voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post August]

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A New Platform [Intro Post August]

On the Train

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Grasshopper. Points have been updated on the system and Voidtrecker Express lunch boxes are now available to buy."

They have indeed and everyone can spend the morning shopping, for lunch boxes or other items. 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. The sun beats down, a harsh, red glow heating the structure almost to the point of discomfort, although the train remains pleasantly cool. People might want to leave hoodies in their cabins.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alex Hashimoto, Ardyn, Basilton Pitch, Garrett, Gyro Gearloose, Heart, Higgs, Jack Harkness , Luke Skywalker, Merciless, Sam Bridges, Scintilla Caminus, Sven, Telli, Tokidoki Rikugou, Undyne and Wen Ning

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing polo shirts in four familiar colours, with an equally familiar array of expressions.

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 the oppressive, cloying heat hazing the air. The paving is sun-warm, and damp with water vapour.

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. They aren’t alone.

The platform, all pale paving and cement pillars, is not large and it holds thirteen 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 heat step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. Most are wearing the same uniform 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.

Once again it’s not all that long before the whistles blow 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 with more carrots, as well as other staples for the month. Those heading to the luggage carriage for their parcels will find some generic boxes labeled All Passengers. Inside they will find extra leather bound journals for those who have gotten to the end of theirs. There are also supplies of extra toiletries for passengers who are running low.

The big changes that passengers will notice is that the Quiet Coach and the Medical Coach now have two stories. The quiet coach has a whole extra five booths upstairs. The medical coach now has four recovery rooms whilst downstairs now holds two treatment rooms as well as a surgery bay.

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 itself. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

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Once Dairine learns what her sister has done, she returns to the train's engine. Despite Nita's constant attempts, Dairine hadn't bothered trying to communicate with the train since her first day. But this time, she can't ignore what just happened. This might be a mistake, but she has to at least try and make things right.

Tentatively, she places a hand on the engine.

/Hey. It's been a while./

Are you... alright? Did you get hurt?/

She will find the connection very hard to open, but as she begins to speak she does get through. The presence she felt last time in there, still very far away and she will feel anger from it though that anger is not at all directed at her.

There is no reply though.

That's something. Given what happened, Dairine wouldn't have been shocked if the train has just flung her away too. She speaks as gently as she can.

/Look, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. What happened-/

Dairine cuts herself off, shaking her head. It isn't her place to apologize for her sister's actions. That's something Nita will have to do herself, if she has it in her.

/I'm just worried is all. So if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know, OK?/

Dairine hadn't been the only one to notice. Xander had hung around Nita until he was pretty sure she'd be okay (but man was he nervous about how flat she'd sounded when she woke up; he knew there were Consequences when you used magic questionably--at least, by the rules he followed, there sure were...).

He trailed after her, but he couldn't say he was terribly surprised to find Dairine at the engine car, clearly trying to engage the train.

"Cottonball, pay attention," he murmured. He didn't want to startle either Dairine or the train, but he hoped they both might have a bit more luck if he stepped in. He put one palm against the wall of the engine cab, and then put one hand on the girl's shoulder. Not that he projects in words, but familiarity/warmth is directed both at the train and Dairine, and then he focuses more on the train. To it, he projects worry/concern and reassurance. He's not sure that it actually has any control over who comes and goes, so even though he's seen friends walk off the train, he can't bring himself to be angry at it.

Though considering what he'd felt and how aggressive Nita had been, he isn't sure he's going to get much of an answer either.

He might not have wanted to startle Dairine, but she was pretty concentrated on what she was doing. So when she feels the hand touch her shoulder, Dair jolts, taking her hand off the train as she gets ready to fight.

Her reaction is short lived once she sees what he is doing. With only a brief sour look, she places her hand back on the train's engine.

"Coulda warned me first," she mutters quietly under her breath.

The angry presence just continues smouldering, but there is still no backlash towards them. Indeed as they both project their calm and worry into the bond the presence calms a little. Though there is non of the wary curiosity of previous attempts. Indeed the distance seems wider than before, almost insurmountable.

Edited 2020-08-02 13:13 (UTC)

"Sorry," he mumbles. Xander is aware enough to have caught that from Dairine, and he does feel guilty about actually startling her--as if his empathy wouldn't have shouted it at him anyway. Oops...

As for the train...Xander can't get angry at it. He understands why it's drawn away. At least in his first attempts with Nita to contact it, it was wary trust they'd tried to foster--and then that was just chucked back into the train's proverbial face. (It doesn't have a face, but...) And he can't apologize for Nita, either. He can understand her pain and upset. It's not that he's not upset about people leaving. Most of them, he didn't know. But Sven...

That stung. Yeah. That's upsetting, but there's no blame in him for the train. It's just doing what it's been told, as far as he's concerned. Xander can't project words; he's an empath, not a telepath, but even if the gulf seems insurmountable, he's also an Earth mage. Stubbornness and tenacity are in his DNA. So even if it's slinging proverbial mud against a wall, he's going to project reassurance to the train. Xander's not mad. It's doing its best. He's concerned about it--Nita's got folk taking care of her. He and Dairine? They're there to check on it. Even if it doesn't want to risk anything right now, that's valid too.

Dairine waits, hand still on the train, until it's clear that an answer isn't coming. Well, she can't say she's surprised.

/Anyway, take care./

With that final word, she takes her hand off the engine. She glances at Xander, still frowning. "Well, I guess that's at least a start."

There's still no answer, not to any of them even as Xander projects reassurance. The anger does seem to lessen a bit, but the presence does not draw closer and the link remains distant.

"Oh man, that's bad." Those words rush out of Xander in a sigh as he withdraws his hand from the train and drops the other from Dairine's shoulder. He plucks Cottonball from his braid and cuddles her, needing some sort of reassurance at the moment--and he just doesn't know Dairine well enough to impose on her like that.

"I guess it could be worse, too, though. It could've just booted us out too, but this is bad. What did Nita do? I mean I felt her...she was so mad, I assume about Sven leaving, but...what did she do??"

It was pretty crystal to him that it was Bad with at least a capital B, but his powers weren't like theirs. He just gave Dairine a bit of an uncertain look. Xander would understand if he didn't rate an explanation, though.

Dairine breathes out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Yeah. This is definitely gonna be multiple chat project," she comments. Maybe Dairine should visit the wall a few times, give it the same reassurance.

She listens to Xander's rush of words, mentally pocketing away the bit about Sven. Dairine really hopes that wasn't the reason for all this, but... well. The Callahans could be a terrifying force when angry.

How much to say? This wasn't exactly her mess, even if she was stuck working on clean up. After a brief moment of consideration, Dairine decides to give the 'deets. He was a friend of Nita's after all, and he did help.

"Psychotropic wizardry," she answers. "It's one of the more difficult kinds to manage—both in terms of potential backlash and keeping within the Oath. Guess that's not so surprising with spells that impact the mind."

"Neets performed one that would force connection with the train. And..." Dairine sighs, waving at the engine, "...the train didn't take it well, and neither did our Higher Ups."

Ever see a levitating whale in a panic trying to move through a crowd without running into anyone while navigating a platform? Because that's what S'reee is doing at the moment. She's trying to modulate her voice to get as many sonar echos as possible without deafening people or startling new arrivals, but she's not doing all that good of a job. S'reee is late to the party and trying not to think about what will happen after 'find out what is going on'. Dairine happened to be the first person she noticed who would know.

/What happened?/

Dairine had just finished up with the train engine when she heard the melodious whale song coming swiftly towards her. The sound of the Speech fills her with a wash of relief, even if it doesn't quite overcome the numb panic that lingers still. Thank the Powers, she doesn't have to deal with this alone!

"Cousin!"

Dairine hurries to meet S'reee halfway.

"Nita lost her patience with the train and got suspended." She intentionally uses the same word for 'suspended' as the Manual gave her. No way Dairine would be able to find the correct word in the Speech otherwise. Hopefully it conveys the seriousness of their situation.

S'reee let out a long hiss of breath, mostly to give her time to focus her own thoughts into the Speech. That was not good. And, well, she was technically the senior wizard of herself and Dairine in terms of responsibilities given, at least last she checked. "For how long?" She could ask the Sea, but that was challenging on the train. She'd have to go back to her room.

S'reee tabled the thought of asking Dairine for assistance in setting up an alternative wizardry interface. Her brain was scattering like a school of fish that feels a shadow pass overhead.

Dairine grimaces. Unfortunately the answer didn't give an exact time frame, which is really stressing her out.

"Depends. The Manual says it'll last until she works things out with the Voidtreker, which..." She waves vaguely towards the engine, as if wordless saying '...kinda relies on the train wanting to listen.'

"It's really unhappy right now."

"I wonder if that is because Nita was the main person who talked to it," S'reee said. "If she was the only person who noticed it as an entity, it might cut deeper."

"That could be part of it," Dairine agrees. Nita usually was the one championing for the train's interests. "She might not be the only one, but Neets was probably the one who was closest to it."

She sighs. "Though with the particular spell she chose, it probably would have been mad regardless."

S'ree bobbed her head. "Yes. That wasn't the sort of thing you should do without permission." Which was why the Sea usually reminded you of the consequences and tried to get you to reflect.

"Permission and a solid reason why it's worth the risks! We're lucky the spell didn't backfire more directly," Dairine shakes her head. Psychotropic spells could have some nasty costs when they failed. She'd like to think Bobo at least tried to warn Neets, though she doesn't know her sister's 'imaginary friend' too well. But Nita could be stubborn sometimes.

Yes. And S'reee suspects that the mix of Nita's temper and stubbornness meant that talking her down in between her deciding to do so and doing it would have been a titanic task. Not that S'reee doesn't regret finding her sooner.

Of course, what to do next was another matter. "I'm not the only one wishing we knew more about the train itself. Or had some actual Advisories here."

Oh, it would have been a task and a half. Dair should know—she's her sister.

"Having a Senior around would be nice." Even if it'd likely get Dairine trouble at times. At least then she wouldn't have to take on the extra responsibility in situations like this. "Then I wouldn't have to worry as much about Neets getting in over her head."

She shrugs. "We'll learn more about the train given time. It's annoying, but unless another source of information shows up, we're gonna have to wait until the train's ready to share."

Which... might be awhile after this.

"Be careful, or I'll find the Powers have changed my title again.". Which... S'reee accepts that that sort of thing is a skill that she has and that few enough wizards have the inclinations and training. It doesn't mean she doesn't like complaining about it.

"Better you than me," she quips back half jokingly. As far as Dairine is concerned, she'd make a terrible mentor. She has no patience for it.

...Or any patience at all.

"And better that you deal with all the technological things than me," S'reee said. "But... I'm glad we've got a number of us here." Us wizards. Because even if Dairine is also a younger wizard, having three of them means that two of them can talk when one of them is in trouble. Like now.

"It is good not to be alone," Dairine agrees. Not only because having more wizards is strategically better for problem solving, but being the lone wizard of their kind is very straining, as Dair knows far too well. Back in Paradisa, she felt like she could never have a break. With the Powers not telling her what situations were assigned as her errantry, Dairine kept throwing herself at every problem she saw.

And in that castle, problems happened on the regular.

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A New Platform [Intro Post August]

Dairine Callahan | Young Wizards

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you guys can go on alone from here <3

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Re: Dairine Callahan | Young Wizards

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