Dawn of Steam: Gods of the Sun

by Jeffrey Cook

  Once we had finished the explanations and at last squared all accounts between us, he launched into conversation, asking how our journey had progressed and how his work had functioned. We reported the pistols we had lost to York, the damage to the dirigible, and Eddy's broken repeating rifle, among the other concerns and damages. He and Miss Coltrane, who was no longer keeping secrets from the lot of us, told him about the battle suit and the damage done to it as well. She seemed relieved to not only be able to speak openly about it in front of us, but to have someone who could follow the theories behind it. Each has their own specialties, but the Doctor clearly understood the theories enough to have some suggestions for repair for her, and ideas of where he might collect some helpful parts from his spares. While I suppose it’s possible that telling the unsettled Doctor about the suit and its creation could pose some risk, he seems very unlikely to say much to anyone likely to believe him, or even to communicate with the outside world beyond ourselves and Agnes when he doesn't have to.

  By the end of the night, he had promised his aid in restoring the airship. In fact, he wanted to improve it further, for he had grown very interested in our progress whenever any news of our journey reached this shore, and he discovered we had met with some success after all. Additionally, he was able to offer us supplies in order to facilitate our repairs. Even with this, with all the damage we have sustained, especially the injuries, we will still be here for months, at the least. Still, we have a second place in which we can seek some refuge and be offered a degree of hospitality. While I am certainly not comfortable with his presence, he will also greatly speed up our readiness to take on any attack should danger come to us again. Given our history, this seems entirely likely.

  We stayed three days with the doctor while he constructed new pistols for us to replace those lost and a pair extra besides. He built a new spare repeating rifle for Eddy as well, managing to slightly improve the transition from one shot to the next in the chambers to speed up firing. Only then did he start packing to accompany us – beginning with a steamer trunk full of new parts.

  We spoke privately with Agnes before we left. She is very concerned for the doctor's health. The travel put great strain on him, and she said he was quickly becoming more and more forgetful, though he has shown no signs of losing his capacity for machinery. If anything, in his stages of manic activity, he is more frantic than ever, as if seeking to put everything he can onto paper or into a prototype before he finally meets the end of his life. She does not believe he has more than a couple of years left to him, if he continues to deteriorate, and might well have less than that. Even so, she said that she would appreciate if we kept in mind where she was, in case she ever wanted to return to her native Scotland, but she would look after the doctor for so long as he lived.

  We returned to the colony we had settled in then, with Miss Coltrane and Dr. Mitchell insisting on going straight to work. For once, there is no particular lack of time for these efforts, for we shall be here for the health of our company well after our machines are restored. They, however, would not delay, having actual parts meant to work with her design, and a host of new ideas and inspirations. Eddy was similar, very much desiring to go out far enough that he might practice with the new rifle to get used to the new mechanism and the gun's particulars. Letting the three of them follow their passions, Miss Wright and I each went our own ways and retired for the night.

  Now that I have my privacy to write once more, I wonder about our current employers. Certainly we had promised the doctor no anonymity, and Lord Donovan was certainly aware of his presence, but the other agencies that quickly followed us showed an entirely new interest in bringing the doctor back under heel. I am not certain I feel betrayed entirely, but I shall certainly be more careful with what I send to our complement of employing interests now. For all he has done, I will certainly not be sharing the doctor's new home with them.

  July 25th, 1816

  33º51' S 151º12' E

  My Dearest Cordelia,

  The mystery of my last letter has been solved. We have met Dr. Mitchell, who has abandoned his hidden cove and retreated to this land to settle for whatever remains of his life. His health has suffered greatly since we last encountered him, and now he is more pale and gaunt than previous. The lack of sun of the past year has certainly not done his health or his mania any good. He still has a vital mind when he is fully lucid, throwing himself into his works with great passion. The dirigible repairs are underway, and he and Miss Coltrane are both most hopeful that it will be worthy to fly as it once did in a matter of weeks, though the rest of us will not be nearly ready enough to travel yet.

  Sir James's health is improving, but it is a slow thing. He sleeps a great deal of every day, though when awake, he is fully aware now and will respond to conversation. I have brought cards with me for my last few ventures to his temporary quarters in the back of the doctor's offices, there until he is healthy enough to move. This seemed to do his mind and spirit a great deal of good, and he has taken to his favorite pastime again quickly. While we play, he is more inclined to talk and listen than he is otherwise. Perhaps the games strike up old habits.

  He has not answered many questions still, and I truly believe that he does not know which way he wishes to go next, when this ordeal is over and he is on his feet again. He asks constant questions instead, asking after one person and another – and asking me to read from whatever parts of my journal I am willing to share.

  Even now, he has a phenomenal memory for detail, and while he did so occasionally in the first few days since the card games were renewed, now he does not ever have to have anything repeated. It is this very trait that made his ruse with his sister possible, for when in the field, she would write detailed journals of the battles and how they proceeded, following a list of details he gave her to note. She does not have his sense for a fight, but lists and charts and numbers are a gift of hers. Apparently, according to Sir James, this is how she takes so well to social convention. She makes charts for herself of even the tiniest of details, organizing it in a fashion her mind processes well. He would spend his hours while she was in battle reading and memorizing these journals, putting them back into a form that he could easily report to the higher officers. The suit must always return to the airship to refuel and take repairs, of course, so making the switch was never a difficulty. For those appearances where there was need, he was able to pilot the suit for simple functions, it is only its more advanced capabilities that always vexed him.

  He has apologized profusely for not sharing the information sooner, and, despite all the misgivings and questions I have had in the past, I found myself forgiving him. Despite the deception, he is a good man, and so far as I can read from him, everything was done for the greatest good they could come up with. Certainly the delay to find another pilot capable of understanding the systems would have been great trouble, and there would have been no way to explain to any other in an acceptable manner why Miss Coltrane and Miss Wright were the ones repairing and advancing the suit's capabilities.

  Their actions have benefited England, and I have come to accept Miss Coltrane as a heroine in her own right after seeing her in action and with all the lives her actions saved. In particular, I think back to her leaping between Eddy and myself, and the buffalo herd, and her willingness to take on Wyndham in the field over and over again. Even when something has proven able to hurt her, despite the protection of the suit, her courage has not failed. I begin to wonder how many other Englishwomen, given the opportunity to prove themselves, could face such dangers.

  Where his sister did the fighting, James was the tactician. The plans that fought us back into contention – and eventually to victory against Napoleon – were his. He decided where they would travel; he negotiated how the suit would be used with the officers. He handled the communications with other forces, and he weathered the pressures that come with being a war hero and advisor on the highest military levels. And somewhere in all o
f this, even once they knew all the facts, he still maintained the loyalty of the Fishers and the engineering crews.

  Of course his celebrity helped him in being selected for this journey, but he proved his ability to handle such tasks in the time after the war. I can accept in the end that he was a man doing what he thought was best for England. In some ways, it is easier to accept the man, having seen his flaws, and learning the strengths he still possesses.

  I must admit I am quite probably in part motivated by the fact that I very much wish to complete our mission, and doing so requires his presence as the leader of the expedition, but I would like to think I would have it in my character to forgive him after his sincere apologies regardless of my interests. Especially now that I have spoken with both Coltrane siblings and understand something of the close bond between them – and why they did as they did.

  In our conversations, he also has made several suggestions on how I might perform better as a commander in the future. Though I hope that duty never comes to me again, if it does, his advice will be most welcome. Certainly, in hindsight, we may have done significantly better in both New Orleans and among the Maori under the leadership of such a tactician. He does not entirely acknowledge this, both for his own humility, and as he too is perplexed about how York's company always seemed to know the location and timing of our attacks. Not exactly enough to have put a total end to us, but enough to make our way much more difficult and deadly. Even so, his advice has been quite helpful, though I cannot help but feel guilty in failing in ways a better general might have seen, and that I might have done better by the men who followed me. Sir James, at least, has been very complimentary of the job I did, given my inexperience.

  Eddy seems greatly recovered from his own injuries and has thrown himself into whatever work he can find here to help us get better settled. For the moment, he remains quite close to the crew. He seems to still consider himself a part of a group, aside from the fact he has not yet come to speak with Sir James. This may be a difficult relationship to restore at all. In the meanwhile, his gruff demeanor and dark humor seems to play well among the locals, and he has made a number of new friends among the bar patrons of the town. Given the amount of heavy lifting and strenuous labor needed in the repairs, Miss Coltrane, Miss Wright, and Dr. Mitchell also seem quite thankful for his aid.

  Mr. Franzini has returned to town, checking in only seldom. He does not seem certain now of his place in things, and he avoids the Captain. At least he is still alive, and has not decided to abandon us entirely. I have also seen him about now and then, for there is not a great many places a man of his interests might go to entertain himself here, though there are always men willing to play at cards and dice. I have also occasioned across him in the daytime, spending time amidst the same group of men of rough appearance. That he has found new companions does not tell me anything of his final direction one way or another, for we have seen how well he has done by his companions before.

  We have still not heard from the other women of our company. I can, for now, only wish them well and hope they have found what they were looking for. Given how accurate her assessments of the lands we have visited so far have been, I trust that Miss Bowe knew what she was talking about and will look after Miss Penn.

  Beyond this limited news, there is not a great deal to say. We have settled in for what must be a significant amount of time. There are few gentlemen about, and very few women even, let alone ladies, but for that, the people here seem the height of civilization after the Maori, and some are not bad sorts, if a little rough. The next ship also promises to bring a significant influx of new people.

  I shall surely write again when we have more news of any worth to report.

  My love, always,

  Gregory Conan Watts

  From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

  August 1st, 1816

  33º51' S 151º12' E

  The first ship since our arrival came today, bearing with it news of the world, which I have been most hungry for. It also brought with it supplies for the colonies – and a great many new colonists. The mass exodus of Catholics who have kept loyalty to the Pope over the King continues, and while most have traveled to the Americas, good numbers continue to voyage to the Crown's other colonies in Australia and India. These people, largely Irish and Scots, frequently have served some in the British military, though not as officers. Still, several are more refined than most of the locals. Many have some hope of finding their fortune here. Most will doubtless be disappointed, but at least there is plenty of need for tradesmen and shepherds.

  These new arrivals have also drawn a great deal of curiosity here, for no few of them have come here with their families, seeking a new start. The men here outnumber the women by a great margin, so any hint of arrivals likely to produce children – or those with children already – greatly aid the likelihood of the colony's long term survival. The Catholics have already begun to form their own communities, meeting in the inn and tavern rooms in small groups, and no few of them have volunteered to work with some of the established locals in constructing a new church in the hopes of attracting their own priest, making their beliefs more prominent here, and perhaps making the town seem a little less rough to their eyes.

  Of course, there is also the exiled criminal element among the people, the worst of whom have already been identified by the Catholic families and kept apart. Well used to receiving such arrivals in significant numbers, what little law enforcement there is here has already made it quite clear that they have built a community here, and even a community of convicts must have its rules. Justice here is quite harsh. Already, some few of these men, feeling unwelcome, have set out to try to find communities where they might feel more at home, or at least are less recognized for what they have done. That I have seen Mr. Franzini among some of these does not surprise me in the least. I believe he now has his own game going in one of the local taverns, probably giving the house a share for the ability to deal at a table. There is definitely no shortage of gamblers here, so I do not doubt he is doing quite well for himself, so long as he maintains at least a facade of honesty.

  Of other news, the word from the American colonies is most disturbing. Less than a month ago, there was still frost on the ground in New York, even in the very midst of summer. A very harsh winter is predicted to come, one of the most difficult for many settlements since the earliest days of colonization. The crop-bearing fields of the Eastern Seaboard have not produced nearly as they were expected, and some difficulties with starvation have already begun. This has prompted a great movement westward, as those lands are believed to have been less affected by the unusual weather we have experienced all year. St. Louis is surely seeing a great influx of people.

  The new arrivals from England who have not yet established themselves among any community are expected to especially struggle. They have no community to rely on and no established homes or stores. Truly it is a difficult time to be a new arrival, though they may also have less trouble pulling up stakes and going west. Of course, as we have encountered ourselves, any expansion past St. Louis is certain to have its own difficulties. No matter the trouble, it seems that the impressions the colonists had of having far more land than people have been shattered by this single year's ill fortunes. By the next time we visit, the American colonies will certainly be greatly changed.

  England is having some similar woes as the year progresses, though London and its surroundings, at least, are somewhat more established and better able to make adjustments than most of the Americas. Still, for the poorer denizens of the city, and especially for farmers, this is going to be a difficult winter. Meanwhile, Australia's differing seasons give people here some hope that these gray skies and unusual weather might ease somewhat before their own primary growing season. From what we have learned, even without poor weather, growing food is often difficult enough here. The land may be well suited, in places, for sheep, but people are another matter entirely.


  Though of no great consequence here, there is also significant news from home of relations with France. Louis XVIII's reign has always been a rule mostly in name, with the people not eager to embrace a line of kings again, either in fact, or in all but name such as Napoleon's reign during the war years. Their government is undergoing great changes almost daily, and the place of kings and the ruling body of the country are still being defined. They have produced a charter which defines the monarch's power, it seems, declaring that France will now be ruled as if it were again a Republic. As the damages from the people's revolution can still be seen there, it is doubtful the people, still feeling victorious even a generation later, would accept anything less.

  England has extended its hand in friendship to whatever government emerges, the better to keep our longtime enemy under some watch. France's power around the world has already been reduced drastically. As the nation that produced the leader of the European alliance forces, it is unsurprising they have borne the brunt of the sanctions, though whatever governing power should emerge, the news suggests that almost everyone beyond a few radicals strongly desire to put the days of Napoleon behind them. This can only bode well for relations with England while France needs all the help it can get in reconstruction.

  The main conflict remains with Spain. With the French largely subdued, the Spanish remain the nation with international power closest to England's own. While our efforts nearly sparked a war, and many in power, particularly in the southern reaches of our colonies, push to pursue it, the effort has been delayed by circumstances. When no one can feed their families, the idea of feeding soldiers does not meet with anyone's approval.