The race

"Ladies and gentlemen in the audience, thank you for waiting." We hear a voice speaking to the crowd through an open window in the cabin. "At long last, the Family Gathering's air race to about to commence. Who will best the others to claim victory? Once again, the hottest annual race in Britain, no, the world, is ready to begin! All airship teams, are you ready to lift off?" The airships taking part in the race all sound their whistles at once, as if to cheer themselves on. "It sounds like they're ready to go. We're now distributing aether communication receivers to all participating airships. I'll be following all at a higher altitude in order to provide the audience with a live broadcast. And, of course, I'll be doing my best to deliver the proceedings of this exciting battle to everyone, listeners and racers." I look over at Nemo. She smiles and places the aether communication receiver, which looks like small suitcase, in front of me. "It's almost time. The moment of the century draws near." Nemo fiddles with the dials, and we hear a voice coming from the device. "All airships will only launch once the starting signal is given."

"Will you guide us?" Nemo asks.

"Of course!" I say.

A barometric altimeter, a compass, map, pawns, and the receiver. This is my battlefield.

"The countdown begins now." Nemo opens the voice tube at the commentator's announcement.

"Engine room, start the engine." Nemo says.

"Got it. Start the engine." Victoria says.

"Five... Four..." I hear the sound of the airship's turbine as the voice from the receiver continues. "Three... Two..." The airship begins to vibrate. It's different from the Ornithopter. This huge mass is about to rise into the sky, and I feel this shuddering in my bones. "One! Begin!"

The starting signal sounds, and our airship rises into the sky. I have a sudden feeling of weight. Probably the floor pushing up on me.

"Rising at full speed to race altitude!" Nemo says.

"So far so good, Nemo! We've got the best start out of all of them!" Lupin says.

Nemo and I look at each other, hearing Lupin's report. It seems like we're off to a promising start.

"It appears all the airships have entered the course." the commentator says. "And off to a head start is a new entry joining us for the first time, the Nautilus II, the Prince, and his Servants!"

"Nemo! Did you seriously register us under that name?!" Lupin asks.

"Don't you have a sense of humour?" Nemo asks.

"This, uh... That's name's a bit long, so we're gonna shorten it to the Nautilus." the commentator says.

"What the--?! They cut out the most important part!" Nemo says.

"Hmph... It's like he reads our minds." Van Helsing says.

"What? You guys don't want me?! You really don't want me?!" Nemo asks.

"No time to mess around! Incoming attack from four o'clock! Turn to two and escape!" Lupin says.

"Gotcha turning full speed two o'clock!" Nemo says.

"They've started attacking already... What a hot-blooded bunch." Van Helsing says.

Suddenly an explosive noise rattles the windows.

"Are we hit?!" I ask.

"No, that wasn't us. It was a different airship." Nemo says.

"Oh, my! The race just started, but the Hispaniola has already advanced to 2nd by shooting down a ship!" the commentator says.

"We're getting a Morse code transmission from the second-place ship... 'You're Next, Nemo. Have fun going down in flames.'" Lupin says.

"Why?! Why do they hate me so much?!" Nemo asks. Ah... The sky pirates think Nemo stole this ship from them.

"I sent them a message back. 'If you want to beat me, you'd better be ready to die. Good luck, manure-brains.'" Lupin says.

"Waaaah! Why are you agitating them?!" Nemo asks.

"I see the Hispaniola has picked up speed!" the commentator says. "Its guns are dead-set on the Nautilus."

"Nemo, you should be able to see London's outer wall on the left." I say. "From here on out, try to keep us at a height of at least 500 meters."

"Roger that. I'll avoid their attacks while staying at this altitude!" Nemo says.

"Their gun barrels are turning! They're about to fire!" Lupin says.

We hear an explosion, and feel a jolt.

"Whoa, the Nautilus has been hit! Black smoke is rising from the airship's gondola!" the commentator says.

"Damage report!" Nemo says.

"No change in gas pressure. We're good." Van Helsing says.

"The engine's functioning normally." Victoria says.

"I went to check the damage. The shot merely grazed the exterior. There are no problems." Doreen says.

"Right... We're going to distance ourselves in one leap. Victoria, set the engine all the way into the red zone!" Nemo says.

"Pushing it to the red! Check!" Victoria says.

"Captain Nemo? The engine is literally screaming. The heat is incredible. Victoria and I are already naked." Doreen says.

"It's better than being shot down." Nemo says. The ship gains altitude, skidding through the sea of clouds. Soon, a huge cloud appears before us. "What luck! Let's head right in!"

We plunge into the cloud without an ounce of hesitation. Once we're in this world of pure white, the ship's bow rises.

When we pull out of the cloud , the enemy ship is flying far below us.

"Caleb, how's our altitude? Are we still good?" Nemo asks.

"We're just under the flight limit... But we're fine." I say.

"It seems the Hispaniola has lost sight of of the Nautilus." the commentator says.

"Nice! Full speed ahead!" Nemo says.

"The ships that had fallen behind have picked up the pace, and have caught up with the Hispaniola!" the commentator says. "While everyone is jockeying for position, the Nautilus has gained a significant lead! However, there is no shooting going on. It seems they're sending one another light signals. What's this?! It looks like all the ships are going to cooperate in order to take down the Nautilus!"

"Seriously?!" Nemo asks.

"They aren't about to led a first-timer take the championship." Van Helsing.

Suddenly, the airship shakes violently.

"Shots fired at our lower armour. We have a hole in our hull, but it's small." Doreen's voice delivers this grave news in an absolutely deadpan voice.

"There's a problem in gasbag number 12. I'm dumping ballast water to adjust our buoyancy." Van Helsing says.

"Seven o'clock! A full barrage coming from below! Take evasive action!" Lupin says.

"On it...!" Nemo says.

The airship tilts wildly.

"Shots avoided. That was pretty good!" Lupin says.

"The Nautilu isn't giving up! They've avoided a concentrated attack from the other ships!" the commentator says.

"Nemo, what are you going to do? If this keeps up..." I say.

"If we were only up against one ship, it would be a different story...! But there are so many!" Nemo grips the wheel grimly. A single line of sweet runs down her cheek. Suddenly, we hear an explosion. Not just one, but a series of bombing bursts, going on and on... But we're not shaking, so we weren't hit.

What's causing all that noise...?

"Wow! What's going on?! A round of sweeping shots is coming through the clouds to attack the impromptu team!" the commentator says. "Ships are going down in flames one by one, and disappearing into the clouds!"

"Someone else is attacking the other ships? I wonder if they're trying to help us.." I say.

"Nah... That girl isn't helping us. If anything she is our greatest enemy." Nemo says.

"Hah! Ah-hahahahaha!" A piercingly loud peal of laughter fills the skies.

"A new heavily-armed airship has appeared from the clouds beneath us! That's the one that took the others!" Lupin says.

"Hoooooow do you like this?! Nemoooooo!" Ardan says.

"Behold our prototype battleship, the Albatross!" Impey says.

"I was afraid this would happen...! How can she have better flight performance when it's so heavily armoured?! No fair!" Nemo says.

"We both knew you were dooooooomed to fail the moment you stepped into the ring with me, a true genius of science!" Robur says. "Hahahaha! Prepare to return to the ground, as dust!"

"Hey, we built the Albatross too." Impey says.

"And I created the zombies that crew it." West says.

The ship shakes with an ungodly sound, and I'm thrown against a bulkhead.

"Caleb! Are you hurt?! Say something!" Nemo can't take her hands off the wheel, so she shouts from where she's sitting.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me, and keep flying!" I say.

"Right! What about the rest of you?!" Nemo asks.

"The engine's been shot! One of the turbines is damaged!" Victoria says.

"Another of the gasbags is done for. I've tossed out the rest of the ballast water. If we lose another, we're going down." Van Helsing says.

"Things are getting exciting up here, everyone!" the commentator says. "It's a one-on-one battle, right before the goal! Will the Nautilus be able to escape?! Or will the Albatross blow the Nautilus to pieces?! Whose airship will reign supreme?!"

"Ugh! This is more like a war than a race! He's yelling like it's some kind of show, but our lives are at stake here!" Nemo says.

"Nemo, at this rate...!" I say.

"I guess I have ****...! Good thing I had an idea just in case something like this happened!" Nemo reaches out and forcefully hits the switch of the panel labelled "Danger! Do not touch!"

The entire airship shakes thunderously, and I hear a shout of surprise from Van Helsing, at the rear deck. "Nemo! A huge machine just showed up back here. What is this?"

"A huge machine? I didn't know you'd put anything back there..." I say.

"Heh heh! Always save the best for last! It's the only weapon on this ship. Let's deliver our secret fist to Robur's face!" Nemo says.

"N-Nemo! The engine's going up in flames! There's nothing an amateur like me can do about it!" Victoria says.

"Nemo! If you're going to hit her, do it quick! That creep's about to take another shot at us!" Lupin says.

"One thing at a time, girls! There's only of me to go around!" Nemo says.

"Nemo, there's only one you but I can do something to help!" I say.

There's no time.