middleofsomewhere | What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

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What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

By day eight the Voidtreckers have made a good deal of progress in all their tasks but there is still a lot to do to help the people of the city.

It is around mid morning when there is a message on their comms. For those that want to help it is easy to either find Anan herself or ask for netpoints and scanners to be brought to them by Chiff.

Illusions have gotten worse, uncertainty and fear are rising across all tiers and the situation is becoming more chaotic by the day. Indeed especially on the first and second tiers it seems that the voidtreckers themselves are being targeted, with creatures stalking them and attacks on their minds to make them believe that what they are seeing is real.

Same inside the Spectura system, the vines seem to almost be on the offensive against the voidtreckers though things are getting better outside the game system as more of the vicitms are freed and wake up.

Almost opposite to the situation on the lowest tier, which is getting more chaotic by the day. Anger is bubbling over, people are frightened and in a place like this the only real way to express that fear is through anger.

There has been a lot of progress but there is still a lot of work to do, especially as many of the voidtreckers have started to realise, this all seems a little too familiar.

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"Thanks for coming."

It's not what he means to say approaching her and Chiff, a hi or hey usually a way of introducing your presence. But it comes out before Tidus has time to think, to even consider how dumb that is, maybe. When Anan as the one who sent out the signal that brought them here, that it's not exactly what he means.

But if any Chiffs want to come and give him some company as he comes to a pause, Tidus won't ignore the droid. "Well, I guess I mean - thanks for believing us. For reaching out."

But especially the part about believing them.

"Hey you are the ones who came to me." She smiled at him as Chiff beeped and skittered over to try and climb up Tidus' leg.

"And of course I believe you. It's too insane for you to have made up and there's no way you could all keep up the pretence like this, there's too many of you."

She's not sure how many, but she's pretty certain it's over a hundred.

Here we go, droid buddy. Tidus scoops up Chiff as he had before, letting the little weighty guy rest in his arms.

"Well, last person I tried to tell locked me up in a room." There's a sheepish humour to that, a helpless smile on his face as he recalls it. "Thought I was voidsick, probably. But it's hard to ask for help when you don't know what to ask."

Especially when it came to the void.

"It's just been a really long time."

Being stuck with the train, a part of this - no hope of doing anything about it.

She pulled a sympathetic face. "That's rough. But sometimes people are just like that. My team are pretty sure I'm suffering from some post-near death experience trauma." She scowled.

"How long have you been on the train?"

"Six months now." It would be harder to remember, if he hasn't been talking about it recently with friends. "'Least, I think that's it. Six missions - we get one once a month by the way the train dates everything. And there's been people there longer than me."

Nearly double that, even, though when he counts by missions he's been on, it's harder to think about any time before.

"Don't suppose llama's this month for you too?"

"A mission a month. Sounds busy." She was always off on missions and tasks but she got the feeling hers were a lot smaller than what they dealt with, if the two she had witnessed where anything to go by.

"Llama?" She shook her head. "No. I just count months from time since last on my home world. Llama is sweet though."

"What's your world like? If you don't mind me asking." Actually, thinking about it... "It would be a void active world, right? Do you have, like...void holidays? Stations?"

It's not what he's really curious about when he asks - rather, he want to know about the world itself - but his mind leans that way, the difference between a world that knows about the void, and the many that don't.

"We have void access points, yes. Void holidays? We do have a bit of void tourism though it is still quite expensive and out of reach of most people. But my world is... Vast. A whole galaxy in our system. I'm an off worlder, born on a ship, my parents were engineers for fancy space cruisers so I grew up in engine rooms and visiting a different planet every week, not so much different than now except I've no rich tourists to boss me about." She chuckled. "Most the planets have similar levels of technology, there was a peace treaty a few hundred years ago that has held ever since, planets share resources and movement of people is free and fluid. There's a galactic government with representatives of every world." Chiff beeped again, as if in agreement.

"We've been void active for about fifty years, quite recent compared to some systems."

Tidus listens silently, yet as she speaks, there's a curiosity, an enthusiasm for her story, his mind trying to picture a world - no, an entire galaxy - entirely beyond what he can comprehend. Except...not entirely. Not since he's been travelling the void, and heard such stories. Worlds outside worlds, space and travel.

There's a small smile on his face by the end of it, a fond chuckle.

"That sounds amazing," he says earnestly. "Do people just go to different planets all the time? What, for work? Or just to visit each other? That just sounds so...big!"

Massive, even. If you had a planet with technology like in Zanarkand, put it all over Spira, but then you had multiple worlds like that - you'd be busy for life!

"Work mostly though also to travel, to see new places. The ships I grew up on were for tourism so they were massive, almost like a town in their own right. They would travel between planets so people could visit them and see the important sights."

She smiled. "Not everyone travels, some people just stay on one planet. Either out of choice or just because they don't have the opportunity or there's more keeping them there." She shrugged. "It is big though, but nothing compared to the void."

"The void's...a little too big. For some of us." Some of us being Tidus, a laugh that's small, light. He looks down at the droid in his arms, quiet, before he starts, slow:

"There was...something about the train. I didn't have it in those papers I shared 'cause it's kinda strange - we saw a memory. Or, someone did. Something about the last Voidtrecker Express, or back when it used to be around? We heard it's some kind of legend."

And this was the one and the same, apparently. Despite all the time since then, whether or not it makes sense.

"A memory?" She looked at him in surprise. "From the train itself?"

Strange, but none of this is not strange. She's accepting everything at face value and she will sift through it later.

"It is. A legend I mean. A train and crew to turn the tide of even the most helpless situation. Not just any void mission but one that seems to arrive, just in time, who turns absolute devastation into victory." She tilts her head.

"Have to say, from what I've seen. You guys fit that description pretty well."

"A lot of us don't mind the helping part," he says as if some kind explanation. "I mean...we're like you said, we're a mixed group." An 'eclectic' group. "Even I wouldn't mind, kinda, except..."

Well. He's getting distracted, and he let the thought go with the release of a breath, getting back to the original purpose.

"We went to this place- Jema'grethy on that list I gave you. Saw a bunch of each other's memories, but these three girls, they saw something different: a mission by a crew like the ones we do. They had the colours too- Blue, Purple, Red, and Orange." He gestures to himself, though doesn't wear anything but the SCA to denote his colour. "But there was something else too. I don't remember it off the top of my head, but I think they were dealing with an attack near their home base...? And then everything just...disappeared. Half their crew got wiped out."

Tidus knows this is a lot, and so he pauses for a moment, to let Anan process it a while he himself tries to remember all the details in order. Nita was always best at this; it was her writing everything down that had them even knowing about these memories. All the other bits and pieces that may or may not be connected.

"It cut to a meeting, or- people were talking something about going back. And there was a name - it was the same name as we have on a video log on the train...?" He's been frowning, but his brow dips more here. Now this he knew completely because of Nita's notes. Ugh. One thing at a time. "They talked about going back, but it being too risky, arguing 'til one person made the decision. And then..."

A pause, and Tidus shakes his head. "And that was it. They tried to do something, but whatever it is, none of us have any idea. We think the train wants to find them, but - for a train stealing us to do all this, it's not big on getting to the point."

She nods, understanding. They seem a helpful bunch but none of them were there through choice, they had all been forced into it.

But that is nothing compared to the story he was telling. An attack near their home base, half their crew wiped out. Going back?

She frowned. "That's.... The more you all tell me the more questions I have." None of this made sense. Void craft that kidnapped crew. Crew with no training. Memories of attacks.

She wrote some notes though, frowning to herself. "So you think it might be trying to find its old crew? But you have no idea how they even ended up separated from the train?"

"No clue," Tidus admits with a slow shake of his head. "Whatever they did or tried, it sounded like it was serious stuff. Anything that brings people back would be," he assumes. "But the train got out of character when you brought up its old crew or the thing that got them. All talking in capitals. I think I said it let us ask questions one time."

And that was a result a few people got from that. ...nevermind his own emotional engagement with the train.

"Oh." She pulled a face. "That's worrying. Anything that makes a voidcraft act out, there's strong emotions there."

She shook her head. "I guess finding out what they did, that's important. I'll try and look some things up, see what I can found. See if I can unearth any rumours at least."

"Sorry to put this on you-" everything, from all the information, all of these confusing puzzles, "-but if there's anything we can do for you from the inside, let us know, okay? There's not a lot we can track... and the train doesn't let stuff come in from outside."

So, it was probably a pointless offer, but he can't help make it, just in case.

"Yeah I'll let you know."

She nodded, "More information is needed first and then we can come up with some sort of plan. See if we can get to the point where we even have the first clue of what a plan could look like."

She smiled. "And figure out what is going on here as well."

Puzzles on top of problems on top of puzzles.

Right, one thing at a time - patience, and all that. Giving him a pat on the...head??, Tidus sets Chiff down.

"I'll take some of the stuff to put around and scan. Last one thing though, would you...what's your healing gear like?" he goes for instead. "We have some stuff - it's from my world. I'd like to give you some, just in case you ever need it. It's magic. Could save you or someone else's life!"

And already, he's bringing out his hand with his band around the wrist, but not in view; making appear an elegant red feather, a few bottled vials of liquids, moving them over to his other hand. One, two, three, four, five...

"I have a med kit." She raised an eyebrow as he began passing feathers and bottles of liquids over to her.

"You're gonna have to talk me through this Tidus. We don't heal with... feathers where I come from."

She's been on magical worlds before, but for the most part they are not void active so she keeps herself to herself.

There's a small chuckle. "Not a lot of people do. It's okay, I'm used to explaining. Just...trust me about how they work. I can't tell you the hows."

Please, he's not smart. But he really is used to explaining, pointing to the feathers first.

"Okay, so we call these phoenix downs. Basically if you think someone's close to dead, kinda just really close to it, or you're the unlucky guy? There's no other work to it than just put it on or near 'em. It'll get you back to a living point again, but you'll still need treatment. These two-" pointing to dark red vials. "They'll be a good follow up. Badly wounded, got a hold in your gut your leg, something like that? Drink it or just pour it on. Anywhere, you can throw the things too - it turns into a kind of...light energy. It's magic," he says with a huff of a laugh, "So - just imagine sparkles going into a person. That's basically it!"

It's magic. It can be as dumb as it wants.

"But these two-" and he points to a light blue, somehow creamy-ish pair of vials. "These can save anyone on the brink of death. Elixirs; the other ones are called X-Potions." But then, they're labelled anyway.

"They work the same way as the X-Potions, just stronger. Drink, pour, splash it - it doesn't have to be over the wound, but you can do it that way."

She nodded, after all she had been found wanting in their many many questions about void travel, things she accepted as normal without knowing the exact ins and outs so she could not judge him for not knowing exactly how his magic healing feathers worked.

But they sounded useful. "Sparkles going into a person. Right." She nodded and listened as he explained the rest. "They sound very useful. Thanks. Sure you don't need them, I don't want to be taking stuff off you lot."

One day, she'll understand the sparkles.

Its repeat gets a short laugh out of Tidus anyway, but he shakes his head at her concern. "I buy in enough to cover us! If they turn out good and you want more, maybe we can make a trade - anything like weapons or tech is really hard to get. Even a catalogue would be great! Of stuff we could get to protect ourselves? We just don't know what's out there we could be buying, and the actual weapons cost a lot by the point system the train has us on."

He gestures to the vials. "But the potions - I can get about a hundred peoples' worth. S'long as the train thinks I do good on a mission!"

"It depends on the world. There's as many options as worlds. My stuff I get from my own world though a couple of things like the atmosphere scanner is a bit more multiversal. But if it's weapons you want I can ask some of our fighters what they would recommend."

She pulled a slight face. "I can get myself out of trouble but that's where my fighting ability ends." She looks at the potions. "You get points depending on how well you've done? I've heard of systems like that, on big mission craft."

"Yeah, at least, whatever the train thinks? We don't really know how we get judged, and points are all over the place. Dunno know it's judging us either. But we can order food, items about this big -" here's the small item "-or this big?" and here's the big item.

"Think of suitcases. We can get books too. Took us forever to be able to order weapons, but they're expensive. But even more gadgets like the scanner might be cool. We have tinkerers, and we can do with more ways of defending, you know? Even without weapons."

Considering the mix of people they had, the different jobs, the camps they sometimes set up.

"Anything really would be great. We really don't know what's good for missions or what to take. The train might give us some stoves or a tent when a mission comes round, but that's basically it. We weren't even given health kits or stuff to put food and drink in. That's what we're working with. I tried to buy bottles and containers, but it was a lot for really tiny ones!"

pahhh.

What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

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