| Chapter Seven - Champagne & Strawberries |
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The champagne and strawberries were exquisite. Since lodging in the captain's bunker my meals had improved a hundredfold but it seemed an age since my pallet had sampled such luxury. I recall my stomach growling its approval as I opened my eyes and took in the magnificent sight before me. Myself, the captain and Tom stood on the bridge of our vessel toasting the end of our labours. The captain stood, resting his hand on the glistening brass wheel which jutted proudly from the gleaming deck. The captain had hand etched a dragon which coiled menacingly around the base of the wheel's supporting pillar, as if daring any prospective crew member to come and do battle. Hazy sunlight leaked into the bridge though the darkened glass which encased it, illuminating the interior. The glass was of the captain's own design which had the happy effect of reducing the glare of the sun inside whilst not imparing outward vision greatly and was thick enough to protect it from a moderate attack.
The wheel at which the captain stood was positioned immediately in front of a heavy, brass imbued chair which was fixed to the floor with steel rivets. It was a chair I was to spend a great deal of time in. It was a metallic reproduction of the captain's favourite armchair in his study at which he would spend many hours musing. Its seat and backrest were both crafted from the finest leather, with the backrest being etched with my family coat of arms. It was a thoughtful gesture by the captain and one which I appreciated. Two paces port from my seat was the captain's, which was identical to my own, with the exception that the captains backrest depicted two dragons locked in mortal combat. In front of this chair stood an industrial looking pedestal, atop which resided a dizzying array of dials which told the tale of the engine's condition. Alongside these was a smoothly moulded brass bar with a leather coated bell shaped tip, the opposite end of which disappeared into a brass ringed apperture and pentrated into the inner sanctum of the ships workings. The deck upon which we stood was one of dark mahogany which had been sanded roughly and varnished to provide sufficent grip to allow comfortable movement. The walls of the craft not comprising of the glass were of a lighter toned wood, the panels of which fitted snugly within the interlaced brass skeleton of the ship. This congruent design was puntuated equidistantly by small brass ringed portholes to allow extra light inside. Having finished our toast the captain and myself proceded to guide his companion through the rest of our creation. Immediately behind our area was a small booth, inside which was placed equipment to assist in the navigation of the craft and a small stool. Beyond this, on either side of the craft were two mounted elongated canons, each as long as man which could be pushed through the skin of the craft to provide defence against any aggressors. Pacing further into the bowels of the ship revealed a wide chair lined chamber upon which troops could sit, ready to disembark into battle. Several wheels were fixed into the walls. Turning these lowered a number of hammocks from alcoves carved into the ceiling of the craft. This ended in a doorway, which led into a two seprate chambers which contained sleeping quarters for myself and the captain. Mine contained a leather padded study desk and storage space for charts along with a comfortable bunk. The captain's, along with his bunk, contained a brass workbench and a small selection of scientific apparatus so that he could continue his studies during our travels. Having concluded our tour we returned to the troop area of the craft and the captain paused to push a red button on the wall. Two sections of flooring seperated from their central join to reveal a raised brass stairway which was connected to the floor by two large, powerful steam powered struts which puffed tiny tendrils of vapour and steam from their elbow joints as the struts straightened to lower the stairway until its base connected gently with the ground below. We descended the stairway and alighted in our secreted hangar, making our way to the entrance. While conversation turned to more trivial matters regarding the care of horses I looked back at the culmination of our project. She was brutish, it was true, but also a thing of great beauty. The nose and bridge of the ship stood proud of the wide fuselage and the strong, lengthy, rounded wings which had a slight, graceful convex curve to them. The fuselage bulged a little behind the wings around the troop area and then narrowed towards the end of the craft and ended in the glass encased cabins positioned in her hindquarters. Tail wings protruded port and starboard of these, with a fin and rudder moulded atop them for additional steering. The brass outer skin had a highly polished gleam and was crafted in such a way that it appeared to comprise of interlocking scales such as those of a dragon, which reflected the light in a beautiful myriad of glistening colours. She sat upon two stout struts with vast, brass, wood padded wheels which supported its weight comfortably in conjunction with a smaller counterpart situated underneath the rear of the vessel. I was roused from my marveling gaze by the captain clapping me on the shoulder with his good hand. "Dont worry Will, she will still be here in the morning." He chuckled, like an indulgent uncle. "Let us retire to the laboratory, we have much to discuss and plans to make for urgent action is required". With that, we stepped out of the hangar and pushed the heavy door closed leaving the rumbling echo of door upon frame in the hangar behind us. |
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