Steam – Third Night
The third performance of Steam was improvised on 1/13/12.
Episode Summary
Battle! The mighty airship Victoriana defends itself valiantly from the surprise attack of the Stargazer over the jungles of Paraguay. Wilhemina Wyldeheart, hellbent on revenge, leads the charge and rounds up the crew of the Victoriana.
Upon discovering that the object of her wrath, Captain Hamwich Leon, has been kidnapped, she declares herself Captain and hyperjumps the Victoriana all the way to Paris, France.
Captain Roger Rogér, onetime owner of the Victoriana and rightfully the senior officer on board, fights Wilhemina (verbally and physically) for the right to command.
The ingenue, Adelaide McKenna, ventures onto the streets of Paris in search of adventure. Adelaide finds apparent success at the pub LeFuntimes, where the barkeep tasks her with discovering an All-Knowing Orb for a hefty ransom. With her is Randy, whose primary interest seems to be acquiring a set of nudie playing cards.
In a dark Paris hovel, a group of Black Cloaks discover through magic that Leto—a machine with a soul, built as an assassin—is a part of the Victoriana crew. They realize her value, and determine to snatch her off the streets of Paris.
Meanwhile Colonel Solomon Fitzgerald, who hired the Victoriana to Paraguay in the first place, begins a drunken flirtation with Lady Electra Spencer. She confides in him a dark secret: a sexual attack during her youth left her unmarriageable. The Colonel makes light of the secret, however, earning him the poor lady’s spite.
The owners of LeFuntimes reveal the true purpose behind sending Adelaide on a quest: once collecting the orb, they plan to kidnap her and sell her into the slave trade. They prove themselves inept villains, however, as Adelaide is standing in the room while they plot.
Wilhemina and Kit wander the streets of Paris in search of Adelaide. Wilhemina again reveals a magical power which she’s reluctant to use, but with it they’re pointed towards Notre Dame cathedral, where Adelaide has just discovered the All-Knowing Orb.
Yvette recognizes Leto’s soul as well. Yvette and Lady Electra escort Leto through the Paris streets, only to be accosted by the Black Cloaks, who grab Leto.
Back in the hovel, Leto’s captors declare their plan to extract her soul and become something more human themselves. The plan fails, however: Leto’s soul only grows more brightly, and after interrogating her captors, she calmly kills them all.
Adelaide dispatches her would-be attackers at LeFuntimes with great aplomb. All-Knowing Orb in hand, she sets off with Randy to find his nudie playing cards.
Wilhemina, Kit, Adelaide, and Randy are cornered in a Paris alleyway by dozens of Black Cloaks! Wilhemina instructs her cohorts to defend themselves as best they can, but Leto suddenly appears. With a sudden flash of bright light, every one of the Parisian Black Cloaks falls dead. The crew of the Victoriana is safe!
Back on the ship, the Colonel reveals that he himself is Leto’s creator, and is something more than a drunken army veteran. (He also offers a grudging apology to Lady Electra.)
Wilhemina finally cedes captainship of the Victoriana to Roger Rogér, though many of the crew still yearn to find the kidnapped Hamwich Leon, left back in Paraguay. Roger, however, sets course for Moscow.
Leto climbs to the very bow of the ship, introspective as they depart Paris. The Colonel made her only to destroy; but she suddenly feels a responsibility to protect the ship and those on it. Can she find room in her clockwork heart?
What will happen next?
Come to the next episode of Steam, Rose-Colored Goggles, and the Flight of the Victoriana as we all find out together!
