voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post July]

On the Train

Luckily for everyone the final couple of days of Fiddlesticks are quiet and mostly uneventful. Eventually though they awake to the announcement. "Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Grasshopper. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train a while will be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"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. Also a loud pattering sound, which they will discover once the doors open are hailstones. They might want to grab their raincoats.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Ann Takamaki, Drizzt, Geralt, Huehuecóyotl, Ignis Scientia, Ivy Wakefield, Jiang Yanli, Lan Sizhui, Maebhrin Tillinath, May Parker, Nie Huaisang, Osomatsu Matsuno, Raven, Roxas, Shaw, The Iron Bull, Ultimo, Wei Wuxian, Yuki Sohma, Yuffie, Yukito Tsukishiro

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies and waterproofs, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. The second thing they will notice is it is cold, hailstones rain down around them, though they don’t last long on the platform ground, melting into slush.

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 the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large and it holds nineteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. 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. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

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.

Indeed whereas usually there is plenty time for people to be met and brought slowly onto the train, the whistles blow a lot quicker this time, as if hurrying the passengers along.

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, it seems carrots have taken over the bacon, though there are plenty of other staples.

Those from blue team who go to investigate will find a box of biscuits. There is enough for the whole team, including new passengers. Join in your team's success!

Those who are not new will quickly discover some changes made to make the train accessible to those who can’t see, including Braille translations of all the signs around the train.

There is of course the new music room to explore. A double carriage, the downstairs has instruments to learn and practice with, as well as a series of music screen points. Those who play around with the screens will soon discover their SCA’s can now store music and can choose their favourites to listen to around the train.

Upstairs is a performance area and holds a piano.

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 over the noise of the hail stones 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

With a nod, she takes a step back and gestures to the monitor. "Go for it."

She could always finish up downloading music later.

He's not unfamiliar with touchpad technology. He has his own tablet back home, even before he was whisked away into another fantasy land to build a kingdom from scratch. But that's not to say he's very good at it, apart from the most basic of functions. So when he starts...tinkering with the interface, he maybe presses things that he shouldn't have. He tries not to look confused, but ultimately one of his fingers slips as he scrolls down to an endless library of songs.

He accidentally presses a loud rock ballad. But he doesn't realize that it's piped into the last connected pair of earphones which may or may not be the young woman's using the screen not long before him...

Luckily she's only wearing one of the earphones when the music suddenly blares, but it's enough that she has to quickly rip it off her ear with a surprised cry.

"Ow..." she murmurs with a wince, rubbing her ear a little. As she holds the earphones in her other hand, the music could still be heard through them.

He's just as startled, and he immediately turns back to the screen, muttering apologies.

"Gah, wait! Let me -!"

Roland...somehow makes matters worse. Though he is successful in disconnecting the screen to the earbuds, he instead pipes the same track into the music cab. The recoil is instantaneous, though he only covers one ear as his remaining free hand attempts to rectify the situation. Thankfully, it was just a matter of pausing. He huffs, eyes wide and ears ringing like crazy.

"Are you alright?" He turns to her, wincing. "I'm sorry about that. That'll teach me to tamper with gadgets I don't understand..."

She covers her ears as well when the music rings throughout the car, but luckily it only lasts for a moment. When it quiets down again, she lowers her hands cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says, a touch louder than needed while her ears were still ringing. "Uh...want some help?"

"Yeah...The list of songs on that thing are pretty expansive, wouldn't you say?" Roland crosses his arms against his chest, glancing back at the music screen next to him. He only asks because not only did he see songs even he recognizes - songs from his first, home world - there were also songs named after cities from the second world. Including Evermore.

Just what was this train capable of? The multiverse continues to vex.

"Say, I'd hate to trouble you after that whole fiasco, but where did you get those earbuds? I'd like to connect them and get music on it too. For...research."

She nods in agreement. "Yeah, there's a lot on here." It's why it was taking her so long to look through everything.

With a smile, she shakes her head. "It's no trouble. There are some crates over there with lots of spare earphones." She gestures in the general direction of where the crates had been. "I can show you, if you want."

Whether that means show him where the crates are, or show him how to get them connected, that's up to him to decide.

Roland follows that movement, and nods in understanding. He strolls over and grabs a pair for himself, small little buds that looked no bigger than a bean, and walked over with them nestled in the palm of his hand.

"Alright. What's next? Do we...How do I...?" He might sound a little lost, though he tries not to let it show too obviously. Roland knows bluetooth technology from his first world, but how to get things connected is a whole other matter entirely. Usually, he just receives things when they're already working for him.

In all honesty, this kind of technology didn't actually exist in Kitty's world. Some of it was similar to what they used at the institute, but she's mostly learned how to use this tech because she's an interested teenager.

So she shows him how to connect the earbuds to the library for personal listening, versus letting the music play throughout the carriage. She also shows him how to download the songs from the library to the SCA, as well as how to sync the earbuds to the SCA as well.

The process seemed simple enough, though he did have to do double-takes here and there for a clearer understanding. But at the end of it, Roland ended up with a fully functional earbud connection to his SCA, ready for use. He shows his appreciation with a fairly jovial grin in her direction.

"Thanks, this is a huge help. Let me know if I can return the favor one of these days, since we're on the same color team."

Returning the smile, she nods. "It's no problem. I'll keep that in mind though, thanks. My name's Kitty."

"I'm Roland." He nods to her and begins to wear the earbuds, setting them snugly in place. He'll return to the music cab again when he has more time to explore.

"Thanks again for this. I'll see you around, Kitty!"

With a smile, she nods with a wave. "Nice meet you, Roland. See you later."

Then she replaces the earbud in her ear and turns back to the screen to go through the music library again.

A New Platform [Intro Post July]

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