Final preparations

"I see the interior hasn't changed much since I stole it. It does look much cleaner, though." Lupin says.

"The interior doesn't have much to do with speed, turning, or sturdiness, so Nemo said it had low priority." I say. "I was in charge of cleaning the interior, by the way."

Lupin and the rest head for their assigned positions within the ship. We really should have made test flights and studied how to work as a group before the race... But everyone else was so busy gathering money, and we didn't have time for it. We did verbally explain everything to each person, and because they are all so capable they learned their parts quickly.

As for me, I go to the pilot's seat as a stand-in for Nemo. Because I had been working with Nemo on it for so long, everything looks familiar. Huh...? What's this button? I've never seen it before. It says "Danger! Do not touch!", but I wonder what it is... I open the lid to the voice tube nearby. This voice tube is set up so that we can carry our voices to any compartment within the airship. "Can everyone hear me?"

"Monitoring station here. I Hear you." Lupin says.

"Good. We're probably going to be attacked by the other airships, so I need to be able to communicate with your station." I say.

"Weapons station... Well, I'm here, but the guns themselves seem to be missing." Van Helsing says.

"That was Nemo's decision. We don't have the manpower to use a bunch of weapons, so she took them out to save weight." I say.

"So our strategy will be to outrun the others, I see." Van Helsing says. "What do you want me to do, then?"

"There should be a meter and adjustment values for the gas nearby. You'll be managing and adjusting the gas with them." I say. "If there's a gas leak or other emergency, we'll be maintaining buoyancy of throwing off the stored water. You can do that, too."

"Got it, but let's hope that issues never come up." Van Helsing says.

"Engine room, reporting in. I hear you clearly, though it's a little tight in here with both Doreen and me." Victoria says.

"It was already pretty cramped, but we replaced the engine with a larger one for more output. That took up a lot of space." I say. "Doreen, you'll be assisting Victoria. Once the race starts, we'll need you to run around making fixes across the ship. Given how hot it can get, you should both get naked."

"Leave it to me. I'll handle everything according to the manual given to me." Doreen says.

"Oh... Did you happen to bring it with you?" I ask.

"No, but I've memorised every last word, so don't worry." Doreen says.

"You memorised the entire thing?! You're amazing, Doreen..." I say.

"I didn't think you were the type to be fidgeting with machines." Victoria says.

"It just seems like fun. Once I get interesting in something, I like to commit the delve into it." Doreen says.

"Haha, that's very like you." The three voice tubes are working fine. I inform Lupin and the others of what needs to be checked, and have them take a look. As we are all getting ready, someone enters the bridge.

"Hey, there, Caleb! You're doing so well as captain!" Nemo says.

"Nemo, we're up to step 24 on the checklist. There was a small leak in the piping, but it's been fixed. That's it." I say.

"Good, good. Sounds like we're all ready to go." Nemo says.

"What about you? How was Impey's airship?" I ask.

"Impey? Hmm, well, if she was telling me the truth about everything she showed me, then it's definitely a contender. They've got zombies. West says it's a reanimation formula she invented." Nemo says. "And I saw some other candidates on the way over here... Some pirate looking guys seemed really mad at me for some reason... but ours is definitely the best! I'm calling it the Nautilus II, the Prince, and his Servants!"

"Hey, who are you calling a servant?!" Lupin asks.

"Oh, you heard that?" Nemo asks.

"Yes, we can all hear you." Victoria says.

"If you weren't the pilot, I'd throw you overboard during the race." Van Helsing says.

The others continues to protest through the voice tube, but Nemo simply closes the lid, cutting them off.

I leave the conn, to Nemo, and spread open a map on top of some equipment. I place a pawn representing each airship upon it. I'll be moving the pawns according to reports from the monitoring station, so we'll constantly be aware of our positions. In this race, the course and altitude are fixed, and we're be immediately disqualified if we deviate from the rules. That means that it'll be very important to know exactly where our ship I at all times. The objective of the race is to circle the outer limits of London, then return to the starting point. During that time, I'll need to make accurate judgements of the situation. It's an important role. I'll do my best.