The Old Firm: A Steampunk Tale

VI

"That's not one of ours," Rebecca said the optics still glued to her face.

"Damnit," growled John, "get to the rail car." He grabbed Maureen and gave Stefania a push as the airship began to descend towards the border.

The thrum of the airships engines could clearly be heard now as the double balloon of the airship came into view beneath the heavy cloud cover, massive propellors whipped the air as the turrets of the airship hummed into position and opened fire on the Britannia side of the border.

"BLAST!" cried John over the steady thump of the guns. The rail car stood there waiting smoke roiling out of its stack as its oversized boilers bubbled at full capacity. John stood at the cars door grabbing each of the girls by the waist and lifting them up into the car. 

"Gets back across the bridge!" he ordered as he swung himself aboard and made his way to the back balcony of the car to watch airships attack. 

"The wire is going crazy!" called out Maureen as Stefania and Rebecca joined John. 

The rail car leapt forward with much grinding of metal on metal quickly picking up speed as the Engineer throttled her open sparks shooting out from its drivers as it barreled towards the Scotia Bridge looming larger and larger with every moment. 

Columns of thick black smoke filled the sky as the airship changed course aiming for the Scotia Bridge.  "More speed!" bellowed John into the comm tube. With a lurch the rail car gained more speed even as it began to climb the grade to the bridge. 

The airships forward turrets swiveled about and began to belch forth mighty flashes, their projectiles exploding closer and closer ot the rails and the approaching bridge. The rail car roared onto the bridge its stack billowing a column of smoke that stretched ten times its length as it flew across the rails its boilers throttled wide open. 

"Cheeky bastards," shouted Rebecca shaking her fist at the airship as one of its projectiles showered them with water. 

The airship dipped low dropping in altitude and cut loose with a broadside from its turrets.  "Hang on tight! barked John as the barrage tore up the rails just ahead and the rail car jumped the tracks slowly twisting over onto its side and plowing into the greenery all about the descending grade from the bridge.

To be Continued.....

The Old Firm: A Steampunk Tale

V

     Rebecca lifted her skirt in both hands as she made her way across the empty rails to join Maureen as she wrote in her notebook. The twisted border gates hung twisted and cracked from their rollers, the mighty gears that powered them broken and shattered, strewn about from the force of the blast. The wind whipped Maureen's brown hair about her face as she worked her skirts tight to her legs.

     "Definitely not the work of Welsh Separatists," Maureen said as she tucked her notebook into her purse.

     John was off on a hilltop his array of optics out as Stefania helped him assemble them.

     "I don't see why we were called in for this," Stefania said her accent more pronounced when she was concentrating on other tasks. "This is a job for the Blackguards."

     "Politics m'dear. Too many of the Blackguards have connections to the  Scotia Nostra. You've seen the broadsheets. Their pets in the High Command are screaming for blood while pressuring the more level headed staff. They even have their whipping boys in parliament brewing up a storm of hot air." John shook his head and raised his optics to his eyes peering over the border into Britannia.

     "Lots of nervous people down there," Rebecca said as she and Maureen topped the hill and joined John and Stefania. 

     John chuckled. "As long as no one gets a twitchy finger in a pod everything will be fine. he handed the optics over to Rebecca who began to scan the sky.

     "No Air Patrol's on either side I see," she said after a few moments.

 

     "Too risky, both governments pulled them back, all too easy to drift across a border and cause an incident." 

     "None of this makes any sense, " Stefania muttered. 'An empty train, no note taking responsibility, what type of organization does that?"

     "A smart one that's for sure,John said. "Makes our job that much harder." He squinted peering over the border. 

     Maureen looked about. 'Do you hear that?"

     "I don't hear anything," john and Stefania both said looking to Maureen Johns head cocked as he listened.

     "There," she pointed to a bank of cottony clouds towards Edinburgh. "Sounds like engines."

     "Rebecca swung the optics around and peered into them. 'I see something," she finally said. 'It's big whatever it is."

  To Be Continued............