|
On Gossamer WingsAn unfortunate accident on arrival...Cyrus Grant, an American
inventor, in London to outfit an expedition to the moon, placed
an advert in the Times seeking willing companions for this risky
endeavour. Then he called on an old friend of his, another
inventor, Mr Edward Rockwood. who eagerly signed-up for
the expedition. Grant also hired a couple of likely lads from the Dog
and Duck in Stepney, Marvin Krapper, an old soldier and Bill Sykes a
shifty-looking young man.
Next day, Rockwood and Grant
waited in the rooms in the Dorchester Grant had taken to see who might
answer the advert. Krapper waited below to escort people up. First to
arrive was Miss Wilamena Forsyth, a capable-looking young lady, next up
was Gerald Halpin a youngish chap ex-military type on a leave of
absence from the Colonial Office. Next to arrive was Lord Henry
Rawalinson, a bluff, moustachioed and hugely eccentric big game hunter.
The final person to arrive was Miss Harriet Petheridge, a former
governess, who despite sitting quietly, was quite determined to join
the expedition. Grant informed them of the specifics of the
expedition - that he had developed a refinement of the ether
propeller that would permit the fine manoeuvring to allow an ether-ship to
navigate near the surface of an airless world like the moon. The moon
being without atmosphere was rarely visited - the last such expedition
being by the Russian explorer Vladimir Tereshkova who had vanished there
two years ago, and he proposed to field-test his invention that month
- leaving from the Corydon etherdrome on
Saturday.
Next day Grant, accompanied by
Messrs Rookwood, Krapper and Sykes headed down to Corydon for the final
work on the ether-ship Gossamer Wings, The two inventors spent a
satisfying few days working on some last minute issues - mainly
resolving the working of an air-valve on the outer hull to
connect the hose for the modified diving suit Grant had adapted
(hopefully) for use on Luna's surface. Krapper and Sykes occupied
themselves with loading various equipment and supplier aboard the
Gossamer Wings. Meanwhile back in London the other members of the expedition busied
themselves purchasing various equipment they felt the would need
- in Sir Henry's case six large steamer trunks and amanservant, Roberts! That
Saturday after a spot of lunch, the Gossamer Wings inflated it's gasbag
and lifted off from the ether-field into a clear blue sky. Once in the
upper atmosphere, Grant activated the ether-propeller and the voyage to
Luna began.
The three day trip to
Luna passed uneventfully if not tediously, the boredom alleviated somewhat
by the fine port and cigars supplied by Sir Henry and the fact that Roberts
was a much better cook than Bill Sykes! By the end of the three days
a sense of camaraderie had come over the disparate group going so far as
to even adopt the more laid-back approach of the American and relax the
more formal modes of address customary.
Eventually the moment of truth
arrived and Grant began to manoeuvre the ethership down to the surface.
The modified ether-propeller worked beyond Grant's wildest dreams and
after a few hours felt secure in actually landing the ship on the surface.
This was achieved without incident and Grant decided to test the modified
diving suit. Overseen by Eddie (as Grant insisted on calling him). Krapper
and Sykes began testing the air-pump while the inventor suited up
assisted by Gerald. Although all went will - the inventors did
discover a design flaw in the placing of the air valve on the external
hull as it required the taking of a deep breath before the air was flushed
from the air lock and a mad-dash round to connect the hose to the valve!
After the successful
excursion, Sir Henry celebrated by braking out a rather
excellent brandy and a few more of his equally excellent Havana
cigars.
After spending a few hours on
the Lunar surface Grant decided that things had gone so well that the
Gossamer Wings was ready for the next challenge - a visit to the dark side
of the moon! Preparations were made and the ship gracefully took off once
more into the sky. Heading across to the dark side they quickly came to
the realisation that it might have been an idea to provide some
illumination on the exterior so they could see. The situation was quickly
remedied by Krapper and Sykes standing at the forward portholes bearing
oil-lamps, which at least gave some illumination. The ship sailed serenely
on into the darkness when Krapper suddenly noticed an eerie green glow to
the northwards, swinging the ether-ship round to investigate they
discovered the glow was coming from a huge chasm over 2 miles ling and 20
yards wide and so deep they were unable to perceive the bottom. Grant
landed the ship briefly and Eddie went to investigate using the diving
suit - a brief survey identified that it would be possible to navigate the
Gossamer Wings down into the chasm and without further ado, they
set off.
They descended cautiously as it
soon became apparent the rift was several miles deep. At first the descent
went smoothly but suddenly the ship was buffeted sided to side -
Halpin called out that he could hear a whistling sound from
outside. The two scientists quickly worked out there must be some sort of
atmosphere out there - and the ether-propeller was not able to
function in an atmosphere! As the buffeting of the ship got worse,
Grant urgently tried to inflate the gasbag, but it was too late - a
violent gust of wind smashed the ship into the side of the canyon, tearing
a huge rent in the partially inflated gasbag. Without any sufficient means
of lift the ether-ship began to fall uncontrollably, throwing its
occupants round and about. The ship crashed once or twice into ledges
before it came to an awful crashing rest.
Thrown into a dreadful muddle,
most of the group escaped with minor cuts and bruises. Eddie dislocated
his shoulder and Sykes broke his leg in the crash, however Grant,
valiantly attempting to remain at the controls had broken his leg in the
smash and was unconscious.
Descent into the inner depths of Luna...
Rookwood, accompanied by Miss Petheridge who took notes, began to survey the damage to the Gossamer Wings. Meanwhile Krapper, Sir Henry and Halpin smashed one of the windows (the airlock currently exiting into mid-air) and climbed out on to the ledge to survey the lay of the land. Miss Forsyth began an assessment of what stores and supplies were at hand - quickly determining that they had sufficient food and water for up to two weeks.
Completing his survey of the damage done in the crash it was evident to Rookwood that although the hull damage could be patched, the damage to the gasbags and the ether-propeller was not so readily fixed - not without a supply of suitable material and a large diamond! Out on the ledge they discovered a shallow cave just below the overhang the Gossamer Wings was perched precariously on and after a brief moment decide it might be best to transfer their as the ethership might topple at any moment. After some tea, miraculously provided by Roberts, they decided to try and make the ship secure using ropes and pitons from Sir Henry’s climbing gear. Miss Petheridge (with some able assistance from Krapper) finally managed to re-set Rookwood’s dislocated shoulder, splinted Gran't leg and made a good stab at re-setting Sykes’ broken arm. It was apparent to all that their only course of action was to descend, so led by Sir Henry (an experienced mountaineer) they began the descent. Sykes, with a broken arm elected to remain and guard Grant and the ship. The first day’s descent, though strenuous proved uneventful and the party rested for a night in another of the shallow caves that dotted the surface of the massive chasm. Krapper, locating a small patch of fungi decided to experiment to see if it might supplement their supplies, but aside from tasting vaguely like broiled cabbage the fungi seemed to have no ill effect on the old soldier. After a fitful night, the descent recommenced. As they went further done they discovered the source of the green glow – phosphorescent patches of yellow-green fungus, which clustered thickly the lower, the got. Suddenly disaster stuck as the rope Sir Henry was using snapped and the aristocrat was left hanging by his fingertips from an overhang. Krapper, trying to rescue him, slipped and tumbled down the slope fortunately coming to rest on a ledge some 20 ft below – shaken but otherwise unhurt. The others, after rescuing Sir Henry, joined the old soldier on the ledge. Examining the rope, it appeared to have been burned through – some quick investigation showed that all the ropes showed some evidence of what looked like acid burns! They quickly worked out that the phosphorescence on the fungi was acidic and the rope being dragged through it had suffered accordingly. They would have to proceed much more carefully in future. After resting for a night on the ledge , they set off again on the descent into the seeming never-ending abyss. Suddenly a swarm of shrieking flying creatures, somewhat akin to bats, attacked them. The party began shooting to kill or drive off the creatures, but realising they were expending a fair proportion of their precious ammunition in doing so, Miss Petheridge lashed out with her brolly at the irksome creatures, while Rookwood used a knife. Halpin drew his cavalry sabre from somewhere and began hacking at the swarm while Krapper resorted to beating the hapless bats with his fists! On being captives within Luna...
The next days climb was led by Rookwood, and it was a brutal descent, the party making less than half the distance they'd made on any previous day. Towards the end of the climb however they made an astonishing find - another crashed ether flyer. Arriving at the crashed ship, they discovered that the wreck had been gutted, anything that could have been removed had been- they also discovered several crates scattered around which had once contained rifles. Mr Rookwood offered the opinion that this ship must have belonged to the long-lost Russian explorer Tereshkova, the group decided to follow the trail left by whomever had cleared the ethership. That night while on watch, Halpin and Krapper discovered more of the denizens of this strange place, small creatures with an armoured carapace like a cross between rat and an armadillo which were swiftly named a lunar rats - despite some alternative nominations by Krapper! Next morning, discovering that their supplies were running low, the group decided to experiment with the native fungus to determine whether it was edible - they discovered that it apparently was - barely, the slimy brown fungus being excessively sweet and the grey having a taste like soured milk, Krapper suggested frying the mushrooms together to see if the combination were more palatable. It was - marginally - so they would be fine as long as the kerosene for their small primus stove lasted! Water was a bigger problem - Miss Petheridge had little left in her canteen they others only slightly;y more. Sir Henry gallantly offered to swap canteens and filled the empty one with cloying juice squeezed laboriously from the brown mushrooms Another days tortuous descent was interrupted as Sir Henry, leading the way was ambushed by a large caterpillar-like creature. With notable assistance from Krapper ( and some helpful encouragement from Halpin). Sir Henry briefly investigated whether the caterpillar might be a suitable addition to their dwindling food suppliers, however a rapid vivisection showed the creatures innards to be composed of some foul-smelling, unwholesome-looking mess of unidentifiable organs. At the end of that day, the sixth day of descent they could see some distance below a broad ledge and what appeared to be the entrance to a large cavern. Next morning they reached the ledge after a brief descent. The cavern entrance led to a network of caves which the party began exploring, mindful of the little remaining oil in they had to fuel their lamp. In one cave they found a plentiful supply of water, which somewhat relieved their fears of dying of thirst. Re-filling their rattling canteens they descended deeper into the complex, exploring some hours. Krapper tried to maintain a rough sketch map of the cave complex, lest they get irretrievably lost! After some hours exploration they descended from a tunnel into a wide caver that showed signs of having been worked. hand-holds and foot-holes had been carved into the wall of the cave descending from the tunnel they were in to the floor which had been obviously cleared. Descending using the holes, Rookwood pointed out that they holes had not been placed for use by any human form! They carried on briefly, heading down one of the exits from the cavern, which appeared to be a worked tunnel! The tunnel ended in a huge cavern from which many other worked tunnels exited. Exhausted they decided to rest here, extinguishing the lamp to preserve their oil supply. A rota was set up to maintain a watch and the rest fell into an exhausted slumber. later than "night" as Krapper was on guard, he thought he heard a furtive scratching should coming from somewhere across the cavers, silent he woke Halpin and Sir Henry, only to freeze at the unmistakable sound of rifle-bolts being drawn back! After a hurried whispered conversation, Sir Henry lit the lamp. To reveal that they were surrounded by sixteen huge ant-like creatures each bearing a rifle pointed at them. The leader of the ant-like creatures gestured to them, obviously instructing them to lay down their arms! Realising they were outnumbered the humans complied and were swiftly bound and led off through the tunnels across the way. The captives were led through what appeared to be the hive of these creatures - swiftly dubbed selenites! As they moved through the hive they noticed curiously that some of the "workers" - apparently mining for something - were being guarded by overseers that cradled rifles! Eventually they were led to a cavern, that was comfortably furnished with fittings removed from the crashed ether-flyer. Awaiting them in this room was a bedraggled figure, with long hair and fingernails. The figure spoke in Russian - which fortunately Miss Forsyth spoke. It rapidly became apparent that this was indeed Tereshkova and that he was quite mad! Calmly at first, he explained that he had found a fortune in diamonds here and was exploiting divisions in the local hive to maintain control and force the natives to work for him. He casually mentioned that his crew had rebelled against him and that he had had them slain. Tereshkova became more agitated and animated as he went on, ranting at how he had been abandoned here in this airless prison, he went on to say that he planned on repairing the Gossamer Wings and on using that to make his escape - abandoning his allies in the hive and leaving the party to deal with the consequences!
Consequences of a Lunar Revolution...Ushered into what was obviously a makeshift prison, Rookwood suddenly realised the Krapper was no longer with them! The crafty enlisted man had somehow made his escape while no-one noticed! Their prison was a small cavern, the door being fabricated from wood obviously scavenged from the crashed Russian ether flyer. Left to their own devices the group immediately began planning their escape. Rookwod and Miss Forsyth quickly ascertained that they couldn't quite get to the hinges of the door with a makeshift knife fashioned from some whalebone retrieved from Miss Petheridge's nether-garments. Sir Henry quickly established there was no other method of egress from the cave. Later, as one of the worker Selenites brought in a meal of wholesome, though bland, fungus stew they briefly considered rushing the guards, however the guard had prepared for this, moving back a way down the corridor and having their bolt-action rifles ready and aimed for any trouble. After the meal they settled down to rest, Miss Petrheridge in particular almost collapsing form exhaustion. That evening as he slept uneasily Halpin was waken to a sound of quiet clicking from the other side of the door. One of the guards appeared to by trying to communicate. Try as he might he could make little sense of what was being said, nor could Sir Henry when Halpin awoke him. Next morning he repeated some of the sounds heard to the others to see if any of them could make sense. Miss Forsyth exclaimed that some of the sounds sounded like a vague attempt to speak Russian, but the only word she could make out was "wait". After a hurried conference this was what the group decided to do. That evening, after the meal provided, Halpin and Miss Forsyth settled down to wait by the door to see if communication was resumed. Sure enough, after a while as the hive entered its sleep-cycle, the whispering started again. Communication with the guard was in fits and starts, as he often fell silent -presumably as some of his other colleagues moved close enough to potentially spot what he was doing. Over a period Miss Forsyth was able to piece together the guard's tale. he revealed himself as K'chuck - one of the Hive's "custodians". He explained that Tereshkova on his arrival had promised the hive technological assistance to make their life's easier, the custodians had aided him and supported his tyranny for the long term good of the collective. However, K'chuck in his association with Tereshkova had managed to learn some Russian and hearing the rant that the mad doctor had launched into yesterday, now realised that the doctor planned on abandoning them. K'chuck had managed to convince a small number of his fellow custodians to his view that they should enlist the aid of the new humans against the doctor. The Selenite also told them that Tereshkova had located their ether flyer and had set out that morning to survey the wreckage. The group readily agreed to hep the Selenites throw off their oppressor and a plan was swiftly hatched. K'chuck would sabotage the hinges of the door, and next morning when released from his duties he would gather his like-minded colleagues and also attempt to rouse the drones. The humans would break free over power the guards and find and apprehend Tereshkova. Next morning after the guard-shift changed the plan was put into operation. Rookwood and Miss Forsyth smashed down the door while the other rushed at the three guards. The guards managed to get off a shot - fortunately missing everyone before the stronger humans closed and after a struggle managed to overpower them. Taking the rifles and spare ammunition the humans began heading through the Hive, trying to locate Tereshkova's office where their gear was being stored, they quickly did so and Ms Forsyth managed to pick the lock on the doctor's desk drawer and retrieved the diamonds - and also the plans for what appeared to be a freeze-ray. Unfortunately a custodian patrol stumbled across them, and in a brief firefight, Sir Henry was badly wounded. The group then began a running retreat through the Hive; fighting a series of small battles. Eventually they arrived at the large cavern they had been captured in - only to run into Tereshkova on his way back. Both groups took cover in the rocks in the cavern and began exchanging fire. Roberts after seeing the wounded Sir Henry safe, picked up a rifle and joined the others in the combat. Tereshkova, however, had another surprise in store for them however - the paranoid scientist had rigged this entire cave with explosives and brought down a large group of stalactites where the party were sheltering. Most managed to avoid damage, but Halpin took the full brunt of the rock-fall. Just when things were looking a trifle bad for the party, K'chuck came to the rescue! Leading a large group of drones, and some of his like-minded custodians, the rebel leader charged into the cavern. The doctor in frenzy of rage, detonated another series of explosions dropping another ton of rock down on the hapless drones. This proved to be his undoing as his "loyal" custodians unable to stomach this assault on their fellow hive-members stood up and threw down their weapons. seeing this Tereshkova screamed in rage and charged of down a corridor. Leaving K'chuck to see to his wounded the humans charged after the doctor and fought a running battle down the corridor against the mad Russian and his freeze-ray. The passageway emerged into the chasm much deeper than they had previously been could see the doctor leaping precariously down the rock face, and Rookwood and Roberts snapped off a couple of shots. Tereshkova returned fir, hitting Miss Petheridge and freezing her. The group retuned fir, hitting the mad doctor as he leaped from an outcropping. The Russian fell, screaming into a huge patch of yellow fungus, and Rookwood watch in horror as his flesh bubbled and dissolved in the acid- an horrific end! Returning to the Hive, the group found themselves feted. Over the next couple of days, with the help of the Selenites, the Gossamer Wings was repaired. Krapper who had returned to the ether-ship to take the injured Grant and Bill to a place of safety, was reunited with the party. After discussions with K'chuck they agreed to sell the diamonds and set up a line of credit for the Selenites on earth which they, in conjunction with the new technologies in Grant's ether-propeller, could import the supplies to make their lives easier. Before the humans departed K'chuck presented Rookwood with a parting gift - a gold metalled medallion which the selenite claimed had been with the tribe for hundreds of years. Even on a cursory inspection it was clear that this medallion was the product of a technology more sophisticated than the selenites.
| ||