middleofsomewhere | No Place Like Home: The Return

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No Place Like Home: The Return

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: THE RETURN

a silence broken...

It's been a very difficult few days. Rocking and rolling into the void and out again. Watching their friends out of the window as they wander from world to world. Meanwhile those lost on worlds continue to wander unable to return to the train at all.

"All attempts at returning those who left have failed. This voidcraft cannot do it alone. It is lucky that unlike those that have left before them, I can still sense them.

But I cannot bring them back alone. This is perhaps too advanced for Voidtreckers, but you have done the improbable before. You say you wish to help. This is how you help."

Their SCA's light up with a message. Or rather, a series of instructions:

In the unlikely event a tether gets stranded on a liminal space platform or between their own world and the platform space, you should, in the first instance, contact the Void technicians who monitor their non-travelling self. However, in the case they cannot be reached or there is a mass displacement of tether, an anchoring procedure can be carried out.

Ideally, this will involve two fully tethered individuals to retrieve the lost tether. One should be a stationary anchor. They should be outside of their void craft, if possible, and in physical contact with it. The second should be a roaming anchor reaching to draw the tethers back. In situations of mass tether displacement the stationary anchor can hold mutiple roaming anchors but it is recommended to not exceed five. In this situation, it is recommended that anchors rotate between stationary and roaming.

To start an anchoring of this kind, those anchoring should activate their anchoring program. Those staying station should reach out to the tethers of those they plan to steady. This might cause some emotional upheaval, and they will need to stay steady, especially if connecting to more than one roaming tether. Roaming anchors then must hold the person they search for in their thoughts and move towards them. It is recommended that the lost tethers activate their emergency beacon to facilitate being found and returning but this is not a necessity.

Once the roaming anchor has found the lost tethers they must keep hold of them and guide them back towards their craft, the stationary tethers must draw them back, pulling them through.

There is an additional note at the end, in different font.

It is as Anan told you. Your minds should visualise it. Be strong Voidtreckers.

... a short-lived dream

The doors open and anyone who wishes to try this can leave onto the platform. It is empty, devoid of the figures they had seen before; and, beyond the fog, devoid of anything. But searching requires their SCAs, not a path, and as people get into teams, they can activate their anchors and begin.

For those who will roam, their minds become filled, visualising light, void, voices and chaos; their bodies feel less stable, like they might unravel if not careful. But for those who will stay, when they touch the Voidtrecker Express, they will feel more stable, grounded. The fog shifts, but the world moves around them without pulling them in.

Thinking of the person they wish to keep stable, a mental and emotional link will be established, and they will feel each other as the roaming anchor sets off to find their missing crew.

Outside the train...
For those that had left - either by choice or by strange happenings - they have found themselves back at their anchor point during Poi 26, regardless of where they were before. For those unfortunate enough not to have a world to return to, or those who were stuck between in the first place, they will find themselves alone, in a fog filled space where no matter how far they walk, nothing greets them.

All those in fog or back in their world receive the same message from their SCAs.

Hold fast. Press your evacuation button. Your friends come.

RETURNERS: FLEETING HAPPINESS

But it's likely before the message arrived, that something wrong has been noticed by those outside the void. More than the bizarre ability to travel between existences, an inability to move far from where they appear. Back at their anchor points, they may notice - in time - colours sometimes flash across the sky, streaking through clouds or making trails in a night sky. At first not much, something to be easily dismissed but it builds. People talk, wonder at what is happening.

For the colours aren't the only thing. Across worlds, in cities, kingdoms, villages, underworlds and space stations, people are dreaming. Bright colours, vivid dreams. Prophets spring from nowhere, people claim to know the future or to have seen the past. Some talk of places and worlds they could not have seen.

Perhaps at first it can be explained away, there are always such people. But more people talk, from urchin children to commanders, people dream and the colours dance.

ANCHORERS: A STEADY HAND

While the stationeries will feel grounded, they aren't blind to what's happening to their roamer. It's as if they're both linked, intimately, meshing together, and they will need to work to keep their feelings separate; hearing each other's thoughts, their feelings. Images of what the other thinks and memories shared between them.

And then there is the search for their teammates, amongst the multiple of realities. Existences move past the roamer, threatening to lose them in the mess, but they must persevere, keep their thoughts on the individual, their stationary anchor to help them. Until finally, they appear - in a world they perhaps know, don't, the kaleidoscope colours of the void faint above their heads.

Speak to each other, keep each other focused, certain, and find who you came to save.

BOTH: HOLDING ON

Searching for individuals, the anchorers will find themselves at a character's anchor point; if they haven't moved far from here or another world, it will be easy to locate them. Now is the time to convince them to come back, and then the eventual work of doing so.

It can be in agreement, or force. Taking a hold of the person, the anchorer can pull them into the mass of chaos. Just like when they helped the guests return to their worlds from the false Diagad, all parties become battered by images, voices. Voices like sirens; 'Just stay,' the voices encourage. 'Just let go and drift into the chaos. It will be easier.'

But they must be strong, move towards their anchor and towards the craft. The crossing doesn't take too long, perhaps ten minutes each way, and once they get to the craft the person they are rescuing glows gold and vanishes. The anchors will know instinctively that they are safe on the train.

And indeed, the rescued will find themselves within the luggage carriage - exhausted, but safe.

TRAIN: AN INEVITABLE RETURN

Exhaustion is something all parties will experience, once everyone is returned to the train and the adrenaline wears off. Those who anchored will be hit with a total exhaustion, leaving them unable to do much more than eat and sleep for a few days. Those rescued won't be as bad, but if they decide to join in with the efforts, they'll too face the soul-tiring experience that other anchorers are.

There's likely to be efforts, to help soothe people over this time. And as people return to their life on the train, they will see the marks of the last few days for those who stayed behind. Broken ceramics, books out of order in the library; the ICPs in the standard coach, storage, sports and games carriages broken, and some damage to furniture.

But for the scars brought on by this event, surely, they will heal - eventually.

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here. New second part OOC post here.

First phase of the event took place during Poi 22 to 25; the second phase takes place during Poi 26 to 28 (20-25th February).

VISITING WORLDS: While during Poi 26, it will be possible to go back to wherever they were, or other spaces. However, they will have increasing difficulty doing this, and will feel themselves getting more lost if they try world hopping too much over the next 3 (void) days. It's like something is trying to pull them back, or pull them, but into nowhere.

SCAs: The SCA's comms will not be active at this time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Do you need water or anything?" She knows he's probably here to bring her back, but he looks like he's in a rough state and she needs to look after him.

Voices in her head weren't quite normal, but the train brought all sorts of strange developments. "Is that you, Romeo?"

"It was obvious something was wrong pretty quickly." Probably would have been even faster if she hadn't actually taken a moment to herself before striking out.

"The sooner we get back, I'll be alright." A small and reassuring smile accompanies his reply, and he can hear Romeo as well, given their link. He'll let the lil' guy answer for himself.

"You've got nothing else you need to do?" Nothing else she wants to? "You've got time for goodbyes - landing's just a woozy for me," he adds, in case his troubling entrance colours any decision. "Not a lot of ground for standing in the void!"

That's Tidus's excuse and he's sticking with it.

"It is! I hope your okay! Mister Tidus will bring you back safe and sound!"

He had every faith in their teamwork. He focused on holding on to Tidus and the train, keeping the link strong.

"I've done as much as I can for the fight." At least as much as she could never going more than five miles. NOt being able to fly like they need her to.

"I have one thing I need to do before that," she tells Romeo.

But she does have one thing left. "I need to say goodbye to my family." She can't leave them without a word, not again. Even if she warned them this probably wouldn't last.

That was understandable. He nods, sure that Romeo won't mind either, and trusting the lil' guy to keep the way open back for them.

"Sure. I'll wait here." That should work, right? If he just stands around - now that they're here, it shouldn't be too much issue sticking around. But he does look around, since they seem to be at some kind of camp. Maybe there's a better view? he wonders; mainly to himself, but there's no 'himself' in this instance.

"Yes you should go and say bye to them!" That was important.

He will keep the way open, and hold onto them and the train really hard!

He looks through Tidus' eyes around them. "Is there a hill or something?"

She gestures toward a nearby rise. "You can see part of the planet the Empire hasn't managed to tear apart from over there." THe plains are beautiful, where the EMpire hasn't torn into them looking for doonium.

Is there such thing as enough time when she's leaving her family behind in an active warzone and doesn't know when she'll be able to get back more permanently? Probably not.

But she hugs Ezra and Sabine tight and tells them how proud she is. Hugs Zeb and asks him to take care of everyone. Pats Chopper's dome and tells him to behave for Kanan. Hugs and kisses Kanan, tells him she loves him, tells him she knows he'll take care of the kids.

What's left to say? Except... "May the Force be with you all."

There's a small "Okay", and Tidus turns in the direction offered, allowing Hera to go and say - and do - whatever it is she needs to. There's a regret in him, sitting on the rise of land that opens up the plains to them, a sight they never regularly to see without bloodshed nearby.

It makes him wish they could stay, do more. We should be helping them spoken through his link with Romeo, even if it's not deliberate. A hope they one day will.

Because why - why can't they? When they help so many others.

"I wish we could. It sounds like they got a tough time ahead." And helping worlds was what they were meant to do. Why could they not help Hera's?

He watched out of Tidus' eyes as Hera said goodbye to them all. They were very brave.

"I should be here, leading them." On top of all the other reasons she doesn't want to leave. MOst of which are in the end that she loves her family. "But if we're all stuck halfway..."

She can't do what she needs to do in this state either. "The problem goes so much farther than Lothal."

Ah. Even at a distance, they can hear each other - mind, and verbally. Tidus feels embarrassed for a split second, but then, more earnestly:

"We'll ask when we get back, once the train's right again. You've helped us save worlds - we've been in wars before. The least we can do is help your friends too."

As long as she wanted to try, then why shouldn't they? He was always adamant they should be helping the passengers too.

"Even if it's a big problem we can help!" Lots of the missions they helped with had big problems but there are lots of them and that's no trouble!

They should be able to help Hera's friends.

She glances back. "I don't want to leave them. But you're right, we'd need the train involved to help them more than what we've managed to do."

It hurts. But stuck halfway in between isn't enough. And that'll only get worse if she doesn't go with Tidus back to Romeo.

It was a goal, something for the future. For now - they had to deal with the troubles being faced, to have that future to come back to. The fog usually seen at a distance for Hera comes around them now as Tidus, with that promise made, starts to focus on making a way back to the train for them. The colours of the void can be seen, but so can a golden, glowing path of step leading through it.

Something visible in the far distance, their way back - but first they'd have to travel the void to get to it, and its siren call to lure them off-course.

Romeo nodded. It would have to wait, as sad as that was. For now they needed to get everyone back to the train and that they could do.

He focused really hard, holding his hand out as if physically grabbing them and thought about bringing them both carefully.

"I got you both! Just go slow!"

Hera steels herself if she enters the fog. Tries not to think about what she's leaving back there. To focus on the task ahead. What needs to be done on the train.

She doesn't have a choice.

Even as she hears the voices of her family calling out to her for help. Calling out about new dangers. Kanan's voice saying her loves her, wants her to come home. The kids saying they miss her.

Every step is a battle. Especially when she knows they do need her.

Tidus grips Hera's hand; a help to keep them together as they move forward, but a little as a reassurance, too. Romeo's presence is far, but he can feel him, just as he does Hera's feelings through this link between the three of them; the familiarity for those that she knows, the voices of the people she cares about - he experiences it too.

We'll help them. Tidus is reassurance, the remark not verbal, but it can be felt by Hera, and even Romeo. The knowledge that going back will be helping them - helping Hera, to get her back one day and to join the fight. They just need to focus forward on the boy opening the way for them, eyes on his light and the beacon it gives back to the train.

Just a little more, Hera - we'll get there!

Edited 2022-03-06 17:52 (UTC)

We will! You just got to get here first. Then we can help each other and everyone's worlds.

The latter might take a while but the first step was getting back all together!

The void river would eventually give way to the foggy platform and a very serious looking Romeo sat next to the train, concentrating hard.

It's a struggle. Knowing that her family really does want her home, even if that's not really what she's hearing. Having to walk away. Knowing she can't help them even if she stays.

Fighting an illusion was one thing. Fighting her heart is so much harder. But she does. SHe gets there. And reaches out for Romeo. "Thank you."

Before the two can connect, Hera may or may not notice a darkness sweeping over her, a darkness that'll leave as soon as she opens her eyes. Her return from the void and to the liminal platform has sent her to the luggage carriage, inside an open suitcase, body and all exhausted.

It's strange, coming through the void river and seeing the person he was near disappear, but Tidus has to deal with first the way his body staggers to meet a real solid ground, the void leaving him, and all of its draining effects still lingering through him.

"Romeo." He says the name in acknowledgment, coming over to the young boy to lean against the train beside him. Not so much catching his breath, but giving his body a second to rest.

"You wanna check on Hera? See she got back okay?"

"Mister Tidus!" Romeo is tired too but that doesn't stop him reaching out to catch Tidus, steadying him against the train.

"I'll go and look if you want to rest here."

He tugs a smile on his face and nods.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'm fine!"

Just let him take five! ... or twenty. Eesh.

"Okay!" He smiled at him and hopped up. Even tired Romeo has more energy than most and he set off towards the luggage carriage.

"Miss Hera? Miss Hera? Are you here?"

Waking up in a suitcase was not on her to do list for... any day, really. It's not comfortable, by any means, but she's tired enough that getting up is an... experience. But she can't let Romeo worry. "Yeah, I'm... unharmed."

Okay is not accurate, but that's all emotional.

"That's good miss!" He skipped up to her and reached out to help her up.

"You probably are really tired! So you should go to bed and have a good rest."

Tiredness seemed to be the main problem after people got back. "I can make you a snack if you are hungry!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No Place Like Home: The Return

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