"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[Stella Gaslight]

Trip was woken up in the nicest way he had been for a very long time.  Emma was kissing him playfully with her arms wrapped around him.  "Good morning sweetheart."  Her breath was warm on his neck. 

"You sound happy this morning."  Trip said slowly stretching the sleep from his body.

"It is a bright sunny morning, the ship is in one piece, we are not under attack  and I have a very hansom man in my arms. Why shouldn't I be happy?" Emma grinned, it was amazing what and extra hour of sleep with someone you loved could do.  "Come on sleepyhead let's go have some breakfast and then we have heat cannons to build."


Angel laughed and clapped at Patrick's antics and then turned to Cain. "Is that was humans do when they make the marks?"  If it was the the boys must have to practice a whole lot before asking. Cain shrugged his shoulders, he wasn't entirely sure but he though maybe that was just a Patrick thing.  Angel hugged them both singing happily.  "Now you can be happy for always."

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Elisha reached and stroked Ella's hair, almost automatically. He was still, deep down, a bit frightened at how close he'd come to the black. He wanted to make sure this was all real.

"Well, I can see that." replied Elisha. "They've been with each other since Jen and I landed on this boat. Plus, I think Patrick is a bit more worried about the mission than he lets on..." He trailed off. He should be out there helping them...

He looked at his hand in Ella's hair. He'd used his left without thinking.

"Sorry..." he said. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. He knew he cared for her and found her beautiful...but he had a hard time seeing what she saw in him. Of course, he couldn't just come out and ask her. He looked at her. He was impressed at how...tough she had become aboard the Boheme. Then again, she had been tough before...a part of her. He could guess why.

"So...you began as a child of the streets..." he said, voicing his thoughts softly.

[ShredsnPatches]

Jen laughed, looking shyly at the ring on her finger. Patrick was still bouncing up and down, grinning madly.

[Arabella Granger]

"You don't need to apologize..." Ella said softly. "Yes, I was one of the dreaded 'street children'. My parents and my little sister Caroline died when I was five, of cholera. How I escaped it alive I'll never know. Having no family to take me in after that, I had no choice but to become a street urchin. I found a group of other children who sort of took me in, and we looked out for each other and survived the only way we knew how. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for them, most likely. I still consider them to be some of my best friends." Ella smiled as she recalled each face...Kay, Bert, Polly, Jimmy, Bill, and Jessy...

"And then I met my adoptive father, Dr. Armistead, when I was twelve. He took me in and adopted me when I was thirteen or so...he had always wanted children, but his wife had died years before and he had never remarried. I do miss him, actually..." 

[MWBailey]

Somehow, Dreyfuss had managed to return so silently that Patrick nearly jumped in startlement instead of joy when the old man offered his respects, apologizing for having "no wedding gift." Now, what was that about? The old fellow sure could be odd at times.

Ever since Dreyfuss had joined the crew, Patrick had not been entirely sure how to take the old codger; Dreyfuss in battle was not quite a force of nature, but very close; at all times, in battle or out, he would seem hesitant, but then would explode into action, all rage and vinegar, or all friendliness and good-natured bombast, often doing the one thing that no one expected.

He seemed to simply live in order to be a walking contradiction. Still, he was obviously in earnest about this friendship-and-blessing thing, So Patrick decided to take it with a good grace. He thanked Dreyfuss and accepted the man's hand in friendship.

he watched as Jen did much the same; she also asked Dreyfuss if he had been the one who was playing a fife earlier. Dreyfuss said that yes, It was him. H had remembered it in his bag and decided it was tim eto practice it (apparently he did so every few weeks, just to keep up his ability; the fact that the relatively-violent texan had started military life as a field musician was a surprise.).

Suddenly, everyone heard a strange BUMPthudthudTHUMPSLIIIDE noise. Oddly, dreyfuss did not seem surprised to hear the noise; Jen started, and Patrick himnself was taken a bit off guard.

Dreyfuss shrugged, said something about picking up large rats in Shanghai, and shrugged -- but he didn't seem to believe what he was saying. Odd, Patrick Thought.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"I don't consider street children dreaded..." said Elisha. "I was one of them...but it seems you had the harder deal. I had a very...energetic friend. He fought for all of us and kept us together. Eventually he managed to get himself a ship. He asked me to join. Since then I've just been...killing pirates and Russians. Then I wound up on the Boheme...and I never really felt like going back. They're in the military now. Excellent pay, easier work. But...I wouldn't feel right sitting back. I'd rather be here at the front."

He paused.

"Well...you had a mother and father, and another father later. I never knew...my mother or my father. I...sometimes dream I'm on a boat. I just sort of grew up at the docks...the sea ones, I mean. Moved to the air docks when I got older...I assume my father was a fisherman or something similar. Maybe died in a storm..."

Elisha paused again. He'd never actually spent much time thinking about this. Life had just...happened and he had hung on for dear life. Seeing it in perspective was rather different.

"Sorry...I'm rambling." Of course, to him, a few sentences put together was rambling.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick felt suddenly much less frightened about charging into battle with an enemy that could bolster its numbers with a simple bite. He felt perfectly confident it was a threat he could handle, no matter what told him he was wrong in the back of his head. Doubt was nothing now that he had Jen with him.

Cain chuckled and headed for the clipper, hefting the luggage oif weaponry, food, and a spare "body". He wondered why Patrick would need such a thing.

[Arabella Granger]

Hearing about Elisha's past made Ella feel ashamed of her own--her life had been hard, but at least she had known her original family, and she had been one of the street children lucky enough to catch the attention of someone and be adopted. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"I don't remember my real family very much," she admitted. "Just little things...I remember the way my Da used to swing me around before he hugged me...how my Ma would always sing whenever she cooked...the sound of my baby sister's laugh." She sighed faintly. "But I can't remember what they looked like."

A tear slipped from her eyes before she could stop it, sliding slowly down her face. "Ugh, look at me," she said, brushing it away. Another followed. "I hadn't cried in over two years, and now look at me."

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Elisha was disturbed when Ella began to cry. He didn't know if he had done something wrong. He reached out with his right hand and touched her cheek.

"That is something. You should treasure the memories you have. Then your family can continue on through you."

[Arabella Granger]

Ella shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said as another tear fell. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I always thought I was tougher than this, but...today everything seems to be falling apart, and I don't know what to do next, and I--" she took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "I'm scared," she said quietly. "I'm frightened, and I don't like it."

She turned away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bothering you like this..."

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss felt that someone from the crew who would be staying on board the Boheme should be there to see the ones who were leaving off. When Cain came through, he wished him "Godspeed." Cain smiled and thanked him, but Dreyfuss could see that he was puzzled. Poor fellow, he might not have heard that before," Dreyfuss thought. I hope it doesntdistract him too much. Next, he saw Patrick and Jen on their way to the clipper. They both look absolutely ecstatic, he thought...

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Elisha gave a thin smile. "Well, quite frankly, I'm more scared of thinking about the right things to say to you..."

Once again honest, perhaps overly so.

"But I can understand fear of the Cold Ones. They were designed to be feared. I fear them. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the actions taking while in fear."

He looked serious. He took her hand again.

"I...I promise that no harm will come to you. While I'm still breathing, I'm going to work to protect you. Because you saved me back there...in more ways that one."

That had probably sounded ridiculous.

"So...if I handle the Cold Ones, can you handle the talking?"

He gave a small laugh. But he had meant what he said before, on a level more solemn than most men manage. Now he wasn't just fighting for the sake of blood and death. He had purpose and things looked a bit brighter already...

He heard Dreyfuss outside.

"I guess Patrick and the others are leaving. We should see them off."

He tried pulling himself up and fell back.

"Uhm...maybe you should see them off."

[Arabella Granger]

Ella laughed and brushed the last of her tears away. "I think that would work."

She almost pushed him back down when Elisha tried to get out of bed, but restrained herself and watched him fall back. "How much clearer can I be?" she asked, shaking her head. "You need to rest. I'll send your regards to them for you, alright? Rest. And eat. You need to keep your strength up." She stood. "I love you. I'll be right back." She kissed his forehead again--she was still to nervous to actually kiss him on the lips--and left.

Ella ran onto the deck so she could catch the others before they left. "Congratulations, you two!" she said to Patrick and Jen, enveloping them both in giant hugs. Then she hugged Cain as well, and Angel. "Be safe," she said with a smile. "We'll see you soon."

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss stood by at the hold door of teh Boheme, helping to hand things across to the fellow on the clipper. the fellow handed Dreyfuss an envelope that was addressed to him; he put it in his shirtpocket, inside the vest, without glancing muchg at it, and shook hands with Patrick and Jen as they left the Boheme and got aboard The clipper. "You two take care of each other!" he shouted over the noise of the wind. Abe and Rowland appeared behind Ella and Dreyfuss, waving. "We and Emma and Elisha'll take care of the Boheme!" Dreyfuss then unsheathed his new saber, and saluted Patrick with it, with a "Spanish slash" downward at the end. "Oh, and Trip!"

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick waved to the crew as the clipper drifted off, he prayed that he would see them all again. He knew they would fare well against any terrible danger that was tossed at them.
After three days of floating upon the clipper, they touched down at a seemingly abandoned dock. Not a sound arose from the once vibrant port that had once bustled with air privateers and merchants. A familiar shudder rolled down Patrick's spine like the icy claws of a wicked witch.

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss went to Miss Emma and Mr.Trip's cabin and knocked; when they asked who it was, he knew not to disturb them much more than just to call to them, "Patrick and Jen And Angel and Cain just left. Thought you'd like to know; come find me when you're ready to work on the cannons."

He then left them alone and turned to go to the steering room and report , so th--!!! THERE! a face! a BOYS FACE in the VENTILATOR GRILLE!! He snarled, pulled out the Paterson, and ...remembered it was just a kid. What're you going to do, Dreyf? Kill a kid just because he's not Angel? He sighed, Thumbed the hammer back down, and holstered the old Colt, and then turned around -- and there was Miss Armistead, looking at him with an odd expression -- or was she looking at the grille? He couldn't tell...

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma sighed she did so enjoy lounging lazily with Trip but there was work to do. She got up to go to her own room and get dressed but she spotted Dreyfuss in the hall looking like he had seen a ghost.  "What is the matter?"

One flew towards the source of his agitation, this growing evil he could feel under his skin. It called to him reminding him of what he once was, the wild and warped man he had left in the temple.  One would not allow his mistakes to be repeated. 

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Elisha laid back on his pillow, thinking. Suddenly his eyes opened. He swore he had heard something in the vents. No, it was an echo...from somewhere. Something was inside the vents. His instinct was to leap out of bed. He then remembered that he could barely move. Goddamnit, he needed to do something!


---------------

Captain Dietrich von Rossbach held his saber out, pointing at the advancing horde. This...disease had swept out from Russia, engulfing the lands of the Poles. Now these...insane people were advancing, the horde threatening to overrun Berlin. The Captain commanded his troops, here in Seelow, a small town east of Berlin. It was likely that the horde would pass through here, looking for new recruits.

Dietrich was concerned about the reports. It would have been bad enough to accept tales of walking undead. But apparently these people were alive, intelligent - and brutal.

"Sir! They're incoming!" shouted one of his scouts. His men were arranged in a square formation in the main road. The soldiers were nervous.

"Alright men" said the young commander. "Stand ready."

Then they were there. Walking grimly forward, gripping makeshift weapons. They all wore the same lurid grin.

"Mien Gott...they are the townsfolk" whispered a soldier.

"I...I know these folk." said another.

"Sir...permission to fire?"

Dietrich now had his saber pointed. But he hesitated. Dear God, these were German citizens. He shivered, not just because of the cold. Although this was an unnaturally cold winter for Germany. Coldest in ages. Dietrich remembered tales when he was a child. The end of the world would begin with a long winter, where brother turned against brother and the monsters came out of the forests. Was this truly Ragnarok?

Suddenly shots were heard. Some of these...things had guns! His men began to fire back in scattered bursts. Dietrich watched these people fall and bleed.They were...real people. Farmers, merchants. What the hell was going on?

"Shit." he said. "Retreat."

"Sir?"

"Retreat. This town in undefendable. The best we can do is find as many citizens and a secure location."

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss asked Miss Ella if she had seen anything in that ventilator grille. She said that she wasn't certain, but she thought she saw a face -- But it seemed to Dreyfuss that she was uneasy about it. Dreyfuss told her(and Emma, who had just appeared) against his better judgement, about his suspicions regarding the apparent stowaway, and Miss Armitage told him that she would keep an eye out and tell him if she saw or heard anything further.

"By theway, Miss Ella, have you ever learned, or considered learning, how to use a cutlass or a regular sword?"

 she answered that she had aleady used one a little bit, wondered how such a weapon would be used on an airship, and said that it might be good to learn. Dreyfuss said that he wojuld see if any were on board, and told her adn Emma not to worry much about the "stowaway," that it could just as likely have been a large rat.

He then walked down the corridor to his cabin, entered, and closed the door.

Dreyfuss opened his bag and took out the other things that he had taken from Cadens' Mansion besides the sword:

• two cartridge-style revolvers; one large (something called a "Webley") and one small, both of the apparently-ubiquitous .454 Caliber bore size.
  
• holsters for both pistols, of the loop-on variety
• 48 rounds for each pistol
• bandolier to serve as storage for the pistol ammunition, and as the belt to hang them from; also as the baldric from which to hang the basket-hilted saber.
• A cartridge-type,  goosegun-style volley pistol with widemouth holster, for Rowland, with 50 rounds in a dark gray canvas cartridge pouch with belt loops on it.
  

HE planned to also carry the Paterson and the boat Gun just like always;he'd feel odd without them, but he had also decided that it took so long to reload the Paterson when all of the cylinders were emptied, that he would do better to have cartridgeweapons as well.

Rowland, he reasoned, would find a use for something closely-akin to the boat gun, or the crew in general would, if they were attacked and boarded again, and the lad needed something besides that carbine. he was a deadeye shot with it, but if Dreyfuss kept training him and he decided to imitate dreyfuss in any way, he would need something for taking out big opponents or groups of smaller ones.

These things done, he hung the pistols and saber abut his person, picked up the boatgun and ammo pouch, and went off to find Rowland and give him the goose gun and the pouch, and try to scare up a cutlass for Miss Ella to use alongside her pistols. Maybe cutlasses for all three of 'em, Ella, Rowland, and Abe as well...

[Stella Gaslight]

The calm was unnerving Emma had been quite ready for a battle and the fact that one did not arrive set her on edge.  She kept busy, first outfitting the ship with heat cannons then working on an electromagnetic pulse gun for Dreyfuss with Trip's help.  Her eyes never stopped scanning for enemies, with Elisha still recovering and Ella tending him Emma took over defense of the ship.  She tried to be ever vigilant and not bother the others but it was a heavy burden.  There were times deep in the late hours of the night where she was sure she heard someone moving about but she could not find anyone.  She told George and he just chalked it up to nerves and tiredness.

When she laid down in her own bed sleep would not come and she would be awake in to the wee hours trying to come up with stratagems.  After the second morning of her being tired and nervous George had just about commanded Trip to stay with her.  In his arms she could truly rest.  Emma dreamed of so many new things she took to sleeping with a notebook and pen.  Rowland was handed quite a few of them and they became better acquainted over test tubes and Tesla coils in the lab. It took half the crew to pull them out for meal times.  Emma worked with a frenzy because it drove the worry from her mind.

In between experiments she did her best to train herself to be a better fighter.  Emma was getting better at firing projectile weapons and dealing with recoil but her sword skills were poor at best.  She sighed perhaps their were some things you couldn't do on your own.

Angel did not like the quiet and kept bursting in to bits of song to dispel it but it was vast and hungry, it devoured the sounds as soon as she made them.  She kept close to Cain wings flickering and fluttering ready to take off like a rocket if she needed to.  This place felt badly wrong the stillness was artificial and stifling.  They heard the movement long before they saw what was causing the noise, A rush of air and a flap of wings too large for any bird.

[Nigel Wetherby]

There was the tiniest hint of life in the seemingly deserted town. A child stood in the center of the town square. Blank eyes stared into the emptyness that none could see. The emptiness familiar with the dead or dying. Patrick was the first to cautiously approach the little boy.
"Hello." He said in German. "Where are you from, little boy?" He kept his gun at the ready and reached a hand out. The boy looked up at him with dull grey eyes and let loose an inhuman screech that sliced into the cold bosom of the silence. Hundreds of dull grey eyes seemed to emerge from every nook and cranny as things that were once human drew near to them like wolves approaching prey. The boy only grinned.

[Stella Gaslight]

Angel's wings spread quickly as she ran forward.  The closest of the infected, a malnourished looking woman, lunged at Patrick mouth open and ready to bite but got a mouthful of feathers instead.  This caused her to roar in an angry frenzy that caused the other dead eyes masses to flood the streets.  A child that looked to be no more the two crawled under Angel's defenses and tried to get at Jen but when it went to claw her it touched only air. One had swooped down like a sparrow and snatched Jen from harm.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Elisha walked slowly to the lounge. In the past day, he'd slowly gotten better. He still had a crutch, as he was still rather weak. But his metal leg did most of the work. He sat back in a chair, happy to be finally walking around. He looked up. He was almost positive he'd heard something this time. Rats. Or worse. Maybe there were some of those Cold One cats infesting the ship. Damn.

His glance went out the window. It was overcast and he had trouble seeing the other ships near them. The skies were very quiet here. Siberia was just big empty space, endless freezing forests. There was nothing besides the hum of the engines. He felt a bit restless. He supposed that this is what sailors in the doldrums felt like. Just waiting for something to happen.


-------------

The Eleventh Commodore read the message again. The boy was clever, sneaking Blackflies out without anyone seeing. They had a near perfect map of the Boheme's route. it would still be quite some time before they came into range. He looked the message over again. Ah...the so-called General of Tinker's Row had made his move.

"Tobias my boy. Take a reasonable amount of troops and head for Seelow. The witch you need is waiting there. But be warned, those damned constructs are with them."

"Hm. Thanks for the warning. I may have to prepare something...in advance." Tobias put on his coat, storing vials under them. He uncorked one, taking a long pull from it.

"Taking to drinking my boy?" asked the clown.

Tobias was silent. He was tormented by his last failure. Morana was dying and he was scared off by some damn ape-man. He was so damn pathetic...but Morana needed him. He'd taken to mixing certain...substances. It helped dull certain emotions.

"This project Endwinter...my uncle really is insane..." he said.

"Oh, undoubtably." replied the clown. "But I must warn you, do not doubt this mission. Remember the prize. Immortality, for you and your pretty girl. Immortality! Wonderous, is it not? We only need survive a little longer."

Tobias nodded. He set out with his Cold One forces for Germany. He was going to end this. That witch must die so his love could live. Unfortunate, but he had no choosing in this matter. He thought back to Morana. God, she must be so alone. In the small room in the Royal Palace, in this unholy winter.

"I'm coming...just wait a little longer..." he murmured. He looked back as the rest of the fleet trundled forwards. Somehow, he doubted the clown would be successful. Then again...when you had a spy onboard an airship, a battle took on a whole new dimension...

[Arabella Granger]

Ella awoke with a start, feeling that something was wrong. She sat up and immediately regretting it, feeling the cricks in her neck and back that came from sleeping with her arms for a pillow, sitting in a chair by Elisha's bed. Something's not right... She looked around, her eyes landing on the empty bed.

Elisha. He was gone.

Immediately Ella ran from the room, her eyes frantic. "Elisha? Elisha!"

"Yes?" came a quiet voice.

Ella stopped and made for the lounge, sighing when she saw him sitting there. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" she scolded. "What were you thinkin'?"

"I was thinking I'd let you sleep," he replied

She laughed and was about to say more when she heard a small bump from overhead. Her eyes met Elisha's and she immediately recalled all the small noises she had heard over the past few days., dismissing them as insignificant compared to her current worries. Now, though, she wasn't so sure.

"Please tell me you heard that..."

[Nigel Wetherby]

The little boy made for Patrick's throat, knocking the taller boy over with superhuman strength. The little boy thrashed and bit as Patrick desperately kept the boy at arms length.
"Get off me ye damn anklebiter!" Patrick roared, pushing the little boy off him and tossing him to the ground. He barely had enough time to get up before he saw what had been called by the child. Cain and Angel formed a protective circle around a horrified Jen. An army of ghouls had surrounded them. However, these revenants refused to move, they did not breathe, they did not blink. Not a single rivulet of drool leaked from their slacked jaws. It was as if they were waiting for something.
"Do you like my army?" The head ghoul spoke in a voice like bones being gnawed upon. Cain drew both his deus blades, ready to defend Jen, Angel, and his Creator to the death. Patrick lost any and all reluctance and drew his rifle, not wanting to harm these people, but willing to do anything necesarry to save Jen.
"You are lucky I have not decided to set my army loose upon you. I have orders from the commodore. Which of you is the witch?"