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Adventures on the Lost Continent (Midnight Lass x Blood Red Romeo)

“Ah,” he said, tearing attention from one beautiful sight to another. “My ship’s engineers, the de la Vegas if you’ve heard of them, have developed a new machine for our ship. They want a mathematician to run it. I gave Luisa a test problem that was the hardest they would need solved, and she solved it flawlessly. At least, it appeared flawless to me,” he said with a smile.
 
"I know the de la Vega twins," Dr. Dubois responded. Looking up at the atrium, she added, "When I was rebuilding this place, Cimonah and Nina helped me reinforce the structure, add some environmental controls, that sort of things."

Dr. Dubois patted Luisa on the cheek. "I've become very fond of Luisa since I've met her. I didn't know about her mathematical skills, but I know she's capable of great things." The last statement made Luisa blush.

"So before anyone thinks about Luisa taking a position on your expedition, I'm going to need to see your airship and this machine she's supposed to handle," Dr. Dubois said decisively.

Luisa acted as if Dr. Dubois handling her future was only natural. Luna and Rose, though, exchanged looks to see what kind of reaction this ultimatum would get from Orson.
 
“Of course,” he replied. Orson wasn’t much for parental involvement in a lot of things, but that was probably due to his own upbringing. He understood that some people valued it. From what he had seen of Luisa so far, he could understand why having a figure like that in her life would be important. That said, what he couldn’t stand was parental obstruction. If she flat out refused to allow it or made up small, insignificant excuses to block Luisa joining, he’d have some issues with her.

“I’d be happy to show all of you the ship if you would like,” he said, extending the invitation to Luna and Rose. “Of course, tonight might be too late for a tour and introduction. Would you like to come by sometime tomorrow?”
 
Luisa looked to Dr. Dubois, who nodded. "Tomorrow will be fine. Say noonish?" she asked.

"Noon would work for me too," Luna added. Rose shrugged and nodded her assent.
 
“Noon works for me as well,” he replied. This was excellent. He was sure his ship would impress, so there were no issues there. And considering his planning and reviewing could be done at anytime, noon was of no issue to him. He also secretly hoped that Dr. Dubois would come along for the expedition as well. At the very least, he hoped he could talk to her some.

“I was wondering, how long does this usually last?” he asked, gesturing towards to flowers and the butterflies. “I’d like to stay and watch it for a bit longer, if that’s alright.”
 
As if on cue, the blooms began to fold in on themselves, one by one. As they did so, the butterflies took wing, drifting away in a long trail.

"No one's actually seen it, but legend says that there's a huge field of moon roses somewhere on the lost continent," Dr. Dubois began, "And when they bloom, you can see the glow for miles. And the butterflies gathering looks like a sky full of stars slowly descending to earth."

Dr. Dubois watched silently until the last bloom closed and the last butterfly disappeared. "I think," she continued, "that if Luisa doesn't take a position in your expedition, I'm going to hire her as my permanent assistant. For now, though, I have some other work to do. Let me show you the way out, Captain James."
 
Orson thought on that. The idea of these flowers, open for miles with the beautiful glow. It must be a breathtaking sight. “It’s possible we already missed it, but I’m going to hope we get a chance to see that.” When Dr. Dubois mentioned hiring Luisa, it made Orson happy. The girl was clearly a sweetheart with a great amount of potential. It was nice to know that, even if she didn’t join his crew, she’d have a nice position waiting for her. That said, he still wanted her to join his crew.

“If she does decide to join, I don’t see any reason my crew couldn’t use a skilled naturalist,” he told her with conspiratorial smile as he followed her out. He wasn’t going to offer her the spot right now. He just wanted to get her thinking about it. “The ship is called The Midnight Curse and is in docked in position 71. I look forward to seeing everyone there.”
 
"Let's just take it one recruit at a time," Dr. Dubois replied. "Until tomorrow." With that, the Frenchwoman escorted Orson, Rose and Luna to the exit. From there, Rose and Luna made their goodbyes and headed back to their boardinghouse.
 
Not an outright rejection of the idea. Not great, but not bad either. Orson couldn’t help but feel that today had been productive. His crew had chefs, a potential mathematician, maybe even a naturalist. Plus there were two physics students who seemed at least marginally interested. He even managed to avoid encountering Eddie. Everything was coming up Orson.

—————

Eventually, Orson made it back to his ship. Now that much of the crew had moved in, he expected it to be much livelier. It still wasn’t too late at night. He looked forward to meeting Vu and Qui properly. He also would hear the results of the meeting with Bianca. Hopefully that had gone well. It’d be a shame to lose their nurse, but it’d be understandable. With those thoughts weighing on his mind, he stepped through the main door.
 
Perhaps to an airship captain and adventurer the hour wasn't late, but as a bell tower sounded midnight in a distant part of the city, it was certainly the time of night when his crew would expect to be in their nightgowns, fast asleep.

Well, perhaps not all his crew. His executive officer, Dr. Tamra Wilson, was stalking around the bridge, the technical manual the de la Vega twins had provided in her hand, familiarizing herself with the bridge and maintaining a strict "Look but don't touch" policy while she did so. It wasn't unusual, though, for Tamra to maintain unusual hours. Point of fact, the only time she maintained what most would consider regular hours would be when she had been on expedition, and the camp hours maintained by those around her forced her to.

No doubt Tamra would conform to the hours of the rest of the crew when the Midnight Curse was aloft, but for now, she listened to her own quirky circadian rhythms.

"Welcome back, Orson," she greet her Captain as he walked onto the bridge. "You'll be happy to know that Vu and her cousin Qui are safely on board and made a divine supper for myself and Safa this evening. I believe it was the first time the cousins had sat down with the people they had made a meal for and broken bread with them. I know they were shocked when we offered to help clean up. All three of them are now asleep in their new quarters."

"The twins and Miharu are, or at least I suspect they are, fast asleep in the homes of their guardians. Spending a last few nights with their families, you know. Doctor Motwani and Nurse Costa will be moved onboard by tomorrow evening. The de la Vega twins helped me get a few more supplies onboard, and Vu and Qui will be bringing on some more foodstuffs tomorrow as well. No charge on that. The name Safa Basta carries a great deal of weight in the East Quarter and Asian Town. And I'm up here making myself at home," Tamra added, waving a hand around the bridge. So how was your evening?"
 
“Good evening, Tamra,” he greeted with a smile surprised to see she was still up. But that smile faded when he heard the mention of their dinner. Orson practically cursed upon hearing that Vu and Qui cooked for them. If he had known they’d be on board this evening, he would’ve run there as fast as he could to eat their food. Just because he was okay with a lot of things didn’t mean he didn’t prefer delicious food. Still, his own jealousy aside, he was glad the two of them were making a place for themselves on board the ship.

“It’s good to know Nurse Costa will stay on board. I’ve heard some crews actually won’t request that wills be made in order to not scare newcomers away. I’ve always thought that was an exceptionally cruel thing to do,” he explained. It was one thing to get them interested with the tales and the excitement. Both of those were true. But at some point, they needed to have the opportunity to learn the more grim side and choose if the adventure was worth potentially dying over.

“For me, things went well. I found a woman named Luisa, a member of the cleaning staff at the university. She’s brilliant. She solved the problem the twins said would be the most difficult one in fifteen minutes,” he explained with excitement. “She’s very close to Dr. Dubois. The younger one,” he quickly added on. He didn’t know if Tamra knew about them, but if she did, he didn’t want confusion. “So those two will be coming to inspect the ship tomorrow along with a pair of graduate students who worked with the de la Vegas in the past. They were the ones who introduced me to Luisa,” he finished. “Overall, some pretty good progress.”
 
"Sabrina Dubois," Tamra replied at the mention of the younger Dubois. "I haven't had official contact with her," Tamra added. "Just met her at faculty mixers. She has a reputation for being a strong willed woman. A very strong willed woman."

"By the way, have you read the description of this Analytical Engine Ninah and Cimonah have installed on the Midnight Curse?" Tamra asked, holding up the thick technical manual the twins had given her. "If this thing can do half the things the twins say it can do, it's going to revolutionize...everything. I mean, I've read everything Charles Babbage wrote concerning what his theoretical difference engine could accomplish, but this..."

"if the twins says we need a mathematician to make this work the way they say it needs to work, then we need a mathematician," Tamra said decisively. "Did Doctor Dubois say what time she would be coming by for her inspection? I know Doctor Motwani is good friends with her, even helped with the selection of some of the plants in the University's atrium. She could help us keep Doctor Dubois happy, if that's what it takes to get this mathematicians on board. And we'll have the twins show these graduate students around. Hopefully, if keep everyone feeling chummy, we can recruit this mathematician of yours."

"And speaking of Doctor Motwani," Tamra continued, "An interesting bit of trivia came up today. One of those "we are six degrees removed from everyone on the planet" bits of trivia."
 
“Strong willed is right. That was my first impression of her,” Orson agreed. “Though from what I can tell, she knows her stuff. The atrium was breathtaking,” he continued. “I haven’t had much time to review the machine. Most of my time has been spent preparing for Graveyard Pass. As you can imagine, that’s not the sort of name you give a place just because it sounds good.” It was a truly dangerous place. The winds buffeted the ships so much that they would slam into the mountains and crash. Combine that with sharp turns, narrow passages, and the occasional lightning bolt from the perpetual storms above, it was basically a death trap. One they would have to navigate.

“They said they’d be arriving around noon. Let’s see if Vu and Qui can have lunch made around then, just to give them a sampling of the type of food that we’ll have. I know I’d be more willing to risk my life for more meals of theirs,” he joked. “But you’re right. I imagine the real person we need to please is Dubois. If Dr. Motwani can do that, we need to use that. I want to see the full potential of this machine, and hopefully Luisa is the woman for the job.”

Orson cocked his eyebrow upon hearing about this interesting piece of trivia. “Oh? I’m curious to hear. Don’t tell me she’s related to someone else on the crew.”
 
"Not to my knowledge," Tamra said, then shrugged. "But you never know. Actually, it's an extrapolation of the theories of Emile Durkheim that, if you look hard enough, you're connected somehow to everyone you meet, by no more than six steps. Take Safa and our new hire, Qui, for example. Let us say that the odd incident with Dr. Motwani and Nurse Costa had never occurred, and so I had never felt the need to bring her up, and you had never met her. And some odd incident occurred wherein Qui and Safa bump into each other in the street. Literally bump. Since they are both polite individuals, they apologize and go on their way, both thinking the other is a perfect stranger in no way connected to themselves. But, we know that Qui knows Vu, who knows me, who knows Safa. They are two total strangers who are nonetheless connected to each other, and in only three steps."

"Sorry, I'm an academician, I can't help but lecture from time to time, even if I'm not in lecture hall," Tamra laughed. "Well, do you remember the story we were discussing about the capture of the last great air pirates the other day? Well, it seems him and his one of his henchman, a native of Tahiti or some such, each had a daughter, both of whom escaped when their fathers were captured. In an aeroplane equipped for aquatic takeoffs and landings, if you can believe such a thing. Well, it seems the two daughters, a Jocasta Pagonis and a Leinani Smith --- no actual surname, but the boarding school she enrolled in demanded one, so Smith was used --- were at a boarding school the same time our Doctor Matwani was. One of those boarding schools in Switzerland who only require their students be actively gifted and that their tuitions be paid in advanced, or so Doctor Motwani tells me. The bit of trivia came up because the story is still in the newspaper, though it's slowly migrating to the back pages. Just rather odd to think that two young woman, heirs to a pirate dynasty, or someone out in the Pacific ocean at this very moment, and I'm two steps removed from them. Thought Doctor Motwani assures me that they're both rather nice woman, with Leinari being mechanically inclined, and Jocasta being something of an adventuress, and with neither displaying piratical tendencies."

"And speaking of adventures, we had a visit today from a supplier of backpack parachutes. I' know about parachutes, of course, but these new backpack varieties come with a thing called a ripcord. Seemed a reasonable safety precaution to acquire for the crew, but I wanted to talk to you and the twins about it first, obviously. I have a card and a promise of a live demonstration if we want. Provided we provide the transportation to altitude."
 
“Hmm...” Orson said, thinking on her whole six connections point. It was interesting. “I can’t help but feel six might be a bit low for everyone, but you can probably get a surprising number of people that way. After all, we had never even heard of each other a month ago. But you knew Miharu, Miharu was the ward of Dandy, and Dandy knows me. So we were also in three connections.” It was kind of fun to think of it this way. It could make a fun game.

Orson was able to keep his temper from flaring up at the mention of the pirates. He didn’t like how easily he was angered when thinking about them. He needed a cool head, professional adversaries or not. “It is crazy to think of that. Considering who their fathers were, it’s possible they met Kingston, which would put us at two degrees as well. Huh, maybe six degrees is enough,” he thought, reconsidering his earlier point. “Regardless, I hope you’re right. Their fathers were talented pilots corrupted by greed and ambition. If the world is lucky, the girls got the first while ignoring the other two.”

Parachutes on an adventure like this were an interesting conundrum. On the one hand, it’d be a way of surviving a crash. Orson didn’t put much faith in his luck getting him through one of those a second time. But at the same time, it was still not a great option. After all, even if people survived, they would still be stranded in the interior of the lost continent with next to no chance of being rescued. And if the exterior was anything to go by, there would be countless dangers to face. Some might view swift death of crashing to be preferable. Of course, Orson was a survivor. So he’d take the parachutes. They were better than nothing, but he wouldn’t require a demonstration if they didn’t have time.

“Talk to the twins and see what the schedule for ship maintainence is. If the ship will be ready to fly without modifications bring interrupted, we can do the demonstration. If they can’t and need that time to get everything ready for the departure, still buy them. We just won’t get to test them first. Hopefully, we’ll never need to”
 
'Hopefully," Tamra said with a nod. "One last thing. Your friend Dandy left a message. Asked if he could talk to you tomorrow. He made sure to tell you it didn't have anything to do with your expedition. He just needs a favor."
 
Dandy wanted him? He was interested. He owed Dandy more than one favor, so provided it didn’t jeopardize the expedition, he’d be happy to do what he could.

“I’ll go by tomorrow morning before Dr. Dubois and Luisa show up. Unless Dandy wants me to do something big right then and there, I should be able to get back here well before they arrive,” he explained. “Well, it is getting exceptionally late. I’m going to be heading to bed soon. I hope you have a good night Tamra.”

With that goodbye, Orson returned to his cabin. He had a long, somewhat successful day. He hoped tomorrow would close the deal and help round out the crew. Things were looking up for the Midnight Curse.

—————

The next morning, Orson was up at an early hour. It was about seven, seven thirty. He couldn’t really tell, but it was early enough that he could take his time. He planned to see Dandy at nine, giving the older man time to get up and wake up. In the meanwhile, Orson was hungry. He headed to the kitchen to see what he could find. Depending on what had been dinner last night, there might be something left over. He could only hope.
 
In the mess room attached to the Midnight Curse's galley, Safa and Vu were sitting and chatting, Vu wearing loose white clothing, with Safa wearing a long, flowing, colorful dress. Safa wasn't wearing a veil or headscarf, and seemed comfortable in their absence. Vu stood up from her seat as Safa took another deep fried treat coated in a sugary syrup from a plate containing a dozen of them. Next to the plate was a silver pot of coffee. As soon as Safa saw Orson enter the room, she said something in Vietnamese, then looked to Vu to translate for her.

"Good morning, Captain James," Vu said happily. "Miss Basta wishes to recommend the balushahi to you. She tells me that they are as good as the ones she remembers being made in her house when she was growing up. They are very close to doughnuts, but a little denser." Vu poured a cup of coffee for Captain James, setting cream and sugar cubes next to him. "Miss Basta is happy with balushahi, Captain, but I believe you will want something more substantial. What can I make for you, Captain?"
 
“Good morning to both of you,” he greeted, nodding to both of the girls as he took his seat. Vu was up, something he was thrilled with. “This should be fine. I’m going to see a friend this morning. Dandy, Miharu’s guardian. He may have something there.” Orson stopped to add a cream to his coffee before drinking it. It was a divine way to wake up. “I wanted to say welcome aboard the ship. I imagine your cooking will make the long trip much more bearable. We’re all very happy to have you aboard,” he told her. “I would also like to thank Miss Basta for using her influence to assist us. It’s made things much easier with our tighter deadline.”

“Instead of making me breakfast, I do have something I need you to do. At noon today, a potenial recruit along with some friends will be coming to inspect the ship. I was hoping you could make lunch to accommodate them and everyone in the crew. It’ll be fine if there’s a bit much. I’m sure you’ll get a handle on the necessary amount for each meal as time goes on,” he told her. “Also, were you both speaking Vietnamese there?”
 
"Yes," Vu said with a bright smile. "Dr. Wilson and Miss Basta are both fluent in Vietnamese. And it is a pleasure to be on board your ship, Captain James. I will convey your thanks to Miss Basta." Vu said something to Safa, who shrugged and smiled at Orson.

"Dr. Wilson told me you would need a special luncheon today," Vu continued. "She was up already and had coffee and a balushahi before she went out. My cousin Qui went with her to the market, to pick up some groceries. Not to worry, Captain James, your guests will enjoy the luncheon. Do you have time to eat before your meeting with your friend? If not, I can fix you something to take with you, Captain James."
 
“Does Qui also speak Vietnamese? I believe Dr. Wilson mentioned she doesn’t speak English,” he continued. “I was considering practicing Danish to be able to speak with Ms. Basra. But if they both speak Vietnamese, it might be better to try that instead.”

When it came to food, he was about to refuse again, but his stomach wouldn’t let him. He didn’t have that much willpower. “I’ll have time for something light. Anything you could make quickly would be great,” he replied. It was time for another test, just to see if the first meal she cooked had been a fluke. He grabbed one of the not-doughnuts he’d wasn’t even going to try pronouncing the name of and popped it in his mouth. It was delicious.
 
"It may be easier for an Occidental to learn a European language than the one my family speaks, Captain James," Vu said politely, "But yes, my cousin only speaks Vietnamese. It is not uncommon for many people to only speak the language they encounter every day, Captain James. Now give me a few minutes, and I will return with your breakfast shortly."

In a few minutes, she returned with a sandwich wrapped in wax paper, and a vacuum flask containing coffee. The sandwich itself was two slices of lightly buttered toast, with a hard fried egg, a slice of back bacon, a semi-melted slice of mild cheese, a sprinkling of chives, and a sauce made of honey and something spicy.

"It is an invention of mine, Captain James," Vu said, handing the flask and wrapped sandwich to Orson. "I call it the Quinn. At the lunch counter I worked at, I had a customer named Quinn who worked at the docks, and wished he had something hearty for breakfast to eat, that he could carry and eat while walking to work. So I created this for him. It became a quite popular item in the drug store's breakfast display."
 
“True, but it’s not as much for learning the language for a full conversation. It’s more so we can have basic communication without needing a translator,” he explained. He wanted to explain that he had no issue with her only speaking Vietnamese and understood why she did, but he decided not to. It seemed like it was an unnecessary hill to fight on. Clearly she knew he wasn’t judging anyone. At least he hoped so.

“It smells and looks amazing,” he said, taking the sandwitch and the flask. He wanted to stay a bit longer, but he knew he should probably get going. The sooner he got to Dandy’s, the less likely it would be that he would miss Luisa, Dr. Dubois, Luna and Rose. “Thank you very much,” he told her as he took a bite. Yep, it was delicious. Satisfied with his breakfast, he got up to leave. “I’ll see you around noon. Until then, have a good day.” With that, Orson was ready to go, heading out the dining area, a Quinn in hand.

He was ready to leave the airship, but he had to make a stop first. He dropped by the armory, grabbing a revolver and some spare ammunition, tucking both into his coat. Orson was known to be a sniper, so almost knew how he was also a decent shot with pistols as well. He didn’t like walking around with a hidden firearm like this, but it was the better slternative. Just in case something with the Hunter happened, he’d have at least something prepared.
 
Somewhere in the city, if a millennium old ensorcelled wasp could get frustrated, it would have. It had been hunting for a particular target for days, but everytime it got a scent, the scent faded.

But now it had a trail. A faint trail, but a trail nonetheless. It would take time, but it would find it's target.

* * * * *

As Orson made his way to the Flying Toupee, he made his way through a crowd of travellers, merchants and others going about their business. For a moment, the crowd parted, and a pair of brown eyes, framed in an exotic face, locked eyes with Orson's. And then the face disappeared into the crowd.

A giant hand landed on Orson's shoulder at that moment, and the booming voice of James "Dandy" Shatner said happily, "Orson! Glad to see you! I was just arranging the delivery of some victuals to the tavern. Glad I ran into you on the way back. Got some gossip you might be interested in hearing, and then I want to talk to you about a small favor I need."
 
Orson couldn’t help but feel he hadn’t just locked eyes with a random person. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he felt that there was something more...significant to it. It was hard to explain, but it just gave him a feeling.

However, he had no time to ponder that feeling, his encounter with Dandy now occupying his attention. “Dandy, it’s good to see you too,” he replied, smiling at his old friend. He even managed to not get knocked off balance by the powerful man’s clap on his shoulder.

“I’m always happy to hear a good rumor or two. Hopefully they’re not about me. Or maybe hopefully they are. If they’re good ones. As to the favor, you name it,” he replied. “I may not be able to do it immediately, I’ve got a meeting at noon. But if it doesn’t have to be done then, I’m all yours.” Orson meant it too. Dandy had earned more than a single favor just from the recruitment of Miharu, not counting all the help he had given to Orson when he was a greenhorn. There were only a few people Orson would stand by unquestionably, and Dandy was one of them.
 
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