Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology

by Jay Barnson

  She was the best, if only because of her “accessories.” After her accident those many years ago, her father had built for her a manually movable, lightweight prosthetic for her tiny figure. It was clunky, but it was light enough and maintained whatever position she put it into, so she was able to hold a pencil and learn to write, among other activities. But it had inspired the inventing side of her father, and over the years he had built her an array of removable arm extensions, each of them more innovative than the last.

  When she was twelve, she began building her own. And when they had together invented a design for a better flying machine, Marina adapted her arm to that, too, a new dream of piloting her own Zeppelin burning in her adolescent mind. Together, they had spent much of the Great War building small planes and other aircraft for the war effort, using their meager funds to breathe life into their splendid designs.

  Their plans had been elaborate, often too grand for reality, but with their combined ingenuity, they ended up with something truly fantastic: an engine of enormous proportions, powered by a tank filled with filtered water drawn directly from the ocean. Ranks of oil burners would line the bottom. The channeled steam would power the outside propellers.

  Overall, they created a ship of fantastic size and ability, capable of hauling weapons, cargo, or even passengers; one that wasn’t hindered by typical weight limitations or other constraints.

  It had been near completion when Marina was orphaned during the Russian Revolution, her father a victim of senseless rioting. Instead of becoming disillusioned, she had clung to their dream with more vigor, completing the project on her own and naming it the Nikita, after her father.

  Only Marina could pilot the airship. She flew with her amputated arm attached to the console, freeing her, in a way. Earthbound, in her homeland, she was an oddity, preferring the marvel of machines to the advances of men. She slowly lost her friends and remaining family and their preoccupation with the more frivolous things in life, while she simply became more and more consumed in her work.

  But in the air, she obtained the control she had so desperately desired. It was an odd sort of vanity that had pushed her to design the Nikita with only herself capable of driving it. Instead of a steering wheel, an insert allowed her to intrinsically “feel” the controls through her phantom limb. In becoming one with the ship, she set herself free.

  Though relations between the Soviet Union and much of the world were tenuous, at best, it did little to curb international trade. Money was money. It didn’t matter who was buying or selling, as long as there was profit to be made.

  Alone, she lounged lazily in her pilot’s chair, tossing with her free hand a small, metal gear into the air, over and over for idle entertainment, while her other arm remained attached to the central steering mechanism. Marina barely reacted when a knock flitted at the closed door. “Come in.”

  A man entered—Artur, she recalled absently, one of two attendants she had hired to maintain the engine room. They and a cook made up the small band serving as Marina’s latest crew. After nearly ten years of working as a freelancer, she had developed a respectable clientele, most of whom resided within her own country, but at times, such as now, beyond those borders.

  Most of her profit was given to the government, the newly coined “Soviet Union,” and though she was left with mere change at times, it was the price she found herself paying under the new regime.

  “Captain Silvestrov,” Artur began, “I was told to inform you that all supplies are secure and that everything is proceeding smoothly.”

  Marina raised an eyebrow. “So you climbed all the way up here to tell me that there’s no news?”

  “I . . .” Artur stuttered. “Yes.”

  “Brilliant,” Marina said, her tone deadpan. “Now kindly go make yourself useless somewhere else.”

  Artur nodded curtly before exiting. Marina returned to throwing the gear up in the air, but accidentally missed catching it and grimaced as it fell to the ground just out of reach.

  Marina stared at it blankly for a moment. “Artur?” she yelled. “Artur, come back and be useful.”

  There was no response, which meant he either ran once he left her, or he purposefully ignored her. Despite one of the options being blatant insubordination, Marina couldn’t quite blame him for his actions. She sighed and, after peering out the window to see if they were still on the correct path, detached herself from the control deck and dropped down to grab her piece of benign entertainment.

  Their first stop, just a few weeks into the long journey, was Singapore. With only marginal interest, Marina had overseen the acquisition of food and other necessities for her small crew. Her attention was far more focused on the oversized leather gloves she always donned during stops. Concerned stares focused on her mechanical extension became a bore after a while.

  Their main destination was Sydney, Australia; a delivery of Russian caviar and the finest French wine to a rich European ambassador, Sir James Elliot. Once they were paid, they would continue their triangle route until they reached Seattle, Washington, where a shipment of vacuum tubes awaited them. Those would be sold again in Russia, and thus the cycle went.

  In the end, there was far too much time to think. Most of her lonely thoughts fell to family.

  Had she accompanied her father to the market, perhaps it would have been different. . .

  Her first thoughts are never of self-preservation—when Marina hears the gunfire and the screaming, she runs outside into the sooty, humid air, watching in horror as the sea of people scatter in fear. A baby’s cry interrupts her panic. Marina steps back inside, locking the door before rushing to her infant sister’s cradle and lifting her into her arms.

  “Hush, little one,” Marina coos tenderly. Her beating heart becomes frantic as she hears the noises from outside grow louder, closer . . . Placing the screaming baby back into bed, she begins to barricade the door, ignoring the pained cries from the crowd, the occasional banging on her door, even the increasing gunfire in the street. She quickly runs back to Larissa and holds the infant close to her chest, praying her own erratic heartbeat won’t be sensed by the tiny child in her arms.

  Larissa’s cries soon quiet to a gentle whimper, and the two stay in the far corner of their small, thankfully windowless home, protected by any potential stray gunfire by the bedframe between them and the door.

  In truth, she knows. The absence that fills her soul is undeniable. From the first shot of gunfire, she knows instinctively that they will not be returning. Her step-mother and . . . her heart clenches at the thought. Her father is dead.

  And so when they simply never return, she accepts it with a quiet dignity, though many silent tears are shed. Marina later learns the reason, how the assassination of the Czar had brought about rioting and further death, how they were to accept a new leader now, a new name, a new country . . .

  Marina cares for none of that, cares not what banner she flies under, what leader she salutes. She yearns only for the family she’s lost.

  Marina and her crew stayed in Sydney for several days, both to restock supplies and to cure their brewing cabin fever. While in the city, she kept an eye out for possible gift ideas for Larissa, but there was nothing within her meager budget that she wouldn’t be able to purchase just as easily in Leningrad.

  And so, fully stocked, but with an empty cargo hold, they set back onto the ocean and toward Seattle.

  At nearly midnight, Marina debated whether to trust the wind and get some rest, when a stiff knock on the door interrupted her train of thought. “Come in.”

  Artur entered; Marina could count on one hand the amount of times she’d seen him since that first day. “Captain, we have a problem,” he said hurriedly. “There’s a stowaway on board.”

  Marina’s eyes widened in shock. “We’re three days out from shore. How could anyone have hidden themselves for that long?”

  The man shrugged. “We caught him sneaking out from the kitchens—Viktor has him tied u
p in the cellar.” Viktor was the cook; Marina had to consciously remind herself that. “I was sent to ask for your orders.”

  Marina detached herself from the control deck and, after quickly perusing her options, grabbed a frightening-looking hook from the wall. “Lead the way,” she said, attaching the extension to the stump of her arm.

  She followed the airman down the stairs, past the crew quarters, and to the kitchen. There, she saw Viktor and Grigory, her hired muscle. “Captain,” Grigory said in curt greeting. Viktor was too focused on the door.

  “I’ll speak with our stowaway; let me in.”

  They quickly stepped aside. Marina forced what she hoped was an intimidating expression. She flung open the door.

  Confusion flooded her features as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She leaned over to Grigory. “He’s just a kid,” she whispered.

  “I’m not a kid!” came the indignant reply.

  His accent was foreign, but his Russian seemed fluent. Feeling considerably more confident, Marina stepped inside. “What are you doing on my ship?” The boy, with his unruly blonde hair and soft eyes, simply watched her, tight-lipped and wary. He was tied to a chair in the middle of the expansive cellar.

  “I know you can understand me.” Marina took another step forward, then grabbed a barrel and set it in front of him. She took a seat while making a show of inspecting her glinting hook, taking malicious joy in the flash of fear that crossed the stowaway’s features. She decided to play the part even further. “Tell me why I shouldn’t simply throw you overboard and save myself the paperwork.”

  The boy’s eyes grew wide. “Please, ma’am, I just . . . I needed a ride.”

  “Cute. But not good enough.”

  “If you could just let me speak to the captain, m-maybe we could come to some kind of agreement.”

  Marina raised an eyebrow. “I hope you weren’t expecting someone taller.”

  “You’re the captain? But you’re a—” The look Marina gave him was deadly. “. . . you’re young.”

  “Good save.” Marina leaned back in her chair. “What is your name, kid?”

  The boy’s eyes narrowed. “Roy. And I’m not a kid; I’m seventeen!”

  “You’re seventeen? But you’re . . .”—she gave him a mocking pout—“. . . kind of short.”

  “I’m sitting—”

  “You’re simply full of terrible excuses, it seems. I’m still anxiously awaiting your reasons for sneaking aboard my ship.”

  Roy huffed loudly. “I don’t appreciate you mocking me.”

  “Are you really in a position to question my methods of interrogation right now?” Marina absently flashed her hook in the faint light.

  Roy watched her nervously before speaking again. “I’m a citizen of the British Empire. My father is a diplomat, so we travel all the time. My family has been living in Sydney for almost four months. I hate it there—it’s hot, and I swear, every indigenous creature will kill you as soon as look at you. So, I decided to go back to England.”

  “By sneaking aboard my airship and stealing my food supplies?”

  Roy paused before nodding. “Yes.”

  Marina inspected him suspiciously. “What did you say your family name was?”

  “I didn’t. It’s Elliot. My father is James Elliot.”

  The son of my best buyer. . . Now I have to keep him. But the kid didn’t need to know that. “Well, now I’m in a bit of a bind,” Marina said thoughtfully. “I can’t take you back to Sydney; we’re exactly on schedule, and any delays mean less money for me and my crew. But I can’t very well take you all the way to England. I could throw you into the ocean . . .”

  “My family is rich!” Roy blurted out. “Very rich. They’d pay you for my safe return—double what you’d normally charge a passenger.”

  Marina pretended to consider his offer. “Or, in exchange for the same amount of money, I could drop you off in Seattle—our next stop—and leave you to your own devices. You’re obviously very clever, and I’m certain your parents would happily give me some reward, in exchange for not anonymously murdering you.” When he didn’t immediately respond, Marina stood up. “It’s a bit rainy this time of year in Washington,” she finished, heading for the exit.

  “There’s more!” Roy exclaimed. Marina turned around, her expression daring him to impress her. “Do you believe in love, Captain?”

  “I pray you aren’t trying to seduce me,” Marina replied flatly.

  “No, no, no,” Roy said, utter distain written on his features. “You look like you’re my mother’s age.”

  “You said I looked young—”

  “What I meant to say,” Roy continued, a dreamy expression appearing on his face, “is that there’s a girl.” Marina rolled her eyes. “She’s not just any girl—she’s gorgeous and brilliant. We were neighbors before my father forced me to move to that bloody city. She said she’d wait for me, but why wait if we don’t have to?”

  “Is this actually supposed to convince me to take you all the way to England?”

  Roy bit his lip. “I’d kind of hoped so.” Marina sighed and headed for the door again. “Come on—just listen for one moment! We’re in love, she and I.”

  “I just don’t care.”

  “But hasn’t there ever been someone out there, someone you’d do anything for? You can’t tell me you’ve always been a terrifying bi—” Roy cut himself off, apparently realizing that he wasn’t in a position to call anyone names. “—bi-ee-autiful . . . terrifyingly beautiful woman—captain, who—”

  “Just stop. Your asinine reasoning pains me.”

  “But don’t you have someone you love?” His tone had turned desperate.

  The question gave her pause. She so often neglected to mention her sister, perhaps out of a need to avoid association with that matrimonial life she had shoved aside. Or perhaps it was because she so rarely allowed herself to acknowledge it aloud, that prickling fondness she felt in her heart towards her sister.

  It was not the same love of which Roy spoke, but it made no difference in her answer. She turned without hesitation and said, “Yes.”

  “Then you must know what it’s like to be separated, how agonizing it is.”

  The statement struck a chord with her. “I do,” she said, this time a bit more softly.

  There was something in Roy’s eyes, something naive yet sincere, that spoke to Marina on a deeper level. “Then you know why I have to get back.”

  Marina sighed and looked down, no longer willing to match his gaze. “We will discuss this later.”

  The moment Marina saw the disturbance in the cloud cover, she knew.

  Without hesitation, she set aside her spy glass and veered as sharply to port as her airship would allow. The entire contraption groaned. With her free hand, Marina slammed on the button labeled “emergency” and a jarring buzz filled the Zeppelin. Within moments, her small crew had arrived on her deck.

  Viktor seemed particularly irate. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “We have pirates,” Marina said, knowing her words would trigger an immediate flood of fear through the men.

  “What?” Artur stammered. “Are you sure?” Marina handed him the spy glass, and he gasped when he spotted the signs of another airship. “Maybe they haven’t seen us.”

  “They’re headed straight for us,” Marina countered. “But maybe.” Maybe.

  “What do you want us to do, Captain?”

  Marina bit her lip as a plan quickly formed in her head. “First, get the kid out of the cellar. We’re going to need his help, too.”

  Roy’s hands were still tied as Viktor dragged him into Marina’s headquarters. “Was he serious?” Roy said upon seeing Marina. “Are there really pirates trailing us?”

  “Gaining on us, presumably.”

  “Do you have any kind of weapons? Like, a canon mounted on the outside?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This is a Zeppelin, not an airplane. It’s designed to be bulky, but
decently fast and capable of protecting itself from most threats simply because it can fly straight over it, so it’s ideal for oceanic transportation—”

  “I do not need a lecture on flight mechanics. I would really prefer to figure out how to not be murdered by pirates.”

  “I could still throw you overboard—that would guarantee that you’re not murdered by pirates. So, if you’d at least like to maintain a few options for how you die, I’d suggest you shut up and listen.” With her arm still attached to the main deck, Marina turned to face her men. “We can’t fight them; our only option is to run, but in order to have a chance at running, we have to be lighter than them.”

  “We’re already running on near empty!” Grigory exclaimed. “What more do you want us to do?”

  “We’ll dump everything else. Everything. Food and water, clothing, cooking supplies—everything. I’ve already set us on course back to Sydney. We can restock everything and even dump the kid off for good measure.” She shot him a glance to remind him that he was still to keep quiet. “Being six days behind is far less than ideal, but ultimately I’d prefer that to being dead.” They all nodded in agreement. “And I mean everything; little things will add up. Now go! I’ll open the loading bay just a fraction.”

  They, including Marina after she opened the hatch, all scrambled out of the room and around the large airship, gathering absolutely everything that wouldn’t be vital to their return home. Excess clothing—not that there was much—food, cleaning supplies, spare shoes. Marina even threw out some of her fancier arm extensions, reminding herself, for sanity’s sake, that she could simply make new ones . . . hopefully.

  Only one item caused Marina to hesitate—those silly aviator goggles Larissa had insisted she take on her long journey. Despite the madness around her, the dashing to and fro of her crew members and Roy, she had taken a moment, allowing fierce sentiment to fill her as she removed the goggles from her dark hair and stroked the worn leather.