The Blimpopolis Chronicles, Vol. 1: The Blimpening (A Blimp Adventure)
“Why did you buy me a Shirley Temple? She should be drinking a Devika Velyapur.”
Martial characters are scary in Fate.
Because we had a different shootist detective (Zelda Saeki), the new player of Inspector M’Tombe played too-cool-for-school Filipino mercenary Calvin Davino. And that meant the local toughs were no match for his pencak silat fighting style. He was able to spin his escrima sticks faster than any thug could see, nearly opening and closing combat singlehanded. And with his lightning reflexes stunt, he always goes first.
Later, he was able to take Messerschmitts out of the sky with only a pre-war carbine. But why did he have to commit all this violence?
It all started casually enough. Rafael Lancaster had invited his pals to the annual Topeka airshow. He, his mentee Devika Velyapur, and hipster detective Zelda Saeki were joined by Devi's new bodyguard, Calvin.
Old acquaintance Major W.J. Striker bellied up to the bar with an off-the-books mission. German Luftwaffe officer Colonel Gustav Schröder had been seen in the area, but the British didn't consider that actionable intelligence. The group negotiated for half payment upfront, and once paper changed hands, they were happy to oblige.
Rafe Lancaster is a strong proponent of ‘work smarter, not harder’. So he borrowed the bar telephone to reach out to his contacts in security, putting out an APB matching Col.Schröder’s description. Zelda scoured the event itself, searching for high-profile targets the Colonel might be after. Devi tried to help, but was swarmed by local children, who wanted to meet the 13-year-old with her own private jet. Calvin's experience paid off immediately, as he maintained a non-violent but brusque perimeter.
The group spotted the Nazi, but a group of local toughs ran interference. Or at least, they tried to. Devi helped the merc halve their numbers, while Zelda got maximum use out of her silencer, aiming for kneecaps. A few seconds later, the group was ready to keep pursuing… Until a biplane wheeled around the corner, firing machine guns like mad! Nearly everyone got down (clever Zelda simply crouched behind one of the mooks)… except for action junkie Calvin. He ran towards the plane.
Devi, India's greatest sidekick, rolled a series of mobile stairs into his path, allowing Cal to
leap over the propeller and grab the pilot in a chokehold! Unfortunately, the murderous flyboy was also a local hire. Still no sign of Schröder. At least on the ground…
“Up we go," said Lancaster.
“Do we have to?” asked the mercenary, already sweating.
Despite being a badass on land, Calvin Davino is afraid of heights. He white-knuckled every second of the group’s ascet, and was filled with dread instead of amazement by what they saw:
A floating metropolis, held underneath giant Zeppelins!
Rafe carefully, carefully landed his plane in an urban park. This strange community was Blimpopolis, and was founded before the first World War! Artists and engineers had created their own floating commune, which traveled the world, hidden in its own cloud generator. And they were expecting a visit from a certain German Colonel…
Rafe, who spoke German, pretended to be that official. He acted severely entitled, although he didn't take all of Devi's suggestions. (She said he should brag about not washing his hands after the bathroom.)
Zelda dug into the city’s tensions, and found a great split of opinion: those who wanted to integrate into world society, and those who wanted to keep up separation. Major Striker wanted to create an alliance between the city and Dear Old England. Calvin made it clear that this would be out of contract and require additional funding. The major handed over his watch.
First Citizen Amadeus Blimp II, tired of the lies and chicanery, ended negotiations for the day. He did give the visitors a tour of the Calcularium, a giant mechanical marvel that allowed the autopiloting of the city’s vessels.
That's when the Messerschmidts appeared. Calvin drew his pistol, and with ice in his veins, killed an incoming pilot with a 100 yard headshot. This was just a distraction, however, as one blimp started to deflate and the Calcularum started to fly away!
Rafe and copilot Devi chased after. Unfortunately, in midair, the only way into the building was through a giant stained glass window! They crashed through and ended up in the forbidden section of the building, one where all the systems were controlled by… a brain in a jar.
But not just any brain, Amadeus Blimp I!
Rafe disabled the security systems, and discovered that someone was remotely flying the ship from several stories up. Devi, nearly as acrobatic as her stuntwoman madre, clambered through the ducts, lowering a cable for her mentor to climb.
Up in the control room? Their target, the Nazi colonel! Devi tapped him on the shoulder, and used her mystic gifts to send him into a blissful reverie. He was back in Düsseldorf in 1910, learning to fly from his father. In real life, he was being arrested and blamed for every misdeed of the past several hours.
The secret city, seeing that mankind was strange and violent, decided to remain aloof. But there was an upside: all of our heroes got paid well, and Calvin was back on solid ground.
Calvin:
