Dyelli Beybi

Empire of the Clouds

Yes, this thread is open to new characters.

Empire of the Clouds

Getting to the Ground...

Getting down without venting lift gas and without the benefit of a ground crew to secure the vessel was a slow process as the ballonets were inflated and buoyancy was slowly reduced. During this time the airship was at the mercy of the wind and there was need, on two occasions, to do a circuit of the field and double back to land. But eventually, after a couple of hours, the vessel sat, reasonably stably, on the ground and Carter and his group were able to safely disembark to explore the castle.

Arkadios, meanwhile, summoned together whomever was still with them, "There is a hose connected to a pump to fill us up with water ballast. There's a stream to the North of us that I think it should reach, so if anyone cares to help me run that out? We've got a ballast tank to fill. Then they can deflate the ballonets and, if we need to take off in a hurry, we can empty that tank and gain buoyancy quickly."

He paused, then gave a small shrug, "Yes I'm an infantry officer. I've been reading the manuals."

Empire of the Clouds

Arkadios & Zoe

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Nikos

...
He leans against the gondola bulkhead, shaking his head. "Iffen we ain't connecting ta the mooring tower but the ground, me and another lad can go down in the pod while someone lowers the forward line. Once we get her tied up, we can use a winch ta help pull her down."

"The only tricky part is hooking her up to the quick release, but once she's belly down, we can get supplies or whatever."

@Expendable

"Do an assessment when you're down there," Arkadios instructed, "I fear it's probably easier to put down in the field and shuttle the gold out. The interior of the fort... well, it wasn't designed for an airship to actually land in it." He chuckled. It was true enough. While there was a mast, it looked like there would be no way for the ship to actually put down in the old medieval courtyard. It had been built in an age before flying machines were anything but a wild fantasy and certainly with no anticipation one might try to land inside.

Private Aden Robertson

...

" I believe I should be one of the first into the fortress." He offered, voice slightly muffled by the scarf pulled around his face. He gestured at his uniform, worn by two weeks of travel and fighting; but still noticeably Inburrian with the markings of the 46th Alpine on his shoulder. "I at least have a noticeably friendly uniform and if the place is filled with Communalists or traps.....well I guess I'll just have to trust that my senses are up to the task."

...

@Terrans

"Good thinking," Arkadios nodded in agreement, "I will stay onboard and keep an eye on things from here."

"Making sure I can really get the money?" Zoe asked with a smirk, drawing herself up to her full, not particularly imposing height and tossing her head haughtily, though the smirk never left her face, making the gesture seem more ironic than anything else, "I'm very persuasive," she assured him.

Empire of the Clouds

Arkadios & Zoe

"Well if you want to hover you'd better hope there isn't a sudden gust of wind," Arkadios remarked dryly before adding, "And no let's not try for a 'touch and go', let us try to put down safely. That is going to be hard enough to avoid crashing the ship as it is."

Zoe meanwhile stuck her hand in the air, "Actually, logically, you'll want me on the ground. If there are some unhappy gentlemen guarding the gold I might be able to talk them around. They should know me... might recognise me, or might not!" she gave a nonchalant shrug, then smiled brightly, "But if they are there they definitely won't hand over the gold to a foreigner, even if he did ask nicely."

Empire of the Clouds

"It looks like someone cleared out in a hurry," Arkadios countered, "If the place were occupied by the Communalists, whom do you think this trap would be for? A ragtag band of fleeing soldiers and civilians in an airship? How would we even know this place was here?"

He paused before adding, "But if I were the commander of the garrison and I hadn't removed all the gold, the building might be rigged to explode... so good luck."

"Actually," Zoe put in, contradicting the Officer, "It might not be such a silly proposition after all. After all, how well do we really know all the people on this ship?" she gave a nonchalant shrug, then turned to address Carter directly, "Captain Carter, please do take care of yourself on the ground. It would be rather helpful if you didn't die as we really do need someone to relieve Itzi from time to time," she said with a cheeky grin.

Empire of the Clouds

Chapter Two: Gold!

"It looks abandoned," Arkadios commented as the ship approached the fortress just after dawn. There was an inner medieval keep that had been gutted by fire a few hundred years earlier and Custospada had been rebuilt into a layered star fort that still would have been a complicated and costly place to attack, though as they got closer to ground level it was clear the main gate was open and there were no signs of any people or vehicles in the interior. There was a mast for an airship, but without ground crew, getting the ship down would be... complicated, "Well that explains why you didn't get a message. See if you can raise HQ in Grendell, let them know what we are up to out here," he nodded to Yuri before turning his attention back to the civilian group who seemed to be necessary to landing the vessel.

"Well," Zoe gave Yuri a cheeky wink as Arkadios finished his observations, "Guess that story I was going to tell you can wait a bit longer... so, anyone want me to do anything... other than make a cup of coffee?" she offered.

"Think you can put some people down in the field to the East?" Arkadios suggested uncertainly. In truth he didn't have the faintest idea how you were meant to land an airship, "Perhaps they can get get the ship secured to the mast? I don't see any Communalists," he said, turning back to a topic he understand better, "but I'm assuming they can't be far away. Whatever we do will need to be done quickly and we'll need to be ready to leave quickly as well."

Burned: Stuck in the Big Easy

I am interested. I'm kinda tossing up some character ideas. Would you be open to someone who was a foreigner working for the CIA whose first trip Stateside is when they get burned? A bit of a fish out of water character.

I'm assuming this is the CIA at any rate!

Empire of the Clouds

Yuri & Zoe

Corwitten by @Pragia12 & Dyelli Beybi

---

Where Yuri discovers Custospada isn't responding to hails and Zoe reveals she might be more than she is letting on.

---

The communications room was a small affair adjoining the bridge, dominated by a pair of cabinets for the radiotelegraph and a small desk for the operator to sit at. The cabinets had a pair of dials and a series of vacuum tubes each, and a series of sockets for plugging in telegraphs. What was hidden however, was in the storage space under the cabinets. Yuri had squirreled away some of his personal effects aboard the airship, and the handle of Saoirse he kept in the cabinet would be for the best.

Drawing a flat-bottomed glass and pouring himself some of the caramel-colored Quinian whiskey, he’d raise it over the instrument of his trade. “Cheers” he says simply, throwing an oversized lever-switch on the side of the box. A brief spark of static would be all he’d receive “Damn.” Seems his drink would need to wait.

The lieutenant knew these boxes like the back of his hand. While he was far from a master electrician, these were his assigned tools, and he had torn down and built dozens of these in his limited time. Taking a screwdriver from the storage space not used for alcohol, he would open up the back of the cabinet and get to work.

Two replaced wires, one cleaned terminal, and a couple accidental discharges later, the radiotelegraph hummed to life, those vacuum tubes lighting up in a soft amber indicating they were on standby. A small smile flickered across Yuri’s lips, and he allowed himself to enjoy the sharp smokiness in his glass.

As he did, there was the sharp click of footsteps on metal floors, then Zoe appeared, no longer wrapped up in the Favian gentleman's jacket. Apparently she'd returned that as she left the cold of the gondola, "That's the telegraph isn't it?" she asked, following up immediately with, "Is it working? Someone said it wasn't."

The lieutenant turned his head to face the civilian at his duty station, putting the glass down at the desk "Yes Ma'am, wasn't working before, but should be working now. Was going to get into contact with Custospada." he said simply, turning back to the box and plugging in the telegraph switch into one of the outlets.

"Well don't let me get in the way," she said, perching herself on another desk in the corner of the room. She fell silent, letting Yuri do his job, though it seemed she wanted something when he was done.

Yuri nodded, drawing a pocketbook from his jacket, propping it open with one hand and looking down as his other went to the dials, setting the frequency of reception appropriate to the code, and the attenuation for broadcast. He flipped towards the back of the book, and scribbled on a blank sheet of paper before tapping away. Each closing of the gate lit the vacuum tubes. "By all means, get another glass if you'd like." he offers, gesturing down to the open second cabinet stowage. "This might take a few minutes"

"How risqué!" Zoe commented, though her tone suggested 'risqué' meant the same as 'fun'. She fetched a glass from the cabinet, pouring herself a whiskey, before pulling up a chair to watch Yuri work. She leaned back, taking a sip, studying him with dark eyes from across the brim.

The lieutenant gave a half-cocked grin "We don't need to follow every protocol in times like these, ma'am." he'd turn back to the machine, waiting a few moments before repeating his tapped message, longer and more drawn out this time. Silence would reign and his expression would darken only a tinge as he double checks his dial, rotating it gingerly back and forth into position again before signalling a third time. He reads the ticker tape record that follows to ensure he was sending a proper message "Strange."

"What's strange?" she queried curiously, her brows knitting together in concern.

"Not getting any response from the castle." he said with a sourness, tuning the frequency to a regional channel and tapping the same message.

"Well then," Zoe pursed her lips thoughtfully, "We will potentially need to put down unassisted... or at least be prepared for that eventuality. Think our crew can manage that?"

Yuri took up his own glass and stood up from behind the station, "Going to have to, or just skip it and route to Grendel." he says simply with a small draw "Custospada shouldn't have fallen already, had nothing indicating revolutionaries had gotten that far."

"Possibly cleared out ahead of the Calarians?" Zoe posed, "It's an exposed position with the capital fallen," she paused, then gave an apologetic shrug, "Or so I would imagine!"

"I wouldn't be surprised, but I also would be disappointed." he'd allow that to hang for a moment, a glance back to the box that hadn't reported a single return transmission "So, treasury? My old man was in banking," he offered casually.

"Oh, so have you been out here as well?" Zoe asked innocently.

He shook his head "Nah, he didn't involve me much in the business, what did your father do there?"

"Something important!" Zoe said airily, and for a moment it looked like she was about to say something like 'I don't know', but instead leaned forward over the desk, adding conspiratorially, "Very important. Important enough I don't feel I can discuss it when some of the people on this ship are unknown quantities."

A single golden brow wwas raised slightly and he'd nod over to the open porthole behind her, it was to her to close it. "Important how?" another draw from the Quinian whiskey "I can understand a desire for secrecy, but we are in a precarious position."

"The kind of important that means you can take your teenage daughter to look at the gold reserve and nobody bats an eyelid," Zoe replied with a slight smirk as she straightened up, "Oh don't worry, if there are any soldiers hanging around at the fort I'll have to tell you all then. Until then, just enjoy my charming company!"

The lieutenant rolled his head forward slightly with a pointed expression that faded to casualness easily enough "As you wish, ma'am." he caught her meaning, taking a seat and finishing his glass. "You made your choice of bunk yet?"

"Its Zoe or Miss Spyrou if that's too scandalous... and no I haven't," she sat back, lounging languidly on her chair, "Why do you ask? Are you angling to share?" she smirked.

A pleasant smile graced Yuri's lips "I'd had my own picked out, Miss Spyrou, though I appreciate the sentiment." he evened his expression again "No, just wanting to keep track of who is where, if something unexpected or unfortunate were to happen."

Zoe smiled brightly, seemingly amused by the exchange, "Well, lets find me one near some people who might be loyal to the Empire. They're less likely to smack me over the head with something heavy."

"Think that'd fall under unexpected and unfortunate." He'd say, the imagery not pleasant to him. "I'm going to test a couple messages, make sure we're broadcasting properly. I am set in officer's cabin: first one to front. I'd suggest you take a bunk across from it, or we can try to carve something out of the storage space next door. Thankfully the accomodations are a step above most of the fleet."

Zoe nodded, "I'll take that cabin... but also keep an eye on some of the ones we've picked up. I've offered them a fortune for this job though we'll be carrying an Emperor's ransom. I was expecting to find soldiers at Custospada to help take control of this vessel. But if there aren't..." she trailed off, letting Yuri fill the rest in for himself.

Wild Beasts of the Earth (Gothic Horror)

Adam Temple

My contact in the police is "Leonhard Faerber," Temple replied, "I will go to the police station, Misters Rudeanu and Deyne, please lead the discussion with the grave diggers if you will."

He tipped his hat to Sonja, "Ma'am, if you would care to accompany me? Mister Rautenbach, we will meet you at the station," he gave a wry chuckle, "I suspect a fair number of the police themselves are former soldiers but it never hurts to appear presentable and not like one of the many ruffians plaguing this city of late."

Burn Notice Style rp

Interested! I loved that show