"

Tony was just looking up to argue when he's abruptly tackled instead. "Hey!" He cries in surprise as they go spinning. Hitting the table, he groans and glares at Manabu. Whoa, all this spinning was starting to make his stomach feel weird.

"This was your idea! We're getting into that engine room!" It was most certainly not Manabu's idea. "And who died and made you.. uh.. what if we removed the pipes? Then there'd be more room in the hole."

"There'd also be less air in the cabin, probably," he retorts. He shifts so as to get his knees atop Tony to keep him in place on that table while he yanks the bottle of water out of his pocket and shoves it in one of the man's hands.

"Here, water. Drink so there's something else in your system besides...whatever the hell you put in there. And we're not crawling through the floors while the train's in low-power mode!"

Tony scowls and looks back at Manabu accusingly. "You said oxygen wasn't going to be a problem? Get off me!" He struggles underneath the younger, much smaller man and his fist connects with Manabu's cheek. The next move is to throw the SDF soldier and then chuck the water bottle at him.

"You're with them! That's why you don't want us to get to the engine!" He launches himself back at the opening in the floor, quickly trying to get into the underbelly of the train.

Wow. It's been a while since he'd gotten hit in the face! And, no offense to Tony's prowess, it wasn't nearly the sort of haymaker he's used to. Even so, not even the guy plagued with the power to get punched a lot suspects it coming and is rightfully surprised as he tips to the side with the momentum, lightly bouncing onto the lower bunk.

The bottle bonks his shoulder shortly afterward.

No time to stop and contemplate the universe, though: that crazy man's trying to scramble under there again! Manabu shakes out of the stupor and scrambles, launching himself off the bunk and lunging to snatch at Tony's legs.

"Oh, no you don't! Tony! Gah--hey!" Easy with the feet! "If you sober up! Right now! I promise! To not hold this against you!"

"No! Let me- hey get off.." Tony was trying to fight Manabu off when the room started spinning again. He was overly hot and disoriented again. What was happening to him? For someone who had been fighting so hard a few seconds ago, Tony was looking dazed.

"Kid.. I think there's something wrong with me." He didn't feel well. Fortunately it wasn't the 'not well' that was bothering his stomach, but still it was very, very wrong. For being in an area with no gravity, everything felt heavy and exhausting. He let go of the edge of the floor panel he'd been trying to hold on to and puts a hand on his head. "We need to get out of here." Where 'here' was exactly, he didn't know.

"Yeah, I'll say...!"

The lesson has been properly learned: Do not just toss random jars of pills at people who ask for them. Manabu's taking this one on the road with him, for sure.

When Tony releases the panel and lets it drift back into place, only then does Manabu's hold on his legs ease up -- not entirely, not until he's able to pull him a little further his way and get a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Let's find some place for you to ride the rest of this out, okay?"

Event: Expulsion (Day 24)

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