Chapter 13: Getting Together

Jake’s day got off to a good start. He exercised on deck and showered and shaved. Grace was not content to shower alone, and as he was scrubbing, she joined him. He found it very disconcerting to have her rubbing against his lower legs while he was washing. She did like it when he turned the soap and washcloth on her, though. After he was dressed. Jake fetched a dozen sweet rolls and took the launch out. Grace hunted and the two ate their fill of the rolls. He had forgotten to bring a way to clean his hands. When he got back, he had to fetch a cloth to wipe off the controls. With the launch, Grace and Jake cleaned up, the two headed off to see Maynard.

Maynard H. Williams was the embodiment of a mad scientist. He had a group of shops on the edge of the mist out past the farms. His shops were there because he had a habit of blowing them up. The man had more lives than a hold full of cats. Rumor was Maynard had destroyed his first shop at the age of ten. His parents had not been happy to hear an explosion come from the basement. they were even less happy when their son dragged them out of the house stating it was on fire. The conflagration only lasted twenty minutes, but the colorful fire could be seen for miles. Not even Maynard could figure out how he managed to create a purple flame. The purple flame was only one of the many different color of that particular fire. Jake had read the broadsheet article. Maynard had it and six other articles of his destroyed labs in frames on his office wall. He had been kicked out of three separate colleges for unsafe lab practices (i.e. destroying the lab.). He had worked for the Air Corps for twenty years, developing new munitions.

His parting from the Air Corp was due to him accidentally igniting one too many admirals. Strangely, that number turned out to be three. The first Admiral Maynard ignited, Admiral Worth, thought the entire episode funny. Maynard liked to say it was barely even a fire. Lucky for the Admiral, the vapors from the chemicals burned off quickly. Other than a ruined uniform and some hair loss, that never grew back, Admiral Worth was fine. The second Admiral was not as lucky. Maynard could hardly be blamed for the man’s tantrum, and him smashing things in a volatile lab. Some of the things the Admiral smashed, didn’t get along with other things he smashed. The result was him being blown through a window to land, flaming, in a manure pile. At some point in his tirade the Admiral had managed to get some of the chemicals on himself. He was hospitalized for several months due to the burns. Maynard called the time after the second Admiral his time of peace. For the next five years, the admiralty forgot to visit him, and Maynard was left to destroy things in peace.

The third and final Admiral to be ignited was Admiral Burns. The poor man lived up to his name. Maynard was behind schedule on a new armor piercing shell. Admiral Burns had sent several missives requesting Maynard attend a meeting at his office to discuss the matter. Maynard ignored, forgot, and failed to read those missives. It wasn’t intentional, he was just consumed by his work. Finally, having had enough with being ignored, the Admiral went to visit Maynard in his lab. To impress upon Maynard how important the Admiral was, he wore his dress uniform and medals. A mistake he would come to regret. The Admiral’s second mistake was in entering the lab where Maynard was working. He should have conducted the meeting in Maynard’s office. Upon seeing the mess of Maynard’s office, the Admiral stormed into the lab. He would set this madman straight. His third and nearly fatal mistake was standing behind Maynard and yelling. His yelling caused Maynard to turn around. At that moment, Maynard had a large flask of liquid in his hand. When he turned to see who was yelling, the flask struck the Admiral’s medals and broke. The liquid inside splashed on the medals and began melting them. To his dying day, the Admiral wore those medals. They were forever embedded in his skin. The ignition came when Maynard grabbed the wrong substance to stop the melting of the medals. What he thought was a flask containing a base material, was in fact a mixture of volatile chemicals. When the two chemical concoctions touched a bright blue-green flame erupted. Luckily Maynard’s assistant was nearby and was able to scoop most of the concoction away.

The Admiral lived for several years after recovering. Unfortunately, he held a grudge, and had noble relatives. Maynard lost his lab and his job. For Maynard, the lab was the only thing that mattered. Luckily the madman had never spent much of the pay he received for his work. Twenty years of salary and bonuses sat collecting interest in his bank account. He used that money to buy the land and build his new labs. Every year or so the Air Corps would send someone out to try to get him to return, and Maynard would refuse.

Jake had met the man purely by accident. Maynard’s wife, Millie, had dragged him out of the lab and forced him to take her to dinner. The two had wound up at the same restaurant as Jake’s family. The family was celebrating his acceptance to the academy. When they left, Maynard was having trouble with his runabout. It seemed he had forgotten to charge the batteries. Jake’s dad offered to have Jake ferry them home in the launch. Jake had been enthralled listening to Maynard speak of his work, and the two became friends. Jake would go and visit the madman when he was home. His mother tried to forbid it after he came home without eyebrows. His father had just laughed and asked to hear how it happened.

Maynard was Jake’s source for the rockets he used to defend his Lady. Jake smiled seeing yet another scorch mark on one of the buildings. He landed near the house next to the family runabout. He noticed it wasn’t attached to the charging cord and plugged it in. He leaned in and checked the batteries’ load. They were nearly dead, as usual. Millie met him before he reached the door. She greeted Jake with a smile and invited him in for a cup of caff.

Millie had met Maynard at a demonstration of one of his projects. She was there with one of the councilmen. She worked as a scribe slash secretary for the Council of Lords, and had been chosen to come at the last minute when the normal woman had taken ill. For her Maynard was a man who needed a keeper, and she was more than happy to be that keeper. For Maynard, Millie was the first woman to ever hold his attention for longer than the time it took to be introduced. Maynard like to say she was the only women to ever intrude on his thoughts while he was working. The two had three children, two girls and then a boy. The oldest girl followed after her mother in looks and demeanor. She even was married to one of Maynard’s assistants. The second daughter and the son both followed after their father. If anything, Carl might be even crazier than the old man. Bridget, the middle child, worked with her father her at his lab. Carl had chosen to work on a project for the Air Corps.

Millie and Jake sat in the kitchen drinking caff. Jake had told her the tale of the eels, then went on to tell her about Lady Catherine. She had smiled and ribbed him about having finally gotten his ear clipped. When she asked how his mother was taking the news, he admitted he hadn’t told her yet. She made him promise to write her today. “Jake, my husband isn’t well,” Millie informed him.

“Is he sick? Has he been to a doctor?”

“Jake, he’s seen a doctor. I had to bring him out here, but the doctor gave him a thorough going over. In short, he’s sixty-four years old and has spent most of that time breathing in who knows what. He has problems breathing. It gets worse when he exerts himself or gets too excited.” Millie shook her head. “Bridget made him this little contraption that helps him breathe. I don’t understand it. It uses water and a battery to make oxygen. At least I think that is what she said it does. The new scorch mark is from her trying to make a larger one if I remember right.” She sighed, and Jake reached over and patted her hand. “I’m telling you this because, he’s very thin. The doctor can’t say how long he has left. He didn’t think it would be a long time though. He said fluid is starting to build in his lungs. He’ll get an infection and it will kill him. when I told the doctor about Bridget’s contraption, he was excited wanted to know if she would make him one for his office. The dammed man. I had to force him to tell me, that yes it would help but it wasn’t a cure.”

Millie was fighting to control her emotions. At the moment, she was winning, but it was definitely a fight. Jake stood and pulled her to feet. Then he hugged the woman. She started crying on his shoulder, and Jake rubbed her back. They were standing like that, when Bridget came in the back door. “Dad sent me to fetch Jake. Well, he said ‘Go rescue Jake. Your mother is probably in there telling him I’m on my deathbed. If you don’t hurry, he’ll drown in her tears.’ I can’t wait to tell him he was right.” Jake shot her a scornful look. “Hey, he isn’t dead yet. I’m sure I’ll cry like a baby when that day comes. But, until then I’ll do everything I can to prevent it, and spend as much time as I can, enjoying working at his side.”

Millie stepped back from Jake and said, “She’s right. We should do that. Thank you for letting me drown you in tears Jake.” She shot her daughter a smile. “Go tell the old goat I said I’ll make up the spare room.” She winked at Jake.

“Ah, Mom. Don’t be that way. Come on Jake.” Bridget said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out the backdoor. She let go of his hand once they were headed to the lab. After a few steps she said, “Nice eel. I thought you killed them to make sails. Why is that one still alive?”

That was so like her. Bridget was a medium high voluptuous woman a few years younger than Jake was. She kept her blond hair cropped short to keep it out of the way. where most woman complained, their breasts weren’t large enough, she complained they were too big, and got in the way. She was the most direct and blunt person Jake had ever met. She was also the smartest woman he had ever met. Worse, she knew it. She had used her intelligence to scare off every boy and man who showed the slightest interest in her. The two had become friends of a sort. When they first met, they hadn’t liked each other at all. When she realized, he wasn’t interested in her romantically, she had warmed to him. For his part, it had taken some time to realize her bluntness wasn’t personal, it was just the way she was. When the two had come to terms with each other, they worked out a friendship. She had even helped him in the creation of the eel cannon, making several suggestions and improvements.

“I don’t kill all the eels we catch, and you know it. We’ve spoken about it before.” Jake said

“That’s right you have a soft spot for the ladies. Does that mean your eel is a she?”

“Yes, this is Grace. She saved my life. Then sort of adopted me.”

“Hello Grace.” She said as she opened the door to the lab, and walked inside. “By the way you need to come get the new rockets. Doug needs the room to store some of the stuff from the lift gas lab while the damaged is fixed.”

“How many are there?” Jake asked.

“Hmm, eight crates, I think. These are bigger rockets though. I figured out how to make them work with the eel gun. Daddy made the heads himself. Said he wanted to be sure you could punch a hole in a battleship with them. The one we tested blew through two feet of cement wall. Oh, the crates are larger than the last ones. Not much longer, but they are half again as wide.”

Jake pictured the size in his head. The last time they had got rockets he had just brought the Lady here and sat her on the ground, and used a hoist to load them. The cases were stored in a room two wide and four tall. The room had held thirty of the cases or one hundred and eighty rockets. He couldn’t remember how many it had left. He knew they hadn’t used more than a dozen. “I’ll make arrangements to pick them up in the next few days.”

“That should be fine. When are you shipping out to harvest again?”

“I don’t know. I’m leaving in a day or two, but not to harvest. We’re heading out to do a salvage job. That is why I came by. I was hoping your dad, or you might come with me.”

“Why would daddy or I go with you to work on some broken ship?”

“Ah, Jake my lad. How are you? And what is this? You have an eel on your arm Jake. Did you come to see if I could get it off?” Maynard said from behind his desk.

Jake saw the desk was clean and organized. He had never seen that before. “No, I don’t need you to remove her. She sort of adopted me. We have an arrangement she and I.” Jake sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. He could see what Millie had said. The old man was thinner. He had always been thin, but now he was little more than skin and bones. He had a weird round thing attached to his nose with a tube running off to the contraption on the desk.

“How about some tea? Wait you don’t drink tea, do you? You’re like Bridge here you drink that nasty caff. Bridge get Jake a cup of caff please?”

She did and Jake spent the next half hour telling the two about his adventures. Both were more than please with his recollection of their rockets taking out the Raven. When he told of having to run from the Reaver, Maynard promised the new rockets could punch through the Reaver’s armor. He did tell them about the rockets damaging the forward mast on the Reaver and enabling their escape. Bridget smiled at that. The thin wire had been her idea.

“I came by today for two reasons. The first was to see if I could beg some more rockets. Bridget told me I need to pick the new ones up. That takes care of the first of my reasons. The second is a bit delicate. I need both of you to swear you won’t breathe a word of this. Not to anyone. I am serious about this.” Both promised and Jake took out the folio from his satchel. “I got this letter from the Captain’s desk on the airship mentioned in the letter. The blueprints were wrapped in a wax bundle with the ships logs.” He handed the folio across the desk to Maynard.

The old man gave no reaction to reading the name. He read through the first page and laid it on the open folio. Then continued reading. He only glanced at the plan briefly. Then folded them and returned them to the folio. When he finished, he closed the folio and handed it to his daughter. Bridget reacted to reading the name. Her expletive got her a frown from the old man. She quickly apologized and went back to reading.

“That is an amazing find lad, but I don’t understand why you would share it with us,” said Maynard.

“I was hoping to convince you and Bridget to came have a look at the reactors. They still work. At least the emergency lights still work. So, I’m assuming it still is working. You two are the smartest people I know with chemistry. No one knows how those reactors worked. I figure you two can find out pretty quickly.” Jake said grinning.

Maynard frowned. Then tilted back in his seat and looked at the ceiling of his office. Bridget finished and handed Jake the folio. He returned it to his satchel. When he looked up Maynard was looking him in the eyes. “Years ago, I worked on the problem. We recreated the reactor in our lab. we even got it to work. The problem was, it took six months to make the plate that made steam. It only lasted two months before it was worthless. The time and cost of building the plates was deemed too much and we moved on to other projects. We all congratulated ourselves on solving the problem. If you’re right and that reactor is still working, we didn’t figure out how the Empire powered their dreadnaughts. We just found a way it could be done. There is nothing I know of that could still function after all this time.” He looked to his daughter. Then back at Jake. “I can’t go. If I were to even mention I was thinking about it, Millie would kill me on the spot. Besides that, I have been ordered to stay out of the mist. The doctor thinks it could kill me.” He closed his eyes. Then adjusted the thing on his nose. Then he nodded and said, “Bridget will have to go in my place.”

Jake nodded his acceptance. Bridget harrumphed, and said, “I’m not going if you’re not. Sorry Jake you’ll have to find someone else.”

The old man shook his head. then said, “Bridge go fetch your mother for me please?”

Bridget wasn’t happy when she left. It was clear the old man had a plan. It was just as clear that he had no intention of sharing it. The two women came into the office and Millie stood looking between the two men, wondering why she was there. Bridget returned to her chair on the side of her father’s desk.

“My love I find I am in need of your council and assistance,” Maynard began. “Jake here has a problem. His problem creates the opportunity of a lifetime. However, my health, if not my age, precludes me from assisting him. Our daughter has decided that if I don’t go, she won’t go. The person who figures out Jake’s problem will most likely go down in history as one of the words greatest scientific minds. What should we do? I should mention that whoever goes with Jake will be working in the mist.”

Millie walked around the desk and sat on the edge. She looked at her husband and asked, “Are you asking my permission to go do something that will kill you even quicker? Or, are you asking what we should do to convince Bridget to go?”

“I’m asking for your guidance. That is all,” He responded.

“Good. First you are not going. I know you want to, but you’re not.” Maynard nodded his agreement. “Since we have settled that,” she stood and turned to face Bridget. “You, daughter mine, have a choice. You’ve lived under our roof too long. You say you have no interest in a family, and that science is and will always be your true love. Fine, I accept that. I’m not happy about it, but I’ll accept it. However, it’s time for you to spread your wings and fly or fall. You are a brilliant woman dear. Your choices are these. One, go and help Jake, in the process prove that women have every right to be in the scientific world. Or option two.” She didn’t say what option two was. Bridget was foolish enough to ask. “Option two is I will give you your dowry, and you can make your own way in the world. That means no more working for your father. No more living here at home. You’re welcome to visit but you won’t live here. You’ll have to set up your house, keep it clean, and cook your own meals. You’ll...”

Bridget cut her off, “Fine mother you win. I’ll go with Jake. If something happens to Father before I get back, I’ll never forgive you.”

Millie crossed behind Maynard and went to her daughter and squatted down locking eyes with her. “Not good enough dear. You’ll go and you’ll do the best job you can. You’ll bring back everything you figure out and share it with your father. If, gods forbid, something happens to your father. You’ll come back and dedicate your findings to him. You will not take out your anger on Jake or any of his men or any of the other women, if there are any. Your father and I have talked about this on several occasions. This opportunity is just the right challenge we have been searching for. Don’t blame him or anyone else.” Jake saw Bridget’s shoulders slump. He wasn’t sure if it was in surrender or acceptance. Millie saw it too. She stood and hugged her daughter, pressing her tightly to her.

Maynard said, “Good. That’s settled. While you’re gone, I’ll have Douglas and Preston help me make a steam reactor. That way when you get back, we can test all your findings and theories.”

Millie turned to Jake and said, “And you Captain Harrow, I will hold personally responsible for my daughter’s safety. I won’t blame you if she should do something stupid like blow herself up. These two have tried to do that enough times. But you had better make sure she isn’t killed or hurt by pirates or the like. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Was the only proper response and Jake gave it.

“Good. I would count it a personal favor if you happen to introduce her to a man that can stand being around her long enough to give me a few more grand babies.”

“Mother. You just said you would accept that I didn’t want a husband,” Bridget complained.

“Yes dear. I accept it. That doesn’t mean I can’t hope and pray you change your mind. Your father had no interest in women or children when we met. Yet here you are.” She smiled down at her daughter. Then asked Jake, “When does she leave, and will she need any special clothes or equipment?”

Jake said, “She would know better about what equipment she needs than I do. As for clothes, I recommend split skirts or the like. Catherine informed me most women prefer them when traveling on airship. Less chance of the wind blowing your skirts up for all to see your knickers, or so she claims.”

Bridget laughed at his comment. Millie just nodded and said, “That seems good advice, and makes perfect sense. We’ll need to head to town to go shopping. I know you don’t have any divided skirts. We should get you a few other things too. I bet you forgot to plug in the runabout, didn’t you?” she asked her daughter. Bridget’s apologetic look said she had.

“I saw it was unplugged when I arrived. I plugged in for you,” Jake mentioned.

“That was very thoughtful of you. These two never remember to plug the thing in.”

Jake answered a few more questions. Yes, there would be other women. No, he wasn’t sure how much space she would have. The normal sort of things. As he was saying his goodbyes he remembered the dinner. “Bridget, we are all getting together tonight to finalize our plans. Cocktails are at 6:00 at the royal guest house on the base. If you use the runabout just look for the largest house on a hill. I’ll add you to the count for the meeting.”

“Why do you want me there?” she asked.

Jake grinned, “Because there will be several eligible bachelors.” At her glare, he laughed. “Because we will be figuring out how to get all the cargo and people to where we’re going. It would be helpful to have you there to give us some idea of how much equipment you were bringing.”

“Does that mean there won’t be any eligible men?” Millie asked.

“Mother,” Bridget warned, shaking her spiky blond head back and forth. “Should I try to bring some of my stuff tonight?” she asked Jake. She missed his wink to her mother, and Millie’s grin.

“No just you. We’ll need to stop here to get the rockets anyway. Picking up your equipment and luggage at the same time makes sense. We’ll work it all out tonight.”

He hugged the two women and shook Maynard’s hand then loaded in the launch and left the Williams’ place. His quick trip to see the madman, had taken all morning. More importantly he had forgotten to send a messenger with how many would be there tonight. He guessed that it was better he had, with adding Bridget to list. He flew the launch to the base and the guest house. He hoped Catherine would offer him and Grace lunch. He knew he was hungry.

He was disappointed when the butler informed him the Duchess was not home. She had gone out on business. Jake wrote her a quick note and left it with the man. He also informed him of the number of guests for dinner. The butler thanked Jake for the information and promised to pass it on to the cook. Jake decided they would have lunch at Marcy’s. They flew back to the Lady, then walked the few blocks.

Marcy was happy to see them. She sat the two in Jake’s usual spot. She asked about his other eel and smiled when Jake said she was with his fiancée. He realized it was the first time he had used that word. He also realized it wasn’t entirely true. He hadn’t asked Catherine if she would marry him. He was determined that he would remedy that situation as soon as possible. Marcy was too busy with the lunch crowd to join Jake for lunch, but she took time to tell him about news. It seemed the Lord Gains had a gambling problem. He had sold the property to cover some of his debts. The new owner offered her wonderful terms on the rent. They would even allow her to buy the place if she wished. Jake let her know he was happy at the development, and her good fortune. She said the mist meer were a huge success.

Jake had the pork roast with potatoes and gravy, and a tankard of the honeyed ale. Grace had a double portion of roast with extra vegetables, and a basket of rolls just for her. Marcy had taken the basket around the dining room and encourage her patrons to toss the roll for Grace. Grace was a huge hit with the crowd. They both had a berry pie for dessert. Grace looked a little bloated when they left. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the spectacle Grace and Marcy had put on. Jake smiled all the way back to the Lady.

He sat and wrote out two letters to his mother and one to his sister. The first to his mother was short as he planned to send it by wireless. He stated everything was going well. He had recently gotten a pet. He told her business was so good he thought he would come visit her soon. He went on to say he had met a wonderful woman, and things were progressing nicely. He had hopes that he might be able to make an announcement in the near future. He knew that would make her happy. He sent his love to her his sister and her little ones. The second letter to his mother said the same only with much more detail. He added detail about the people they both knew. He told his mother of Marcy’s good fortune but failed to mention his part.

His letter to his sister was much the same. He did add the funny story about Pat saying he would sleep on the Lady. He made sure to forget to mention Catherine’s teasing him with it though. He added a few details about her he hadn’t put in the letter to his mother and left a few out. He knew they would swap the letters and compare. They had since he went to the academy. He finished up the letters and reread them before sealing and addressing them.

Grace was asleep on his bunk. So, he left her sleeping and went to post his letters. On the way, he realized how much he missed both women. His sister had married the same year he graduated from the academy. Her husband was a bank clerk with the Crown Bank. A year after his father died, his brother-in-law had received a promotion. His new job was in the capital and the two moved there taking Jake’s nephew with them. When his sister wrote of being with child again, his mother decided she wanted to be where her grandchildren were. She arranged to have her house rented out by Jasper and the money sent to her. Melissa and her husband bought a larger house, and his mother moved in with them. Jake referred to new house as the house of M. Everyone in the house’s names started win the letter M. His mother Molly, his sister Mellissa, her husband Michael, their son Mathew, and the three girls Mary, Margret, and Molly named after his mother.

When he got to the wireless office he remembered the wireless on the Lady. He filled in the form and asked if he could send messages from his ship. The clerk said he could. However, if he did not have an account the recipient would have to pay to receive the message. He informed Jake he would be happy to assist Jake in getting an account set up, and how much would he like to put in the account. Jake was going to decline. He even started to do so, but then reconsidered. He asked a few more questions, and learned he could use the account to send money as well as messages. The account could be closed at any time. The ever-helpful clerk informed Jake they even paid a small amount of interest for accounts over one thousand Crowns. In the end, Jake opened the account, and placed two hundred and fifty Crowns in it. He had to go to the bank to get the funds. He added a line to the message to be sent. Telling his mother to buy the kids something from Uncle Jake, and sent her ten Crowns.

When he got back to the ship there was hubbub going on. Jake boarded and found the dock master and a constable arguing with Bowman. He listened for several seconds. The two men were here for two reason. First, they claimed the rent had not been paid on the Lady’s berth, and the ship would have to be moved or it would be impounded. Second, they were there to destroy the dangerous animals that were on board. It seemed a new city ordinance declared the eels as such an animal. Jake had heard enough.

“Excuse me. What is going on here?”

“Who are you?” asked the constable.

“I’m the owner, and ship’s captain, Jake Harrow. Who are you and what are you doing on my airship?” Jake demanded.

“I’m Senior Constable Cook. This is Dock Master Riley. We’re here to destroy the unlicensed dangerous beast in accordance with the law. Furthermore, you sir, have not paid your rental fee on this berth, and you’ll have to vacate, or your airship will be impounded, and you’ll have to appear before a judge and pay the fees.”

Jake smiled, and said, “Writ and warrant?” sticking his hand out.

The constable flinched. Dock Master Riley asked, “What?”

Jake explained, “In order for you to impound this vessel you have to have a writ of cause signed by a judge after showing said cause. Since I pay my fees a year in advance, and did so not three months ago, you can’t have a writ of cause because there is no cause. You either show me the writ or you get off my airship until you have one.” Jake’s smile held menace as he finished in a loud voice that made the dock master step back. Jake asked, “Bowman did you invite these men onboard?”