Void Missions (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
voidmissions) wrote2021-09-30 06:48 pm
voidmissions) wrote2021-09-30 06:48 pm
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[M15] ENEMY: UNKNOWN - THE INTERVIEW
On opening their eyes, Voidtreckers will feel a sense of disorientation, a dizziness to their vision and inside their head. Both clear quickly, letting them remember where they came from: in the midst of a mission, some unknown entity jumping them, and then —
They stand in an empty room. The lighting of the room stings their eyes after how dark the rest of the station has been. The walls, ceiling and floor are all bright white, tiles. There is no visible door, no windows.
After the disorientation comes fear. The hairs on the back of their neck stand up. For those with danger sense, these senses are going haywire, even though any other abilities are still not working. The feeling can be pushed down, it is similar to the air of expectation at the start of a horror film, the anticipation of fear rather than being in a truly dangerous situation. It might be that they have been on the train long enough to have felt it before.
Heavy footsteps sound, it is almost impossible to tell where they are coming from as the echo through the empty space. The feeling of dread grows until part of the far wall slides open with a mechanical hiss.
Filling the doorway are two huge figures, around seven foot tall and bulky. They are in large metal suits, almost like power armour, black with highlights of gold. They wear a mask that covers their whole face. It is impossible to see the figure inside at all. Their breathing comes through heavy and raspy and when they walk their footsteps are heavy. The door closes behind them and their presence makes the room feel smaller. One of them scans a green light over the voidtrecker.
"Do not be alarmed. Under sections ninety six of Inter-dimensional law and on behalf of the Void Ministry we have intercepted Voidcraft designation Voidtrecker Express as part of ongoing investigations. You have been taking part in a simulated excercise to gauge your skill and strength. No harm shall come to you or your crew, you are protected by inter dimensional law. You have been chosen for questioning and we ask that you comply. You have the right to refuse our interview but we have the right to hold you until our investigation is complete or one week in standard void time has passed, whichever is longest. Complying with us will ensure our investigation is more efficient."
The inspector talking pauses here, as if giving the voidtrecker time to take in that information.
ENEMY: UNKNOWN
Jake Peralta
no subject
Jake's been on the other side of the table back in the precint's interrogation room enough times to know how this generally goes, and he's been a hostage enough times to know that stalling through cooperation is the best chance for survival. But in answering, he also needs to do everything he can to figure out their angle, to best protect the rest of the crew.
"Great entrance, loving the vibe, not loving the kidnapping, but out of the sincerest respect for your profession: I should warn you that I've only been on the ride for about 3 weeks."
He does his best to look confident, cooperative, and most importantly, harmless.
(Well, he is harmless. But don't tell him that.)
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Both move closer, to conversational distance. He gets no response to his comments until the last. "Twenty two void days to be exact. You are Jacob Peralta and are 36 years old. Is all of that information correct?"
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He thinks through his answer for just a fraction of a second. "Look, I know that's what the legal docs say, and that's technically correct, but call me Jake. Please. We can be pals here, right?"
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"What is the designation of your home system?"
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Yup, tough crowd.
"The planet has a common name: Earth. And it's in a system of planets we called the solar system, cause...y'know, we didn't believe there was life anywhere else. Most of us didn't believe, anyway. That's humans for ya, always full of ourselves."
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Again the words seemed to be confirmation rather than a questioning of what Jake had said.
"Did your world have knowledge of the Void?"
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He still can't wait for the day he can tell Charles that anime is real. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and tries to look as tall as he can...as a shorter than average human next to these giants.
"Look, if you're worried I can't learn the ropes, I can. It'd be easier if we knew the applicable laws, or even just the sitch in general with worlds blipping out...I think? But I've flown blind most of my life."
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"Though what is not clear is how you were brought into the Void in the first place. What do you remember about your entry?"
no subject
"...nothing. The night before I'd bought an engagement ring for my girl after work, went to bed as usual, ready to pull off the best proposal ever. Next thing I knew, I was with some people I've never met on a train platform that was foggier than a subway station vape party. And the good 'ol Express pulled up, some of the crew left through a gate that locked the reset of us in, and the staying crew came out to meet us. They tell us we're gonna die if we don't board, the usual stuff, but apparently the train doesn't mean to kill us. Think it has something to do with a thing called tethering."
Yeah, his research is still a little foggy on that point.
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"You were not trained and you did not consent to void travel. Yet you comply with the demands of the Voidtrecker Express. Do you fear the voidcraft?"
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Jake pauses for a moment, attempts to make eye contact with the faceless.
"I don't know much about the big picture, but it sounds like there are much bigger threats out there. And if there's anything I can do to help, I want to."
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A pause. "We would appreciate a report of your time there."
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He idly rocks back and forth. "So we got there and a lot of their stuff was wrecked by raging birds dive-bombing. They called it the 'red storm'...it was almost like the birds were possessed. The possession even hit some of the Sali, and it could affect us if we breathed in too much of it. So it was slow going. We tried to convince them we were there to help, and we gathered supplies, fixed their homes....and eventually we flew right at the storm in an airship. We'd worked on restoring their magic crystals, and with those we could vanquish the red cloud. The day was saved and everybody lived."
He sighed. "I was...also asked never to play the banjo again. But sometimes breaking birdy eardrums is a valid battle strategy!"
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"We understand. Was this Sali archipelago a void active world? Was the void known within this world?"
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He stops to breathe. What else is there...?
"But there are bigger things to worry about, right? Like worlds just. Disappearing."
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The other spoke as the first stopped. "Please explain what you mean by worlds disappearing. Is this something you have witnessed?"
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Jake's so proud of everything he's learned from sci fi movies. But he won't tell them that's where he learned it. He instead focuses on the more important issue, hoping he can learn something...anything.
"All of what I know is secondhand. The train found some old recordings from its past crew right after we got back from helping the Salis. They're all missing, we still don't know why, where, or how. Then the rest of the passengers who'd been there longer started talking, and they were saying one of the worlds they stopped to help was wiped out once. The train evacuated with them in a hurry, before the world-swallowing thing could catch them. I took notes, but there's a lot of the puzzle I'm missing. Pretty much anybody else you grabbed for this probably knows more than I do."
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Maybe Jake's wrong to trust them...but call it detective bias. And he's making a case for the crew! Or so he thinks.
"It started out as ordinary stuff, but then they all mention being called back to their home planet to fight a sudden robot army invasion. After that, some bright colorful shapes invaded that were apparently dangerous, because the planet was destroyed and most of their crew ended up dead. Whatever those 'shapes' were, I think they're still out there."
no subject
The question came quickly but the pause after was patient, to give him time to think.
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"Well, I mean, their friends and family just got murdered, they weren't exactly feeling up to a nerd chat. But the planet's name was Enrara. That's all I know."
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Jake let's that hang for a moment before he continues.
"I know it's hard to believe, and I know I don't have proof the train's telling us the truth. But I'm a detective, and in that line of work...I've learned that sometimes when a case runs cold, after you've gathered all the evidence you can, you have to trust your instincts. And mine are telling me that saving these people is the right thing to do "
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