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Contraption, Part 2: Gears
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by Lendren Starfall
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Cast, In Order Of Appearance

Allessa Delphine .......................... Captain of the Motley Roger
Llarrell Silverwing ........................ Empath of the Motley Roger
Giselle Delacroix ..................... Port Gunner of the Motley Roger
Sha Tallowtail ................... Starboard Gunner of the Motley Roger
Wesmin ........................................ Purveyor of Curiosities
Donatarro .......................................... Wesmin's Bodyguard
Londaro Eclat ................................ Vice-Prelate of Security
Chelle D'athenor ............ Field Lieutenant, Special Forces Division

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Table of Contents

Scene 1: Chase ...................................................... 2
Scene 2: Commerce ................................................... 3
Scene 3: Capture .................................................... 4

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Production Notes

The following roles should be performed by the same actors:
- Llarrell, Donatarro, Londaro
- Giselle, Wesmin, Chelle

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Produced in association with the Seeds of Change Repertory Company.

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Scene 1: Chase
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ROLE Allessa (F): Allessa Delphine

COSTUME AllessaCostume (Allessa): She is a fierce loboshigaru and has obviously
seen a fair amount of wear and tear, her graying hair missing tufts here and
there, marked by scars and discolouration. One eye is clouded over, milky with
mottled, churning clouds; the other darts quickly from side to side as if trying
to make up the difference. For all her age she still walks with a swagger in
her hips that has clearly been habitual so long she no longer realizes she's
doing it. She wears a rogue's leather longcoat studded with platinum rings, two
iron-shod black leather scabbards, long boots of tanned hide, and ten spiral
rings of gold and silver.

ROLE Llarrell (M): Llarrell Silverwing

COSTUME LlarrellCostume (Llarrell): He is a feathered trill and fidgets
constantly, twitching his fingertips and scanning his eyes from side to side as
if always on the lookout for some unnamed threat sneaking up on him. His
rust-brown feathers are meticulously groomed without a single one out of place,
yet somehow his constant anxious movement makes him look disheveled. He is
alarmingly tall and scrawny, as if a regular person were elongated until he
seems like he could topple over at any moment. He wears hunter green trousers,
a pine green sleeveless tunic, sandals of crimson and mulberry, and a necklace
from which hangs a single key.

ROLE Giselle (F): Giselle Delacroix

COSTUME GiselleCostume (Giselle): She is an ordinary human and shows her
Delportoise heritage in the sway of her hips, the curves that fill out her
clothes and threaten to spill over in their exuberance, the unnaturally vivid
red hue of her long, wavy hair, and the look on her face which perpetually mixes
a leer, a smirk, and a pout. She takes great pains to make it look like she
doesn't take any pains to look sexy, and is not entirely successful -- at the
deception part, not the sexiness part. She wears a slinky evening gown of blue
and indigo, high-heeled shoes of sapphire blue, a sapphire choker, dangling
aquamarine earrings set in silver hoops, and a glittering sapphire ring.

ROLE Sha (F): Sha Tallowtail

COSTUME ShaCostume (Sha): She is a bullish taurian and seems designed not to
attract attention. Her hide is not shaggy, but not patched, and in a
grayish-brown that would blend into any season's foliage. In place of horns she
has only tiny nubs at the forehead, and the characteristic muzzle of her kind is
softened, perhaps implying some mixed blood in her ancestry. Her eyes are a
dark yellow-green. All her movements are relaxed yet sparse, calculated not to
waste any effort. She wears brown woven trousers and a rumpled gray tunic.

SCENE Aetherspace: Against a backdrop of inky darkness, swirls of coruscant
energies and dancing clouds of colour swirl endlessly. In the distance, barely
visible, hazy shapes loom, the visible projection of remote aetherbubbles.

EFFECT S1Q1 (5): An inky darkness fills the area above the stage and seems to
swim out to enfold the senses, as blossoming whorls of colour expand, the
striated energies of aetherspace. Distant aetherbubbles loom as hazy blobs of
ochre and cerulean. In the middle distance, a dozen aetherships, small and
swift darts, drift lazily.

PAUSE

EFFECT S1Q2 (5): The aetherships in the distance seem to swell with disturbing
speed, then slew to one side, revealing that what seemed like a languid
stillness was actually a terrifying speed seen head-on, suddenly menacing.

PAUSE

EFFECT S1Q3 (5): Flashes of umber light spit and crackle from the dart-shaped
ships, casting sputtering illumination onto a few roguish figures seen from
behind at aethership modules, viewing the oncoming ships through a viewport.

SCENE MotleyRoger: From a viewpoint at the back of the bridge, the stage
depicts the central chambers of the aethership Motley Roger. In center, the
captain's chair sits on a small rise, gazing at the broad viewport that takes up
the far wall almost in its entirety. Towards the back, the empath's grid stands
cocked at an angle, flaring cables and tendrils snaking in all directions. To
either side stands a turret, each one looking like it's been repaired with
scraps of shrapnel and wrong-sized bolts.

Allessa: ENTER SILENT

Llarrell: ENTER SILENT

Giselle: ENTER SILENT

Sha: ENTER SILENT

Allessa: Get us some power or at least some lights!

Llarrell: (working the grid, bringing light back to the bridge) Bloody Nil,
Captain, we can't take this onslaught. They sure are eager to get that
whatever-it-is.

Allessa: Hold just a few more minutes to give the White Night a chance to get
away.

Giselle: twists her turret, frantically operating its controls and giving it a
solid thump with the back of one hand for good measure.

Llarrell: White Night is fusing...

EFFECT S1Q4 (5): All but three of the darts dive off the port side of the
viewport, the remaining trio continuing to fire with bursts of crackling energy
that engulf the viewport, causing the modules to spark and sputter.

Giselle: swears colorfully and sucks at her palm where a small spot of blood
wells from a cut, matching one she left on the turret.

EFFECT S1Q5 (5): A sickly pale-white flash floods the viewport from the port
side, then fade, leaving a silence which even the oncoming darts do not
interrupt.

Llarrell: (in a subdued voice) White Night has been destroyed.

Sha: (staring over her turret) Sweet mother of darkness and light.

Allessa: Blast it. All right, all hands ready to fuse.

EFFECT S1Q6 (5): The viewport begins to blur and warp, the darts continuing to
rain umber energy through the shifting shapes.

Giselle: Whatever that contraption is can't be worth this.

Llarrell: (in a detached voice) On the contrary, if they'll go to these lengths
to recapture it, they'll pay prettily for it once we're safe and can make
contacts and set a price.

Giselle: That's what you said last month and so far everyone we've come upon
has attacked us on sight. Everyone, no matter what their allegiance!

Sha: Seems as if ever'one but us has heard of this contraption thingie.

EFFECT S1Q7 (5): The colors in the viewport continue to warp and twist, and as
they return to the normal whorls, the darts are gone, and different
aetherbubbles lurk in the far distance, amidst the suddenly silent, peaceful
expanse of emptiness.

Allessa: Blast and blast again, that was a near one.

Llarrell: frantically works at the empath grid, causing the ship and its
modules to gradually become more hale, though no less battered.

Giselle: What are we going to do from here?

Allessa: Raise cloaks, weigh anchor, and then go send a few messages.

Giselle: Messages? Bloody Nil, this is no time to gab with your pals!

Allessa: (turning to slowly stare Giselle down icily) Messages to find us a
buyer, if that's quite all right with you, Captain. Oh, sorry, ex-Captain.

Giselle: fumes but says nothing.

Sha: covers a merry grin and turns back to her turret.

Llarrell: We're safe to anchor now, Captain. Do you really think you can find
a buyer for that contraption we found on the Rabbit's Foot?

Allessa: It'll be tricky, since we don't know what it is, so it's hard to set a
fair price. And, what's worse, it seems everyone else knows what we don't.

EFFECT S1Q8 (5): A tiny, pockmarked boulder floating by through the viewport
suddenly shudders as an anchor spears through it, then slowly reels it in,
causing it to grow in the view and gradually disappear past the viewport's
bottom edge.

Giselle: All I know is my share'd better be a pretty pile of gold to make it
worth all this hassle. We haven't been able to put into port for half a year
since we ambushed the Rabbit's Foot.

Sha: And a dozen mindless but pretty young men are feeling terribly lonely, I'm
sure.

Giselle: (flashing a contemptuous, triumphant grin at Sha) Don't suppose that's
a problem you'll ever have to worry about.

Allessa: (sharply) Giselle, while you're counting cold meals and cold beds
you've endured and all your hardships, maybe you could spare a thought for the
crew of White Night.

Giselle: goes silent, for once looking contrite.

Allessa: Anyone who doesn't care for the life of a privateer is welcome to
disembark now. There's a lovely little rock outside you can spend your
remaining days on in luxury and solitude. Otherwise, make the ship ready for
the meet, while I find us a buyer.

Llarrell: We'll be ready, Captain. The ship's healing up already.

Allessa: EXIT pulls a small leather-bound book from a pocket and strides off
the bridge, leafing through it and muttering to herself.

Giselle: (a little more subdued) I want to know how everyone else knows to
attack us for this thing while we don't even know what it is.

Sha: Yeah, well, what I want to know is what the consarned thing is, what are
those noises it makes, how it mucks with the ship and the aethers, and why it
was on an empty ship.

Llarrell: Captain'll figure it all out, don't you worry.

Giselle: (staring out at the emptiness through the viewport) Oh, yeah, there's
nothing about this situation worth worrying about.

EFFECT S1Q9 (5): The darkness through the viewport swells, engulfing the bridge
and blotting everything out.

PAUSE

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Scene 2: Commerce
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ROLE Wesmin (F): Wesmin, Purveyor of Curiosities

COSTUME WesminCostume (Wesmin): She is a regal aslaran and is groomed and
dressed impeccably in a style that proclaims refinement and efficiency. Her
tawny fur contrasts neatly with her slender black-tipped mane, and tiny
rose-hued spectacles perch neatly on her tiny pink nose. She is wearing an
elegantly tailored suit coat of sable silk, neatly plaited black trousers, and a
slender golden pocketwatch.

ROLE Donatarro (M): Bodyguard Donatarro

COSTUME DonatarroCostume (Donatarro): He is a crystalline lucidian and stands
tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a silent, impassive mien. Though
dozens of chips in his fluid crystalline skin have left marks, his silent bulk
is made all the more imposing for the contrast they offer. His face is cold and
expressionless, and no colors rise from within his crystalline depths. He wears
a tempered suit of crystalline battle armor, two frogges adorned with axes, and
a pair of heavy iron boots. He wields a huge forged-crystal battleaxe in each
hand.

SCENE Cankermore: In a swamp of dismal black water, clots of green slime float
lazily, each attended by a buzzing cloud of mosquitoes so dense they cast
shadows in the dim light. Here and there, a lily pad drifts by, so dark a shade
of purple as to be almost black, disappearing amongst the unfathomable murk of
the swampy water.

EFFECT S2Q1 (5): Amidst the darkness, a faint buzzing is heard, high-pitched
and irritating, and a sense of movement is dimly glimpsed. As a faintly
purplish glow begins to permeate the emptiness, mottled clouds of grey and black
move against it, twisting and weaving through the emptiness of the surrounding
space.

PAUSE

EFFECT S2Q2 (5): One of these clouds approaches and resolves into a plethora of
pinprick points of darkness, swarming, and even closer, are revealed not to be
aetherspace but merely mosquitoes over swampy water whose inky shallowness keeps
all its secrets.

Allessa: ENTER trudges through the swamp with a glowing lantern in her hand,
followed closely by Sha, then stops at a particular purple lilypad scored with a
curving cut.

Sha: ENTER SILENT

Sha: You said as they'd pay pretty for this contraption, but I can't believe as
they'd pay that much. I got a bad itch about this, Cap'n.

Allessa: (looking around warily) Don't worry, I've done business with Wesmin
plenty before this. She handles contraband for all the governments and a dozen
secret clans so paranoid they don't even know about one another.

Sha: This is meant to put me at ease, Cap'n?

Allessa: (grinning wryly) A woman like that lives on her reputation. She can't
afford to betray a trust, it would ruin her whole network of contacts, break her
business. Who'd hire her either to buy or sell once word got out?

Sha: (stroking her chin) Reckon that makes sense, provided word got out.

Allessa: (with a nervous laugh) Folks would wonder if her contacts tended to
vanish too. No, the easy betrayal belongs in stories, and to the desperate who
aren't planning on staying in business anyway.

Sha: I'll be a lot happier once that consarned contraption's gone just the
same, if'n it please you, Cap'n.

Allessa: Me too. You sure it's well hidden?

Sha: As well as anything can be hid in this thrice-accursed swamp. Why'd we
have to come to Cankermore?

Allessa: Because no one else does, so it's the ideal place for our business.
Now, keep yourself hidden over there in case things go bad.

Sha: (swatting a mosquito) Thought you said things won't go bad.

Allessa: Then you're getting an easy job, so don't complain.

Sha: EXIT shrugs and moves out of view.

Allessa: paces irritably for a few moments before turning to stare into the
distance.

Wesmin: ENTER strides carefully towards Allessa, her paws somehow avoiding the
worst of the muck, a neat ledger tucked under the sleeve of her impeccably
tailored suit

Donatarro: ENTER hauls his bulk in behind Wesmin, standing protectively behind
her, silent as a stone, a heavy box tucked under one arm.

Allessa: inclines her head towards Donatarro, then offers Wesmin a little bow.

Wesmin: Good to see you, Miss Delphine. Do you have the object here?

Allessa: It's safe, and nearby. Do you have the gold we agreed to?

Wesmin: (gesturing to Donatarro) Of course.

Donatarro: opens the box and flashes its contents at Allessa, then closes it.

Allessa: As always, a pleasure doing business with you, Wesmin. Hand me the
gold and I'll show you the contraption.

Sha: [yells] Cap'n, I need to see you a minute.

Allessa: [yells] Just a minute, I'm busy, Sha.

Wesmin: peers over her spectacles curiously.

Sha: [yells] It's important. It's your... dog.

Allessa: (looking apologetically at Wesmin) He's... he's got a dodgy leg.
This'll just take a minute.

Wesmin: narrows her eyes and smiles a tight smile devoid of warmth.

Allessa: edges away from the pair towards Sha, hesitant.

Sha: ENTER comes into view as Allessa approaches around a clump of brackish
trees.

Wesmin: EXIT SILENT

Donatarro: EXIT SILENT

Allessa: What's going on?

Sha: Cap'n, we need to run, now. They're not goin' to let us go alive.

Allessa: But I didn't get the gold!

Sha: I make out ten mercenaries at least, all around us, the whole swamp's been
seeded with'm afore we come, it's a trap.

Allessa: Can we get the contraption?

EFFECT S2Q3 (5): A blast of cosmic fire, followed by a dozen more, burst from
the surrounding fens, setting trees on fire and catching Allessa across the
back, stunning her.

Sha: Cap'n, we gots to go now!

Allessa: staggers, trying to right herself, and nods feebly.

Sha: EXIT hauls Allessa's stumbling form hurriedly into the distance.

Allessa: EXIT SILENT

EFFECT S2Q4 (5): The flaming tree burns brightly, its pitch fueling the fire,
for only a few seconds before the oppressive humidity abruptly extinguishes the
flame and darkness closes swiftly in once more.

PAUSE

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Scene 3: Capture
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ROLE Londaro (M): Londaro Eclat, Vice-Prelate of Security

COSTUME LondaroCostume (Londaro): He is a one-eyed krokani and bears himself
with pretensions of authority that sit uneasily on his narrow shoulders, but
which he nevertheless carries with calculated certainty and a hint of menace.
His huge eye is the yellow of a wolf's eye and rimmed in red, but his ruddy
skin, pocked with blisters and birthmarks, is a pale, unassuming gray. He wears
stately purple robes of office strewn with medals, high-topped shoes of polished
leather, and a slender crown peppered with chalcedony.

ROLE Chelle (F): Chelle D'athenor, Field Lieutenant

COSTUME ChelleCostume (Chelle): She is a burly tae'dae and holds herself in a
stance that suggests indifference but actually prepares her to move with
unexpected swiftness in any direction. Her yellowish-brown fur is single-hued
and plain, though she keeps it neat and trim. Though her armor shows the many
dings and dents of a veteran warrior, as does the nicked edge of her blade, she
has no scars, not even on her pointed, ever-swivelling ears. She wears
regimental field plate, sturdy boots of black leather, a brooch depicting the
insignia of the rank of field lieutenant, a black brooch of the special forces
division, and a long back scabbard. She wields a huge battle-battered sword in
both hands.

SCENE MotleyRoger: From a viewpoint at the back of the bridge, the stage
depicts the central chambers of the aethership Motley Roger. In center, the
captain's chair sits on a small rise, gazing at the broad viewport that takes up
the far wall almost in its entirety. Towards the back, the empath's grid stands
cocked at an angle, flaring cables and tendrils snaking in all directions. To
either side stands a turret, each one looking like it's been repaired with
scraps of shrapnel and wrong-sized bolts.

EFFECT S3Q1 (5): Amidst the all-encompassing darkness, an ochre light appears
and begins to slowly grow larger. The whirls of aetherspace slowly fade into
being around it, as the aethership moves from dark flux into lighter realities.
The ship's bridge, silent and empty, gradually becomes visible as the
aetherlight waxes.

Giselle: ENTER strides angrily into the bridge, gesticulating wildly.

Giselle: But we didn't get paid?

Allessa: ENTER walks in wearily, shaking mud off her boots, followed by Sha.

Sha: ENTER SILENT

Sha: Was a trap, they was goin' for to kill us.

Giselle: But they got the contraption?

Allessa: (swearing) This must be really, really big for Wesmin to risk her
reputation over.

Llarrell: ENTER comes in from the other side and immediately locks into the
grid.

Giselle: So we got nothing? You could at least have grabbed the gold on the
way out.

Sha: Don't reckon as they'd've taken kindly to that.

Allessa: (wearily) Right, can't win them all. But we're in way over our heads
here. Better to get out now and see if we can make some plain dishonest money.

Llarrell: Captain! Ships on attack vector! Five, no, eight!

EFFECT S3Q2 (5): The viewport suddenly starts to flare with flickers of light
that lap around its edges.

Sha: Sweet sister's uncle's bastard stepson!

Giselle: lunges towards her turret, but is knocked askew by a shuddering that
shakes the whole ship.

Llarrell: Too late, they're about to ram.

Allessa: Llarrell, Giselle, go fight off the breachers, you're our best
hand-to-hand. Sha and I will try to get the ship free. Go!

Llarrell: EXIT disentangles from the grid and rushes out, readying spells as he
goes.

Giselle: EXIT gathers herself, brushes back her hair, sinks into a crouch, and
slips out with surprising grace.

Allessa: drops into the command chair while Sha reaches into the empath grid,
beginning to wrestle for control of the ship.

EFFECT S3Q3 (5): In the distance, the ring of metal and cries of pain speak of
a battle elsewhere on the ship.

Sha: They've near crippled 'er, Cap'n, this is more'n I can fix quick.

Allessa: swears colorfully as she fights with her sputtering controls, catching
a spray of singeing sparks.

Londaro: ENTER strides onto the bridge as if surveying his conquest.

Chelle: ENTER leads a retinue of soldiers onto the bridge behind Londaro and
directs them to fan out to either side and form a perimeter.

Allessa: (holding up a warding hand to Sha) What is the meaning of this?

Londaro: (in a pinched voice) Through a regrettable series of circumstances you
have come into possession of a certain object which my superiors recently
acquired. We require that our property be returned forthwith.

Chelle: No sign of it on board, sir.

Londaro: You will tell us where to find the object immediately if you wish to
live.

Allessa: We don't have it anymore.

Londaro: That is most unfortunate. There is little value in keeping you, your
crew, or your ship alive if you cannot return our object to us. Are you sure
you don't want to reconsider? I know how ships belonging to... privateers, tend
to accumulate odd little nooks. Perhaps you simply forgot where you hid it?

Allessa: (bitterly) It was taken from us, by some people with even less sense
of fair play than you.

Londaro: Then you will get it back for us, and quickly.

Allessa: How in all the stars of Celestia am I meant to do that?

Londaro: That is none of my concern.

Allessa: Fair point. Let me change my question. Why would I do that?

Londaro: gestures to Chelle.

Chelle: EXIT motions to a few of her men, then steps off the bridge.

COSTUME GiselleBound (Giselle): She is an ordinary human and has been battered
and bruised, the marks marring but not hiding her perfectly-formed figure. Ugly
blotches around her eyes and on her neck speak of brutalities, some accrued in a
recent fight, some perhaps given for their own sake. Her dress has been torn in
such a way as to reveal even more of her shapely bosom than it usually does, her
modesty, such as it is, only barely preserved by the most meager margin by
tattered scraps of cloth that happen to cover key places. She has obviously
been weeping. Her hands are currently bound in heavy iron shackles whose inner
edges are rough and barbed, tearing at the delicate skin of her wrists; the
shackles lock together at the back of her neck to an thick, broad iron collar,
from which a chain dangles, serving as a leash.

Giselle: ENTER is shoved onto the bridge from behind, stumbling hard, causing
the heavy iron chains shackling her arms and neck to tear into her skin,
eliciting a whimpered cry from the battered woman.

Sha: growls and lurches forward, only to be stopped by Allessa's raised hand.

Giselle: sobs, looking pleadingly at Allessa.

Londaro: takes up the heavy chain leash leading from Giselle's collar and yanks
on it, causing her to stumble towards him, then slaps her hard across the face
when she stumbles into him.

Sha: snarls and clenches her fists.

Londaro: Such a lovely creature. The longer she remains my captive, the
more... things I will likely think up to do to her. I advise you to be quick
about finding my property so I can return you yours.

Allessa; And if I can't?

Londaro: Then my people will bring you to me to join her. Or what's left of
her.

Giselle, to Allessa: Please save me. I swear I'll never backtalk again.

Londaro: Listen to the girl if you value your lives.

Londaro: EXIT strides imperiously off the bridge, dragging Giselle behind him
on her leash, as the soldiers move in to protect their retreat.

Giselle: EXIT SILENT

Sha: We should tear his arms off and shove them up his--

Allessa: (through clenched teeth) All in good time. Two of us can't beat a
whole squadron in a crippled ship.

Llarrell: ENTER stumbles onto the bridge, wounded but not dangerously, and
rights himself against a wall.

Llarrell: Sorry, Captain, I couldn't stop them taking her, they trapped me in a
spell and I--

Allessa: Nevermind, no one could have.

EFFECT S3Q4 (5): With a horrendous tearing shudder, the ship cries in agony and
then is still, all its lights going dim. A battleship glides into view on the
viewport and drifts away in an unhurried manner, accompanied by a small flotilla
of support ships, the light coming through the viewport giving the bridge its
sole, ghastly, illumination.

Sha: So what do we do now?

Allessa: (grimly) I don't know.

EFFECT S3Q5 (5): As the battleship fades into the distance, darkness settles
across the bridge, the remaining crew fading into the shadows one by one.

Allessa: (grimly) I guess we're going to steal it back.

Allessa: EXIT SILENT

Sha: EXIT SILENT

Llarrell: EXIT SILENT

EFFECT Continued (13): When the darkness is complete, blocky letters appear,
backed by the ticking sound of a pocketwatch, reading "To Be Continued" in vivid
hues of purple before fading away to nothingness again.

PAUSE

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