Coggler's Brood (Work in Progress)

Chapter 11

I have no idea where the Shonti Bloom is headed or why. I just follow the bearing Anabella Steenkamph gives me, staying concealed in the cloud when I can, and making as much speed as possible, because apparently we are late.

At the end of my shift I hand over to Anabella's senior lieutenant, a ginger bearded, square jawed, hulk called Conrad. He's a man of few words, but looks ruthlessly efficient.

Below decks, on the same level as her cabin, Anabella has turned over the map room to me as my personal quarters: I have a bed, a closet for my clothes, a bowl on a stand to wash with, a table and chair, and, of course, the map chest. There is even some underwear, a crisp white shirt, and a towel which Anabella's steward has laid out on the bed, for which I am grateful, because I have nothing but the clothes in which I left jail. The room is lit by an ornate side window and a frosted skylight placed strategically above the map chest to aid navigation.

I am keen to learn what internal refitting Anabella has done to my Shonti Bloom, so I wander the ship, exploring. On the crew deck, the compressor, that converts either liquid hydrogen into gas for lift, or gas into liquid for ballast, is still in place at the heart of the ship. It now works using a mechanical system of gears and levers, the solar electricity system having been ripped out.

The deck forward of the compressor has been cut away and is now occupied by three gearing wheels fully two stories high. These wheels, when rotated, give power to the airship.

I climb down a ladder to the dark coggle deck below. Shafts of light stab into the gloom through portholes in the side walls of the ship. Here I find Scud, with lanterns and a small team of cogglers, pouring over some piping diagrams.

"Nina, isn't this fantastic?" Scud waves an arm in the general direction of the wheels, cogs, and levers crammed into this shadowy space. He points at the schematic on the table. "If we make changes here, and here, I reckon we can produce up to thirty percent more power." The team of cogglers look impressed, but I wonder how they feel about not having a member of their own guild heading the team. From what I have seen, cogglers are very protective of their skills and secrets.

Scud is in his element, he would make a good coggler.

Crew are running in one of the wheels, although we are not currently using the propellers. "Can you show me how it all works?"

"Sure. So what we are doing at the moment, Nina, is turning over one gearing wheel to top up all the compressed air canisters on the cannons. We're also topping up all the air pressure reserves for the rifles and pistols—Ms Steenkamph wants us in fighting condition. I'd like to fit compressed air canisters to all the power winches too, so we don't have to run the wheels every time we change course or trim sail. But that will have to wait for another time."

I make a mental note to take my turn at running the wheels. Hopefully, seeing the Captain pulling their weight should help with crew moral.

For the next hour, I crawl around the power distribution channels of the Shonti Bloom, while Scud lectures me on the workings of the gear trains, power distribution, and compressor. Everywhere we go the ship has been reworked and renewed. I have to admit, Anabella's refit has vastly improved the structure of the ship. I don't remember the last time I saw Scud so animated.

Scud has big plans for the Shonti Bloom—typical of him to think this will last forever. His concept of time has never really developed far beyond the present. In some ways I envy him, not having to relive the past or worry about the future. Because he lives almost entirely in the hear-and-now, Scud is the most stress free person I have ever met.

We are in a crawl space leading to one of the newly installed compression cannons, surrounded on four sides by wood paneling. I check we are on our own. "What about the electrics, Scud, are they still connected?"