voidmissions | [M15] ENEMY: UNKNOWN

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're here. Wherever here is.
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.

"Do you accept our interview?"

ENEMY: UNKNOWN

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"We shall look into this further." They nodded at him and there was a pause for a moment, silence enchoing in the room.

"We heard that you, Tidus, possess a radio communication device. Is this correct?"

There's a weight in his gut, wondering how smart it was to mention those two when the Inspectors finally speak - their small silence not helping either, but.

But then the radio is brought up, and Tidus looks back at the pair; a brief furrow of his brain as he wonders who mentioned it (Inigo?), before:

"Um, yeah - but it isn't that great. We can't hear a lot, and we can't send messages. Why?"

"It was mentioned." Is the not so helpful answer. "Has it worked at all, to receive messages whilst in the void?"

"Uhh-" uhhhh, "well, we heard something a few times? But it's really hard to pick up a frequency - like over boats! I thought we'd pick up a lot more, you know?" He explains with hurry. "Void radio stations, that kind of thing. But the void's just... quiet."

Does he want to drop Anan's name and her messing with it? Not really, just in case. And he doesn't want to sit on his awkward behaviour either, starting to stretch his limbs, bending back a knee and grabbing at the foot.

"Do you guys have a frequency we can use? --wait," he interrupts. "Can't you guys just send messages out? We got one once. You sent a message out about us to everyone. I remember that."

"Yes. The void is quiet. Most craft use private communication loops." One explained as he began telling them about his experiences with the radio.

"We are able to send messages to voidcraft in void ministry void space. Do you have the radio in your belongings?"

Both feet are back on the floor, and he stands unsure, quiet. Looking between both of them, and getting nothing different but the same creepy exterior of stony silence. This is a chance, isn't it? But even now he's unsure, standing here.

"... if I do, you promise - you guys, you think the Ministry can help? You'll try, even if they don't." It's a big ask, probably useless, but he doesn't waver as he continues to look between the pair. "The people on the train, not everyone's big on the Ministry. That woman I mentioned too, from Enrara; she said to be careful about you guys too. I don't like the train much, but whatever's out there ruining planets, and keeping the passengers safe - I care about that. I wanna know what's going on too."

What's gotten them involved all this, if there's any way of stopping it. And there's no reason for either of these two to care, but always - he has to try.

"We don't have a lot of friends in the Void. All we want is some better way of navigating it, people who can help us." He pauses.

"You promise you'll help?"

"We cannot give promises. But we share your goals of wishing to understand what is going on with your voidcraft and with the issue of missing systems. The information we gather from here will be given to the ministry who will form a committee. If we find solid information about whatever is destroying systems that will be shared to all those in the void network."

They looked at him blankly. "Helping those who have been taken against their will into the void is one of the goals of our operation."

They can't promise, but they'll share information about whatever's destroying systems. It's as good as he could hope for - an answer for what started this all off, from the train's crew being wiped out, to now the train's antics.

Still, he wishes there was more certainty. Certainty, that one thing he hasn't had in so long, and stares at the ground between them. Their suits are off-putting, but it's not that look of them that bothers him. It's not really about them.

It's about what comes next.

He sighs, and finally, bringing his hands close to one another (and checking that his arms band is there on his other wrist), he pictures the radio in his mind, and...

...

...

"...uh." Uhh, right. He looks over to the two, brow furrowed. "Can you let me do things? I need to make it appear."

They watched him silently as he brought his hands together and nothing happened. Once he asked there was further silence for a moment before one spoke.

"It is a pocket of space?" They nodded and he would find he could reach into the armsband to get what he wished to.

"Something like that," he answers half-heartedly, the result meaning more than the answer itself, Tidus figures. But on the second try the void radio appears, and Tidus looks it over once before holding it out.

He knows there's no point asking for some way of contacting them back when the radio can't do it; but thinking that, Tidus remembers something from a while ago, his arms folding while they're empty.

"Hey, if we ever need to reach someone, what can we do? I tried going to some kind of help booth once that connects to the Ministry, but I couldn't do anything 'cause my ticket wouldn't let me. And if the train knows it's you guys calling - there's a chance it won't let us hear whatever you say. It did that when a message went out about us months back. It stopped us understanding each other."

They took the radio one of them walking to the door before it opened and they walked through it, there was silence before they returned, radio not in hand.

"We shall return it to you." They told him before he could protest. We shall ensure the train cannot block our messages to you through it. Though we cannot do anything about it turning off your translators."

He was going to complain. But instead he's left standing, watching the place where the one person left, taking in a breath. Realllly hoping he didn't make a mistake, here...

"Well - what if we want to contact someone? Can you do anything?"

"We will add a signalling button. It will act like a beacon if you need to alert the inspection arm to your location."

A pause before. "Contact can be difficult in the void and it is doubtful your voidcraft will allow you to contact us through conventional means."

A button's good. Probably a good time to add other things too, like a tracker, but paranoia isn't going to help. If something bad happens, he'll own up to it. For now...

"Okay." He folds his arms close to his chest. "How long will it take? 'Til you contact us? And- do you guys know anything, about other places disappearing? Like the train's world? Anything we could get the train to investigate?"

Since, after all: "It really seems to care about finding its missing crew."

"We are looking into that phenomenon." They told him. "All that we know we have learned from your fellow passengers. If you wish to ask your voidcrafts help you may. Though from what you yourself have said it does not seem as if the relationship between crew and voidcraft is a positive one."

[M15] ENEMY: UNKNOWN - THE INTERVIEW

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