Earth Victoriana: On Track

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Hmmm...what? Are you saying that we should approach from the rear? Use tactics? Why, I never found much use for such novelties in my time in the Army. Chin up, charge in, for Queen and Country, that always did the trick! And guns, too. Very handy to have guns when the blighters you are charging have spears. I can assure you of that. Why, I do recall my time in Africa, trying to build a damn bridge, then these Zulus..."

 

He twirled his moustache lost in thought. 

 

"Pardon me ma'am, I digress. What did you have in mind then? Some kind of subterfuge?"

[Exaccus]

"Hmm, If i could get inside, I could smoke them out in a manner of speaking and send them unwittingly into your awaiting grasps."  Ulysses offers; a thin wisp of steam billowing from between his lips as speaks "catch em in a pincer maneuver and put them in the thieves dilemma, keep em separate and make them believe they're selling each other out to get them to spill what they know in hopes of lenient punishments for their involvement." almost able to feel the steel wheels turning in his mind, working over the problem present to it like a mill, turning to regard Synapse as he continues "you seem to have some esoteric talents as well, judging by your original outfit; any that might help us out here? I fear mine are only good for the most direct routes." 

[Thevshi]

What is it with men and wanting to just charge right into things? Dee could not help but ask herself as Singh almost went into recounting a tale of battling Zulu in Africa. She was not sure who much more of this colonial jingoism she was going to be able to stomach, but luckily he stopped himself and the older gentleman that had come over with her (who had already demonstrated that he was a Power) mentioned getting in and trying to smoke them out.

"Well, that might work, but could also cause them to scatter in a lot of different directions." Dee replied. She then gave a sly smile as he asked about what other abilities she might have that could help. <Well, it just so happens that I do have a few, including the ability to project my thoughts into men’s minds, as well as read them.> She telepathically communicated into Ulysses and Singh’s minds almost simultaneously.

[Supercape]

GM

 

SInghs eyes raised and he looked shocked. 

 

"Pardon me Madam, I must have had a most peculiar turn! mayhap a vexatious consumption of the brain! I do confess!" he said, patting down his sweaty forehead and removing his helmet. 

 

"I must be hallucinating...the heat...perhaps the opium vapours have addled my senses. I could swear I just heard you in my head, speaking to me by some kind of spiritual medium! Why, for one moment I could swear you said...."

 

" <Well, it just so happens that I do have a few, including the ability to project my thoughts into men’s minds, as well as read them.> " said Synapse with a smirk. 

 

"By Vishnu! Is it true? You are a psychic medium! I have heard many tales, but never seen such wonder. If you truly possess such mystic powers, then by all means, exert them!" said Singh with newfound admiration. 

[Exaccus]

Ulysess for the second time that day found his mind filled with the voice of another being, which was as reassuring as it was worrying; For one thing he now knew that he was not infact mad, but that meant that there was someone else poking around in his engineering cab, which was at the best of times a worrying prospect.

 

"That should make things remarkably easier then, maybe we just need to gain entry and spend enough time for you to give everyone a quick once over; or can you do it from out here?" he hummed rubbing his hand against his beard; Chest growing a little tight as he turned the problems facing him over in his mind. He could probably use the help of a psychic if his mind was being invaded by alien urges and commands but he had a feeling that claiming to have voices in his head would diminish the captains already dim opinion of him; Resolving to do what any man of his intellect would in the situation he tries thinking as loudly as possible.

 

Hello? is this thing on?

Edited October 20, 2014 by Exaccus

[Thevshi]

"Yes, I am a woman of many talents."  Dee replied to Singh with a small smile.  "And my abilities are not mystical, but I suppose the distinction is not really important."  She then added.

 

The young Englishwoman then looked over to Ulysses as she continued.  "I do have to be able to see the person who's mind I want to read, but it certainly is something I can do relatively discreetly."

 

When Ulysses focused on trying to make his thoughts as loud as possible, he heard Dee's voice in his mind once again.  <You don't have to be that loud.>  He could hear the smile in her mental voice.  <But for the moment I am here, though once I start trying to learn more about the Thugee that will take most of my focus.>

[Exaccus]

<Ah, Sorry about that.>  Ulysses thinks with his indoors brain. <I Think i might have some pertinent information; Shortly before we uh..crossed over? I heard a voice in my head, I dismissed it as a senile moment at first but it got more insistant..its only just when you made uh..contact? that i realized its an external voice, one thats making demands about finishing captain 'staches railway.>

 

Fidgeting slightly with his hands for a moment and shifts uneasily <Though Its a relief to find out I'm not getting any crazier than being a steam engine man, its sorta worrying at the same time that something can do that.>

[Thevshi]

<Hmmm.>  Dee "responded" as she considered for a few moments the information for Ulysses.  <I do not think you are going crazy, but the information is certainly interesting, and possibly very important.  It may well be that our presence here is not a result of the bombs that were being used weakening dimensional barriers, but some third party reaching out across the dimensions for someone that could help.  Question is, what third party?>

 

<But contemplating possible answers to that will have to wait for a moment.>  She then added. <Time to gain us access to this den of "depravity.">  With that, the young Englishwoman cut off her connection to Ulysses, as she focused on using another of her powers.

 

Reaching out to the mind of the lookout as the trio approached the door, Dee managed to push her way in, taking control of the man's mind.  Even as he seemed to react to the approach of the group, he suddenly froze and went almost ridged.  Then, without even a word, he turned and opened the door for Dee and her companions, stepping off to one side to allow them entrance.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Inside the Hall of Ill Repute...

 

It was smoky. Timber frames, old and sensual, wound around the creaking hall, with rich textiles draped like hanging eyelids over the roofs and the walls. Plump cushions threatened to embrace every footstep, and men, women, and hijras lay spawled in sleep, slumber and embrace on them. 

 

The air was thick with the smoke of incense and opium, a soporific air rich enough to sedate. 

 

At the end, a statue of Kali, in blackened wood, all arms, glare, and knives and fire. At its feet, eyes closed, in meditation, a priest in black robes. 

 

In the dimly seen smoky corners, Singh, Dee, and Ulysses could see youths, stripped to the waist, with the same tattoos on their chests and backs, eyes black and sinister, following them. 

[Thevshi]

Dee gave a slight cough as they entered the smoky, dimly lit building.  For all her years as something of a party girl, the young Englishwoman had never been into drugs, although she did like incense.  Still, the atmosphere in the building was quite heavy, but she managed to tolerate it, at least for the moment.

 

<Well, they are not exactly being subtle are they?>  She mentally stated to Singh and Ulysses as she spotted the statue at the end of the room.  <Be dears and keep an eye on the guys lurking in the shadows if you please.>  She then asked to two men.  <I am going to see what I can learn.>

 

And with that, she began to focus on the mind of the priest seated in front of the statue of Kali. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Inside the mind of the priest of Kali...

 

Praise Kali, mother of destruction, I am your devoted servants. Lend us your will, lend us your love, lend us your fury, to strike and strike again against the unbelievers, against the oppressors, against the decadent and blind machines and men of England! No! We shall not allow the rail to scar our beloved country, by your grace and by the lord Vishnu!

 

Let them burn and bleed, let your divine grace bleed across the land, oh mighty Kali!

 

You have sent us our axe, our spear, our gunpowder, Annie Key! your daughter, though half English, surely your daughter! Protect her and guide her as you have done, lend her your strength and your fire! She will light the skies and the earth with flame and dust, and never let the wheel, the iron, the shaft and crank, befoul our land!

 

Lend us your fury, oh Kali! And protect your divine daughter, Annie Key!

[Exaccus]

Having been in quite a few ale houses and pubs in his time Ulysses could feel the unwelcoming mien of this place rather keenly, like the foulness in the air it utterly permeated the place to the point of saturating the worn down walls,

 

Giving a slight nod in acknowledgement to Singh and Synapse he calmly and confidently strides over to an unoccupied wall and rests his back against it, casting a cursory glance around the room, letting out a Huff and folding his arms over his chest, determined to be ready if the trouble this place seemed to promise did boil over, lips curling into the slight sneer that had deflected ruffians and hoodlums like a cowcatcher for years.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Exaccus

[Thevshi]

Dee pulled back out of the priest's mind after she heard his payer and the name of the individual he seemed to view as the focal point in trying to disrupt the plans for the railway line.

 

She then sent messages to her two companions letting them know what she has learned.  <Well, they are certainly behind the sabotaging of the railway.>  She first sent to the two men.  <Seems the primary individual in the bombings is a woman named Annie Key.  Have you heard of her?>  She then asked, the question primarily for Captain Singh.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Wha...who...wha?" mouthed Singh as the telepathic communication rung in his head once more. He pressed his fingers to his temples and concentrated. 

 

Hello! Hello! Is this thing on? Can you hear me? Testing Testing...Alpha Bravo Pappa!

 

Annie Key? A legend, a myth! Nothing more, by Vishnu! 

 

There was, many years ago, an Englishman, and Engineer, who was said to have run away with an Indian Beauty. A traitor, who deserted his country for love! Pffaahh! The baseness of it! A man most control his passions!

 

His name was Archibald Key. And he had a daughter with this lovely wife, the mysterious Annie Key! Well named, no? She has allegedly been behind every mechanical failure and factory explosion in india for the last 20 years! Annie Key! Annie Key! They cry, trying to shift the blame on to someone other than themselves!

[Thevshi]

Dee listened to Singh's mental response to her question about Annie Key, relaying the message to Ulysses as well.  The Englishwoman was not particularly surprised that the captain would be so quickly dismissive of the notion there was this mysterious woman out there causing various trouble for the Empire here in India.  But she was not quite so ready to dismiss the idea without a bit more investigation.

 

<Well, myth or legend, this priest certainly seems to believe she is real and is praying for Kali to guide and protect her.>  She provided in response.  <I am not so sure we should be too quick to dismiss the idea just now.  Perhaps I will just need to dig a bit deeper to see if this chap knows where this Annie Key might actually be.>

 

With that, Dee focused her attention back on the praying priest, as she prepared to go back into his mind to try to learn the location of Annie Key.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Inside the mind of the priest...

 

Images, formed and half formed, flew past as Synapse dove into the priests minds. Some of them were less than pleasant too, shadowy rites, sorcery, debauchery and hedonism and carnage beyond even her own bohemian past. The multi armed image of Kali was a theme, her obsidian form and many hands caressing everything, a mental star with its gravitational pull on the priest..

 

...And Annie Key...

 

She did not appear in sight or thought, but where she lived...

 

It was half cave, half shack, on the side of a hill of rocks. In Khamha, the town they were in! The town had its modest slums, and it seems Annie Key lived in it. 

[Thevshi]

Dee had long ago learned that digging around in the minds of criminals could be rather unpleasant, but the memories and thoughts of the "priest" of Kali were by far among the worst she had even encountered.  But the Englishwoman focused past her revulsion and desire to lobotomize the man, and continued looking for the information she needed.

 

Once she had the image of the ramshackle dwelling in one of Khamha's slums, Dee withdrew from the priest's mind.  <Alright, you may think this Annie Key is a legend captain, but this priest is convinced she exists, and lives in one of this town's slums.  Right now it is the strongest lead we have, so we should follow it.>

[Supercape]

GM

 

"By Vishnu! Are you sure?" asked Singh aloud - who was no longer unconvinced of Synapse's psychic talents, but was still unused to them, and more pertinently, shocked at the revelation. 

 

"Annie Key? Real?" he said again, aloud, as eyes started to peel his direction. 

 

His hand went to his revolver, unbidden and unconsciously. 

 

"This will not do! We must arrest this so called priest! This is a house of the Thuggee, and conspiracies!" he said, patriotic vigour loosening his tongue and widening his eyes. 

 

More eyes peeled in his direction, as tattoo'd youths slunk in the opium smoke and drew knives. 

 

And the Priests eyes flicked open...

[Exaccus]

Ulysses sighed as he pushed himself off his wall and plods casualy over to stand with synapse and the captain as the scene turns sour around them taking a moment to casually glance around the room and try to get a count on how many foes he now faced.

 

"I dare say the jig is up." he mutters to his companions, more to synapse than singh "by the looks of matters im guessing we're going to be doing things the hard way from here on out." placing his clenched fist into his palm and cracking his knuckles audibly. before putting them up in standard boxing stance "Honestly I kinda prefer it that way personaly, but prudence is not cowardice...should we fight or flee?"

[Thevshi]

"Oh bloody..."  Dee began to mutter to herself at Singh's reaction to her announcement of what she had discovered, and the reaction of those in the room to him.  The Englishwoman had half hoped they could have gotten the information they were after and then slipped away from the opium den without any of the Thugee really being the wiser.  She realized that had been a very foolish hope.

 

At Ulysses' question, she responded back in a low voice.  "While I am usually for avoiding unnecessary conflicts, leaving this lot free to pursue us as we move forward would be a rather bad idea."

 

With that, she focused her gaze back on the priest, preparing to launch a mental blast at the man in the hopes of quickly incapacitating him.

[Thevshi]

With things about to get dangerous, Dee surrounded herself with her forcefield, red psychic energy that crackled into being around her.  She only hoped that the others would be alright, although, Ulysses had already demonstrated that he was rather durable, having survived an explosion from one of the bombs planted along the line.  That really left only Singh to worry about.

 

The young Englishwoman then sent a blast of red psychic energy at the mind of the priest.  The man seemed to stagger slightly from the psychic impact, but otherwise remained on his feet.

[Supercape]

GM

 

With a screeching roar, the young men with lean, tattoo'd bodies and sharp knives leapt from the smoky walls, over slumbering and not so slumbering smokers and hedonists. They were quick, lithe, and...although young and inexperienced...possessed of a furious determination, a barely conscious death wish. 

 

And it was death they wished to deal. 

 

The knives flashed and blood was drawn. Synapse felt their sting. Ulysses skin was impenetrable  to such steel. 

 

"Oh my word..." gasped Singh, as he turned to face Synapse and Ulysses. A knife was sticking out of his chest, sunk in to the hilt. He coughed a little blood, and sank to his knees, quite amazed at the sight. His lovely linen suit started turning red...

 

The priest fluttered his eyelids, mumbled some otherworldly prayer, and flung some powder into the burning incense. A sickly sweet smell started to fill the air, some kind of soporific drug...

[Exaccus]

It feels like time slows down around him as he sets eyes on singh slumped and bleeding on the opium house floor with two thugs standing over him, horror flooding his mind at the sight of the boisterous captain laid low and the thugs screaming and dancing around him blades glinting in the partial light in some wicked dance, cold rage rising within his mind as he observes himself traverse the distance between himself and the thugs and lashes out with his monstrous might before they can so much as turn to look at him, he feels a jaw shatter as his blow turns a head and carries on through to impact the side of another, sending both men sprawling away into the miasma of the opium and whatever other pungent unguents sully the air.

 

Ulysses spares a brief glance to the captain; in his right mind he would have normally opted to disengage and carry the captain to safety but the steel wheels in his mind were in motion and could not be derailed till they'd finished; so he turns away and returns to face his own assailants with a steely glare.somewhat thicker than usual plumes of steam escaping from the corners of his mouth and nostrils as he huffs, not even aware of being attacked by them, simply picking them because they were the most immediate problem.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Two youths span through the air, slamming into obscured walls, wafting the fog of opium in their path. When he got going, Ulysses was not to be stopped. They were out cold, knocked back by his power. 

 

Singh slid to the floor, bleeding furiously. 

 

"I...I....By Vishnu...." he gasped. "What happened...those...." he coughed, a little speck of blood.

 

"Tell my wife...my children...I love them...." he said, bravely, even proudly, his hand reaching up  for Ulysses. 

[Thevshi]

Dee watched with a bit of amazement as Ulysses easily brushed aside the two cultists that had been attacking Singh.  But she knew that she should never have underestimated anyone who was a Power. 

 

"You're not dead yet, so you will be able to tell them yourself!"  The young Englishwoman called out to Singh, even as she focused on the cultist that had attacked her.  Red psychic energy lashed out at the man's mind, causing him to cry out in pain as he dropped his knife and reached both hands up towards his head.  He staggered backward a couple of steps, before collapsing to the ground unconscious.