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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"Noted." They nodded at him in a manner that was probably not very reassuring. After a pause they spoke again.

"What is the earliest void mission that you participated in as part of the crew of the voidtrecker express?"

Yes, it.. isn't really reassuring. The calm in the room keeps Inigo from freaking out, but it still doesn't feel good to say something like that, only to be met with nothing more than a 'noted'. As if these people just don't understand. As if they're empty suits, with no actual people capable of emotion inside.

It haunts Inigo's mind, even as he's speaking up to answer the next question.

"We helped people evacuate off a planet that was about to die due to threats from space. I helped evacuate humans, but there were these creatures too.." Inigo searches his brain for the name, since he's well aware that the mission otherwise sounds so generic that the place mentioned could be unrecognizable. "I think they were called lindusi."

Maybe? Probably? It's been so long.

But the thoughts from before are still hanging in Inigo's head too, so he can't help but speak up. It's a little slow, as if he's unsure about whether he really wants to say this, but it feels wrong not to, after that answer. When it feels like they don't understand the severity of the situation. "Are you guys really aware of what kind of situation we're in..?" He doesn't sound hostile, at the very least, but maybe it's due to the atmosphere in the room. "All of us were kidnapped from our own worlds. We have no way to go home. And people keep leaving the train like they've become completely mindless, without the rest of us having any idea of where they are going and if they're even alright."

They watch him steadily as he reports from his first mission and their posture and faces don't change as he speaks further, not moving or speaking until he is finished.

"Understanding is what we are attempting to achieve with our investigation. This is an unprecedented situation. Have you been given any information at all about you missing crewmates? Has your voidcraft acknowledged their loss?"

".. If anything, it has acknowledged the loss of its initial crew more than the people we lost along the way. It seems there was a group of people on the train before us, but they were all gone by the time we showed up. It has acknowledged them, and asked us to look for them, after giving us some of the logs they left behind."

Which Inigo can get. And he doesn't even think it's that bad of a goal if they might be somewhere out there in danger, sure, though he doesn't think it justifies kidnapping people from their own worlds and troubles to put to work for that instead..

.. but it also makes the other part of it sit so badly with him.

"But when it comes to those of our group who left and whose status is completely unknown, it just doesn't seem to care as much. I asked the train about it, and it just told me that it had no idea what happened to them after they walked off the train."

Maybe he's offering a little bit more information up there than exactly necessary. It's not like he had to let these people know about the crew before them, after all. But maybe he's hoping showing that he's willing to share information means that they'd be willing to share with him too--

"I.. I know that it's not really my place to ask if this is an interview, but.." He has to try. "I just have to know. If I knew the number of the system of someone who left the train that way, would you be able to tell if they were back in their own.. system or not?"

Edited 2021-10-15 22:21 (UTC)

There is a silence as he speaks, the silence of listening, the mood of the room still reassuring, calm. Encouraging.

At his request there is a pause, a silence that speaks of more. "If you are asking if we have the power to tell such things then the answer is no. If we were omniscient there would be no need for investigations such as this." One spoke.

Before the second took over. "However the fate of those who leave your craft is important information for our investigation. If you have a system number for one who left your craft that is a lead we could follow."

Another pause. "As it is clear this subject is important to you we would endeavour to pass any information we discovered back to you. Understand this would take some time, finding one person in a system is not a simple task."

It's very similar to what the train told him recently, isn't it. Not knowing anything for sure, only able to give information as it shows up. It's a little disappointing, especially since Inigo honestly wouldn't have been surprised if these beings were omniscient, it's not like he isn't used to dragon gods, after all. It makes other omniscient beings' existence a whole lot more easy to swallow.

But it seems that the people of the Void Ministry are just as human as the rest of them, even if they might be wearing those odd suits.

"I.. understand," he slowly says.

It's still better than nothing, isn't it? It's still a promise of something that could be found out in time, especially if they're not lying about it being important for them. And they most likely have more means to find out than the train itself does.

"Number 1129461094511218831384." Inigo repeats the numbers very slowly, because he has to pull them all out of his memory. Maybe he can for once feel a little less pathetic for learning them by heart, staring at them too often. Information that he thought would have been useless forever. "The name of the person who left is Yuki Sohma. If there's any other information I could give you that would help you find out what happens to those who leave, I'll give it."

He doesn't even care if it's a good or a bad idea to give it to these people. He's just desperate to find out anything at all, even if it has to be down the line.

"Number 1129461094511218831384." The string of numbers are repeated after Inigo finishes speaking, a beat before the same Inspector goes on. "Is there anything about their home planet you can recall? Names, level of technology, names of months or a year."

"Any information about their world or system will help us to pinpoint within that system the exact planet," explains the other, allowing the first Inspector to go quiet. "Details about their family or place of living will allow us to separate them from anyone with similar names."

"The planet is called Earth, and the country he lives in is called Japan."

Inigo goes quiet for a moment. He knows so much about Yuki, but he needs to mentally sort through what information would be relevant here and what wouldn't. Not to mention that there are things they simply never got to discuss before the other left - but thankfully Inigo does remember those names of the places he lived in.

"I'm.. not good with describing technology, but he didn't seem surprised by the communication system on the train, nor by the devices in the kitchen.." Inigo shakes his head, rambling on with something more certain, or obvious. It's not exactly easy to think about Yuki of all people, but Yuki is the only person he's got a lead like this on. And it's also someone he has to know for sure is alright, no matter what happened between them. "He has a really big family. They have their own big mansion where a lot of his family members live, though he doesn't live there anymore himself. There is a curse over them that made certain members of his family, including him, randomly turn into animals. That's not a common thing in his world, so it should set them apart from anyone with the same name."

There is reassurance in the air, for however it may translate to Inigo's being. Encouragement, perhaps even heard in the otherwise - as always - calm tone of the Inspector that speaks after it seems that Inigo won't immediately continue.

"This has been noted. If the family has influence, this will help us in our search." There is a beat, before: "Is there anything else? Names of family members, or the part of Japan lived in, for further reference. If not, that will do."

".. Akito Sohma," he says. It's a little more hesitant, considering he's pretty sure that if Yuki wouldn't want him to throw around one name, it's this exact one.

But it's for a good cause, right? The more these people know, the faster they might track his world down. "That's the name of the head of his family, I'm pretty sure.." So he should stand out the most out of all of them.

And while Inigo doesn't have any specific information on the place Yuki comes from, no matter how much he turns things over in his brain, he instead shakes his head and continues with: "But he's only one person who left. By now a hunderd-- no, way over a hunderd people have left the train like that."

And while the thought doesn't come quite with the usual panic, considering the air around them, it still can't keep some worry from appearing in Inigo's voice as he speaks, despite remaining calmer than usually.

The pair nod in acknowledgement of the name as it's given. Allowing Inigo to speak further on, in his worry and anxiety.

"Without access to the voidcraft's personal database, we cannot collect system designations that would have likely been saved in storage. We will attempt to locate Yuki Sohma, to confirm if they have or haven't returned to their home planet."

"If not, then locating them will become more difficult without the voidcraft's cooperation," confirms the other. "We may also need to find alternative means to contact the crew, if the voidcraft continues to ignore our attempts at communication."

At least it's a start. If they find that Yuki is safe at home, then the same probably goes for everyone else, right? And Inigo seriously can't think of anyone else he can send them to look for - not even his own mother or Gerome, considering it's not like he knows his own world's system number.

Instead he turns his mind towards thinking about a different problem.

"How.. do you usually communicate?" Behold: Inigo asking a question he knows he's probably going to get an answer he doesn't comprehend to. He is the worst possible choice to interview about technology. But he's here, and he has no idea if he's the only one or not, so he's got to try. "There's a radio on the train that can receive transmissions from across the void. Though it's our-- my friend's. Not the train's."

.. He thinks that's how it works, anyway? Where are Roland and Tidus when you need them, p-please..

There's a pause before either of the Inspectors answer, one looking at the other before they both regard Inigo again.

"Voidcrafts have built in systems to receive and answer communications, in a similar fashion to how your SCAs work. A craft can choose to answer or ignore incoming transmissions. The Voidtrecker Express has so far ignored all transmissions."

"Is your friend present on the station?" asks the other. "And would they have the radio?"

It's no surprise to hear that the train has been actively ignoring the transmissions coming from the Void Ministry, considering how scared it seems of them. And while Inigo technically can't blame it for that, given that of course it has so much reason to be worried about being found out considering what it's doing, it's also wildly unfair on their part, isn't it? The Void Ministry could've helped them out so much earlier, if only the train hadn't kept away from them.

Sure, maybe they can't be certain if these guys can be trusted, but this is the first time Inigo is getting close to fully being heard in such a long time.

"Yes!" Inigo quickly nods. "At least.. I'm fairly sure, anyway, I didn't ask him. But I can't imagine he would've left it behind." At worst he might have left it with someone else - maybe Roland? Or Senku?

"His name is Tidus. Around the same age as me, blonde hair but darker on top.. If he doesn't have it, he should know who does have it at the moment."

"Noted. We will inquire about a radio to Tidus if he is brought for an interview."

There is a pause to let reassurance settle with the response, before the next Inspector speaks.

"For now, we have a particular mission we are interested in, if you were present. An unknown entity created a false system and brought in individuals from across many systems, and also dragged in passengers of passing voidcrafts. False lives were implanted in those who found themselves in this reality. Does this sound familiar to you?"

If he is brought for an interview, huh.. Inigo can only imagine the other guy's reaction if he wasn't picked to be able to ~~yell at like a ferocious cat~~ talk with these people while others were. But Inigo hopes that he'll get to talk to them too. Not just because he knows Tidus would want to, but also because he's really hoping that radio might help them here.

As for the question, Inigo seems to nod with very little time necessary to think about it.

"Yes. I was part of that mission." It wasn't even that long ago, after all.

Edited 2021-10-17 10:02 (UTC)

"Can you share with us your experience, your understanding of events, and anything you came to know about the unknown entity surrounding this incident."

When one gives the request, the other speaks up, assuring: "Please take your time. Any and all information that can be provided will be appreciated."

"We were told by the train that there were people in danger there. But when we arrived, pretty much all of us were caught up in those fake memories that being created for us. It was really elaborate too-- I was suddenly used to technology I had never dealt with before, and I believed that one of the other passengers on the train was my brother, even though we aren't biologically related, nor even really look alike."

As he's speaking, Inigo can't help but wonder why these people are so curious about this mission in particular - maybe because they want to take in the being behind it? Inigo sure wouldn't be opposed to that, after everything it put them and other people through..

"I managed to snap out of it after several days thanks to the help of said other passenger. Most of us slowly snapped out of the memories around the same time." Inigo pauses, slowly shaking his head. He knows he doesn't know quite as much about the entity as other people do, so he doubts he's really useful here, but.. "That being who did it all to us seemed really angry at us. But I know we didn't destroy it or anything like that, we just.. sealed it away there. I think. But I wouldn't trust it to not hurt even more people."

There is a nod from the Inspectors. "There is reason to believe the entity will react erratically if engaged with. How much of the entity did you see? We are aware it was also present in other systems."

"Do crew of the Voidtrecker Express have previous experience with this entity?" Adds on one of the Inspectors.

He frowns, thinking, but.. "It seemed just like it consisted of light to me. But other people got closer to it." So they might know more. He didn't go to fight the entity in the end, after all, instead opting to try and save the other people still present in the city.

But erratic? Yeah, that sounds about right for that guy. He won't correct them on that, these guys have entirely the right idea about that thing.

"That.. uh, entity did mess with us during a few missions before it though. I think twice." Really obviously back on Kamakan, and then slightly less obviously in that.. that really odd other place.. "He really seemed to be carrying some sort of grudge against us. I'm honestly really hoping we never run into that thing again."

"We are hoping to keep the situation contained in regards to the entity," an Inspector says, in some form of agreement to never running into again.

"Was this grudge against you directed towards the Voidtrecker Express? A grudge from a time before the current situation with its crew?"

You know, that's a good question.

Good enough that it seems to catch Inigo by surprise, making him look at the two like he isn't quite sure either, and has to think about it for a moment.

"I.. think it was against us. Because we kept driving him out of places, since he was messing everything up in those worlds." And endangering so many people. "I can't say I'm fully sure though, since he was constantly yelling about so many things. It could have been that he already met the train at some point before any of us were on it."

Though, honestly, what Inigo is getting from what these figures here are saying is that it's no longer the problem of the people on the train, which he will gladly hope for.

"We will ask your other crew members to confirm," one of the Inspectors nod.

"Since meeting the entity, have you experienced any side-effects? Have you or your fellow crew members also experienced any of the following during your time in the Void: unexplained illnesses, dizziness, hallucinations or mood shifts that do not seem to have a clear cause?"

Briefly Inigo wonders if reliving the stabbing in his dreams could be considered a side-effect, but he's pretty sure it's not what these people are looking for. In fact, he's pretty sure he recognizes those symptoms - weren't they the ones of void sickness? Sheesh, it's been so long since they heard about that..

"Not as far as I know," he simply answers. "I've been feeling the same as ever."

Unexplained mood shifts included.

One of the Inspectors nod in acknowledgement to the answer, then the other asks, a moment after that gesture: "How many individuals in the void have passengers been in contact with, from the void?"

"Is there anyone that is in contact with the voidcraft itself that you know of?"

[M15] ENEMY: UNKNOWN - THE INTERVIEW

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