Expendable

Empire of the Clouds

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Christina

Zeppelin #27, Gondola

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"Cease what you are doing and inflate the ballonets," ordered the tinny voice coming out of the speaker tube. "We've taken on ballast. Keep us down till we can safely disconnect the cables and get the crew aboard."

Christina's head reared back as she frowned. Did they finally pick a captain?

"Then, we deflate the ballonets and dump the ballast and we should be able to ascend reasonably quickly."

"Bravo," the mechanic said into the horn, already making adjustments on the main panel. Studying the manuals had helped. "SÌ, I inflate ballonets. Capitano, use more hands here when more crew."

H3110!! ^u^

Greetings and salutations!

2100 ☢️ BADLAND REPUBLIC

Epsilon 9-00FF66 - "Nine"

Text Color: FF00FF
Location: Havenwood

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Havenwood, noted Nine, was unlike the bunker. True, it was underground, at least away from that hot sun, but nobody here wanted to dissect her for being short.

And they all called her Nine because of the laser tattoos on her upper arms, instead of Epsilon 9-00FF66. Not that she saw any people dressed like her, in her faded servitor uniform, so she was unlikely to be confused with another.

But despite her planning, she'd left in such a rush that she hadn't completed her kit. She had body armor but no helmet to protect her head. No first aid kit. No winding or solar charger. Only three boxes of shells, and nothing in the way of trade goods - not even the ration bars. She wondered if she got the batch made with artificial sawdust?

Still, Nine could offer her labor, and that got her some outside world food. It didn't look much like what they would serve in the bunker, or even tasted like it, but the analyzer wand gave it a green light. If only she had one of those fancy armbands with the buttons like the Alphas or Betas had, then it could tell her what was in the bowls. But the bunker would be able to trace that.

If she was going to dream, a robotic mule would have been nice to carry everything as well - but the Alphas could order it recalled and take away her trade goods, if she had any, so instead she had this backpack to haul everything in. Weird how none of the literature had warned her how heavy the pack would get on her shoulders, or the osmosis canteen. At least Nine had a stick of sunscreen - and she'd found her way here.

But the outside world had its own threats, it seemed.

"Who are these 'New Republic' people?" she whispered to the person next to her. "Why do they kill people?"

Nine had killed before, but only when necessary. Did these New Republicans think they could simply get away with murder? Would that make them sociopaths?

The books she had read had suggested she could be a psychopath. If she had the opportunity, she should study these New Republicans from a healthy distance.

Umbra Rose Condos

<Snipped quote by Expendable>

So if Lilith picked up a lance and got on top of Eilidh's back, he'd be able to eat it safely? /joke

@Foster

Knights on horseback were the second form of food delivery service in the old days.

Umbra Rose Condos

I mean, nothing is stopping anyone from eating it.

Since everyone here is immortal, the worst that can happen is a mild upset stomach.

@Foster

Dragons aren't immortal, they're just very long lived. They're also not so vulnerable to knights waving lances on horseback.

Hidden Amongst Humans - Initial Thoughts

Umbra Rose Condos is like that, it's a safe haven for monsters living in the city.

There's a couple ways this could go.

Imagine a series of subway tunnels, connecting to various out-of-service subway stations or forgotten fallout shelters.
It would work really well if you're treating this as an underground railroad for monsters.

Perhaps there's a seedy-looking cafe or bookstore that has a secret door leading to a forgotten alley, like in Harry Potter. Or an alley that leads to a cluster of forgotten buildings that have been wiped off city maps.

The Witches of Hollow Lights

Okay, so they're tapping into the ley lines to power their magic, but it requires energy to tap into energy?

So does this require a ritual, say dancing, to draw in that power from the ley lines, perhaps to fill a reservoir that can then be tapped to power the spells? Is this like an external reservoir, say an altar or large stone, or a gemstone one might wear, or some internal space one can use? Some call it a core?

Umbra Rose Condos

-Baked onions are super-simple. Take an unpeeled onion, cut the stem/stump off so it lays flat on a plate, then cut it in half, have them have open-side up and add butter. The layers will swell up as it broils causing the onion to be self-peeling. Chop as desired or eat whole when done. 2-3 minutes on high plus a minute for each additional onion.

@Foster

Sometimes I roast onions with the meat, no butter. Very tasty.

Empire of the Clouds

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Christina

Zeppelin #27, Gondola

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"Porca Miseria!" Christina spat, climbing up the ladder and running back to the engine compartment.

Once inside, she sprinted to the main panel and pressed the button for the compressor. With a belch of black smoke, it stirred to life while she turned the dial and began throwing levers. This wasn't going to be like the first time, the gas bags were already beginning to swell.

"You better have counted, cretino!" she yelled. Blowing the whistle for the speaking tube, she removed the cover and yelled into the horn. "Inflating! Get them aboard now!"

Outside, the zeppelin was already pulling on the ropes that secured it to the ground.

Empire of the Clouds

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Christina

Zeppelin #27, Gondola

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"Ware below!" Christina sung out, sliding down the ladder into the gondola, then eyeing the gold reserve through the window. "Are we done, yet? Because I need a bath, not this pitiful excuse for a shower, it's like being spat on. They must have a bath over there, don't you think?"

"Or has the esercito popolare managed to sneak up on us?" The mechanic asked, raising an eyebrow. "Surely I am not the only one who wants to get clean?"