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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jake, having acquired a twenty-one year old tail, also has acquired the whole soundtrack that goes along with Jingyi's general existence. Meaning the noise of distaste at the description, which:

"Bland isn't the worst, but sometimes you want flavour. If it's bland all the time, it's easy on the stomach, sure, but... did they leave us nothing to spice it up? No herbs? Not even salt?"

He watches Jake as he's working, also hoping the whole "we can hold you for up to a week" wasn't going to manifest. Would it be a week from when Jake disappeared? A week from Jingyi's joining? Were they going to be stuck in a room with too many people, one lavatory, and bland, weird looking food for a week more?!

Better not to think on it too hard.

"As far as I can tell, nope. Gotta keep the broadest range of people alive possible, I guess."

The sludge is done! He serves it up with a sympathetic frown.

"It's my third day in this stupid cell. They're only allowed to keep us four more, right? Which is still absurd, because back where I'm from one day is the limit if you haven't been charged. And for good reason---it gets real stinky real fast."

"They told me a week or until their investigation ended, whatever was longer." He pauses, accepting the sludge with a visibly mixed expression on his face. "Thanks?"

Looking up from the sludge, he adds, "They didn't make it sound like they were interviewing all of us to you, did they? 'Cause if it's only a handful of us a day, we're going to be in here longer than a week, and the whole train can't fit in this space."

Stinky was only the starting word for what would happen if they were confined to that degree. Jingyi paused to hunt down a spoon, ignoring the fork or anything else implement wise, then nodded his head toward the series of seats. An open sort of invitation if Jake wants to join him in his sludge... eating... adventure, to talk.

"...I mean, if I was running this case...how do they know they've grabbed the right people? I've been on one mission, I couldn't tell 'em much of anything."

Which is a distinct possibility. He nods and sits down with some slop of his own.

"What did you think?"

"This whole thing is their stupid test. I don't think they care if they're talking to the right people, because it sounds like their opinion is none of us are here by right. And they're not wrong."

Unenthused, he digs into the sludge. Swallowing a spoonful, he's mostly surprised it doesn't taste worse.

"Ugh... I've been here what, a month more than you? Maybe more than that? They really wanted to know about Diagad and Chaos, so I'm wondering if Anan got word out--she's on a different crew, they were there too, she showed us how to anchor. They really seem to care that the train exists and isn't on registry and now it's involved with what Chaos did. But it all ties into that world ending shape whatever, and their seniors don't even believe that could be real!"

Jake thinks on this a little more. These are a few stray pieces of the puzzle he didn't have.

"Well it's their job to find proof. Witness testimony counts for something, and if we all agree on the same stuff...then it's time to pull their heads out of their butts and really look. So we've got that going for us, maybe."

"Only because they know none of us had time beforehand to agree on a story," Jingyi says, taking another spoonful of sludge and leaving his wrinkled nose as his only comment for the moment on the state of given supplies. His tone was a bit dark, mostly because it's the problem he'd felt the whole time, and not something easily set aside.

"They can't even guarantee this committee will listen. Did you get them to talk about anything related to us? All the abducted?" He frowns, looking back to Jake to stall on taking another spoonful of slop. "We're so weird to them they had no answer for how to help or do anything about us coming or going. Maybe that's a thing their elders know, but I think it might just be something no one understands."

Jake thinks back on what he learned with a sad frown.

"Just that this situation's not normal. Void travelers are usually officially sanctioned and trained, and serving for a set amount of time. But we knew that already from the recordings. They also don't believe Enrara exists."

"It had a sister, right? Two worlds there."

He rubbed at his face with the hand not holding his spoon, tray settled in his lap.

"Enrara and the one... what was it, the train talked about it. They didn't think Enrara was real, they don't think the Voidtrecker Express came from anywhere real, they don't believe Diagad is real—not if they don't have it in their records. Their system numbers are like some book of precepts, if it's not in them, how can it be true?"

He lifted his tray again, eating more sludge.

"This stuff is so sad... my mouth is sad." Then glancing back to Jake. "I don't know if they believed more by the time they got to me, but if you talked about it the first day, then more of us the second, and the third? Maybe it means something?"

"...I don't know the name, I don't have my notes, but I'll have to look at it."

Jake sighs and gives Jingyi a sympathetic look. "It'll help, it has to. And we'll be rescued, and we'll find something way better than this to eat. Just think about what's on the other side."

It's how he's gotten through some dark times.

"No, we're going to be released. Rescue implies we've got some kind of leverage in this situation, and we don't. Not even their interrogation interview things were leverage. They didn't want to know that badly."

They were letting them all into this room with a refusal to interview, so no, they weren't desperate for information.

"And they're running this whole setup, so we're going to be let go, and then we can make more than... meals that come in packets!"

Dehydrated packets, far more offensive than the pre-packaged stuff one added water, eggs, or whatever else to, clearly.

[M15] ENEMY: UNKNOWN - THE INTERVIEW

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