"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick quickly closed his eyes.
The light in such a small space was unseen before, there were no shadows, light hit everything, including the eyes of Captain black, and the be-taloned henchman. Their screams brought a smile to Patricks face as he whispered to himself. "Way to go Em...." As the blinding light faded, Patrick lept after the revolver on the ground, grabbing it and rolling along the ground.
A loud bang was heard, the bionic thug toppled with all the grace of a sack of wet potatoes, freshly inhereting a red hole between his eyes.
Patrick put the revolver into his holster, utilizing his ability of sight in dark places from years of work inside lightless engines to his advantage.

The captain was indeed showing his mettle as blows were echanged. Patrick however had taken his share of wounds, retaining a deep gash on his cheek, and a stab wound in his side.
The captain was repayed in kind with a brutal thrust into the leg, and yet another across the left arm.
The Captain began to limp to the entrance, ordering his men flood the room.

[Stella Gaslight]

There were fewer of them than she thought there would be, Ben and Lakshmi must have been busy but there was still enough to worry her.  Patrick's side was wet with blood and she could see the pain in his face as he pressed a hand to the wound to stop the flow.  She felt for the broken battery charger but it was gone. 

She had plenty of other things that could work for weapons but most of them required her to be close to whomever she was attacking.  Emma didn't want to run the risk of being caught and passed off to Black.  Most of the people she could see in the glow from the battery would have no trouble tucking her under an arm and running off. 

The battery let off sparks as she accidentally touched it to her tool belt's metal buckle. That was it! She found a bit of baling wire and looked over at the grip of Patrick's sword.  It seamed to be made of the same non reactive fabric as airship skins.  It was absolutely perfect, her grin lit from underneath with unearthly blue light caused Black's men to stop for a moment.  They had all heard stories about the unholy things she did in her lab.  "Lend me your sword Patrick." He handed it over confused but trusting that she knew what she was doing.  Emma clamped the battery in the monkey wrench jaws that made up the pommel and carefully used the binding wire to hold it safely in place. 

As soon as the brass band around the center battery touched the monkey wrench jaws, big white sparks started to dance along the length of the blade.  Emma lunged forward to test her work. The blade easily penetrated the closest man's uniform and he fell writhing on the floor as the aether scrambled his nervous system with a loud zap.   

[Nigel Wetherby]

The pirates saw the power of this unearthly object and the unwounded scrabled to the door whilst they could, Emma had the look of a wrathful godess about her as the wounded pirate was dragged away, screaming and nursing his now blackened chest.

A silence filled the ship after the pirates and their wounded captain fled the damaged Boheme.
Slowly and carefully, Emma slid the battery from the wrenches grips, a smile across her face as she gave a confident shake of the fist as the sound of the Eastern Star's motor was lost in the distance of the sky.
Patrick gave a weak, "......Huzzah..." Before passing out from blood loss.
His white cotton shirt dyed deep, wet crimson.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma tore a large chunk from her skirt and hastily bound his wound desperately afraid that it was too little to late.  "You hang on Patrick we still have work to do.  I am going to find the doctor."  She was off and running using the battery's glow to guide her to the lounge.  If she didn't run in to the doctor before she reached him George would know where to find her. 

"She is on the bridge." He yelled as Emma burst in the door.  She snapped the aetherphone up and they were off again. "He is a surprisingly tough monkey and he did right by you.  He will be just fine."  Emma was shaking with panic.

She nearly tumbled down the stairs in to the bridge.  Emma barely gave her extra limbs a second glance.  "Lakshmi, you have to come quick Black stabbed Patrick and he just passed out."

[T.Taylor the Third]

Trip watched as the eastern star Faded into the distance, smoke poring from its port engine.
"Well" he said "thats taken care of, now lets try and make positive contact with the Boheme"
He said Positive with  infasise Because Lily was Looking rather Pirate Like after the fight and he was not sure she wouldn't just start killing people and taking money.

"alright, alright, make contact with the ship" said Lily

Trip Made his way to the railing and yelled over to the Boheme "AHOY THE SHIP....HELLO?"
"no one is answering" he said to lily "Should We go and look around the ship?"

"I cant see why not." said Captan Lily 

they moved the Bloody Flower closer to the Boheme, after Lowering a gangplank  Lily sent out teams to search the ship, cautioning them that the People may not know that the Bloody rose had  helped save them., also she gave strict instructions not to hurt the people they meet, Her Crew knew Better than to Disobey.

Lily and Trip themselves went as a team, after traveling down a passage they were confronted by a man brandishing a pistol,

"Who Are You? What Do you Want." he said

"uh well." stuttered trip " I am Trip Taylor, inventor and weapons expert extraordinare, and this is Black Lily Captain of the Ship That Crippled the Eastern Star."

"That Tells Me who You are, now what do you want and why are you on My ship?" said the man still holding the gun on them

"Well...After helping a ship being attacked by pirates, we wanted to make sure you were all OK, see if you need anything or...just get to know you." replied trip thinking of going for his paralysis knives but than rejecting that idea as giving the wrong first impression. "so um do you? Need anything i mean,um mister..?"

"I am Ben Huddsen, Captain of the Boheme"

"oh Well Glad to meet you captain huddsen."  said trip, holding out his hand.

 

[Stella Gaslight]

(Meanwhile a week or two ago in London)

"Mr.Walker" said Charles,"I have an airship".

"Really, in which port are you docked?  I would like to see your craft with my own eyes. Not that I doubt your honesty but past events have taught me the folly of trusting too readily." He smiled bitterly.  The places where Taylor's blades penetrated were slow to heal and looked like they would leave scars.  A permanent reminder of his foolishness. 

"I suppose that makes sense. My vessel is at the west municipal docks. A rather unpleasant walk on a night like this but if it will put you mind at ease I think we can mange it." said Charles as Nathaniel got up from his chair.

"Give me a moment to get my affairs in order and I will go with you."  He dressed quickly and set a lantern with blue glass in his window to signal one of the night boys to come watch his shop while he was gone.  He reappeared from the back room smiling and dressed in foul weather gear, pistol still ready in his pocket.  "Lets go see this ship of yours."

There was a young burly looking man waiting outside.  He tipped his flat cap to Nathaniel and looked suspiciously at Charles.  "It is all right Sam. We are just stepping out to make sure Mr. Tayle's airship is sound to go after Tailor."  That brought a smile to the young man's face showing the teeth hat had been knocked out when he had been tossed from the escaping airship.  Many of the young people bore simmer marks and thirsts for Tailor's blood.  News would travel fast that Mr. Tayle was a part of that revenge and he would be safer in that small rundown neighborhood than he would have been in the most brightly lit square in upper london.

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Ben holstered his Webley and took Trip's hand. 'A pleasure. We needed your help just then.' He looked out of a porthole. The Eastern Star was fading into the distance, listing heavily to starboard where one of her primary gasbags was ruptured. Her engines coughed oily smoke into the air. 'Thank you.' He was introduced to the rest of the Bloody Flower's crew. 'Now, I'd better find the rest of my crew. I was rather caught up with a few boarders in the gantries who were intent on slitting my gasbags.' He wiped a little blood off his arm. 'Not sure where the others got to.'
As they neared the aft of the Boheme, Ben heard Emma's voice. He broke into a jog and found them. Emma was standing, shivering. Lakshmi was covered up to the elbow in blood as she stemmed the flow from Patrick's side. He was pale, but alive. He grinned at Ben. 'Alright, cap'n? Emma here just saw off Black himself!'
'Lord. Black? Has he gone?'
Emma nodded. 'He ran as soon as I wounded him, the b____.' Her face was damp with blood, tears and sweat. Ben offered her a handkerchief. 'Lakshmi, how is Patrick?'
'Flesh wound only, no organ damage. It's deep, but I think I've nearly stopped the flow. He'll be fine, after a week's convalescence. A little stiff perhaps, but you'll have a super scar.' She slapped him on the shoulder. Patrick coughed. 'I'm fine, captain. Don'tya worry about me. See to Emma.'
Ben went over and checked her face. There was a fairly long thin cut. 'Here.' He pressed the handkerchief up against it, checking every now and then to see if the flow had stopped. Emma smiled. 'Thank you, Ben.'
Ben laughed. 'Thank you! You saw off Black whilst I was playing with pirates in the gantries. Fantastic show. Ah, yes. This is the crew of the Bloody Flower.' He waved a hand over the mob. 'They came in and took out one of Black's gasbags. His ship's badly damaged. They'll be lucky to keep it in the air for more than a hundred miles. But we need to keep a good lookout. Now, I think we need some tea...'

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma looked much relieved at state of Blacks ship and even more so at Lakshmi's statement of Patrick's health. Soon her fearful tremors eased and she became aware how utterly exhausted and hungry she was.

"Tea would be lovely, go on ahead and Miss Lighton and I will get Patrick settled in to bed and join you in the lounge."  Trip couldn't quite believe his ears.  It couldn't be this easy, could it? Now that he really looked at the smaller woman he was surprised he hadn't recognized her before.  Even under the lingering grease and blood she was the girl from the picture.  He smiled, an abrupt end to his search was a nice reward for a random act of kindness.  Now all he had to do was get close and move in for the kill.

With the clockwork gurney Patrick was soon tucked in to his bed with Emma siting beside him. "You shouldn't have tried to get a closer look at the gurney legs while you were still on it.  You could have rolled off and popped your stitches.  I can't really blame you tho it is fascinating."  She smiled.  "I will bring you some more of my notes and some smaller things to tinker with in the morning.  I know being stuck in bed is going to be frustrating but please stay in it so you can get better."  She looked away a little flustered. "There aren't enough thank you's in the world to repay you for what you did for me today.  I never thought he would go so far."  She hugged Patrick gently afraid of jostling his wounds.  "I am so sorry that this happened.  I feel like I done nothing but cause the whole ship trouble."  Emma shook her head sadly.  "Do you want me to bring you anything from the galley?  I feel like I could eat the better part of a cow right now and still have room for dessert."

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick's pale face pinkened as Emma's arms wrapped around his.
"It was no problem Em, if tha captain got his claws on ye, theres no tellin' what kinda terrible weaponry he'd have made with yer knowledge on aetherium!"
Emma gave him a bit of a gentle smile. After her offering of something from the galley, he realized suddenly that he hadnt eaten since fabrice's breakfast thaty morning. "Well...I suppose some sausages and a nice glass of milk would hit the spot." He said as he wiped away a bit of errant drops of drool from his lips at the prospect of the delicious meal.
With that, Emma had vanished, returning several minutes later with a row of three juicy, greasy sausages and a glass of cold, creamy milk. He gave Emma an approving smile, she returned his chipper smile with an approving smile and nod.

[Stella Gaslight]

"I am glad you like my cooking. George says if it can be burned I will and if it can't be burned I manage to do it any way. The sad thing is that is not too large of an exaggeration.  I swear I can make all sorts of coolants and fuel additives but I can't manage to make cakes that aren't as dense as cement."  Patrick finished his food and yawned deeply causing Emma to join in.  "Get some rest and I will come see you when I wake up.  I am going to go talk to the captain about repairs and then go to bed myself. I hope tomorrow isn't as exciting.  Goodnight."  She ruffled his hair and took his plate back to the galley.

Lots of unfamiliar voices filtered in from the lounge. They seemed to be celebrating the strike against The Eastern Star.  It sounded like a good idea to her so she grabbed the aetherphone from the counter and went to join them.  A man dressed all in brown opened the door for her tipping his hat. "Good evening, it is Miss Lighton, Correct?" 

"That's right." She smiled  "You must have quite the memory, Mr?"

[Nigel Wetherby]

 Patrick nodded and slowly dozed off into the tranquil land of nod.
He recreated the fantastic event had it all been portrayed by a penny-novelist and illustrated in woodcut style.
He beamed with pride in himself, his rippling muscular arms holding the fainting, haughty miss Emma, her frilly dress torn, her ankles exposed, and her boddice torn.
George watched rather disturbedly as Patrick giggled and his pale face managed to find enough blood to pinken with a light blush. He slowly walked off as Patrick began to embrace his pillow, kissing it up and down.

[James Harrison]

The man in the linen suit stepped forward.

"When I throw this switch, for the first time in three thousand years, the gap between the land of the living and that of the dead will be bridged!"

The switch was thrown, and immediately a vast hole opened up in the sand.  Ghoulish figures emerged, dragging three men down to their deaths.  Something was wrong, the man knew. 

"Get back to the ship!  Get back to the ship!"

As the party hurriedly made their way back to the airship, the man attempted to shut down the 'Anubis Gate'.  The airship hurriedly took off, leaving him behind to die in the desert sun, mortally wounded by one of the ghouls. 

With his last breaths he succeeded in shutting it down.

Edward woke with a start, a cold sweat on his brow.  He had once more been dreaming of his last fated expedition, that of Moriarty to decode the secrets of the ancient Egyptian Anubis Gate.  The tragedy at Thebes had impressed itself indelibly upon his memory, for it was he who ordered the airship aloft, leaving Moriarty, mortally wounded, behind, to die in the desert alone. 

It was also he who was responsible for the deaths of two more men, killed when the airship crashed into the Mediterannean whilst returning to England.  Had he not ordered it through that storm regardless...

The clock read 6.30, and he knew there was no chance of sleep this morning.  The early post lay in the parlour, the only letter being from his mother. 

He recognised the handwriting; but not the writing itself.  It was a cypher he had never before seen.  Why should she write him in this manner?  His mind worked over the quandry mechanically; there was one thing, and only one thing, to do.  To go to Beaudesert in person to find out what his mother wanted.  Surely this was the outcome his mother desired, but then why did she not simply wire him, or write in plain English? 

By 8 AM, flashing along the wire, went the following message:

MOTHER STOP COMING DOWN BY 10 AM EXPRESS STOP EDWARD STOP

All that morning as he sped northward on the express, Edward could not get the letter out of his head.  What could it all mean?

[James Harrison]

The minutes dragged on interminably.  The express arrived in Stafford a little after one; as Edward had expected, his father's steam carriage awaited him at the station.  The journey through the little back roads of rural Staffordshire took him back to his privileged childhood; not all are the first born of a Duke and heir presumptive to vast swathes of land and an unimaginable fortune. 

This reverie was cut abruptly short in front of Beaudesert Hall by the sight of his mother.  Although she tried not to show it, just by looking at her Edward intuitively knew something was gravely amiss. 

"What is it?"

"Your brother", was all he received by way of reply. 

[James Harrison]

Edward was completely unmoved by this revelation; he should have known his blackguard of a brother should be involved somehow. 

"What has he done?"

"You will find out soon enough."

"Where is he?"

"London."

With that, Edward bowed, turned about, and headed as fast as he could back to London.  Whatever it was, this must be serious. 

[James Harrison]

That evening Edward sat in his parlour, considering what to do.  It was clear his brother had done something heinous; it was clear that his friends were involved; that explained the cypher.

He read the newspaper to compose his thoughts.  It was, as always, filled with reports of airship pirate attacks, various contraptions going berserk, gang battles and the like in Lower London, striking a harmonious discord with the society columns a few pages later describing the on-goings of dandies, aesthetes, exiles and the aristocracy in the more affluent areas of the city. 

The problem could wait.  Edward reached for his laudenum and fell into unconsciousness.     

[T.Taylor the Third]

" ah, Taylor, Thomas Taylor, but my friends call me trip "  the young Man supplied. " I helped Drive that Dastardly Black Away"
"Oh, well thank you" Emma Replied "is that your airship than?"
"um..well..no, its-ah heres the Captain let me introduce you" he grabbed a the arm of a lady walking past, Emma noticed a similarity in appearance between the two "This is Captan Lily",,"Black Lily!" Said the Girl, Emma Had to resist an impulse to laugh at the proposteruse name, something in the girls eyes told her it would be a bad idea.
"yeah Black Lily" trip Amended he let the young lady go and watched as she walked away. "yeah...So its her ship"
"so what the ..um..you know...how do you..uh.. know ..her?" Emma was rather embarrassed to ask such a question but she did anyway.
"how do i know...oOOOHh..Haahahaahhaa. You thought we might be ... no no no.. She is in fact My younger Sister..."
"Oh" for some reason Emma felt relived "so how did you come to be flying in our general vicinity?"
"Oh....um. Well my sister and I have some business in Chineand when We saw you Well I convinced Lily to stop and help." He grinned, At that Grin Emma felt like she had milted.
 
 

[Stella Gaslight]

"Aren't you going to introduce me?"  Said the box Emma had tucked under her arm. 

"I am sorry I didn't mean to forget about you.  Trip, this is my partner Professor George Lewistine. He happens to be without a body at the moment but we are working on fixing that." When Walker had mentioned her speaking about her dead partner he had never imagined anything like this.

"Pleased to meet you Prof. Lewistine." He was rather unsure how one properly greeted a box so he settled for nodding.

"You can call me George. I was quite glad to see Miss Lily's ship approach.  Emma was having a hell of a time fighting off Black.  Nasty man, devious mind and an atrocious temper to boot."  Emma looked pale and nervous at the mention of his name.  "Calm down Emma, You heard what the captain said.  I am sure we have seen the last of him."

She sighed and gave Trip a smile. "Your right George I am being silly.  Say Trip, will you be traveling with us for a while? I wouldn't mind a tour of your sisters ship sometime.  I am a bit of an inventor and I always like seeing how things are adapted and changed from ship to ship."

[James Harrison]

In his dream, Moriarty spoke.  It was the night prior to the fateful unveiling. 

"I discovered in the Valley of the Kings a cache of Egyptian scrolls.  The vast majority were composed of typical heiroglyphs.  One however, was completely unlike any other form of hieroglyph yet found.  The Rosetta Stone was useless for understanding it, and it was only by months of painstaking research, and one or two elements of sheer good fortune, that I now know its meaning.  This particular parchment now lies in the British Museum, but its translation does not.  The translation opens the Anubis Gate.  Why have I not sent the translation on too you ask?  Simple.  Should anything go wrong, should I unlock the gates of hell, I do not wish others to do so.  If however, all goes well tomorrow, I shall send the translation on too."

Once more Edward woke with a start.  But something was different this time.  His palms were clammy, as usual, and a cold sweat was forming on his brow, but why had we woken up at that particular point of the dream?  Why had it not continued to the terrible events that unfolded the following day?  Was the parchment important?  The parchment, the parchment.... oh good heavens!

~-~

Edward James Harrison's blood ran cold.  His worst suspicions were confirmed.  He sat in the reading rooms of the British Museum.  In one hand was the mysterious letter he had received.  In the other was the parchment Moriarty had spoken of. 

The parchment was about a yard long.  What Edward plainly saw was that he held a copy of the final 15 lines of text of the parchment.  An exact copy. 

He started to understand.  Somehow his brother had gotten the other two-thirds of it.  He had to keep this final piece under lock and key, to stop his brother opening the Anubis Gate, for who knew what purpose, and unleashing an unimaginable hell upon the world. 

As his steam carriage returned to his house, it gave him no comfort that he, as the senior surviving member of the expedition, would surely be visited by his brother and that therefore he was not looking for a needle in a haystack. 

In his hallway lay a visitors' card. 

BENJAMIN MATTHEW HARRISON was the name. 
ON BUSINESS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORT was written in pencil below. 

The butler informed him that his brother would call again that evening.     

[James Harrison]

The doorbell rang, as Edward paced the study.  As he turned to face the door, the butler announced his brother's arrival.  Edward quietly locked his writing desk, the letter safe inside. 

"Benjamin.  To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Benjamin stepped forward into the room, a look of impatience on his face. 

"I believe you have something that should have been addressed to me."

"Really?"

"Yes.  You see, I have been sent a letter in three parts by my employer.  The first two arrived whilst I was at Beaudesert, and the third I instructed to be forwarded to me here in London.  It has not yet arrived, and further, you were seen yesterday by a good friend of mine at Euston with the letter in your hand."

Edward felt his heart quicken, and his palms moisten.  He forced the emotion back down. 

"Your friend was mistaken."

"Really?"

"Yes.  I had business of my own to attend to.  I have no interest in your letter, or your affairs for that matter, and I most strongly protest your spying by proxy on my movements."

"Rest assured brother, I am not spying on you.  Quite the opposite.  Now may I please have my letter?"

"I have told you once I do not have it.  Are you calling me a liar?"

"No."

Although the look on Benjamin's face told Edward that he did indeed believe him to be lying.  Without a word, Benjamin left the house. 

Edward silently resolved to burn the letter first thing the following morning.  For now however, it was safely ensconced in his writing desk.   

[trilian42]

lily had been listening as she slowly walked away trying to look as though she was looking around and absorbing her surroundings. she caut bits and pieces of the conversation. she heard trip and could tell he felt very awkward his people skills were not at their best. she was almost out of hearing wen she heard "oh no, um shes my sister." and paused and mumbled, "i thought we had an agreement, he new i didn't want my identity known!" she then began walking again a bit quicker now thinking to herself, "i have my own enemy's i don't need his!" she kept telling her self that she was only worried about herself but she knew that she was worried about him, "if word gets around he will have more than a few pirates after him! why did i let him on my ship?" but of course she new and indeed the old saying held true, blued is thicker than water she loved her brother even if she hated him. she had no choice wether to protect him or not he was family and thats all there was to it! "why are my family values so important to me?" she mumbled. she went to her cabin and sat on the floor she then proceeded to take off the bulk of straps and bags she wore which held her weapons several pistols and various weapons that were alegal and could only be secured from the black market and menny homemade weapons as well such as her first hand made laser pistol which was not useful for any thing but shooting birds. all but five poison dipped knives like her brothers and a loaded pistol were removed she then climbed in bed the last thing to pop into her Head before drifting away was "i will talk to him tomorrow!"

[Stella Gaslight]

(In London a plan is being hatched)
Mr. Tayle's airship was not exactly what Nathaniel had expected. It looked to be an older model gunship that had been retooled in to a sleeker more modern form.   It was what the boys at the docks called a toothless bolt.  Very fast but with little weaponry it would make excellent time tracking Tailor but taking him on once they caught him there might be trouble.  "Mr. Tayle this is a fine ship but I think we could use some firepower to bring Tailor to justice.  I know some lads that can set us up with some small powerful cannons that would be very helpful."  He saw a certain uneasiness in Charles' face.  "Don't worry about cost Tayle.  As you said you have your reasons for chasing him and the lads I mentioned would gladly do this for nothing provided it is his hide we are blasting."  Nathaniel smiled.

"Well if you are certain of their work."  Charles didn't sound remotely convened.

"You as captain will of course have final say in what happens to your ship but I recommend you at least see what they come up with."

"All right I guess we can give it a try."  Charles nearly sighed

"You won't regret it.  Now lets discus supplies we will need for our journey."  Charles was starting to realize that even tho he was the captain he wasn't exactly in charge at the moment.  Oh well if it got them on the hunt sooner he could deal with Nathaniel overstepping his bounds.

[T.Taylor the Third]

Really? you Invent? well I am a bit of a Tinker Myself. What type of work do you do?" "Oh Well" Emma Hesitated "I really shouldn't talk about it, its..uh..rather dangerus and if someone trued to duplicate it without my plans well there could quite an explosion." She Bit her lip, feeling a bit chagrined at revealing so much to some one she hardly knew. "oh thats All right" trip said with an easy smile, "I understand totally, *sigh-huf* I actually have been the victim of a robbery recently, and an impersonation that got me run out of London"  "Oh" Emma said , Eyes wide ," pray tell". " Weeell....OK. I have invented a, well, a portable Mater transferal Device, I call it a TelePorter. I had just built my second one when my home was robbed the thief Stole my second, improved version of the teleporter and my prototype image displacer, that is, a device that allows you to camouflage yourself as anything or any one, the only image in it was mine and a wall," Emma interupted " A wall?"  " uh yes so you could blend into a wall and not be seen, anyway i think the thief must have been familiar with the sciences because He apparently robbed a bookstore using my teleporter and image displacer, pretinding to be me, but the shop keeper cot him in the act and he teleported out, but not before the shopkeeper got a good look at his false features."  "how did that get you run out of London?" Emma asked  "Well a week after i was robbed, a Gang of men and Women came to my door and demanded I come out, apparently some one had seen me and matched my description to that of the impostor, well Seeing as how they were all armed I decided the Best course would be to teleport away but I only got to the end of the block and so, they gave chase, I was able to escape to lilys ship but just barely, luckily she was getting ready to cast off, and so We made a quick get away. as we flew over London I saw the mob move back to my house and, then ...well...they torched it"  Emma could hardly believe such a tale as fantastic as it was, but something in Trips eyes so radiated truth she felt compelled to believe him "incredable ... Do you still have your first tele..ah..what did you call it?"
  " Teleporter" Trip supplied  "yes...that, do you still have it?" " yes would you like to see after supper ?" trip asked politely. "yes I think I would,"   Trip thought of the plans he had copied from Emma's work and how he had destroyed the originals  so he could claim it was his work, it was rather written on from his experamints, "ah well" he thought "i hide those in my desk so she probably wont see them any way, at least not without me showing them to her."

Trip And Emma Continued their Talk for awhile and hen Trip Volunteered to Get some Drinks for the two of them. As he Walks Away he Hears George Say "Emma I don't Trust him, theres something not right about him." "George! we hardly know him How can You judge him in just a few minutes He did Help us Drive off Black." Emma replied. Trip slowed his pace and acted as if he was listing to one of the  other many conversations going on around him. "He Admitted to being run out of--" Emma interupted " He says it was a mistake"
"yes Well....I don't Believe him"  "and I do"  " why? You barely know him!"
Emma was unable to give an answer to this " I...Just...do."
At that moment The Dinner Bell Rang and a wall panel slid open to reveal a large buffet suplied by the joint work of the cooks from the Boheme and the bloody flower. every one made there Way over to enjoy a sumptuous, yet informal, dinner.

[Stella Gaslight]

Trip was an excellent conversationalist and was very much a gentleman. The fact he understood being hunted because of scientific knowledge was extremely appealing. She rote off Georges earlier objections as his typical paranoia with new people.  Emma soon forgot her tiredness and was happily chattering away about her studies of the aether but still careful not to mention specifics of how she applied what she had learned.  There were some things she just didn't trust any one but George with. 

As they finished their meal their talk turned to  some of the more eccentric applications of aether. "You've read Rathbornes Theories of Aether Resonance and you didn't immediately proclame it to be bunk.  I am rather impressed."

"Well I thought it was interesting but not very useful."  Really he had thought most of it to be deeply flawed and had been unable to duplicate any of the results.

"Your right most of it is a bit too fiddly to be done out of the lab but I use some of the simpler concepts every day."  He had obviously said the right thing because she was leaning in to speak to him.

"Really?" Trip found that rather hard to believe.

"I admit I am a special case but yes I do.  George will you help me with a demonstration?"

"Let me guess you want to do the blindfold test?"  Trip almost jumped he had forgotten the box could talk. He would have to find out how it worked later.

"You know me too well George." Emma smiled and handed Trip a piece of paper and a pencil.

"Do you do this often?" He was obviously amused

"It is a good ice breaker at parties." She smiled and he had to wonder how many parties she had been to.

"Yes much better than the aether reactive gel trick." Emma frowned at the box.

"You promised you wouldn't bring that up again and I paid to have Mrs. Shaw's drapes replaced even tho she said the scorch marks weren't even noticeable. Well anyway lets get on with this."  She pulled out a pencil and paper for herself, took off her glasses, tied a bit of fabric around her eyes and had told Trip to make sure she couldn't see.

When he was satisfied she could not see Emma took the pencil in her right hand and said "Draw anything you like and George will move my right arm using applied Aetheric resonance to copy it."  Emma was enjoying herself and Trip wasn't about to mention that what she was attempting was considered almost as imposable as reviving the dead.

Trip drew a simple propeller not knowing what to expect.  She copied it perfectly.  He put a hand not far from her eyes ensuring she couldn't see and tried again, Another flawless copy.  Trip tried one more time moving the pencil about with out marking the paper at all. Her hand moved just as he did leaving blank paper underneath.  It sent shivers up his spine.

Emma removed her blindfold and looked at the paper. "Neat isn't it?" Neat is not the word Trip would have used to describe it. Just what exactly was he getting himself in to if she did what was widely regarded as imposable for a party trick. "May I see your Teleporter? It sounds fascinating."

[James Harrison]

The sound of shattering glass roused Edward from his slumber.  In the dark room, the clock softly chimed two-thirty.  Quickly by quietly he slunk out of bed and hastened down the stairs to his study, whence sounds of locks being forced and papers being scattered about the room were now emanating. 

He opened the door, and to his horror saw his brother looming over the writing desk.  Benjamin turned as he heard Edward enter the room. 

By the light of the gaslamp Benjamin carried, Edward saw quite plainly that Benjamin was not himself.  His silhouette was the same, there was no doubt; but thelines and features of his face were somewhat hardened, more pronounced.  His eyes in particular appeared more canine or carnal than human. 

It was when he spoke that Edward got the real shock.  Benjamin's voice was no longer had the soft tones he had come to know; now it ws hard, forced, it sounded the growls of an angry dog or wolf. 

"Moriarty fouled up in Thebes; the same mistake will not be permitted to take place in London!"

And with that, Benjamin leapt through the broken window and disappeared into the night. 

Edward didn't even need to look at the desk to know that its locks had been forced, that the letter had been taken. 

But what now worried him beyond measure was even the thought of the prospect of an Anubis Gate in London.  He felt his legs buckle and his head go light.  The room began to spin.  He was out cold before his head even struck the corner of the writing desk.   

[James Harrison]

The darkness slowly lifted itself from his eyes.  Edward saw he was still in his study, but now light flooded the room and birdsong cascaded through the shattered window.  Standing over him was his rather concerned butler.  The side of his head felt wet, and around the circumference was, put it mildly, very uncomfortable.  He put his hand to his temple.   

"Don't remove the bandage sir!" cried the butler, "the doctor had a terrible time stemming the bleeding." 

"That I can see", Edward replied, as he inspected the red liquid on his hand. 

"What time is it?"

"7.30 sir."

7.30!?!  His brother had a 5-hour start on him now, and a complete manuscript to boot.  There was no telling what could happen now. 

Edward needed clues, a hint, something, anything, and fast.  Time now was of the essence.

Then it struck him.  His journal.  It lay, conveniently, on the floor right next to him.