Catherine nodded "I was worried what might be going on down there."
"Oh wow!" she exclaimed on hearing the owner of the ship had been rescued and was planning to go to Mars. "Imagine finding a ship like this! How exciting!"

She blushes slightly as she becomes the subject of conversation. She looks down shyly, glad of her mourning veil. She's a little surprised when Grimsby asks her feelings on the matter. "Oh... well, I shouldn't like to keep you away from your duties, cousin" she replies. Actually, she'd very much like to see Mars, but she doesn't want to show unladlylike adventurousness. "And I'm sure I'd be perfectly safe as long as you are protecting me."

In reply to Catherine Harston (msg # 919):

     "There ya go!" Joseph enthuses, "An it's not like you have to worry about her being unchaperoned when she's not with you!  Look, besides the fact that Miss Catherine has already proved herself capable of handling herself in a tight spot, there's also Felicity and Miss Brie for her to travel with."

     Joseph turns away, a little bit, to look towards the ladies in question,

     "Between the two of them, I'm sure nothing inappropriate could happen."

"Well, now, that depends on just what you mean by inappropriate," Brie comments. "If you and Catherine are determined to preserve her delicate Victorian senses, then a trip to Mars is not going to do that."

"If, on the other hand, you don't mind her developing a bit of confidence and self-sufficiency, then Mars just might be the place to do that."

"Felicity and I were both raised in and live in a different culture. We'd hardly fit in London society, but then neither of us wants to."

"I think you'd be surprised, Grimsby, at what Catherine is capable of. I recall the story of the woman who went to Africa by herself to find her missing husband. I laughed at the title: Crossing Africa in a Corset."

Grimsby explained "As her mother's daughter, Catherine is a lady of spirit, I am sure; although her mother was born into the traditional British aristocracy, she always had a mind of her own, and all I have seen of Catherine confirms that she is the image of her mother in that respect. If she chooses to go to Mars, I would not venture to veto that decision.
If she does choose to go, of course I would be honored If Miss O'Malley and Miss Van Horn would ensure that my ward had suitable feminine ...companions." (He almost said "chaperones", but changed the word choice at the last moment.)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Mon 20 Jan 2020.

"I-er," comes Felicity's answer. Shifting her weight from one boot to the other. Hand wrapping around the back of her neck. London society? Feminine companionship? Corsets? She sends a look toward Hunnisett equal parts accusatory and desperate. Eyebrows raised, lips parted.

"I- um- there's ah- Maybe..." and she starts a double step toward the end of the ship. It didn't seem to matter which one. But she did pull her hat off as she went. Whacking Hunnisett in the shoulder with the wide brim as she passed by, before quickly replacing it.

"But of course!" Brie answers. "That was always part of the plan... wherever we chose to go."

"We three women come from three different strata of society, so we've got quite the eclectic set of talents and experience. Hopefully, some of each will rub off on the other two."

"I have no great desire to venture into High Society, but it does not seem all that unreasonable that we will at some point. So, I would greatly appreciate it if Catherine would do her best to help we keep from making a fool of myself."

"Likewise, I'm quite sure she has no great desire to wrangle a rattlesnake, but that might be something Felicity can teach her. Then again, I don't imagine there are any rattlesnakes on Mars... unless that's where St. Patrick sent them when he drove the snakes out of Ireland!"

In reply to Brie O'Malley (msg # 924):

     "Ow!  What?!" Joseph exclaims, when Felicity whacks him with her Stetson.

     "We mean that you are more than capable of shielding Miss Catherine from the worst aspects of...." Joseph adopts a fair impression of a Virginia accent, "Gentlemen Callers."

     Joseph grins at his old friend, and goes back to his Texican accent, "If anyone knows how to handle a Cad--with or without a gun--it is you, dear Felicity.  In the company of both you and Miss Brie, it's safe as houses that Miss Catherine will have a most....entertaining and educational....experience on Mars, I am sure."

Grimsby responds, "I am glad that Miss O'Malley, at least is willing to continue to be my ward's companion, and I hope Miss Van Horn will be as well. As Miss O'Malley suggests, I am sure Miss Van Horn's western experience could prove very useful. As far as I know, there are no rattlesnakes on Mars, unless some eccentric American has imported them, but Mars does have its own Green Koko, a sort of constrictor, as well as the Eelowaan, or flying serpent. I am sure that having a lady of Miss Van Horn's...remarkable abilities would be very valuable in defending Catherine and the rest of our party against such creatures." 

Catherine smiles at Joseph, Grimsby and Brie's confidence in her and the offer from Brie and Felicity to chaperone her. "Thank you, that's just so kind of you. I'm sure it will work out wonderfully. And of course I'll be glad to lend my advice on fashion and manners if it can help at all, although I'm not able to partake of fashion myself."

She lets out a little squeak at the idea of picking up a snake, and behind her veil her blushes brightened as Joseph brought up Gentlemen Callers. "I know I will be safe."

     Joseph grins and, in the cramped quarters, raises his right hand to touch the brim of his hat, giving Catherine a nod.

     "So, Captain Petras," Joseph says, turning his attention back to the young inventor, "I've some familiarity with ships--even served aboard steamships, for a while--and I'd be more than willing to make myself available to you, as Crew.  But first, we'll need to get Doctor Solar's wagon, with all his equipment, aboard--and I didn't see a mast, topside, to rig a boom-crane from.  So....how do we get his wagon--oh, and his horse, too--aboard?"

In reply to Catherine Harston (msg # 927):

"Since those are your views, my dear ward, I shall be honored and happy to escort you to Mars." says Grimsby, "though with these ladies as your companions my escort duties may be largely nominal."

"Take my horses to Mars?!" Solar exclaims at Joseph's pronouncement.

"Is that advisable? Will they be able to function on Mars? Is there horse feed? How long will it take to reach Mars?"

"I do not see how we could transport two horse... or even one... on my ship," Petras adds. "They would have to remain on deck for the whole trip. We would need much more supplies to care for them."

"The carriage is not a problem. The ship can be anchored to the side of the arroyo just like a wharf, and then we can deploy the boarding planks. I took this into account when I designed the ship. While it can easily land on water and tie up to a dock, it is capable of traveling across a much wider range of terrain than just water. Desert, mountains... I was not sure how much water would be on Mars."

In reply to Petras Valois (msg # 931):

Grimsby says "If we can get the carriage to Mars, we might try to harness a pair of gashants to it, though it would mean some changes in the harness.They are more adapted to Martian conditions than horses.
Such water as remains on Mars is chiefly in the canals, so designing your flyer to travel through deserts and mountains is wise."

In reply to Grimsby H. Baskerville (msg # 932):

     Joseph casts a puzzled frown at Petras, as the younger man mentions taking the horses to Mars with them--then he realizes his mistake.

     "Oh, no, no.  Forgive me, Petras, I was unclear about the horses." Joseph says, making a waving away gesture, "No, we've already decided to leave the horses with the local Rancher that Schilling forced the Doctor to use his device upon.  We'll just need to carry them for a few miles, or so.  Only Doctor Solar's wagon will come all the way with us."

Catherine curtsies to her guardian. "Thank you very much!" she says gratefully.

"I've never seen a gashant, but I suppose we'll be able to get some creature to ride on Mars. I only hope we can get a sidesaddle too."

In reply to Catherine Harston (msg # 934):

Grimsby says "If you can imagine a lizard built along the lines of a kangaroo, and about the size of a horse, that gives you the general notion of a gashant. The Martians have long used them for riding, and Europeans on Mars do the same, though it takes a bit of getting used to. I have learned to ride them, and I daresay I could teach you if we stayed there long enough."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 02:15, Tue 28 Jan 2020.

With everyone seemingly in agreement and helping out, Petras has no difficulty moving the ship  to the side of the canyon where there's only about 5 feet separating it from the side and leveling it off so the deck is even with the ground along the canyon rim.

He pulls a key out from a pocket and inserts it into a barely visible hole in the deck, turns it and lifts the hatch of the concealed compartment. Thus revealed is a rope and several spikes. He pulls out one of the spikes and the rope, makes the leap to the ground and then proceeds to drive the spike into the ground with his booted foot. He fastens the rope to the spike and then jumps back aboard the ship where he pulls the rope tight and ties off that end to the ship.

He repeats the key procedure with another longer compartment, pulls out two long wide planks, sets them to span the gap while anchoring them to preset slots in the deck.

"I designed this system so that the deck wouldn't be cluttered and that people wouldn't trip over everything. There are also smaller hook spaces for tying off the wagon once it is on board... to keep it from sliding or rolling around."

"The rope is merely a precaution against a sudden gust of wind. They do blow up and down the canyon at certain times of day."

"Even the planks have slight groves down the middle to help keep wheels in place, and I can attach flanges to the sides to keep it from rolling off the side. I saw such things happen on a regular ship and did not wish to happen to me! Alas, I have not yet had the chance to test my devices, so we shall see if it works."

Out of the same compartment, he pulled the flanges he was talking about. They were wooden, like the planks themselves, but had thin metal spikes bolted to them, which now slid into matching metal brackets on the edges of the planks.

"Once we use the horses to move the wagon into place, we'll have to push the wagon ourselves to get it onto the planks. I'll drop the ship a few centimeters then so that the wagon will roll downhill onto the ship. We'll just have to make sure we don't loose control of it. I doubt it'll crash through the side railings but I'd rather not take the chance."

It all goes as smoothly as he indicated it might, and he's quite proud of himself once the wagon is on board and secured.

Grimsby helps push the wagon onto the ship.

It takes a bit of time, but loading Dr. Solar's wagon onto the ship goes as smoothly as Petras hoped. It's quickly secured, the planks are brought back aboard and stowed away, and the rope is disengaged.

"Do you wish to just leave the horses?" Petras asks.

"If we are to head for Mars, we shall need to put on supplies... food, water, fresh clothes, and whatever amenities we will need."

In reply to GM SteamRoller (msg # 938):

"Perhaps we could arrange to board the horses at the place where we met Dr. Solar." Grimsby suggested.

In reply to Grimsby H. Baskerville (msg # 939):

     "What happened to the plan to offer the horses to Senor Fidalgo--the local man that Shilling forced Doctor Solar to test the freezing device upon?" Joseph asks, "Fidalgo's residence isn't very far from where we are, now.  And leaving the horses there would likely cause less of a stir than flying over the city would."

     "As for outfitting the ship for a long voyage..." Joseph pauses and looks off into the distance for a moment.

     "Gibraltar.  We should go from here to Gibraltar for supplies." Joseph says with a confident nod, "Firstly, it's a port, so we'll be able to find all the ship supplies we might need--additionally, much of what will be available there will be of reliable quality.  Secondly, while we may be excited to accompany Petras, here, on a jaunt to Mars, we haven't really put the idea to Doctor Solar--or the man who is responsible for us being here in the first place--our companion, Aubrey St. Claire!"

     "While I cannot, myself, imagine either learned gentleman turning down a trip to Mars, we should ask them if they wish to go, before we take them away.  And, on the off chance either wishes to stay, I believe that Gibraltar would be the nearest, safest place to take them."

     "Yes." Joseph nods, again, "I think that, once we have dealt with the Doctor's horses, we should head straight for the English Port of Gibraltar."

"I'll side with Little Joe on that one," Felicity adds in. She'd helped load the wagon up, eager to be involved in anything but the conversation that was being had before then. And she's good with a length of rope, quickly tying off sturdy knots where they're needed. It, unfortunately, made the work go past a little too quickly for her own liking.

"Was planning on sailing out of Gibraltar for Africa anyhow, had a little bit of supply sent ahead. We could meet up with that. And those that have 'em could send word back to kin from there. Brits run a fine enough post office, if you've got the time and a dollar," she adds.  "And no matter what, Gibraltar'll have everything a voyage needs."

In reply to Felicity Van Horn (msg # 941):

Grimsby said, "I was meaning Fidalgo when I made my suggestion. I regret it if was not clear. The name escaped me for a moment. Whether the horses are given to him or left in his care depends on Dr. Solar, since they are his.
I entirely agree with stocking up on supplies at Gibraltar --much the most reliable source in these parts. I understood Dr. Solar was originally intending to go to Mars --that was what led to our decision to go. I hope Mr. St. Claire will accompany us."

In reply to Grimsby H. Baskerville (msg # 942):

     "Sorry, my friend," Joseph says with a nod towards Grimsby, "I thought you were suggesting we go back to that stable where we left Schilling on ice...."

     Joseph's grin widens, "Say....I rather like the sound of that!  We 'put Schilling on ice'!  Ha!  Has a bit of a ring to it, don't you think?"


     Then, with the wagon secured but before any effort is made to bring the horses aboard--even temporarily--Joseph turns to Felicity,

     "Y'know, I been thinking, Felicity.  We both know how skittish horses are--and I'm betting even a short trip, out on the open deck of a flying ship, will be enough to make'em more nervous." as he talks with his old friend, Joseph appears to relax a little, as more of the old 'Texas Twang' creeps into his speech,

     "An I sure as shootin don't wanna be cleaning up the decks after a nervous pair of horses.  So, I'm thinking somebody should lead them horses--on the ground--around to Senor Fidalgo's ranchero."

     "Of the bunch of us, I'd put down good money that only you an I know how to ride bareback--well, maybe Grimsby, he seems somebody to tie to, fer a Dude.  But I've offered to help our young Captain Petras run his ship, here.  So how about you ride one horse and lead the other, while the ship follows abouve and behind.  I don't think Fidalgo's place is more than a mile'r two from where we are, now.  Give'r take."