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

[aluciner]

"There's beds in medical, but the doctor-types are always fussing in there. You're sitting in basically the only place that might work."

His qualifications are essentially a place that's quiet, and relatively private. Are the quiet car's booths the ideal place to actually sleep? Not really. You could probably take a nap in one, but they're not exactly designed for sleep. Fortunately, for the purposes of this conversation, Ronan isn't a person who cares about where he's sleeping. He can fall asleep anywhere.

Between Adam and Chainsaw, though, sleep might be almost manageable. He doesn't want to say that, because that's a huge thing to ask and Ronan knows that if he asks Adam will do it, even at his own expense.

[forleaving]

He surveyed the space they were in. It really wasn't ideal, but he didn't have any other options to suggest. He didn't know the train and Ronan did, so Adam was going to trust his judgement on this. Things could be worse, location-wise.

"It's worth a shot to try it here. If anything goes wrong, it was my idea." And he would accept the blame for it. He didn't want Ronan to beat himself up over it if something happened, but he also wanted him to give sleeping a try.

[aluciner]

"You've been awake for almost as long as I have." Ronan's not entirely sure exactly how long Adam's been awake, but he knows Adam drove to meet him and then drove back to take a fucking test. "I'm not letting you try to dreamshare when you're as tired as I am. Besides, I don't know where Chainsaw is."

He could find her fairly easily, if he wanted to. That's more of an excuse than an actual reason.

[forleaving]

"I'm not tired." He had been, before, but then scrying had woken him up. Then being kidnapped had done the trick. There was too much going through his head for sleep right now. As if just resting wasn't an option. Like he couldn't tuck himself away in the library or some place and read about the void and the train and whatever else until he inevitably fell asleep over the books.

"I can sleep after."

[aluciner]

"No." Ronan gently tosses the pen he's been holding at Adam. He's sort of aimed it at Adam's forehead, but really he just wants to see what Adam's reflexes are currently like. "There's not going to be anyone to cut the circuit if shit goes south. I'm not gonna try it while you're dead on your feet, Parrish."

The very idea of saving Adam Parrish from his own damn self is a Sisyphean task, but it never stops Ronan from trying. He doesn't even want Adam to change, exactly, just to actually be willing to take a break when forced to. In that sense, Ronan supposes, Adam was made for the train in a way that he isn't.

[forleaving]

Adam's reflexes were shot. By the time he'd raised his hands to catch the pen, it'd already hit him and it was all he could do to grab it before it hit the floor. He did catch it though.

Ronan was right, but Adam didn't want to admit that he was right. It would be better to wait until he'd actually rested, when he was at least close to 100% instead of about 40%. He was just so used to ignoring his own needs and emotions and tiredness and putting others before himself. It felt a little like he wasn't trying hard enough to admit defeat, however temporary.

Taking a breath, he held it for a moment, exhaling as he put the pen on the table. He didn't want to fight, even though fighting was sometimes inevitable. "After I've had some sleep, then." If he wasn't really, truly tired, he would've protested more. He didn't like the idea of Ronan suffering more and more from the lack of proper sleep, but unless Adam knocked him over the head (out of the question) there wasn't much he could do about it right now.

[aluciner]

"Yeah, yeah." Ronan rolls his eyes, taking his pen back and slipping it into the pocket of the hoodie he's wearing. "After you've slept. Let me see your ticket first."

How much after Adam sleeps is another question entirely. Is Ronan going to try and put it off for as long as possible? Yes, because if it works Adam will kill himself doing it and Ronan would really rather they both be alive and functioning poorly than potentially worse off. He'll manage without sleep, somehow.

[forleaving]

"I mean it." Adam knew this wasn't going to be an easy battle, not with how stubborn both of them were, but he was still determined. Maybe he was biased, but he thought Ronan deserved all of the nicest things in life, including the ability to sleep without worrying. Unfortunately, he didn't know if such a thing was actually possible.

His ticket? He patted his pockets until he found it, pulling it out and offering it to Ronan. "What are you looking for?"

[aluciner]

"Your cabin number." It's said with an air of obviously, despite the fact that that's not really why he wants to see Adam's ticket. He slides his own across the table in return. "There's thirty five of them, I'm not about to go running up and down the sleeper cars trying to find you."

It's never actually occurred to Ronan to try and duplicate one of the tickets, mostly because he's never had a reason to want someone else's ticket. Technically, he probably could have gotten close enough by using his ticket as the base and simply changing who the ticket was for, but holding things is always the fastest way to commit them to memory for him. He can reproduce things from his own imaginings and he can produce things from cobbling together other things, but to replicate things he needs to have held them himself.

[forleaving]

He hadn't even thought about where he would be sleeping, just that he would be sleeping somewhere on the train. Too much else had been going on; his mind was full of terrible news still. The only thing good about being here right now was that he knew Ronan was safe.

Picking up Ronan's ticket, Adam studied it for a moment, suppressing a yawn. "I guess it was too much to think we might get to pick what cabin we sleep in." Not that he thought they would be able to pick someplace without roommates, not with as many people as he'd seen on board, but he would have chosen to be close to Ronan.

[aluciner]

"You don't even really get to pick where you sleep. Everyone wakes up in their bunk in the morning." Which had been a fun fucking time for him the first few times it happened to him. Waking up and being able to move his body immediately isn't something he's used to at all and he's definitely fell out of bed at least once because of it. "Time works here about as well as it did in Cabeswater."

He hasn't tried to actually make a clock that works well, but he gets the feeling that it'll probably always be a little weird. There might be a learning curve to using - well. Honestly, Ronan doesn't know what powers the dreaming on the train but he knows there isn't a ley line and the power must come from somewhere. It feels different to using Lindenmere or a ley line, and Ronan hasn't quite figured it out yet.

[forleaving]

No wonder Ronan was having such a hard time sleeping, if he couldn't even choose where he was going to be in the morning. The more Adam heard about the train, the more he disliked it, as if he hadn't already disliked it from the start.

"That sucks." Which felt like the understatement of the year. It was weird, and creepy, and rude of the train not to let you wake up where you fell asleep at night. "At least Cabeswater tried to work with us."