Syndicatus Evolutio by M J Moores

Author:M J Moores
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781988044149
Publisher: Infinite Pathways Press
Published: 2019-06-14T04:00:00+00:00

Whose Rules are We Breaking?

L ouisa absently rubbed her bruised elbow as she looked out the window of the Steamie—a public steam-powered carriage. It was larger than most personal steam landaus, but only just. Her thigh touched Master Bennett’s at every little bump and jostle from the cobbled roads. Normally, she’d have a couple layers of skirts between them, but for today’s fieldwork, she risked donning a modern riding suit, sans jacket. The attire was, perhaps, better suited to horse lovers, but several female engineers had recently adopted the style. Louisa was, by no means, an inventor but she assisted one, and she wasn’t about to go traipsing around a launch field just to remove layers of dust from her petticoats for the next week.

Still, it meant a lot less fabric between her and her boss and a lot more stares; etiquette be damned.

When the Steamie came to a shuddering stop, Louisa exited before Bennett reached for his pocketbook to pay the coachman. She collected two satchels of supplies from the parcel holder at the back and tried not to limp. Their field rested at the farthest location from the main hangars and airship terminals, but the enormous long-distance zeppelins hovered like the swollen clouds Bennett wished to create. She glanced up to white wisps not fit for seeding.

“Are we ready, then?” Bennett asked, coming up beside Louisa, notebook in hand.

“Ready when you are.”

He scanned the wide-open field, a hand shielding his eyes from the early morning autumn sunshine. “They were supposed to leave a balloon out for us. Set up the equipment by the launch circle. I’ll go into the hangar to see what’s the holdup.”

“Yes, sir.”

Louisa walked out to the middle of the field where the short, dry grasses edged a large dirt circle, and knelt stiffly. Her shins ached from her encounter with Bug and Scythe the night before. She’d been woefully unprepared for the physicality of the evening—something she’d need to work on if she were to continue her little crusade. That was a big if. But who would believe her about a new criminal overlord organizing petty thieves for some unknown master plan? And she had no direct proof to lay blame, just some overheard words and a strange girl’s last name.

“Over this way, if you please,” came Bennett’s voice as he exited the small hangar, waving to someone inside. A walking clockwork platform, slung low to the ground, slowly carried out a weather balloon far smaller than Louisa had anticipated. From the look on Bennett’s face, he wasn’t impressed either. The older gentleman serving as ground crew followed along behind the mechanism. At least the balloon was inflated. It bobbed a good story-and-a-half above their heads, the red paint making the eight-foot radius seem larger.

“Thank you, Tom,” Bennett said, dismissing the old guy.

Tom nodded and tugged on the brim of his tweed flat cap before disappearing back into the hangar. Bennett frowned at the balloon, its basket tied to the stationary walker. He sighed

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