The Dragon Chase: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 22: Tabitha

"What's a Dragon?" Mathias asked her, distinctly perplexed. Tabitha found herself smirking as her shadow gazed over at her, expecting an answer.

"It's old mythology, from before the Gloam," she answered as her amusement faded. The wind was fierce enough she could barely hear herself. She beckoned for him to join her at the wheel.

As Mathias stepped up, he began to explain himself. "We have new orders from the Lord Captain. We're supposed to wait here. They say there's a Dragon on its way as if it were supposed to mean something. Which to you, I suppose it does."

"It does," Tabitha said, grimly. Mathias' eyes widened slightly as she spoke. "Are you sure they said Dragon?"

"It was sent twice. Identical, both times. Even asked Keates to verify it, just in case signal code changed in the last few years. It seems someone on the wall is very well read," Mathias said.

"Don't pretend to be an idiot. It's Gerald. No one else out there has both the access and the inclination to read pre-Gloam mythology," Tabitha said. She sighed and stared off to the west.

She stepped away from the controls, and to the nearby railing overlooking the deck. "Keates! Dremora! To me!"

Lieutenant Keates took the stairs up to the wheelhouse at a run and was there long before Caitlin Dremora, who only nodded once to Tabitha and chose to ignore Mathias entirely as she joined them.

Caitlin Dremora was the ship's chief engineer, a title she earned by virtue of being attached to the Airship project longer than anyone else except Maxwell and Gerald. She was also about a decade too young for her present post. "We've tested everything except the cooling clamps. He's a mean ship, Tabitha."

The familiarity of her first name, despite being a Crafter, had been earned from spending nearly six years on the project. To most of the denizens of the City, a Crafter was simply sir, or ma'am. Crafter or Madam Crafter, if being spoken to more than once. Only Crafters, officers, or high ranking government officials were willing to address her as Crafter a'Loria.

It was also, at the moment, utterly unacceptable. But someone spoke before Tabitha decided to respond.

"Chief Dremora, you're on a warship, during an invasion," Lieutenant Keates said, in an impressively forceful voice. "Unless the Captain of this vessel has given you leave, you are to address her by her rank."

Both of them looked to her, and she nodded to Adrian to thank him. "I'm afraid he's right, Chief. And to remind the Crew of the seriousness of our circumstances, it's an edict we both need to stomach."

She paused for a moment, then continued. "An unknown creature is flying towards us from the West. The Captain of the other vessel used the term 'Dragon', a creature from stories written before the Gloam."

Caitlin's eyes widened, but Adrian and Mathias only nodded. She suspected their reaction would change soon. "In the stories, a Dragon is a giant lizard that can fly and breathe fire. In some stories, it was made of coals, molten metal, and hellfire. My apprentice likely used the term to describe the creature concisely."

"Burn me," Adrian whispered.

"Seconded," Caitlin agreed.

"Our biggest problem is that it can fly, and we should assume it flies higher than a Valkyrie can reach from the ground," Tabitha said. "The Military likely expects the Dragon to burn as much of Central as it can, drawing in our defences while the Golems advance without most of the Army to interfere. However, if it's a creature of fire, like the stories suggest, it's possible it can wield the flame. Like a Crafter."

"Which means it could wield the Bore," Mathias added, nodding in understanding. Her shadow was as sharp as his knives.

"So we must stay between it and the Spire. No matter the cost," Tabitha finished.

"Four hundred years of fortifications rendered useless in a single stroke. Like the first invasion, we face the creatures of the Gloam without walls," Mathias reflected.

"Respectfully, sir, you insult us," Adrian said.

"Apologies," Mathias said, with more emotion in his voice than Tabitha had ever heard. She was willing to swear that it quivered a little. "We are the walls."

"We are the torches against the dark night," Caitlin added, to the surprise of both herself and Mathias.

Noticing their surprise, Adrian explained, "She went through basic training before Civil Development poached her. Same group I was in, under Sergeant Varnell."

"I see," Tabitha said. As curious as she was about how their paths converged years ago, it was a happy curiosity to indulge someday when they weren't being invaded. "Adrian, Mathias, I'll leave it to you to brief the crew. We'll test the Valkyries in a few minutes. Chief, I need to teach you the controls. That will be all."

Adrian saluted, and even Mathias nodded respectfully before turning away and stepping down the stairs.

Well, more gliding than walking. Irritating man moved like a leaf on the wind.

She glanced at her Chief Engineer, and was surprised to see the girl staring after her Shadow. "Please be kidding," Tabitha said.

Caitlin blushed. The girl blushed! Over her shadow, no less. "He does the tall, dark and mysterious thing well. You don't see it, ma'am?"

"He'll kill me someday. Probably soon," Tabitha responded.

"I've heard some Crafters, well..." Caitlin trailed off, hesitating.

"Some do. Cowards," Tabitha said, scathingly.

Caitlin looked confused, prompting Tabitha to elaborate. "When it happens, it's usually because a Crafter is trying to prolong their life by encouraging a sympathetic shadow. Sex complicates things and can soften harsh judgements. His Bureau doesn't clamp down on it as hard as they should."

"I thought you'd approve of preserving a Crafter's life," Caitlin said.

"I've had to fix a shadow's mess before. Take the big wheel, in the middle," she ordered.

Caitlin seized the wheel, and Tabitha snickered a little as the poor girl was barely able to see over the top of it. "The big wheel controls both swivel propellers at once, angling them to turn the ship the way you want it to go. The two smaller wheels control swivel propellers on each side of the ship independently."

"Each of the wheels has a lever beside it. That's for your thrust. The further back you pull, the faster it goes. Remember that if you're starting a propeller from a dead stop, you need to engage the clutch."

Caitlin nodded, and Tabitha smiled a little. There was a reason the girl was her Chief Engineer. "You're not going to use the sails, and you're definitely not riding the Bore, but there are a few manoeuvres you should practice. We'll start with one that no one has tried before."

"What is it?" Caitlin asked, concerned.

"Keeping the ship from swaying when Adrian fires the Valkyries," Tabitha said. "Can you guess how you're going to do it?"

Caitlin floundered with the thought for a moment, before Tabitha continued. "I'll explain it soon. For now, turn us twenty degrees starboard, and take us above the river. I want to know those guns work before Gerald's Dragon appears."