Steampunk Desires: An Erotic Romance (The Complete Collection) (24 page)

*****

A sudden gust of wind pushed the ship downward, in a collision path for the dock.
The helmsman pulled back on the controls, and the engines whined. The ship struggled and rose, but then it stopped. The helmsman checked his gauges: he was out of power.

“Captain!” the helmsman cried, “She’s not coming around! I’ve lost her!”

“Keep at it, Mister Smith,” the captain fired back. “The crew will get power, and as soon as they do, you’ve got to land her! All hands, brace for impact!”

A siren went off inside the ship, and the passengers hunkered down as for an earthquake, bracing themselves against railings, bed frames, and desks that were affixed to the ship.

The helmsman kept working the brass levers, pumping them forward and back, trying hard to get the engines to fire up. The dock loomed before them, mere feet away, then inches away, coming ever closer.

*****

Hearing the sirens, Edwin cried, “Now, ladies!
Give it all you’ve got!”

The women all simultaneously slammed their harness latches onto the bed frames and rubbed each other furiously, simultaneously throwing each other over the edge. All around the room, the gauge needles shot to the right, and so much current flowed through the wires at once that the crackle of electricity hummed through the floor.

*****

Come on!
Come on! Harriet silently urged, watching the gauge on the energy chamber. She saw the dock coming straight for her through the porthole, and moved against the railing. She spied her specially modified PCA sitting behind the energy chamber. She couldn’t remember if she’d discharged it or not, but maybe, just maybe, there’d be enough energy from the times she’d sat down here and masturbated. She quickly slid it into its receptacle and braced herself.

The engine fired up with a whine, and the ship lifted, missing the dock by a hair and coming to a stop. The engine died again. Everywhere on the ship, it was silent.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his brow; this had been the closest to a shipwreck he’d ever experienced, and he knew he owed it to the propulsion crew and Nora’s selflessness for the narrow escape. “Make fast!” he ordered, and the crew quickly fastened the airship to the dockside.

Harriet caught her breath and rushed upstairs. “That’s it!” she cried at the top of her lungs. “We’re docked!” Applause and cheering rippled across the deck as word spread from stern to bow. Soon the entire deck was a pandemonium of cheering and celebration.

“Way to go, Nora!” Scarlett congratulated her. Nora gasped gleefully in her afterglow.

“Oy, you’re one of the team, now,” Edwin beamed, putting a hand on her shoulder. She grinned in response and mouthed “thank you” with her lips. This was bar none the best day of her life.

The first– and second-class passengers had no idea that there was any trouble. They’d gone to their staterooms thinking it was matter-of-course. The third-class passengers watched out the windows from their cabins, bracing themselves and holding their breath. When the ship came to a soft stop, they all let it out and gave each other congratulatory smiles. While some would brush it off as the crew being over-cautious, others would go on to tell the papers, and when the news hit, the entire airship cruise industry came under scrutiny.

Air Cruise Co. investigated the matter thoroughly, and additional provisions were put in for extra energy storage, routine checking of gauges to make sure contributors were actually contributing, and getting the sick ones well so that they could again contribute. All of them made full recoveries, and Agatha quickly reclaimed her status as top producer, as long as Nora wasn’t contributing! The captain held his own during the investigation, and he was found to have done the best he could under the circumstances.

Harriet and Edwin, who started introducing himself as Ed the next voyage, continued to work together. With Ed’s tutelage in people skills, Harriet came to be well liked amongst the crew, and as she imparted her technical knowledge to him, he was able to point things out occasionally that gave her new ideas.

Nora never forgot that fateful day when she helped to save the ship, its crew, and its passengers, yet she didn’t let it go to her head. She joined the crew on the very next voyage as Harriet’s protégé. Harriet finally found the assistant that she needed, someone with Edwin’s upbeat nature and excitement for life and her own thirst for knowledge and methodical way to approach her research.

With help from Nora and Edwin, Harriet’s discoveries multiplied. She was able to collect data faster than ever, and one of the two would point out a potential problem before a test started, which saved hours of time. At Nora’s insistence, Harriet finally eliminated the auto-eject function on the PCA, which made her even more popular with the crew. Nora’s energy output was, as Nora had suggested, attributable to her mental stimulation, which led to a new field of energy collection that didn’t involve sex, an attractive alternative to the more discreet members of society. Giles remained around, and with praise from Nora and eventually Harriet, too, his disposition gradually became friendlier towards everyone.

The crew continued to grow. When Air Cruise Co. added an additional ship to its fleet several years later, Scarlett took over as Master Propulsionsman for the new ship at Edwin’s prompting. He was sad to see her go, but with her natural talent for taking charge and her inspiring personality, she seemed the perfect candidate.

The
HMS Rapturion
prepared for her next voyage alongside her younger sister, the
HMS Enchantment
, preparing for her own maiden voyage. The first beams of sunlight struck the twin leather hulls and bounced off the enormous windows. Far below them, a young man looked up from the dock in wonder: today was his first day on the job, something about propulsion.

The End

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