VoidTrecker Express OOC

On the ground floor of the library there is an ornate fireplace. It is set in dark stone into the front wall of the carriage. There is a cute rug in front of it and there are beanbags and other comfortable reading pillows. The fire isn't real- it is holographic and controlled by a dial on the wall but everything about it feels real, it gives off heat, it flickers like fire, it even smells like a log burning fire giving the library a very homey feel to it.

Entering the pool carriage (a singular with a raised roof) will bring you first into a corridor, a set of double doors at either end; beside these doors is a plaque that reads "S'reee's Bathtub". Going on through, there is a pool nearly the width of an entire carriage, allowing for space to walk around. At one end - the shallow end - is a set of cubby holes to one side, to allow clothes to be stored; beside them are a row of showers that double as a place to change. There is also a cupboard squeezed between both where flotation devices, balls, and other swimming-related fun can be found inside. A pump is included for inflating, and there are also breathing gills found, for those who want to breathe underwater.

Over on the other side is the deep end of the pool, and also a raised jumping board with a ladder. Tiny foam fish float in the water, and there is a panel near the doors that allows the temperature to be changed from cold to warm.

The walk-in washing station has been given an upgrade, allowing the floor to be raised depending on the required height: this can be used for washing, or now as a grooming table. The hose has more features and allows for an easier adjusting of temperature and spray styles, and there is a pole above the station with a leash so that animals can be restrained. Along with the grooming brushes are now wool shears and nail clippers. Inside the cupboards with the buckets and food are some large and small blankets, a mix of toys meant for animals, and a collapsible skirting table.

~ Before this event characters knew that system #1015 (the train’s homeworld) had been destroyed by the world eating shapes. This happened when the voidtrecker was their dealing with an existing threat. Most of the crew were killed, and those who survived tried to find a way to save the others.

~ They also knew that there was no recollection or record of system #1015 existing at all, which was not the case with other systems that had been eaten.

~ They knew that the train could go back in time for short bursts. That is how catastrophe missions work- a place has already been destroyed, and the train hops back five hours to try and stop whatever destroyed the world.

~ The survivors decided to go back in time- to force a catastrophe mission and return to system #1015 to try and rescue people before the shapes arrived. This was illegal but they were desperate enough to try anyways.

~ They knew they would only have five hours and their weren’t a lot of void tethering stations- they didn’t have the portable tethering technology that the ministry now have (that was used in Osiga). Even worse, there were no tethering stations on their second planet of Thistea. Two of the crew found a way to turn off the safeguards on the voidtrecker express so they could skip the tethering stations, and tether people directly to the train.

~ When they arrived, there was strange lightning- something they noted they hadn’t noticed the first time they had been there. Their attempts to not run into the other Voidtrecker Express failed, and they caused a time paradox, shattering reality.

~ That was the end of the memory on screen, but some people entered a trance and felt as the train had then, lost and alone seeing the first ten passengers of this current crew and reaching out to take them.

~ Those that trained with the batons are given one to use, or to give to someone else who they train.

~ Though exactly how the Voidtreckers tethers work is still a mystery, the scientists have managed to make some SCAs that create a temporary tether to the Voidtrecker Express. They give the Voidtreckers a crate of them, in case they are in the position of needing to evacuate people to the void again. There are a couple of tethering data tablets with them. They make it clear that if they do tether anyone to the Voidtrecker Express, they will need to get them to the void base as quickly as possible as the temporary tethers will only last a week at most.

~ They have also got an upgrade for the voidtreckers SCAs. This will allow them to message the ministry. It will be a case of ‘leave a message’, but all voidtreckers will be able to do so if they need to.

~ After a passenger request and with the permission of the Voidtrecker Express, they have installed some of the holo illusion technology into the VR game system. This is a much simpler version of the simulation rooms on the void base. They can be programmed to meadow, beach, prayer temple or mountain top. People will be restricted by needing to be wearing the VR equipment, but it allows for relaxation and calm.

~ They will also be given a small box of void rock pebbles. They are smooth flat stones that sit well in the palm of a hand. The meditation instructors suggest that using those as a focus- especially if they connect to their craft using the methods they tried when first attempting to find the train memories (here for info) might help them in their efforts to find their lost friends.