Chapter 4: Storm

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Rosisha
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by Rosisha »

Lars essentially stops breathing while he takes in this new situation. "By the blessed virgin!" he mutters to himself, "A bomb." He knows he needs to act quickly, but at the same time, he can't risk a phone call. Knowing that he makes a snap decision and jumps down the stair case to run into the engineering compartment. When he hits the door he'll shout over the engine noise to stop all phone calls. NOW. "The system needs to be deactivated. Keep power running if possible, but DO NOT allow any phone calls." He'll explain that he found a large bomb attached to the phone system. "Also, I think all passengers should be moved into the cargo hold. Do you want me to try and disarm it?" If asked, he will then grab something to write on (Anything will do like a clipboard with engine records) and his tool box and head back up to see if he can't unravel this thing.

IF ASKED:
Lars might have some experience with bombs during his service with the civil war. He is going to handle this like a math problem, treating the bomb like a giant switch attached to an engine. There should be a way to disconnect without blowing up. He'll say something like "Okay, during the civil war we had things bombs like this, how did we handle it?"

Since it is TNT he also wants to see if it is possible to simply remove the wires from the sticky substance, thus disabling the bomb, or did they wire some kind of explosive charge to the sticks of dynamite, with a tamper switch (i.e. he wants to identify the fuse type: either a simple electric cord, a slightly more complex cord + electric switch, mechanical, or purely electrical.

So first things first is that he is going to map the wires. I.e. he is going to make a detailed examination of where they are connected and to what and draw out those connections. He wants to disable the bomb but make sure he doesn't destroy it. Maybe they can turn around and drop it on someone!
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rredmond
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by rredmond »

Remembering who he was and what he is there for, Will ensures that Ringstrom is okay, "I'd be all out of sorts if I were targetted like that. No reason either." He'll use as excuse for his concern. No matter which way I go, straight or con, Ringstrom's integral to my future. Will makes sure Ringstrom gets off to his room okay, but will hang out to catch any conversations or reactions of folks as they leave. He'll be last out for that reason. If he catches Artie's eye he gives a nod of comradeship, if he catches his ear at all "we should talk about what happened, not now, my brain is too rattled, and there's too many ears, but soon," he'll whisper.
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Mak
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by Mak »

Solomoriah wrote:"Well, goodnight, Artie," she said. "You know, you were really brave tonight." She kissed him, quickly, on the cheek; when he looked again, she was blushing just a bit. "And you play pretty well, too," she said as she turned to enter her room. Over her shoulder, Artie saw Catherine flash a knowing smile at both of them, but she looked away before Lily saw.
"Good night, Lily. You rest up and take care of that arm. I'll see you tomorrow."

After Lily's door shuts, Artie goes in search of Will. He invites him to come back to his room -- he explains that he wants to be where Lily expects him to be -- to talk about the evening's events. Artie recognizes in Thornton a keen attentiveness to other people and a skill at handling them, and figures that Will would have a good idea of what the heck was going on and who was -- and wasn't -- playing straight on board the airship.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Chapter IV

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Rosisha wrote:Lars essentially stops breathing while he takes in this new situation. "By the blessed virgin!" he mutters to himself, "A bomb." He knows he needs to act quickly, but at the same time, he can't risk a phone call. Knowing that he makes a snap decision and jumps down the stair case to run into the engineering compartment. When he hits the door he'll shout over the engine noise to stop all phone calls. NOW. "The system needs to be deactivated. Keep power running if possible, but DO NOT allow any phone calls." He'll explain that he found a large bomb attached to the phone system. "Also, I think all passengers should be moved into the cargo hold. Do you want me to try and disarm it?" If asked, he will then grab something to write on (Anything will do like a clipboard with engine records) and his tool box and head back up to see if he can't unravel this thing.
"Lord, son, a bomb? I'm not sure putting the passengers in the cargo hold will help anything, but certainly we need to turn off the phones. I'll go down and tell Captain Pelton and Mister Markwell. If you think you can disarm it, go ahead. Just be careful!"
Rosisha wrote:Lars might have some experience with bombs during his service with the civil war. He is going to handle this like a math problem, treating the bomb like a giant switch attached to an engine. There should be a way to disconnect without blowing up. He'll say something like "Okay, during the civil war we had things bombs like this, how did we handle it?"

Since it is TNT he also wants to see if it is possible to simply remove the wires from the sticky substance, thus disabling the bomb, or did they wire some kind of explosive charge to the sticks of dynamite, with a tamper switch (i.e. he wants to identify the fuse type: either a simple electric cord, a slightly more complex cord + electric switch, mechanical, or purely electrical.

So first things first is that he is going to map the wires. I.e. he is going to make a detailed examination of where they are connected and to what and draw out those connections. He wants to disable the bomb but make sure he doesn't destroy it. Maybe they can turn around and drop it on someone!
Returning to the crow's nest, Lars set quickly to work. The telephone was the most daunting device he had ever looked into. True, the device seemed simple enough component-wise: coil, condenser, dial, bell, switchhook, receiver. The wiring, though, was a maze of thin candy striped wires, all alike.

The bomb, on the other hand, seemed simple enough... a pair of black wires leading from the blasting caps into the telephone itself.

Looking into his toolkit, Lars considered how to proceed...


GM Note: The Will and Artie show is player-to-player, so I'm staying out of it for now.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by Solomoriah »

Brandon suddenly sat up straight, looking around in confusion. "die Maschinen... the engines are running... the ship is not falling... how is this possible?"

Then he straightened, wincing from the pain of his wound. "I will tell you no more, Thomas Mansel, even if you torture me. heil Hitler!"
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crazycrypt
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by crazycrypt »

Solomoriah wrote:Brandon suddenly sat up straight, looking around in confusion. "die Maschinen... the engines are running... the ship is not falling... how is this possible?"

Then he straightened, wincing from the pain of his wound. "I will tell you no more, Thomas Mansel, even if you torture me. heil Hitler!"
"Oh trust me, torturing you will be fun for me and very painful for you, however, for your sake, you are safe till I talk to the captain." And with that Tommy will wait on the captain's return for orders as, even though torturing him sounds like fun, he knows his place and knows to wait.
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Mak
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by Mak »

When Artie finally gets a glass of Scotch and Will in the same room, he shoves the bulky typescript of The Hobbit aside from his bed ("Some crazy story about a hobo who lives in a hole in the ground," he explain to Will, "written by -- get this! -- a prof at Oxford!") and settles himself, offering Will a seat across from him.

"Here's to setting foot on solid ground again soon," he says, offering a toast. "That was some good shooting back there, my friend."

"So what do you make of it all? If all those men were German spies wanting to make a point, why sabotage the ship and try to assassinate Ringstrom? I mean, if the ship went down, Ringstrom would have died along with the rest of us. And it doesn't look like the sabotage effort was particularly threatening -- cap'n didn't seem worried at all. Have we just been very lucky, or is there something I'm missing?"
Rosisha
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by Rosisha »

Lars leans in and examines the bomb in detail. He wants to understand how the wires are connected from the actual sticks of TNT to the blasting caps. He figures that if someone calls the phone, then the bomb will detonate because of of the surge of power through the device to the blasting caps. So what he wants to look at is, what would happen if he cuts the connection between the blasting cap and the TNT itself.

OOC: I figure that a tool kit would include wire cutters! Failing that, he could simply see if it is possible to yank the wire out like you could a regular fuse. I figure in 1936, anti-tamper switches hadn't been invented, so YAY! Also the more advanced fuses would not be developed by Germany or the USSR until the 1940s, so yay there too!

So what Lars is looking to do is disconnect the ability of the bomb to explode, even if the blasting caps go off, it is better then the TNT!
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rredmond
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by rredmond »

Will laughs at the hobo comment, a tension breaker, then, realizing Mak is serious, looks at the book quizzically, and shrugs. He sits with his own nip of Scotch, though sips it only as a bracer.
Mak wrote:"Here's to setting foot on solid ground again soon," he says, offering a toast. "That was some good shooting back there, my friend."

"Solid ground, yes, can't believe I've gotten myself in this mess," Will returns the toast, "got lucky with the shooting," Will chuckles, "I know a bit about guns, but it is my preference that they never go off.
Artie wrote:"So what do you make of it all? If all those men were German spies wanting to make a point, why sabotage the ship and try to assassinate Ringstrom? I mean, if the ship went down, Ringstrom would have died along with the rest of us. And it doesn't look like the sabotage effort was particularly threatening -- cap'n didn't seem worried at all. Have we just been very lucky, or is there something I'm missing?"
"I'm thinking the bomb was a secondary plan, either to set off when one failed in the assassination, or to cover the assassination altogether when the sabateurs had escaped the ship. We've thrown those plans off a bit eh," Will smiles at the heretofore unknown feeling of comradeship and being the 'good guy'. "It's been a boon, perhaps a curse of mine to notice out-of-normal behavior of people. I, uh, don't normally share information like this with others, but I'm not normally a trusting guy," Will smiles again, more uncomfortably, it's as close as he'll get to revealing his past for now :D, "but anyway, I've noticied quite a few folks with 'suspicious' behaviors, which normally isn't concerning, everyone acts suspicious sometimes, but in this situation... well let's just say I'll be glad to see what another thinks of my observations."
Will shrugs and continues on matter-of-factly, he's run through these things in his head multiple times, "still haven't had time to analyze what's gone on in the more recent hours, but since arriving on the ship I did notice Neville's nervousness, I assumed it was nerves at the maiden flight of the ship. The Baron is another ex-German, his accent is of German origin but very light, and he lives in London. Cesar is boisterous enough, but at some points he's spending as if he has an endless supply of money, at others as a pauper, my take was that he's just a gambler, only reason for such ups and downs in one day, though now any such behavior is worthy of notice. Dr. Ringstrom was agitated immediately after brunch, and Reginald Monday is a little too adept at deflecting questions about himself, he also has contact with the outside world, a telegram from 'the office' which such communique cannot be cheap. Michael Lloyd is a likeable guy, but I can't get a good read on him or the constantly absent wife. He purposefully lost the game of Bridge we were playing, and skillfully I might add, I believe only I noticed, and has a lot of interest in the Mondabe artifacts, even a rare book in his possession. With the crew, there's only two concerns of mine left, Mr. Lars, one of the engineers, but only because he's suspicious of me," Will smiles again, "which maybe is a reason to trust him," sighing he continues, "and... the Captain. I'm not so sure about Pelton, not that he's given me cause to be suspicious, but definitely cause to worry. He's a bit, well 'soft', I'm not sure if he's up for a challenge like this, though the correct call is turning around, so maybe I worry too much." Will sits back a bit, sipping his drink, and feeling a whole lot nervous about revealing so much, but he trusts Artie, and, the calculating man that he is, he knows he needs to trust someone in this situation. His shoulders slump a bit in cathartic relief. "I'm not sure what to make about David Graham, his reaction after the incident was over, but I'm thinking he's just a bit insecure. Another one I was keeping my eye on though." Will drains his glass, grimacing.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Chapter IV

Post by Solomoriah »

rredmond wrote:"I'm thinking the bomb was a secondary plan, either to set off when one failed in the assassination, or to cover the assassination altogether when the sabateurs had escaped the ship. We've thrown those plans off a bit eh," Will smiles at the heretofore unknown feeling of comradeship and being the 'good guy'.
GM Note: As yet, no passengers are aware of the bomb.
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