Chapter 85: Royal Engineers Part 2

Why are you here?" A sandy-haired man stepped forward, his arms crossed.
"Name please."
"Petty Officer Johns, Ma'am."
"Thank you, we'll keep the formalities to a minimum so they don't interfere with our work. Call me Commander. In an emergency yell 'Cal'. As to why I'm here, his Highness the Crown Prince Hurbert appointed me. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him. My job is to ask questions which you will then find answers for."
"How are you going to determine the teams and team leaders? Ensign Cesare, Commander." A second man addressed her.
"You know what you're good at better than I. Your dossiers are on my desk and I will be reviewing them, but for now I want you to divide yourselves. Team leader will be the highest rank on the team, for now. I want five each on boiler and engine, and two for the displacement work. Those two will eventually lead the design of the envelope."
"Why don't we just build a ship like the Ferandicans? Engineer Second Class Digney."
"Good question. First, the Ferandicans haven't shared their design with us. As allies, it would be in poor taste to steal it. Second, their ship is great in calm weather but struggles in any kind of wind. We need an all-weather craft. Third, because we are going to build the best airship in the world, and we can't do that by starting with someone else's ideas. The better we understand the principles of airships, the better we can make ours work. Now, enough talk. Divide yourselves into teams, then team leaders come and see me in my office upstairs. It will be the one with me working in it." Cal saluted them, then headed to her office.
A man in immaculate uniform waited for her.
"Chief Petty Officer O'Brien." He stood up as she came in. "I will be managing your security."
"Thank you, I have a man who will be guarding me while I'm off-site. You and your detail will take care of when I'm at the Academy. If you have any concerns, you will bring them to me immediately. Aside from that, let your men know to obey safety instructions from any of the engineers. I have no intention of losing anyone to accidents."
"Yes, Commander. I will bring them to introduce you tomorrow."
"Excellent. Dismissed." Cal pulled paper over and began sketching out ideas. A knock on the door interrupted her.
"Excuse me, Commander. I'm Petty Officer Tallinan; I'll be your purser and manage the administrative side of things. Commander McAllen has briefed me. As your team grows, I'm afraid I'll need to bring in assistants."
"Pleased to meet you. I've set aside an office for you next door. If you need anything, bring me the requisition."
Ensign Cesare entered as Tallinan left.
"I've been made team lead for the two of us working on the envelope. You said something about displacement?"
"Yes. The purpose of the envelope will be to displace enough air to make the ship float. We will need something lighter than air to fill the envelope. I'm told hydrogen is cheapest and most plentiful."
"Dangerous, too, not sure I'd want to sail on a firetrap."
"Part of your work will be making the envelope as fireproof as possible, but first we must determine how much a cubic foot of hydrogen will lift. That will give us the size of the envelope and the maximum weight of the craft. I don't trust the numbers I've been seeing, there's too much variance."
"We'll need a supply of hydrogen, and balloons to fill. I'll check with the purser."
"Good, let me know when you're ready to start testing."
"Aye, Commander."
Digney entered next.
"What do you have in mind for the boiler?" He scanned the room and visibly relaxed. Keeping the room obviously about work was the right move.
"The weight of the water and boiler may be the single heaviest part of the ship. To give the ship range we'll either need a large boiler to supply steam or a smaller boiler at higher pressure. The large boiler isn't a problem; we can lift one from any ship or train. I'd like to focus on creating the highest pressure possible. I'm thinking a sphere, but I'm open to suggestions. You'll need to design boilers, then test at what pressure they fail. You have the space behind the plank wall to use."
"I recommend we start with small models and work up. The pressures won't be identical, but it will be a good start. Layers of steel may be the best bet, but one of the guys is looking into other materials to reinforce it."
"Sounds good. I will expect you to produce a safety protocol for testing. I'll tolerate no injuries from carelessness."
"Aye Commander. I will have something for you by the end of the day."
The last team leader was a grizzled man with a scar across his cheek.
"Engineer First Class Landers. My team and I've already had an argument about the engine. One of the fellows insists the piston engine won't give enough power. The screw will need to be bigger and turn faster than in the water. We'll blow up a couple of engines testing his theory, but first, we need to know the shape of the screw. So with your permission, we will start there."
"Good thinking. Carry on."
Cal went to look out the window. She itched to be down messing about with the teams but proving she trusted them to do the work was more important. Birds flew past, their wings a blur for the small ones, the larger birds gliding on wings held rigidly. Too bad they couldn't fly like a bird, but she had no idea how they could copy the flapping wings. Cal watched the gulls glide on the wind a bit longer, then went to her desk and began sketching.