Chapter VII: Troubles Over Air II

24 Degrees, Jing Dynasty morning.

Cuifen Chen Wu, 6th May 1894, Xing Deng Bao;

"We're the only crew on the aircraft." I couldn't help but laugh at their poor attempt at a joke. Yu Lee keeping formalities was bad enough as is, now I had to deal with sarcasm? Although their expressions hadn't budged, bewilderment was the only thing we all had in common now.

"We were told by the captain that we would be the only personel abroad. Apparently one of you had contacted the captain before the flight to shorten the amount of staff. We were honestly suprised but the captain... Xiong xiangsheng had assured us that we'd be fine. I'm not too aware of his abilities but his capable of operating an airship of this size single-handedly. We routinely had to do inspections on the engines and rudders but besides that, he navigated and commanded whilst somehow repairing anything that we reported. Up until now, that is..." Nikolai refrained from any eye contact. We're the only ones abroad? It hadn't sunk in, because I didn't want it to. We were alone, drifting up thousands of meters in the sky. What could possibly go wrong?

"Do you know at least who asked to shorten the staff?"

"Unfortunately, it didn't seem necessary to ask since the captain told us himself." There goes the only possible lead we had. If it's only us then, where is Oreal? I grimaced at the thought, I already wanted to point fingers and call it a day. But his life was very much in danger or worse... My thoughts didn't linger for long for our attention was all focused on the concerning sound machinery dying. A long moan went out along with the lights flickering. Nikolai went straight for the door.

"No one is in the control room!" He burst out.

The duo dashed out towards the corridor.

"Wait!" Their thudding remained the significant response left.

"Tao, you said the transponder devices are broken, correct?"

"Yes, Oreal and I were the first to find the body, we went to the closest transponder device but it was broken. We both decided to split up to find any operational ones, although..." He took a second to pause, adjusting his silk gloves, removing the little creases that were there.

"Once I checked my half, I went back to the original meetup location at the fountain in the central room. I waited long enough to realise that he wasn't coming back."

"What did you do after you realised Oreal wasn't coming back?" Yu Lee interrogated further.

"I went to the control room, I presumed the captain or some staff member would be there. But there wasn't anyone in sight. Once I came back, I found Nikolai with Mo Zhong in hand. I assisted him, arriving at the infirmary. We both thought he was a lost cause until Nikolai thankfully found the emergency first aid kit. All the medical supplies had been removed or damaged."

Had someone infiltrated the airship? But they'd have to get through security somehow. Whoever it was had enough power to convince the captain to shorten the staff for some reason. It couldn't be the other staff, considering our status and close partnership. The only logical reason would be one of us... One of us had killed the captain. A murderer on the loose. But the question is... who and why? Had someone found out? Or no. I resisted further temptations, instead focusing on the conversation at hand. I need to get more information. Yu Lee was already well ahead with the plan, I suppose he had his chance to use his detective skills once more.

"What time did you meet Nikolai and where specifically?" He asked. I glanced at the clock set on the wall, turning a quarter to eight.

"If I recall, I met with Nikolai near a corridor, the one leading to the conference room. It was at half-past six if I'd take a guess. Me and Oreal found the body at six; I'm certain of that. I did notice something. Oreal looked confused and concerned it didn't look like himself. As though he might be hiding something. He needs to be found, one way or another. I fear for his well-being too." So Mo Zhong was found injured at six-thirty by Nikolai. I wanted to ignore the elephant in the room Oreal. With his whereabouts unknown it posed a risk to him and to us. Maybe Nikolai or Juhua had an idea?

"Thank you, Tao Ying. We should follow the others to the control room. If Oreal is indeed behind this, we must be cautious. Staying together is our top priority. We never know, there may be another situation on our ha-" Peering over the window, smoke covered where the morning light once should have been. In response, the ship began tilting.

"It appears we do. Let's get moving!" It worsened fast. An assortment of items from my room danced straight to the ground. Further rumbling thundered throughout the chamber. We all catch our balance, barely.

"Time appears to be against us. Come on!" Slipping into flats, I lock the door keeping Mo Zhong safe. We dash through the interlinked corridors with Tao Ying leading the direction. The tilting continues as candelabras rattle drunkenly, flickering in and out of light. Echoes of dying machinery haunt us with each passing step. The sound is coming from a specific area...

"One of the engines must be damaged. It's causing the airship to try and readjust itself."

We all continue running, the adrenaline keeping hold of the fear from settling in.

"Well, we would have known sooner or later. With the second main engine down, we won't be able to land properly without external assistance!"

Tao's head forehead was beginning to swelter, as droplets fall from his temples. To which I almost had been the target. I felt exhausted myself, both from running and dodging the sweat of Tao... Yu Lee still looked as energised as ever. I don't know how he does it. After what felt like decades we finally entered a promising corridor.

"It's the control room!"

We all halt, me and Tao Ying attempting to catch our breaths. Yu Lee meanwhile, with still all the energy in the world, what it feels like to be young again...

"What's the status report on the zeppelin?" Yu Lee entered. Juhua and Nikolai frantically run around the room. With Nikolai flipping switches until diverting his attention back at us. Juhua takes command, adjusting the wheel and a collection of buttons in an attempt of keeping us afloat. Every slight movement of the wheel, caused the airship to croak in defiance.

"It appears the second main engine is down, someone purposefully siphoned the coolant out, meaning one of the engines has overheated. Not only that, but all the other engines have lost a significant amount of their coolant as well. We were barely just able to close the valves in time before all the engines died."

"Is there anything that can be done about it?" Tao finally caught his breath and walked in too.

"Well, we can't land since we don't have the training or the experience to do that, and well... attempting that would be suicide. Not only that but without the captain, a lot of things have taken damage. Piping and wiring all around the airship have been tampered with as well. It's caused irreparable damage at least for us. So considering the current damages, it's hard enough as it is to stay balanced up in the air. Technically we have enough fuel to arrive at Baifong. Luckily in the meantime, I've managed to stabilise the zeppelin at this angle by siphoning the energy levels more evenly to the correct proportion."

Then there's still hope then if we get to the capital in time that is.

"What about the emergency hot air balloons?" Yu Lee asked, noticing a map of the ship on one of the walls.

"It says here there should be some emergency hot air balloons that we can use to escape."

"Ah, about that. Someone's already launched them, that was our first idea when we got here. But when I checked, someone had already done the deed. Although, there is another one somewhere aboard the ship. But only the captain has the whereabouts of it. Even so, it won't be able to carry all of us out. So... they must have escaped."

We didn't have many options, think come on think. The rest of us stood there. Nothing left valuable to say. Do we keep going and hope we just make it before something else goes wrong?