Full Steam Ahead: Regulators

By Allen D. Lyons

Steampunk, Vigilantes, Super Villains, Classic Science Fiction, Time Travel, and Aliens. Put them all in a blender and you got "Full Steam Ahead."

Jordan Blackfoot has come a long way from home. He's been to the far future. Now he's back in 1890. His "fictional" book has caught the attention of a group of super villains called the Co-Alition. He used to be a vigilante. Now he must strap the tank back on, and become Steam again. But he can't do this alone. Aboard his vessel, The Niko, he must team up with his robot, L-l, and his doppelganger to stop the Co-Alition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Through the Lyons Den
• Release date: Jan 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386404798

Book preview

Thanks Doug

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You gave me the inspiration to tell the stories I wanted to well into adulthood. As a child, you would tell me your stories. And when you finally were able to publish them, you let me tag along. Full Steam Ahead was my first published work. It was an honor to let Steam ride the coattails of the Regulators.

Part One

Captain's Log: April 3, 1890

I'm nearly complete with the Wormhole Harness. We are drawing near to the wormhole itself. My hope is that it is finished before we reach it. I truly cannot wait until I turn this ship into a time machine, much like H.G.'s. Though, mine will actually become true, unlike the fiction of his on paper. Also, mine will of course be much larger, as it will embody my entire vessel.

The passengers are growing anxious with each day. I'm sure it's just cabin fever. I know the stress and pressure from being underwater for weeks was overwhelming for me the first time around. Although, I do not believe I grew this angry. I suppose it's all in the personality; I had the feeling these men weren't the friendly type when I first met them. Hell, one of them isn't of this Earth. I didn't even know what I was getting myself into – no matter how many times I read War of the Worlds. But there was only one thing on my mind then. Damn my greed!

Though these men share my distaste for the United States government, I still can't get over the fact that Mr. Bradfield is indeed a U.S. Senator. There has to be something fishy about him. Whether he's lying about his hate towards his employers, and is undercover so to trap me for my hate and confiscate my technology. Or he is indeed professing the truth about his hate, but not professing his full intent. I mean, one of the members of this Co-Alition, is a member of the very nation the United States rivals: Russia. I'm pretty sure there's something up his sleeve.

See, this is the reason I started this whole brigade. Buddy warned me the government was not going to like what I was doing. He did say they were going to catch me someday. Is this it? Or am I just being too paranoid? Any case, I didn't like how they were treating my people. We were practically imprisoned for just being who we were. And to think, this was our nation to begin with. We were imprisoned on our own soil. But yeah, I started with just being a vigalante, Robin Hood-style, you know. Stealing from the rich – which was the government, as they were rich with our goods –  and giving back to us poor Injuns. But since I retired from the vigilante life, I took note from ol' Jules, and built The Niko. First it was an underwater vessel like Nemo had. Then it became an airship like Robur's. And now I'll be taking a note from HG, and uprgrading my ship to a time machine.

Oh, I can't wait 'til I harness this wormhole. It may have thrust me into the awful future. Which I still can't even tell you, Log, what terrible things I went through. But this time, I'm coming back with a vengeance. I will tame you! One thing I will say though, is you did learn me of the wonders which spawned my trusty companion.

That reminds me. I hope she's alright in the cockpit by herself. I know it's handy having a robot pilot the ship while I build this Wormhole Harness in my lab. But like I said, I really don't trust my passengers.

-Captain Jordan Blackfoot

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Jordan signed his log like he did every entry. Then he set his quill down to reflect on what he just wrote. He dwelled on his last line. He knew he must been suffering from paranoia. Perhaps the cabin fever was worse this time around. Or maybe he felt some kind of jet lag by experiencing the same timeline.

No, this wasn't his first time in April 4th, 1890. When he returned from the year 2020 via the wormhole, he returned to 1888; two years before he set out to the seas with The Niko. At first, he thought he'd go back. But then he realized that his past self was still there. So he decided to uprgrade his vessel to