"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma was siting in lounge daydreaming herself to sleep when she heard someone yell.  She was up and running before common sense told her that going to the yelling might not be such a good idea.  Emma burst in to Oliver's cabin expecting a good deal more damage than she found.  Oliver was cradling his hand a rather nasty looking burn on his finger while a blond lady was looking rather confused at her sudden appearance.  "Oh goodness I am sorry to disturb you.  I though someone was in trouble."  Emma blushed a little with embarrassment and dug a scuffed up tin from a pocket hidden just under her bussel. She handed it to Oliver.  "It is a good burn salve and I have bandages some where if you need them." Emma had used the salve herself many times in the past when her enthusiasm in the lab got the better of her. She extended her hand to Miss Butcher.  "I am Emmaline Lighton and this is George Lewistine."  Being introduced to thin air was a bit odd but Miss Butcher was good at dealing with odd.  "Sorry for nearly battering your door down."

[Jessica Butcher]

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. Do you have any idea what could have caused a hair to suddenly burst into flames?"

Miss Butcher never ruled out the possibility that someone might have an answer to an odd question.

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Ben and Lakshmi had just left the elevator when a yell was heard from inside the Boheme. 'Lord,' said Ben out loud, 'What's going on now?'

He broke into a jog for the last few paces and stepped through the door. Lakshmi followed, far more gracefully though no less hastily. Using the side-rails, he pulled himself along the narrow corridors and through the ajar door to Oliver's cabin. 'What's... oh! Hello...' He noticed a woman whom he had not met. Oliver was sat on a chair, massaging a cream into an already-scarlet burn on his hand. 'Ah, yes.' He proffered his hand to the new woman. 'Ben Hudson, at your service.' He absentmindedly patted his waistcoat pockets as he wondered how to continue. He looked around. Lakshmi seemed to know her. 'Erm... what exactly are you doing here?' He hoped that it didn't sound too confrontational. 

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma introduced herself and George, embarrassed to have come aboard without permission. Today was quickly becoming a red letter day for awkward social interaction.   She was rather surprised Mr Hudson didn't do more than raze an eyebrow at her oddness. "Pleased to meet you Capitan Hudson.  I am correct in calling you captain."  He nodded. 

"I was hoping to barter with you for passage on your ship.  I don't know if Dr. Marleybone-Smythe told you but I am in a bit of trouble and need to get out of Cairo as soon as possible.  It was nothing illegal I promise you it is more like a partnership gone very bad that I am trying to extract myself from.  I can tell you more in the lounge if you wish.  I imagine Miss. Butcher and Mr. Newton-Chance would prefer to get back to their research rather than hear me blather on." Not to mention she felt like a damed idiot for bursting in there in the first place even if it did give her something interesting to think about. George was already muttering half formed ideas on what the cause of the sudden blaze could be.  Emma ignored his rambling about chemical reactions for the moment and spoke to the captain again. 

"I don't have much in the way of money to offer but I am a competent airship mechanic and I have improved Condor engines before.  I must admit I have been sorely temped to get a closer look at them ever since I set eyes on your ship.  I will gladly do whatever task you set me to and I don't care where your headed as long as it is far from here."

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Lilli thanked Mr. Umbrella and Henri Rousselle for their actions and retired to the cabin she shared with Jessica.  She was genuinely tired, but most of all, she wanted time alone to think.  These Orbs and Obelisks, etc, that everyone was asking about sounded too much like the items she had retrieved from the noblemans house for her peace of mind.  Her father did a lot of unusual things in service to the Empire and occasionally asked for her help, but she felt she was really in over her head this time.  
     To keep her mind off the problem of the artifacts,she considered the newest arrivals on the ship.   Since she, Emma, and Henri had all come aboard without a change of clothes, maybe Captain Hudson should consider keeping a trunk of second-hand clothes on board.  The idea amused her.  Lilli couldn't do much about Mr. Rousselles wardrobe situation, but maybe she could help Emma.  Lilli was both taller and broader than the tiny woman, but there might be a few items among her meagre collection of clothing that she could alter for the girl.  At least the nuns had made sure she was good with a needle.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

      Lilli hoisted herself off her bunk and rummaged through her clothing drawer.  She didn't know if Miss Lighton would be staying or not, so despite her fatigue, she thought she'd better get busy now.  She found a pale blue cotton blouse, a simple dark blue linen skirt, and a not-too-shabby chemise.  She could alter these simple clothes fairly quickly if Miss Lighton was leaving.  Lilli gathered them up and followed the voices to Olivers cabin. 
    "I don't know whether you're joining the Boheme or not, Miss Lighton, but in either case, you'll need some clothes...and a wash" she said, noticing the girls be-grimed state for the first time.  "The facilities are this way" she pointed down the corridor "and you can try these on.  I know they'll be too big for you, but I can do a bit of alteration".   Lilli wasn't sure how the Crewing of the Boheme worked, but she suspected that the Captain and crew might like a few minutes alone to talk over the new arrivals.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma was a bit disgusted to find she could not remember the last time she had bathed and her tumble in the dirt earlier had not helped.  She was grateful for the chance to look more like a person and less like a walking dust cloud. 

The water dripped brown off her chin as she scrubbed what felt like a a considerable chunk of the desert out of her hair and off her face.  She twisted her wet hair in to a precariously leaning mass on her head and stabbed it with two quill pins and a screwdriver to keep it in place.

Emma seriously wondered if her clothes were worth keeping they were torn and stained.  She found a crate that was empty and stored under the sink like a wastebasket and pulled it out.  She wasn't sure if their was time to do a proper inventory of her pockets but she could get the garbage out and maybe rig something to hold the more important things with the new clothes Lilli was kind enough to give her. She emptied her pockets in to the crate setting out a few tools and items she felt naked without.

She was always quite surprised by what she had picked up, tucked away and forgotten.  Their were bits of garbage, half finished inventions and a good deal more tools than she remembered.  Emma stopped as she found a small leather case with a brass plate. Her name looked elegant in the flowing engraved script.  They were magnifying loops the captain had specialty made for her glasses it had been left in her workshop has a surprise.  She wanted to throw them and any other gift he had charmed her with away.  Hieronymus had bought her with trinkets and kindness and played her for a fool.  Emma unclenched her fist and set the case aside. It was wasteful to destroy useful things to appease her anger and they might just come in handy later.  She sighed and and shimmied out of her skirt in to the new one carefully arranging them to keep her modesty intact.  It was something she had gotten quite good at because she could never be sure when George was in the room unless he spoke.

With out the normal comforting weight of her pockets Emma felt like she was about to float away.  The new clothes were big but deliciously clean. Even if she couldn't stay this was definitely worth the sicking ride up the lift.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     The mousy girl looked like a different person when she came out of the bathroom, holding up her skirt in front with both hands to form a sort of pocket for an amazing collection of oddments.  Lilli ushered Emma into her cabin and set about pinning the garments to fit the girls smaller figure.  Finally Lilli handed Emma a light dressing gown and suggested she wear that while she made the needed alterations.
     Emma was obviously a little nervous at sitting about in her underwear, so Lilli completed the alterations as fast as possible.  While Emma re-donned her new clothes, Lilli dug through her drawer again and came up with a shabby but capacious carry-bag.  It was what she had haggled the Gibraltar clothing merchant into giving her to hold her purchases.  "Here," she told Emma "you can put your, er, things in this".

[Stella Gaslight]

"Thank you." Emma smiled and stated packing her things neatly away. "I must seem like some sort of cross between a bag lady and a magpie." She laughed a little some of her shyness and worries washed away with the dirt.  "Back in London George and I often got jobs in the middle of the night at factory's and shipyards that couldn't wait until morning for repairs.  Tool boxes are cumbersome when you are my size and you never know what the cause of the problem is until you get there. I started adding holsters and pockets to my clothes so I had one less thing to worry about while I was climbing about on and crawling under broken equipment.  I guess I went a bit overboard but it is nice knowing I have everything I need to be useful." She found a hair pin with a pretty green stone tucked in with some other bits if wire. It probably some cheep trinket she had picked up in her travels but it would look nice in Lilli's red hair. She handed it to her. "I know it is not much but I think you should have this. You didn't have to do all this for me but I am glad you did."  George chose that moment to let out a loud appreciative whistle at her new clothes and make Emma wish very much that she could just smack him.

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi watched Emma leave with Lilli, then turned back to Ben and shrugged.

"I ran into her - or, rather, she ran into me, quite vigorously, I might add - in the souk. She claimed she was being pursued by an agent of a rather dastardly airship captain, a claim which proved to be quite accurate. From what she says, she has access to potentially quite desirable technology, and it's put her in a bit of a sticky spot.

"Unfortunately, the man pursuing her saw me in her company, so we may be at risk if she accompanies us. Having seen how much her appearance changed when she donned native dress, I was going to suggest that she make a public show of booking passage to some far-off clime, lay low in the city until she was sure her pursuers had taken the bait, and then set off in another direction. Now, though..."

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Lilli thanked Emma for the hairpin and worked it into her hair.  She recalled something the girl had said while they were in Ibrahim's shop and asked "You mentioned something about this "Orb" the kidnappers were looking for...can you tell me anything else about it?" 
     Emma packed the last of her tools away and sat down on the bunk.  George was already feeding her information.  "The Amulet of Anubis was supposedly formed by the god Anubis himself, so that certain mortals could communicate directly with him.  The problem is that whoever wears the Amulet loses their soul while the spirit of Anubis occupies their body.  Since the ancient Pharoahs were supposed to be gods themselves, it was usually one of the pharoahs sons that was chosen for the "honour".  That was probably why Ibrahim said it was dangerous to both body and soul."  she paused for a moment "George says the records of what happened to the people who hosted Anubis are virtually non-existent, but he'll keep looking". 
     Lilli decided not to ask about Emma's invisible companion.  She wasn't sure she believed there was another person in the room, but the girl seemed to be completely lucid aside from this one oddity.  Lilli was used to eccentrics, but the ones aboard the Boheme weren't the type she usually met.
     Emma continued "After a while, the priests of Anubis started fighting over which set of them controlled it.  They dragged some of the Egyptian nobles into it and the factions started a couple of small wars.  It was finally decided, supposedly with Anubis's direct intervention, that the Amulet should be locked away.  The Amulet was put into the Orb of Nuut.  Nuut is the sky goddess of ancient Egypt and the inside of the Orb was faced with lapis and gold to look like a night sky."
     Lill noticed that the girl was a lot less nervous now that she was cleaned up and was evidently beginning to enjoy telling the story.
     "George says that the key to the Orb sounds really unusual.  He can't quite make out what the records say, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but he thinks he might be able to figure it out later.  The key seems to have been hidden in the Obelisk of the Portal.  There were three main groups of arguing priests, so the key to the Obelisk was hidden in the Casket of Opening; and one object was given to each group of priests.  Each were told to protect their own object.  They would all have to agree to use each key to get to the Amulet.  Apparently that was supposed to stop the continual fighting over the Amulet." she paused again, then continued "George said the plan didn't work.  The priests just fought to try to get control of all three pieces.  Finally one of the Pharoahs lost patience with the priests and ordered his soldiers to do a major cull of all the troublemakers.  It calmed things down, but it seems like the information on how to open everything to get to the Amulet died with the priests."  Emma tried to cover a huge yawn and failed. 
     "Why don't you lie down on my bunk for awhile and get some rest" Lilli suggested and Emma readily agreed.  She just had to sleep sometime and this was the safest place she was likely to be in the near future.  Lilli went to the galley to make a pot of coffee.  She needed something to clear away the last of her grogginess.  As she passed Oliver's cabin, it sounded like the crew were still discussing the current situation.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Mr. Umbrella waited patiently in the lounge of the Boheme, glaring at Henri,  Things were getting more complicated than he liked, and complications almost inevitably led to delays.  The Boheme's task was not one that allowed for delays.  He mentally cursed himself for not having the foresight to assign someone to keep the countess aboard the ship.  She was turning into a complete nuisance.  Mr. Umbrella approved of competent women like the doctor, but he had little use for feather-brained aristocrats.  If he hadn't received orders to keep her with the Boheme, he'd be happy to dump her off in Cairo.  But, even if all the crew had been discreet about their mission, she potentially knew too much that could  damage the mission if she were off the Boheme.  Especially, he thought, if there were people wanting to question her about other things, and willing to use drugs to get their answers.  He made a note to himself to send a message to his contacts in Kabul so they were prepared to deal with her.  He grudgingly conceded that he would instruct his contacts to do some shopping for her if that would keep her quiet.  A few exotic beads and garments might satisfy the birdbrain, he thought.
     The expanding size of the crew also preyed on his mind.  The doctor was obviously a valuable addition to the crew, and Henri needed to get to London, but he didn't approve of the little street waif they had picked up.  Women who talked to imaginary invisible people didn't seem very trustworthy to him.
     Meanwhile, Lilli sat at the built-in table and bench arrangement in the galley and sipped strong coffee from a sturdy mug.  Any crockery aboard the Boheme had to be strong enough to handle a bit of being bumped around.  The article in the newspaper had shocked her.  To know the police were investigating break-ins at her Austrian and French residences, and looking into her disappearance from London, but not being able to contact anyone to let them know her whereabouts was intensely frustrating.  She was anxious for the ship to leave Cairo.  It was obviously not safe to try to send any sort of message from here, she needed to get to Kabul as soon as possible.

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Well, thought Ben, the more the merrier! 'It will be good to have you on board, Miss Lighton, and your... unconventional companion.' He looked around awkwardly, until Emma nodded towards a space of air to her left. He nodded at it. 'Professor Lewistine.' For a short while he conversed with them, or rather - her, while she explained some of the modifications that she suggested. He nodded and tried to keep up, quickly realising that she was of far greater technical expertise than him.

He called the others into the lounge, where the mysterious man the others referred to as Mr Umbrella still sat.
'As most of you know, we're running an errand for a powerful man. We have to receive a package from Shenjing, then bring it back to London. However, the flight has not been as smooth as I would have liked. We had a fortnight. Six days have passed so far, and I think the only option is to cut corners. We were going to land at three more ports before Shenjing - Kabul, Lucknow and Mandalay. I fear that this would slow us down too much. I suggest that we miss out Lucknow and Mandalay. A full refuel at Kabul, where I understand you intend to leave, Lilli, would give us enough power to get to Shenjing. With a good wind, anyway. That will still leave us perhaps a day or two behind schedule. I doubt the Colonel would be keen on us missing his deadline, so we might have to reassess our plans in Shenjing, even if it means cutting through dangerous airspace. But for now, we need to get moving. The crew is at full capacity, if you intend to stay on board,' he turned to Mr Umbrella and Henri, 'so we can run fast and efficiently. I need your cooperation to make it in time.
'If there aren't any complaints, I suggest that we fill up enough for the hop to Kabul, then leave as soon as possible. I'll dispatch a wire to Hiram to let him know of the changes. Speed is of the essence.'

[Jessica Butcher]

Looking around the room, Ben realized that Miss Butcher was dressed as a man. She looked quite comfortable and didn't seem to consider this the least bit out of place- at least, she wasn't letting on that she did. Well, he thought, to each his own.

As the meeting was dismissed, she cautiously stole into Oliver's empty cabin and turned on the device he had earlier explained allowed access to the global aetheric web. There was some connection between this "Orb of Nuut" and the secrets of resurrection she (and Horatio) had been looking for. She was going to find out what.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     "No," Mr. Umbrella corrected" Countess von Lowenstein will be remaining with the Boheme until your errand is completed."  He looked grim as he said it.  He switched his gaze directly to Ben.  "To be blunt, Captain, the countess knows too much, and my boss would prefer that she remain aboard the Boheme."  He turned to look at Lilli "I'm aware that you'd like to send a message to you father, but I really don't think that one of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's top intelligence officials needs to know anything about this mission just yet."  Lilli's eyes widened.  Ostensibly, her father was a minor Court functionary.  Very few people knew of his involvement in one of Austria's most secret intelligence services.  She had assumed that knowledge of it's very existence was limited to the highest Imperial officials.
    "I won't be joining the Boheme on it's voyage, I merely waited here to learn the results of your decisions concerning the additional crew.  I will make a report to
send ahead to Kabul to make sure they are ready for you." He stood and made a small, formal bow to the countess.  "I will attempt to have a message sent from London assuring your family that you are alive and well."  He strode to the door and started to leave the Boheme.  He had a long report to make and needed to do it quickly.
     Some hours later, Hiram received a message from Cairo.  His agent had been dismissive of the Orb story, but had dutifully reported it.  Hiram approved of his agents decision to politely detain the countess aboard the Boheme.  Objects that other people were desperate to possess interested him.  He thought he'd have one of his agents question the countess when the Boheme returned to London.  In the meantime, he sent a message that started a very discreet investigation into the countesses recent travels.  If she had knowledge of where these artifacts were, her recent activities might provide a few clues.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     George was happy that they would be remaining on this fascinating ship.  He had taken the opportunity to inspect it while Emma took her short nap.  He had also found out a little more about Anubis, going back to the most ancient texts that he could find.  Anubis was the jackal-headed god of death, sometimes called the "Guardian of the Veil of Death" and was the patron of lost souls.  "Well " George thought wryly "I probably qualify as a lost soul right now."  Anubis was supposed to be in charge of escorting souls to (and possibly from) the Underworld and be involved in the judging of a souls good or evil attributes.  That much was relatively straightforward.  As regards the Amulet that people had been fighting over, things were a bit different.  If someone could communicate directly with Anubis through his mortal Host, they could possibly bargain with him to have a soul brought back from the Underworld, and perhaps even re-embodied, although not necessarily in their original form.  The thought of being re-embodied excited him.  It would be so good to feel again.  But, he thought, his brief excitement fading, there were ethical issues involved that would prevent him from taking this course, even in the remote chance that it was possible.  Being a displaced soul himself, he would never condemn another human to his fate, even if it meant his own return to a physical body.
     He had also found out a little more about the Key to the Orb, but the information remained confusing.  At least all of the various translations and descriptions seemed to agree that it was an energy device of some sort.

[bluestocking]

"Hm." Lakshmi said. "Lucknow was my intended goal, but I can arrange for a courier from Kabul just as easily. Mr. Umbrella, could I impose upon you for a favor?" She gestured the laconic agent off to one side.

"As you're sending to Kabul already, sir, might I impose upon you for a favor? I'll need to arrange for a trustworthy courier to take some paperwork to my family's offices in Calcutta. They're just property deeds; I was conveying them from our solicitor in London."

He nodded. "I believe I have just the man. I'll make sure to include notice to him when I send the telegram."

"Thank you kindly. Under normal circumstances, I'd be able to arrange my own courier, but considering the tight timeframe..."

"I understand. I'll make sure of it." He tipped his hat. "I'll be off, then; I have quite a bit to see to. I'll bid you good day. Captain Hudson, the aerodrome manager will clear you for departure as soon as you're ready." Eponymous umbrella tucked over one arm, he left.

Lakshmi turned back to the rest of the crew. "Captain, as you well know, this change of course will take us right through the teeth of the Hindu Kush - some of the tallest, wildest and most pirate-infested mountains in the world. Let's discuss the ship's armaments."

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Mr. Umbrella had infuriated Liil.  It wasn't that she had necessarily meant to leave the ship at Kabul, but she hated being told where she could or could not go.  She felt like throwing everything at the lounge at Mr. Umbrella, but he had left and she was too well-mannered to take out her anger on the Boheme's crew.  Instead, she uttered a loud "Ooohurgnh!" of frustration and whirled out of the lounge and into the cabin she shared with Jessica.  From the way she wrenched the curtain shut, everyone in the lounge knew that if it had been a door, she would have slammed it.
     Ben took Lakshmi aside for a moment before heading to the bridge. "I think it might be time to re-arrange cabin assignments, Doctor, and the suggestions might be more acceptable if they came from you.  It seems that Jessica and Emma have far more interests in common than Jessica and Lilli, so they might make compatible cabin-mates.  If Lilli is going to be expressing her temper, it might be better to give her a single cabin.  Could you find a discreet way to suggest this. please?"   Ben wasn't exactly used to having this many women aboard his ship and was relieved when Lakshmi agreed to take care of the new arrangements.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma should have gone back to sleep after talking to Capitan Hudson but the engines were calling to loudly to ignore. She sat on the deck enjoying the shade of the docks longing to climb down the rope to access the engines. Until she could rig a proper climbing harness George had forbidden her to go over the side. She thought he was being a bully but when he let her right arm hang limp and useless she had to give in.  So It was notes and diagrams for now. She had George peek inside of them and relay their conditions to her.  Every so often she would pass the pen over to her right hand to let George add or correct things.  His slanted scrawl looked odd placed next her small straight block letters.

Something was bothering George, he wouldn't tell her what but his teasing lacked its normal bite.  Emma wondered if he was sleepy too.  Could people that never slept get tired?  It probably had something to do with the orb he was researching. It felt like a dangerous thing and she wished he would just leave it alone but once he sunk his teeth in to a mystery you would have a better chance of convincing people the sky was green than putting a stop to him.  Of course she was the same about mechanical problems but normally those weren't the sort of things one could loose a soul over.  Please, please don't let him try any thing stupid now that we finally have a place to stay. Emma thought to herself finishing a design for a more streamlined coolant exchange. 

Most of the upgrades she could preform while the ship was in the air with her own tools but there were a few things like flushing and reformulating the coolant, grinding down the propellers just slightly to help the propulsion and seeing of their wasn't some way to upgrade the gas starters so they came on as quick and smooth as the galvanic ones did on The Star would have to be done in dock.   All in all she could probably pull another thirty or forty mph out of the engines before you would have to add more bracing maybe as high as fifty but that would really put a lot of strain on things.  The fuel additive could give almost another sixty with the current set up and up to almost eighty once she de-gunked the mainlines.  It would be dangerous for both ship and crew at that speed and it only lasted for around seven minutes but it could save their lives.

Satisfied with her preliminary work Emma went off to relay her plans and ask for sturdy cloth to make a harness out of. She probably couldn't get it finished in time to get any work done before the sun went down and even with her glasses she was half blind past the tips of her fingers but she could get an early start in the morning. Emma grinned when she was done this ship would be able to run rings around The Star.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     George 's mind was fully occupied, half on the ship's mechanics, half on the problem of the Orb.  The more he found out about the Key to the Orb, the more it sounded like some sort of crystalline device that could store and release energy.  It sounded fascinating, but he still wasn't sure how it opened the Orb.

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Let's discuss the ship's armaments.

'Good idea. The pirate installations in the mountains are well-known for their strength. Sadly, I don't know any of the gangs well. Crossing the Atlantic, I could call in favours to ensure passage, but not here. It's likely that we'll come under fire. All the kotal mean that there are small outposts spread throughout the range, up to about fifteen thousand feet. Some are just encamped caravans. Some, unfortunately, are rather more. Surface to air guns, aerostats, gyrocopters and so on.'

Ben and Lakshmi went off to one side. He rummaged in a drawer and brought out some plans. He unrolled a large one of the Bohème. Additions in red pencil showed the new weapons, fitted just before they left London.

'Here,' he pointed to the fore of the upper skin, then to the aft, 'and here, we have two Hotchkiss et Cie revolving cannon. French maker, 37-mm rounds. Five barrels gives a rate claim of forty-three rounds per minute. I've upped that to sixty, and we could get it to perhaps a hundred in theory. Main problem is that the barrels melt at anything over sixty-five, so we'd need cooling for that. For now, it's fine. Range of two thousand yards, just the ticket for punching nice big holes in installments or airships. Continuous flow cartridges mean that we don't have to wait for reloading, we have Leonard to thank for that. There are another two Hotchkisses on the belly. And here,' He pointed to a large red stubby muzzle sticking out of the top, perhaps two yards in front of the mid observation sphere, 'we have a Master five-inch grenade launcher. Six shells to a mag, fair range and a lot of explosive power. The blowback mechanism lets it reload as soon as it fires. The only thing slowing it down is how fast the operator can turn the handle. And that is our firepower, plus me leaning out of the windows with a Whitworth if we run out of rounds.' He grinned. 'The Hotchkisses can be aimed from any of the observation ports (upper fore, upper aft, upper mid and so on), independently, or together. The Master needs one operator in the upper mid. We have about a thousand rounds for the Hotchkisses, give or take a few, and sixty grenades for the Master, which incidentally takes about five seconds to reload. Got all that?'

[Stella Gaslight]

 Emma found some sacking in the galley that once held provisions that would be plenty sturdy once she doubled it up.  She set her bag on the floor with a heavy thump and dug out her sewing supplies and lots of heavy metal rings and clips.  She was out of needles again how they all managed to vanish as soon as she got them was a rather annoying mystery.  Maybe she could barrow some from the Countess after she had a bit of time to cool down.  Emma couldn't blame her for being mad at Mr. Umbrella he was quite the bully.  George was droning on in the background about coolant formulas, Egyptian gods and spontaneous human combustion Emma wished he would stick to one subject he was making her quite dizzy.

She found her leather case of working chemicals tucked under some bags of bolts and nuts near the bottom.  Almost out of universal lubricant, it looked like her gasket tester fluid had oxidized and her supply of industrial degreaser was low she would have to see about getting some more when they hit Kabul.  Their were five violently yellow and black pellets ratting around among the jars and bottles.  More of the fuel additive than she thought was left. "George I am not calling them bee boosters no matter how catchy you think the name is and I don't think bees are dignified in the slightest.  No, not even if you did make tiny top hats and monogles for them."  Emma broke up laughing at that and George joined in glad to hear her happy again.  Emma scooped the pellets in to an empty jar, shouldered her bag and went off to the bridge to find the captain.   
 
Ben and Lakshmi were bent over plans discussing something.  "Excuse me Capitan Hudson I know you are busy but I just have a few things to tell you.  We went and looked at your engines, nice work on the cams by the way. We should be able to increase the max speed by around 30 mph within the next few days and if we can get the proper tools and materials in port we could add around another forty or so before the integrity of the ship becomes an issue."   She handed him the little jar.  "Those are a fuel additive that can give boosts of almost another 60 mph for up to seven minutes.  It takes around 30 seconds for them to work but they have quite a kick.  Steering when it is active is a bit of a challenge and they wear the engines down after a while but if we are going through dangerous airspace they may just come in handy.  Oh and their might be a few dips in engine performance but I will do my best to minimize those.  Is there some place I can set up quarters in?  I have a safety harness I need to sew so I can start the improvements in the morning."  She smiled the promise of being up to her elbows in engines was better than christmas.

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi looked up from the diagram and examined the proffered canister. "Ah, thank you, Miss Lighton. These may, indeed, come in handy. As for the quarters - well, we originally asked Miss Butcher to share a berth with Countess von Lowenstein, as the Countess was feeling ill when she first embarked. Since she's recovered, we thought perhaps it might suit her... aristocratic temperament better to have solitary quarters. Would you be amenable to sharing Miss Butcher's room, instead?" Emma nodded; Jessica had seemed like an interesting person, and after her experiences on the Star, she was leery of the luxury and pampering a  single stateroom might indicate. "Excellent! Come with me, and we'll see to it. Captain, I'll be back in a moment; there's something I'd like to fetch from my luggage, anyway."

Emma trailed after Lakshmi to the cabin. The doctor rapped gently on the door frame, then entered without waiting for a real invitation. Emma hovered in the corridor as she bent over the huddled figure in the bunk, hearing phrases like "...thought you'd like a little more privacy.." and "...yes, beastly man, I know, terribly reprehensible of him to treat you in such a manner..." then, finally, "Come on; I'll help you carry your things," as the formerly disconsolate Countess, revived by the prospect of her own quarters, rose from the bunk and started to gather her personal effects from the cabin. Emma tentatively asked for the necessary needles, and Lilli proffered a few gladly.

Once she had the two women settled away, Lakshmi headed back to the bridge after stopping into her stateroom and picking two sizable cases from her luggage. She struggled up the companionway to the bridge with them; Ben rushed to take one from her, and found it surprisingly heavy. They placed the cases on the plotting table, over the ship's plans. Lakshmi flipped open the clasps on the short one that looked like a sizable portmanteau, leaving the narrow one - longer than she was tall - for the moment. Inside, nestled in a bed of red velvet, were three pairs of matched pistols, ranging in size from Colt .45 long-barrels to tiny, palm-sized Derringers.

Ben picked up one of the long guns with reverence and awe. No American lawman had ever seen a pistol like this, except possibly in his dreams. The barrel had been chased and gilded; the grips were inlaid with mosaics of precious stone that felt smooth as silk against his palm. The matching speedloader was just as intricate and beautiful. He spun the cylinder, and its action was smooth and sweet. These weren't just decorative pieces; they were truly triumphs of both the gunsmith's art and the jeweler's.

Lakshmi opened the long case and lifted out its contents - a matching rifle, of the sort used by wealthy nabobs to pursue rouge elephants and man-eating tigers. She cradled it against her shoulder with the ease of long use. "It's a fifty-caliber modified Nitro Express, bolt action with a ten-round magazine. I'm accurate up to 300 yards on iron sights with it, further with a scope. With the right rounds in it, it should be able to take out a flexible-envelope or fixed-wing craft, and cause a rigid-envelope some degree of difficulty." She snuggled the rifle back into the velvet lining and cleared the cases off the plans.

"Now, if we can acquire some copper tubing, some small pumps, a large container to serve as a reservoir, and some copper sheet to make a radiator, we can concoct a cooling mechanism for the Hotchkiss cannon. We may, indeed, need the extra firepower. I might have a few favors I can call in myself.

"We're lucky - and not - that the Boheme is such an attractive ship; it'll make us a more desirable target, but any pirates that try to take us on will hopefully show the restraint of cupidity, and do their best not to damage the ship. Of course, they'll do their damnedest to try and kill us - except, possibly, Countess von Lowenstein and myself. If we're recognized, they may attempt to abduct us for ransom."

At his somewhat surprised look, she said, "What - you thought she was the only aristocrat on board? Anyway, when we get to Kabul, we'll go see Rahmat Saleh. He won't want to deal with me because I'm a woman, and he won't want to deal with you because you're a stranger, but maybe, if we talk fast enough, he'll help us out."

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Lilli was pleased with her new room.  It was tiny, but it was private.  She debated whether to stay in it or wander out to the lounge.  From the Boheme's take-offs in London and Gibraltar, she had found that this part was the most irksome of the journey for her.   Since she wasn't a part of the crew, she had nothing to do to pass the time, and she hated feeling like a fifth wheel.  She had never travelled aboard a working airship before; she had always gone on passenger airships.  If this were a passenger ship, she would have enjoyed sitting in the lounge, chatting with other passengers, and looking forward to watching the take-off.  If she waited in the lounge here, she simply tried to read a book from the Boheme's limited selection while she watched the crew go about their business as she tried to stay out of the way.
     She finally ventured out of her cabin to rummage around for some paper and a pen.  She might as well go to the galley and write out a list of the provisions they would need to pick up in Kabul.  It was a way to pass some time.  As she wrote out her list, a thought struck her.  When she had finished, she went looking for Emma.   The crews mysterious employer seemed willing to supply the crews various requests and she was sure that Emma could use a few basics, as well as whatever odd mechanical tools she might need.

[Stella Gaslight]

"George will you hush? I will go find Miss Butcher and tell her what you think happened but give me a while to get my things put away.  We are sharing a room with her for goodness sake I am sure we will see her soon."  George was absolutely horrible at waiting for things and he never quite understood why people didn't give everything the same priority he did. 

She ripped a bit of faded trim from her ruined clothes it time to lay down some ground rules.  "Now if either Miss Butcher or I pin this outside it means you aren't to come in unless it is a emergency.  If I catch you in here I will take the aetherphones off and you will have to talk to yourself for quite a while. Do I make myself clear?"  He agreed redly being cut off from her and all on his own was a very unpleasant experience.  Emma pulled out a very tightly packed leather apron held in place with sleeve gaiters and unrolled it on the bed to let the wrinkles sort themselves out. 

Hopefully if she took care she could keep her clothes clean until they reached Kabul but she was going to have to get some new things soon if only to be able to clean what she had on. Her leather money pouch was near empty she counted out her meager funds.  Two crowns, ten pence and 12 farthings.  Emma sighed maybe if she bargained hard she could get some undergarments at least.  On the Star she had never had to worry about money, Hieronymus had always payed her in materials, tools and clothing.  Emma realized with a start that he may have been doing that to keep her dependent on him.  It was frighting how little she knew about his motives.

Oliver's cabin was the first place she could think of to look for Jessica but as they went towards it something odd stared happening to George.  At first she thought it was just excitement but then his speech started to slur and it sounded like he was weaving back and forth.  Emma knew it was imposable but she asked any way. "George are you drunk?" He responded by letting out a loud moan and falling over. "Are you all right?  Answer me."  He just moaned some more, what on earth was going on?

Interested in the noise in the hall Jessica turned off the miniature analytical engine and opened the curtains.  As soon as it was shut down George started coming to his senses.  Emma looked up to see Miss. Butcher in the doorway and got up quickly "Um hello we are cabin mates now. The Countess wanted some more privacy and I think we will get along so I took over her bunk.  I hope you don't mind."  George was back to his old self and annoying her again.

"Yes, Yes I will tell her would you please calm down." Emma shook her head exasperated. "Miss Butcher, George has been thinking about your flaming hair and it might have something in common with some warehouse fires that were plaguing tinker's row before we left London.  What the arsonists were doing was taking a flammable item, putting it in a vacuum chamber, coating it in chemicals that burst in to flames the moment it touched air and then putting a layer of of protection over it that would wear away as the item was handled.  Put it in a crate with other things, move it around a bit and you have a unpredictable blaze.  Very nasty stuff but we have no clue why some one would do that to a hair."