Monday, February 28, 2022

Interlude: A Short Break

The GM, who has had a wild and very enjoyable time watching the team fight and defeat the Brotherhood of Luxor, needs a break, a change of pace as it were, and so this group will be pausing their Victorian avdvenuring while they spend a few sessions at the other end of time, in the 31st century.

We will be playing Planet Mercenary RPG 1, a game set in the blackly comedic SF world of the Hugo-nominated Schlock Mercenary webcomic2

I probably will not be publishing that game's log. The idea is that the PM game is a break for me too.

Rest assured that after this hiatus, we fully intend to return to the Victorian Era, Mars and Syrtis Major.

  1. Planet Mercenary RPG
  2. Schlock Mercenary Archives

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Personal Letter from Capt. Henry Forsyth, RE (ret.) to his brother Clarence.

Letter from Capt. Henry Forsyth, RE (ret.) to his brother Clarence.

Mars, late evening following dinner with the governor (again).

Dear Brother,

I trust you are well and the gout is less troublesome. I am pleased to hear that you that have gone to the spa and are partaking of the waters. My good friend the doctor here tells me that, what he calls ‘the ammonia content’, will kill off any infection.

The back-brace you describe on the chair, while lowered into the pool, strikes me as rather reminiscent of some middle age contraptions. I can’t quite recall where I’ve the seen the like, perhaps ducking stools or I recall a similar device in the dungeon at the Tower of London. What a ruse that was, what! Pretending to be ensigns to gain entry. Oh wait, I was an ensign!

I have to tell you that things have gone rather well here on Mars. In my last correspondence, I told you about the events in Thoth and my good fortune to be ‘ennobled’, if only by a lowly Martian prince.

Following that, a threat was removed from the Kingdom, when their aggressive neighbours and foe of the empire, suffered a catastrophic loss. Seems their munitions store unexpectedly exploded. I’m afraid I can’t comment on rumours of a surprise attack from unassigned British personnel. It would be unprofessional and immodest.

Our return to the capital was much feted. Indeed, a play was held in our honour. Sadly, a Belgium affair, which is what may have aroused my suspicion. After all, one simply cannot put the words ‘Belgian’ and ‘Culture’ into the same sentence without sounding utterly ridiculous.

As I suspected, the affair was a sham. The later cocktail party turned into a violent free for all, with the lethal Red Sands being released in an attempt to assassinate all the British hierarchy.

It was horrific, people transformed to monsters in the blink of an eye. The perpetrators, foul villains that they are, had planned to watch. But I and my companions had other ideas. I don’t mind admitting privately, I’d carried a concealed revolver to the event.

I know how monstruous that must sound, but I was vindicated. The evils visited in that room are such that I cannot commit them to parchment. We escaped with our lives, with the Governor and many leading lights of society here. Some lost their lives in the most horrific of conditions.

As you have probably heard, the opera house, the jewel here on Mars, was burnt down in the chaos. It’s a sad loss, but I take comfort in that the loss could have far worse.

It is true that I directed the fire crews to damp down and preserve the surrounding buildings. I judged that the structure of the opera house was already lost to the flames and preventing the spread of the fire seemed to me to be the priority.

Naturally, we tracked and traced - I apologise for my poor use of language, not an expression I can ever imagine being used. In mean to say, that our enquiries led us to the house of a supposed scholar, previously employed, by the late lamented Reverent Fogg and I believe previously by either Waldorf or Stadler.

We managed to find the corner this traitorous dog called home. Within we found evidence of the dastardliest plot to destroy the British Army on Mars, with a cowardly attack planned to use this deplorable ‘Red Sands’. An evil that cannot be countenanced.

We set off in pursuit, it seems their airship had left our capital shortly before, to attack our gallant troops from behind. At the airship enclosure, we were near to dismay, our quarry was already on the horizon, how would we hunt it down?

Then there was our old friend the Wasp, building a head a steam. Seems she had been chartered by a group of hunters. By great good chance, I’d met them on Venus, exchanged a loyal toast and when I cried ‘for Queen and Country, I need this ship’, they waved their charter and joined us in the pursuit.

We were underway with minutes and managed to keep the smaller enemy vessel within sight for days. Indeed, with a combination of luck and some skill, we were able to close.

Then the unexpected happened. The accounts we’d read described a dread vessel as being invisible. Now we understood, as this vessel appeared from nowhere before our eyes. Its considerable arsenal fired, our vessel was shaken, but now stirred.

Although now facing a much larger vessel than our own, with a much larger crew, we lost no time in grappling. Indeed, had we not done so, we could have faced more horribly superior barrages than we had to endure anyway.

As we did so, the foul villains swung from their rigging to our decks. Meanwhile a pitiful few of my colleagues made it over the gunwale to the enemy deck, our advance checked by the threat to our own ship and the limited boarding point which meant we could only leap into the fray one at a time.

The heat of battle is always hard to remember. For sure the brave Wasp was in jeopardy and it fell mostly to the crew to deal with the foul boarders. For a long time it was touch and go, but eventually British pluck won the through.

It left those very few of us that crossed to the deck of enemy ship somewhat exposed to superior forces. Thankfully we had the covering fire of the original hunters, who had charted the vessel and now made sport on behalf of the empire, their great elephant guns at least keeping the enemy out of the open.

It soon became apparent, that all of the dastardly conspirators were aboard. All known to be skilled fighters and fanatics to boot. They employed many a fiendish device, strange occult weapons with deadly powers.

We were outnumbered and outgunned and although my revolver grew hot with the action, the situation seemed all but hopeless. We fought to a standstill.

Then the Wasp finally cleared its decks and her brave captain led the remainder of the crew over the side. Sadly, I have to report, he was cut down in short order.

With supporting fire from a machine gun regained by the marines, the tide turned in our favour.

I have to mention by batman, Jones. Despite my reservations as to his character, he does somehow manage to turn up with the unexpected. He can be trouble have no doubt about that, he has a knack of finding himself in difficulties, yet he has also found ways of getting us of scrapes. He gave admirable supporting fire on this occasion.

Moreso, it was he that realised one of the enemy cannons on a mid-deck was at liberty and prepared to fire into the Wasp at point blank range. The consequences would have been dire. He called attention to it and directed his fire there.

It was enough that the one shot they got off was so misdirected as to only be a glancing blow to the Wasp and another disaster was averted. Thereafter he fired on a powder keg, with resultant explosion dislodging the cannon.

Slowly we advanced across the deck on the enemy, a more lethal combat I’ve not experienced. These were all merciless killers with abilities the likes I’ve never seen. Their weapons were strange and monstrous, truth to tell, we were badly outmatched.

Yet we had the one truest weapon of all – hearts of oak. For surely nothing can withstand British courage and so we fought with all the conviction of rightness, for Queen, for Country, with ne’r a backward step.

The acts of bravery are too many to recall, everyman giving his all.

So it was that the enemy now depleted, showed his true colours, the last turned and fled.

We paused a moment; the deck was ours!

As I prepared to face and root out the enemy below decks, the good doctor realised the danger. Clearly beaten, what were the those remaining foul fiends doing below decks, with this mass of Red Sands a weapon more lethal than anything known.

Their ship would never reach it’s intended target, their plots, their plans were over.

The body of the gallant Captain Thurgood was recovered, most regrettably others were not. We made haste on the Wasp to be up and away from the inevitable.

We saw the last of villains, all but the leader that is, dive from the ship in strange costumes that seemed to control their fall. But then the great enemy ship convulsed and exploded. Its deadly cargo released harmlessly over a barren desert. The falling craft and its contents overwhelmed those villains with their strange descending apparatus. Fittingly, they became victims of their own plot.

It was heavy toll. We lost many good men and as I looked around my comrades, we all carried injuries. The doctor and to a lesser extent myself, were hard pressed to treat the wounded. But we had the satisfaction of victory.

So, dear brother, the course is run, the plot defeated and the empire saved.

Yet there is one small detail. The leader of this evil cabal, a Martian, had some strange device which allowed him to move anywhere in an instant. He disappeared from the deck using this device. So, I believe him still at large.

I write as I recover from these momentous events. Of course, such a small action, will never trouble the public consciousness and perhaps it’s best that way. I rely on your discretion as always when writing.

I believe I am well regarded by society here on Mars, but what the future holds I am uncertain.

But for now, the Empire and by extension, humanity, is safe.

Yours Respectfully,

Henry

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Episode 35: The Adventurers Triumphant

It seemed that the Wasp was doomed.

The Death Seeker, Kronos' flagship, had turned off it's invisibility device and declared itself at point-blank range. Before the Wasp's helmsman could react the Death Seeker fired its mighty cannons and scored a direct hit!

The Wasp rocked with the impact of the iron cannonballs smashing into its side, but her hull was made of stout liftwood-backed oak plated with iron and she shrugged off the attack, though the helmsman and trimsman had to work like devils to keep her steady and on an even keel.

The Wasp returned fire, but even though her guns were more powerful, more technologically advanced and manned by eagle-eyed gunners under the steady command of Sgt Pepper, the Death Seeker showed no obvious signs of damage.

The battle between the Wasp and the Death Seeker raged for several exchanges of largely ineffective fire before the Wasp was able to come alongside the Death Seeker and grapple her so that the British crew and the adventurers, incensed by the dastardly plan to drop Red Sands on the stout British lads standing to against the might of the Oenotrian Empire, could board and bring the leaders of the foul Brotherhood of Luxor to long-deserved justice.

The battle was pitched and no quarter was asked or given. All the Brotherhood leaders were there, many carrying exotic and deadly weird science weapons, while the British crew had only their trusty Martini-Henry rifles, the light of a just cause in their eyes and their indomitable British courage. And one of the Wasp's machine guns.

Lady Hyperion strode out onto the deck of the Death Seeker, aimed her terrifying Fear Pistol, and was engulfed in a fiery explosion as her fiendish device malfunctioned catastrophically! The crew of the Wasp, gave good account of themselves, repelling a determined team of boarders of their own and bringing the fight back to those aboard the Death Seeker. The adventurers had spread themselves among their crew, apportioning command responsibilities and using their own not inconsiderable heroism to its best advantage. Lord Hyperion was sent to his just reward, as was his wife, now fighting with more conventional firearms.

And our heroes won the day.

Kronos, cornered below decks, set off an infernal device and vanished in a burst of green lightning. But not before he had activated what was clearly a powerful bomb. Crius, Oceanus and Coeus had leapt overboard, using lift belts to break their long, long fall to the Martian desert below.

The adventurers scrambled to get everyone back to the Wasp,cut their grapples and raced away from the doomed Death Seeker, which was suddenly split in two by an enormous explosion. This breached the cargo hold and spilled out tons of deadly Red Sands powder, which fell in a crimson fog that engulfed the escaping officers of The Brotherhood of Luxor.

Those devils could look forward to a very nasty death.

The adventurers discussed their options and agreed that it was highly unlikely that anyone other than the three Brotherhood fiends would be wandering this desolate, arid area of Mars, that those devils would be dead and swallowed by the shifting sands before they wold have the chance to infect anyone, and that the Red Sands dust itself would dilute in the wind and become relatively harmless before it could do its worst on anyone.

Returning to Syrtis Major each would be feted, celebrated and made a household name in every British family on Mars, and certain reputations would be, if not erased, at least forgiven.

And if, on cold, dark nights over dinner and port, talk shifts to the whereabouts and doings of Queeleek Thorshian aka Kronos, we shall draw a curtain over those private cogitations.

This marks the end of the current campaign of Space 1889.

Clear Credit: Picture of the members of The Brotherhood of Luxor from page 59 of the Space 1889:Red Sands setting book published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. No challenge of copyright is intended. I do not have clear attribution for the art itself, the book citing Interior art by: Richard Clark, Christophe Swal Cartography by: Jordan Peacock. If the responsible artist will contact me I will attribute the artwork properly.

Episode 34: An Old "Friend" Revealed As An Implacable Enemy

After conferring with the govenor concerning the events related in Episode 33, the adventurers were walking through Syrtis Major when they saw one of the waiters from the reception they had so narrowly escaped with their lives.

Giving chase they witnessed the waiter being attacked by what were obviously Brootherhood assassins, and they waded in to render aid - and grab the waiter for some interrogation as to the whereabouts of Lord and Lady Hyperion. The team were victorious, but the waiter was badly hurt and dying. He was able to give his testimony before departing this plane of existence.

Kronos is planning a massive assault. He is using the final batch of Red Sands in conjunction with aninvisible ship, Death-Seeker, to subjugate the largest British army division on the planet.

Even if it fails to do anything more than destroy the troops, the balance of power will shift to Oenotria. The war will end with a Martian victory. With proof that the red devils can be beaten, all of Mars will rise and the sands will run red with blood.

This time the Red Sands may do more than it did at the gala, and I do not wish my people to be turned into monsters. The way to the secret location of the Death-Seeker is located in the home of a Martian scholar…named…Queeleek Thorshian.

The team, anxious to talk to Queeleek after the recent events aboard the Wasp, quickly tracked down his address and hurried to make a house call. Arriving at Queeleek's house they observed several shadowy and shady figures, but were able to evade the,m and effect entry. In a concealed basement they discovered many pieces of evidence that poijted to Queeleek being not only involved in the machinations of The Brotherhood of Luxor, but the ringleader - Kronos himself!

Not only that, there were detailed plans of an attack to be made on the British forces, including fleet movements and Army positions on the Oenotrian border, and listing a landing station in the dockyards of Syrtis Major.

Upon exiting the basement the adventurers became aware that the house was under attack, but they were able to fight their way clear with no injuries, and they raced for the Dockyards but were too late to prevent the ship that was docked in the aforementioned station from departing at speed.

But all was not lost. Nearby, the redoubtable Wasp was heaved-to, with boiler alight. The team borded her and persuaded her captain to give chase.

And a tense chase it was too, lasting well into the next day, with the Brotherhood kite making the most of the uncharacteristically unpredictable weather to keep ahead of the Wasp until, with no warning, a huge war kite seemed to appear out of nowhere at point-blank range, bearing directly toward our gallant band!

to be continued