IC Day One, 11pm Meeting, Government House

[Lammomedes]

Secretary Martins would check a small sheet of paper as each of you entered and then motion you to one side once your name was called out. "At 11 pm, your presence has been requested in the library on the 2nd floor by Secretary Talbot. It seems your meeting has been moved up. I am sorry for any change of plans this might cause, but the Company believes that time is of the essence. Until then, please enjoy the food, the drink and the dancing." You do notice that the list has only a half dozen or so names on it.

The library is located on the 2nd floor of Government House, away from the hubub of the crowded party below. Walking down the carpeted hallway, they come to a doorway where Secretary Martins is standing with a small sheet of paper. Next to him is a massive Sikh soldier, turbaned and dressed in a military tunic and local pants and shoes, standing at attention. The soldier has an outdated cartridge box, a haversack, canteen and is armed with an Indian Pattern Brown Bess modified as a percussion cap weapon. A bayonet and a traditional Sikh dagger (Kirpan) nearly the size of a short sword are at his waist. His dark skin, dark eyes and impressive mustache somehow seem to fit into the corridor's decor.

[Mr. Handy]

Julia approaches Secretary Martins and waits for him to greet her.

[Gaffer]

Arthur Dodgson

Dodgson addresses Secretary Martins, extending his hand: "Dodgson is the name, sir, Arthur Dodgson. Might I introduce Miss Julia Kaye."

Once the introductions are accomplished, he finds a chair for Miss Kaye.

[Mr. Handy]

"How do you do?" says Julia, extending her hand to Secretary Martins. When she is given leave to sit, she takes her seat after Arthur pulls it out for her. "Thank you, Mr. Dodgson."

[markh]

OOC,Sorry, didn't realise there was a new thread, just had email alerts on the old one!

Thomas and Lovell make their way through Government House. If it wasn't for the impressive Sikh soldier at the end of the corridor, they could almost have been walking through any English country house.
Entering, Thomas sees the ex-sapper, Dodgson, who he briefly met downstairs, plus a young lady he doesn't recognise.

"Mr Secretary Talbot? Ensign Thomas Wakeham, at your service"

[ghill]

Strachan has a good head of steam by the time he gets up stairs, seeing Secretary Martins at the end of the corridor he pauses momentarily to straighten his uniform befor walking down the corridor as a slightly less frantic pace. As he suspected others have been invited to the meeting, three westerners, two in uniform and a civilian along with a local woman. He stands quietly several feet behind them all trying to remain unnoticed, waiting to catch Martins' attention.

[Lammomedes]

Secretary Martins indicated that each of you should enter into the library where the meeting is going to be held.
The room is dominated by a large picture of Queen Victoria behind an equally impressive wooden desk. Oddly enough, the desk is cleared of anything other than a few pages of foolscrap, an inkwell and a nubbed pen.
The chair behind the desk is empty, at least for the moment. There are eight chairs arranged in a semi-circle before the desk. Off to one corner of the room is a small sitting area consisting of two high backed chairs, a settee and a coffee table. It is obvious from depressions in the thick carpeting of where at least a half dozen chairs were located about the room before being arranged before the desk.

Besides the painting of Queen Victoria, three of the four walls are lined with full book shelves, all behind caged doors. Two more portraits line the walls, including that of the governor general and the local Indian nobility. A young Indian boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years of age, enters in with a tray full of glasses, and a quick glance reveals that it is iced tea, with exactly three cubes of ice per glass. He offers each of those in the room a glass.

A large fireplace in one corner of the room is laid out with logs, but unlit. There are also three gas jets emerging from the wall, the blue white flames flickering behind beveled glass globes, providing the illumination for the otherwise dim room. Secretary Martins closes the door once everyone has entered. He walks over to a door on one wall and knocks. In a few moments a proper British gentleman walks out, his suit black, his clothes pristine white, black hair slicked back, and a pince-nez perched on the bridge of his nose.

"Lady and gentleman, I am Secretary Talbot. I have been appointed by the British East India Company as principal secretary in charge of our new administration in the Oudh province. All of you have been selected for service or work in the province. But before I get into formal orders and handing out paperwork you will need for your stay here in India, perhaps it would be best to introduce yourselves to each other, at least somewhat formally, since you will be working together. Names, why you believe you are here in India, and how much you know about the situation in Oudh, if anything, would be helpful place to start." Secretary Talbot sits behind his chair, while Martins stands unobtrusively in one corner, near the door they all entered into the room.

"Miss Kaye, since you are the only woman present, perhaps you can begin?"

[Lammomedes]

"How do you do?" says Julia, extending her hand to Secretary Martins. When she is given leave to sit, she takes her seat after Arthur pulls it out for her. "Thank you, Mr. Dodgson."

Secretary Martins takes her hand. "Miss Kay, Mister Dodgson, it is my pleasure to greet you both once again." He lets go of her hand. "Secretary Talbot will be with you both soon. If you will make yourselves comfortable within."

[Lammomedes]

OOC,Sorry, didn't realise there was a new thread, just had email alerts on the old one!

Thomas and Lovell make their way through Government House. If it wasn't for the impressive Sikh soldier at the end of the corridor, they could almost have been walking through any English country house.
Entering, Thomas sees the ex-sapper, Dodgson, who he briefly met downstairs, plus a young lady he doesn't recognise.

"Mr Secretary Talbot? Ensign Thomas Wakeham, at your service"

Martins motions for them both to head inside the room where the others are gathering. When Talbot walks in, he nods. "Ensign, I thank you for your enthusiasm."

[Lammomedes]

Strachan has a good head of steam by the time he gets up stairs, seeing Secretary Martins at the end of the corridor he pauses momentarily to straighten his uniform befor walking down the corridor as a slightly less frantic pace. As he suspected others have been invited to the meeting, three westerners, two in uniform and a civilian along with a local woman. He stands quietly several feet behind them all trying to remain unnoticed, waiting to catch Martins' attention.

Before Secretary Talbot arrives, while waiting for the others, Martin's moves to speak with Strachan. "Is there something you need?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, Secretary Martins," says Julia, entering the room and sitting down. She looks around while she waits.

[ghill]

Before Secretary Talbot arrives, while waiting for the others, Martin's moves to speak with Strachan. "Is there something you need?"

"No secretary, it just looked as though you had enough on your hands without adding another to the scrum"

But before I get into formal orders and handing out paperwork you will need for your stay here in India, perhaps it would be best to introduce yourselves to each other, at least somewhat formally, since you will be working together. Names, why you believe you are here in India, and how much you know about the situation in Oudh, if anything, would be helpful place to start." Secretary Talbot sits behind his chair, while Martins stands unobtrusively in one corner, near the door they all entered into the room.

"Miss Kaye, since you are the only woman present, perhaps you can begin?"

Strachan follows the others into the room, waites for Secretary Talbot to seat himself, then takes a seat at the far end, making sure to adjust his sabre befor sitting he almost misses his chair when the woman speaks. "Bugger me" thinks Strachan, "She's not a local, she's an English woman!"

Strachan settles himself then looking up realises everyone is looking at him after he nearly fell out of his seat. Giving everyone his best smile "Sorry, Captain John Strachan, formerly 2nd Dragoons, now 1st Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry. I'm afraid I am, as the Americans would say, a Greenhorn with regards India or the Oudh.

[Mr. Handy]

"I am Miss Julia Kaye of Portsmouth," says Julia. "I've only recently arrived in India to do missionary work, and I don't know anything at all about the situation in the Oudh yet."

OOC,Whoops, sorry! I don't know how I missed that huge post. :oops:

[markh]

Thoas is fascinated by this newly arrived Englishwoman taking to native fashion like, well, a native. Once it is his turn to speak, Thomas will say "Ensign Thomas Wakeham, late of the Oudh Frontier Police. I flatter myself that I speak the language well, and perhaps understand the people somewhat. I'm not sure that I know the ground as well as you might hope - I can name a whole parcel of frontier villages, but wasn't in Lucknow much."

[Gaffer]

Arthur Dodgson

Dodgson covers his smile at Strachan's mishap with a hand and a cough.

"My names Arthur Dodgson," he says, "I was in India for seven years with the Great Trigonometrical Survey under Everest and Waugh for seven years until '49. Posted to Corfu then and lately in the Crimea. I flatter myself that I've a fair understanding of Hindi and of the people, Hindoo and Musselman. I spent some months in Oudh at the end of my service with the Survey, but my knowledge ain't exactly current."

[Philulhu]

Granville slipped into the room, conscious of being late for the second time this evening. At a suitable pause, he introduced himself, "I am Ensign Granville Michaels, recently commissioned in the Royal Corps of Engineers. I have only arrived in India in the last few days and I am afraid I know nothing of recent events in Oudh."

OOC,Sorry for the delay - only just realised that we'd switched threads :(

[Lammomedes]

Once the introductions were finished, Secretary Talbot opened up a manila folder on his desk, unsealing the ribbon tying it closed. He peered up at everyone in the room. "Well it seems we have an interesting diversity here in this chamber, between experience and enthusiasm. At least one or two of you have a handle on the local lingo, and equally have some idea about customs of the local Hindus and Moslems." He opened up the folder and pulled out several pieces of paper, each handwritten and elaborately sealed.

"You will have probably heard that an expedition is being sent to the Oudh, particularly to reinforce the garrison at Lucknow, which is presumably going to be the administrative center of our efforts to continue the pacification of the territory. Good men are headed there to bring the benefits of Company rule to the residents of the province, for lack of a better term. However, the Oudh is a vast region and we have need of men and women of good moral fiber and upstanding character to spread the authority of the Company to other areas of the vast province. It is why you all have been brought here."

His hand rests on the papers in front of him. "These are individual orders, requests, etc. for your role in the region we are assigning you to. The sudden rush for this meeting is that commanding officer of the expedition has decided to move up the timetable for his departure." With those words, he blushes slightly. "I am afraid he is planning to leave the day after tomorrow, promptly at 6 am from the main docks here in Calcutta. A series of river steamers have been hired by the company to take you as far as Lucknow. From there, you will be supplied with horses, mules and other accoutrements for the overland journey to your new base. You will be traveling to the old capital of Fyzabad which is a hotbed of the Hindu faith. While the city was no longer the capital when it was moved to Lucknow a century or so ago, it is still important. It is why you will be assigned as staff to the Resident Administrator, the Right Honorable Richard Kincaid, FRS, and a smattering of other acronyms I am sure you will be privy to in time. Miss Kaye, I am sure you are wondering why you are present, but Kincaid is passing along messages from his wife, Cordelia, who would prefer a female companion and governess, but more importantly from the Right Reverend Arthur Daily, who has a small Church of England congregation in the town and could use some help converting some of the local women and children."

He looks at the gentlemen in the room. "As for the rest of you, well you have been assigned roles according to your specialties, or will be upon arrival in Fyzabad. There is a small locally raised militia unit that needs officers, there is a problem in the countryside with scurvy ridden bandits, and there are a number of locals who seem upset with the change in regime. You gentlemen, are going to ensure that things move peacefully forwards and deal with the necessity of imposing Company rule on any miscreants you come upon." He placed the folder to one side for the moment.

"Questions?"

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm glad to serve however I can," says Julia. "I too have learned the Hindi language, which will prove useful. I also have some medical skills that will be of use. Is there a doctor in Fyzabad? I can assist there when not engaged in other duties."

[Gaffer]

Arthur Dodgson

I expect that somewhere in this great city there is some other bloke name of Dodgson, crying his eyes out at this very moment on account of I got the invitation that was rightfully his, Arthur muses to himself, Well, they're welcome to what use of me they can get right up to the moment something more remunerative comes along. Meanwhile, it's grateful I am for the bed and board and transport.

He gives SecretaryTalbot his most manly and encouraging smile.

[markh]

Attempting to hide his relief at being able to return to the Oudh, Thomas is nevertheless unable to prevent a broad smile. "No questions, sir. Delighted to serve in whatever capacity required. Absolutely..." He clamps his teeth shut on what was about to be an embarrassing torrent of gratitude, and peers around with more interest at what it appears to be his new travelling companions. Hopefuly he'll be able to stow his horses on the riverboat, he muses.