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

It was interesting, her description of magic. It lined up with his earlier thoughts on advanced technology being mistaken for magic. It made him feel smart that his idea was also held by an actual smart person. He kept the celebration to himself.

Orson thought on the bird question. He had spent a surprising amount of time in Sourh America, but mostly in the east. And judging by the name, he imagined it stayed in the West. “Probably not,” he answered. “If I have, I wouldn’t know it. But do you think they have some sort of connection to the roc? Or are close enough that the egg might work just as well?”
 
"It's the only member of its genus," Sabrina Dubois replied. "And is considered one of the largest raptors in the world. There is some speculation that it is a subspecies of Roc. And, we do have powdered Condor egg on board the airship, believe it or not. And it won't work. But it might, under the right circumstances."

"There is a principle we wish to establish, that you have seen a demonstration of," Contesa Dimitriu remarked, "But which we would like to expand upon. So, Captain," the Contesa continued, standing up, "I will give you a compliment, then you will give me a compliment, and then we will embrace."

"Something less spine cracking than the one you gave me," Lauren Evans said with a laugh.

"Yes, yes, Miss Evans, more tender and less comradery," the Contesa said with a wave of her hand. "So I will start. Captain, you are a generous and insightful man, who has given many here the opportunity they would never have under normal circumstances. Myself included."
 
Orson listened carefully to her explanation. What she said made sense, at least as much as it could to someone like him. When she mentioned the compliment, he was reminded of the hug earlier that caused the woman in question to glow. If affection was what was needed, that did make sense. He was going to suggest someone other than the Contessa, maybe Tamra or Saki considering he was already involved with them, but she was going at her own pace. He blushed slightly at her compliment, enjoying recieving one in front of such a crowd.

“Contessa Dimitriu,” he started. “You are a beautiful woman that has continuously impressed me with your grace and your intelligence,” he told her, being completely honest. He imagined lies would bring them nothing. He opened his arms, perfect for her to slide in and hug him.
 
Contesa Dimitriu gave Orson a warm, if brief, hug, then turned her attention (like the rest of the women in the room already had) to the tiny women on the table. A faint glow was emanating from Brynhild.

Once the Contesta had returned to her seat, Sabrina Dubois continued talking.

"What we'd like to do is repeat this 'process' in our newest cargo space," Sabrina Dubois said, referring to the physics defying room whose interior was larger than normal physics said it should be. "We would use a receptacle to store the positive energy...in this case, an emerald provided by Contesa Dimitriu..." the Contesa nodded at the acknowledgment of her contribution. "Theoretically, the room should amplify the energy stored in the gem which, when released, will amplify the properties of the powdered condor egg shell, and reverse the spell on Brynhild.

"So who would participate in this experiment, Dr. Dubois?" Tamra asked, after first assuring Brynhild that they were working for a cure, and then translating Sabrina's idea to Safa. Safa, having actually helped formulate the idea (with Ayisha Motwani serving as her interpreter while Tamra was busy elsewhere), nodded politely at Tamra's translation.

"That depends on when we can do this," Sabrina answered, before turning her attention to Orson. "But the Captain would be essential, since he provides the polar opposition in the experiment."
 
“Of course. If it’ll help Brynhild, I’ll do whatever I can,” Orson replies. Though he was a little intimidated by what they were proposing. But it wouldn’t go too crazy, right? They just needed positivity. “As to who else, you could go around the ship and gather volunteers. Anyone who wants to can help with the energy generation. Does that work? Or would it require someone specific?”
 
"Actually, I did have some specifics," Dr. Dubois responded, before asking, "Do you think you could do it now, Captain?"
 
“Whatever you need,” he replied, standing and moving towards her. “I’ll do my best,” he assured. After all, it was just giving people hugs.
 
"Sorry, Captain, I didn't mean commence the experimentation immediately," Sabrina Dubois said, holding up a hand, "I just want to know if you would be available at this moment."

"If the Captain is going to be participating, then I'll need to return to the bridge," Tamra said, looking at Orson. "Ninah and Luisa are both capable, but we haven't been flying long, and the de la Vega twins are split up, so I think one more set of eyes on the bridge wouldn't be a bad thing."

Sabrina nodded before continuing. "Safa is going to remain here with Brynhild, which leaves Contesa Dimitriu as our gemologist. Miss Van Dijk understands the physics of our new cargo space the best, so she'll be participating as well." Luna smiled and nodded at the mention of her name. "In addition, Doctor Motwani, I think it would make sense to have either you or Nurse Costa in attendance, just in case."

"We have a patient recovering in sickbay right now," Ayisha Motwani replied, "So if Bianca has no objection, I'd like to send her."

Bianca gave Orson a quick glance and blushed, remembering their hug from earlier. She nodded though, and added, "That won't be a problem." Ayisha eyed Bianca inquisitively, but didn't ask any questions.

"I'd also like to have Miss Saki there, to also cover for any unforeseen events," Sabrina Dubois added.

Tamra relayed the request and the nature of the experiment to Saki, who first smiled brightly at Orson, then gave a lengthy reply to Tamra. Tamra arched an eyebrow at Orson before telling Sabrina Dubois, "She said she's very much wants to participate."

"Excellent," Sabrina responded. "Miss Evans, I'd also like you to participate because...how do I put this politely?...more than a few of your devices are stored in the new cargo space, and I'd like to know what they are before I begin generating mystic energies in their vicinity."

This statement got a general laugh from everyone,with Lauren grinning and answering, "How could I resist such a sales pitch? I'm in."

"And I add myself to this list because, though I'm not an archaeologist like Dr. Wilson, or a folkloristicist like Miss Basta," Sabrina continued, "This is one of the most fascinating things I encountered, and I want to see it through. So if you have no objections, Captain, I suggest the people I have just listed meet in the modified cargo space in half an hour."

"That would give us a chance to make sure the gyroscopic stabilizer apparatus isn't having any problems before you begin this, Captain," Tamra suggested.
 
“Ah, my misunderstanding,” Orson said, stepping back, feeling slightly embarrassed and hoping he hadn’t come off as overeager. He listened carefully to the list of people, understanding that they were going to be touching and remaining as stoic as possible. Though when Tamra got her earful from Saki, he couldn’t help but get a bit nervous. Things were still a bit weird between them, but he did want to know what she was telling her.

“I have no objections,” he replied. “And thank you, I’d appreciate the chance to return to the bridge. Until then, I wish you all good luck, and please pass my regards onto Brynhild,” he told the assembled women. Then he left the room, though he did wait until Tamra started heading back as well. It’d give them the chance to talk.

“So, I’m curious, what did Saki say about me that made you give me that look?” he asked a bit nervously, almost as if he was a boyfriend who had just been caught cheating.
 
"Did I give you a look?" Tamra asked with a half smile. "Anyway, Saki was just telling me how much she really liked your hugs."

"On a separate note," Tamra continued, "I am going to have to set up some English language classes. I'm not the only who can translate for Safa, Saki or Qui, but I am the only one who can translate for Brynhild. And at the very least, she's going to have to be able to interact with the rest of the crew, not to mention the rest of the world."
 
“That’s probably a good idea. I don’t want sound like an imperialist, but it’s useful if everyone shares a common language. Though in regards to Brynhild, I’m feeling bad she didn’t exactly get a choice to come along for the expedition. Hopefully she doesn’t mind the adventure,” he commented. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through, waking up to find the world you knew was completely gone where you could barely speak to anyone.

“I’m glad I bring something to the table, even if it is just amazing hugs,” he said with a smile as they approached the bridge. He suspected everything would be fine, but he was still worried.
 
"Considering that Brynhild has been encapsulated in the form of a wasp for more than a thousand years, I suspect she doesn't mind flying on a device that must be more magical to her than her shrunken form is to us," Tamra observed wryly. "I can't wait to get to talk to her interrupted. There are a thousand questions I want to ask her, and not just the immediately pressing ones. But for now, we reverse the spell on her, find out more about this gray haze, and why the gray haze was after the mysterious patient in sickbay that we haven't had a chance to talk to."

As her and her Captain stepped on the bridge, she asked, "So what do we do when we actually get a chance to catch our breath, Captain?" she chuckled.
 
“You take a deep one, because it won’t happen often,” he joked. He also wasn’t joking. It’s why he made sure to bring novels on board. He really did want people to enjoy their downtime when they could get it. And she wasn’t the only one who wanted to talk to Brynhild, though he imagined Tamra would ask much better questions.

Once they were on the bridge, he moved to the helmsman station. “Any developments with the stabilizer?” he asked, looking at the device and the readings on the various tools available to him, comparing them to what he had set them to before leaving.
 
Ninah shook her head. "No changes in heading, altitude or speed since we've engaged the gyroscopic stabilizer apparatus."

"And I've been running manual checks since it's been engaged, along with the automated ones that the Analytical Engine does on its own," Luisa added.

"You know," Tamra said thoughtfully, "I think we should come up with a different name for the device, other than gyroscopic stabilizer apparatus. Something that isn't a long sentence all on its own."
 
Orson still double-checked and triple-checked everything. He was not going to let his haste kill him and his entire crew. “I do agree with you, that is a mouthful,” Orson replied, not looking up from his station. “Personally, I can’t remember the whole title. I’ve just been calling it the stabilizer. But do you have another name in mind?”
 
Tamra shrugged. "A lot of things could be called a stabilizer on the Midnight Curse," she replied. "Whatever we end up calling it, it should be a title that can't be mistaken for another device, Ladies, any suggestions?"

Ninah and Luisa looked up from their respective positions, shrugged, and went back to monitoring their stations.
 
Orson nodded, thinking carefully on possible names. Sadly, it was hard to come up with some that didn’t share names with other devices on the ship. “Well, it does do the piloting for me, so we call it Orson Two,” he joked as he continued to think. “Oh, I don’t know of much else that uses a gyroscope, so we could call it the Gyro?” he suggested, thinking it wasn’t a bad name.
 
Tamra started chuckling, which drew the attention of the other two women.

"Sorry, it's just that sounds pretty close to the name of a Greek dish," Tamra explained. "It's meat on flatbread and...well, I'll talk to Vu and Qui about it, I'm sure they know the recipe. Why don't we brainstorm about a name for the device later? Anyway, Captain, if you're satisfied with everything on the bridge, I believe you have a...conference to attend."
 
“I’ll get going. I just wanted to check everything one last time,” he said, going over the dials again. Everything remained stable. Satisfied, he backed away from the console. He looked to Tamra again, remembering their earlier conversation. He hoped she’d come to understand he was working in the crew’s best interest. But that was not for here or now. He excused himself from the room, and left. He was heading towards the big room, doing his best to not come off as too excited. But he couldn’t help it. He liked hugs.
 
Contesa Dimitriu and Lauren Evans were standing outside the door to the altered cargo area when Orson walked up. They were discussing a glass and steel box with a gauge on the side, that Lauren was holding. Inside the box was a huge emerald.

"Ah, Captain, you are here," the Contesa smiled. "Miss Evans was just showing me the device that will measure the luminescence of the emerald as mystical energy is stored into it. Assuming that our experiment works."

"Miss Basta has theoretically placed an enchantment on the emerald," the Contesa continued, "so that it will store the mystical energy created by our verbal and physical affection. When the luminescence reaches this level..."the Contesa tapped a red area on the guage "...we will have reached the required amount of mystical energy necessary to break the enchantment on Miss Brynhild."

"Bear in mind, Captain, that all of this is based on pure speculation," the Contesa.advised "It may be that nothing happens except that we create an atmosphere of mutual embarrassment and mortification. But we won't know until we try, will we?" she said with a laugh. "Come, shall we enter the cargo area. The rest are waiting for us there."
 
Orson looked at the box curiously. The women he worked with seemed beyond the usual level of genius, if there was such a measurement. Their ability to create such amazing devices so quickly...it was unfathomable. Edison would sell his own mother to get his hands on any one of them.

“Well, if there’s one thing I know about embarrassment, it makes the best stories,” he said with a smile. He followed the two women inside for the gathering that, quite honestly, he never would have imagined happening a brief while ago. He resisted the urge to jokingly tell them that he’d be gentle. After all, he wasn’t sure he could keep that promise.
 
The ladies led Orson inside, where Sabrina Dubois, Lucille van Dijk, Saki and Bianca Costa were waiting.

The large, previously empty room was half filled with a number of trade items, including several bolts of printed cotton.

"We shuffled stuff around, and put the trade goods in here," Lauren explained. "We can utilize the properties of the room to make it practically burglar proof, once we get something we need to lock up."

"This is all very good," the Contesa said with a nod, "But now we must try to charge the emerald. I believe it will be conducive to experiment if we are informal. I am Cristina."

"Sabrina," Dr. Dubois offered.

"Lauren," Lauren Evans chimed in.

"Bianca," Nurse Costa offered.

"Luna," Lucille van Dijk piped up.

All eyes turned to Saki, who looked confused, before a look of enlightenment appeared on her face. "Saki," she said happily.

Six eyes locked on to Orson, to see what his response would be.
 
He watched the ladies carefully, taking in the scene. It was pretty mesmerizing. He was surrounded by women who he would get to hug in a minute. His excitement raised a bit, but he remained in control.

“Orson,” he said with a nod towards the women. “So, Cristina,” he said carefully, hoping this wouldn’t anger her, “how should we do this?”
 
Lauren took the encased emerald and set it on a wooden crate.

"There, we should all be able to see it from there," Lauren announced.

"Let us exchange compliments first," Cristina said. "Give me two compliments, Orson, one with my title of Contesa, and the other with my given name Cristina."
 
“Okay,” he agreed. He guessed she was gathering data on which worked better. Then he’d try both a more formal compliment and a more personal compliment.

“Contessa, your intellect is matched only by your nobility,” he said, feeling a bit weird about that. It wasn’t exactly his usual speech.

“Cristina, you are a true beauty, one I struggle to tear my eyes away from,” he said next, this time feeling even more embarrassed. He hoped that wasn’t too bad.
 
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