Roma Aeronautica by Daniel Ottalini Read Free Book Online

un-propaganda worthy airship I’ve ever seen . He remembered seeing it for the first time. And I kept wanting to ask, “That’s it?”
    He stood in the engine room of the Imperio , focusing intently as the engineer explained the basic principles behind the large machine that occupied half the room.
    “So, when running this beauty here, you must make sure the pressure gauges never cross into the orange or red. That could destroy the engine itself, start a fire, burst the boiler, or tear the ship apart. All of which are very, very bad.”
    Alexandros nodded weakly. He had no real talent at machinery and had only learned the bare minimum necessary to pass certain courses and advance to this level.
    The engineer continued. “You put the coal into this small opening using the shovel. The fire will create steam, which we use to run our propellers and power the ship. To augment this, we use a bit of the black liquid. This gives us spurts of power and will eventually surpass coal as the main source of fuel, once we can get enough of a production process going.”
    As the topic of the conversation began to move along a different tangent, Alexandros examined the engine. The heart of the airship was mostly dark iron in color, the deep black and gray tones punctuated by the bright silver or copper of various grills and latches. Off to one side, connected by thick lengths of wire and tubes, sat a control panel. All the gauges, levers, and knobs that monitored and controlled the metallic beast were controlled from this station. In addition, a speaking tube descended from the ceiling like some strange cylindrical stalactite.
    “And thus, this station can be run by just two men. However, a crew of four or five is necessary to avoid secondary problems and stupid errors,” the engineer finished.
    Alexandros looked up at this abrupt end to the lesson, and a boy next to him raised his hand.
    His voice was slightly squeaky, betraying his recent adolescence. “Chief Mekanic, sir. What if we have ideas to improve the engine?”
    The man laughed.
    “You’re not to be fiddling with this here machine, Cadet Tuderius. It is a delicate piece of machinery that I am entrusting to all of you to return to me in one piece. One working piece that is.” He glanced at Tuderius. “One working, complete, unmodified, engine,” he amended quickly.
    Seeing no further questions, the chief mekanic assigned the small work group to their positions. Alexandros was inwardly relieved at being handed a shovel and told to scoop and dump the coal into the engine. Manning the shovels with him, Cadets Oclai Tuderius and Ignatius Scarus ensured the engine was constantly fed. A cadet that Alexandros had never talked to before, Regorus Armini, hunched over the control panel, his large form shaking slightly. Nerves or terror? Things were not looking up.
    Finally, the last boy stood next to the speaking tube, head nearly jammed into the funnel opening. Cadet Danis Caderie closed his eyes, waiting for the word from the bridge team that they were ready to launch. Behind them all stood Chief Mekanic Atalis Hendras, watching their movements with his spectacle-rimmed eyes.
    Alexandros shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He leaned on his shovel while Tuderis prodded the coal chute with his instrument. Time seemed to stretch onward like a slow-moving river. Had five minutes passed? Ten? Alexandros was about to ask their instructor what time it was when a sudden squawk from the speaking tube interrupted him. Caderie tried to speak, coughed once, then passed the message.
    “Bridge says quarter speed ahead.”
    Alexandros felt a lurch beneath them as the vessel began to rise slightly. Glad to finally have something to do, he turned to collect a shovelful of coal, but only succeeded in knocking the coal out of Tuderis’s shovel. They both cursed, aware of the calculating eyes of Mekanic Hendras on their movements. Trying again, this time the three trainees succeeded in creating a