Scene #9463: Warp Train

Owner	Pose
Angela	There hasn't been much reason to use the WARP train so far. In most cases it was better for the Association--and for Elites in general--to use Warpgates instead of traveling to a WARP train station and then pay for an expensive ticket in order to travel. But then something strange happened. Matilda received a bad omen when stepping on the train one day and then, after ten seconds, the omen had passed and everything was fine. Easy enough to forget about, but it is strange isn't it? And learning a little more about W Corp's operations might be useful considering they are in the midst of trying to press Trideag for compensation for expended Enkephalin. Getting some dirt on the Wing could be just the key to get them to back off. How does one investigate a train in ten seconds? Well. The train station is busy. It often is even with prices as expensive as they are. Even basic cabin prices are costly with the first class cabin prices being truly ridiculous as one might expect from The City. District 22's Warp Train station is the closest functioning Warp Train as W Corp has long since stopped servicing District 12. When you can get anywhere in The City in ten seconds safely and securely, you can take any other route with minimal delays! This also, coincidentally, is the same District that San, Lulu, and Mars are from! The train will be heading to K Corp's Nest--a frequent destination for people seeking some of the top medical care in the country and, for those who have fought alongside Lobotomy Corp or within its facility--the company that created the 'HP Bullets' that L Corp frequently utilized. The station is entirely staffed by W Corp agents despite ostensibly being part of V Corp's territory--much in the same way that L Corp employees were the ones tending to power stations across The City rather than local Wing officers. There are numerous boarding platforms for trains heading to various locations throughout The City, though the one Trideag--and friends--is Platform Eleven. The train has already arrived but W Corp personnel perform maintenance on the trains at every stop--the ride itself is in seconds, but boarding time is still not that much quicker than at an airport but the ability to move across several Districts in a matter of seconds is still worth the ticket price. A club for First Class ticketers oversees the base platform, tinted windows preventing easy viewing from outside. A sealed corridor leads directly to the train. W Corp personnel eventually step out of the train, the maintenance work complete. Kiosks by each cabin's entranceway take tickets and either direct you inside or point you to the line you were supposed to go to if you ended up in the wrong one. A child screams that they're already bored of the trip. A man stares at his phone even as he hands the ticket over to the kiosk. A woman holds up the line complaining about how she had gotten kicked off her first class ticket at the last minute but she ultimately huffs in frustration and pushes her way through into the base cabin. Fixer licenses are checked for anybody with visible weaponry on them though only if it's obviously weaponry.
Angela	And once you're inside as well, there's a faint DING DONG as an automated voice that sounds slightly more animated than Angela does half the time says "Please stay away from the doors as they close automatically. Please remain seated during the duration of travel. Tampering with W Corp technologies can result in lawsuits, injury, or death. Don't forget to fasten your seatbelt, if you need help fastening your seatbelt please ask a family member for assistance. Thank you for riding WARP train, it's only speedy if it's WARP speed." There's a soft thrum. A tall burly woman wearing her blonde hair in a ponytail wearing a white office shirt, suspenders, and slacks rubs at her forehead as if nursing a hang over. "Ten seconds." She murmurs, looking at her ticket stub. She is armed with a chainsaw cleaver so she is probably also a Fixer as are her two serious-faced companions, one of whom is carrying a chainsaw sword--the other a chainsaw polearm. The one wielding the sword is a woman with her auburn hair in pigtails and is examining her sword. The other is a man wearing pinstriped slacks and a dull expression, keeping his head slightly lowered all the way too--though out of habit, it seems, rather than to make sure his weapon is functioning properly. Five seconds pass. Ten seconds pass. ... Fifteen seconds pass. Twenty seconds pass. "Pfffh...had a feeling." The burly woman says. "That ten seconds was a load of bull. Just marketing." There's some murmured annoyance in the cabin. Forty seconds pass. Sixty seconds pass.
Odette Raskins	Odette's here! She's rarely had any chances to take a ride anywhere just for the sake of riding the thing, so taking the Warp Train is a good excuse to get a better feel for what leads to where in the City. The destination is also somewhat interesting for her, too, although she's not expecting to have much time to actually see what K Corp is like. She doesn't know if she'll be allowed on the next train back if she misses this one, so she'll have to behave once they arrive at the Nest. Dressed in her Trideag uniform today, the EMT forks over her ticket, and she taps her chin lightly while boarding the train with her companions today. "This ride is... Um. It's going to be reimbursed, right?" After going through the license check process and having her gear checked, Odette does the touristy thing of looking out the windows. She's obviously a little excited about seeing everything zoom bye, and she doesn't even sound or look annoyed by the fact that it's taking way longer than ten seconds! She does, however, check her PDA to make sure she's not counting wrong.
Riku Asakura	Today was an interesting experience for Riku; he got to ride on a Warp Train for the first time. Trains are impressive in Japan, but getting anywhere in The City in ten seconds puts his homeland's trains to shame. Of course, he was here on business. Scoping out W-Corp with the rest of Trideag would be useful for Lilian and the rest of the fixer organization. Of course, what could they do in just a few seconds? Well, it's not his call, and he has faith in Matilda's senses that something was going to happen. Today, Riku is in his fixer get-up. He takes a seat in the train and starts counting down the seconds once the train starts up. Of course, things get weird once he's counting past thirty. He stops counting at forty. At Sixty, he's looking over the back of his seat and asking a very important question. "Is it supposed to take this long?"
Tamamo	Tamamo-no-mae will stand out no matter how she's dressed, but she has taken at least some steps toward not standing out too much for the environment. She's exchanged her usual silk robes for a long, khaki-tan coat that reaches below her knees, and her geta are traded out for mostly-sensible black dress shoes. Left entirely unbuttoned, her high-necked white top (sleeve- and shoulderless, because it isn't that cold by only mid-October), plaid skirt entirely in autumnal, muted reds, and dark leggings complete the look of someone about to head to a coffee shop in a much nicer place than the ruined streets that are most of what she's seen outside either Angela's current or former residence. She is not, as it happens, part of Trideag. She is, however, a fellow Paladin with a line to Matilda Bouanich, as well as to Lilian Rook, which explains why this other seer would be interested in investigating the first's ill omens. She'd welcome Matilda's involvement, naturally, but that isn't how it's worked out today, so she'll make do. Conveniently, none of her weaponry -- which is to say, her tools -- are obvious. This leaves her curious about the well-armed fixers, but... that's just another bit of culture still largely foreign to her. She murmurs, idly curious, "<Itinerant warrior class>...?" One may wonder where she picked up that phrase in English. Hm. Yes, something is definitely wrong. Waiting doesn't appear to be helping, either. Having buckled herself in, per instructions, Tamamo's a little reluctant to immediately break the rules, but that's not going to last forever. It is going to last long enough for her to slip a few charms out of her left coat pocket and toss them -- since she failed to hear any instructions against doing so -- toward the edges of the cabin. It's a very simply 'boundary definition' magecraft, establishing a 'space' for her to analyze, so she can check for anything supernaturally dangerous.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia was scarcely aware that warp trains were a thing. She has definitely never ridden one before. But, she uses warp -gates- all the time. So, this should be fine. It is curious to her that it is a train instead of a gate. "Why would you make a train for this instead of just a gate...?" she wonders aloud as they are getting tickets and such. The waiting has Sarra's foot tapping quickly and she soon is scrolling on her phone or digging around in her purse or playing with the ends of her hair, much more like a child waiting in line than a grown-up princess. Tamamo, Riku, and Odette are here, and each receives a friendly greeting from Sarra. "Riku! Odette! Lady Tamamo! It is good to see all of you! It was nice working alongside you in the Missing Mario incident, Lady Tamamo!" she says cheerfully. This promises to be a novel if very short train ride, after all. Sarra takes note of the three chainsaw wielding Fixers as they board. Sarra carries many weapons, but a metal flower hairpin and a purse are the only visible ones and are not usually considered weapons. 'Pfffh...had a feeling. That ten seconds was a load of bull. Just marketing.' Sarra lets out a 'hmm' as she ponders that. "It seems unlikely that a company could have built such a popular transit system if it didn't work as advertised." she says to no one in particular. "Perhaps it is one of those 'it was only 10 seconds in normal space' sorts of things? I could see the Wings of this City pulling such a semi-true sort of thing." As sixty seconds pass, Sarra starts to get worried, and can be seen looking around nervously for indications that they might be coming out of this warp dimension soon. At least, she's assuming it is some kind of alternate dimension. The theories of space warping are beyond her. She hmphs impatiently and reaches into her purse to pull out a grapefruit soda. She pops it open and applies a straw (also from her purse) then sips on it for a few moments before looking to the others. "Is anyone else thirsty?"
Timekeeper	For reasons unknowable, Sonetto had been the one to accompany Matilda on her previous errand; something which, to all of her own perception, went totally fine. Matilda did seem very nervous about something, but Matilda's just a nervous person, Sonetto thinks, and so there's not much to be done about that. Still, though, divination is a higher authority than perception, and if Matilda says that she foresaw something bad happening that didn't come to pass, then Sonetto isn't going to disbelieve her. Instead she will believe her so doggedly that she returns to the Warp Train alongside Trideag to confirm, by paying extra-hard attention this time, whether something is fucked up about this or not. As is her fashion, Sonetto represents the Trideag Association as flawlessly as she can. Wearing the green and black uniform, with the white scabbard of Terra all'Amore on her hip and her glasfeder squared away hidden, Sonetto's traveling fannypack contains everything she could possibly need for a day out in the City: ID, a couple picrasma candy, one grey and white energy bar that radiates evil vibes even before it's unwrapped, the most neatly rolled and rubberbanded ahn in the entire world, some chapstick, and a thin book. Her ID is presented at the gate-- Grade Six, now-- and as the person here who's been on the Warp train before, she seems perfectly calm as usual. During the ten minutes or so of preparation to board, she considers that it's her duty to exposit. "It was several days ago that Matilda Bouanich and I last took this mode of transportation. It seems that she was anxious about the outcome of this errand, and so shortly before we left when I came to check that she was ready, she had performed a divination on the day ahead. These were the negative portents that she reported to the Association. However, after disembarking the train and securing the space for a more thorough divination in the destination District, there were no such warnings." Nodding, Sonetto is pleased to move on to the actual description of the train, vaguely excited about the concept as a whole. "As for my experience riding it, I will reiterate what I wrote in my report in as much detail as is helpful. The boarding process was rather brisk comparative to some modes of public transport that I have experienced that were designed to handle such large capacities of people, however it was rather slower than a bus or perhaps a tram; a similar preparation time to the St. Pavlov Foundation's teleportation rituals when transporting to other branches. The security of the Warp Corporation before and after the train ride seemed inconsistent and heavily concentrated at the front and back ends of the train, however there were no incidents that I took notice of or saw in later requested District 22 newspapers of the day. The presence of seats surprised me as the time from one end to another was a mere ten seconds, as advertised, though perhaps it is a generous concession to their customers to provide such comforts for the ten minute disembarking procedure at the destination. I did not notice anything that went counter to their claims about the functioning of their infrastructure and did not notice any arcane fluctuations during the teleportation itself, though I am not as perceptive as Timekeeper is in large scale incantations."
Timekeeper	This block of text continues to scroll across the screen as the Trideag fixers are shuttled into the train, seated, and buckled in. It's hard to tell from her expression that she's looking forwards to it, but it's pretty easy to tell by her body language if you interpret her right. Seated by the window, back rigidly straight and hands on her lap, you can practically see the pointy greyhound ears sticking up and swiveling around while she listens to the speaker overhead. Then, the first second passes, and then the tenth, and Sonetto's expression turns into a frown rapidly. "... This seems unusual. By now there was an electronic sound and a similar announcement as the departure to introduce our destination as well as request that we stay seated for the departure procedures. Perhaps District 11 is farther?"
Lilian Rook	'This ride is... Um. It's going to be reimbursed, right?' "If I feel like it." Lilian isn't in a good mood about this. She had no desire to antagonize Warp corp any more than necessary, no interest in their trains, and ten better things to be doing at the moment. Having just recently been shot (thrice) in the abdomen in a skirmish with Manus Vindictae doesn't make the prospect of doing field investigation herself any more appealing. The fact that her urging to be here is due exclusively to the wim of inscrutable portents-- first Matilda's, then her own-- makes her feel ill at ease. It reminds her too much of Iori. And for some reason, when checking her own precognitive brute force approach, every single route even bordering 'salvagable', much less 'optimal', through this investigation, demands that she be hydrated, eat well an hour and a half before, have slept plenty before that, and already be on some fairly strong painkillers before arrival. She has no real idea why her instinctive sense for this kind of thing compelled her with spine-chilling urgency to fill a large backpack, but the whole thing is staggeringly sparse on imagery or directions after 'just get on the train'. So Lilian would super rather be doing anything else at all. '<Itinerant warrior class>...?' Lilian stifles a nose laugh. Who says Tamamo couldn't integrate with the British people? "Why do you think they have a first class ticket anyways?" she says, glancing over at the huffy woman. "Is there a little sauna behind that tinted glass while they wait? People truly will buy just about anything if you mark it up." Of course, since good dog Sonetto already went, and didn't report anything amiss, Lilian's confidence in the idiocy of the consumer is sky high. She's dressed in nothing more special than her Director's getup, since it conveniently covers her waist pretty well, and is reassuringly bulletproof. 'However, after disembarking the train and securing the space for a more thorough divination in the destination District, there were no such warnings.' "Scary." Lilian says, conversationally, in the wait. "Perhaps she and you were switched around with your alternate universe counterparts? The original 'you' that I remember is battling grave peril, whilst the 'you' I'm speaking to has dodged the bullet without even realizing." She is very clearly musing about it in a joking way, but it's also very clear that Lilian doesn't have a nicely delineated tone for doing that at all. 'The presence of seats surprised me as the time from one end to another was a mere ten seconds, as advertised' Lilian looks at those seats a little misgivingly now. She unbuckles her seatbelt, and hesitantly decides on 'come what may'. Which is, apparently, nothing. 'Perhaps District 11 is farther?' "I won't question your memory. The difference between ten second and over a minute is noticeable even to the average person." Lilian says, her tone shifting towards firm. "And it's not the clocks. It's been sixty-eight seconds." Nine at the time she said it, but, you know. "Do you suppose that if there's another train still occupying the destination point, the one that's been sent off is suspended in a holding pattern? Out of a healthy respect for Wolfgang Pauli." Unfortunately, she's already imagining, vividly, Angela's times one-hundred perception situation. Some of that unease passes when she remembers that this would merely be one thousand seconds subjectively.
Angela	Cellular service doesn't work in the WARP train--if it's the sort of clock that syncs up via satellite it's just not going to work, though if there's an onboard timer then it works just fine. There also aren't windows, exactly. Rather, there are but they aren't see through--a black screen filter has been plastered over them. The light mostly comes from blue fluorescent lighting along the ceiling and floors of the train. ''Is it supposed to take this long?'' The burly woman in the suspenders says, "Who knoooows. Maybe ten seconds is the upper limit and it pisses you off it's actually like ten minutes but then you're out and three Districts over and you don't care anymore. That's how they getcha." "Olga," The woman in the glasses says. "Maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much before going on the train." "It's just one job at V and then we can do the job from Myo, Mika." Mika looks over to Sarracenia and says to her, "Mm... Regardless, going by train is much safer than traveling by car. And much faster. Even if it took a day to get us there like this, it'd still be much faster than what a personal vehicle could manage." "I just don't know about this job..." The man murmurs. "Why would Myo give you a job like that?" "We're friiends, Rain." Olga says. Tamamo scans for something dangerous but there doesn't seem to be anything overtly dangerous going on. There's no monsters--at least within her boundary--and the space seems secure. The train IS moving between dimensions. Time is progressing at a normal rate for the most part but there's some small temporal fluctuations within the train itself--not, like, in the cabin but behind some of that unobtrusive metal plating between traincars. This is not something htat would affect people--rather, it feels like it's just ambiently absorbing temporal energy regardless of what's going down elsewhere in the Train. As Sonetto brings up her previous experience on the train, Olga seems less sure of herself, she rips open her seatbelt with her weapon and pulls herself out of the chair, pacing around. "H.hey..." An older man says, "They said to stay in our seats. It's probably just a hiccup in service. Or maybe waiting for another train to pull in." ''Nine at the time she said it.'' "Dang, Director of Trideag is a stickler." Olga hiccups. "Whassat you said about alternate selves? Guess it's possible that there's just a train ahead of us. It takes them about an hour to do post ride maintenance, ten minutes for disembarking, so we've got about that long left in a worse case scenario. That what you're thinking?" Time does continue to pass. The others in the train quietly murmur to themselves reassurances that at most it'll be an hour wait. It sucks! But totally doable! Yep. Olga sways on her feet lightly, "Me and my two buds here are the Molar Office. Are you helping out with the job at K Corp too?"
Tamamo	Tamamo gives a polite, if distant greeting in return to Sarracenia, recalling that the matter of the Missing Mario was an overall bright spot, in the end. Come to that, she should remember to check in with Dimo at some point, just to not be a stranger. Her attention is then taken up for a good while by Sonetto's detailed explanation. Tamamo nods along with a "Hm," and "Mhm." 'The presence of seats surprised me as the time from one end to another was a mere ten seconds...' 'Why do you think they have a first class ticket anyways?' That brings up another question. "Why should anyone require a separate ticket for a ten second trip, I wonder? They must board from the same platform, and so, it is not as if they entirely separate themselves from others. Might there be..." She's just wildly guessing at this, "...a difference in safety systems? Ah, but, the entire train should be affected should an accident occur, after all. That does not seem as if it could be quite right." 'Perhaps she and you were switched around with your alternate universe counterparts?' Tamamo can't help but wonder, now, how she could go about proving that this Sonetto is her Sonetto. Perhaps if she'd known about this ahead of time, she could have done something to mark her, like... what was the modern method, again? A tag on an earring? No, she must be misremembering. 'Are you helping out with the job at K Corp too?' "I am here to assist," Tamamo says, "if, perhaps, not in precisely that fashion." The train IS moving between dimensions. Time is progressing at a normal rate for the most part but there's some small temporal fluctuations within the train itself-- "Oh, dear. Temporal magic is outside my field of expertise." She doesn't immediately explain why she said that. "Is it possible to view outside? Or... to move to another car? If there is some difference between the cabins, if only in emergency cases, that should be illuminating."
Odette Raskins	Sarracenia gets a light wave in return from Odette, and do Tamamo and Riku when they arrive. "A missing person incident? Oh, I'm glad you found.. Er. Whoever that is!" She guesses, glancing between them a few times to try and guess from facial expression alone if they did, in fact, find whoever that person was. Listening to Sonetto's exposition gives Odette plenty to chew on, and a bit to shiver about. "If what Miss Matilda saw didn't happen.. Er. D-do you think it won't happen at all, or just that it didn't happen yet...?" She asks, sounding mildly wary as she glances back at either end of the train. "I-I mean, I don't think we'd be in that much trouble if anything happened with everyone here, but... Do the things she sees usually come true one way or another?" "If I feel like it." That gets just a slightly uneasy noise out of Odette, but that's probably just Lilian's sense of humor, right? Right. Telling herself that helps keep her spirits up, although she does still have some reasons to be uneasy unrelated to that. "Are you going to be okay enough to be here, Commander Rook? THere's enough eyes here alraedy if you want to get some rest after the other day." The apparently unusual happenings do start to put the EMT on edge, though, especially as Riku and Sonetto and Lilian all confirm what she and the other passengers have already started noticing: It's definitely taking way too long. Olga's suggestion that it might take another hour and change just for maintenance does take some oft hat edge off, though, as ODette fidgets around in her seat to get a better look outside. "That long? I think I'd rather take the warp gate next time..." She mumbles, sighing dramatically before shrugging lightly at the Molar Office fixers. "Sssort of? Um. I wanted to see what they had there since I heard they're the medical specialists. I've got some tools from Fanar Workshop, so I wanted to do a little comparing and note-taking." "Or... to move to another car?" "Would that be a good idea? If this train is moving through temporal magic...?" It takes her a second to recognize what that means. ".. Then even opening a window might cause some weird... Time things to happen. O-or rust up the train, or turn everyone into babies..."
Riku Asakura	Riku looks over to Sarracenia and shakes his head. "Thanks, but I'm good for the moment," he says to her offer of soda. He smiles at her, though, out of thanks for considering him! 'Who knoooows. Maybe ten seconds is the upper limit and it pisses you off it's actually like ten minutes, but then you're out and three Districts over and you don't care anymore. That's how they getcha.' Riku looks over at Olga and nods. That's probably true. Other things that Lilian and Sonetto say also make sense. It hasn't been an entire five minutes yet. It was likely just congestion, and nothing else. He sits back down and kicks his legs a little. He's also nursing injuries from the bad times had at their last outing. It didn't feel like they managed to succeed at all, and got injured to boot. It gives him time to think about his failures and how to improve for next time. Of course, Olga keeps talking and his attention his captured by the larger woman. "Oh... uh, I don't think so..?" He replies to her about the K-corp job. Though he would rather let Lilian answer that rather than put his own two cents in where they might not be wanted. "Is that why you are here today? What kind of job is it if you can talk about it?" Riku asks, making conversation, why they wait for whatever hiccup is happening to resolve.
Timekeeper	"The original 'you' that I remember is battling grave peril, whilst the 'you' I'm speaking to has dodged the bullet without even realizing." Sonetto frowns at Lilian as one minute stretches into two. "How would I be able to tell? Perhaps there are things that the original me experienced, that I no longer remember... but I feel like I am the original me...?" This is a form of existentialism that mostly exists in science fiction books and video games that come out long after anything Sonetto's experienced, so her mind is kind of blown. After fretting about this for a bit, she eventually decides with a nod, "I am certain that Timekeeper would have noticed if such a thing was amiss with me." "Do you suppose that if there's another train still occupying the destination point, the one that's been sent off is suspended in a holding pattern?"} "That may be true." Lilian having a rational, scientific explanation (insofar as she mentions the Pauli exclusion principle) sets Sonetto fully at ease. It's actually normal for trains to be delayed! Perhaps the normalest thing in the world. If one is to properly appreciate the machinery of public transit and the living, breathing flow of a city's population, then one must accept that sometimes the trains are late. "Last time, I had no memory of a sensation of 'pulling out' or into a station. So I believe that it is logical to assume that the train simply materializes at its destination, and therefore can be blocked by a train existing in its place." "They said to stay in our seats." "A-!" Sonetto's eyes widen at the display of brutish violence by the drunken Fixer that she has the misfortune to be seated near. Pointing at her disapprovingly, "We are instructed to stay in our seats! Please do not cause a disturbance! If the train were to move suddenly, then you may fall over, especially considering your inebriated state!" "...a difference in safety systems? Ah, but, the entire train should be affected should an accident occur, after all." It's time for Sonetto to talk about trains again. "I have heard that first-class passenger trains often supply alcohol during the trip as included in the ticket price. Also, the decorations may be more luxurious, they could have improved views of the outdoors during warp travel, or it may simply allow them to meet the conductor of the train and observe the control panel of the train for themselves out of curiosity. A twenty minute train ride, including the time on both ends, is perhaps long enough that those with the greatest interest in luxury would not forgo it for even the duration of teleportation." She nods. "Do the things she sees usually come true one way or another?" Still politely seated, "Yes. Matilda has proven herself to be a skilled diviner several times, and has even assisted the Director before. I am not an expert in divination, but it is an inherently imprecise arcane skill, however."
Sarracenia	'A missing person incident? Oh, I'm glad you found.. Er. Whoever that is!' Sarra gives Odette much more than an expression. She gasps in shock. "Mario! -THE- hero of Pipeland! How have you never heard of him! I know that you are from another world and all, but his exploits are legendary! He has faced Bowser and his koopa army so many times, and has yet to be defeated despite being a plumber from a place called New York! ...that is in America, I think?" 'Tamamo gives a polite, if distant greeting in return to Sarracenia' It is not exactly the warm greeting Sarra was hoping for. And it instantly fills Sarra with self-doubt. Does Tamamo hate her after all and is just too polite to not return the greeting? 'Having just recently been shot (thrice) in the abdomen...' If only Sarra actually knew that Lilian had been shot three times. She would feel such satisfaction...even though it has been forever since Lilian shot Sarra. Instead, Sarra is engaged in conversation by Mika. "Oh, so I've been told. I was considering starting an airship transportation business, but when I heard about these trains I wondered if such a business would even find traction. Although, considering the price for the tickets to this train and this current interruption in service...not to mention if there -is- some kind of train accident on a warp train...are you just lost in between dimensions? I would take a ride on a majestic airship most any day. But, I might be biased as someone who has ridden on airships almost every day and somehow never tired of it." As she listens to the others talk, Sarra raises an eyebrow. "...another three person office on a questionable mission from a large corporation...?" she says quietly to herself. She was told before that it was not uncommon since corporations or Wings could just cut their losses on such an office. It makes her frown to think that these three could end up like Lulu, Jars, and San. "We are not here to help with this K-corp job. But, I am curious about it. I might be willing to help if it is a worthy cause." she says. 'Riku thanks Sarra and smiles' Sarra blinks in surprise before offering a small, uncertain smile back. It is soon proper though as she realizes Riku is not the type to fake such things. He...so far as she can tell..is a True Hero. She isn't going to say that though. Every time she says such a thing people get weird or mean or avoid her. And if Lilian heard it... Instead, she focuses on what Sonetto is saying. She is talking almost as much as Doctor Gadd and Stuffwell! And...is basically giving a tutorial. Sarra gets an odd expression as she looks at and listens to Sonetto. Is Stuffwell an alternate Sonetto? There has been mention of a suitcase when it comes to those from Sonetto's world...
Lilian Rook	'It's just one job at V and then we can do the job from Myo, Mika.' That turns Lilian's head. She's already undone her seatbelt, so what's the harm in standing up at this point? 'We're friiends, Rain.' "I'm sorry, but you're friends with Myo? That Myo?" Lilian says. She's barely met the woman, but she can't imagine there's a second Myo in position to be giving jobs to Fixers in this part of the world. Not one that anyone sensible sounds suspicious of, too. "With R Corp? You're joking?" She tries to make it sound like a 'small world!' thing, and fails to be convincing. 'H.hey... They said to stay in our seats. It's probably just a hiccup in service. Or maybe waiting for another train to pull in.' "Did you feel a bump?" Lilian shoots back at some random hapless guy over her shoulder, arching her brow, then turns it back off as fast as it'd come on. "Come on now. You should know a liability concern when you see it. If anything that regularly goes on aboard these train could kill a half-decent Fixer, nobody would take these things." 'Dang, Director of Trideag is a stickler.' "Keeping time is one of my habits." Lilian says, half-sarcastic. "I just have an unusually precise biological clock. Don't worry about it." 'Me and my two buds here are the Molar Office. Are you helping out with the job at K Corp too?' Lilian shakes her head. "W Corp and T Corp, but not K." This is true in as far as this nonsense does technically involve both. '...a difference in safety systems?' Lilian lets herself have a little smirk again. Or perhaps just a private smile about an in-joke. "Well let's hope not shall we? If I drop dead, I'd be surprised if the Nest came out unscathed, much less those in first class." Lilian shakes her head. "Come to think of it, it's entirely plausible that those cabins are simply fear-pandering bunkers for those people who know the average worker would try to throttle them on sight. I know people who'll pay all sorts of premiums for silly things like that." She blinks and double takes as Tamamo thinks something somewhat loudly about Sonetto. Lilian briefly imagines owning a tattoo gun for situations such as these, and then, upon feeling a premonition of unspeakable evil, chooses to stop thinking about it. 'Oh, dear. Temporal magic is outside my field of expertise.' Ah fuck. Now it's on her. "Technology, Tamamo." Lilian tries to gently remind her, even though she doesn't believe in the difference here in the slightest. It's only 'not magic' in that everything here is far more soulless and cruel. "I'd been wondering about the windows myself." In that she is now staring at them. "But they're probably sealed for a good reason. It wasn't that long ago I was taking advantage of travel that interacted poorly with keeping your eyes open during it." 'I am certain that Timekeeper would have noticed if such a thing was amiss with me.' Sonetto's initial round of questioning just elicits a 'you really think about this?' kind of 'pfuh' from Lilian, but she lets her meander her way to a conclusion. "I doubt you have to worry about it. It's impossible for there to be an alternate me, so we can rule that out." she says, without explanation, and decides not to be weird about 'the sensation of pulling out', because Sonetto is a good girl. She does look at Tamamo though. "Checking on the other cars may be a decent use of time, if anyone wants to volunteer." she says, planning on staying here and hearing more about Myo. "Sundew? Raskins? Asakura?" Sonetto wants to stay seated, so Lilian will Protect.
Sarracenia	Sarra perks as she hears mention of checking other cars. She shrugs and unbuckles without breaking anything, then stands and stretches. "I was getting tired of waiting, anyway. And we probably should check to see if everyone is alright in the other cars." she says, then...pauses. "...is this the sort of train that is exposed to the outside between cars? That seems like...it would be ill-advised."
Riku Asakura	'Sundew? Raskins? Asakura?' Riku stands up after unbuckling himself. "Sure, I can try to check the car behind us..." he says and makes his way to the back of the train to first see if the door opens and to next see if opening it is a good idea or not. If everything LOOKS okay, then he'll open it up and check the car behind them to see if anything looks out of the ordinary.
Odette Raskins	"I am not an expert in divination, but it is an inherently imprecise arcane skill, however." As she goes through potential disaster scenarios involving time jankery, Odette also has to contend with Sonetto all but confirming that the disastrous portent might really come true after all. "H-has she..? Oh boy. Um. Well, if we're lucky, maybe it won't be for at least another ten rides after we're already off." She suggests/hopes, complete with an awkward laugh that most certainly has nothing to do with her starting to visibly sweat a little at the possibility that this whole train might be cursed. "a place called New York! ...that is in America, I think?" "So he's a hero from the solar system? Wait. I think I watched an old documentary about that once..." A hint of recognition starts to flash in Odette's eyes as she tries to remember what it is that she saw. A moment later, she snaps her fingers and giggles quietly. "Oh, this is coming up because of all the alternate self stuff, right? Manhattan, Dinohattan...?" "Checking on the other cars may be a decent use of time, if anyone wants to volunteer." "Eh? O-oh, um. Sure!" Finding herself volunteered for the job, Odette gets up and starts shuffling towards the frontwards car as Riku heads for the one behind them. "I'll keep my mic on, so if anything happens.. Er. W-well, you'll hear it, and then I'll... Mmhm!" She laughs, shivers briefly, then carefully makes her way forward while trying not to think too hard about being aged into dust or being reverse-aged into a cell. She's careful moving along, hand gripping onto any rails or seat backs on the way just in case the train does have something approximating a sudden stop that she needs to worry about.
Angela	The question of 'why have a second set of tickets at all?' is brought up but nobody here has an answer. Or at least, isn't sure of it enough to bring it up. "Who knows, it might just be the VIP service in the lounge. Don't have to engage the poors while waiting for the train to show up and be cleared. Since most of the trip is going to be on the platform, I guess you could say the tickets are more for the platform experience than the train experience?" But she doesn't sound too certain about it. "But if there's some kind of 'Time Nonsense' going on it's probably T Corp related. Doubt they'd want you poking too keenly to see what it is. Maybe that's what's acting up?" ''I wanted to do a little comparing and note-taking.'' "Not bad." Mika tells Odette. "Actually, if there has been some sort of accident, having some doctors on board might not be a bad idea." ''What kind of job is it if you can talk about it?'' "Eh, it's not a secret job. Just another clash with the Technology Liberation Alliance. They occassionally do a terrorism and get pushed back down underground and then rise up again under new leadership. But it's stable money." "Mm... I wouldn't say I have no sympathy for them, but they're fanatics." Mika adds. "They don't have anything to do with what's going on here unless they really stepped up their game, though." ''I am certain that Timekeeper...'' Olga now thinks that Timekeeper is a nickname for Lilian! ''We are instructed to stay in our seats! Please do not cause a disturbance!'' "Woah woah--" Olga waves her hands in the air, and sways again. "It's way too early for me to cause a ''disturbance''. Just want to be free to move in case something happened. I'd rather take a small bump over some things." But she's bobbing her head at Sonetto's reasoning. Yeah, people who want luxury will pay a lot for a little. ''Mario! The hero of Pipeland!'' "I know of a Pipe OFFICE." Rain mumbles. ''Airship travel.'' "Wouldn't the novely of airflight have traction for its own sake?" Mika asks.
Angela	''Another three person office on a questionable--'' "Hey that's enough of that!" Olga chastizes. "First off, it's not an R Corp job. Just a favor to a friend. Why would R Corp hire a Grade Five Office to do their dirty work? They've got an army. I've known Myo since before she even worked for R Corp." She pauses. "The TLA are just anti-tech crazies. They'd want to shoot your airships down if they saw it." ''You're friends with Myo? That Myo?'' "Yeah." Olga hiccups. "--Oh yeah! You probably ran into her. She's been bitching about that L Corp contract but not giving any de~tails but you can tell she's hella sour about it." "Sorry about our boss, ma'am." Rain murmurs to Sonetto, sympathetically, finding Lilian's explanation for the first class cabins pretty persuasive. Nobody here has, exactly, a high opinion for the sorts of people to be in those cars. The windows ARE securely sealed. Lilian's theory that this sort of travel interfaces poorly with having open eyes is something the three Fixers stuck with them groan in immediate acceptance of the theory. It'd be weirder for them if there WASN'T something they definitely didn't want to look at outside there. This isn't exactly proof though, just people in The City understanding the general thrust of The City. ''Checking the other cars...'' The path to other cars IS locked, but not the sort of lock that you can't just undo yourself. It takes about a minute to manipulate the keypad into activating the door which slides open with a hiss. TOWARDS THE ENGINE ROOM Odette leaves through the door. It's still only about ten minutes into the trip so people are restless and uneasy but not exactly flipping their lid just yet. The first car she moves through seems normal enough. No medical emergencies. The second-- --the door opens before Odette can open it and a woman stops up short upon seeing Odette. She is a pretty young woman wearing a fashionable yellow jacket and a pair of black slacks and brown walking shoes. A messenger bag is hung around her body. The woman quirks her head at Odette. This is two cars by so she can't exactly see the rest of Trideag but she says, "Hey...Are you a nurse too? I've got some a couple people suffering from a bout of anxiety. Do you have any Diazepam? Or something?" She hesitates and adds, "Name's Elena. What's yours? That's a Trideag uniform isn't it? I saw someone wearing it in the papers." TOWARDS THE FIRST CLASS CABIN So far these cabins are, similar to the first, full of anxious and restless people wondering if something has gone wrong. He'll find that the lock on the first class cabin is significantly more secure than the rest of the locks being essentially just 'are you sure you want to move between cabins?' checks. A young girl playing what looks like an imported Playbrick looks over to Riku with wide eyes. "Are you a Fixer??" She asks. "Are you here to fix the Train?" Her eyes are full of hope ad excitement but by saying this, the rest of the cabin immediately starts badgering Riku asking him to fix the problem. It's quietly insistent. For now. "Sensing this could get rough in a hurry..." Olga says, watching Riku's back. "You got a plan, TImekeeper?" Vertin's not here! But she's looking at LIlian!
Riku Asakura	'Are you here to fix the Train?' Riku moves down to one knee and pats the little girl on the head. "Yeah, I'm a Fixer for Trideag. Don't worry about the train, everything will be fine. I'll make sure of it," he says with a smile and a nod to the little girl. "I'm Riku, by the way," he says and sits up as he's bombarded by the other passengers. "Right right... It's fine, just a little more patience..." he says, trying to calm the situation down. He's not sure what's going on yet himself, but he's trying to keep things peaceful. "We're working on trying to see what the problem is right now," he says to them, "We have people heading to the engine right as we speak." Riku plans to calm everyone down first, before moving farther back to check out what's beyond the First Class car, if anything.
Tamamo	'Technology, Tamamo.' "Temporal technology," Tamamo repeats. "Might we say 'temporal craft'? Well, I suppose it does not matter." '...interacted poorly with keeping your eyes open during it.' "It is at least a bit concerning." ...because Sonetto is a good girl. She does look at Tamamo though. That's true, of course. "You did say that the train did not appear to 'move' at all, yes, Ms. Sonetto? Although, I would think we are 'moving' now, from what I can tell of this space. In either case, it does not seem as if, from what you mentioned, any bumping should be expected. If there is, it would be all the more indication that something unusual has occurred." Though she says that, Tamamo hasn't gotten up from her seat, either. She's doing all her readings from there. 'You got a plan, TImekeeper?' While she definitely wasn't the one asked, Tamamo says, "Determining the condition of the other cars should come first, of course. It would be rather foolish to act without at least that much information. Apart from the passenger cabins, I wonder if we can access the engine car in the same way. Are there not employees aboard, to service the first-class passengers, if nothing else?" But just sitting around doesn't feel right to her, either. Not when Lilian's already up. Tamamo carefully unbuckles herself, taking her time as necessary, and then walks up toward the same door that Odette and Sarracenia used. By placing paper talismans at the far end of two adjoining cars, she'll have an easier time analyzing the space between them -- some of which is outside the train. Are they truly moving? Just what is it that's being charged? Is there something remarkably dangerous outside? These questions, and more, may or may not be answered. Once the far talismans are placed, Tamamo backs into the original car again.
Odette Raskins	"if there has been some sort of accident" "another clash with the Technology Liberation Alliance" "If people have been hurt over there..." Odette starts, but she stops just as quickly as she remembers what Lilian had taught her about properly valuing her own work and time. "... I might be able to work something out with K Corp, mhm. Assuming they don't already have it all covered by the time the train finally lets us off." How long is that going to be, anyway? It's taking a while, but at least she has something to do now that she's checking out the frontwards trains. The first one doesn't take long for her to just slip through with the nothing going on, but she nearly jumps out of her skin when the second door opens in front of her. Thankfully, the jump scare is coming from a person and not some kind of freaky time monster, so Odette settles down a few seconds later. She even laughs lightly once she gets her nerves back. "Oh! Hi there. EMT, actually, but I might be able to help with that! Diaze..." As she fiddles around with her carrying case to get out the sedatives, she smiles politely and gives Elena a quick nod. "Here it is... Oh. I'm Odette. It's nice to meet you, Miss Elena! Ah... The papers? Have we been making headlines?" Her chest puffs up just a bit at that, even though she's pretty sure it's not going to be her in those papers. "Yes, I'm with Trideag. I heard there was some stuff going on with K Corp recently? And..." She glances back at the rear cars, then back at Elena while fishing out a small pill bottle. "Oh. Are they up ahead? The.. Um. The anxious people, that is. Want to make sure they take it properly and don't down a whole bunch or fight over these, you know?"
Timekeeper	"I'm sorry, but you're friends with Myo?" "Is that someone you know, Director?" Ten minutes of sitting still is well within Sonetto's capacities as a field agent. In fact, part of the yearly assessment involves tests of restlessness and attention span, skills that she pridefully honed during her time in school and still use regularly to this day. If she is given the command to sit, she will SIT. The same goes for STAY! Still, though, she'll, like, make conversation. She's not a robot. "I just have an unusually precise biological clock." This particular phrase inserts into Sonetto's mind in a way that immediately queues up several recent associations. She blinks, and then peers between Tamamo and Lilian to look for... something. It's unclear what, or where she's squinting at. "It wasn't that long ago I was taking advantage of travel that interacted poorly with keeping your eyes open during it." This seems like a perfectly reasonable explanation, even though Sonetto's disappointed about not being able to see through the windows. "Mhm, this is a possibility. Timekeeper recommends closing your eyes when entering the suitcase for a mundane reason of disorientation, but there are also rituals that can be disrupted by outside observation." "It's impossible for there to be an alternate me, so we can rule that out." "Understood, Director." She's such a good girl. Sonetto does get vaguely distraught at everyone else unbuckling and standing up to filter out, though. "Is it not possible that walking around freely as if something has gone wrong will convince other passengers to react as though something has? The St. Pavlov Foundation Guide on the Effective Management of Volatile Crowds, chapter seven, 'How a Protest Becomes a Riot', describes the phenomenon of mob mentality that leads to a dissociation of individual thinking when in large groups of people, resulting in a concatenation of extreme behavior once one individual has performed it or the propagation of extreme emotions such as panic or anger." "They occassionally do a terrorism and get pushed back down underground and then rise up again under new leadership." Pleasantly, while the other Trideag Fixers split off to the other cars, Sonetto says to Olga, "I hope that one day you are successful in eradicating the terrorists and ensuring a peaceful relationship with technology for the rest of decent society." "Sorry about our boss, ma'am." To Rain, Sonetto pensively closes her eyes, slim personal bible on her lap. Probably sympathetically, "Alcoholism is a disease and its victims deserve pity, not anger." "You got a plan, TImekeeper?" Her eyes open again, wide, first shocked as if she might have missed something, but quickly certain that she hasn't and just vaguely confused. "Timekeeper is not here," She informs Olga. "Although, I would think we are 'moving' now, from what I can tell of this space." "I see. I am not perceptive enough to notice this without seeing out the windows, but it certainly is smooth."
Sarracenia	'Hey that's enough of that!' Sarra flinches in surprise, then mmphs in annoyance. "Why? Well, as I only recently learned, most large entities such as Corporations consider small offices...!!!" She starts angrily, then trails off as what happened with Black Silence and the plethora of advice that came after. Sarra takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly, and ends up looking just concerned for Olga and her friends. "...just...be careful, okay? We at Trideag have seen the results when such things happen." she says, then turns to follow Odette. They enter the other car and someone asks them some questions. Sarra is also in Trideag colors of course, but there is no way she would be mistaken as a nurse or anything of the like. "If anxiety is the worst they are suffering I would say we are doing well." she says, looking over the car before at Elena. She curtseys politely when introductions start. "Princess Sarracenia Sundew, Crown Princess of the Sundew Kingdom, Aspiring Heroine, Grade Six Fixer of the Trideag Association." She looks out over the car again and holds up her black-gloved hands. "Do not worry, everyone! We are Fixers! Just remain calm! I am certain the train will arrive at its destination soon enough!" she calls out to the car. She pauses just a moment before speaking to Elena again. "We will be touring the train to check for anything out of place and any injuries. Has anything odd happened in here? Other than the delay in disembarking, I mean. Any unusual sounds? Car shaking? Shady people? There is no reason to think anything is actually wrong as of yet, but as a Fixer I want to be sure we have covered all angles."
Lilian Rook	'But if there's some kind of 'Time Nonsense' going on it's probably T Corp related. Doubt they'd want you poking too keenly to see what it is. Maybe that's what's acting up?' "Then they can stop poking me first." Lilian says, nakedly bitter. She mutter-repeats 'Do a terrorism?' incredulously a moment later. "You small offices certainly don't have much pick when it comes to this sort of thing. 'Stable money indeed'." 'First off, it's not an R Corp job. Just a favor to a friend. Why would R Corp hire a Grade Five Office to do their dirty work?' Lilian looks at Olga with ten percent certainty that she's just wrong, and ninety percent certainty that Olga is an absolute idiot. "But she does work for R Corp now." Lilian says, matter-of-factly. "And I wouldn't think of her as someone particularly free of entanglements, much less with clean hands." She's the only Rabbit Team member that Lilian even bothered to learn the name of during the daily operations of L Corp, after all. "A friend in her position, asking you to do something so menial? Baffling. I can't imagine." 'She's been bitching about that L Corp contract but not giving any de~tails but you can tell she's hella sour about it.' "We all are." 'You got a plan, TImekeeper?' Lilian faintly double-takes. -----[stop]----- The habit to look around for Vertin happens contemporaneously with the desire to not be seen doing so. These are strangers, after all. Of course Lilian feels slightly stupid after doing so, but it's not like anyon saw. -----[start]----- "A plan?" Lilian says, archly. "For a train delay? Do I look like a technician to you?" The fact that this probably has something to do with matilda's portent of ill-omen isn't necessarily relevant; the fact is that she doesn't, actually, have a plan; only all the materiel for one. "If you mean for people getting stupid ideas, though, that's simple enough. Anyone who makes a physical issue of it can be physically restrained. Otherwise, I've brought multiple qualified medics with me, and as it just so happens, humanitarian supplies for other minor exigencies; a delivery, you understand." The fact is that Lilian actually has no idea how to keep a large number of people calm and organized. Civilian management just isn't part of any of her jobs; that's more of a Kale thing if anything. Hell, psychological health isn't even in her realm of personal experience; Lilian perceives that as more of a luxury to indulge in if you can afford it (which is almost never). Of course, she hardly minds using mind-manipulating magic if she has to, but she's not about to just say that (though she does share a meaningful glance with Tamamo). 'Might we say 'temporal craft'? Well, I suppose it does not matter.' "I like that. Craft is fine~" 'It is at least a bit concerning.' "That or the singularity itself is right outside the window." Lilian says. "Perhaps they don't want us to know that the vaunted Warp Train technology is just shoving us into a giant cannon." 'Is that someone you know, Director?' Lilian thinks of saying 'unfortunately', but decides narrowly against it. She doesn't really hold any ill will towards Myo; she just thinks that she's kind of a freak. "Only passingly." she says to Sonetto. "She's private military. Rather high-ranking too, from what I dimly recall. A bit single-minded, impatient, 'eccentric', but she does her job just fine."
Lilian Rook	Looking at Sonetto to check on her, Lilian puts two and two together at her staring, and sighs in exasperation. She decides to keep her happy with "Precisely. Or those that can have a harmful effect on the brain when observed with insufficient preparation." in response to her theorizing. Sonetto always seems to love being treated like a trusted elder student on a field trip. 'Is it not possible that walking around freely as if something has gone wrong will convince other passengers to react as though something has? The St. Pavlov Foundation Guide on the Effective Management of Volatile Crowds, chapter seven, 'How a Protest Becomes a Riot'' Oh thank god. Lilian was secretly hoping that Sonetto would blurt out something like that. "That's why I'd like you to walk around in an orderly and professional fashion." Lilian says. "We aren't just random passengers; we're high-profile Trídéag Fixers in uniform. In situations like these, it's necessary for someone authoritative to take charge and assure people that there is a hierarchy still in place; knowing that a power structure is taking care of them, and available to hear their concerns, so that they needn't be resolved individually, is a sort of vital nutrient that people in these sorts of situations require." Lilian finally gestures Sonetto up, so she stops looking so uncomfortable. "First, you and I will patrol in opposite directions. When you reach the end of the train, double back, and we'll cross paths and complete a full circuit. As you go, you will tell everyone that Trídéag has been hired as an outside contractor to take emergency action in case of sudden Warp Train failure, for reasons you are not at liberty to disclose." "You will indicate that we've come prepared with necessities sufficient for all passengers, in the worst case of derailment at an unknown destination, and that we are prepared to support this many people for over a week." This is, of course, a bit of a fib, but a ludicrous timeframe like that is something Lilian expects to reduce the sort of irrational freakouts based in thinking that she herself might have in their situation. "You will also announce that we are beginning preliminary sweeps and technical investigation, as well as that there are currently no indications pointing towards extremist activity, but we have a full team of heavily armed personnel and multiple doctors all the same. You will ask them to remain seated for the next hour, where we will make a second round and update every car." Lilian breathes out, shoulders dropping. "We'll complete a full circuit because they'll respond particularly to me, but also because I'd like you to employ your familiarity with that field manual. When we meet back here, report to me the status of the passengers in each car, and any estimates you may have of future developments in . . . pretend we'll be here for a full twenty-four hours. You have full authority to engage in civilian management protocols at your discretion."
Angela	TOWARDS ENGINE ROOM Elena holds her hands out for the sedatives once Odette brings out the Diazepam. "Oh an EMT! That is such a frightful job, right there on sight, their bodies freshly mangled. No wonder you're in such a fright, you poor dear." Elena says. ''Have we been making headlines?'' "There was this funny little tabloid of you dragging some old money back to his home." Elena says. "We don't hear much about what happens in the Backstreets, of course, but there's also news about you working with the Liu on border enforcement." She must be speaking of the clash with the mermaids some time ago. ''Want to make sure they take it properly and don't down a bunch.'' Elena's smile fades some. "Ahah...when you say it like that, you make it sound like you don't trust me as a nurse. We shouldn't move between cars too often, but--mm--alright." She moves along, heading back towards the engine room to the car she just came from. "It's just a couple of young lovers. But you look like you might need that medication for yourself. Are you alright, dear?" TOWARDS FIRST CLASS CABIN Riku seems confident. There's some murmurings amongst the passengers before ultimately they settle down. So something IS wrong but the Fixers are going to figure out what it is and fix it. Peace maintained! For now. But Riku finds that the First Class car is very locked up and very secure. The lock on it isn't like the other locks throughout the train, there's an actual passcode involved and there's no way of telling how many digits it'd take to crack the code and it's technically an emergency panel for Warp Corp officers--not something that's meant to be activated by anything but security in the know. The door is heavily reinforced with several layers of armoring. There's no sound coming from the cabin--it must be soundproofed?--and no window to see inside. MAIN CABIN ''Are there not employees aboard?'' Olga thinks this over but it's Mika who manages to come up with an answer, "I don't recall seeing any employees board, but we wouldn't have been able to see if they boarded the first class cabin. But we did see them enter an arrival train after it showed up as part of their maintenancea and disembarking procedures. I saw them leave after, though." ''Tamamo reaches outside the car'' It feels like they are in some sort of pocket dimension. The Train is still moving at a rapid clip, though not exactly push through two Districts in ten seconds speeds. There don't seem to be any creatures within Tamamo's range, but she can determine that what's being 'charged' with 'Time' seem to largely just be 'being charged'. There is some sort of enforced staticity permeating around the train itself and everyone in it, perhaps with the aid of those charged batteries. Tamamo might have seen some similar curses in necromancy--something...preventing death? Crudely but effectively. It's 'technology' but that's a bit of an academic distinction. It COULD just be security to ensure the wellbeing of the people of the train. It COULD be.
Angela	''I hope that one day you are successful in eradicating the terrorists.'' "Aww thanks." Olga says, rubbing at her forehead but managing a smile. ''Alcoholism is a disease and its victims deserve pity, not anger.'' "Um...maybe." Rain says. "But maybe don't say that too loudly." Fortunately Olga doesn't seem to have heard that part since she's getting upset at her friendships being questioned. "Myo's not a CEO, she's just one soldier of a bunch." Olga says. "Obviously, like, the bosses of the Wings would throw us under a bus but what exactly would she get out of it..?" But she eases a little off when Sarracenia does. "I...uh... Yeah. Sure." ''Then they can stop poking me first.'' Olga grimaces sympathetically. "Eh well I do well enough to eat and drink well." Then of course R Corp is brought up again. "Menial? I dunno if I'd go that far." ''We all are.'' "Well I saw the video, yeah. Sorry a Wing screwed you over." ''TImekeeper is not here.'' "Eh?" She looks at Lilian. "Wait you mean she's not Timekeeper? But she's got the keeping time skill down pat." ''Do I look like a technician to you?'' "Uh but the guy said." She jerks a thumb over to Riku. ''More On Myo.'' "She used to be a total freak for the Red Mist. Would always talk about how she saved her from some Syndicate fucks a while back." Olga chuckles. "Before she signed on but hey--she got her bag." MORE ELENA ''Has anything odd happened here?'' Elena giggles into her hand. "You're a princess? What're you doing here? Ahh--you're aspiring to be a heroine, is that it? I'm not sure The City is the best place for that. But to each their own, hm?" She considers her other question, making her way back to the car she came from. "It hasn't even been an hour yet, The City might be a rough place to live but I don't think the knives would come out this quickly, mm? The shadiest people on this train car that I've seen would be you Trideag people, which isn't to say you're particularly shady--haha--but that just speaks to how mild the people on this train are. Normal people. City people. Boring old humans same as any, you know?" She looks past towards Tamamo who kinda stands out. "You're the strangest people on this train, hmhm."
Riku Asakura	Riku messes with the lock pad for a little bit, but realizes he's not going to make headway on this like he could with getting into first class. He frowns and then turns back towards the main cabin. He wasn't going to get farther this way without brute force... and his type of brute force might make more problems than solve. He keeps the smile up, though, trying to project calm and openness about the situation. He moves to Lilian and whispers into her ear. "I can't get past first class without making a scene. I figured either you should look at it or I should at least consult you before making a scene. The control panel is more of a security key, so I don't think any of us can get there without brute force."
Tamamo	...though she does share a meaningful glance with Tamamo. 'You will indicate that we've come prepared with necessities sufficient for all passengers...' "I prepared for 'a dire but unknown emergency aboard a crowded train,' after all." That there would be a crowd of people involved is just about the only thing Tamamo could know about this ahead of time, along with the rough dimensions of the train. She can set up bounded fields over each car, if needed. '...prepared to support this many people for over a week.' That, on the other hand, Tamamo isn't. Her secret pockets, convenient as they are, are miniscule when contrasted with the inventory of someone like Xion. Even the necessary water wouldn't be feasible, if she had no means of conjuration -- which really isn't how her freezing curses are meant to be used. "Mm." 'You're the strangest people on this train, hmhm.' Someone with smaller ears might not have heard that. Tamamo glances over and smiles, but she's busy sending a message to Lilian through the private channel set up by the jewelry and charms enchanted for each of them. It's been some time since that's really been needed. "Lilian, the carriages are strangely warded. That is, it would be strange to need something like a life-preservation warding built around the ordinary passenger cars if they did not expect a great deal of trouble. I have not deciphered the exact mechanism, and... I am unsure if this would be helpful to disclose. It does not appear to be harmful, and yet, neither can it answer our predicament."
Odette Raskins	"No wonder you're in such a fright, you poor dear." "Mangled bodies.. Y-yeah, it's... You get used to it." Odette lies with a forced chuckle, not quite able to sound as brave as she'd like in that moment while she considers taking half of a pill herself. She doesn't, of course, because she needs to make sure there's enough for the passengers, but the temptation is certainly there. "you dragging some old money" "the Liu on border enforcement." "There was? O-of both those things?" Feeling her ego swelling up a bit more, Odette grins a bit more widely. "W-well, it was really more everyone else doing the heavy lifting. I was just handling the injured, you know? Couldn't really get far with that if not for everyone else keeping me safe to do any of that. Princess Sarracenia was there, too!" "you make it sound like you don't trust me as a nurse." That gets a confused look out of Odette, and then another awkward laugh where she still has yet to relinquish the pill canister. "Ah? O-oh, no, no, I trust you! Just not..." Another uneasy chuckle, and then she inclines her head towards the engine room. "The... I don't know what the patients are like, you know? If they're antsy enough to eat a bunch, to go after you for them... I've seen that happen way too many times back home, so I'd feel real bad if you got hurt trying to keep them from overdosing, you know?" Following Elena towards the engine room, Odette shakes her head quickly at the suggestion to take the pills herself. "I've got to keep a clear head to get all this work done right, you know?"
Lilian Rook	'Obviously, like, the bosses of the Wings would throw us under a bus but what exactly would she get out of it..?' "Not being cut off for not doing what she's told. It's as simple as that." says Lilian. "She's one or two locked doors away from CEOs on the regular. I know she's been in contact with the executive officers of at least one Wing. The fact that this job should get her nothing either way is already suspect; she gains nothing from you completing it or failing either way. It's highly likely someone is just using her as a mouthpiece." 'Eh well I do well enough to eat and drink well.' "Enough to get drunk at least." says Lilian. "If you survive your job, considering cutting ties and hopping Associations, pronto. We're looking for Office outsource, and I guarantee you that we pay better." 'Well I saw the video, yeah. Sorry a Wing screwed you over.' Lilian stiffens just a little. "You'd think I'd be used to it by now." She forces herself to laugh a little. "Everyone in the City having seen 'my video'." 'Wait you mean she's not Timekeeper? But she's got the keeping time skill down pat.' "You're too easily impressed. Just memorize the length of a second and it's easy." 'Uh but the guy said.' "And you're taking his word over mine?" Lilian says, as if it's utterly not a surprise. "Well I suppose he's doing a superb job as our resident specialist." She means 'pet male'. "Ah, speak of the devil." 'I can't get past first class without making a scene.' "Now that's a lovely little clue." Lilian quietly murmurs back. "Let's make getting in there our second, no, third priority, after checking for threats back here and making certain the crowd is under control." Lilian resumes at her prior volume after that. "You go with Raskins. Get a passenger count, names, reason for boarding, potentially relevant medical conditions, and make a note of any weapons or computing devices more powerful than a phone. Return it to me and we'll begin making plans. Let Sundew handle a confrontation if there is one; I want to save your timer for what I have in mind next." §So they're expecting grievous bodily harm? Or at least, it's common enough that they can't handle passengers not appearing at the station, but can handle that much hush money. It's possible that the trains themselves are unreliable technology. One in a hundred, or a thousand trains is lost in space and requires a rescue or retrieval, perhaps. And rather than provide emergency supplies, they'll just resuscitate near corpses. That'd explain the extensive passenger sweeps at each stop too. How unpleasant.§ 'You're the strangest people on this train, hmhm.' "That's to our advantage, this time." Barring anything else needed, Lilian begins her own patrol, like she outlined to Sonetto. Though she already asked Riku to handle it, she's at least taking a headcount on her own as well.
Timekeeper	"Everyone in the City having seen 'my video'." Sonetto hesitates and looks at Lilian with just a little bit of trepidation in her eyes. "Is this a video that, er, I should... be aware of...? Or should I direct my attention elsewhere?" "That's why I'd like you to walk around in an orderly and professional fashion." "Understood, Director!" Naturally Lilian would have such good ideas and an intuitive understanding of the principles in the Field Agent guides before Sonetto even says them! This is now an order for a prosocial cause from a direct authority on the job that she is currently working, so the seatbelts are no longer an issue. Sonetto unbuckles and stands right up, shaking her head to re-fluff her hair where it was squished against the back of her seat. "I will spread the news so that the passengers are assured by the presence of authority, and if any are agitated enough to attempt to incite a riot or dissent, then I will swiftly incapacitate them for the good of the collective mood. If we are here so long as twenty-four hours, then we will be as prepared as possible." Her expression briefly falls. "... Ah, but Timekeeper will worry. I do not believe my transponder works in transit." Armed with this knowledge, Sonetto splits off from Lilian to patrol through each of the cars, as confident and and reassuring as can be. She's mostly performative and scripted when it comes to actually enacting those guidelines on crowd management, as her stilted way of... existing generally lends itself best to 'patrolling and making announcements' moreso than it does making improvised emotional appeals. Still! If there's any Fixer you would want to reassure the public, it would be a cheerful and approachable Grade 6 with a dedicated attitude and assurances that the Director of an Association is here on a mission to make sure everything goes fine.
Sarracenia	'You're a princess? What're you doing here? Ahh--you're aspiring to be a heroine, is that it? I'm not sure The City is the best place for that. But to each their own, hm?' Sarra hmphs lightly. "This City is so in need of heroes that people have largely given up on heroes and hope in general. This is exactly why I have come here. I wish to become a shining beacon of hope for this city." 'You're the strangest people on this train, hmhm.' Sarra hmms, then giggles a bit. "Well, that is likely a good thing." she says, though she looks over those in the car anyway. Though, it is unlikely that Sarracenia could pick out anyone that was out of place. She barely knows what is -in- place in the City. 'Odette being nervous' "Odette is amazing." Sarra says firmly and with a small, confident smile to Odette. "As far as I can tell she has no real super or magic powers compared to other elites, yet she is out here trying her hardest and accomplishing quite a bit." she says for Elena's benefit as they head toward the engine room.
Angela	ELENA CAR Elena leads the princess and the EMT over to a young couple who are huddled anxiously close to one another but she speaks as she travels. "Oh, I see, I see. You're just really dedicated at your job, have to see it through yourself? I understand the impulse." Elena says. "But don't worry about me too much, I might be a nurse but I've faced my share of rowdy patients." She winks at Odette, frankly a bit flirtatiously. "But these are sweet dears, you'll see when youh meet them." She pauses. "WAS she now? Gosh, I've got some real Fixer celebrities here. I can't remember the last time I've met a princess." She laughs airily again. "Oh I can see it. Quite brave. You know, they say facing your fear is the truest show of courage." ''That's to our advantage, thius time.'' ''Well, that is likely a good thing.'' "My, you've certainly got your Fixers well trained. Just like I've heard. What a lovely bunch." Elena says. The couple smile anxiously at Odette and will not fight over the medicine, they seem grateful if anything, and maybe a bit apologetic. "Odette was nice to share some of her medicine, isn't that sweet, Tom? Merry?" Tom bobs his head. "Y..yes. thank you, miss." "Mhm, thank you Odette. We're trying to keep calm..." "It must be wonderful to be able to draw strength from each other." Elena says to them, noting that they are holding hands. "I'm sure whatever is going on, that will be a source of strength until our friends here figure out the problem." ORIGINAL CAR Mika leaves the car to check out that first class cabin lock. She has some background as an Armsmeister, but it seems to be a tough lock even for her though she'll keep at it for a while. Rain and Olga don't leave the initial car, sticking with Lilian. But Olga seems distressed and upset. Of course she would be, she's being told a friend is trying to use her. Her expression is warring with doubt that now that so many have pushed her on the matter. Well, it's two people, but one of them is a Director and the other seemed actually worried. Well, technically Lilian is the fourth person warning her about this job. Mika and Rain were warning her before they boarded. They warn her all the time actually! "Look I know she's a bit of a hothead but she's not a bad person." She says to Lilian like she's trying to convince ''her'' now. "Cutting ties from... R Corp? Ehh we don't really have ties we're an independent office--" But she hesitates, "You want to outsource us? We're not a District 12 Office but --- ahhh, expanding the Association?" She frowns. She thought she HAD memorized the length of a second her whole life but she just was told she was one second off!! So it can't be that easy, can it?? ''And you're taking his word over mine?'' "Er, well, I figured he wouldn't say that if it wasn't your plan?" This may be in part deflection though. "I'd hate to be the sorta person who gives up on an old pal like that--but if you're offering a good deal like that--you want to make it official? Seems like we've got time to hash something out." "Could maybe get it open, but it'd take at least a week." Mika mumbles. "My codecracker isn't exactly made for Wingtech." "Let's follow the lead of our new buddies for now." Olga decides. With Sonetto and Lilian making the rounds it isn't too tough to keep the people cool. There's about thirty people to a traincar, counting your people, and not counting the people in First Class or anyone who might be in the Engine Room because the security there is even tighter than that of the First Class cabin. But the train doesn't arrive in an hour. It doesn't even arrive after twenty four hours. And strangest of all... nobody seems to be getting hungry. Or thirsty.
Lilian Rook	'Is this a video that, er, I should... be aware of...? Or should I direct my attention elsewhere?' Oh god dammit not again-- "A while ago, a corporate spy infiltrated the main branch of L Corp while I was helping suppress a disaster there. Possibly instigated by them in fact." Lilian says, hastily clarifying. "And for reasons I have yet to determine, they gathered extensive footage of Rita and I in action, and either intentionally released the footage, or experienced an information leak." "That footage is why Trídéag was formed. In response to the Head's acknowledgement of the capabilities of Multiversal actors, we all assume. Better to offer an opportunity to integrate them as an orderly part of the system, rather than try to fight a war against them entering the City." What a thing to say in front of the hard working honest little Fixer trio.