| Date | Entry |
| March | 1889 |
| Mar 4 | I have agreed to take along two additional passengers for this journey - one Byron Bayswater of the Morning Telegraph and one Doktor Georg Goebbels, a scientist to accompany us on our great journey. The Morning Telegraph has paid £3000 for the honor of exclusive coverage. |
| Mar 5 | I gave the High Rhodes a full inspection. She seems
to have been fully repaired, and in spanking condition. The crew were all turned out in those matching
uniforms I bought. The new gunner, a Welshman named Wyatt, seems to be working out well.
I left Reannahaal enough funds for the next four months, as the journey should be about that long. |
| Mar 6 | With passengers all on board, we lifted off from
Syrtis Major amid a great fanfare. One of the Foot
Regiment's bands played us a send off, after a speech
from the Deputy Assistant Regent, Alfred Parkingham!
There was a great ground to see us off, all cheering.
Jolly good fun.
Set course ENE. We will make for Thoth and avoid Shastapsh. I have left £2000 with a lawyer in Syrtis Major, one Geoffrey Howe, to cover our next two payments lest we still be out when they fall due. I also filed a will with him as a matter of form. |
| Mar 8 | We've been making good time, heading toward Thoth. The steppes of the Parhoon Bay gave way to a rocky desert as we climbed over the rim of the sea bed this morning. The desert is not the uniform orange/red seen from earth, but swirls of orange and yellow, deep red and umber. Not as glare-filled as the Kalahari, but equally as hot. The wind is even drier than at home - home has an ocean just a thousand miles away... |
| Mar 9 | 11:30 AM: That Bayswater chap sure can chatter away
for hours! I had hoped that cigars and brandy on deck after dinner would at least slow him down, but by
God, the man talks a full gale! Not even Maarskoochi's cooking slows him down!
Herr Doktor, on the other hand, is rather taciturn. Perhaps its being with all us English-speakers. According to the map, Thoth should be just past the horizon. From our current position, I can see the edge of the green band marking the Thoth - Shastapsh canal zone. 2:30 PM: A Thothan crank cutter signaled us to heave-to. After a quick query, she directed us along a particular path marked on the ground by a set of towers spewing puffs of green smoke. After the local customs officials yammered at us for a bit, the British Assistant Consul, Alfred Winthrop, came running up. He warned us of a religious uprising in Thoth and suggested we relegate ourselves to the Red Man's Quarter. When I explained our business, he invited to an Inn to meet the local residents. 10:00 PM: I had the lads fall to their dress whites and we trundled off to the quarter, for an impromptu celebration at the Rumpled Ruumet Inn. We looked quite smart. I gave the gathered crowd a brief speech. Bayswater noted every word. During the fete, a fellow named Estes pulled me aside. Seems he has a bit of a problem and needs some stouthearts to help him free his patron and business partner, a Martian noble caught up in the temple revolution in town. Offered us £500 for our trouble. On behalf of my crew, I accepted. |
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Return to the Space Vermin's Space:1889 campaign.
See the SS High Rhodes.