Steampunk AU

[sliceitwithwind]

It was a nice inn, a crossroads of many people where it wouldn't be unusual to see a Chinese courtesan sitting next to an English trader, or a Katzu warrior chatting with an Olia scientist.

It was a little less likely to see a Katzu scientist chattering excitedly with what looked like an Olia pirate, but...not enough that the majority of the patrons to bat more than an eye. The Katzu in question had goggles shoved up on his dreads, and a leather apron over his slightly charred clothing, leather gloves, and an expression of purest glee. The Olia had a missing eye, a gentleman's clothing, and an expression of long-suffering camaraderie.

"And that's when I realised that by adding another boiler I could get triple the power, which was when the automaton stumbled into the table but the point is that it spoke! Words I hadn't given it yet!"

Comments

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig came out to join him fairly soon, "It will be a simple dinner, I'm afraid. Dilan does the fancy things, so we'll be eating what the crew does."

[mitochondriaaya]

"With a touch more vegetables one hopes?" he chuckled, lifting his face to the light breeze. "We do quite well with simple, Braig, it will be alright. She was not raised to high tastes and mine have no changed."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Indeed." Braig laughed, "Much as it wounds me, I am still more of a vegetarian than not. You won't fuss too much if Dilan does pull out the stops, I hope?"

[mitochondriaaya]

"That is part of what it means to be Olia! Enjoy your vegetables and your general good health!" he grinned and shook his head. "Not at all. Dilan allows a meal to be finished in it's own time and doesn't rush the courses with a taste of this and a taste of that!"

"Something that gets frightfully annoying before the third course and daunting by the fifth without more than a spoonful tasted," Aya allowed, stepping out of her cabin with her face washed and her hat reaffixed.

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig offered her a small, polite bow, "So it does, although I am afraid I am rather used to it. Happily no-one attempts to remove Dilan's plates until he is quite finished...which may draw a formal supper out, but does leave him in a better mood."

[mitochondriaaya]

She gave Braig a sweet smile at the politeness and hooked her arm in her uncle's as a matter of course. "Perhaps we have not attended the proper suppers then! We will have to ask after the guest list when next we consider an invitation!" Because if katzu could cause a supper to slow to the point of actual enjoyment, well!

Nevada laid his hand over the one on his arm and chuckled, "Braig was just informing me of a simple supper tonight, but the company should be good."

[sliceitwithwind]

"I do my best." the little man said, leading the way to his cabin, which had a beautifully set up table with proper seating. "Would you care for wine, Ms. Brea, or would you prefer a cordial?"

[mitochondriaaya]

Nevada held Aya's chair then seated himself properly. "Wine, please," Aya requested. She didn't care for something as sweet as a cordial with a meal so much as after.

"Wine as well please," the niceties must be observed after all.

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig nodded and poured out. It was a good vintage, although not the best. Something that stored well, and that he was fond of.

Supper was brought in rather quickly after that, dish after dish of beautifully presented Katzu foods.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya watched the dishes come in with unabashed curiosity. The foods were foreign, or if they weren't, well, she couldn't identify them in the shapes they were presented. "This is a simple meal?" Aya asked lightly.

Nevada? Took one look at the dishes and laughed.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yes, actually." Braig said wryly, "The crew decided that my station," sigh, "deserved better presentation. These are all the same things that they are eating, made in giant batches, and then presented beautifully. I cannot get them to stop."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Oh my," Aya diplomatically hid a smile in a sip of wine and eyed the dishes again. "It almost seems a pity to fracture them..."

"Of course they won't stop. You make interesting faces, Braig, AND they have decent excuses to hide behind. Would you like me to serve?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"If you wish, Nevada." Braig said wryly, "Thank you."

[mitochondriaaya]

Nevada wasted no time in serving them each, dishing out portions in a manner designed to reassure suspicious sorts. Everyone got spoonfuls from different sections, and not even the same sections of other dishes! Hard for anyone specifically to be poisoned that way (it was habit). "So, Braig, why so eager to be off on an old friend's whim? Are you being hounded again?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Not by my parents," Braig said wryly, "but the newest crop of marriageable daughters is out and if I stay anywhere near home I will be obligated to dance with one or more twitter-pated girls who simply won't understand Dilan. On any level."

[mitochondriaaya]

"There may not be much relief from dancing in India," Aya noted softly.

"Which leads us neatly toward the goal of this trip," Nevada admitted. "We will be attending a masquerade."

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig levelled a steady look at Nevada, because nothing was EVER that simple. Ever.

[mitochondriaaya]

Nevada looked back mildly for a moment, lifted his hands in an abbreviated shrug, and turned his attention on Aya. "Aya, I have spoken about Braig and Dilan before, what I failed to mention was that these are men I have trusted my life too, often, as well as the secrets of my work. They have never broken my trust."

Aya had tilted a sweet, attentive look on her uncle when he addressed her, but at his words that slid away in a wry, relieved smile. "That will make things easier uncle, thank you." Anyone Nevada trusted that implicitly was to be trusted now until proven unworthy. "I am pursuing a courier; the most likely point to intercept him since his flight from England is the masquerade where he is to meet an unnamed contact."

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig turned to her, not exactly dismissing him from his mind but coming close. Miss Brea, it seemed, was in charge of this outing.

"Very well. What background should I know? When and where is the masquerade? What kind of backup would you like?"

[mitochondriaaya]

Nevada leaned back in his seat, smiling and finishing his meal. Yes, it was nice to be semi-retired.

"The Teak palace," she admitted. "That summer folly that has yet to come down around anyone, and it is ten days from now. The courier has yet to arrive in India. Judging by how narrowly we missed him none of the conventional transports will place him in the region until nearly the night of the ball." She'd worked out time tables AND consulted with his financiers. The man could not afford an airship ride, much less a rushed one.

"The background is trickier. I assume that you are aware of eh East India Trading Company," everyone was! "Documents penned by her Majesty in regards to a new regulation have been disappearing and we believe that they are being delivered to the company. This, naturally, does not stop the enactment of law, but it does warn the merchants on how best to dodge penalties." And the fact that nothing was stopped was why the occasional theft had been overlooked before. "We found the person responsible for slipping documents but they took fright before they could be pinned in England. I am still working on decoding several correspondences found within the man's home, so there my ability to fill you in properly must come to a temporary halt."

"And?" Nevada added.

"Ah, yes, and backup. I was not inclined to risk you or your crew."

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig snorted, "Then you'd be acting the fool, Miss Brea. My crew is made entirely of Katzu warriors, with the exception of the mechanic. You should re-think your stance on backup.

"We will be able to make it to India inside a week, a bit longer if we need to go to the south. My ship is the fastest in the air."

[mitochondriaaya]

"There is a limit as to how many erstwhile bodyguards my invitation will allow," Aya pointed out drily. "And while I may be slightly more conversant than most with etiquette in India, such did not cover a brigade of Katzu at parties. Allow me the time to gather the proper information on such when we arrive and I may find a more palatable answer."

"And yes, my uncle did mention the speed of your ship. I am quite in awe of it."

[sliceitwithwind]

"You will have to meet our mechanic. Pierce Carridine, of Dahnil Clan. He was adopted in before we met him. If you can gather two more invitations Dilan and I can come. Dilan is a bit special with regards to labs, but utterly trustworthy in the field."

[mitochondriaaya]

"When next you're in water," Nevada promised the girl. "Pierce is a good kid but he will barely say hello when his precious engines are running." That side stepped the 'you will distract the boy and then we fall' thing neatly!

"I will do my utmost to see that you can attend," Aya promised. "But pardon me if at times I look at you strangely. I am not accustomed to placing those of your standing and DIlan's brilliance in harms way."

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig snorted, "We have been Nevada's backup for a long time. Try to get past that, Miss Brea."