Chapter 15 – Taking to the Skies

Chapter 15 – Taking to the Skies

Emily and Anton make their way through the passageways of the ship with Anton giving an animated introduction to the facilities they pass, including the bathrooms, guards’ quarters, and cargo hangars.

“Why do you have a separate guards’ quarters and no guards?” Emily asks as they continue their tour.

“Calypso is a ship sponsored by your family; sometimes we get asked to carry valuable cargo that we aren’t allowed to interfere with. So, we have to keep the guards separate from the crew and closer to the cargo because they don’t trust us.” Anton responds with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

“I see.”

An awkward silence settles over the two of them as Emily starts to understand a little about the Mandrago family’s treatment of their servants.

I guess they only brainwash the commoner mages they bring into the family, but we’re considered members of the family and trusted more than others because of it. It’s no wonder he was cautious when he was first introduced to me if they set guards against him on his own ship.

The silence continues until they reach a heavy metal door with a large wheel in the centre and the word ‘Engines’ etched into the metal. Emily hears a low hum emanating from behind the door. Anton walks up to the door and turns the wheel counterclockwise several times until a loud clang is heard.

“Welcome to Calypso’s heart!” he declares proudly as he pulls the door open.

Emily steps into the room and gasps in surprise. Suspended in the centre of the room is the largest and most complicated steam engine Emily has ever seen. Dozens of pistons and gears are delicately woven together to form a beating heart of power. The hiss of steam and grinding of well-oiled metal play a symphony of life that drowns out Anton’s explanation. Multiple belts move coal through gaps in the walls into several large furnaces feeding the engine, and a large tube extends out of it into the ceiling.

Emily slowly walks forward, enchanted by the massive construct, and reaches out a hand towards it. Her trance is broken as Anton grabs her wrist and pulls her back.

“Woah, careful there! This machine is incredibly delicate and quite dangerous for straying hands. Wouldn’t want you to lose a finger now, would we?” He chuckles but doesn’t release his grip on her wrist as he pulls her back into the hallway and closes the door behind him.

“Sorry, I’ve never seen such a beautiful engine before.” Emily blushes and looks at her feet.

“Haha, it’s all right, no harm no foul. Are you an aspiring mechanic? I haven’t heard of your family doing much engineering work.”

“Yes, my father was a clockmaker before the Mandragos claimed me, and I learned a bit from him,” she answers with a wistful smile, noticing some of the tension in Anton’s shoulders slip away.

“I see! We better hurry to the bridge then. I’m sure you won’t want to miss what comes next.”

He begins walking away from the engine room and Emily casts one last longing glance back before following him.

I need to come back here alone.

On their way back through the ship, they pass a few more core facilities, including the galley and mess hall, but they don’t stop to look at any of them. They soon arrive in an open room with a plethora of dials and gauges, along with several wheels and levers, all surrounding three large seats. The wall in front of them is mostly reinforced glass, allowing for a clear view.

A burly man and a thin scruffy woman are already settled into two of the seats, and Anton moves to sit down in the third. The two crew members turn their heads and cast curious gazes towards Emily.

“This is Emily, our passenger to the capital. These are Tony and Angela my crewmates and copilots during the day,” Anton introduces them as he starts checking the dials around him and adjusting a few levers.

“Nice to meet you both.”

Tony gives a light nod and silently copies Anton.

“Yo!” Angela chirps with an amused smirk as she pulls down a large metal contraption from above her seat, placing it against her face.

“What’s that for?” Emily asks while gesturing towards Angela.

“That’s a periscope. It uses a series of mirrors to allow us to check all our blind spots,” Anton responds without looking away from his controls.

“All clear, they’re asking for the go-ahead to start the track,” Angela chimes in as she moves the periscope away from her face and looks towards Anton.

“Tony, give the signal,” Anton commands as he sits back and grins up at Emily. “You’re gonna love this.”

Tony pulls down on a handle hanging above him, and a loud whistling horn sounds outside the ship.

“Got it, thanks.”

Emily takes one last look through the periscope at the shrinking city, then turns towards the exit while wiping a few tears from her eyes.

Bye Anna, I’ll be back soon.

***

Emily spends the next two days following her routine of Spellweave, meditation and exercise. She meets the other two members of the day crew at mealtimes and spends a bit of time chatting with them all about their travels, but her mind remains on the engine room throughout.

So, at midnight on the second day, she leaves her room. She quietly moves past the crew quarters and quickly makes her way through the narrow passageways of the ship, knowing most of the night crew will be gathered for their midnight meal for the next twenty minutes at least.

The heavy metal door offers no resistance to Emily’s increased strength, and she easily slips into the engine room. She approaches the large throbbing core of the ship, reaching out to touch the humming metal. After placing her hand on a smooth metal sheet, clear of any moving parts, she closes her eyes and follows her instincts, slowly pulling upon her machina reserves and letting the cold electricity flow into the engine.

Emily draws in a sharp breath as she feels a deep connection form between her and the engine. Her senses expand over the large machine as if it were a part of her body, and a detailed image of it forms in her mind. The image of the engine in her head splits apart as she focuses on it, expanding to show every facet and connection inside. Detailed calculations are performed in an instant, telling her everything she could need to know from the exact materials and measurements to the maximum throughput.

Committing the image to memory, she opens her eyes and sees a system message hovering in front of her.

̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄

Machina scan complete!

Blueprint created: Calypso’s Heart

Sub-system unlocked: Blueprints

_____

She blinks away the system message and focuses her gaze on her hand and Calypso’s heart.

I’m currently using a small amount of machina to make a connection with the engine, what if I try pouring more in?

With a single thought, streams of azure-blue electricity shoot along Emily’s arm and quickly spread across Calypso’s heart. The entire ship shudders as the heart beats into overdrive, increasing its output of steam. Emily watches the changes with fascination but quickly feels her mind begin to slow down and ache.

̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄

Skill created: Overdrive (active)

_____

Ignoring the new skill, she quickly stops channelling her machina and then checks her status page.

̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄

[Machina:] 19/345

_____

Seeing the sharp drop after only a few seconds of overdrive, she frowns.

Damn, that’s expensive. Maybe it’s related to how large the machine is. I wasn’t even able to make a connection with the whole ship, only the engine. Also, why do I always stop using mana and machina around 20 points? Is it a mental safety to not fully drain myself?

Emily massages her temples while thinking, trying to relieve the pain, but it’s to no avail. She hears hurried footsteps rushing through the corridor towards her and decides it’s time to leave.

“Well, I’ve got a lot more stuff to look at now,” she mutters to herself with a grin as she pulls out The Clock and presses rewind.