STEAM LONDON: Realms of Aether Game Thread

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss leaned ove rtoward the captain and said, "Belay the request to engage, captain, we have full weaponry. run everything out and lets go hunting; maybe we can surprise whatever it is that's waiting for them."

They descended again, blasting away with the coilguns and the hotchkisses with their heat shells, destroying entire battallions of Omarsmerti craft; Dreyfuss happened to glance ahead, and saw the huge cold signature below a hump in the ground, and ordered a coil-and-rocket strike; the result was a huge gout of black blood and pieces of wyrm erupting from the mound. Turning in widening arcs, they found several more such potential ambushes, interspersed with more hopping martie units. All fell before the guns and riockets of the gunship. Dreyfuss wondered at the lack of response from teh boheme and sent a thought to Cain to take it up at least two thousand feet, warning him of the wyrms and hopping marties. Just then, a massive THUMP shook the ship from the starboard side, and thrust the ship to Port. Dreyfuss craned his head around inside the glass of teh steering room, and saw a Wyr directly behind them,  gathering itself for another strike.

"Captain!" Dreyfuss spoke loudly, "Wheel Maneuver! to starboard, one hundred eighty degrees! fire both rocket tubes when target in view."
"Aye, sir. One hundred eighty, mark, one, two, three, four, firing forward rockets...rockets away, sir.
Teh Wyrm exploded just as it struck, thus its blood gushed forward, and splashed the steering room; Dreyfuss got the wipers working so the captain could continue to steer.
Take 'er up to 2000, Capn. lets see what else is around."
"Two thousand feet, commodore sir, aye. Five, one thousand, five, two thousand, dialing valves closed, redirecting fans."

"Dreyfuss to Boheme, please confirm your status, how is Miss Emma, do we have George yet? over." Dreyfuss called.
"All ahead slow, Captain. turn to see the Boheme, if you please. scan for targets as we go."
"Aye, sir."

[Stella Gaslight]

Helena looked at Sigmund with concern.  "You come from here don't you? What you must have seen."  She hugged him then but it seemed a tiny comfort compared to what he had gone through. 

"All right but lets go home soon."  She started to sing hoping to clear the world's damaged and bloody song from her ears.  Their were so many cries for help but she couldn't save them and that hurt her most of all.
 
As they passed a row of buildings most of the attackers stopped like they had hit an invisible wall, some persisted but were cut down quickly.  Buildings below thumped with industry and people moved among them scurrying around.  A voice Patrick would have known very well boomed out of nowhere.  "Proceed to the main lab airship dock,an escort will be waiting for you there."

"Dreyfuss I don't know what is happening but that sounds just like Capitan Hieronymus Black."  Emma was quite frankly baffled.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Cain kissed Angel's lips, letting the touch of his lips console her as best as they could. As the sound of industry and machinery rose from the skies, the song of death and pain was replaced by a sad chorus.

A hymn to bondage, a song of slavery.
Well-dressed cold ones chattered as they walked down the cobbled streets, humans following at their heels dressed in meager clothing. Armored cold ones and cold one hybrids stood at every street corner, chatting up every pretty girl selling flowers, or cornering a slightly more reluctant young woman.

Sigmund sorely wished he would never have to see this place again. He wished he could have lived in the world of triumph and plenty...but he was once more brought to this smog-choked, ash-coated hellhole.

Brian lay bound within the inquisitional chamber of the queen's royal guard. His face bloodied, and his body riddled with whip-gashes. His knees bend oddly.
"Tell ussss where the Aether leaguerssss are, boy. And perhapsss the queen will keep you as her pet..." A stern-eyed cold one hissed, holding a long, cruel rod in its hands.
"Second star to the right...straight on till morning..." He wheezed through bloodied lips. He was rewarded with more strikes to the face and body, leaving red gashes in his pale flesh.
"TELL ME HUMAN!!"
"Twas brillig..in the slithy toves...." The bloodied young man cackled. The cold one sighed and ordered the guards to fix him up and drag him to his cell.

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss gritted his teeth. BLACK! that well-named bastard of a cable-cutting fiend!

Dreyfuss aethered back, "what do we do, Emma? I'll go along with it, even if I have to put up with Black himself," the cable -cutting blackguard, he thought to himself. "perhaps I'd better go up a few thousand, sounds like they think you have no escort; they probably think Im a pirate or some such. I'll play the part 'till you say otherwise, or until it becomes impracticable. but its your decision, you are the leader, after all."

HE turned to Capn Ishmael, saying, "Take her up two thousand more, capn. and lets turn the scan-tank on. it could use a good shakedown. "Please, Mr. Leyton, bear with us a few minutes more, until we can get things figured out. I'd rather not get captured, " he said. The captain complied, and then a strange contraption on one side of the steering room, ahead of the wheel, began to glow and spark.

Built like a set of at least five different gimballs-within-gimballs, each circle within the main, outer circle began to spin in a different direction, an electrical field forming and visible through the rapidly-revolving arcs. Slowly, the green bubble that formed, about the size of a small spherical watermelon, began to coalesce in the center to form a St. Elmo-shaped glowing shape. the ground and its features formed far below it, only a tiny puddle at the bottom of the melon. what looked like a dfew very-high-up clouds drifted by, as the tiny ship hung within the sphere thus created.

"A little invention of mine, Mr. Leyton. It uses the electrical field caused by the aether-powered engines of the St. Elmo  to form a kind of passive electrical image  of the St Elmo and its surroundings, often many miles in all directions. That's a technology I'd prefer not to have fall into Cold One hands, even be it those from another dimension."

[Stella Gaslight]

Helena looked out at the worn looking streets below them. "Where are we Sigmund?" She was being hit strongly by a twisted spot of deja vu. 

Angel was clinging to Cain this world was waring at her soul. "This was his home.  Poor buterfly."

Another voice came but this time is was friendly.  "Relax Em we aren't going to hurt you.  Just follow the colored lights and I will be waiting." 

"It's...It's George but why would he be working with Black?"  Emma hesitated every part of her was screaming that this was a trap but that was George and she had to save him.  "We have to go there Dreyfuss but armor up and get yourself armed to the teeth because something funny is going on here."

[Nigel Wetherby]

"New Albion...it's the greatest exporter of soldiers in the world. Humans here are bred and trained for combat and are intergrated with cold one parts...the best soldiers were made into commodores, and half-breeds like me were put on the front lines. Commodore PAtrick O'Landry assures we all have the deadliest and cruelest imaginable weaponry to deal with the Aether league..." Sigmund sighed, swallowing the location like a bitter medicine.

"The beauty of hope can come from even the darkest place...." Cain said to anyone willing to listen, but mostly to Angel. "Perhaps the butterlfy is the hope."

Commodore Patrick O'Landry observed his soldiers marching, Jenniffer sat by his side, her dull eyes staring into the oblivion of the shadows within the building's corners.
"Commodore O'Landry, sir, Brian refuses to tell us the location of the Aether league...what should we do?" A snivelling cold one looked up to him weakly.
"We place him in the hands of miss lighton..perhaps she can use him as a gunie pig..."

The broken shamble of Brian O'Landry was dragged to Commodore Emma's chamber.
"A present from mister O'Landry miss Lighton-Black..."

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss sighed. "Me and my big mouth. Well, Captain, you heard 'er. Keep the scantank on and close the steering room shutters, both sets, and keep 'em closed until we get back up high enough that it makes no difference. Same for the Stern galleries; as for the guns, run in all but the two forward, the two midships, and the one port rear. All others stay behind their hatchplates til I say otherwise, and captain: Stray aboard, no matter what. Same for you, Mister Leyton, no, I'm sorry, but it can't be helped. I need friendlies aboard; I might have to play fast and loose and come running back here, I might even have to sneak back on board. Hieronymous Black is the damned blackguard who shot the Mad Anthony out of the sky. Yes, Mister Leyton, I'm THAT Dreyfuss. I'm not terribly proud of it, but there it is.

Now, both of you. If I don't return within twelve hours, Take the ship up to five thousand feet, and destroy all pursuers, and then use the Mondragon Grenades to destroy the town, UNLESS I aether back and do the "shave and a haircut" bit. If I do the shave and haircut before twelve hours have passed, stick to the twelve hour rule, no exceptions. Do eithe rof you not understand those instructions? Good."

Dreyfuss then left the steering room and returned to his cabin, where the inner and outer shutters were now firmly in place, so he had to switch on the arc lamp on the wall. He dressed in the old full Marauder kit, using the old, battle-damaged coat that he had been given by Richter, and leaving the commodore's coat and peaked hat in his locker. He also left Emma's coilgun and took his new whitefire pistol, which used and magnified his whitefire capability to make a beam that would burn and destroy just about anything. Some might call it a perversion of the white flame ideal, but it worked, and that was what mattered when the chips were down and you needed firepower that you didn't have to reload.

He also wore the Paterson, and teh curved saber, and the possibles bag, with te Swith and Wesson inside, loaded with heat rounds; he had given Leyton the Webley, so he took off the bandolier and switched to a regular baldric belt to hold teh saber. Slinging the boat gun across his back, he then left his cabin, returned to the steering room, and gave Leyton the bandolier and the holster, and showed him the cutlass locker behind the helm. "if you know how to use a sword, Mr. Leyton, use the cutlass teh same way; if not, just use it like a cudgel with a cutting edge."

He then went back to the stern, stood at the Em De port, loosened all of his weapons should he need to draw them fast, and waited for the ship to come to the dock. He had a strong feeling that this could all go wrong in short order.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Patrick isn't bad why would he fight the nice league people?" Angel asked Cain  

"Damn." Helena said running a hand through her hair. "We theorized that their might be parallels between worlds but this place is like a fun house mirror." She was mildly worried her own twin was running around doing horrible things as well.  The ship started to slowly land following the green floating lights that were guiding them in to the cavernous maw of the main lab airship dock.


"Well well well a white magic user I haven't gotten my hands on one of these in a good long time.  Tell dear Commodore O'Landry he has excellent taste in gifts." Emma rose from her massive desk, she was darkly elegant like a panther and she looked down on him with yellow eyes.  "There are so many things I can't wait to do with you, so many tests I have never had living subjects to do.  I think working with you will truly be an education."  She leaned down and whispered in his ear.  "You should have told hem what he wanted because you are mine now and I can keep you alive for years." Commodore Emma smiled and called for some technicians.  "Please take this young man to the alternative energies study lab and get him patched up I would like him whole before I commence my experiments."  The people in lab coats bowed and took the bleeding heap from the floor and whisked him deeper into the complex while small robots came to clean up what he left behind. Satisfied that her requests were take care of she went off to go meet her guests with George and Black.  She could not wait to see the look on her face when they met.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Brian looked up to this beautiful tyrant and simply spat a blob of thick, red saliva and phlegm into her face before being dragged off. His attention was never on the threats of that evil woman. They were on whatever it was that she held in the corner of her room which watched him intently.

"Because in this world...I suppose Patrick is bad...I wonder if I am in this world..."
Cain felt a terrible shudder dance across every nerve in his body. He couldnt shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to him. Then he imagined what this reality might have had in store for Angel. Oh poor Angel! He could only speculate.

Sigmund feld the green darkness swallow him lie the maw of some terrible beast. "Follow my lead when we get inside. Commodores expect respect, and get very cranky when they don't receive it..."

[MWBailey]

When the St. Elmo had descended to the dock, and stopped moving, he craned his head around beside the glass to see if he could tell when the Boheme came to rest. She appeared to already be so; So, he slid open the door, slid it closed again while clinging to the handrail outside, and locked it with the key around his neck. tucking the key back into his shirt, he then descended the board ladder and stood on the dock, did a left face, and marched smartly and purposely to the side of the Boheme and it's hull door. He knocked, twice, on said door, calling out "I'm here, Miss Emma." he turned back to toward the dock, and came to attention, pointedly ignoring (and thus, not ignoring) the honor guard which showed up.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Hello boys." She said getting kisses from both the glowing blue man and the dashing pirate captain. "Where is our sweet Cordelia?" 

Black grinned and put his arm around her. "She is off with her kitten in the conservatory.  She said she had a new song to write."

"Well I was hoping the whole family could come out to greet our guests but I couldn't possibly keep my dear little girl from her music."

Emma checked to make sure she had every possible weapon she could carry without looking overtly hostile and then she made sure the others had as well.  They filed out of the ship with Emma at the lead.  She saw George first and nearly ran to him but then she noticed he was blue and standing next to a very much alive captain Black.  "What is going on here?"

They just smiled as their Emma stepped in to the light. They saw each other and gasped. "My god it is me."

"Mrs. Emmaline Black-Lewastine in the flesh.  I think I have something that belongs to you."  Emma one reeled with the revelation and much to her embarsment, fainted.  This was all too much for her to handle.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Cain emerged behind Emma, Angel at his side. From the shadows behind Emma emerged Sigmund, a steely look in his eyes as his rifle was slung across his back and his polearm rested upon his shoulder.
"That isn't Your George, Miss Lighton. It's Miss Lighton-Black's assistant. Don't get too close to him. I've heard tell he can dissasemble a digger-tank without even moving a finger." Sigmund seemed to be acting as their guide.
"Your giant worm is dead..." Cain said sharply, as if to spite this woman who seemed to exude evil from every pore in her body.

[Stella Gaslight]

"The wyrm was a failed experiment nothing of worth really."

Emma went bolt upright in Angel's arms.  "Sorry sorry." She muttered. 

The other Emma was watching with amusement.  "Look they even have a Cordelia and that creature next to her looks familiar too.  Such intriguing parallels, I will have to study this in depth later. The one in front is one of ours I wonder where they picked him up."  She stepped forward smiling, It sent shivers down Emma one's back.  "Now If you will please follow me to my main lab I have a amazing anomaly to show you."  Her voice sounded pleasant and sugar sweet but no one took their hands off their weapons.

The walked through sterile hallways with silent technicians to a large black door.  "Two years ago we started to notice instabilities in our realty.  Small things at first like a patch of dawn at sunset or sudden disappearances but as time went on they became larger and started to threaten our world.  I was commissioned by the queen to find what is was and stop it.  It took months and quite a bit of effort but finally we noticed a interesting thing that appeared just before the anomalies.  I must say I was shocked when I caught it."  She opened the door to revel a large glass column with a faintly glowing figure inside.

"George!  What have you done to him?" Emma one yelled attempting to stare her mirror image down. 

"I have only contained him so he can't destroy my world.  He was attracted to me like a magnet and each time something got between me and him another rip in our world appeared.  I am sure you can see why I had to contain him and why I want to be rid of him.  I was hoping a version of me would come along and explain things."  There was a sudden shift in her demeanor, she became cold and hard like a diamond weapons rose up from the ground and aimed at them.  "So why did you send this doppelganger of my George to destroy us?"  she hissed. 

Emma was not going to let that thing with her face threaten her friends. "I didn't, he was lost in an attack. The same attack where we killed your queen."

Emma two fought the urge to smile, the other girl was playing into her hands. "Give me one reason I should believe you."   

[T.Taylor the Third]

Trip teleported out from the ship insted of going out the door.
He materialised on a burnt out roof top and followed the into the building by teleporting past the guards.
unforutionantly this split him from the others.

"hmmm, what to do...."he thought "I know!Ill go steal info on the technology they have in world^2"

He made his way down a white hallway, at a crossroad there were steps across from him. the sign abouve said "to Level 2 :Interigation, Technological development, Privet labs,"

"well....thats conveniant"and went down the stairs.

There was some horrible noises floating through the air.
"interigation eh..." he went past many doors, opening one he saw a white tiled room with a metal barber like chair in the middle of the room. straps were along the armrests and foot rest. on the wall were intraments of torture and pain. the white apoltry of the chair had many dark red bloches dryed on it. He shuddered and closed the door.

"lets see" he thought reading the door lables. "inter1,inter2,inter3,inter4,inter5,.......no,no,no,no, were is the tech?" he stopped when he heard a voice behind the door labbled "Com.Black-Lewastine's Lab"
"Don't worry, love. We'll get you out of here..."
He turned on his heat sensors in his eye. he could see 1 figure lieing on a slab he seemed alive.
he slowly opened the his E-Sword(electrasword) ready.
He saw the back of some one and the bloody mess of the man lying on the metal table.

Trip slowly, carefully walked up behind the person bent over the man . slipping the sword around her neck he said"dont move"

Before he could think he was being held by his neck off the ground.
"who are you?" shai hissed
"Th-Tho-mas*gasp* T-aylor!!" Trip gasped out pulling at the inhumenly strong hand at his throte he  stilled didnt know who was holding him.
she set him down "let us leave."
"uh.what?..why are you asking me im not suppost to be here myself...who  are you?"
"im shai, this" she indicated brian "is brian ollandry"

"WHAT!!?" he said putting his Esword out"  Keep back *gulp* d-dont try any of your Tricks,n-No b-blood magic for me thank you." his organic eye was wide open and he fumbled around with his gauntlent trying to set teleport instructions. but the display colapced as the pack ran out of power. "oh...hell thats what i get for teleporting so much" he thought
     

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Because I've been there." Sigmund said, standing foreward.
"Private Sigmund Ky'Thur, of the first armored batallion of the queen's royal guard. The queen there is dead, and it is no small wonder. Their armies are ferociously well trained and far outdo our own in technology and skill."
He did his best to make this realm sound like a terrible place to be and an impossible place to conquer to discourage any ears that might have been listening.

Cain eyed Cordelia carefully, this Angel seemed innocent enough, but this was a weorld where still waters ran deep.
"BRian O'Landry...Who is he in this world?" Cain asked Emma two, a look of determination to literally find himself in this world.

Shai snuck into the dockling bay of the mqassive complex. "The saint elmo..." She muttered to herself, wondering perhaps if the crew of this ship could in fact lend her their aid, or at least a few weapons, she silently headed for the ship. Unsure if anyone was on at all.

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss brought up the rear of their little group, looking for all possible avenues of escape, should it become necessary; he gave a small start when he noticed Trip running down another corridor, with someone who looked like Shai in the lead, carrying Brian O'Landry! HE then asked the oldest question asked by guests anywhere in the multiverse, and was relieved when the common courtesy that also seemed to be multi-universal was paid as well.

"Um, excuse me, please. The head is out of order on my ship, and I have a frightful urge. could I possibly use yours?" A technician turned to him, and condescendingly gave him the multi-universally-constant answer.
"Down that hall, and to the left. jiggle the handle, if you please."

He followed those directions, waited until whoever was following him was likely to have given up and gone back to wjhat he had been doing, and then left, goingback out to the docking bay, and walked right up behind Trip and Shai. "Ahem! he cleared his throat, and was rewarded by Trip practically flying up off teh dock -- and Shai lifting him up by the neck, squeezing just enough to show she meant business.

"Who are you and what do you want?"
"Jaisen Santiago Dreyfuss, owner-master of teh St. Elmo, at your service...m-ma'am.*choke* Could you loosen your grip, please?"

"That is your ship?"
"Yes, its mine"
"Take us aboard!"
"now just hold on, its a warship, and has my instructions to do certain things at certain times depending on the signals I give or fail to give. Just walking up to it and knocking on the EmDe hatch will likely get us all killed."

Shai put him down and asked, "how do you signal it?"
With this, in "Morse Code."
Dreyfuss pulled out his watch, and squeezed off the Universal Countermand order ha had worked out with Ishmael and Jock two years prior, on the mission against the kidnapping Marauder Pirates, for just such emergencies as this, wehen the previous arrangements were no longer practicable; it countermanded the shave and a haircut order, and caused Ishmael to appear at the hatch, accompanied by Mister Leyton, at about the time Dreyfuss, Trip, and Shai appeared.

"Take these three aboard, Capn, and put the wounded fellow, there, Mr. Brian O'Landry, in Sickbay; he'll probably require traction immobilization for broken bones. I have to get back somehow. shave and a haircut is back in effect, only now its one and one-half hours instead of twelve. Understood?"
Ishmael nodded and said , "Aye. 'Twill be a bad wait, but we'll do as ardered sir."
"Good. close this hatch ASAP and stay buttoned up. don't even open a cabin or stateroom windowhatch."

"Miss Shai, you don't know me here, and your counterpart in the world that we came from didnt know me well either, but I swear to you that if you are against the Cold Ones, then I and all of my skeleton crew and the crew of the Boheme are your allies," Dreyfuss said frankly and urgently. "It's unfortunate that accomplishing our current goal (rescuing and repairing a certain between-walking former Boheme crewmember) entails dealing with the enemy in currency other than bullets and missiles, but that's the way it is.

Be assured that I, at least, believe that even benevolent action toward them can be a weapon against them." He sighed and then finished, "I can't make any guarantees as to when we can help find or return you to your compatriots, but you are welcoime aboard my ship as my guest, and especially if you are willing to lend a hand in battle and in regular operations. We are woefully undermanned, as you will see when you go on board; we were treating ourcurrent vopyage as an exercise, and did not expect to go on campaign, but now that we're here, we are determined to see the voyage through. Now, please, board and help the others keep this vessel uncompromised. Thank you."

Dreyfuss walked back to try and find his group. it proved an uneventful journey, and it was almost as if he hadn't even been missed...

He hoped that the current Debacle between Emmas 1 and 2 did not escalate beyond the current one of words and oneupsmanship. then Black slowly turned and stared straight at him.

"You. You are related to Caractacus Dreyfuss, aren't you? you have his face, and the same hard set of jaw. Which one of his descendants are you?"

Dreyfuss stiffened, and mastered his rage; he wanted to pull steel, impale black on it, and then tell him his full name and former ship as Black slid off of the blade, but he schooled himself and then realized only the truth would do, and said, "I am Jaisen Santiago Dreyfuss (at your service), formerly Captain of the Bayou Marauder Mercenary Company's Belted Monitor Flying Ironclad, the Mad Anthony Wayne. I am now Commodore Dreyfuss of the Republic of Texas Air Fleet, Liaison to Her Majesty's Secret Service, and owner/Master of teh Pocket War Zepplein St. Elmo. And you are Hieronymous Black,Coomodore and Captain of the Louisianan Privateer Ship Eastern Star. It's been many years, Commodore Black." You cable-cutting, scabrous dog!.

[Duellist]

Leyton was irritated by the recent turn of events and his lack of control over said events, but the flood of new information eased his discomfort and the sight of the injured gentleman focused his mind on practicalities.

"Unless you have a doctor hidden hereabouts, might I offer my services?  My expertise is not with the living, but I assure you that my knowledge of human anatomy is quite adequate."

He could have elaborated, but the captain would doubtless be disturbed to know how he gained such knowledge and his potential patient even more so.  Absent-mindedly, he created a fold and reached through to retrieve his peculiar medical bag.  Though he made a token effort to 'find' it just out of sight, he suspected the the captain would not be fooled.

"I have never lost a patient yet." he joked, speaking the truth on a technicality.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma two to no small amount of pleasure in giving Cain an answer."I have a subject like you in my labs, a broken lump of a man.  You however are a rather fine example of engineering, quite an improvement really." She noticed the sweetly dressed young lady behind her.  "Oh my dear Cordelia.  Did you finish your new song?"

"Yes mama and Papa said I could preform this evening."    Cordelia smiled at the gathered guests and she was the first person to look genuinely happy to see them. She had a smoke gray kitten and wide blue eyes.

"Of course sweetness I will set up the music room myself as soon as we are done here."  And for a moment as she held her foster daughter Emma two looked more like Emma one then either would ever admit.  Both Black and George hugged their little girl.

"Bye Mama, Bye Papas, Bye people I have lessons with Mr Thomas now." Angel looked rather confused to see her doppelganger skip off quite happily.

'"Study hard sweetness." Emma's smile was genuine and warm as she turned back to face the gathered crew. "Now I want you take this fragmented creature that looks like my George and get out of here before I decide to stop being pleasant."

"What do you mean fragmented?" Emma one said full of suspicion.   

"You haven't noticed?" She smiled with pleasure. "That is only a part of a soul.  My guess is he was blasted apart and those parts are seeking us. That is why he turned up here and started turning my world upside down.  I will give you a portable form of containment and safe passage out of here but if I ever see any one of you again you will beg for death.  Do I make myself clear?" 

[MWBailey]

"If I may interject, miss Emma, our time is limited, and time is of the essence. We have in fact half an hour before things get very hairy," Dreyfuss said, his hand swinging apparently calmly in the pocket of his waistcoat that held his watch. He noted that the import was not wasted on Emma1, who gave Dreyfuss a questioning,  and rather sharp, glance, and he answered, quietly, saying, "Mr. Elmo has several gifts from Mr. Mondragon that are getting stale, so I suggest we hurry." She paled, and then nodded.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Cain narrowed his eyes, he decided that he utterly despised this woman. When she called himself a broken lump of a man, he had felt the straw break the camels back. He charged towards the commodore, but was grabbed by Sigmund.
"Don't let her get to you..." He pulled Cain back to his side. "I am very sure he'll be fine."
George two eyed Sigmund with a contemptuos ire.
"What do we do with the desserter?" He asked, stroking his chin.

[MWBailey]

"I would suggest that you let Sigmund go, Professor Lewistine," Dreyfuss said. "Your Commodore Emma has already given her word for safe conduct, and since he arrived as part of the Boheme's and St. Elmo's ships company, that makes him part of our group, and thus elegible for the Safe Conduct ruling. Besides," he forced his voice to become conspiratorial, and his face to adopt a cruel smirk, as unclean as it felt to do so under the circumstances, "he can always be sent back when we reach our destination."

[Stella Gaslight]

Helena had stepped forward protectively as soon as blue George let Sigmund go. "He is right you know and I wish to be out of this world as soon as I can and the simplest way to do that is to have a guide. Sigmund here makes a rather good one." Emma one said.

Emma two pulled a amulet not unlike the one that first gave George his body back from the machine ahd the glowing figure faided.  "Fine take them both get out of my sight, Now." Their was an edge to her voice that spoke of pain if not obeyed.

"With pleasure." Emma one turned her back on her counterpart and left the room.  "Lets get the hell out of here." She said as soon as they were out of earshot.

Emma two just had to smile her plan had worked so well.  Her unknowing counterpart would go gather up the parts of her George but as they brought him back together that would make her more powerful until the queen could no longer stand in her way. 

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss said, "I'll countermand the order when we get to the dock, Miss Emma." to her shocked and rather indignant look, he said "It's called a bargaining chip, Miss Emma, and unfortunately a chip that is backed by an obvious nothing is virtually worthless. I apologize for using you to demonstrate the threat without actually voicing it, but it had to be done, just in case they decided to get perfidious about the whole thing."

"By the way," and he spoke a bit lower in volume, more for emphasis than for secrecy, " I'd not put it past them to let us get all of the pieces and then come and try to take the completed George away from us, or force us to bring him to them. How? the ways are several and should not be discussed here," He said, urgently. "Ah, here we are," he said, when they reached the dock and the others loaded the George parts onto the ship. (HE squeezed off teh Countermand).

"Miss Emma, if it is alright with you, the Elmo shall ascend first and give cover whilst the Boheme rises, and then we can all proceed to safe place for the jump (wherever you think is best for that.) I suggest that the Elmo Emergency Loft to eight thousand feet, Teh Boheme to seven, so that we can keep a protective field of view, if, of course, that meets with your approval."

[Stella Gaslight]

"Of course Dreyfuss, the sooner we are gone from here the better. I don't trust that other me at all I do wish we could have saved that other Angel.  Well maybe we can come back for her later."   Emma said as they boarded the ship.

"We are coming back here?" Helena was shocked she wanted to get as far from this place as possible and never look back.

"We have to, I can just leave people suffering like that but first I need to get George back in one piece."  She had a dreadful suspicion that the other Emma had something to do with his fractured state.  Emma touched the amulet making silent promises to George.  "Dreyfuss lets fly to about three miles out and then jump. I don't want her seeing how we come and go."

[MWBailey]

"Three miles, Aye," Dreyfuss answered. "Miss Emma, before we go I should mention that the Elmo has taken on two passengers who were in dire straits, and Trip, who was with them. Apparently his teleport pack ran out of juice." Lets leave the details till we get up and out to three miles, though."

So saying, Dreyfuss climbed the boards, pulled out the key, unlocked the sliding em de hatch door, entered, closed an dlatched and locked the door, and grabbed the Bridge Address speaking tube and blew into it. A "pop!" and then Ishmael's voice replied. "Captain Ishmael, Emergency Loft! Take us up to eight thousand feet. The Boheme will rise to seven thousand feet so that we may have a good protective field of view, and then we will procedd as a pair to the east, a distance of about three miles, where we will briefly confer and then jump. I suggest hailing pre-emptively, so that they don't just get antsy and press the buttons before I get a chance to tell 'em the specifics about our passengers. oh, and roll out the rest of the guns and arm the rocket tubes, just in case."

"So, eight thousand, Boheme to seven, head east three miles and preemptively hail the Boheme."
"Understood, Sir, Aye. Executing now."
"speaking of our new passengers, where are they now?
"In sickbay, sir, Mr. Leyton is examining and treating the injured fellow. He was in a pretty bad way, Jaisen. The new passenger, I mean."
"I know, Capn. Thats why I took him on. He's also a magic user, Captain, so be vigilant. if Leyton uses laudanum on him, we could have some odd happenings until the fellow heals up a bit."
"Aye, sir"
"Dreyfuss out."
Dreyfuss felt the ship rising, and went down to sickbay to check on and talk to his new passengers.