"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[Stella Gaslight]

The doctor and the captain were in cabin six interrogating the pirate.  Emma looked in long enough to admire the damage she had caused.  The pirate had groaned and looked away when he saw her and that made her feel braver than she had the entire encounter. George has praised her on the large purple lump she caused secretly glad that if he ever made her that angry he was safely out of reach.  She stood outside the cabin helping George keep watch whatever words were being said inside their didn't feel like they were for her ears.  The pan was still in her hands it's weight feeling more friendly and familiar with time.  George was telling her she should make something to properly defend herself next time.  Emma knew she couldn't count on Lilli being there to save her.  Maybe when things had calmed down she could knock something tougher.

Listening hard Emma could hear shouts and what could have been gunfire but they were still far off.  George was filtering in with new information all the time and things were starting to make sense but it was still very fragmented.  As soon has the captain was done  she would tell them what they had been able to piece tougher.   Some brawl had broken out between two groups of criminals awaiting deportment and it had spiraled out from there.  Something had happened in customs around the same time but George had yet to figure out what.  Apparently their were a lot of people trying to take advantage of the current disarray.  She wondered if someone hadn't started all this on purpose its spread almost seemed too fast for a coincidence.  If one wanted to get away with something in plain sight now would be the time. 

Maybe that could work to her advantage. With all this ruckus even if the man that had been following her could report back her trail would hopefully be lost here. She would have to remain aboard Kabul but she would have plenty to keep her occupied.  Emma knew he would find her eventually but the more of a headstart she had the better they would come out of the pending battle. 

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Ben came back into the infirmary. 'I've been out looking around. A fight turned into a bit of a gang war, and the city jails have been sprung. There are a few hundred convicts running around, the majority looking to escape in the air. A few ships have been stolen already. The remnants of the police are still fighting, but they'll lose if reinforcements don't arrive soon. And as soon as they come, the whole area will be locked down while they make sure that everyone's papers are good. Seeing as we've repelled our borders, we ought to leave, as soon as possible. We needn't worry about Customs. They're too worried about the criminals who have got hold of a pair of 40-cals and are blowing holes in their offices.'

[Doctor Trakov]

The Count listened to the hiss of his breathing through the mask. If he were capable of smiling, he would have done. He began to push asside the people in the crowd and make for the docks, his heavy boots thumping on the dusty steet.

[bluestocking]

"Let's get in the air, then," Lakshmi said. "The gentleman with whom I had conversation was adamant that there were only seven in his gang. We've put paid to them all, in one way or another. We can dump them on the dock in such condition that those who are still living will be easy for the authorities to manage."

"Right. Everyone, prepare for takeoff." Ben said. He started for the stairs to the bridge, then stopped short. "The docking clamps!"

"What?"

"When we docked, they affixed the ship to the docking spar with clamps. I have no idea how to get free of them without damaging the Boheme."

Emma piped up. "Um... I saw those on the way in... I think I know a way to get them to release. The problem is, you need to do both at once, and as soon as they're released, the ship's buoyancy will cause it to gain altitude suddenly."

"Meaning that whoever releases the docking clamps gets left behind, unless they're tethered to the ship somehow." Ben looked grim. "Right. I hate to say it, but over the sides in harnesses is the only way. We'll need two people for that, and another with a steady hand to pilot us out of this mess."

"Isn't Miss Butcher a fine pilot?" Lakshmi asked, then "Wait... where is Miss Butcher?"

[Jessica Butcher]

"Right here," Jessica said as she stepped into the room, quite dishevelled and still wearing a man's suit. "I've had a bit of trouble with some of the pirates in the engine room. And yes, I'll pilot if that's what it takes to get us out of here." Her ability was in fact rather dubious, but she wouldn't let on.
"Wait a minute," Lakshmi interrupted. "Weren't there only seven pirates on board?"
"Seven? I was attacked by at least three, and if the rest of you had seven, then... there's more than we thought. I think."
"This merits some investigation," Oliver muttered.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma frowned deeply George was telling her something she did not want to hear.  "George please tell me you are joking. Really and the aetheric overrides too?  Your right that is clever but now its not the time to be admiring it."  Emma sighed and shook her head.  Why couldn't any thing be simple.  "Capitan removing the docking clamps is going to be harder than I thought.  As soon as the claw operator saw what was going on they cut power to the docks.  We are going to have to manually reset the clamps and that will take a bit more time than just undoing the safety catch and a second wave of people have taken over the lifts. Some are headed our way. I have no idea if they are friend or foe but anyone on the side of the ship will be a siting duck if they have guns. It will take around five minuets to reset the docking clamps as long as there is nothing broken on them."  Emma prayed there wasn't five minuets was already too long to be a target.

[bluestocking]

"I was afraid that anyone trying to loose the clamps would be terribly exposed," Lakshmi said. "I can provide cover fire from the observation deck. If a second wave is coming, I suggest we sent our two clamp-releasers over the side at once, whilst Miss Butcher stands ready to take us into the air as soon as we're free. Everyone else should perhaps sweep the ship for any remaining unwanted guests and evict them. Take the stretcher; it's engineered to carry up to a thousand pounds, and will be useful in removing any incapable of fleeing."

Ben caught her eye. "You're going for the rifle? What'll that do to something smaller than an elephant?"

"Nothing pretty."

"What if you miss, and hit the envelope?"

She wiped a droplet of blood from her cheek. "I shan't."

[Vienna Fahrmann]

    Lilli grinned "It looks like Oliver and I are the designated pirate hunters, then, unless you need him in the engine room as you lift off."

[Stella Gaslight]

"Capitan Hudson would you mind coming with me to my cabin to grab some supples?  With the chance that there are still pirates hanging about I want something other than this bit of cast iron to protect me even though it has been useful.  Then we can go over the side and free the ship  We should be able to get her up in the air quickly after we release the steam powering the clamps and throw the safeties." 

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

'My pleasure. Lead on, you know what we need. I do hope that you have two harnesses...'
He pulled the revolvers from his waistband and checked the chambers. Some were empty, so he removed the cartridge cases and replaced them with fresh rounds. He tucked them securely back in his belt, and clipped a ammunition pouch to his belt with loose rounds and two pairs of speedloaders, each with six rounds. As he walked, he checked the poison darts given to him by Hiram. A second dart had moved into the breach left by the shot he had fired at the pirate. 'Do you have a weapon, Emma? If not, I have a revolver to spare.'

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma dug a knotted rope seat with thick canvas straps out from under her bunk and handed it to Ben.  "It was my prototype it gets uncomfortable after a while and it is heavy but it should keep you firmly attached to the ship."  She also puled out two pairs of thick heat resistant gloves,  A matched set of spanners,  some sturdy screwdrivers  and two glass and canvas face masks. Ben raised an eyebrow at them.

"I managed to a blast of steam to the face once. Thank god the system had lost most of it's heat and pressure but it is not an experience I want to repeat." Emma decided that it was a bad thing that she could not remember if that was her second or third set of singed eyebrows. She eyed the gun at his waistband like it was something alien.  "I hate to say this but I have never fired a gun in my life. I have read a lot about them but I would imagine that it is something you need more than text to operate.

Tinkers row didn't get much in the way of criminals.  No one wanted to risk getting shocked, poisoned, or blown up for our meager purses.  Capitan Hieronymus said he was going to teach me but he kept changing the subject when I would ask. Guess I know why now.  I was actually going to ask if you would teach me how after this was all taken care of.  It seems like a skill that would be worth it's weight in gold at the moment. This should be everything we need."   

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi returned from the bridge, long rifle on her shoulder. "Make that three. I won't have clear lines of sight from the observation deck; I'll have to be out on the envelope." She handed Ben a pair of lariats with clips on either end. "Here. There's a grommet at the base of each pistol grip. Clip one end to that, and the other to your belt. I'd be quite put out if you dropped one of those. They were a gift." He noticed that she had affixed similar leashes to the pistols she wore. He hastened to follow her instructions.

"I only have the two harnesses," Emma said.

Lakshmi and Ben looked at each other. "Use them," she said. "I have some experience mountaineering; I'm sure that between the two of us, the Captain and I can devise an impromptu harness."

"There's a deal of line in the cargo hold," he volunteered.

There was, indeed, rope aplenty. Ben's encyclopedic knowledge of knots and Lakshmi's nimble fingers made for the quick fabrication of a bare-bones harness that, while most likely not the most comfortable thing in the world, was agreed to be a sight better than a precipitous drop to the aerodrome floor. Ben and Emma made for the sides of the ship while Lakshmi climbed to the observation deck at the very top.

She eased open the hatch and crawled out onto the envelope. The curving slope made it very hard to keep her balance; she dropped to her belly. I present less of a target this way, anyway, she thought as she made fast the rope from her harness to a cleat by the hatch and crawled forward.

From this vantage, the aerodrome looked like an upturned anthill. Mobs ran amok throughout the multi-tiered structure; it was hard, at this point, to tell the escaped prisoners from the airship crews desperately trying to defend themselves and their ships. Every so often, a knot of the beige-and-gold uniforms of the Cairo police appeared and were swiftly swarmed under. The Boheme, unbelievably, was in a small pocket of relative calm. They must be leery of the lift, she thought, and who can blame them?

She turned her attention to her compatriots. Far below her, Ben and Emma were inching out along the side rails, creeping toward the great clamps that held the Boheme in a pincher grip. She remembered the little mechanic's description of the clamp workings; they were steam-powered, and with the aetheric control system disabled, the only way to release them was to detach the connection between the clamp booms and the great steam engines located in the aerodrome's sublevels, then throw a safety catch on the clamp itself.

They were getting closer. Ben was slightly ahead; his greater reach and lifelong experience on airships were serving him in good stead, while Emma seemed a little hampered by her injured right arm. I'll have to see what I can do about that, later... Lakshmi thought, ashamed that she hadn't offered earlier.

A movement caught the corner of her eye. Damn and blast, some of the miscreants had worked up the courage to try the lift!

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     While the others worked their ways up and out, Lilli and Oliver worked their way down to the engine room, taking Lakshmis motorized table with them.  Lill had plans for it and explained them to Oliver on the way.  He programmed the table to follow their instructions.  The table had lowered itself to just above ankle height.  Lilli and Oliver stood to either side of it.  They moved as quietly as possible, hoping to spot the pirates before the pirates spotted them.  They managed to take the first pirate by surprise.  Oliver stooped to press the controls on the table and it zoomed forward, catching the man near the ankles, and tipping him forward onto the table.  As soon as his weight was fully on it, the table rose and zoomed back to Oliver and Lilli.  Oliver delivered a chop to the neck that knocked the pirate out cold.  Lilli swiftly hogtied him and together they lowered him to the floor as quietly as possible.  The table made their job much easier.
     "One down, two to go" murmured Oliver.  He spotted the next one soon after they had disposed of the first.  He took very careful aim with the gun they had retrieved from their mysterious intruder and fired.  Blue light, a sizzling crackle, and the man was down.  "I've been wanting to try this out"  Oliver commented.
     Lilli saw the third man attempting to do something to the engine controls.  "Distract him" she murmured to Oliver.  She slid off her shoes (Cairo had been too hot for stockings) and began to silently climb along the engine rooms structures toward the pirate.  Oliver set the tables controls to make it's level bounce up and down, the legs to make it twirl at intervals, and sent it toward the pirate.  The pirate whirled and stared at the dancing table for too long.  Lilli dropped behind him and wielded another of the kitchen knives, with deadly, and messy, efficiency.
  "Three" Oliver said, as they loaded the body onto the now stable table.  "Lets sweep for more before tossing these out the door.  We need to do that quickly, before the others lift us off".  Lilli nodded.  They loaded the doctors device with the living pirates and trundled it to the airships door as fast as possible.  Oliver handed Lilli the strange gun and told her to cover him while he made the table tip its human cargo out the door. He slammed and bolted the door in an amazingly fast turn of speed.   "I need to get back to the engine room" Oliver said "Can you put the doctors device out of the way somewhere and then go help Jessica on the bridge?"  At Lilli's dubious look, he explained "Just do what she tells you...pull levers, push knobs.  All she needs is a second pair of hands".  Lilli nodded and they went their separate ways.

[Stella Gaslight]

As Emma squeezed close to the boom arm controls the yelling was getting closer and she could smell the gunfire now.  She had never felt more dangerously exposed, her hands trembled.  George was near and silent except for his slow rhythmic breathing.  Emma closed her eyes. "Steady. " She told herself "Focus on the task at hand."  The tremors in her hands eased and she took a deep breath. This was easy she could do this in her sleep.  Most of the instructions were printed in to the metal of the boom arm its self.  "All right first thing is to disengage the steam lines from the clamp booms." A crude amplifier built in to her protective mask made sure the Capitan could her her yelling loud and clear over the din. 

"Ease the far right valve open but be careful if you let out to much at once or the other arms may tighten and damage the ship."  Steam poured over them in a hot sticky mass. Her glasses fogged inside the mask but she had George to guide her hands.  "Now the one on the far left."  Another blast of steam covered her in a sweltering fog making her breath catch in her throat.  "Before we can bleed the last of the steam we have to remove the locking bolt in the center."  The spanner was slick with condensation but she manged to turn the bolt loose.  It fell but the sound of it hitting the deck was lost in screams from the lift. 

"Open the center valve all the way.  We have to wait until all the steam is purged before we can open the safeties or the arms won't disengage properly.  The sealed panel just above the far right valve has the safety controls go on and open it but don't touch any thing yet." She fumbled with the screwdriver but manged to pop the panel open.   Gunfire was ringing in her ears now and she was a blazing blue target amongst the black metal and white steam.  After what felt like forever the hiss of escaping steam quited down to nothing.  "All right now you need to flip switches five, seventeen, twelve and eight."  Emma pulled her mask off and yelled as loud as her raw throat would allow.  "Brace yourselves."  George told her the Doctor had understood.  She tightened her straps and pulled the mask back over her face.  "On the count of three we are both going to throw switch number one and that should free the ship.  One, Two Three."  The Bohème shifted heavily to the left for a moment but then rose straight and true.  The rush of wind knocked her in the the side with considerable force But Emma was smiling.  They had done it They were flying.

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi felt the Bohème move under her. She fired one last round at a daredevil ruffian who was attempting to run along the clamp boom to the rapidly-rising ship; the crater in the cast iron caused by her shot seemed to give him pause. She slung the rifle over her shoulder, content that they were out of range.

The ship was rising rapidly. It was a strange feeling, euphoric and terrifying all at once. The wind pulled wisps of hair out of her neat braid and whipped them around her face as she crawled cautiously back toward the hatch.

The ship skewed suddenly; Miss Butcher was trying to avoid some obstacle ahead. Lakshmi's hold on the airship's skin slipped, and she started to slide. Panic grabbed her for a second, but she trusted the knots she and Captain Hudson had tied. She tried to slow her progress down the curve of the frame, to little use. The ship veered again, and there was a small snapping sound from above her. Lakshmi looked up to a coil of rope in the face. Her knots had held, but the cleat hadn't!

She screamed wordlessly as she fell, the rope tangling around her. The rush of wind, which had seemed so liberating, so freeing, just a moment ago, now seemed to rip at her soul. She wondered, briefly, if she'd die instantly when she hit the aerodrome's floor, or if she'd feel every bone shatter before she did.

Ben heard her scream and, looking up, watched her tumble down the ship's side. Trusting his harness to hold him - good God, let Miss Lighton's craft be true! - he leaned out over the perilous void. I'll never catch her, he thought. No, wait, he might! Her trajectory looked just right... he leaned a bit further, and braced himself. The shock of her weight was immense; for a moment, he thought he'd drop her again.

"I've got you," he said.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma was pulling herself back slowly. She felt like the steam had leached the strength from her bones. George saw the cleat fail, Emma heard the scream and they scrambled pulling on reserves they didn't know they had.  They were too late. Even if Emma was at full strenght it was too wide a gap to breech but still they strained closer unwilling to give up hope.  George almost didn't believe his eyes it was like the captain pucked the falling doctor from the air.  Emma was so full of relief she was laughing and crying at the same time.  She pulled her way over to them.  It would be easier for the Doctor to climb back up if she had both harnesses to grip.   They all made it back inside safely as the Bohème rose out of the Cairo aeroport and in to the blazing desert sun.

[Doctor Trakov]

Under his mask, Count von Saxe-Herzgova smiled a horrible smile.
He strode towards an airship in the docks. A small, shabby freighter, apparently captained by an equally portly and shabby man. The little man saw the long shadow on the dusty surface of the docks, and looked up. The cigarette dog-end dropped out of his mouth. A metal gauntlet grabbed him by the neck, and he was cast off the side of his airship, falling to his death.

[Stella Gaslight]

Capitan Hieronymus Black shaded his green eyes from the harsh sun. He was clad in khaki like a hunter all marks of his ship removed as not to startle the pray. It had taken almost three hours to make it this far in to the city.  Below his vantage point on the rooftops Cairo boiled with people, fire and violence.  Somewhere in his madness was his Emmaline.  He had every eye he could trust looking for her and she would be found. Emma tended to stick fast in peoples memories, her eccentricities attracting attention like a beacon but still he worried.  She was small and trusting both virtues Hieronymus had taken advantage of in the past that now made him nervous.  Who knew what trouble she could get herself into before he found her. 

He nearly growled with rage. How dare that damed meddling fool Lewstine scare her off. If she would have just talked to him he could have explained everything.   Hieronymus swore that he would get Emma back and make her see reason.  She was a smart girl and he was sure she would understand that he had her best interests at heart.  With her inventions and his connections they would take whatever they wanted and make their own place in the world.  Hieronymus smiled as he descended to the street that had once been filled with merchants. He was getting closer now he could feel it in his bones.

[Doctor Trakov]

The count systematically massacred the crew of the airship, throwing their bodies into the hold. he went out onto the balcony. He could see port officials running towards the ship. In a single fluid movement, he drew his heavy sabre, and sliced through the steel cable holding the airship to the quayside. As the ship drifted off, he looked around the skies for something interesting enough to follow. Anything headed towards London would do.

[HAC]

Captain Black paced the bridge of the Eastern Star, pausing only to look out the forward windows towards the airship docks of Tashkent. The bustle of re-provisioning went un-noticed by him.  He turned to the chart table, and stared at the map he had unfolded, covered in lines and circles in green and red inks, with notes, some crossed out and amended, covering it in an unhealhty scrawl..
 "Damm her, anyway!" he shouted to no-one in particular.. "Why did she run?"  Black sweeps the chart from the table, the scar under his right eye twitching.. "Blast her hide!"  He rages on, pacing slowly around the bridge.. A crewmenber enters the room..
 "Beggin' the Capn's pardon, a cablegram from St.Petersburg"  He places the paper on the table, and leaves qucikly, all too familiar with his captains moods and rages...
  Black picks up the note and reads...

"To Black:
      I am aware of your small predicament. Do not ask how. Our master, Pencherevsky, has a task for you. He wishes an airship followed, A British airship, leaving Cairo, headng to India, possibly Lucknow. I, however have other plans, I wish this ship intercepted, and its crew taken. Failing that, I would have this ship never reach its final destination. 
   Our master grows impatient for delivery of the little device your promised. I know the reason for the delay. I daresay that our master would not be pleased, should he know the truth of the matter. Work with me and prosper.."
The note was signed cryptically "I."

"Damnation and hellfire!, Why now?" Black curses, but turns to the chart table, pulls out a chart of the Asian subcontinent, and begins to plot.. He strides to a speaking tube and calls for the first mate...
 'Cut short the re-supply.. Take on only food, fuel, water and munitions. Arm the ship fully, we lift as soon as possible"

Black continues his map work... "SSE, through the Kush, perhaps, yes, it can be done" all the while wondering who 'I." is and who the spy in his crew must be..

[Doctor Trakov]

The Count looked around the small, tatty cabin of the ship. It had been carrying live animals, which he had dropped onto the city, and the ship was much lighter now. He began writing notes, lots of notes. He looked out of the window, still looking for a interesting-looking ship. Did this cabin have a radio? No. He slammed his fist down on the battered desk, splintering the surface and breaking the legs. He stared out of the window. Perhaps he should start signalling with the mirror apparatus. Yes, that was a marvellous idea. If the people that responded were interesting, he might toy with them a while, perhaps even spare their lives if they were bound for london. Yes, he dearly wanted to get to london...

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi leaned back against the solid wall of the Boheme's gondola. Her hands were still shaking.

"Brandy," she said. "I think I need a brandy."

She stripped off the improvised rope harness, coiling the line neatly out of the way. Ben and Emma were also divesting themselves of harnesses, masks and gloves.

"Indeed," he said, "I think that a spot of brandy would be just the thing. There's a bottle in the lounge, I believe."

They made their way up the companionway into the belly of the ship. Lakshmi was still unsteady; Ben steadied her with a hand under her elbow, then insisted on ensconcing her in one of the overstuffed chairs in the lounge before fetching her a generous tot in a snifter. She cradled the glass in her hands, sipping it slowly as it warmed to her body temperature. The rest of the crew drifted in, taking seats around the lounge and helping themselves to fortifying drinks.

"Well, then," Ben said, a snifter of his own in one hand. "We're free of Cairo, hallelujah. Next stop, Kabul."

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma had decided one of the benefits of being short was that you could lounge in a nice boneless heap in chairs most people would find to small for that sort of thing.  She was listening to the peaceful thrum of the engine and wondering if she couldn't make a climbing harness with built in toolbox like Lakshmi's gurney.  Emma was debating with her self if cables or tracks would be safer and drawing little people with spider legs coming out of their backs in her notebook when George had to bring realty in to her daydreams.   Emma was annoyed but he was right they had probably dodged some rather important questions at customs and they couldn't count on that happening again.  "Um Capitan Hudson will you have to file an amended crew manifest at Kabul? If their is any way I can avoid havening my name put to paper I would really appreciate it. Of coarse I don't want to get you in to any trouble but I do hope their is some way around that."

[Doctor Trakov]

Flash. Flash, flash. Flash.
The count was becoming rather tired of signalling. Perhaps he should simply fire up the engines, although arriving in a port with a hold of corpses in a stolen airship would not be wonderful, although he had little doubt he could get out of it. As he was signalling, he drew a pistol, and shot a bird, because he felt like it. He looked up. Clear skies. He hated clear skies.
Flash, flash, flash.

[HAC]

Captain Black had finished his course plots. He looked out the main window of the bridge, and noted that all was ready for lift.
he called orders to the first mate, wh relayed them to the crew via teh speaking tubes..

"Cast off bow lines!'"
"Aye sir, Bow lines away"
"Cast of stern lines"
"Aye sir, stern lines away"
"Lift ship!, steady at 500 feet, engines to station"
"500 feet sir, engines ready"
"Take her to 2000 feet, helm, you have the course"
"Aye sir 2000 feet it is  Course laid in, sir..
"All ahead 3/4 once at altitude"
"Aye sir, 3/4 full ahead it is."

Black smiled, he loved a good clean ship lift.  His mysterious Russain informant had suppled more information, the ship he was to intercept
was the airship Boheme out of London. He had a good description, down to her registration numbers. There was only one safe route for them to take, through Kabul.. Finding them should be easy..

He turned to his chart table, and his thoughts drifted .. "Emma, will I ever see you again?......Blast her impudnence!"  Taking deep breaths, he calmed himself.... "one thing at a time" he thought, he had a ship to find.