voidtreckerexpress | A new platform [intro post September]

A new platform [intro post September]

For those on the train

“Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Bassoon.” The train announces the morning the month changes. It seems the train counts months in days of thirty. Team Points have been updated on the system.

The day continues as most days do, chores, eating, getting ready for another day. But those who suspect that a change of month may bring something else are correct. It is only an hour or two later that there is another announcement.

“Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void imminent.”

By now they should know to hold on as the train jerks and jolts. There is only fog outside the windows but the train soon comes to a stop. The doors hiss open.

As they exit into the fog they may notice Evie exiting from the luggage carriage door. Much like Hibiki the last time they were on a platform. She leaves the train, backpack on her back as she walks through the station. She heads no call, reacts to no words and cannot be stopped as she walks to the ticket barrier and disappears through it.

Strange. But even stranger still is that there on the platform that whole time is Evie. Dressed in purple, backpack on back, with her are others. Waiting for the train.

For new arrivals

At first all they can see if 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 your 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 very large, but it hold twelve figures all facing the tracks, all wearing similar clothing. The tracks stretch left and right into steam, or perhaps fog. Nothing can be seen to either side. There is a wall around the platform and the only entrance is a ticket barrier. It cannot be open, nor do there seem to be any staff.

What there is, is a train. Jet black and gleaming where it stands on the rails.Voidtrecker Express is emblazoned in the engine in gold. There is a hiss as the doors slide open.

Out step a selection of people, some less human than others, wearing clothes just like those worn by those on the platform.

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.

Once on board there is lots to explore. Passengers both old and new will hopefully be delighted to see the boredom of this train journey is somewhat alleviated by the introduction of a game carriage. Plenty of games, both familiar and new to play with your new travelling companions.
Each ICP shows the same message. If Red team go and look they will find a box in the luggage compartment that contains their prize. A dralite themed cake lolly each. There are enough for the new members of Red team too, share in your teams previous success!

The food stores have been topped up with new fresh food. Salmon has taken over as the primary ingredient of choice. Hopefully everyone likes fish!

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. For those who boarded two weeks ago they will know what is coming next.

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."

Hopefully someone warns you that you really want to heed that warning because a moment later there is 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 voidspace.

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"Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist!" She lifted her hands in a gesture of mollification--and Renee didn't keep going, at least in part because his next comment had her derailing.

"What's a coffin jockey? And why would you be too short?" Though yeah, he was a bit shorter than she was, but she'd decided not to bring that up. It was average enough where she was from, and she was honestly a mutant freak in more ways than one, so.

"Anyway, I'm Renee Corbin. You are?" She had a sneaking suspicion...

It took a moment for Luke to realize that she probably had no idea what he was talking about, and he felt his face heat up. They were from all different worlds, of course; for all he knew it was just a saying in another world.

"S-sorry... 'coffin jockey' is just slang for a pilot," he replied sheepishly, before offering his hand.

"Luke Skywalker. Nice to meet you, Renee."

"Oh! Oh, okay!" Renee laughed at that. "Sorry, yeah. I had no clue. But yeah I suppose you'd have to be a certain height to ride those proverbial rides, eh?" She's being silly again, but not actually trolling. There's also some rather loud internal squealing going on, as she uses every ounce of willpower she has not to make the internal squealing external squealing.

Still, she manages to shake his hand, trying to act normal. Smooth, Renee. Smooth. Save that's about the time her brain goes blank and she has no idea what to say. Typical teenager, really.

Though she does manage to release his hand before it gets creepy. Damn it, Pete, where are you now so she can nerd at you about this??

She's... she's so loud in the Force. Why is everyone practically screaming in the Force when they meet him? He manages a weak smile, taking a step back.

"U-um... I guess so?" he replied softly, not sure what to make of any of this.

She doesn't mean to be, but honestly Luke was something of a lifeline to a sad and lonely kid when she was around ten years younger than she is now. Not that he could know that, and she's not likely to tell him that, even if he is Luke Skywalker. But Renee is calming down a little.

"So do you wanna try these things out? I'm not sure what games are on there, now. The train's weird, and these kind of...just showed up, recently." She gestured at the game console, though she might seem a bit apprehensive about it, too. Renee's not entirely sure they've been calibrated for her strength, after all, and she'd feel really guilty if she broke it when they weren't even a day old yet.

Well, she seemed to be calming down right away. It really seemed like Mr. Stark wasn't kidding when he said people were going to freak out over him.

"Sure, I don't mind," he replied, before glancing at the console that seemed to control them. He nodded to it, before shuffling over to it, giving her enough room to slid in next to him to look over it with him.

"I'm not familiar with this tech yet," he explained, inviting her to navigate it.

"Well, it looks like some stuff we had back at the Institute. Not quite, but...close?" Like horseshoes and hand grenades, not that Renee was about to put it like that. She's done enough disturbing the peace today.

"Seems kinda simple enough, though back at the school there were glove interfaces too..." Mostly musing to herself, but if it helps Luke, too, she figures it's all to the good.

"Looks like there are four games. Kind of a role playing adventure, a crisis/escape room sort of thing, a starfighter game, and something like...race a starship and beat your friends."

Man, and here she'd been hoping for something like karaoke (she can carry a tune in a bucket, at least) or You Can Dance If You Want To (think Dance Dance Revolution).

It was easy to see Luke's eyes immediately light up at the mention of racing a starship, a slow smile creeping up on his face a moment later. He glanced between the terminal and the head sets a few times, before finally turning to her, an almost mischievous look coming to his face.

"Do you want to try it?" he offered, barely concealed excitement in his voice.

"I get the feeling you're gonna smoke me, coffin jockey. I never even had an XBox back home," Renee complained. But only a little. She was kind of amused, really. Who'd've thought, right?

"But yeah, sure, I'll let you beat me a couple times for giggles." Renee got the feeling she, at least, really wouldn't mind that much. Hey, she might even get good, eventually!

Luke couldn't help but grin at her picking up the name often used by stormtroopers like Kreel. It was the sergeant's favorite thing to call him whenever Luke made him mad, when he wasn't slipping into old Outer Rim colorful language, anyway. It brought a small pang of homesickness to his heart, one he forcefully shoved down. He could deal with it later, when he was alone; right now wasn't the time.

"I can promise you at least one victory while I get used to the controls," he confessed. "After that, no promises."

"Oh, naw, you're gonna beat me. I don't know how to use this either, and I didn't play a lot of games like this where I came from. Oh, maybe when I had arcade money, but that didn't happen a lot either. I was a poor kid."

But it didn't really bother her. Playing a couple games with Luke meant she wasn't going to be bored out of her gourd for a couple hours. So Renee could deal with that. She also noticed the pause, too, though.

"You gonna be okay there, sport? I know this is a really shitty place to end up, but I've been worse. Pretty sure you have too." Even if, thank you, multiverse, he wasn't the one she was familiar with. Renee had decided not to pry for the moment, though.

His expression turned a bit sheepish as he grabbed for one of the headsets, a little embarrassed at being called out.

"Sorry, just... I was reminded of my friends. I think they'd enjoy this too," he said softly.

And he would pay anything to see Kreel attempt this sort of thing. Or Aphra, or both of them together. Even if it would end in him dying from hysterical laughter, it would be so worth it.

He shook himself out of the thought, flashing a big smile and a wink, before peering up in the headset.

"So how does this activate?" he asked, quick to be focusing back on the game itself.

Renee paused at that, head tilting. She reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "It won't replace your old friends, and it shouldn't, but you can make new ones while you're here. I'll just hope for you that this mess blows over and you can get home where you belong."

That had kind of been going around, so she was hardly gonna judge Luke for being in the homesick club. Maybe if her home had been more like a home, Renee would be there herself.

"I think it's sort of always on, and then just a bit on screen saver mode when not in active use?" It seemed that way from her initial assessment of it. Maybe it had motion sensors too, but she wasn't sure.

He peered over at Renee at the offer of comfort, a small, grateful smile coming to his face.

"Always on, hunh...?" he murmured, settling the visor over his face. He jumped slightly as the image inside flicked on, his head whipping back and forth, the image inside tracking his movement.

"Whoa..." he murmured, before he felt a weird lurch, like his brain was swimming independently from his head. "Whoa, this is going to take some getting used to."

"Oh man, I can agree with that! Virtual reality is weird!" Even back home it was, and she had the added fun of it being used for combat training. This was at least a bit more mild...even if there was still crisis training as an option. It might be in game form, but a spade was a spade!

"Well we've sure got time, so don't rush yourself." Renee lifted the helmet she'd been holding and put it on her head, taking a seat before it got her really disoriented. "You think we oughtta do a few test runs first? Do some of that getting used to?"

"Oh yeah, definitely need to get used to this first," he replied. He fumbled for a seat in the real world, the sight of the game's welcome screen bobbing with his head movement, finally sitting down when he found it. It was a little less disorienting once he was seated, but there was still an unsettling feeling in the back of his mind, quietly whispering that what he was seeing and what he was feeling wasn't lining up.

If the Force could be described as "freaking out," this probably was what it felt like.

"Definitely going to take some getting used to."

"We've got time. I'm not in a hurry!" Renee reassured him again. She might've been laughing just a little, but it was more easygoing, meant to put him at ease. Trolling had its moments, but even she realized it wasn't good to do all the time.

She reached out a hand to make sure Luke was steady as he took a seat. "So what's flying a fighter like? I mean, um. I can actually fly but it's probably not like how you do."

Aaaawkward, good job Renee!

At this point, suddenly appearing on a train platform in the void is the weirdest of the weird. People being able to fly on their own? Not that surprising.

"It's breathtaking," he replied, trying to find that point where he could breathe without the visor jiggling like Academy lunches. "It's just you behind the controls of a craft that can move at two-hundred meters per second, and the infinity of the stars. Very few things can compare to that feeling."

"I gotta agree with you there...I mean I can't really do space without an oxygen apparatus, but...I've been to space a time or two. It's really something."

Of course she had a costume that was like armor, back at that point. Not something she has here, so Renee's not itching to get into whatever's beyond the train too fast. That's a Tony thing.

"Flying's cool, though. I bet being in an actual spaceship is just amazing." Not that Luke hadn't been saying that, but Renee couldn't help but echo it, a bit wistfully.

Out in space without an oxygen apparatus... Luke took a careful breath, an unsettling feeling lurching in his stomach, and for a moment he felt like he was going to be sick. No, he was fine, he was fine, there was plenty of air, he was fine. Just. Focus on what she's talking about. Talk about ships, not space.

"I miss my ship already," he managed to get out. "I had just gotten it before I was brought here, and only flew it twice."

"Really? Only twice? Well...that fuckin' sucks! But she'll be there when you get back, right?" Renee hoped. It was something that was supposed to happen...

She had to believe that eventually she'd get back to Earth. Or at least end up off this crazy train into the Void. Otherwise she really would probably go crazy.

"So tell me, what was she like? Did you name her? That was a thing that happened on Earth for all sorts of crafts. Aircraft, boats, et cetera."

"She should be," Luke replied, grinning sheepishly. At least, unless his father decided to take the fighter back, then all bets were off on ever seeing it in one piece again.

"I didn't name my fighter, no," he replied. "I do have another ship though; I named her after my best friend."

"Yeah? You didn't pick up the subtle 'tell me about your ship' vibes I was giving off?" Renee still laughed, but honestly, he could have just kept going and she could have listened to him for a while.

"I hope your fighter's still there, but then tell me about your other ship? Not one but two? A wealth of ships!"

It was a big thing on Earth to have more than one craft, but maybe it wasn't the same for Luke. Still, Renee was curious.

He gave her an absolutely blank look. That would be a definite "no" to the tell me your ship, joke. Luke gave her a faint, sheepish smile after a moment, not that it could be seen behind the visors.

"I'm not really sure what make it is? It's like a miniature corvette, but I don't know the actual model, or where it was even made."

"But she's yours, and thus important, right? Some guys on my planet get like that about their cars. Not that I've ever had my own car." And flying was kind of better, really. Faster, at least, with how she flew.

Cars just seemed less impressive, after that. "They named a car after corvettes, too. Though I think our water ships were also called corvettes...some of them were, I mean." Renee wasn't enough of a history buff to be sure.

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A new platform [intro post September]

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