Steam Age: Titan Project (Steampunk in Space Trilogy)

Chapter 5: Casinos and Trains

                Sitting in the train station lobby was quite fine with Nathan. He was used to being alone, so a few minutes to himself seemed like nothing. After meeting Kat, Boiler and Nathan quickly informed her of the situation at hand. They told her everything- men were after Nathan, Boiler finding Nathan on the floating island, Arnold’s death, and how they managed to find a spot to eat Coneys. As a result, Boiler and Kat left him here as they went to find the next shuttle to the surface and get away from this area.

                As he sat on the wooden bench, he looked across the marble hall and out the window. In the distance, he could make out two figures in aquatic gear standing on what appeared to be a partially constructed building. Lights were constructed all around the site, illuminating the darkness of the deep ocean. The figures had large metal helmets with small viewports in the front and sides. Metal boots, a huge single piece suit, and large canisters strapped to their backs for air added to the overall attire. He was intrigued by watching this underwater construction taking place.

                A crane like device, situated on the roof of a nearby building, hoisted a large steel girder over walkways, billboards, and other buildings to put it next to the two figures, who immediately pushed it into place and began welding. "Well, that's something you don't see every day- kind of fascinating." Even though Nathan could not stop watching the scene taking place, he could not stop thinking about what Kat and Boiler were doing.  Slowly, a small group walked in front of his view, crowding the window, with a small woman leading them around.

                "Ladies and gentlemen, if you would look out the window here, you can see two crewman assisting in the construction of Oceanic City's first casino. Thanks to being located hundreds of miles away from the nearest coastline, the board of commerce decided that it would be a great source of revenue for the city, as well as a great tourist attraction." The crowd continued to look out the window, quickly annoying Nathan by depriving him of his one sense of relief and entertainment. The woman's voice was heard over the crowd again, even though Nathan failed to see her. "Believe it or not, this city is home to the world's largest iron reserve. Many of you may have noticed the trolleys that shuttle workers to the nearby iron mines. We are proud to claim the rights to the planets first and only underwater iron mines."

                Even though Nathan's window view was completely blocked, he still found the woman's story somewhat amusing. He continued to listen to the tour guide's presentation in order to keep his thoughts away from Kat, Boiler, and his predicament.

                "The mines,” continued the tour guide, “of course, were discovered by pure luck. You may not realize how unlikely it was to discover this location."

                "How's that?" A man's voice rose from the crowd, drawing in Nathan's interests. He found it fascinating to learn the history of this city, which he had spent the last decade living above in his small pod.

                "Well, sir, that's actually a very interesting part of the story. As many of you may know, this city was founded by George Ulysses Carver. After founding America's largest iron mines, he went on to researching stronger metals to get ahead in the market. In an attempt to locate these new metals, George Carver dropped small iron pods to the sea bed that were designed to collect samples of the ocean floor, eventually landing one right over there..." Nathan couldn't see what the woman was pointing at, but it was apparent she was directing the audience's attention outside toward the mines that were barely visible in the distance.

                "So what happened after he had his samples collected?" The same man's voice came from the crowd, keeping Nathan's interest peaked.