***
15 July 1937
Capt. Alastair Hawkesworth
HMAS Richard Lemon Lander
My Dearest Alastair,
I write to you from onboard the Lady Blackbird, currently on the Marinaris Path, having just left the world of Wayland. As you know, we have been dispatched on a mission to find and halt Spanish commerce raiders, and to reestablish our supply of Orichalium from the world of Cloudlands, which has been interrupted. In addition, as a secondary goal, we aim to remove a usurper from the rule of Cloudlands, and place our newest companion, Iris, upon that throne.
I was the last to arrive prior to the Lady Blackbird’s departure, owing to the need to complete arrangements for a proper and secure regency over the Autumn Court during my absence from it. I have no wish for a repetition of Lord Tybalt’s brief, disastrous tenure as regent.
This time, although I am not entirely comfortable with it, I have negotiated an agreement with Lord Garavon of the Winter Court. One of his vassals, Lord Tinucal, whom I have dealt with in the past, shall assume the regency over the Autumn Court. The negotiations were long and difficult, primarily because I attempted to forsee every possible difficulty and loop-hole (I am not certain if that is the correct term). I believe I did so; I shall only know for certain when I return to my realm and discover what sort of welcome I receive.
Upon my return to Tudor, and London, I discovered that plans for the Lady Blackbird’s mission were well advanced. I saw no reason to suggest any changes or alterations, instead I simply joined in the planning and preparations for departure. I must say that I was most disappointed that I was not able to visit with you; however, I well understand the nature of your duties, and it is only natural that Queen Artoria has so quickly come to value and rely upon your talents and insights. Perhaps when the Lady Blackbird returns from this latest mission, we may find time to visit together; I shall look forward to that.
The crew of the ship comprised myself and of course General Pickton; Iris, who would serve (most ably, as it transpired) as pilot; Elspeth and Marcus; Lord Tybalt, and his retainer Jamison; Colonel Rasmussen, and finally Sophie, formerly the engineer aboard the Fair Lenore.
We departed on the Martian Path and in short order (for the Lady Blackbird is much faster than a conventional airship) reached our first destination of Barsoom. We witnessed battles in the far distance and overflew a group of natives (Tharks, I believe they were called) who were readying an anti-aircraft weapon, but we were well out of range before they could attack us.
We chose not to stop here to refuel, instead going on to Wayland. We arrived in the evening by the local clock, to some interest, as our ship was something of a novelty. I, with the assistance of Lord Tybalt and Colonel Rasmussen, negotiated for fuel and supplies, as well as a quantity of owlbear meat – apparently a local delicacy.
Then, perhaps against my better judgment, I joined Iris, Elspeth and Colonel Rasmussen on a “night on the town.” We did enjoy a fine meal, but any further revelry was halted by the arrival in the sky of an airship. It had been attacked, was aflame, and was slowly crashing to the ground.
While we hurried back to the Lady Blackbird our companions were already acting, as I later discovered. Lord Tybalt went in search of another airship that might be ready to launch and render midair assistance. General Pickton took flight and, as befits his courageous nature (and incidentally shows the wisdom of my appointing him as a General), began to rescue passengers from the stricken ship, one at a time. From them it was learned that the ship had been attacked by raiders – presumably the very raiders we were dispatched to find and stop).
As the burning airship continued its uncontrolled descent, it appeared as though it would crash directly into a populated area of the city; it was then that Colonel Rasmussen took action. He summoned a massive wind that blew the airship further along its path so that it would come to rest on open ground; unfortunately, General Pickton was caught in the blast of wind and suffered injuries as he, too, crashed to the ground (thankfully, his injuries were easily treatable).
Once our crew was fully reassembled, we took flight, hoping to catch the raiders who, certainly could not be far away.
In fact they were not, and we caught up to them on the Marinaris Path, in the middle of a treacherous canyon. It was here that Iris showed her true skills as a pilot, outmaneuvering two enemy ships (very similar in design to our own) and keeping our ship in one piece when it seemed certain that we must crash to our doom.
Meanwhile, a pitched battle ensued. One of the two enemy ships was quickly destroyed; I attacked with my weapon and scored a direct hit to the engine room, while Elspeth sheared off two engines using the ship’s energy weapon (which, sadly, was destroyed later in the battle, so I shall not be able to study it further).
The second ship was damaged by General Pickton, attacking from our machine-gun turret. He completely destroyed the bridge of the ship, killing the command crew. However, the gunners were still active, and over the course of the battle, serious damage was done to the Lady Blackbird before all four turrets were destroyed. General Pickton, Elspeth and Lord Tybalt all contributed to our victory in this action.
I, unfortunately, did not. When I attempted to fire my weapon, it manfunctioned most severely, knocking me unconscious. As I learned later, it did more than that, however. Apparently, some sort of magical portal was opened by the energy discharge, and – if Colonel Rasmussem is to be believed – the very spirits of Mars entered him. He reported feeling vastly more powerful, and also being possessed of a correspondingly strong aggression, perhaps even a bloodlust. He, too, aided in the attacks upon the remaining enemy ship using his suddenly-enhanced magical abilities.
I shall have to study this effect to see whether it can be made to occur in a purposeful and controlled manner.
This brings me to the present; we are preparing to take possession of the enemy ship, and also we must effect repairs upon our own. We shall then continue our mission to Cloudlands and complete our assignment. Until then, I remain your loyal friend,
Genevieve Chantal Therese de Lisieux Lamballe, La Reine du Le Cour d’Automne
Capt. Alastair Hawkesworth
HMAS Richard Lemon Lander
My Dearest Alastair,
I write to you from onboard the Lady Blackbird, currently on the Marinaris Path, having just left the world of Wayland. As you know, we have been dispatched on a mission to find and halt Spanish commerce raiders, and to reestablish our supply of Orichalium from the world of Cloudlands, which has been interrupted. In addition, as a secondary goal, we aim to remove a usurper from the rule of Cloudlands, and place our newest companion, Iris, upon that throne.
I was the last to arrive prior to the Lady Blackbird’s departure, owing to the need to complete arrangements for a proper and secure regency over the Autumn Court during my absence from it. I have no wish for a repetition of Lord Tybalt’s brief, disastrous tenure as regent.
This time, although I am not entirely comfortable with it, I have negotiated an agreement with Lord Garavon of the Winter Court. One of his vassals, Lord Tinucal, whom I have dealt with in the past, shall assume the regency over the Autumn Court. The negotiations were long and difficult, primarily because I attempted to forsee every possible difficulty and loop-hole (I am not certain if that is the correct term). I believe I did so; I shall only know for certain when I return to my realm and discover what sort of welcome I receive.
Upon my return to Tudor, and London, I discovered that plans for the Lady Blackbird’s mission were well advanced. I saw no reason to suggest any changes or alterations, instead I simply joined in the planning and preparations for departure. I must say that I was most disappointed that I was not able to visit with you; however, I well understand the nature of your duties, and it is only natural that Queen Artoria has so quickly come to value and rely upon your talents and insights. Perhaps when the Lady Blackbird returns from this latest mission, we may find time to visit together; I shall look forward to that.
The crew of the ship comprised myself and of course General Pickton; Iris, who would serve (most ably, as it transpired) as pilot; Elspeth and Marcus; Lord Tybalt, and his retainer Jamison; Colonel Rasmussen, and finally Sophie, formerly the engineer aboard the Fair Lenore.
We departed on the Martian Path and in short order (for the Lady Blackbird is much faster than a conventional airship) reached our first destination of Barsoom. We witnessed battles in the far distance and overflew a group of natives (Tharks, I believe they were called) who were readying an anti-aircraft weapon, but we were well out of range before they could attack us.
We chose not to stop here to refuel, instead going on to Wayland. We arrived in the evening by the local clock, to some interest, as our ship was something of a novelty. I, with the assistance of Lord Tybalt and Colonel Rasmussen, negotiated for fuel and supplies, as well as a quantity of owlbear meat – apparently a local delicacy.
Then, perhaps against my better judgment, I joined Iris, Elspeth and Colonel Rasmussen on a “night on the town.” We did enjoy a fine meal, but any further revelry was halted by the arrival in the sky of an airship. It had been attacked, was aflame, and was slowly crashing to the ground.
While we hurried back to the Lady Blackbird our companions were already acting, as I later discovered. Lord Tybalt went in search of another airship that might be ready to launch and render midair assistance. General Pickton took flight and, as befits his courageous nature (and incidentally shows the wisdom of my appointing him as a General), began to rescue passengers from the stricken ship, one at a time. From them it was learned that the ship had been attacked by raiders – presumably the very raiders we were dispatched to find and stop).
As the burning airship continued its uncontrolled descent, it appeared as though it would crash directly into a populated area of the city; it was then that Colonel Rasmussen took action. He summoned a massive wind that blew the airship further along its path so that it would come to rest on open ground; unfortunately, General Pickton was caught in the blast of wind and suffered injuries as he, too, crashed to the ground (thankfully, his injuries were easily treatable).
Once our crew was fully reassembled, we took flight, hoping to catch the raiders who, certainly could not be far away.
In fact they were not, and we caught up to them on the Marinaris Path, in the middle of a treacherous canyon. It was here that Iris showed her true skills as a pilot, outmaneuvering two enemy ships (very similar in design to our own) and keeping our ship in one piece when it seemed certain that we must crash to our doom.
Meanwhile, a pitched battle ensued. One of the two enemy ships was quickly destroyed; I attacked with my weapon and scored a direct hit to the engine room, while Elspeth sheared off two engines using the ship’s energy weapon (which, sadly, was destroyed later in the battle, so I shall not be able to study it further).
The second ship was damaged by General Pickton, attacking from our machine-gun turret. He completely destroyed the bridge of the ship, killing the command crew. However, the gunners were still active, and over the course of the battle, serious damage was done to the Lady Blackbird before all four turrets were destroyed. General Pickton, Elspeth and Lord Tybalt all contributed to our victory in this action.
I, unfortunately, did not. When I attempted to fire my weapon, it manfunctioned most severely, knocking me unconscious. As I learned later, it did more than that, however. Apparently, some sort of magical portal was opened by the energy discharge, and – if Colonel Rasmussem is to be believed – the very spirits of Mars entered him. He reported feeling vastly more powerful, and also being possessed of a correspondingly strong aggression, perhaps even a bloodlust. He, too, aided in the attacks upon the remaining enemy ship using his suddenly-enhanced magical abilities.
I shall have to study this effect to see whether it can be made to occur in a purposeful and controlled manner.
This brings me to the present; we are preparing to take possession of the enemy ship, and also we must effect repairs upon our own. We shall then continue our mission to Cloudlands and complete our assignment. Until then, I remain your loyal friend,
Genevieve Chantal Therese de Lisieux Lamballe, La Reine du Le Cour d’Automne
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