Blaaaaagh rereading yesterday's post makes me want to eat my hands. So I can't write anything that robotic again. But anyway here's more from that. Probably just as robotic, btw, really need to get back into that Austen-ish style.
After dinner, Uncle James and Edward retired to the drawing room as usual. Edward had been insisting on this as of late, saying that since he was now of age it was high time he was allowed to have a smoke of an evening with his father. This time, however, James held his arm out for Franny to take.
"Really?!?!?!"
"Well, you are an Earthshaker now, after all," he said, placing her hand on the sleeve of his scarlet dressing gown. Edward, ahead of them, looked back and grinned at the pair.
"Does that mean she gets to hear one of your war stories, father?"
"Well, maybe not one of those quite yet."
"Oh, please tell me one! Please please please!" Fanny cried, eyes alight. "You know Edward will tell me one if you don't."
"Like hell he will, if he knows what's good for him," James said comfortably, "But if you like I'll tell you about Grimer's Peak." At Franny's happy nod, he chuckled and led her to his seat, pulled as close to the roaring fire as possible. Franny sat at his feet, Henry padding over to lay his head in her lap with a soft sigh.
"There was a lad name of Robert Grimer who was a second-grade Earthshaker," he began. "At that time, the firsts and the seconds were rare, so when ol' Boney came across the first time, they flew him from front to front, as a major source of muscle. See, Grimer was best at raising earth, so whenever he was around they had him fling a company of Frogs a few hundred feet up."
"But that must have been exhausting," Franny said, eyebrows furrowed. "Wouldn't it have made more sense have him destroy commanders or supply trains, or even use him as defense?"
"Ah, you're your father's girl, all right. But no, y'see, there was no way for the airboys to fly him over to the trains or command, since Boney had all kinds of air support, and defense would be less practical than using him to incite the fear of God in the French."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"Of course it does. Would you fight if you thought you'd be hundreds of feet in the air in the next few seconds?"
"Of course not," Edward interjected, from the lounge where he'd been pretending to read a novel.
"Now," James continued, as if the debate had never occured, "You don't know this, Franny, since you've only begun learning, but second- and first- grade Shakers can move earth when they themselves aren't standing on it. With practice, and some ability, it's actually possible to shake from the air. And, of course, this is better from a tactical standpoint, since it's damned harder to find a man on an airship than it is to find one on the ground." Franny nodded. "This Grimer chap was on the Apollo - good ship she was, a prime beauty until she got shot down in the Battle of ______. There was a prime gale brewing that day, and they couldn't take down sail fast enough. She rolled, and Grimer fell out. In a state of panic, he did what Shakers do best - he called the earth to him to break his fall. Problem is, he called it too fast, and he only got a thin needle coming at him as fast as he could manage. Speared him right through the heart, they say, though I think it's a fairy tale."
"Isn't!" Edward interjected. "They even left him up there as a lesson to the other Shakers. You can see it if you fly close enough."
"Nothing of the sort. Get the smallest craft you can and the engine vibration would still crumble the spire to the ground," James said authoritatively.
"Well, wouldn't removing his body do the same thing, then?"
"Hmph. You may have a point, lad, but I still don't believe he's up there."
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This totally counts as a Wednesday post, since I have not yet gone to bed. Also, told you it was going to be crap. But it could not be - just need to update (down-date??) the language to the proper time period, get the story of the Napoleon Wars right so I can mess with it, and learn how to describe things better. Yeaaahhhh....
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