"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[James Harrison]

The journal of Sir Edward James Harrison

~June 2nd, 187-~
Today we arrived in Thebes.  The weather is unbearable; the heat and humidity practically unendurable.  At dinner Moriarty, the Professor that is, described how he found the scroll, the parchment he produced at the public meeting three weeks ago in London that led to this expedition.  As this I have committed here once before I shall refrain from doing so once more; as the heat and the strain of the journey are showing I shall close for tonight here.  One more thing comes to mind- just now he has vowed to take us into his confidence tomorrow.  What the d--ce could that mean?

~June 3rd, 187-~
Professor Moriarty today took us into his confidence, as he had promised last night.  It transpires he was referring to how he decyphered his parchment.  As I am not in the habit of long-winded explanations, I shall put the pertinent points here.  It seems that when he returned to Oxford last year he took the parchment with him, determined that the honour of understanding it should go to him as discoverer, and not some 'desk johnny' at the British Museum.  Late one night in a fit of picque he threw it across the room.  The following morning, as he went to retrieve it, he noticed something that stopped him completely.  The parchment lay on the floor, as I say, but on the opposite wall was a mirror.  The professor noticed that in the mirror the parchment read like any other series of hieroglyphs!
The first half or so of the parchment was some-or-other incantation, summoning Anubis.  Pure folly, of course.  A superstitious lot, the Egyptians, it seems.  The second half read, apparently, like the training manual for a field gun.  It described some sort of mysterious machine, and how to operate it. 
So it is to find this machine and understand it that we come to Thebes.

......

~June 27th, 187-~
We have found it!  We have found it, and purely by accident.  We were beginning to despair, but by the grace of God one of our men set off our cache of dynamite through his own carelessness.  The poor devil was killed outright of course, but the crater created thus revealed a tunnel.  Two of us each took a lamp and cautiously set off.  After what seemed an eternity, we found ourselves in a vast vault-like space.  Easily two, three, four times the size of St Pauls Cathedral.  Inside was an ancient machine composed of gold, timber, iron and a few materials we previously had no idea the Egyptians had access to- copper, tin, brass.  If only I had the vocabulary to describe the machine!  I shall try.  It is powered by what looks like a steam engine.  Certainly there is a sealed vessel looking precisely like one drawn in a volume in Alexandria in the 4th Century AD.  But that is impossible!  This must be 4 millenia old!  There is an 'engine' if I can call it that, that resembles nothing so much as the Antikythera Mechanism, albeit on an altogether larger scale.  If it is one foot long, it is twenty.  Then there are five or six (I can't recall which) vast iron hoops connected to this.  Imagine the frames of a dirigible, and now imagine them disconnected from each other and arranged so as to form a sphere.  That the best way I can possibly describe this machine. 

~June 29th, 187-~
We are beginning to understand better the workings of the device.  It *must* be built underground as it would appear it needs walls of solid rock to receive the vibrations set up as it runs.  No building has been built, no building COULD be built that could withstand such forces.  It could be built in a tunnel admittedly but that seems unlikely. 
Tomorrow we shall set it in motion to find what exactly it does. 

~June 30th, 187-~
My God! My God! A catastrophe!  Moriarty, poor devil, dead, I tell you, DEAD!  Three of our expedition with him!  How the rest of us escaped the same fate is nothing short of miraculous.  I feel delirious, faint, feverish, yet I must put this down, I must, the world must know what happened so it may never happen again!  We were set up and Moriarty stepped forwards, set the machine in motion, and- 

A NOTE TO POSTERITY
JULY 21ST 187-
BEAUDESERT HOUSE, STAFFORDSHIRE
You, dear reader, will note this journal is a collection of ravings.  My son has not quite been the same since his return to England two weeks ago.  Perhaps not surprising, considering his brush with death in the air disaster.  He is even as I write running a high fever which the doctor fears will kill him.  He attempts to write in this journal, and works himself into a frenzy.  For his protection more than anything else I have removed it from him until he is well enough to write once more.  I shall now lock it in my own writing desk, and the next entry will be once more by his hand. 

(Signed)
The Third Duke of Beaudesert

[James Harrison]

The words of his journal struck a chord within Edward. 

That there was an Anubis Gate there was now no doubt in his mind. 

Somewhere in this metropolis.  No, not in this metropolis- underneath it!

And within possibly only a few hours time of causing unimaginable carnage!

But where to find it?  London is built upon a veritable rabbit's warren of vaults, tunnels, underground watercourses and caves, Edward mused.   

[James Harrison]

A few things were obvious immediately.

Firstly; if the machine were built in a vault it would certainly have been uncovered by now. 
Secondly; any caves under London were notoriously difficult to access, making it unlikely the machine would be in one. 
Thirdly; building in an underground river was just unfeasible. 

That left the tunnels.  Sewers were too small and could be discounted; that left the underground railway system. 

It was obvious that such a machine could not be built in a tunnel still functioning on the railway network, but there were tens of miles of disused underground railway in the metropolis. 

Edward reasoned that the machine was concealed within one of these tunnels.  But which one?

Calling for his butler, he asked for the most recent published map of the underground system, and the same map from five years previously.      

[James Harrison]

The maps were promptly laid out in the study, and with them came a telegram.

EDWARD STOP TERRIBLY ILL STOP NEED YOUR PRESENCE AT ONCE STOP THE COUNT

So, on top of the events in London, Count Zeppelin, a relative and the cause of Edward's knighthood, needed him too. 

But for now, events in London were sadly more important.  An endgame was probably approaching at any rate. 

As it happened, the two maps were quite alike.  There were only one or two abandoned branches, all improbably far out of the centre of the metropolis to be a likely location.  The only likely space, indeed, was Brunel's tunnel below the Thames, which had in the time between the two maps become a terrible bottleneck on the system and had been replaced. Now it was closed up. 

Within five minutes of this discovery a horseless carriage was hurtling through the city streets. 

Quite how Edward entered the tunnel it is needless to relay here; suffice is to say that no doubt some-or-other city by-law was broken, probably more than one.  Nevertheless, lantern in hand, he set off down the abandoned tunnel.  For some time he saw nothing but darkness ahead of him; then, a glint, like a reflection.  He almost walked straight into the machine before he saw it. 

It was an Anubis Gate. 

Edward started; it needed destroying.  He had no wish to see it's terrible power unleashed upon London. 
As he started tearing at the various pipes, wires and other ancilliary mechanisms he felt not a little unlike Guy Fawkes below Parliament.  And, like Guy Fawkes, he quickly found himself confronted by men with guns.  The game was up.  As he rose his hands into the air in surrender he felt a blow to the back of his head, another to the back of his legs, and all went black. 

[T.Taylor the Third]

"why of course, its still on my sisters ship, would you care to come with me?"He smiled again  and once again Emma felt all weak.
"ye..yes" she said, they made their way through the crowd and soon had left the Boheme, when they arrived At the Door of Trip room he stopped and turned around, "Before We venture into my room I should warn you, on the Trip here I had a few ..ah, mishaps and some Miner explosions happened so..My room is rather dirty and smells of burnt chemicals and metal, but other than that I think its Presintable _{I hope}" He opens the door and, true to his word it smells of chemicals and explosives, the wall panels Blackend By multiple explosions. a wooden backpack lies on the tattered mattress of his bed "there it is," he said, indicating the Backpack "My teleporter."  Emma was not impressed by the case it was contained in but When he opened it up her eyes got wide, "oh my. Thats incredible" Trip grinned as she named off diffrent parts of his invention and marveling at the whole mechanism in general. "may I see work"
Emma asked. Trips Grin Faulted and he explained "Well...You have to calibrate it for were you are and There really wasn't a need for it up here...If I had detailed maps of the Boheme and the Flowers main deck I could jump from one ship to the other I have the plans for the Flower, so..if you could Get me plans for the Boheme I can calibrate it for this area." Emma Was caught up in the excitement of the moment  so she hurried strait the the map room on the Boheme were the captain kept the plans, She than hurried back to the Flower and Trips room "here they are" she said breathlessly  "oh...thank you..You left George Here and I've been trying to explane how the teleporter Works, but all he douse is is contradict me on things I KNOW work, saying this and this shouldn't work together and such, How do you stand it? working with a partner that can say what ever he want and you cant do anything to stop him."
"well Maybe if Your theories weren't a load of junk I would pay more attention to what you say." Georges voice came from under a pillow "I stuck the box under there trying to keep him quiet but as you can tell it didn't work" trip explained, He than attacked the workings of his machine with a fury.  Emma was rather starled at his zest and enthusiasm, reminding her of patrick, she realized she hadn't gone and seen patrick for a longer time than she ever had since he had gotten injured. she Pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She had just made up here mind about what harsh words she would share with George over his treatment of trip when: "HA!" trips Outbust startled her for a second before she regained her composir " What? What is it?" Emma asked "I'm done, Come on let me go show you how it works." he strapped the Pack to his back and put on a glove She hadn't noticed before that had a butten on its palm and wires running to the pack.  "whats that Glove for?" Emma asked as they made their way to the middle of the deck.
"Oh it triggers the mechanism, when I push the butten it generates a tiny electrical spark that sets off a chain reaction teleporting me to were I want to go."  "Electricity? ha every one in the RESPECTED scientific community knows that electricity is one of the weakest power sources you can have" said George, Trip took a deep breath and than forced a smile "and I Am going to prove them wrong, after all how many of that respected community you speak so highly of would believe in a man with no body who communicates through a little box?" Emma suppressed a smile at trips clear victory in the battle of wit and added another thing to the list of Georges rudeness. "and I said it starts a chain reaction, not that it is powered by it, it is powered by 8 Ætheric battery's,"  "8 Battery's?" Emma asked "that a lot of power, and potential explosives on your back" "yes...well...it takes a lot of power to transfer matter,
I am working on a device that pulls energy directly from the Ætheric plain But..it always explodes"   
Emma was shocked that trip was working on a device that did , essentially, the same thing as what she was working on, She wanted to tell him of number 12 and how it might help with the power problem, But she knew George and Patrick would never stand to have him know about it. so she just said "really, Id like to see your plans some time" She suddenly had an idea "You said your going to china? so is the Boheme, Maybe you can come with us and we could work on the problem together." "Emma!-" George started to say but she switched off the box before he could contradict her. George Could hardly believe it.
Trip let a slow smile grow onto his face " I think I'd Like that"  the way he said it and looked at her made Emma Blush, she quickly turned so he wouldn't see
But he did. "I'm starting to not like this, I don't want to trick her I want-NO! Get ahold of your Trip if you get that device you can become the greatest weapons expert, thief, inventor, time traveler, or anything else you want. Just hold out for a little longer." trip thought he gulped back his own blush and said "Okay, here we go" and He grabbed Emma's hand Just as he pushed the button, they both faded from view, Only to reappear on the Boheme. "Oh..." Emma exclamed
"Yes I felt the same way when i tryed it for the first time. frighting but exilerating isn't it?"  "Yes yes it is." Emma  was fighting a losing battle with her emotions and to his caringe so was trip. He noticed how the moonlight brought out her features and how close they were together, they were still holding hands he moved closer, now on emotion not a scam to rob Emma the lips cam close but at that moment. " Hey Trip, Emma Were have you been?" it was lily.
they quickly pulled apart. Emma turned a ran to her room , her mind filled with conflicting emotions, it was some time before she realized she had yet to turn on Georges box.

on deck Lily Contimplated Her Brother noting his red face and shaken look. she realized she might have to rethink her notion that he had no heart.
"Getting in a little deep arnt you?" she asked, not in a mocking way for she understood how love plays tricks with your life in that She was much like Emma
"I..I dont know what your talking about" denied Trip and yet he couldn't stem the flood of unfamiliar emotions that overwhelmed him. 



   

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma buried her face in her pillows, everything was silent.  Miss Butcher was off with Oliver leaving her the room to herself.  George was being incredibly quiet and she wondered if she had gravely offended him.  Then she realised she had turned him off.  "I am sorry George it was beastly of me to just switch you off like that. I know it isn't fair but I do wish you wouldn't pick fights all the time." She sat up and tuned the box back on.

"Emma are you all right?" He wasn't mad and she was relieved.

"I am fine." And Emma was has along as she kept her mind blank but the moment one thought made it in they all came crashing down. Trip close in the moonlight,  Black sword sharp and angry, Patrick lying on the floor looking mostly dead, they all swirled around her.

"But you're crying."  He sounded worried and a little shaken.  George was not good at dealing with tears.

She put a hand to her cheek. "Oh, I am." Emma sounded distant and numb.

"Listen if I hold my tongue around Trip and try and fight less with the Monkey will you stop crying?" He hadn't meant the last part to come out so scared but Emma just looked so lost it tore him up inside.

"I'm sorry."  She scrubbed at her cheeks. 

"Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong.  If anything I gave been rude beyond reason.  I will try to be better, I really will so cheer up, please.  You know I can't stand to see you cry."  Things would be much easier if he could just put his arms around her and show her how he felt.  He was never that good with words but they were all he had now. George started to hum a lullaby and the tears slowed to a stop. As he stared to sing she yawned and rubbed at her slightly red eyes.

"I need to check on Patrick and I completly forgot to talk to the captain." She started to get out of bed.

"I can keep an eye on the Monkey and the repairs are going to have to wait until morning anyway."  He went back to singing

"You're trying to put me to sleep aren't you?" Emma yawned again.

"That depends on if it is working." George said smiling as Emma took off her shoes and laid down.

"Maybe it is."  She fell asleep before he finished the song.  George went off to check on Patrick just as he promised.  He had a lot to think about and a long empty night to do it in.

[James Harrison]

Edward slowly became aware of an intense light, despite the fact his eyes were still closed.  Slowly, very slowly, he opened them, not knowing quite what he would find.  A dungeon, perhaps? 

Instead, he found himself in a small but well furnished room.  He was lying, he now saw, on a chaise longue, a bowl of cold water and a flannel on a nearby table.  There was however nobody else in the room with him.  Carefully, he stood up.  Through an open window he could see people going about their daily business in the street outside. 

He could also see one or two little landmarks which told him quite plainly he was in one of the newly-built suburbs of the well-to-do.  The click of the door opening and closing behind him made him turn around. 
And come face to face with Benjamin. 

"Wha- where am I?  What is the meaning of this?"

Benjamin smiled, and sat down. 

"Rest, Edward.  I can explain.  You have quite plainly seen the machine my employer has been building.  A machine that my employer tells me is a secret of the state.  A machine my underlings have been ordered to guard with their lives, and to give no quarter to any trespasser.  That, I am afraid, is why you were given short sharp shrift when they saw you.  If I had not been following them, I daresay right now you would be lying at the bottom of the Thames a dead man."

Whatever their previous differences, Edward was privately thankful his brother had saved him from such a fate. 

"But Benjamin- why?  Do you know what that machine does?  Do you have any idea-"

Benjamin cut Edward off. 

"No idea at all.  I am not privy to such knowledge.  But, when we turn it on, when it functions, all mankind will benefit.  We are on the verge of a great-"

"NO!!! Listen to me, listen to me!  It opens a vortex to hell!  It killed Professor Moriarty!  If turned on
here there is no telling what pain, suffering, destruction it shall cause!"

Benjamin grinned. 

"Still raving about that, are you?"

"Raving?  Raving?  Good God, man, this actually happened!  You have to believe me!  You have to destroy that machine!"

A sudden change came over Benjamin.  His eyes darkened, his features shifted.  His face came out in a hot flush, and then went deathly pale.  Edward gasped.  He had seen this before, in his own study.  Benjamin spoke.  But it was not his voice. 

"That machine will NOT be destroyed.  That machine WILL function.  That machine will function TODAY."

At that remark, Edward struck out, catching Benjamin under the chin and knocking him reeling. 

"Not if I have anything to do with it!"

Blood ran down Benjamin's face, as he stared with foreboding and malice at Edward. Then, he fell down, his face turning white. 

As he lay on the floor, a mist, almost like steam, began issuing from his mouth and nose.  It spread out, then started to form a solid mass.  Almost like...feet.  It rose like a column- no, legs- then a waist, chest, arms and hands formed.  It was almost human.  Except the head.  Which had a muzzle, and pointed ears.  The head of a dog!

The mist stopped.  Benjamin, still deathly pale, lay still on the floor.  Was he dead?

The form, which had been almost translucent, solidified, became opaque.  And darkened from a pale grey-whitish hue to jet black. 

And then it started to advance on Edward.     

[Stella Gaslight]

Somewhere between very late at night and very early in the morning Emma was dreaming.  It was a masked ball under the most beautiful starry sky and she was dressed in gold and scarlet with the nose of her mask justing forward like the prow of a ship.  George was dancing with her dressed in a nice tuxedo his hands and face covered with bandages like a mummy.   A call went up to unmask and she did watching George eagerly.  She hadn't seen his face in years.  Something was wrong the eyebrows looked off and his eyes were closed.  As soon as Emma saw the small scar on his cheek she knew exactly who she was dancing with and tried to run.  Hieronymus had her right shoulder in a grip as strong as iron and was pulling her in to his arms.   

Patrick charged forward dressed impeccably and freed Emma from Black's arms, sword flashing in the light.  They fought hard and just as it looked like Patrick would win Black played a dirty trick and stabbed Patrick deep in the gut with a dagger. Patrick looked over at Emma in shock and horror as he melted away in to nothing.  Black advanced and she tried to scream or run from him but she was firmly rooted to the spot.

Trip appeared in front of her wielding a large gun but he was cut down before he could pull the trigger.  Then she was alone with Black unable to move as he slid his arms around her and smiled revealing row after row of teeth like knives.  He leaned in for a kiss and she tried desperately to brake away but it was useless.  "No, Don't touch me."  She yelled in her sleep waking Patrick and bringing George running back from his rambles.

[T.Taylor the Third]

Emma was not the only one trubled by dreams that night
Trip Found himself floating in the clouds... it seemed a plesint dream for a time but then the tone changed and the dream became dark.. He found himself on an unfamiluer airship, he was tied to a  chair and Nathan stood over him grinning and a Man whose face was unseen, stood behind nathan in a black trench coat, his presinse made trip incredably scared as if that man knew all his secrets and was about to pass judgment,  Emma Apperd And tolled them to untie him,. the explaend to her how he had lied and was only after her reasearch, She dined it but the heaped so much evadince that she must belive, she stalked over to Trip and slaped him "I never want to see you again!" He tried to explane but she wouldent listen, he felt as tho he would die. She walked away and then A man Dressed all in black stepped from the shadows and grabed her She screamed but no one but trip could hear her. He tould nathen to turn around but he wouldent the Black man Dragged emma over a gang plank to another ship. the name on the side said "the eastern star" and he knew the man was captain Black, He struggled but nathen took out a knife that trip recognised, nathan niked Trip with the knife andthe poison hit his blood stream soon he couldent move only watch in horror as the Star flew away, a Giant  Air Krakken Slamed into the star and it went down in flames. He tryed to call out emmas name but he couldent. the man in the Black trench coat stepped foreward and said "Your Crimes are known to us and we sentince you to eternal d***ation. the sentince was echoed as everyone who he had ever cared about appeared and also gave him up as lost, there was his father and mother refusing to look at him hi brothers and sisters the same friends he had long forgotan were there and they to condemed him to the pit, as the line ended a hole appered in space and time before Trip. A hellish Light pored from it as horrific gools crawled out and started pulling at Trip, draging him toward the hole in the sky as he passed through the hole he screamed......And,still screaming, sat up in a cold sweat, he looked over at the desk were the stolen plans were kept. ignoring the pounds on the door and the questions from his sister He stared at the desk  for the rest of the night.

[bluestocking]

Spurred by the Eastern Star's attack, Lakshmi and Ben had set to work on the cooling system for the ship's cannon. Fueled by tea and Lakshmi's stimulants, the work went quickly and smoothly. Having four arms under one's control, Ben noted as he watched Lakshmi fabricate the sump for one installation, was truly an asset in mechanical endeavors.

They were bolting the third set of cooling tubes into place when a high-pitched scream echoed up the corridor from the  crew cabins.

"That was Miss Lighton," she said, hefting a sizable wrench.

"Could we have missed one of the invaders?" he asked. Both their minds turned to horrible possibilities.

"Stay here; I'll go see," she said.

She crept down the corridor, boot-soles noiseless on the deck plating. The door was still shut; would an intemperate sky-pirate intent on snaring his prey have thought to close it behind him?

Wrench in one hand, another at the small of her back on her knife's hilt, Lakshmi eased the door open.

Patrick was sitting as upright in the bed as he was able, raygun in one hand and a panicked look on his face. "She won't stop screaming, and she won't wake up, neither!"

Lakshmi cast aside the wrench and hurried to Emma's bedside. Indeed, the girl was tossing fervidly in her sleep and screaming, obviously wracked by some terror of the night. The doctor knelt down beside the bed and took Emma in her arms, bracing herself as she thrashed against her.

"Shh, shh, there, there, Emma, it's all right..." Lakshmi smoothed Emma's henna-dyed hair and patted her back, crooning in English and Hindu, trying to wrest her from the nightmare's grip. Eventually, Emma lay still in her arms, conscious but still haunted by the dream's vivid images.

"Doctor?" she asked in a small voice.

"I'm here," Lakshmi reassured her.

"I just had the worst dream..." Without further explanation, she burst into tears on Lakshmi's shoulder.

"There, there, dear," Lakshmi said. "Let's get you some tea."

[James Harrison]

Edward did the only thing he could do in the situation.  He was unarmed.  He turned and ran.  Or, at least, he would have done, had the thing not suddenly bolted the door shut and entrapped him. 

Then it began to speak, in the same growling voice he had heard his brother use recently. 

"Moriarty fouled up at Thebes.  The same will not happen here. 

My domain is the underworld.  Myself and my minions need souls to survive.  Each soul can last millenia, but now we find ourselves running out of souls to feed upon.  With this shortage comes unrest in the afterlife.  This cannot be permitted.  We.  Need.  Souls."

Edward spoke, surprising himself by the firmness of his voice in the light of the turn events had taken. 

"So you believe that a city needs to be destroyed in order to further your own life?"

"Things are not that simple.  If the underworld collapses into chaos, the afterlife follows suit.  If that happens there is no telling what may occur.  And whatever happens, the world of the living too will be adversely affected.  We need souls.  If there were any other way I would take it but this is our only option.  That is why, when Moriarty read out the scrolls summoning me, I took my chance and discreetly, slowly, took possession of him.  It was not he who understood the scrolls- only I.  I allowed him to understand, albeit in a manner that made him think it was he who had unlocked the secret.  When he died, I jumped into the body of one of your comrades.  And when you returned to England, your comrade sent a copy of the scrolls to your brother, to be forwarded to yourself after you had recovered from your fever.  Here was my chance!  Someone who knew nothing of what had happened!  I seized the opportunity and controlled your brother as easily as I controlled Moriarty.  I am his employer.  I am the owner of the Anubis Gate below the Thames.  I am Anubis."

"Something doesn't make sense here.  If you don't save the afterworld, the world of the living will itself be destroyed, you say.  But if you do save the afterworld, again the world of the living will be destroyed.  And for now you will have your souls.  But what happens in another three or four thousand years, when the souls dry up again?  What then?"

Edward saw that Anubis had not foreseen this eventuality. 

"Then... the afterworld will die.  But with the world of the living already destroyed, the ramifications will not be so serious."

"So you wish to pre-empt a tragedy on us to delay the inevitable for you?"

"There is no other way."

Edward hoped that the damage he had done the Anubis Gate had not been put right.  Otherwise, he knew, what he was about to say would doom mankind.   

"In that case... start the Gate."

Before he could finish the sentence, he and Anubis were, somehow, transported like magic back to the tunnel. 

"What?!?"

"I need to feed before my minions.  This keeps me boss.  I shall feed on your soul."

This was not what Edward had in mind, but it was too late now.  Anubis began to chant an ancient chant, the hoops started to turn, and a dim blue light began to glow in the centre of the Gate. 

The hoops began to rotate faster and still faster, the light grew brighter and still brighter, and Anubis' voice became higher and louder with each passing second.  With such an assualt on the senses Edward began to feel quite ill, and wretched.  Evidently his sabotage had been unsuccessful. 

But then something changed.  Anubis seemed unsure of himself.  Edward became aware of a shuddering within the machine.  A piston suddenly snapped and chains clogged.  The light flashed blue, red, green, white and then there was a blast. 

The heat of the explosion was unbearable, but momentary.  Edward saw Anubis put his hands to his face- and then nothing.  There was a deathening roar and the sensation of being drawn into a cyclone.  And then Anubis shot by in mid-air!  The cyclone was not coming out of the afterlife, but going into it!  Anubis disappeared with a cry, almost a yelp, into a vortex that had formed in the midst of the rotating hoops.  And with that, the machine broke down completely.  It evidently needed Anubis to operate it, and now he was gone it was quite useless.  Inert.  Safe. 

Edward began to claw his way out of the tunnel and back to his brother.   

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick looked down at the panicked Emma, a pang of worry filled his chest, turning to Lakshmi he asked her, "Will she be alright?"
Lakshmi sighed. "One can hope, the poor dears shaken terribly..."
Patrick sighed, feeling so helpless to help her.

[James Harrison]

The butler considered for a moment the happenings of the afternoon and early evening. 

How the two young men had staggered into the parlour, both seemingly aged twenty years.  Both with a pale palour about them.  Both almost insensible. 

How the house had suddenly become a hive of activity, how despite his appearance his master had ordered his portmanteau to be gotten ready, a telegram to be despatched to Lake Constance and another to Beaudesert. 

How the two had taken but a small and somewhat rushed meal, before the younger was despatched in a horseless carriage to Euston Station, the driver given instruction to see him into the booking office and hence the concourse and ultimately onto the train. 

How immediately afterward the elder had also taken flight in another carriage, in an easterly direction, towards the docks.  Now the clock was chiming eight, and the butler was comfortably ensconced in his lodgings at the top of the now deserted house. 

As the clock chimed eight the Scotch Express pulled out of Euston, the locomotive straining to get the heavy train underway.  An observant man on the platform may have noticed, in a first class carriage, the gaunt white man looking looking listlessly out of the window into the dusk as the train accelerated northward out of London.  Benjamin was going home. 

As the clock chimed eight the Great Eastern Railway steamer slowed to a halt in the Thames Estuary.  A small boat approached as a jacobs ladder was thrown down the side of the hull, and the pilot disembarked.  Another moment, and the jingle of the engine room telegraph was heard over the still evening as full ahead was rung down.  On the deck stood a solitary figure watching the lights of England recede into the twilight as the steamer got up to seventeen knots and shaped course for Holland.  Edward was going to Lake Constance.     

[Stella Gaslight]

(In London an airship is almost ready to launch.)
As many misgivings as Charles had Nate's boys(As they had asked to be called) did good work at a startling pace.  Soon his ship The Coraline was armed to the teeth and he had a faint suspicion that not all of the ordnance was registered or even legal but he decided not to worry about that.  It took only three nights to fully retrofit and supply the ship but that was too long for Nathaniel.  He paced and plotted never fully stopping to rest.   Charles wondered of bringing him aboard was such a good idea as he was staring to resemble captain Ahab more than was healthy. 

Charles spent his days gathering information on Tailor's last known whereabouts.  He had been able to track him as far as a small refueling station between Cairo and Kabul.  That gave them a lot of ground to cover very quickly but she was sure The Coraline was up to the task. They would launch as soon as there was enough light to see by.  He had promised Nathaniel to teach him how to fly the ship after they were sky bound and surprisingly he was looking forward to it.  Charles went to bed hoping to get a few hours of sleep before they launched.

[Stella Gaslight]

(Sorry to double post)
"So many teeth, I couldn't get away and he..." Emma shuttered, trailing off.  She wiped her face with the back of her hand and seamed to calm a little.  "I am sorry. Did I wake you?"

"You are quite all right. Now let's go get that tea."  Lakshmi gently guided Emma from the room.  She was still crying but it was no longer chest racking sobs, That left George with Patrick.  George had been thinking a lot about what he was going to say next.  "Monkey, I mean Patrick can I ask you a favor?" 

Patrick raised an eyebrow, rightfully suspicious but George was using his name so it was probibly important.  "What do you want?"

"Well, first of all do you have any metal allergies?"

"No." What was George trying to get at?

"Good, we need to make a set of Aetherphones for you and it will be a lot easier if I can use brass and not have to worry about purity."  It sounded like George was pacing about.

"Why do I need those?"

"Because I saw Black coming for Emma, I heard him talk about what he would do when he found her and there wasn't a damed thing I could do to warn you. That can never happen again." Patrick could feel George's self loathing.  "Like it or not we are in this tougher and until I get my body back some one has to look out for Emma.  Black will be back and you can bet he won't make the same mistakes twice. I can't lose her to him again but we have to be discreet."

"You want to lie to Emma?"  That did not sit well at all with Patrick.

"No, but you saw her.  Emma would worry herself to pieces if she knew we were gong to take on Black.  I trusted you with her once before can I do it again?"  It was quite possibly one of the most important questions he had ever asked.

[T.Taylor the Third]

Trip paced back and forth in his cabin his hands clutched the stolen plans, his thought raced and he knew that he  would have to soon tell Emma the truth. because He couldn't keep up the lie much longer with his personal feelings getting in the way. he decided that since today The flower would be leaving its place by the Boheme, He Would ask Captain Hudson If he might become a crew member or,failing that, to take passage on the Boheme, He would ask lily for a lone of some money for the fair. and After a while he would tell Emma the truth,When they were far from cities or any were they could drop him off. He then left his cabin leaving the plans on his bed. " Lily! Were are you?"  lily came out of her cabin "yes, what is it and what happened last night?" 
"Last night? Oh I just had a nightmare, any way I need some money to book passage on the Boheme"

"Why cant you just stay with Me? what excuse will you give to captain Hudson  for this passage? we are after all going the same place."

"Well I need to work with Emma on that Æther thing and I can offer my weapons expertise for his usage."

"*sigh* here" She pulled a hand full of pound notes from her pocket "this should be enough"

"Thanks Sis" replied trip and then he took off toward the gang plank .

"Captain Hudson? Captain!?" Trip yelled as he boarded the Boheme. Ben Came out of a room with a rather worried expression on his face, Which Trip completely failed to see "Captain, there you are. I have come to offer my services to you, or. failing that, I have come to book passage aboard The Boheme!" Trip was rather more enthusiastic than was required. "Oh..well what Services could you offer ?" asked the Captain. "well for 1 I am a weapons expert, second i am pretty hand with tools, uh third i.. uh..have some scientific background that I'm sure would prove handy," Trip said "huh. why do you want to work for me?" "Well, Because your a good man and I need a job...and Emma said She might be able to help me with some of my experamints and inventions."   
"Emma said that did she?"
"yes she is the one who had the idea in the first place"
"really..hmm.come with me" and he set of toward the infermiry. with trip close on his heels.     

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick looked down at the floor for a moment, pondering the gravity of the question. He made a fist and smirked.
"Ya can count on me...."
George felt a bit of a smile cross his lack of cheeks.
"Just tell me what you'll need....."
Patrick and george retreated to Patrick's quarters, now filled with tacturn and discarded bits of motorwork, plugs, gears, sprockets, and scraps of metal. George tried to step over the sharper bits of metal through sheer impulse alone. Patrick glided easily over the mess which littered the floor.
Patrick produced the plans for the Aetherphones, and they began to work.
Hours after hours passed, and Patrick did his best to deterr Emma or others from his quarters as best he could with odd excuses or disgusting reasons to leave him and george secluded.
George himself was fascinated and rather disturbed at the young man's knowledge of something as obscure as aethercraft. By the time they had finished, the design that george had instructed was streamlined by the young man, who beamed with pride at his handiwork.

[Stella Gaslight]

They were a much different shape than Emma’s delicate tubes ending in flower like horns.  The horn clipped to the back of the ear hanging almost out of sight with a stout tube conveying the sound from the horn to the ear. They looked sturdy but the real test was the final tuning. After nearly an hour of tiny changes to the horn things came tougher.  “Test. I don’t know why I am bothering you can’t hear me.” George was annoyed it had been much easier to tune Emma’s Aetherphones.

It sounded so much like George was leaning over his shoulder that he turned expecting to see him there.  “Yes I can.”  Patrick smiled in wonder.  They had done it!


“So you can.”  George sounded proud.  “Emma is resting now, finally.”  They both looked relieved.  It had taken Lakshmi until dawn to get Emma settled down.  George had never seen her that upset and it was frightening.  “While we have the chance we aught to think about improving the Boheme’s defense and I would like you to make a weapon for Emma.  She needs something small and easy to use.  Hopefully once she knows she can defend herself she won’t have those dreams anymore.”

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Wait...small arms?" He had a distant look, he scratched the back of his head.
"I'll check i guess...." He said with a listless tone. And within moments, the monkey was hard at work, sifting through artillery and outlandish weaponry of all sorts.
"Aetherium lance? Too volatile!
"Rotary motorised drill launcher? Meh...not enough flare.
"OOOH acid sprayer! Oh...right....face melting...
"Explosive shell lobber? Why the hell did I pack that in an airship!?"
He tossed the large, dangerous looking bronze tube into the air, it fell and began to tick, patrick seemed perfectly composed. When the ticking stopped, there was no explosion, an automitonous cuckoo simply shot out of the barrel attacked to a spring, cukooing hapilly.
"Useless bloody thing..." Mumbled patrick, finally producing something looking like a metal jack-in-the-box welded to the end of a revolver. "Behold! Shrodinger's cat!" He said with a smirk, pointing to a red button at the bottom of the barrel. "Press once for razer sharp flechettes, press twice for a small aetheric discharge capable of killing a bull elephant!" He beamed with a manic pride.
George sighed. "Honestly, who needs these many weapons!?"
"You have yer hobbies, I have mine..." He twirled the gun in a fashion that would fill any cowboy with pride.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Oh for goodness sake monkey, don't you have anything remotely resembling normal weaponry?" George was exasperated. Patrick dug back in to the depths of what had once been a closet. He came back with a small grubby wooden box. 

"Luciérnaga, isn't that firefly in Spanish?" George asked reading the faded scrawl across the top of the box. Patrick opened the box and George immediately understood the name.  It was a beautiful aether oscillation pistol with a copper caged concentration lens at the back of the grip.  He imagined it would give off quite the glow when the gun was in use.  It was an unusual design but obviously lovingly created from dark polished wood and what looked like steel with copper and brass inlays. One look and George knew it was perfect for Emma.  "That is exactly what I was thinking of." 

Patrick smiled with pride.  "It runs off of fragments of the Aetherium crystal I made while I was building The Fire of Prometheus.  It should go for years before ever havening to worry about replacing the power source."

"Can we reset the sights for a left handed shooter?" George asked.

"Sure but I thought Emma was right handed." He was fairly sure she had been last time he checked.

"I am right handed, Emma's a lefty.  I want her to do this all on her own."  Patrick nodded George actually had some decent ideas when he wasn't being a jerk.

While the boys were playing with the gun Emma was waking up slowly, hungry but feeling much better.  She wandered out of her cabin to apologize for keeping Lakshmi up half the night and to find some breakfast(but she was guessing it was more like lunch time.)

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Emma lucky ta have a person like ye ta keep 'er safe..." Said patrick, smiling in the direction of the insubstantial george.
"She's lucky she's aboard with a man who has more weapons than the entire german army..." Said george looking at the pile at his feet. "But i'm unsure what type of luck that is...." Mused George to himself.
Patrick quickly put the raygun back into it's case, clasping the latches closed and putting it under his arm. "Let's get it ta Em' right now!" Said Pat, admiring the gun. "Tha sooner she can feel safe, tha better"

Within moments, they ran down to the galley, knowing she would probably be hungry after the escapade.
Emma was searching the galley for Lakshmi when the two found her, Patrick had gotten her attention by calling her name three times. "I have a surprise for yeeeeee" He said in a sing-song voice as he opened the box slowly.
"Me and george noticed ye were feelin a touch unsafe, so we got ye me pride and joy of light weaponry..."

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma blinked sill a bit groggy and bewildered.  George was working with Patrick, voluntarily, without long creative strings of insults, general threats about the other's well being and she didn't even have to hit them.  In fact they seamed to have gotten on good terms all by themselves.  Emma pinched herself, this had to be a dream. She would be sad to see it end but it was time to wake up.  She jumped with surprise when the pinch stung and then broke in to a grin. Her boys were really getting along.  Emma beamed at the two of them happy for what ever miraculous circumstances made them see reason.

It was only after assuring herself of realty that she looked in the box Patrick was holding out to her.  She  admired the the workmanship for a moment then lifted the gun from it's box to get a better feel for it.  It wasn't insubstantial like the first raygun Patrick had given her but it wasn't cumbersome like the blunderbuss/gatling gun.  Her right hand adjusted the grip of her left.  It felt comforable in her hand. 

Patrick set the box down and showed her how to flick the safety off with her thumb.  Luciérnaga hummed quietly and glowed as it prepared a charge.  The faint vibrations felt strange to Emma almost like the gun was alive and glad to be in her hands, well she was glad to have it too. She flipped the safety back on and was almost disappointed when the glow and hum stopped. "It is lovely."  She traced a bit of inlay with her finger. "Thank you both so much. I am sorry if I worried you last night.  Lakshmi talked for a long time and I think everything is going to be all right now.  She even said she would take a look at my arm and see if there was anything she could do for it." Emma said half in the coldbox pulling out leftovers for lunch.  Patrick ever the bottomless pit eyed the pile of food, Emma caught him and smiled. "I will make you some sandwiches Patrick but then you really should go lay down.  I don't want you tire yourself out too much, you did lose a lot of blood.  I promise I won't work on the engines without you."   Her goal was to get at least one of the aether stacks at 100% before it got dark.  They sat around the galley table eating , talking and laughing like the Stars's attack had never happened. 

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Ben walked in. 'Ah, Patrick, how's it going?' He cast an eye over his bandaging. 'The bleeding's stopped, you should be able to take the bandages off soon. Now... I've been looking over the ship, and it looks like we got off fairly lightly. The outer skin is damaged in places, but the gas bags and ballonets survived. A few broken windows, lots of scratches. Once the aether stacks and the skin are fixed, we'll be ready to take on the Kush. There's been no sign of Black. I think we're fine.'

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick pulled from his toolbox, s monkey wrench, which he twirled rather artfully.
"Piece o' cake cap'n! But....I may need some help." He said with a turn to Emma, a familiar impish smirk on his face. Emma returned the smile with her own. "IS that an invitation, mr O'landry?" She enquired witn a raised eyebrow.
"Do ya want it ta be?" Asked Patrick, offering her the wrench.
She gleefully took it.

[Stella Gaslight]

"I think we should be able to use parts from both stacks and make one very efficient stack then when we have made it to port we can get whatever parts we need to make another one.  I promise I will have this ship running better than ever." It was a matter of pride now. Next time they wouldn't need another ship to save them.

"I told the monkey you should try to alter build eight." Emma frowned at the name but Patrick didn't seem to mind.

She ran her thumb over her lips thinking. "Not a bad idea at all.  Eights use the most standard parts and a pair of them should be a smaller, harder to hit target too but their non standard parts are tricky to fabricate. Are you sure George?"

"The monkey can handle it."  And that was all he needed to say.

Emma smiled "All right then eights it is.  Finnish your food and lets get started."