voidmissions | [M15] ENEMY: UNKNOWN

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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'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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He continues to watch the two carefully, the frown not dissipating. The questions straight-forward enough not to rustle him, so-

"Tidus, eighteen, about-" He pauses, brow furrowing with his frown as he has to think. "I dunno... seven, eight missions? Gyueran, Terra, Irivar..." He mumbles under his breath to remember.

"Eight or nine months," he finally comes to. "Since that voidcraft picked me up."

"System #7625000129523. Designation Gyueran. A non void active world. Were you deployed there?"

With his first answers the feeling of dread lessened, making the room feel less intimidating.

It's like a weight easing off his shoulders, if not entirely. The string of numbers have him confused, never able to remember them, but-

"Uh, yeah," he answers with some hesitation. "A small island in the middle of the ocean? It was the first mission I went on."

They nodded at him."Do you possess your memories of that mission still?" A pause in expectation of an answer before the second spoke.

"Can you give a report from that mission?"

"I mean...sure? Do you want one right now?"

The apprehensive air may have eased, but Tidus looks around, at the nothingness around him, the room they're in.

"Is a mission from that long ago why you're here? Did something happen back there?"

There's a curiosity, a slip of concern, wondering if there's anything specific about that place.

"If it is possible. We do not wish to strain your memory." They sound patient at least, giving him the time to think.

One shakes their head. "We are interested in all data that comes from the voidcraft designation Voidtrecker Express. If that is your earliest mission then that is where we shall start."

He takes in a breath, shaking his head.

"I'll tell you what I know, but - our people, on the train, they're not in trouble, are they? I know you said your guys up top are the ones deciding what to do, but they know - we didn't decide to be here, right? Would they help us? I just wanna know we're not going to be arrested or called criminals when- we're just trying to survive, you know? And there's people who won't be able to live if they left the train..."

He doesn't rush, speaking slow, but a part of that nerves, a concern that he can't ignore. Will this help them? Will talking help? But he can't help but worry about what will happen to everyone as a whole, what this'll mean if they work with these guys.

Can they promise anything? Or is the Void Ministry - and anyone working for them - as cold and detached as some people's fears have worried?

"That is to be determined." They speak firmly, but not harshly. "But it is clear from our investigations that none of the crew of Voidcraft designation Voidtrecker Express consented to void travel."

There's a moment, a silence that speaks of something more between them before one speaks again.

"You are one of those who will not live without the tether holding you to the void. Do you consider the Voidtrecker Express your saviour?"

He blinks, frozen by the assessment they come to, some desire to speak on his mouth, but the words - they're not there. Instead, his half-ajar mouth closes, some kind of admission coming over him by the way he looks away, the expression sombre on his face.

"...No," he admits. "Maybe... at the start. But people come and leave, don't they? We don't get a choice. I was brought here to do jobs, save people - and I don't mind savin' people," he explains, "but there's no freedom to it. You're stuck on that train all the time, you don't know when everyone around you's going to disappear. Or what happens to people when they disappear."

He looks to the pair now, his brow tight, emotions stirring in his chest.

"That's not a saviour. That's a prison."

"You consider yourself a prisoner of the voidcraft designation Voidtrecker Express. Is this a correct interpretation of your words?" The first spoke and the second added soon after.

"We have reports of crew vanishing from the voidcraft. Are these disappearances a regular occurance?"

What else is there to call it? He nods after a small pause, then, answers next:

"Yeah, at random. Their names go gold on a roster on the train, and the people who come back after they disappear - they show up in suitcases, saying the train called them up. The people who don't come back..."

He sighs, tilts his head in a shrugging manner. "When we show up on the platforms that pick new people up, we see the people going outside, through a turnstile. Does that... sound normal?" Tidus looks at the pair, from one to the other.

"I mean- people disappearing, but then being on the platform. Is that real?"

"The void platforms are a liminal space to ease the passage between world and void." One explained, "Arriving and leaving through a platform are normal void experiences. Disappearing and reappearing are less so."

They fix an unseen gaze on him. "Is disappearing and returning something you have experienced?"

"No," he admits. "But we've had people leave the platform and then show back on it again. They don't remember anything - leaving, where they've been. It's totally blank."

The time between being gone and showing up again.

"This is not an ordinary void experience." They tell him. "Do you or any of your crew seem to suffer from unexplained illnesses, dizziness, hallucinations or mood shifts that do not seem to have a clear cause?"

"N...no?" He wavers, but there's a confusion that explains in, a blink at a question he wasn't expecting. "Everyone's fine, far as I know. Nothing like that's ever happened since I've been around. Save.. one time? When we went through one of those storms."

"A storm in the void? What was your experience of that?"

The voice seems almost gentle though it is hard to tell with how steady and non emotional the voice is.

He rubs at the back of his neck, trying to even remember it. Well, other than the basics...

"People thought they saw their friends and family from home outside the window? And there were a bunch of...not-there people inside too. It was creepy, and it felt bad, but- nothing happened. We didn't get our memories mixed up or anything."

Thankfully.

"You were lucky. Void storms are difficult even for veteran void travellers." More reassurance fills the room.

"When did this happen? Do you remember how long ago?"

There's a small 'oh', both understanding and not - it wasn't exactly a nice time, but... - and then as the question is asked, he has to think.

"Hmm, about..." But this takes times, a click of his tongue as he fails to think. "I dunno... it was way back." It had to be, right? "Maybe... before the third mission? Or after? That'd be three months in..."

He tries a few seconds more, before sighing. "Sorry, you should ask the others. We get a mission every month, so those're easy to follow. But the storm was a single day."

"Understood. The passage of time can be difficult to track in the void." They nodded at him.

"Were you part of the mission to the false system created by the unknown entity? This would be around two and a half months ago."

"Diagad? Yeah," Tidus nods. "Less of a mission- we got a mission signal, but we got dragged into that- whatever that weirdo made before we got to do anything. Fake memories, lives... do you know anything about Diagad?" he asks with a certain interest, looking at each of them.

"That planet got destroyed, but there's books on the place. Which means it didn't get forgotten, right? Like the other worlds."

"We know of System #401837400141 colloquial name Diagad. It has been destroyed, cause unknown. It has not been forgotten. When you speak of other worlds do you mean the home world of the void craft designation Voidtrecker Express?"

"That's right! The entire system- nobody remembers anything about it, right? We heard a story from someone there, they were out travelling when - I don't remember the details," he says, attempting to think and talk at the same time, his brow furrowing, "--suddenly, nobody recognised her or the system she was from? She was from the same planet - that Enrara place. She wondered if she got shoved into an alternate reality or somethin', but then she found the Voidtrecker Express - the train," he clarifies.

"Some people talked to her. I didn't." His features shift, a pull of his mouth as he admits, slowly, "...she's, not around anymore. But we know about that planet 'cause of her - and it's the same one a bunch of logs on the train talk about too."

"We have not yet heard of this incident." They looked at him steadily as he did his best to explain. "Do you know the names of those who spoke to this individual?"

Crap-- should I've said anything?

He does hold from speaking, looking away and a hand coming behind his neck.

"Uh... well, one of the guys left... I guess two of them are on board now? It's... Seto Kaiba and Roland Crane. But the info they got was pretty much like that. The woman was a Captain, and one day everyone stopped recognising her, her whole life got turned upside down."

He remembers how something she said made people not want to work with the Ministry. Was this a good idea? ...but if she's dead now, it can't come back to hurt her, can it?

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