A New Platform [Intro Post October]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Horsehoe. Points have been updated on the system and new stock is available."

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. The first thing they may notice is that this platform is inside a basic shelter, making it warmer than the last couple at least.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Adora, Alex Hashimoto, Catra, Cloud Strife, Elizabeth Midford, Feanor, Gerome, Gladiolus Amicitia, Glimmer, Ifrit, Isabella D’Oro, Maru, Nari Reno, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum, Scorpia, Siobahn Chereshei, SXT-2, Tamamo-no-Mae, Tony Stark, Uta, Zidane Tribal

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours 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 gloomy, even without the steam and fog. They are in a wooden building, open to the tracks on one side. It in a creaky shelter, cobwebs hang from the rafters and there is a peculiar whistle as wind finds its way through the cracks.

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 gloom 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, with… teddy bear shaped luncheon meat being the main ingredient to be found. There are plenty of other staples.

A new carriage has been added, those that go to investigate will find a room full of lockers, designated as the Armoury. Even for passengers without weapons it is somewhere to secure possessions. There are instructions on how to use the lockers and enough for everyone to claim one.

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 braving the snow 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!

Comments

[forleaving]

The idea of there being people who weren't eager to leave the train was weird. Didn't everyone want to go home? They all had lives to get back to, he assumed.

"What's his name, so I can keep an eye out for him?" Already, just the description reminded him of Gansey. If Gansey was here, he would have already been on the mystery of getting them all home, too.

[fun_thementalist]

"His name is Senku Ishigami, and if you've need of recreating a tool or piece of technology - if you've got the materials, or can help him collect them? He can deliver a pretty good facsimile," Gen told him confidently. "He had us help him build a cell phone from scratch, more or less, back home. Of course, if you're a fan of science or math and want to talk nerdy with him, he'd be delighted."

[forleaving]

He nodded, making a mental note of that name. "That's impressive." Of course, he also knew someone who could make a cell phone out of nothing, but through vastly different methods.

"I'm better with Latin, but I'm not bad at science or math," he added. He wasn't exactly a fan, but he'd worked hard and excelled at his studies.

[fun_thementalist]

"Very! There's a reason why I'm certain he's the smartest person here," Gen said smugly.

Then, his expression grew playful. "I'm afraid the most Latin I know, my friend, is atin-lay ike-lay is-thay, ery-vay un-fay!"

That's a lie, of course. He had fun learning a tiny bit when he was researching magicians through history. But it'd be nothing compared to Adam's, and it wasn't as funny as going on and on in pig Latin.

[forleaving]

Adam groaned, but he was smiling. "That doesn't count," he said. It had, at the least, amused him during a time when it was hard to amuse him because he was stressed and worrying about how he was going to get home.

[fun_thementalist]

Gen beamed, mission accomplished. "I'd argue it's close enough!"

[forleaving]

"You can argue all you want, it won't make it count." He was teasing though, some of the tension easing out of his shoulders.

[fun_thementalist]

Since he was teasing back? Gen thought he could like Adam. Maybe. If he ended being trustworthy. Only time would really tell if that were true.

Gen gave him a friendly grin. "Fine, fine. I'll leave you with your real Latin." He winked. "Any other questions I can help you with, my friend?"

[forleaving]

He exhaled, glancing down at the pamphlet and then around them at the interior of the train. He had so many questions still he hardly knew where to start.

"Why are we color coded into teams?" And what did the colors mean?

[fun_thementalist]

"Ah, that's a very good question," Gen smiled brightly at him. "And we haven't been given much information? But it seems pretty obvious it has to do with the missions we're assigned."

He's wearing different clothes that he had gotten from the spider, so he needed to share, "I'm on the Orange team, my friend. Other people on that team ... well, to be honest, most of them are far smarter than I am. It seems that we're given missions that don't require a lot of fighting. Which is good, because, ah. I'm best at running away from battle, it does not agree with me. If they're going to put me to work, I'd even prefer just gathering random supplies than being threatened with weapons."

His head tilted a little. "The other colors do a lot more fighting ... though from the limited amount I've seen - a single mission, so take this with a grain of salt? - the red team does the most. There aren't a lot of people on that team on the train, so it's hard to say exactly what they all share."

That's slightly untrue. Based on the mission description, they might all share an aptitude toward violence. But Gen didn't voice that.

[forleaving]

Adam listened quietly, taking all of that in. He was glad Orange wasn't for the fighters, because he didn't even know how to defend himself. It was better if they were the team filled with smart people; he could handle that. He was smart. It was, maybe, the only thing he had going for him in life.

"So they split us up depending on our talents." That was what it sounded like, at least. "It makes you wonder how they know so much about us." Which didn't sit well with him.

[fun_thementalist]

"I did consider that," Gen hummed. "You know, I was a pretty famous entertainer, once, on my world? I know all about being obsessively recorded and documented, but."

He smiled a little, but this expression was much more wry than before. "I think with just how we got here in the first place? We can probably just say it's some weird kind of magic, instead of fantastic technology."

[forleaving]

"What, weird sorting magic?" As much as he'd gotten used to magic, he wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere had files on all of them, had been watching them before kidnapping them. Maybe it was a mix of that and magic. "I guess that's always a possibility."

[fun_thementalist]

"... I was more thinking of weird spying magic," Gen said, grinning a little sheepishly. "There's some places where getting a camera and electrical power to the device and broadcasting that information to a source in a timely manner would just be troublesome. Don't you think?"

[forleaving]

"Oh. In that case, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest." If they'd been magically kidnapped, being magically spied on wasn't out of the question. "It would also explain why none of us ever noticed anything weird." Before ending up here. Assuming no one had noticed anything weird, which he wasn't sure of yet.

[fun_thementalist]

"I honestly don't know if there's a better explanation, now that I've seen magic actually exists," Gen told him, shaking his head with a wry smile. "Of course, any technology that's far enough along would probably just seem like magic to me - but I suspect one of the geniuses on the Orange team would've called that out already, if that was the case."

[forleaving]

"Maybe someday we'll find out." That idea was nice, to know not only who was pulling the strings, but how they were doing so. "But until then we'll have to keep guessing."