Earth Victoriana: Yanks in Tanks (IC)

[Raveled]

Starlight relaxed as the posse of bandits literally rode off over the horizon. As soon as they were safely out of sight, the ersatz cowboy swaggered over to the dropped rifle and picked it up, handling it cautiously. He really didn't know all that much about firearms. He'd seen a lot of movies, but from what he'd absorbed from the internet Hollywood played as fast and loose with gun rules as they did with everything else. Still, this piece looked more like what he'd seen in military movies than in cowboy movies.

His eyes snapped up and he focused on one of the applauding townsfolk. "Get over here, little pilgrim," he drawled. "What can you tell me about this fine looking weapon I seem to have my hands on?"

[Supercape]

GM

Not one, but two of the townsfolk did indeed scuttle forward.

"Revr'd Rivers, at yer service, praise the Lord!" said the man of the cloth. He was an exceptionally tall, thin man, dressed in the customary black of a priest, with a crucifix around his neck.

And a rifle in his hands...noted Starlight.

"You surely are sent by the almighty, savin' us from those satan-lovin' thugs, God save their poor souls!" he wailed. The man was two paces away from being a televangelist, although he seemed genuine enough. "The almighty surely works in mysterious ways, so he surely does!" he commented, looking at the trio of unusual heroes "sendin' mighty unusual help, too, it seems, begging your pardon ma'am!"

He was accompanied by an equally tall, but exceptionally broad man, who looked like he was made of the iron he no doubt forged. He had a slight limp, and a few nasty scars from burning, and wore a leather apron. He too, was armed, carrying a shotgun.

"Vic Millbrick" he said gruffly, by way of introduction, holding out a calloused hand.

"Looks like nuthin' I ever seen. I do guns just as much as I do shoe horses. Even do some of then horseless chariots. But I ain't ever seen a gun that looks like this before!" he commented, in a slow but thoughtful voice.

[Aoiroo]

"I wouldn't be surprised, it's a very clever little device. It's an automatic rifle of a different build from what I've seen, see they've got a small steam piston in there to insure continous fire while keeping a good amount of force behind it. Which is no wonder they're were able to run you out with these if all you have is regular rifles. Maybe if you could get some good distance and ambush them before they get them out you could probably take them, but it's still a risk you have clearly been outmatched. Would you have any idea where they may of gotten anything like this, is there some sort of symbol or makers seal for example that might match this to someone in your trade."

She handed the gun over to the blacksmith to see if he could give it a once over.

[Supercape]

GM

Vic Millbrick turned the gun over in his hands. "I don't rightly know, ma'am. I gotta apprec'iate the craftmanship, though. This is well made, better than Mr. Smith, or Mr. Wesson, if I don't rightly miss my mark. Custom made, although I ain't no bettin' man, of course, your reverend'ness" he added, tipping his hat briefly to RIvers without much conviction.

"Now looking here, my best bet was it that some of the parts may have been made at Silverstone's all purpose factory, that's a good hours ride, straight north of here, slap bang on the main highway, can't miss it. All kind of stuff done there, and I guess we don't know the half of it."

After a few more questions, the history of Silverstone's all purpose factory became apparent. It was set up in the last century, when slavery was abolished but there was plenty of resentment, prejudice and ill feeling lingering. It had started out as a safe haven for the African-texan community, to produce and sell to their "own folk". In that time, it was a well supported and noble venture that provided employment to the African-Texan community when few would employ them.

As time passed, and racism died out (not completely, but significantly), the relevance of the factory slid, as did its morals. It was still almost exclusively ran by the African/Carribean ethnicities, but it was a few short steps from being a gang, a mob, and / or a militant organisation these days. Opinion of it had declined over the decades, and no doubt its founding fathers would be spinning in their graves. Word was, it produced pretty much whatever was needed if you could provide the cash.

[Azuth65]

Siphon stood over one of the bandits who had tried to get away. "Yeah, no. You're gonna stay right here," he snarled. When the bandit makes his move, the young man's hand found the criminal's uncovered neck where silver fingertips locked on and left him barely conscious. The American rose to his feet, the silver coloring fading from his fingertips. Damn, no powers on that guy. At least this'll keep the shakes away, he groused internally.

A minute or so later he stepped over, hands firmly in the duster's pockets, and looked at the gun, "Mind if I hold onto that, Mr. Millbrick? Might need it as evidence when we pay ourselves a little visit. Or, in the worst case as a bit of protection."

[Raveled]

Starlight nodded to the civilians. "If you'll excuse us," he drawled, "I need to talk to my fellows. Padre, pardner." He tipped his hat to the pair and pulled the other heroes aside. He lowered his voice so no one else would hear and dropped the accent, speaking in his/her normal tone. "I could get us to the factor well in advance of the bandits. We could ambush them, and maybe scatter or capture the rest. Or we could simply watch their interactions with the factory workers and try to infiltrate the place later on."

[Aoiroo]

Catalyst moved in close and said in a low voice,

"There's a lot of things we could do, but my vote is observation. We don't have the whole picture yet, so we can't be sure what the proper course of action is. We have captured, they should notice soon. So how about you return in his place. We'll grill him for facts firsts, names, bits he should know, personality traits the works, then you take his place and feed information."

She reached into her bag and pulled out two cell phones and blue tooths,

"They won't work normally, but they have push to talk radios so they should still transmit through those. Just keep it hidden in your ear we should be able to keep in contact."

[Raveled]

Starlight's face settled into an impassive mask as he considered the benefits and risks of what Catalyst suggested. After a long few minutes he shook his head. "We don't know if they've noticed he's gone yet," he pointed out. "If they already realize he's been taken and I just pop up looking like him, they'll attack. It's too big a risk to take. Besides," he added ruefully, "I'd have to ride a horse. And I don't know how to do that, at all."

[Azuth65]

Siphon leaned in to hear Starlight and Catalyst speak, the assault rifle he'd taken back from the locals pointed at the ground so as avoid any accidental discharges from the weapon. "Star's right," he said in a hushed tone, "We might be best served trying to find a quick mechanic to get that car in better shape to ride out to their base while we question the scumbags you guys picked up."

He gave Star a slight smirk at her comment on horse riding and adjusted his stetson, "That makes two of us. I'd probably end up breaking my neck just trying to climb into the saddle."

[Raveled]

Starlight gave Siphon a blank look, which was a much more effective tactic now that he/she actually had facial features. "Just follow my lead," the cosmic hero said. Starlight turned back to the mayor and the smith, affecting the cowboy persona once more. He swaggered over and planted himself in front of the pair. "Yer honor," he drawled, "if you could see your way clear to loaning us three horses, they would be put to good use. Why, with God and strong horse we might even run down those bandits that attacked this town. As for you, sheriff," he added, deliberately turning to address the smith, "if you could take hold of that cowpoke we rustled until we're back, well I'd be much obliged."

[Supercape]

GM

"Oh we'll take care of him, dont you worry about that, pardner!" smiled the smith, throwing one burly fist into the the other burly palm and giving the poor captive an evil look.

"I'm sure I can find some Iron's to clap him in!"

Between the crowd who had surrounded the three heroes, there was a unanimous good spirit, and three stout and true horses could easily be "loaned" to the men...by a well dressed "businessman" of rotund girth who complained that "them Irishmens, they rooinin' mah business, boy!" in a thick drawl and an indignant manner.

A round of applause, and then another circled the heroes, and soon a fiddler struck up a tune, and singing, and hollerin, and even a few dances started up. A few rounds were even fired into the air.

"Let's hear it for the heroes of Houston, boys!" they yelled, some even trying to hoist the three into the air.

[Raveled]

Starlight endured the celebration with stoicism. She/he understood that, for the townspeople, this was a great evil vanquished, or at least driven off, but the heroes this was simply the first part of their mission, and Starlight for one was eager to get going.

As soon as she was able, the cowboy broke away from the festivities and gathered the other heroes up by eye. They mounted their horses and rode out of town, to another round of cheers, hurrahs, and gunfire.

He lead the group down the road a little ways, not really caring what direction they were headed as long as it was out of sight of the ton. Once he was sure they were alone, he brought them to a halt and closed his eyes, concentrating. He touched the core of power within himself and slowly wove a web of light to encapsulate the three heroes and their steeds. "When we get to the other side," he muttered, focusing on his power, "I hope you can each deal with your own horses." With that he let the threads snap into place and they disappeared in a blaze of light and magic.

[Supercape]

GM

The three heroes, and the three horses, flashed into existence a few miles down the road, on the main highway.

There, as they had been told, was Silverstone's, the factory that they had been told of. It was large, a main building and several smaller outsize buildings that were still big. The whole complex was surrounded by a slightly beaten wire fence.

The main factory was enormous, a huge brick building that gave the impression of being in slight disrepair but also very busy and very functional.

Large carts - some powered by horses, some by noisy steam engines, picked up and dropped goods or materials from time to time. Whatever else was happening, Silverstone's was busy, right into the late evening.

The main entrance to Silverstone's had some rudimentary guardhouse, or reception, where two men, both afro-carribean (like, it seemed, everyone who was working in the factory was), dressed in overalls with an emblazoned "S", sat and chatted to those coming and going.

[Raveled]

Starlight had some trouble with her mount, but she managed to get the animal pointed in more or less the correct direction and the trio set off, trotting along uncomfortably down the road. By the time the factory came into sight, they were at least no longer visibly struggling with their horses; as long as someone didn't look too closely, they might pass as natives.

The Lightbringer stood in his stirrups and squinted down the road at the guard shack and all the workers swarming about. In a burst of inspiration, he reached over and pulled the rifle from Siphon's saddle holster. He rode up to the guardhouse, holding the weapon above his head. "Hey there," he called out. "Is this where I can buy these guns?"

[Supercape]

GM

"Hey there, Is this where I can buy these guns?"

The two doorsmen swung around, and levelled there own weapons at Starlight, nasty looking but antiquated double-barrel shotguns.

The first man, probably the superior, if one were to guess, cocked an eyebrow at Starlight.

"That's right, my man, we sell everything at Silverstones. The bossman, he can give you anything you need...at a price..." he said, in suspicious tones, his voice slow and heavily impregnated with a Texan drawl.

The man seemed to be employed for his broad shoulders and big fists, rather than wit and intellect.

He wiped away a film of sweat from his shaven head. The Sun was now low, but the heat of Texas was powerful all the same.

"But the thing is, partner..." he added "Silverstone's is not for you folk. We take care of our own, you see? so you gotta be one of us, or you gotta pay heavy money. And thats them kind of deals which Mr. Snake deals with. The boss of Silverstones..."

The second security guard piped up.

"We can introduces you to the bossman, course, y'see..." he said in a surpsingly shrill voice "but we likes a little donation, of course, helps keeps things nice a friendly, y'all!"

[Aoiroo]

The horse was not cooperating. The teleportation over had not put it in a good mood, and it probably only did not to buck her because of previous experience to it's treatment after such behavior. It still was a pain regardless, it santered slowly forward, stopping every so often to eat some grass and Catalyst while she would pull the reins would not attempt to spur it on in fear that it would go far faster then she could handle. As such, she approached on the horse last to the showing of force from the men with shotguns. While they talked she took a moment to dismount and hand off her reins to Siphon while she reached into her pockets and in a quick draw pulled out both pistols and shot the shot guns full of her sticky snare. They foamed up and became pretty much useless in the guys hands and she walked forward and smiled at Starlight,

"Will that do? Or would you require more interest?"

[Supercape]

GM

"Sweet zombie christmas!" exclaimed the first, more talkative, guard as the spew hit his gun - a little of the gunk splattering over him and the floor.

"What b'jeezus is this?" he queired, as he pointed to the sky and fired the Shotgun. There was a muffled whmmph and a shearing of metal, and then, to the tune of some rather pungent smoke, the shaft of the weapon split off and fell to the ground impotently.

"Hoddamn! I seen some crazy-ass stuff in Silverstone's the last month, but that beats it all!" he said, standing still in amazement.

"You can cut the interest, lady. You a sister after all! Guess you be wanting to talk to the boss?" he said, seemingly in reference to Catalysts relatively dark skin tone.

"Welcome to Silverstone!" he finished, taking a deep bow and showing the trio in.

Inside Silverstone's factory...

The factory itself was a marvel to the trio's eyes. It was busy - very busy, and hot, and wet. The steam technology of this dimension was ever present, wrought Iron, bronze and copper devices in constant motion, powered by a huge coal furnace. And the devices were peculiar - even for Earth Victoriana. Various components of various machines, all built in the same style as the very machines that had created them.

There were several score workers in the main factory - if not more. they wore tank tops or wear stripped to the waist, all the better to work under such hot, humid conditions. All were afro-carribean, to a greater or lesser degree. The heat was unpleasant, but they worked hard, and even had time for an ditty or two, sung whilst they worked. For all the bad conditions, they seemed treated pretty well - there was no oppressive foreman, it all seemed on the level.

They stopped outside the office of Mr Tiberius Snake, whose name was written in - predictably, snake skin. The office itself was high above the shop floor, and overlooked the entire operation.

"Enter!" came the voice...

Tiberius Snake was a small man, with a rich brown skin that indicated he had the blood of several continents and races in him. His eyes were deep black and wide, almost like a sharks, and he had not a single hair on his head.

He was dressed in a red and black suit that looked Chinese in style. It was simple, but well cut to his small, wiry form. His only vice appeared to be an extremely long cigarette that hung out of his mouth without being touched by his fingers, but which was puffed on with expert lips.

His voice oozed charm, but was hoarse - perhaps from the environment.

"What can I do for you today?" he asked, politely, his black eyes scrutinising the three heroes. "Silverstone can produce anything you want..."

[Aoiroo]

Catalyst had to fight the urge to flinch and back away. Mr. Snake was a bit on the nose there, and honestly she was no at all comfortable with snakes of any kind. She rested her hands at her side though, not on the pistols but close enough to grab them at a moments notice.

"We have some interest in some new products of yours we have recently seen in action. A sort of automatic rifle as it were. It seems as of now the best gun out there, and knowing these parts whoever is the most well equiped is always the most well off."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bag of gold coins. It wasn't all they had, but it was a decent amount and held it up,

"Of course, we'd like to have a closer look at the product and perhaps any blueprints for such an interesting design before we invest anything into it's production."

[Supercape]

GM

"Of course, we'd like to have a closer look at the product and perhaps any blueprints for such an interesting design before we invest anything into it's production."

"You got some nerve, baby!" laughed Mr. Snake.

A weasely looking man scurried to his side, dressed in a crumpled grey suit that complemented his crumpled grey hair. Presumably some assistant, although he looked far from trustworthy.

"Say, Runt" he said, addressing his assistant "have I got a hearing problem? I could have sworn the lady here asked me for information...free....hahaha! nothing comes free in this operation baby! we been screwed over by the man too many times. At Silverstones we make anything, but everyting comes with a price tag, comrades!"

He actually seemed genuinely amused by the request, although he was not ill tempered or offended.

"So, what can you do for me?"

[Raveled]

Starlight kept any reaction to Mr. Snake's odd appearance off his face. He'd been around the galaxy and seen plenty weirder, even if the gunseller didn't look exactly like what most humans did. "Well for starters," he drawled, "we can tell you where we got that gun." He winked at the other man. "Wouldn't you like to know who's selling cut-rate models of your product?"

[Supercape]

GM

"Well for starters, we can tell you where we got that gun. Wouldn't you like to know who's selling cut-rate models of your product?"

"That is my product, fool!" he laughed wholeheartedly, his body convulsing. "We here at SIlverstone's we build anything. You got the steel, we got the deal..."

He stood up to examine the gun carefully.

"Yessir...all made right here. Well, most of it. Somebody else put it together...real well, and real interesting too. Yeah, I guessed it might be a gun..."

He sat down again.

"This is bad business, baby, bad...I mean, we sell guns to brothers, help them help themselves, if you know what I'm saying. But this here gun, something new, we made the parts, but not the gun. That makes Silverstone's in a bad position, baby. Now, I got a mess on my hands..."

He pressed his hands to his temples.

"Why you so interested anyway? don't be asking for no extortion money, baby, Silverstone's got a long and good history of dealing with anybody trying that jig..."

[Raveled]

"Well, Mister Snake, the issue at hand is one of balance." Starlight cast about the office, and luckily noticed a few half-full bottles of tequila and a single shoe. He stripped the laces out of the shoe and tied a couple bottles around the neck, then lifted them with two fingers so they roughly balanced. "See, if everyone's standing on the same level, then everything all settled and hunky-dory. Even if someone loses something..." He took a swig of alcohol from one bottle and swallowed, "or if someone gains something..." He poured from one bottle to another, until they were roughly full again, "it doesn't much matter as long as it all stays balanced.

"But these guns. Well, pardner, they're a problem. I've seen for my own eyes that rifle there fire off ten or twenty bullets in less time than it takes to say it. And that makes things unbalanced. And when things get unbalanced..." Starlight pushed at the bottom of one bottle with his free thumb until it tilted enough that liquor could splash out onto the floor. After a few seconds he let it swing free again and the fuller, heavier bottle began to pull the lighter one up. It took less than a minute for the light bottle to upend completely and then the pair were falling and shattered on the floor of Mr. Snake's desk, spilling spirits everywhere. "Well, things break. And let me tell you, there's people out there that don't want to see things break in Texas, do you understand me?"

[Supercape]

GM

"Sweet Zombie Jesus!" yelled Mr. Snake, as the spirit bottle hit the floor.

"You messing with my drink now?" he yelped, a moment of anger directed at Starlight. "You got some fine cheek, mister, messing with a man's drink..."

He paused a moment, staring straight at Starlight. He had not blinked. Once. In the whole time they had been talking.

"But I guess you have a point..." he finished, slumping on his chair and pressing his fingers to his temples.

"Silverstone's ain't pretty, not any more. Not by any long shot. But we still remember how it was, got some legacy here. All black brothers ans sisters, freshly free from the chains, but not the boot. Yeah, the man had the boot to our face, no jobs, liberty...but poverty. So Silverstone's got set up, with blood and sweat, and we been looking after our own ever since..."

He sat back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.

"So we don't want the boot back on our face. Nobody gets bigger guns to shoot with again, y'understanding me? We standing proud and tall now, nobody not ever going to push us around again..."

Despite his intentions, there was something a little cold, and fierce, about Mr. Snake.

"Now I'll be saying that Finnigan, that crook, he is buying up the parts. Quite how he is putting them together, well I guess that's another story altogether. But how are you going to take down Finnigan? he got half the law in his pocket and his boys are tougher than old nails..."

He gave them a thin-lidded gaze.

"Couple of years ago, well, a good ten, a would have ridden out to give him a taste of Snake's medicine. And let me tell you, they don't call me Mr. Snake for nothing..."

For a moment, he canines flashed to venomous length, and his forked tounge whipped out.

"...I used to sort out trouble. And I had the gifts to do it. But all I see in front of me are three riders dressed up all funny..."

[Azuth65]

"You're in luck Mr. Snake. My own gift lends itself to acting as a person's proxy rather well. If you would be so kind as to hold out your right hand, I can give duplicate your gift and make sure the dose of 'Snake's Medicine' is administered to fullest effect," Siphon said.

The borrowed duster flapped around his ankles as he stepped forward, his empty right hand extended. "Now, I will warn you that the process may leave you a little tired but you'll still have the abilities," he explained, veins of silver beginning to spread from the palm of his hand to his fingertips.

[Supercape]

GM

"Well ain't today just full of surprises" said Mr. Snake, laughing gently but keeping his unblinking eyes firmly on Siphon, studying him carefully.

"It's been over twenty years since they gave me a supposed infusion..." he said "and it damned near killed me, boy. I was two inches from meeting the reaper for over a month. And let me tell you boy, my blood, it hurt.. So whilst I may get a little tired, steel yourself for what ye are about to receive..."

He put his hand out, stopping one inch away.

"And you try to screw with me, boy, I'll set the Whole of Silverstone to work giving you lead, you catch my meaning?"

With a hearty, and not particularly benign laugh, he grasped Siphon's hand firmly.