"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[sir charles of tayle]

Walking down the ramp, Jen and Emma took off down the nearest street.  The lovely italian music coming from a nearby window helping to clear there minds.

Suddenly 12 men in black seaming to come out of nowhere surrounded the pair of them, "You should have taken the hint and left your boyfreind to the police"Said one of the men.
"Oh! why cant Charles hust leave us alone!" thought emma to herself, then answerd without thinking, "We will get Trip back no matter what you do!"
"In that case Ms.Lighton, your under arrest."


Once again the wireless had that familiar cackle as the signal from Charles ship locked on..
" Is this the Boheme?"
"Yes you scum, start saying your prayers"Came the voice of a very angry captain hudson.
"Ahh yes I have reached the right place" Charles said calmly,"Seeying that you are still persuing my ship I sent a little suprise for your little friends whom have just went out for a walk"
"What have you done now?!?!!!"

The line went dead.

[T.Taylor the Third]

Trip was sitting in a Cell chained to the cold, hard bed, somewere in london. He had decided to hate charles. Not just for arresting him,
oh no, that triip could deal with it wasnt the first time, but for refusing to turn off scott joplin for the whole voyage, even though trip had asked him nicely to please play some bach or mozart. trip was mulling over this when his cell door opened and , who should walk in but charles pushing a wheeled aetheric powered phonagraph and caring a bundle of records.

"Hello Trip, and hows londons favorite prisoner feeling,?" charles asked cheerfully, trip noted his ever present trench coat and hat.
"I was feeling better before you came in" trip answerd
"Oh? well im sorry to hear that...Well i sure this will cheer you up, i brought an entire collection of scott joplin and other musicians for you to listen to."
"oh...thats just fantastic im sure once my brain melts from it i will feel much better"
  Charles ignored him and stated the record player going the lively tunes of joplin started playing throught the cell.
"Well ive got to go but feel free to change records if you want. oh and im afraid your friends wont becomeing for you...i left them a little surprise were they just docked" and with that Charles left
      Trip stared at the phonagraph hating charles more. the machine was a large thing, standing a full four feet high and full to the brim with mechanical things, he stood to try and turn it off, when he got an idea "hmm what if i fashioned a rudemintery raygun out of this thing...i think i can do that" and he set to work prying the back off the machine with a short flat bar he pulled from the sole of his boot.

[ShredsnPatches]

"Emma? What do we do?" Jen whispered. They had been chained up in a dank cell. Emma slipped her one of her aetherphones and Jen could hear George murmuring advice.

"It's going to be all right, girls. It's going to be all right."
 

[Stella Gaslight]

That was it, Emma had far to much bullying from Charles for one day. "We are getting out of here.  I am not going to be stopped by Black's little toady."  Emma smiled the same wrathful smile that had given Black's men pause.  It was obvious she was not in a mood to be trifled with. She wiggled and tugged for several minuets but managed to free one of her hands.  The manacles were meant more for big burly men than for tiny women.  The men that had thrown them in the cell did a shoddy job of searching them.  They had taken her money but not much else they had even left Luciérnaga.  Well they would learn their mistake soon enough.   

Emma was able to pick Jen's cuffs with a bit of wire she had tucked in to her hair and some help from George.  The cell was dim and Emma was having trouble navigating. "You are going to lead us out Jen. I can't see very well at all in this light." The jail wasn't nearly as well built as the one in china it looked like it was used for drunks and petty thieves rather than hardened criminals.  According to George the outer wall was a bit to thick to melt through but the wall that connected their cell with the open and empty one beside it would work just fine.

She pulled Luciérnaga from her pocket snapping the safety off in one smooth motion.  It still had the funnel like horn on the end.  She waited until the guard had passed by to get back to his bottle of wine and game of dice then melted the wall.  They crept out of the empty cell and down the hall using George and Jen's sharp sight to guide them.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Elisha had exited the Boheme only to see Emma be arressted once again, this time with Jen as well. He cursed himself for his stupidity while he ran down the streets of Rome, tailing the men as best he could. Soon he came to the prison, with it's high walls. He sat outside, frusterated. How could he get in?

"Elisha! By god, Elisha is that you!" He heard a voice say. He turned around and gave a shout of surprise. Coming down the street was a scruffy looking young man with a bottle of wine in his hand. He was covered with rosaries, prayer beads and crosses.

"Gus!" said Elisha excitedly.

Gus Winterman was the resident chaplain aboard the Steel Breeze. From the way he drank and chased woman, his actual  status as a priest was rather dubious. But he took his religion seriously enough when he was sober and was a hell of a fighter with the cudgel he carried.

"Gus what are you doing in Rome?" asked Elisha. He was ecstatic to finally have some form of contact with his ship.

"Well, we're all on vacation 'till the ship is fixed, aren't we?" said Gus. "Decided to come to Rome...see the Cathedrals and what-not...I saw the Pope yesterday! It was such a... divine experience..."

"How's the ship?" said Elisha, trying to get Gus to focus. "Did they get the parts?"

"They took the whole dang ship over to London by boat!" said Gus. "I got to meet them in London tomorrow...I suppose that's where you're going too?"

"Well that was the plan..." said Elisha "But I've got myself mixed up in something big. Two women I was travelling with were unjustly arrested. I'm trying to break them out of prison."

Gus suddenly became perfectly focused. "Fair damsels? In distress? Say no more!"

At that moment the wall in front of them dissolved before their eyes. Emma and Jen stepped out. A guard patroling the outside prison saw it too. Before he could raise the alarm, Gus had bashed him over the head, knocking him out.

"Ah." said Elisha. "Excellent timing. I think we should get back to the Boheme and take off immediatley." He noticed their curious stares directed at Gus.

"He's a friend" he said.

"Pleasure." said Gus. "I'd better be off then"

"Wait! Don't you want a ride?" asked Elisha.

"Got one already with a nice lady I met. I'll be perfectly fine. See you in London!" called Gus, walking away.

Emma, Elisha and Jen began running back to the Boheme. This incident had made them realise that Charles could reach out to them anywhere. Their only hope was to meet him on his own ground, in London.

Elisha was particularly impatient. After all this time...he'd finally see the crew again. He smiled. If he could convince Captain Canning to aid the Boheme...Charles didn't stand a chance.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick felt terrible for letting Jen go like that while he was playing. And when he heard the commotion up on the deck, he charged in to investigate the happenstance. He saw a rather shaken jen and several policemen. Terrified at what may have happened to her. He ran up to the rather shaken girl, he hugged her tightly, caught up in his concern for her well being. Despite their age diference, the young man seemed quite a bit taller than her.

[Stella Gaslight]

Their leisurely walk to The Boheme had turned in to a run as they were spotted by a policeman who gave chase.  With every step Emma got more frustrated with Charles and it got even worse when she noticed a the posters plastered on the walls as they got closer to the dock.   The wanted poster was crudely made and the artists rendering of her was quite possibly the funnest thing she had seen in a good long while but they were everywhere.  She grabbed one to show to the rest of the crew.

They were getting quite good at launching very fast and they were airborne before the people on the ground could even begin to try and stop them.  She waited for Patrick and Jen to brake their embrace wishing she had Trip to do the same and then handed him the paper.  "That weevil Charles has been busy.  I don't know if anywhere is safe from him."

[ShredsnPatches]

Jen buried her face in Patrick's shoulder for a few moments more, before stepping back, squeezing his hand and giving a shaky smile. Seeing Emma's stricken look, she ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

"You're all right?"

Emma nodded, and Jen turned to the crew, her pale face unusually grim.

"Right. That (here she used an Irish insult that sent a blush straight to both her face and Patrick's) has been causing us trouble for far too long. What are we going to do about it?"

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Ya know, on me days aboard the S.S. Hitotsume I learned quite a bit, and one thing captain Kobayashi taught me, was If the doctor's sicker than tha patient, ya give 'im a taste of his own medecine!" Patrick exclaimed, as he spoke the words, the smile his enemies had grown to fear seemed to widen and become a bit more malicious.
Emma pondered the statement for a moment, and even she began to grin at the idea.
Jen quickly caught up, "Can we do that?" She pondered apprehensiveley.
"We can do anythin' we set our minds to." Replied Patrick, "Provided we have a proper means of communication and proof, which I can provide us with easily!" He added enthusiastically.
"I must say, the monkey's got a rather good idea, but what government would go after Charles?" Pondered George.
Emma was obligated to ask Patrick the same question, as his Aetherphones were indisposed at the moment.
"Are you familiar with Gejiro Kei, The black wolf of mibu?" Asked Patrick with a sudden tone of wicked intention. "Wasn't he that privateer who brought down the Queen Anne's revenge?!" Jen asked, rather surprised that Patrick would mention him. "I fixed the engine aboar his ship the Hattori Hanzo, I would say he owes me a bit of a favor! Perhaps he can assist in our efforts."

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"Geijro Kei?" mused Elisha "Yes...I'm actually familiar with him. Met him a few times when I was last in Japan."

He mused.

"He definatly wouldn't be influenced by the Russians...or the British government, for that matter. If we do get to London I'll try my best to convince my captain to help us as well...If we could get the Boheme, the Angelus, the Steel Breeze and the Hattori Hanzo together...Charles  wouldn't stand a chance....But how are you going to contact Geijro Kei?"

[Stella Gaslight]

"We could try a shout over the hunter wireless band.  George can filter things through himself  so we wouldn't have to worry about ciphers but he can only do it for around four or five minuets before it starts making both of us sick.  Of course after we make contact we can give him our call numbers and he can contact us directly." 

George really did not want to act as filter but it looked like it was their best option. "All right Monkey do you remember the make or model of the aetherstacks on The Hattori Hanzo? I can feel the differences between most of them and that will help us narrow them down." Emma relayed the question but refused to call Patrick monkey.

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Mark three Prometheus models, serial number 608532977bg-12a6499b6156" Rescited the young engineer effortlessly, as if it were a childhood poem. Everyone looked rather impressed that he was able to draw it from memory.
"Ye never forget Aether stacks that well made!"
Emma and Jen had to admire the monkey's memory. Patrick and george sat down at the cipher, a few knob twists and button flips, and a familioar voice came onto the waves.
"This is the Hattori Hanzo, flagship of the Republic of Aisia's fifty first division, who is this?"
"Patrick O'landry, Engineer of the APF Boheme' Miss me Kei-san?"
"Ahh! How goes the red monkey?" The captain's accent seemed a strange cross of southern American colonist and Japanese.
"Apparently not as well as ye! A promotion eh?"
"I would not have gotten here if not for your upgrades on my ship! It was the fall of Queen Anne's revenge that won this position!"
The two spoke like long past old friends, a smile of warm hospitality seen on Patrick's face.

[ShredsnPatches]

Jen calmed down and walked to the galley, returning with tea and several plates piled high with buttered toast and passing the food around.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick entered the galley, a proud grin across his face. "Tha double H'll be here in a matter of days, We agreed to meet in Britain's port!"
Jen had poured herself a cup of earl grey. "That's wonderful!" She cheered, rather glad to find Patrick so proud of himself. Patrick sat down and hapilly guzzled the cup of tea she had poured for him, followed by the terribly savage devouring of several slices of buttered toasts, crumbs flying every which way.
Jen found herself giggling at the sight, though she was unsure why.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma sipped her tea very slowly looking green around the gills.  "Are you all right?" Jen asked with consern.

"I will be.  I can hear the frequency George pulses at when he transmits like that and it wreaks havoc with my inner ear.  Feels like I got in to a losing fight with that horrible lift in Cairo."  After a full cup of tea and a nice sit the color started coming back in her face.  "How are we going to get in to London without the police swarming us as soon as we land?  Charles has already shown us he has friends in high places and I don't know if we can trust our employer to protect us after we give him what he wants."

[Nigel Wetherby]

"He isn't the only one." Said patrick with a grin. "Kei has assisted the crown almost as much as sir francis drake himself. They'd have to listen to him!" Cheered Patrick. "It's really just a rendevous point, and we'll be docking on the opposite end of the country, they'll have their forces concentrated on a different end. We'll be restocked, repaired, and astride the Hanzo before tha police even know what happened!"

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

By this time the Boheme and Angelus had gotten very near to London, having recently passed over Paris. Elisha could almost feel the pull of the majestic city, but also felt the sinister threat of whatever Charles was planning.

Suddenly the aetherphone began to blare.

"Transmission from London...is this the Boheme?"

Emma tentativly replied. "Yes. Is there anything particular you want?" She was afraid that this was some new trap from Charles.

Before a reply could be recieved, Elisha reached out and snatched the device.

"Lily! Lily is that you?" he said. The voice on the other end was the Steel Breeze's engineer, Lily Forward.

"Elisha! You're alright! What on earth took you so long?....oh, sorry Ned. Elisha, Captain Canning has something important to tell you."

Elisha was in a daze...so long seperated from his crew and suddenly this contact out of the blue.

"Elisha?" Ned Canning's smooth and collected voice came over the 'phone.

"Yes, sir?"

"No need for the sir, Elisha! It's been too long! How are you doing...well actually let's get all that done later...I have some rather distressing news...you're on the Boheme, are you not?"

"Yes. We are attempting to land in London...but we appear to have made enemies in high places."

"Like the British Secret Service? Elisha, we have the ship repaired and picked up the next bounty - for the very ship you are on! And issued special from a ridiculously high government post. Whoever you ticked off, they're a powerful enemy."

Elisha felt his insides go cold. The crew of the Boheme stared at him. Was their ally gong to turn against them for his captain?"

"Well...Ned. What do you intend to do?"

"Do? Well I can't hunt down my first mate now, can I? Where are you folks landing?"

"Far north of London...York I think."

"We'll ship out and meet you there. Any dock we should look for?"

"The one where you can find the Hattori Hanzo."

"Ah, so Geijro Kei is mixed up in this now? This could turn out to be interesting. I don't like to go against any British force - but my crew and the innocent come first."

"Ned...thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Elisha put down the phone, smiling. "Looks like we can depend on the Steel Breeze for support"

Patrick clapped his hands. "Brilliant! Since Charles is supposed to be a secret operative, he won't be able to get full military backing. We should have him dealt with in no time!"

He looked around the room, seriously.

"But for what he did to my engines...when we get him, I'll be the one to deal with him."

"Go right ahead Patrick" replied Emma. Her only concern was to get Trip back safely.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma cocked her head to the side listening and nodding every so often. "That is an excellent idea George." She turned to the gathered crew.  "Once we know where they are keeping Trip we are going to need a way to quickly communicate with each other that can't be jammed or blocked by normal methods.  So what George suggested were sets of smaller less obtrusive aetherphones.  They wouldn't have the range mine do but they also wouldn't be as noticeable. Since I doubt any one else has the metal allergies I do we can quickly and easily make them out of the scrap left over from the rebuilt engines.  Patrick and I can teach the rest of you how to make them.

 I can send George off to scour London for Trip but it would take a while and I would rather he stay near the ship as a early warning when Charles tries something. If we could find out where they were keeping him then George can make a more efficient trip and keep us safe or close to as safe as we can be here." 

[Dr. Oliver Cross]

"Banned?  You mean to have me believe that HMAS Angelus has been BANNED from docking on British soil?!?" Dr. Cross asked, again, the poor cableman he had accosted upon noticing the 'Flight Cancelled' posting on the docking announcement board.

"Sir, as I told you before, the only information I have is that Angelus is no longer approved for docking at this berth, nor any other Royal Docking Spire in the Empire.  That's all I know!  Would you please let me return to work now?"

Turning from the nervous cableman, who likely didn't know any more than he had imparted, Dr. Cross began the process of trying to figure where the airship he'd been waiting the past week for might take berth.

Well, they can't dock here, and they can't dock anywhere else.  Not legally anyway.  So, where might an airship try illegaly docking?  Rack his brain as he might, no dock seemed to be coming to him.

Visibly upset, the doctor began to leave the field, calling for a hack as he reached the road, only to be nearly run over by a slightly less-than-savoury looking mechanic with a somewhat mischevious look in her eye.  "Ye're lookin' fer the Angelus, are ye?" she asked, in a Scottish brogue so thick it took the American a few seconds of turning her words over in his brain to make full sense of them.

"Aye, Miss...?"

"Seale.  Vivian Seale."

"Miss Seale, then.  Aye, I'm waiting for her, and have been for a week.  Now I've been told she's no longer welcome to dock at any Royal Dock, and I find myself wondering what might lead to the Sky Admiralty banning a military airship from British skies, but that's no business of yours.  Is it?"  Dr. Cross asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"What ye do wi' the knowledge, that's ye own business, but I can tell ye there be a dock in York she may be welcome at," Seale said with a slight smirk.  "O'course, the exact location, that'll cost ye...."

"How much might it cost me?  And how do I know you're not going to give me a map to a bakery?"

"Ah, there's the thing.  Ye don't.  But have ye any other plans for finding Angelus?"

Against his will, Dr. Cross found he had to shake his head in response.  He might not be able to trust this lass, but the alternative was standing here in the rain, letting the night grow colder, and still not bringing home his heart.

"Well then, ye'll have to trust me, no?  And pay me.  One shilling tuppence," she asked, with no trace of the smirk she'd been wearing.  Apparently, once the issue of money came into the field of play, Seale's sense of humour went out of it.

"That's a ridiculous sum!"

"That's also my rate."  Seale's sense of humour showed no sign of returning.

"Fine," Dr. Cross muttered, his hand reaching into his pouch and pulling forth a handful of coins.  He handed them over with a look of distaste quite promanently displayed on his face.

Seale handed over a small, dirty paper map, slightly damaged in the pouring rain, nodded, and ran off.

So.  York.  This heart had better be worth it....

[sir charles of tayle]

Trip and Charles walked down the narrow hallway to Trips cell.  Charles cheerilly opend the door to his cell and  as Trip walked in, Charles smoothly relived Trip on the makeshift ray-gun in his back pocket "Can't have you hurting people agian!" Charles said cheerilly," Oh yes and your trial will be in the morning get a good nights rest!"
Trip glared at the odd but dangerous man as he walked briskly down the hall.



The boheme pulled into the york port landing there ship, They noticed no less than 400 london policemen sorounding there craft awayting them to get off.

[Sean Patrick O-Byrne]

Cheif Inspector Upjohn was waiting on the docking platform with two dozen well armed constables. They wore similar uniforms as him, with brass badges over their breasts and no rank insignia. They wore the peaked Custodian style hat as well, as opposed to his flatcap. As he watched the ship glide towards him through the grey, rain threatening sky, he fumed.

Someone had rocked the boat. Someone higher than he was living beyond his means. No ship, or two ships for that matter, were worth four hundred constables. He didn't have half that under his command, and neither did any of the other Cheif Inspectors who had 'volunteered' troops for this operation. He'd only taken this operation because he could use the favors. Rocking the boat. Four hundred men would warrant the army, so someone was trying to act without being noticed. Upjohn had noticed, and had no intention of playing along. He wanted a very personal interview with the Captain of the Boheme, and the Angelus if she arrived.

Brynn Upjohn glanced down to the field below, at the crews of the several Grapplers he'd requisitioned. They'd just revealed themselves from under the tarpaulins now that the Boheme was within range. They would insure that he got his interview.

What a miserable damn day, thought Upjohn. Shouldn't have rocked the boat.

[ShredsnPatches]

Jen blanched. What were they going to do? She frantically began sifting through her grandmother's lessons, trying to come up with something to do to try and help her and the crew to escape from the police.

[Nigel Wetherby]

A loud storm horn reverbated through the clear sky, a mighty war galleon broke the clouds, it's color and shape enlikened to the massive katana blade, the polished hull shining off the mid-day sun, the sides of the mighty ship seemed to be bristling with guns, as was the deck. Bright red letters on the side read SS Hatorri Hanzo.

Patrick cheered as a voice like that of a wrathful thunder god shook the docks.
"This is the S.S. Hatorri Hanzo, Captained by Gejiro Kei, the crew of the APF Boheme is under protection of the Republic of Aisia, any attempts to engage the ship or crew will result in immediate retaliation, no quarter will be given." Warned the familiar voice.

"I doubt we'll be facin' any problems from our little friends fer now." Cheered Patrick.

[ShredsnPatches]

Jen started murmuring to herself, staring at the figure of the chief inspector. For a second he caught her eye, and that was all she needed to throw uncertainty in his direction. Uncertainty about what he was doing and what a waste of time it all was.

[Sean Patrick O-Byrne]

Miserable damn day, Upjohn thought again. He spotted a woman on the approaching ship.

"Get me a speaker," he said, having all ready turned around and began moving towards the control box. "And send a private message to the Boheme advising them to hold course to the docking platform," added the Cheif. One of his men handed him a cumbersome microphone to speak through.

"Captain Gejiro Kei of the Hatorri Hanzo, t'is is Cheif Inspector Upjohn of the Municipal Police," he began over the loudspeaker. He didn't mention which precinct he was with, as he was currently out of his juristiction, not that it mattered. The constable told him that his message had been recieved by the Boheme, and was promptly ordered to open communications with the nearest army base, as well as Airforce Command in London.

Speaking into the microphone again, he continued by saying, "The APF Boheme is in the skies of York in British Airspace and is thus under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Any hostilities by your ship in the name of the Republic of Asia would be an act of war." Upjohn paused for just a moment to let the words sink in. The constable in the booth with him was suddenly looking quite nervous, while his commander wore his ever-present scowl, enhanced by the scars criss-crossing his face.

"Never the less," continued the Cheif Inspector. "The Boheme has not been grounded, nor has its crew been ordered to submit to arrest. This is a routine inspection. I intend only to ask the Captain a few questions." That was mostly true, he supposed. There wasn't anything routine about this. There weren't even any Air Marshals on hand. The whole situation was a mess.

"Hatorri Hanzo, please hold your position until further notice," he finished and handed the microphone to his subordinate. The constable informed him that the Army had been informed of a rogue airship, and that London was scrambling three airships, but it would take time and they wanted all pains to be taken to avoid conflict.

Upjohn stepped outside, barking an order to ready arms. Less then half of the assembled officers carried rifles and most of them had less than a dozen rounds. Whoever had ordered their presence had not used much forward thinking. It would have been nice to know exactly what he was supposed to do. Was this expected?

Brynn Upjohn watched the Hatorri Hanzo with his hands clasped behind him, waiting to see what it would do. He thought he could see a man with a spyglass, but couldn't be sure it was the Captain.