So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

Comments

[longforgottenpromise]

"Of course you worry about them." He smiled sadly, he knew how painful it was to not know the fate of those left behind.

"I am sure they will do their best."

[averyusefultray]

"They will. The plan hinged on me being able to fly through the blockade but... they'll figure something else out instead. It's not the first time we've ever had to change a plan." It won't be the last, either. Not in the Rebellion, not fighting Thrawn. "When we could send messages... I barely thought about the mission."

[longforgottenpromise]

"I am sure they found another way." He reassured her, "They will have been more glad to hear from you I think."

A long lost companion sending a message, he was sure the mission would have been far from their minds as well.

[averyusefultray]

"I told the kids I'm proud of them. I don't think I'd done that enough lately." She's told them, she's sure. But it's fallen by the wayside right when they've really stepped up. "I definitely needed to remind Kanan that I love him."

[longforgottenpromise]

"I am sure they were happy to hear it." He can only imagine so, it was always important to say such things. It wasn't something people always realised.

"I'm glad we were able to send those messages."

[averyusefultray]

Senator Organa probably has a headache, but it's a net positive that they could send the message. "Were you able to reach out to loved ones too?"

That's so much more important than the practicalities.

[longforgottenpromise]

"Yes. I sent a message to my king." And could only hope he had received it, wherever he had ended up after he left the train.

"And to a couple of friends... I hope they were able to receive them."

His heart filled with fear for them whenever he let his mind drift homewards.

[averyusefultray]

"That's all we can do now that the messages have been sent." It's the train's word that they'll get through. It's certainly better than not sending anything at all. "I suspect poor Senator Organa may think he's going mad if the message went through."

[longforgottenpromise]

"Perhaps." He sighed. "I guess even in a world with space ships, magical communication across dimensions is very strange."

It was one of the reasons he had kept his messages to the minimum. People he knew would understand. People who had experienced just how strange other worlds could be.

[averyusefultray]

"They're not really related." She knows people find spaceflight unusual, but it's utterly commonplace to her. "We've had spaceflight for millenia, but nothing about other dimensions. I think he's used to life taking strange turns though."

[longforgottenpromise]

"Then he should hopefully not be too concerned."

He nodded, "My world has magic and most people know there is another world, even if they don't know much about it or understand it. Yet they would be completely taken aback by... everything I guess."

Trains, voids, many different worlds. Even Hera herself.

[averyusefultray]

"I always thought what the Jedi could do at home was magical, but I wasn't ready for the magic I saw here." SHe's learned about it, noted it, she's ready to use it, but it was a surprise. "I don't think anyone's been ready for everything the train had.

[longforgottenpromise]

"No. I don't think anyone can be ready for everything." He nodded and then tilted his head.

"Jedi? I... Sorry I'm not sure what they are."

[averyusefultray]

"There doesn't seem to be any one universe that covers everything the Void can reach." Maybe the train was ready, but even it doesn't really understand everything.

"THere's a life energy in my universe. Some people are able to tap into it to do things that wouldn't normally be possible. Jedi are a group that use it for good, but there aren't very many left." She's understating, just a little.

[longforgottenpromise]

"Ah." He nodded sadly. It seemed that was the way far too often. Forces for good were often overwhelmed.

But there was much good everywhere, even if many of those who were good were those with little power. Ordinary people with no ability for magic or tapping into life energy. Just doing their best.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

[averyusefultray]

"I worry about the kids who have the ability. With so few Jedi to teach them... the abilities can be useful to people with less noble goals." That seems common too. "The Emperor knew they'd be able to stop him, if the Order was intact."

[longforgottenpromise]

"The emperor?" He tilted his head.

"Your ruler is bad?"

That's what it sounded like. If these jedi used their power for good and would stop the emperor if they could.

[averyusefultray]

"He seized power eighteen years ago and a lot of people have suffered under his rule." She could go on at length and often has.

There's a stubborn set to her jaw. "We'll change things, though. Make a better galaxy."

It's been nice to hear that they'll succeed while she's here. But she would have kept believing either way.

[longforgottenpromise]

"Oh." He looked down, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Eighteen years. That was such a long time. Something that wouldn't happen in his own world, after all kirin existed so such things couldn't happen. Even if Asan seemed to have found a loop hole in heavenly dictat... He had been in power eight years after all.

"I hope that you do." He knows how hard it is, to change things under a tyranical ruler and he imagines it is even harder in a different world.

[averyusefultray]

"There are people here from far enough ahead of me to know that we succeed. It was comforting." She would have still had hope without it, but at least there are advantages to the truly bizarre time situation.

"I've always believed there were still enough good people in the galaxy ready to stand up for the people who can't."

[longforgottenpromise]

"Ah." That was one... comfort. As strange as it was. That people could come from times that others hadn't yet witnessed.

"It is good. That there are people who can hold out, to change things."

It must be even harder, he thought, in a world without heavenly appointed rulers.

[averyusefultray]

"I've been careful not to ask for details about specific people." She might not like the answer and then what's she supposed to do about it? Just have that hanging over her forever? Try to change it and derail something else? "But it's comforting to know about the galaxy as a whole. That the Emperor's not as all knowing as he tries to make us think and his plans can be stopped."

[longforgottenpromise]

"Yes... I can imagine that is for the best." Would be want to know? Would it make a difference?

It's maybe best he's not even met anyone from a similar world to his own.

[averyusefultray]

"I'll worry about my own feature when it happens, no matter what illusions might try to say." If she just never thinks about what she wants, she can handle life as it comes. And if it's not to be she doesn't want to mourn it before she has to.

[longforgottenpromise]

"Yes. We should not believe anything those illusions said. They played on our fears."

And their hopes. And so there was no knowing what might have been true, if anything amongst all of that.