"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss, for his part, was not overly affected by the stench; ten years patrolling in and over the bayous and stagnant, swampy waterway borders of teh Republic of Texas had inured him to most stenches of teh waterborne variety. From the effluent-choked canals of the border colonias to the rotting-shellfish stinks of the coastal garbage dumps, he had  been required to patrol though it or fly over, and neither was pleasant in the year-round sultry weather of South Eastern Texas. Still, he wa sglad that he had donned the boot covers and the other accoutrements. drawing his saber and holding the carbine at the ready with his left hand, he followed the others in through the severed bars.

"I'm the only one of these who can claim to have been a merc, sir." Dreyfuss stepped a little aside of the others and forward enough to make it obvious who had spoken; in the mirk of the sewer tunnels, it could be hard to tell. "Im one no longer, but I'm not ashamed of what I have been. Jaisen Santiago Dreyfuss, formerly Captain of the flying ironclad monitor Mad Anthony Wayne, Bayou Marauder Air Corps, Resigned, at your service, Mr. ...?" he said, dropping the point of his saber and releasing the carbine so that it hung by its sling.

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Krusnik, Nikolai Krusnik. You are not cold ones, of this I am sure."
Patrick and Emma's Aether League pins glimmered in the sparse light. A small, willowy young woman whispered into Nikolai's ear. He gave an astute nod.
"Inga tells me you are from Aether League, Da?"
Patrick nodded. His response caused the massive man to grin.
"HAHAHA!!" The bear of a man cackled as he wrapped his arms around Emma and Patrick, hoisting them into the air. "I KNEW they would come around! And now you are here!"
Those behind the massive man cheered.

Patrick flashed Dreyfuss an uncertain look.

[MWBailey]

Jaisen was not sure if he had seen a reaction to his name or not; perhaps he was unknown in St. Petersburg. There was that one scrawny woman at the back, though; he was sure he had seen her give a litle start when he spoke. Probably just was surprised somebody actually admitted to being a merc, he thought a bit cynically. Or perhaps she had heard of the Marauders; they had a European arm as well, or did when he was a J.G. I think I like these people, he thought, but there was a slight hint here that something was not quiteadding up -- then he caught Patrick's look. He tried the mental speaking trick:
Patrick? What's wrong? It's not completely adding up in my head either, but they look all orange on my lenses.

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss spoke again, "Sir, I am very happy to make your acquaintance, and we are delighted to find friends in a dark place; were you expecting us? We did not expect a welcoming committee, though we did hope to find the resistance and link up with its members." And we are wondering all to hell why you're speaking English so well, too, he thought.

[Nigel Wetherby]

"We are all that is left of the resistance." A round young man sighed.
"The cold ones found our hideouts, they picked us off mercilessly, shooting old men and children like dogs." Nikolai said grimly. "We are the last true residents of St petersburg."
Jen felt a pang of sympathy tug at her heartstrings for the rag-tag resistance. She then noticed the metal rings around the necks of each member of the resistance. She then noticed the pulsing blue prescence around their necks through her goggles.
"It is wonderful to find comrades to battle against these terrible creatures." Nikolai's voice seemed rather stilted, as if some unseen spirit were telling him what to say.

The czar watched the meeting through the eyes of a blackfly hidden within the shadows of the sewer.
"Brian, I must say, those little worms of yours are rather ingenious. Manipulating blood within the victim to make living puppets, beautiful..."

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss' hackles started rising even before he realized why...These poeple are wasting one blazing lot of time talking about their horrible life, he realized. its like a really bad....play...Whatis that damned humming? he turnmed his head to see light glintingoff of a blackfly, nearly invisible on the wall near his shoulder

"Nikolai, Do you like Punch" He punched teh blackfly to dust and slime with his left fist,"and Judy?" he asked, suddenly. "Lovely little puppets..."

[Stella Gaslight]

More blackflys swarmed out of the shadows but they were flashed fried by a bolt of orange light from Emma's improved microwave gun. A rush of warm air followed and Nikolai and the others crumpled to the ground.  Angel opened her wings letting the pale illumination flow over the seen.  "I think we need to take those rings off them." She said.


It was easy to cut down the hoard before her.  Shai had led those like them in to battle once she knew their weaknesses as well as she knew her own.  London would not fall to those that had thought they could hold her captive.  She sung out false orders and caused confusion among the ranks.  Shai smiled if they truly wanted this city they would have to destroy her first. 

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss moved to Nikolai, and asked, "how?" HE noticed an odd little square stud on the ring, on one side of the leader's neck. Then he noticed oddly-colored flesh on the man's ears, and on his open mouth;  a barely-discernible, glowngtendril...no, a worm, wound around the man's throat! Dreyfuss made a disgusted noise, and backed away. "Emma! fry those things!" he said urgently, pointing at the tiny tendrils winding up arund the people's necks.

[Stella Gaslight]

Angel tugged on the one around Inga's neck even with her eminence strength it did not budge.  Cain tool a more logical approach and slashed at what looked to be the join with his blade.  It sliced neatly through the metal and the ring fell off exposing a wound in the back of the neck were a spike in the collers pierced the skin. "I if you have a hot knife it should work just as well." He said moving on to the next person.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Nikolai reached for his rifle in a series of jerky, stilted motions. His family did the same.
"We are afraid you have come here only to meet your death, Aether League scum." Nikolai spoke in a jerky english voice. The Czar pulling their strings VIA Brian's blood worms.
The once mighty resistance opened fire on the crew. Patrick pushed Emma and Jen out of the path of the bullets, taking the brunt of their force. The flattened  bullets slid from his pale skin. The deus material forming a skin that no bullet could pierce.
Electricity was another matter.
Patrick screamed as several watts ripped through his body. The round young man pulled the electric baton from Patrick's back, letting him fall face-flat onto the sewer floor. Patrick regained his composure, disgusted at what he was forced to land in, but did not surface just yet. He waited for the opportunity to present itself. He grasped the round youngster's ankle and pulled him down into the quagmire beneath them. He descended upon the electricity-wielding boy with all the ferocity of a starved Jackal. He wrapped his hands around the boy's throat.
"Patrick, no!" Jen cried, thinking he was trying to strangle the boy. Patrick's hands glowed as his white fire consumed the worm which wrapped around the boy's neck, freeing him and severing the Tsar's connection with the youngster.
"Aim fer tha worms around their necks!" He commanded, pointing to the pulsating red growths none could see beneath the coat's high collars.

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss couldnt really see it normally unless he wasn't thinking about it, so he took off the goggles, called the fire (and was slightly bothered by how easily it came this time), looked at the neck of the fighter closest to him, a red-haired, strongly-built woman, and just barely saw, it was more like  he felt, a weirdly-glowing red tendril just beneath the surface of her skin, and he put his hand out and cupped her throat. He let the fire flow out through that arm, into the hand, and ever so slowly into the worm, concentrating on not letting it burn the woman, but burn the worm instead. And then it was gone, and the woman was gasping for breath and thanking him. "Thank Mr. O'Landry over there, Ma'am, I'm strictly a novice." he said thickly, feeling a bit nauseous, but recovering in a couple of minutes.

He moved on to the next person, and the next, and then stopped, swayed, and felt someone catch him and set him back upright, as he fished in his bag and pulled out one of the flapjacks and ate it. He suddenly felt much better. He realized it was Irene who had helped him stay upright, and thanked her warmly, thinking "bless the child."

He wondered if he would have the strength to do more of this worm-burning stuff. You'll be lucky if that's all you have to do, Dreyf, he scolded himself.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma had no weapon that would take out the worm and not kill the person they were feeding on so she was forced back as a black haired man built like a small ox lunged at her.  Angel quickly stepped in and put a glowing hand on his neck.  He screamed as the worm inside of him was burned away.  "Thanks." Emma said as she relayed one of the few simple statements in Russian George had taught her asking the man to help them save his friends.   

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss moved toward the last person in the group, a blonde-haired boy no more than perhaps eighteen, probably less. He suddenly leaped at Dreyfuss, who sidestepped, Then caught him in a one-armed, shoulder-pinning grip, held him against the wall, and applied the fire as gently as he could under the circumstances. The boy actually struggled for a moment, but then sagged as the worm was burnt away, and finally sat/leaned against the wall, sobbing quietly. Dreyfuss said, "I'm sorry, I'm new at that sort of thing, I ddnt mean to hurt you."
"You did not, sir, that thing was pain-constant all of every day, since I was twelve. Now it no longer hurts." Dreyfuss, astonished (and not to mention more than slightly embarrassed), held the boy as he sagged against him, then laid him against the wall. He saw Patrick looking at him oddly, and shrugged.

Don't worry, Patrick, he thought, hoping he hadn't sent the thought, I'll wait til this is all over before I go all Merlin-mad, and he chuckled inwardly at his own ridiculousness. Still, that didnt seem to be the reason for the look, but it was beyond Dreyfuss to figure out what it really meant. He hoped he wasn't turning into some kind of saint/angel/godling like Patrick; he felt he was just a bit too clay-common and flawed for that kind of thing. And anyway, they had yet to get farther than this outer side-tunnel. They had a long way to go, and the enemy surely knew by now exactly where they were.

[Nigel Wetherby]

The red-headed woman stroked her pale neck and looked about the world rather confused, as if awakening from some terrible dream. Nikolai looked to his saviours and began to yell something in russian.
The problem with russian, was you never knew if someone was happy to see you, or about to tear your head off. When the mighty Nikolai embraced Patrick, Angel, and dreyfuss in a hug that would make a mad russian grizzly jelous, they concluded he was happy about where he was. This was a genuine hug, full of mirth and joy and trace amounts of vodka.
"Many thanks, my friends. The Krusnik family will hapilly side with you! My son, Boris is the one who shocked your friend."
The round young man waved humbly.
"Inga is my daughter, she is thin and whispy, but her brain is like steel trap!" He pantomimed a bear trap closing inches from Cain's face. The pale, sickly looking girl simply giggled like a little sprite and gave a curtsy with her jacket.
"The boy unconcious in your arms is Mikhail, he is smart with the swords and the daggers, also veeeerry good with fisticuffings."
Dreyfuss lay the unconcious boy against the wall.
"And this, is my precious pearl, Savilka, she is number one sharpshooter, brought home gold five times in shooting tournament in moscow!"
Nikolai Kissed the strong-built woman's cheek. She responded by grasping his collar and kissing him full on the lips, hints of tounge could be detected, sending prickling blushes across the cheeks of most of the crew.
"We will help you any way you can. We owe you our lives!" Nikolai proclaimed. "And when a Russian owes someone, they pay him back with interest!"

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma was rather shocked she had of course expected them to be happy about being freed but this was not what she had expected.  Emma smiled.  "I am glad we were able to help you Mr Krusnik.  Is there any way you could help us find the Cathedral?  We are trying to take the city back from those that enslaved you."

[Nigel Wetherby]

"The underground has become like a second home to us, the cathedral is down this tunnel." Savilka pointed to a long, cavernous tunnel. A single lance of dim light peirced the darkness like Saint George's lance to the hide of the dragon he slew in legend

[Stella Gaslight]

"Thank you and we had better keep an eye out.  The enemy knows where we are and possibly where we are going.  They will come for us."  Emma knew it was only a matter of time.

George popped out of the wall ahead of them. "Em you and the Monkey had better come take a look at this thing up a head on the right.  I don't know if it was left by friend or foe but it takes up most of the side tunnel and I would rather not have it spring to life and come after us."

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick took heed of George's concern and ran to his side. The great shadow of george's discovery was indeed awesome. At first, Patrick lept at the sight of the thing. But slowly, his simian curiosity took controll.
Patrick approached it and adjusted his goggles to inspect any traces of cold one activity.
"What is it?" George asked with a curious tone.
"Its...a...well I'm not sure what it is, but it's BIG."

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss wondered what was taking George and Patrick so long, and looked down at the watercourse moving sluggishly in the slot-like channel running down the middle of the tunnel floor, and saw an iridescent flow moving past, apparently disturbed by Patrick's passing, judging by the whorls and eddies in the flow. He remembered the box of lucifers that he had taken off of the dead occultist just before he blew up that zeppelin, and took one out and lit it, looking down at the watercourse as he did.

Oil...What is petroleum oil doing down here? he wondered. "Patrick," he called, "there's a flow of petroleum residue in the water flowing by, is it coming from that big whatever-it-is that you're looking at?" He blew out the match, and began to move as silently as possible toward the side tunnel, finally glimpsing what looked vaguely like Irene's tank, only much smaller, and he quietly said so, but then added, "That metal, though, if it is  metal, doesn't look quite right for a tank to me."

[Stella Gaslight]

George walked through the masive metal thing and found the cockpit in the center. It was very small and if he didn't make himself intangible he wouldn't have fitted. He found an ignition switch and threw it, the metal groaned and shifted legs folded out of the hull and large arms with pincer claws rose out of the top.  Emma gasped in recognition.  "Some one built a walker out of discarded parts of Arbiter shells."  She was rather impressed at the idea of using cold one parts to fight them.  She saw the oil leak and a bit of damage that caused it it would be easily fixed and then this fascinating hybrid would fight by their side.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick stepped towards the beautiful machination, Placing his hands on the side of the machine.
"A tank motor's powerin' this thing! And I think this exoskeleton has been fortified with somethin'." He carefully knocked on the side of the machine, treating it as if it were made from porcalean.
"Mmmm, I know that sound anywhere. That's steel mesh. Good stuff too, Probably from Japan or the American colonies. This thing could take a shell blast from any cannon!" The moment he said this, a look of imfamous recognition crossed his face. The three words which escaped his lips gave hope and fear to the entire crew.

"I have an Idea."

[Stella Gaslight]

"I don't like the way you are looking at me Monkey."  George said from inside the metal hull.

"But if you run it it has the least chance of the pilot getting hurt.  You can just go intangible if things get bad." To George's surprise Patrick was speaking logically.

"If I decide to pilot this thing what do you want me to do?"  Their had to be some catch.

"Well you know those anti-air cannons?" Patrick said with a grin.

"You want to send me in an untested bit of weaponry against some of the most powerful cannons we have encountered and when it fails spectacularly I can just fade out to avoid the fireball?"

"Pretty much."   Patrick said.

"I must be out of my mind but I will give it a try but you owe me Monkey."  George sighed at Patrick's triumphant grin. "Lets get a move on. I can provide cover when you come up at the Cathedral then I will go on that fool's errand."

[Nigel Wetherby]

Patrick wrapped his arms around George.
"I knew i could count on ye!!" He laughed, hoisting the semi-intangible scientist into the air and twirling him around in a style akin to Nikolai. George rolled his eyes but chose not to phase out. This young man was smart to pick him, he had to admit. He looked as if he Didn't want to risk anyone, and that George would be the safest choice.
George phazed through the side of the crustacean machine and started it up. A deep hum from the engines caused the water beneath the machine to vibrate and ripple as it stood tall, a guardian crab made to strike a devastating blow into the cold ones. The Arbiter tank lead the charge down the tunnel until they came to the spot Nikolai pointed out. Powerful claws began to pick away at the concrete above them, sending pebbles and gravel flying through the air like petrified flies until the multicolored light that shone through the stain-glass skylight shone upon the tank's Carapace.

[MWBailey]

Dreyfuss took the rope out of his bag and took the boat gun off of his shoulder. He put the rope diagonally around his torso, re-slung the boat gun, and addressed George, "try to hold 'er steady, George; if this thing's like the walkers we used to build earthworks, there should be a limb holdfast lever to your left, with a crosspiece knob on the end." When the arbiter tank suddenly went rigid, Dreyfuss jumped up to stand on the right forward knee of the thing, and then pulled himself onto the front of the carapace, stood up, and put his head out through the hole, poking the carbine out in front so that he covered anything he looked at. The coast looked clear all around until he faced all the way around and looked behind himself, and found a lone russian guardsman looking down at him with his hand on a pistol holster on his belt, a scowl on his face, and an epithet forming in his mouth.

Dreyfuss smiled, said "Ah!" and gestured for the guard to lean down and look into the hole. When the guard obliged, Dreyfuss pulled his bowie knife, hearing Jen and Emma gasp,  and reversed the knife in his hand and popped the guard soundly on the back of the head, and pulled him in and handed him to Elisha as he crumpled into the hole. "you might want to bind and gag that fella," he said."I'd hate to be half-way there and have the hue and cry raised." he climbed out, tied the rope to a nearby pilaster, and let it down into the hole to help the assassination party climb...

[MWBailey]

Back at the aether league LZ, those left to guard and guide did their jobs warily. no trouble seemed to be anywhere near, but one never knew...

Abe waited in teh tunnel below with the others as Dreyfuss dealt with the guard above, then passed him, unconscious, to Elisha Who gave him to abe to bind and gag. Rosie kept looking around warily, but then eagerly let Abe pick her up and then wound herself around him as was her habit, as he climbed the arbiter to the level above.