A Steampunk Story - Introduction and Background Part 3, The Ladies & Gentleman of the Air Service

With the main activity of this story being centred upon an airship, Her Majesty's Air Ship Maia, we shall be needing a crew to operate her. Below are the details of the major characters of the Royal Naval Air Service.  

 The Introduction Part 1 - General situation 

 The Introduction Part 2 - The Gentlemen of the Army 

THE ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE

The Service was formed in 1856 with the explosion of scientific discoveries that came after the Napoleonic wars, the practical air ship was born and with it the Royal Naval Air Service. In the early days of flight weight and size was a key factor and so it was decided to use all female crew's in order to allow for a combat role, the difference in weight between  female and male in th early days was enough for a useful warload to be carried. Even as power increased and technology advanced tradition and inertia has kept crews female with the exception of medical officers.

OFFICERS

Lucinda Geraldine Fitzherbert VC – Captain RN, Commanding HMAS Maia.

Like most of her ladies and crew, the Lady is rather small (around 5' 2") and yet a slightly stocky build, she has lustrous brown hair and dark eyes. She lost her left arm winning the VC and has had it replaced with a mechanical prosthetic limb. The prosthetic is obvious, she sees it as pointless to hide and so she flaunts it with polished brass fittings and a navy blue enameled cuff bearing the four bars of her rank surmounted by the eagle in flight of her service.

The Captain is generally referred to as "The LADY" amongst the crew, courageous and determined, she is a professional naval officer trying to gain acceptance and recognition for female officers in a very male orientated world. The Lady is a talented tactician, very well aware of her vessel's capabilities and its potential for use in war. She earned a Naval VC for taking her old Airship, HMAS Adroit, close in to an enemy warship, a Russian Torpedo Boat Destroyer, in fog to deliver a devastating Gatling gun fusillade to the vessel's bridge and so disabling it. A calculated risk, which paid off and turned the tide of the engagement. Off duty she is personable and has a rather dry sense of humour which shows itself upon occasion. The Lady is not impressed by people who harm her vessel or crew and will take what she sees as appropriate action in these circumstances, she is not a passive little miss by any stretch of the imagination.

(The Lady) Annabel Victoria Walsh DSO – Commander RN, 1st Officer and Navigator HMAS Maia

Eldest daughter of  3rd Duke of Albany (NY)

At almost 6 feet tall, Commander Walsh is by far the tallest of the crew of the Maia, standing head and shoulders over most of the officers. She has startlingly bright blond hair and pale blue.

Annabel is something of an anomaly amongst the crew, she is professional and dedicated to her task, but has no life or interests outside the service. She shares the Mouse's love of mathematics and science and is probably the small Lieutenant's closest friend. She seems a distant and unemotional sort, always very close about how she feels about anything or anybody, this stems from her upbringing in the household of the most senior Noble Duke in the Colonies. Commander Walsh rejects any kind of family support for her career and has been known to engage in, as she puts it, "underhanded unpleasantness" against anybody she suspects of aiding her in order to gain favour with her father. Unfortunately, she likewise suspects suitors of being interested in her family connections rather than herself and so while socialising and enjoying male company she is not open to romantic entanglements. The commander is steady in action, earning a DSO, taking over the Adroit after her captain was rendered unconscious by shell fragments and saving the vessel despite receiving fire from several enemy ships.  She knows Lt. van Rensselaer from her childhood, their families are close.

(The Honourable) Elspeth Gabriele Lenge - Lieutenant Commander RN, 2nd Lieutenant, Signals Officer HMAS Maia

Daughter of the Earl of Salcomb

One of the taller officers, Commander Lenge reaches almost 5' 5" in height. 

Young Elspeth grew up in a rather dysfunctional upper class family, detesting the society life and society men in particular. When she was confronted with suitors at the time selected for her marriage she caused uproar by refusing to comply with her family's wishes. When her Grandmother, the Matron of the family tried to set her down saying that Marriage and childbirth were her destiny, she countered with an offer of childbirth and marriage which almost paved her way to a lunatic asylum. A family friend offered an honourable way out with the Royal Naval Air Service, a solution acceptable to all.  Elspeth is Asexual and has no interest in men or understanding of the imperative that drives most human beings, while she is intelligent and understands the gist of and technicalities of the jokes and innuendos made by Eloise, she rarely sees why they are funny. As Signals Officer, she is a fine technician, interested in innovation and R&D and works extensively with Sub-Lieutenant Jahnson, with whom she has developed a working friendship . While she can function as a command officer, she isn't a true leader.

Georgia Mawley - Lieutenant RN, 3rd Lieutenant, Gunnery Officer HMAS Maia

Known as Mouse, from her small stature and seemingly timid nature.

The diminutive Lt. Mawley is by far the smallest of the officers, not quite reaching the dizzying heights of 4'11". Her hair is of a dark, dishwater blonde and she has green eyes.

The daughter of a well placed political family in London, Lt. Mawley looks younger than her 23 years and has an unfortunately innocent look to her. She is demure and quiet by nature, unless provoked, and has what can only be described as a sweet and gentle demeanour, often attracting the eye of men who like their women submissive and timid (much to their frequently painful misfortunes). Georgia was born with the unfortunate attribute of her family, an uncompromising and extremely violent temper, she begins the story restricted to eating with a spoon in the wardroom after forcing the Captain to apologise for an unfortunate stabbing incident at a mess dinner involving a male guest of some social standing, if not Naval rank, from HMS Colossus.

The Mouse is quiet and studious in her ways, she is the mathematician of the Maia' crew. Besides being an academic of note (Mathematics and the Physics of motion) the Mouse is a crack shot, able to visualise the trajectories of falling objects and shots as mathematical problems. When in positions of Command, the Mouse becomes a veritable Lion and is most certainly in Command, although she is not really comfortable in this role as yet (she has been noticed by her own Captain and the Commodore and is considered a Captain in the making).

Catherine Mary Pendleton – Commander RN, Engineering Officer (Chief Engineer), HMAS Maia

Known as the Leprechaun, but not to face or in her hearing.

Commander Pendleton has fiery red hair and a strong, stocky stature. Outside of her remarkably vivid hair colouring, her most notable feature is the range of facial expression and colouring that she can achieve, making her mood obvious from a fairly safe distance.

This Irish officer is viewed by the crew as being in a permanent state of rage and is an object of concern if not outright fear for some of them. While she isn't nearly as angry a person as she is reputed to be, she plays on the persona to establish her authority. Catherine is a gifted engineer and problem solver, always willing to pick up tools herself as well as delegate tasks. Her guilty pleasure is getting dirty working with machinery. 

She is married to Fleet Surgeon Pendleton (the only married couple in the ship) and dotes on her husband, which given her general bubbling pot demeanour and tolerate no fools attitude has become something of a running joke in the ship. One of the tricks used by Commander Pendleton to instil urgency is to become more Irish, in accent and stereotypical manner, as her agitation (real or faux) increases, this is how she earned the nickname of the Leprechaun.

Patience Mathilda Johnson - Sub-Lieutenant RN, Electrical Systems Technical Officer HMAS Maia

Standing as tall as Lt-Cdr Lenge, Patience is one of the taller Officers aboard the Maia. She has dark hair, frequently looking more like Medusa's unkempt cousin rather than the regulation hairstyle, and hazel eyes. Sub-Lt Johnson is unconcerned about her appearance, preferring a lab coat and overalls to dress blues.

Patience Johnson grew up the daughter of a professor and has adopted the world of academia as her own. The only avenue for a young lady to a real career in her range of technical interests was with the RNAS and so, with her father's blessing, she applied for a commission in the service. A young officer at 21 and fairly new to the Maia, Sub-Lt. Johnson is meticulous, exacting, pedantic, aggressive against any contradiction in her field. Patience is of a similar brook no nonsense mindset as her immediate superior, she is however far more easily distracted by interesting aspects of electrical engineering, particularly motors and power transmission. She is fascinated by electrical power and the machinery operated by it. Despite being aboard for a relatively short time, Patience has already managed to improve the performance of the Maia's sponson motors and is now looking into ways to improve the power supply and control systems. 

Sub-Lt Johnson is more of an R&D Scientist than she is a Naval officer, however her eccentricities, like those of many of the crew are outweighed by her ability to perform her duties. It is said of her that "she scrubs up well"; a classic ugly duckling type and her shock affect on men who are familiar with her working look and persona amuses the other officers as much as it baffles her.

Eliza Roberta Edwards - Lieutenant RN, Flight Systems & Small Craft Officer HMAS Maia

A smallish woman of slight build, Lt Edwards has dark hair and brown eyes. 

A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Eliza grew up watching Bald Eagles and Ospreys flying and catching fish near her home, this gave her a yearning to fly. A flyer above all things, Lt. Edwards loves the freedom of flight. She is not the most communicative of shipmates unless speaking of some aspect of flight, man-made or natural, on which subject  she might be described as obsessive. As well as the control systems of the Maia herself, Eliza is responsible for the Ornithopter and gliders aboard the Maia. In the air, she is without fear, she and her like minded Coxswain are also the only crew members to have made a canopy (parachute) descent at the beginning of the story.

Percival Stephen Pendleton - Fleet Surgeon RN, Medical Officer HMAS Maia

Known as Stephen to Senior Officers.

Of average height and meticulous appearance Fleet Surgeon Pendleton has very mellow green eyes to go with his tidy brown hair. Stephen wears a beard and moustache in a short Van Dyke style.

A Virginia gentleman of the old school, Fleet Surgeon Pendleton is also an Anglican minister and cares for the spiritual well-being of the crew. Of technically too high rank to be assigned to this vessel, the good doctor was not above pulling strings and calling in favours to be assigned to the same vessel as his wife.

While Stephen is somewhat reserved, lacking his wife’s bubbling pot demeanour, he has a very finely tuned, dry sense of humour which occasionally gets the better of him, frequently to his wife's displeasure. He is friendly and endeavours to be on good social terms with his fellow officers and sociable speaking terms with the enlisted crew. Not being a line officer, Fleet Surgeon Pendleton finds no reason to be officious in his daily dealings with his crewmates of any rank.

Elizabeth Angela Croft - Lieutenant PARNNS, Nursing Officer HMAS Maia

Known as Lizzy to the Officers of the Maia, but as Curly (for obvious reasons) to Stephen.

Lizzy is of middling stature for the Maia, coming in at around 5' 2". She has masses of uncontrollable honey blonde hair much to her consternation. She generally wears a tightly bound nursing head cover, giving her a somewhat piratical appearance.

Lizzy is an able surgical assistant (and surgeon, the truth be known) and a first class nurse with both trauma and medical cases. She has seen much suffering and truly cares for her charges, looking to do whatever it takes to ease their pain. 

Lieutenant Croft isn't quite certain how she came to be commissioned in Princess Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service, but she is sure that alcohol was involved somewhere in the process. Lizzy entered the service soon after qualifying as a nurse at Richmond (Va), being persuaded of the benefits of life with the RNAS and the company of other women that that of a virtual servant of arrogant male doctors in civilian life. 

Eloise Chantal De St. Croix - Lieutenant Commander RN, Linguistics & Cartography (Naval Intelligence) Officer HMAS Maia

Known as Dusty, from the Anglicisation of her name, Dusty Crutch.

Lt Cdr De St Croix is a little taller than average on the Maia at around 5' 4" with reddish brown hair and brown eyes. She has a relaxed, almost languid air about her and yet in situations where it is required, Dusty can be all business and professional to a fault.

A complex and highly intelligent and efficient officer, she hides this behind multiple personas, her favourite being the empty headed, fun loving and oh so scandalous, Parisian society girl. 

From an aristocratic Québec family, her natural accent is that Canadian lilt with a hint of French typical of the natives of Québec province, although she prefers to use the outrageous aristocratic French accented English; just for the fun of it. She also has the English Society Lady, the haughty Spanish Hidalga, working class New York (city) and London cockney personas ready to go at a moment's notice with languages mannerisms and accents down perfect. As a consequence of being based in Virginia she is currently developing her southern belle accent and character although as yet without much success. 

She speaks flawless English, French, Spanish, German and several Native American languages (Algic, Aztecan & Sioux). Dusty is privy to a lot of knowledge that is withheld from the rest of the crew, including the Captain; in particular the hints of supernatural events out west. 

There are rumours circulating amongst the Fleet officers that Lt Cdr De St. Croix is an assassin and cold blooded killer, this is a complete fabrication that perhaps came about from her recent undercover work that ended in a bloodbath that she was completely uninvolved with. This does not mean that she doesn't use every ounce of that reputation to her advantage though.

 

SENIOR PETTY OFFICERS

Angelina Walters - Boatswain, Chief Petty Officer, HMAS Maia

Always addressed as Bosun.

A tall (5'8") black woman, the Bosun has a pale brown complexion, notably slim features and eyes that seem to miss nothing. 

Growing up working on her father's boats and never wanting any other life young Angelina was given a lifeline when the RNAS came into being and were looking for women to crew the Queens airships. The Bosun has amazing knowledge of both vessel and crew, she is quite capable of, at a push, replacing many of the officers on the Maia and perform their duties well enough to take the ship into combat. 

Absolutely loyal to the Lady, the Bosun has installed a cousin, a former female prize-fighter, as Chief steward and unofficial Captain's bodyguard.

Isabella Maria Alvarez - Engineering CPO, Chief Petty Officer, HMAS Maia

Addressed as Bella by the Engineering Officer and Chief by the rest of the crew.

Isabella is a small well muscled woman with black hair and unusual green eyes.

A foundling from a Tallahassee workhouse, Isabella was apprenticed to the RNAS in the very first days of Airships and Women crews. Fifteen years later, after finding her place in the engineering department, PO Alvarez has risen to the most senior enlisted rank through her ability, aided by a curiosity and affinity with mechanisms. 

While Alvarez is a responsible Petty Officer on duty, she has an unhealthy (verging on alcoholic) liking for Rum off duty, it is likely that she would have been commissioned an Engineering Officer without the drinking and brawling. Isabella has a strong dislike for sailors (male) and will resort to violence with naval or merchant sailors at the first hint of an offense, intended or not.

Margaret Sneyde - Coxswain, Petty Officer 1st Class, HMAS Maia

Known as Dizzy or Dizz, from her absent manner.

Dizzy is a small softly spoken lady with platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes. She tends to have a disconcertingly blank expression which belies her intelligence and situational awareness.

Coxswain Sneyde is a Vicar's daughter from the Staffordshire Moorlands, fascinated by birds from a young age she leapt at the chance to fly offered when the RNAS was formed and offered technical posts to educated girls. She is a keen observer and has a tendency become engrossed in whatever she is observing.  Coxwain Sneyde has the added advantage of a remarkable memory and analytical mind and so has maintained her position in the service despite numerous problems. She a tendency to speak, without thought, related to whatever she has just seen or noticed, this attribute makes her a remarkable Ornithopter observer/Signaller, while it makes her a social liability.

Given her education and social standing, Margaret should have been in line for a commission, but she is in no way fit for command and so found her way into an aircrew position, which she truly loves and at which she excels, rising quickly to the highest rank which she can hold.

Deidre Edwards - Wardroom/Captain's Steward, Petty Officer 1st Class HMAS Maia

Known as Dee by all Officers and Senior rates.

PO Edwards is a heavily muscled black woman of dark complexion and efficient manner. Dee has a deep contralto voice and an odd clipped way of speaking giving the impression of always being in a hurry.

Born into poverty, Deirdre grew up fighting for everything she ever had, this eventually led her to into the world of illegal prize fighting (female) and later to work as a criminal enforcer. She was a great asset to the crime boss she worked for, few gangs expected such violence to erupt from the small black girl following her boss around like an ambulatory jewel. After her criminal overlords all mysteriously disappeared, Deirdre found her cousin Angelina and asked for help, she has been a Steward/Bodyguard ever since. She is very efficient as a close quarters fighter (favouring brass knuckles and a stiletto blade which are always secreted somewhere upon her person) and totally ruthless, she can also brew tea and coffee to perfection. 

Dee likes all of the officers, although she finds Sub-Lt Johnson decidedly odd and the Mouse amusing, particularly after she knifed the obnoxious Duke's son in the wardroom. She is generally motherly towards her and always goes out of her way to look after the small Lieutenant's needs.

The details of Villains and other assorted ne'er do wells to follow shortly.

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