| Chapter Six - Visions & Reality |
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The little vessel became a symbol of hope for myself and the Captain. Upon our next meeting we afixed it to the ceiling of the domed
laboratory. In the coming months it would spur us on to greater efforts when we encountered problems. The next step was plain to us, we
needed to take lessons learned from our maiden study and adapt these to a much larger scale. The most obvious requirement was that of a
means of significant propulsion. The captain proposed a steam influenced solution to the problem, based upon the principle of a
traditional steam engine but with many modifications. The first of these was a brass formula which the captain had been working upon to
provide the same strength and solidity, but one which dramatically reduced the weight of the engine. However, we first needed to decide
upon the size of craft. We recognised a pressing need to take the fight to mankind's enemy and that meant a vessel capable of
transporting a number of men to the battlefront. Over the coming weeks, I worked upon designs to make this possible and still provide
enough manouverability to evade the hostility of the alien fleet. Whilst I concentrated on this task, the captain continued his chemical
studies and worked upon both perfecting his new form of brass and then on moulding these into the component parts required to make his
vision a reality. I discovered at this time that the captain worked mostly on impulse and followed his instincts to their conclusion,
only stopping to document his thoughts after the event. He had a natural instinct for problem solving which I was occasionally to find
infuriating during our franker discussions - if the captain theorised over something, he almost always correct in the end.
My sketches eventually settled upon a vessel which sacrificed much of the intial grace and beauty of my original design but still maintained a brutish magnifiscence which I found similarly appealing. It certainly looked like a vehicle of ill intent, I prayed that our enemy would see it as a harbinger of their doom. I was unsure as to how the captain would view my work and still remember the anticipation when showing him my sketches for the first time. I can still see the intense and brooding and yet somehow hungry look on his features as he scrutised every curve and joint, his gaze seemed to devour the page. After what seemed like an age, his eyes were no longer focussing on my sketches and his good hand moved to support his pipe, upon which he took thoughtful puffs. He then switched his attention to my expectant gaze and slowly a huge smile spread across his features, lighting up his eyes. "William my boy, thats a most intriguing design - this we can work with!" If I still had any lingering thoughts of doubt, these were dispelled as he launched into a avalanche of excited suggestions and exultations as new ideas came to his mind. We soon fleshed out the finer details in the following hours. She was to be a mix of brass and wood over a skeleton comprising of the captains new metallic composition for extra rigidity and powered by his forthcoming engine. This, he conceeded, would need to be reduced in size to provide an optimum fit in the metallic beast we had conceived. We broke the design down into component parts which we constructed inside the laboratory and these were then moved to a new hangar which the captain had comissioned to be constructed within his grounds. At times we required the aid of many men for lifting and fitting these parts together. It seemed that the captains connections knew no bounds and that a truly staggering amount of ex-army men were available for some "no questions asked" work on a daily basis. Great care was taken to enusre that no one man worked on enough component parts to gain a clear impression of our project as a whole, Sadeian's preparations were most meticulous on this matter. His mysterious colleague appeared from time to time and I observed that he always left with some kind of device or writings of the captain's. I had still been given no name for this gentleman and it did not seem like one would be fothcoming anytime soon. After months of this pleasurable toil we finally had a completed craft. |
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