The Flight of the Meriwether: A Steampunk Outlaw RP (Closed)

[CounterAttack]

Callista looked up at the sound of someone addressing her. A tall bearded man in a trenchcoat, the one who had knocked on the door to the lounge just after she had. She paused to gather her words and rehearse them once before she spoke. "I built it myself," she eventually answered quietly. "When I was working in a Union hospital, we were attacked. I got shot in the arm. It was amputated because they couldn't do anything for me, so I built a new one." To demonstrate, Callista reached over with her right hand and turned one of the many dials built into the arm. As she rotated it, the metal wrist slowly spun on its axis, coming around a full three-sixty degrees before settling back into its previous position.

"It took a few years, but I can use it like a normal hand... given time," she added to finish up.

 

[blaze96]

Samuel immediately perked up as soon as he heard the woman mention her time working in a Union hospital. He stood up and walked over, his clockwork leg creating thumping against the floor with every other step, before extending a hand to the woman. He figured the Union Class A Uniform he was still wearing would inform her of what he was somewhat.

"Samuel Garland, former officer of the Union Army and battlefield medic, doctor, and surgeon. You mentioned you worked in Union hospitals and I knew I had to introduce myself. Always nice to meet a fellow healer of the troops."

 

[Dancingman]

Samuel nods intently at the description "It is truly a great shame that a young lady such as yourself should be exposed to the horrors of that war, let alone to that of honorless brigands who attack an army hospital. I've heard of innovations such as the one you currently have, not as elaborate or powerful, but still making sure men don't have to limp home to their families on crutches like they did in the earlier years of the war... in my time. Generally a poor prognosis, the minie ball does not leave much for a surgeon to fix, nor does the mortification take long to set in, by which time you just thank yourself you're a Union doctor using chloroform."

 

[CounterAttack]

Callista was about to respond to the man introducing himself as Samuel Garland - evidently the one professional healer in the small group - when the guy who had started the conversation spoke up again. Responding to one person was difficult enough, let alone two. She struggled to think of what to say to both people at once, but she remembered the right way was to talk to each in turn.

To the Samuel with the clockwork leg, she said after a short pause, again to collect herself, "Callista Montenegro. And I'm not that good a doctor. I prefer to fix up machines rather than people. The wounded, the bleeding, the screaming... I didn't enjoy it, but I did my part. Despite the fact that my work is slow now, I am an inventor and technician by trade."

Turning to the other Samuel, Callista briefly reflected on the fact that two people having the same name would be confusing if they were all to work together. Again she stalled before speaking, knowing that if this conversation continued, it would become more and more difficult for her. Eventually she would freeze up and shut herself in as she always did. "Agreed. Thankfully the operation was short and it ended with no major problems for me... apart from not having a left arm with which to build my machines."

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Saul shook the hand extended to him. He appraised the man before him, taking stock. He looked like a suave type, a bit too full of himself to be healthy. "Greetings Duke. Im known as Saul Radhanite. And I am always happy to drink off of another man's earnings! Fine stuff, this whiskey. I'm glad you recognise that. Where do you hail from, Duke?" Saul grabbed a bottle and poured two glasses. Prehaps this fellow wouldn't be too bad a drinking partner. Seemed as if he had enough money.

 

[Viking Incognito]

"Denmark, in a way." He said as he shook Saul's hand.

"You see, my royal ancestor hailed there and I spent a few years of my childhood there, despite being born in America." He continued to talk as he sat down and ushered Saul to join him.

"I would love to tell you the story that an intelligent man such as you is no-doubt now wondering but it is quite a sad tail and certainly not something to spout on the happy occasion of meeting a new friend. But now I am blabbering, Tell me about you."

 

[blaze96]

Samuel couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"No, most never do get used to the wounded. To be honest, doctors never get used to it, but we find ways to work through it. So what were you doing in that hospital?" Samuel asked as he took a seat.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

"I hail from the glorious state of Massachusetts! A great place if there ever was one. I was given an education by my parents, taught how to manage money. I took up the life of the merchant and moved about the states for awhile. I managed to invoke the ire of some criminal band or another. They went by some absurd outdated name... Lazarus! Thats it. They went by the name of Lazarus. Well, sell them some gear that may have been taken off their dead apparently isn't looked upon kindly. They swore a blood oath to kill me. But that is besides the point. That was more than a year ago." Saul downed his drink at the end of his little speech.

 

[Nukey]

James nodded to the negro in response as he headed through the door, not bothering to indulge in any further conversation with Harvey until after he met Gideon, whom he greatly wished to speak with after hearing more than a few stories about the man. He was disappointed to find that, upon entrance, the captain was already engaged in conversation with several other individuals, meaning a one to one talk would have to wait until later. At the moment, James settled with simply introducing himself to his future employer.

"Hello, Mr. McClellan." He said aloud, extending a hand towards the man he had so greatly wished to meet. The captain was, in all fairness, far less impressive looking than he had imagined him to be and, although he did not express this thought, his voice filled with an audible disappointment despite his efforts to put on a cheery facade. "James Black, professional engineer and former union machinist, at your service."

He looked over his shoulder for an instant, back at the others in the room and muttered "Hello to you all, as well", before turning back to the only person he truly wanted to speak with.

 

[The Zango]

"with which to build my machines."

It was this part of the conversation that he was eavesdropping on that caused Karl to speak up, a very rare occurrence indeed, not because he was shy, but simply because talking to other people usually disgusted him and didn't interest him in the slightest.

"What machines do you *tick* build?" rasped Karl, as he centered his unmoving and unnerving gaze directly onto Callista.

 

[CounterAttack]

"The more basic things; treating simple injuries, occasionally digging bullets out of people's wounds. Since I couldn't stand the more gruesome stuff, I was usually assigned to assist the others rather than perform life-saving operations and things like that," was Callista's eventual response to the doctor.

Then another person, seeming to be more machine than man, asked her a question. As he did so, he stared straight at her. Almost as if his eyes were locked in place... it was beyond unnerving. Just glancing at him staring gave Callista the creeps, and before she realised it she froze, mouth shut tight and eyes fixated on a nearby spot on the floor. Callista had shut herself in, unable to deal with the three people talking to her at the same time. She sat down in the chair she had been standing in front of,, looking down and away from all the people.

Too many people, asking too many questions. If Callista could speak, she would have tried to explain her reaction to the man-machine's question. But she couldn't bring herself to speak up.

 

[Viking Incognito]

"Oh so you have a problem with criminal scum? I made my beloved Margret for partially that exact reason!"

Then Duke Took the leather case off of his back and laid it down on the table. He then unzipped it slowly, with a satisfied look. Inside there was what seemed to be a metal hose with gas tanks on the end, and a large sinister-looking blade on the front.

"She is my pride and joy. She can eject fire up to 30 feet away. She has generated more pounds of ash than I can count. Everything about her is specially designed and built for maximum effectiveness."

 

[Captainguy42]

Upon seeing the look of shocked look on Callista's face when Karl talked to her Ken laughed so hard he sprayed the whiskey he was drinking. As he struggled to hold back his laughter he poured a new glass.

"Don't worry sweet-heart, you're probably not the first gal to be shocked stupid by his startling good looks." He laughed sarcastically, just barely managing to take another sip before exploding into another fit of laugher.

 

[blaze96]

Samuel carefully put two fingers to the stunned woman's throat to check her pulse. As soon as he pressed upon the spot where he would check it he could already tell her pulse was racing.

"Alright alright, no more questions for the poor girl. Doctor's orders, leave her be for a time, you can question her later. Right now though, let's just let her calm down." Samuel said as he waved the rest of the group away before turning the woman's head to look him in the eye. He checked her over quickly before speaking.

"Can you hear me? Are you alright there?" It was standard procedure, simple questions to make sure nothing worse was happening than a little bit of shock.

 

[socialtangent]

Scanning his list, Harvey looked for the name Claire Delhomme. He quickly found it and nodded. "You're on the list, Miss, so feel free to come in". His expression softened somewhat. "And don'cha worry 'bout the Captain. He's Southern-born, but he ain't like the other White folk," Harvey added as he opened the door for Claire to enter. "You'll see".

[hr]

"Glad to see you've made it, Mr. Black," Gideon replied. Although it was a bit awkward of an action to perform, he took the man's armored hand and gave it as firm a shake as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harvey open the door and let in a Negro woman. That had to be Claire Delhomme, so that meant everyone he had summoned for was now here. A much better turnout than he had expected. "Good timin', too. I'm about to discuss business".

Gideon stepped away from the armored man and cleared his throat. "Alright, that's everyone," he announced to gain the room's attention. "So now we can get down to my offer. I've called every one of you today for the job of a lifetime. Ladies and gentlemen, let's be frank. This whole continent's a real shithole. The Yankees and the Confeds are killin' each other and draggin' us all down with 'em. Lincoln and Davis ain't gonna let up 'till one or the other keels over. This war has made victims outta most of us, if not all of us".

"So what I offer all of ya is a chance to get away from all of that. Live by our own law. Take no orders from anyone but ourselves. I give you the chance to join the Lost Regiment. I've handpicked you fine folk myself for your...unique skills. There's a mighty fine market for our kind of talents out here, so we get to set our own price. Y'all stand to become very wealthy men and women, along with all the respect and prestige that comes with it".

"Now, I'm not gonna lie to ya, a lot of what we do ain't necessarily legal. At least, legal by Yankee or Confederate law. Both of 'em have good reasons to shut groups like the Lost Regiment down. Neither side takes kindly to a bunch of outlaws runnin' around with military-grade weapons and supplies when they could be thrown into the war effort. With that bein' said, we ain't a bunch of floatin' ducks either. The Meriwether is the finest ship you'll ever lay eyes on. She's packin' enough firepower to take on any Yankee or Confederate vessel and enough speed to outrun 'em if the need arises".

"So now I'll leave it to you ladies and gentlemen. Do you want take a chance at the good life? Or are ya content with livin' the way you are now? The choice is yours".

 

[Viking Incognito]

Duke carefully re-covered Margret before shooting down what was left of his drink. Then he stood up and said with a proud look on his face, "I'm already living the good life, but I'm a bit short on adventure. So let's hit the high winds...Captain!"

His enthusiasm was visible as he imagined what was waiting for him. Interesting people and places, new treasures, new things to incinerate, new luxuries to experience, the endless possibilities were making him want to set something on fire. HE pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match, taking a long drag to calm hi nerves.

This will be fun.

 

[CounterAttack]

Callista blinked at Samuel's touch, taking a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down. With the drop in attention brought on by the others, it seemed to work. "I... I'll be fine," she answered the doctor. "It's just... too many people talking to me at once. I'm not a very, well, social person. Machines don't talk. It's easier for me to work with mechanics than people."

She broke off as McClellan delivered his speech, considering a few of the points he mentioned. "A lot of what we do ain't necessarily legal." "Neither side takes kindly to a bunch of outlaws runnin' around." These were the two major issues she had. If the things McClellan and his followers were doing were illegal... But then, no-one really knew who she was, besides the Union detachment who were in possession of the one war machine she had designed and built. She could easily give up her simple life of designing and building new and fanciful constructs; after all, she'd brought almost all of her spare parts with her, so she could continue the work she loved aboard the Meriweather.

Her mind made up, Callista looked over to McClellan and simply said, "I'm in," her voice as quiet as ever.

 

[blaze96]

"All right then, just so long as you're sure. Pulse was extremely high, should probably look into stress relief techniques." Samuel said before Gideon started his speech.

"A good doctor never turns away a request for assistance. Besides, once you basically said casualties are to be expected, it would almost be negligent on my part to turn it down. Seeing as walking away would be breaking my oath as a doctor." Samuel replied.

 

[Lizmichi]

"Not like my life was much better before this. I'm up for anything as long as the pay is good. Not like I have a name any more." Lia said leaning back in her chair playing with one of her guns.

She didn't honestly care, she just wanted to use her skills again, even if it wasn't legal. She was a spy and she was a spy for years, no reason to leave the training behind when it was a skill she could use to make money.

 

[Nukey]

High technology, low life, illicit deeds and two armies wanting to execute us...sounds an awful lot like home.

"Mr. McClellan, you have both me and my abilities at your disposal." James responded, taking a short pause after contemplating what he had just signed up for. It took him a moment to realize that this was likely going to be a one way trip, not to mention one that could possibly end quickly if luck decided to screw him over again, but it was far too late to go back now if he wanted to. "I would prefer to avoid being used as a shield, though I understand if you find me to be the best person to hide behind."