The Continuing Adventures of Cloud Nine and the Bonny Anne (closed)

[GypsyGirl84]

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Name: Aleksandra Nicola Ginevra Tuttoilmondo
Birthdate: July 8, 1860 (age 23)
Place of birth: Carson City, Nevada
Height: 1.75 m(5'9")
Weight: 59 kg(130 lbs)
Languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Cantonese, several Native American

Background: Aleksandra is the youngest of six children, born to aristocratic parents who migrated to America after the dissolution of the Kingdom of Poland and the Papal States. The family would eventually migrate to Virginia City, Nevada, where Alexsandra's father would become an attorney to several of the area's citizens, including Ben Cartwright. In 1858, when Carson City became the territorial capital, Alexsandra's father would move his practice there.

Being born in a boom town like Carson City, and having a father who represented a client with a half million acre ranch certainly made Aleksandra's childhood an interesting one. Alexsandra's mother taught her children at home, ensuring that all six had private educations to rival any in the noblest homes of Europe. Alexsandra also became a surrogate granddaughter to the patriarch of the Ponderosa, and was exposed to all the benefits of living in the Sierra Nevada, including learning from the Natives that the Cartwrights called friends. Another unusual addition to Alekandra's education came about when Carson City made the unusual (for the times) selection of a Chinese national by the name of Chon Wang for their new sheriff. Chon Wang, after being befriended by Alexsandra's father, taught the young woman the fighting skills he learned in his past.

Despite the emphasis her parents placed on her formal education, they were very reluctant to allow her to leave their home to further that education. Finally, though, they decided to send her abroad. Aleksandra initially studied at one of the first women's colleges established at Oxford, but became distracted with a brief platonic friendship she established with a man she met in London. The man in question described himself as the world's first consulting detective, and she became intrigued by his methods. Aleksandra didn't stay in London long, though, as there was a bit of tension between her and the detective's chronicler and companion. Instead, inspired by what she had learned, she returned to America, where through her persistence, she became the Pinkerton Detective Agency's second woman agent. Some of Pinkerton's clients, concerned by the animosity that has developed between Edison and Tesla, and the effect that could have on their airborne and ground based investments, had asked Pinkerton to keep an eye on things. Aleksandra has become one of the agents to do just that.

-----

Chapter one: Riding on Cloud Nine

(San Francisco, October 4, 1883)

There was something just perfect about sitting at a table looking out over the San Francisco Bay, Aleksandra decided as she enjoyed her cup of coffee. The sky was clear, the breeze was invigorating, and the floating city of Cyllene hung over the bay, looking like a low hanging fruit just ready to be plucked.

The headlines of the paper sitting on her table said something about the Orient Express making its first run today, as well as some innovation being tested in the floating city that hung in the skies over the District of Columbia, but those articles went unread, just as the breakfast on Aleksandra's table went untouched. Because today was the day.

Today was the day that her and her partner were going to take the Cloud Nine out on her maiden voyage. The Cloud Nine was a small airship that used the latest in automation technology, as well as other innovations made possible by scientific breakthrough, the Cloud Nine was literally going to take the young Pinkerton detective places in her career.

Aleksandra chuckled when she thought of her partner. The detective didn't think it could be possible, but her partner was even more excited about the launch of the Cloud Nine than Aleksandra was. But considering her partner was involved in a number of the innovations on the small, two-person airship, Aleksandra allowed that is should have been no surprise to her.

One of the gentlemen sitting at a nearby table gave her a smile and a nod, looking for some encouragement to come join her. Aleksandra didn't give him any. She was used to male attention, especially in the frilly dress and hat she was having to wear, which was "all the rage" at the moment. That was going to end soon too, Aleksandra thought to herself smugly. Just the working clothes of an airship pilot after today.

Aleksandra took another sip of her coffee and decided to read the newspaper as she waited for her partner to join her for breakfast.

 

[Lily_Wight]

Bio

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Name: Mabel "May" Cooper
Birthdate: Dec 3, 1865 (age 18)
Place of birth: Synefopolis
Height: 1.52 m(5')
Weight: 40 kg(90 lbs)
Languages spoken: English, Polish

Background: Mabel Cooper was born the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute named Bell Cooper and an inventor of high standing. Her mother kept the pregnancy secret to avoid being banished from Synefopolis for being unable to work.

Mabel's mother never revealed her father's identity; she fell from the walls of the city under mysterious circumstances when Mabel was 4 years old.

The Madame, Viktoryia, raised Mabel after that, teaching her to speak polish, dance and play piano in the bar until she was old enough to follow in her mother's footsteps.

Mabel was naturally graceful and her performances were a big hit with the drinkers. So big a hit, Viktoryia had taken preorders for her twelfth birthday. To avoid ending up like her mother, Mabel ran away when she was eleven, living on the streets and busking for a living.

Homelessness isn't tolerated on Synefopolis, and she had to work very hard to avoid being caught and deported. After a couple years, she got the hang of it. She ate regularly, had a warm place to sleep on a secluded rooftop, and even bathed semi regularly in a water tower.

There was a certain corner where Mabel would dance in the evenings, which is where Elyas first laid eyes on her.

Elyas Janikowski was an accomplished scientist and inventor who had retired when his arthritic hands became too painful to hold a tool. He took Mabel in mostly as an act of charity, but soon put her to work as a set of surrogate hands in his workshop.
She was a sharp girl, and before long Elyas was treating her as a true apprentice rather than an assistant.

The two of them lived and worked together happily for years, until one day, when Mabel was 17, she found Elyas dead in the lab, and their prototype stolen. She was heartbroken, but was afforded no time to mourn.

The assassin came after Mabel next, and he would have succeeded if not for the timely intervention of an attractive young Pinkerton named Aleksandra.

She was forced to kill the assassin before learning his true motives, but the Pinkerton's investigation revealed he had been hired to steal the project Mabel and Elyas had been working on. The prototype was never recovered, nor the identity of whoever hired the assassin.

The Pinkerton Aleksandra Tuttoilmondo took pity on the twice orphaned girl and took Mabel under her wing. Now, the pair travel the country, Aleksandra working as a Pinkerton, and Mabel helps out where she can, usually fixing or upgrading the things.

Aleksandra is an exceptional fighter, and has begun the long process of training Mabel. Her small frame lacks power, but her dancer's grace lends itself well to the discipline.

In her spare time, Mabel tinkers on her new project: rebuilding the stolen prototype from Elyas' notes.

 

[Lily_Wight]

Life on the ground was hard to adapt to. On Synefopolis there was energy in the air, like a hum. It was so ever present that May didn't notice it until it was gone.

She felt it's absence most at night. Without Alex, it would have been impossible to sleep at all. She had her own energy, that felt like home.

May felt cold and reached for her partner like a missing blanket, but Alex was gone. She groaned and and tried to go back to sleep, as awareness seeped back in.

Today was the day: Cloud Nine's maiden voyage.

May's eyes sprang open and she rolled out of bed. She could barely contain her excitement as she rushed around the room getting dressed, squeezing into a pair of jodhpurs with a white blouse and black vest.

She hummed to herself happily as she buttoned her blouse in the vanity, but she was too excited to braid her hair. The wind would feel better blowing through her hair without it anyway. May almost forgot to tie her cravat before she bounded downstairs to find Alex.

It was easy to spot the striking young detective in the dining room, and May pecked her on the cheek from behind as she liberated a piece of toast off her plate.

"Couldn't you just explode?" She asked sitting down.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Alex couldn't help but smile at the younger woman. She knew that May would be a small, unstoppable bundle of energy this morning.

Alex gestured for May to take the seat opposite her, pushing her untouched breakfast towards the tiny woman.

"Myself," Alex said, an impish grin on her face, "After we're airborne, I'm wondering how long it will be before you have every plate inside the Cloud Nine removed and are head deep in wiring and hydraulics."

Taking another sip of her coffee, Alex added, "We have five days until we need to attend that conference on the...what is the name of that floating pleasure palace?" Alex pursed her lips in concentration, then nodded. "The Cherry Rose. After the conference is over, Alan Pinkerton has a couple of other matters he wants us to look into. So where would you like to go for our five day shakedown cruise?" Alex asked.

 

[Lily_Wight]

Alex did her best to teach the younger girl table manners, but when she was this excited they flew right out the window.

"After we're airborne, I'm wondering how long it will be before you have every plate inside the Cloud Nine removed and are head deep in wiring and hydraulics." Alex asked, grinning.

"I'll give you a day." May said swallowing a mouthful of food. "I want to put her through her laces before I dig into upgrades."

"We have five days until we need to attend that conference on the...what is the name of that floating pleasure palace?" Alex pursed her lips in concentration, then nodded. "The Cherry Rose. After the conference is over, Alan Pinkerton has a couple of other matters he wants us to look into. So where would you like to go for our five day shakedown cruise?" Alex asked.

May's eyes lit up at the question, but her mouth was stuffed full. She chewed faster and swallowed laboriously.

"The first thing I want to do is test her maximum altitude, and see how fast she can go." May took another bite. "I don't really care where we go."

She bounced in her seat as she finished eating, smiling uncontrollably.

"My question is, when can we go?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Well, there are ceremonies and forms and..." Alex began, then looked over at the other woman and grinned. "All of which I personally took care of yesterday, because I know the only thing you want to do is get your hands on the Cloud Nine. So now we're waiting for a telephone call to tell us that all our supplies are on board. The front clerk assures me that he'll rush straight out as soon as he receives that call. Then it's off to the mooring tower for you and me, once I get another bit of business out of the way," Alex told May. "And there's the other bit of business now."

A stout man in his fifties carrying a leather case, bald and clean shaven save for a pair of mutton chops, was looking around the scattered dining tables when his eyes lit on Alex. The man made a beeline to the table Alex and May were seated at, and produced a Pinkerton badge from his jacket pocket.

"For you, Miss Tuttoilmondo," the man said, handing over the leather case to Alex. Alex noted the man actually got her last name correct without prompting.

Alex open up the case, gave the papers within a cursory examination, then closed it. "Everything appears to be in order," she told the man with a nod. The man gave a quick nod to Alex, another to May, then hurried on his way.

"Hurry up and eat your breakfast," Alex said with a smile, turning her attention back to May. "I don't want you eating into the victuals as soon as we're on board."

 

[Lily_Wight]

May further defied safety and propriety, shoveling the rest of her breakfast into her mouth and struggling to swallow it all. Alex smiled and laughed quietly, watching the faces May made, which made her blush.

"Sorry." She said wiping her face. "Let's go."

"We still have to wait for the call." Alex reminded her.

"Oh yeah." I said sitting back down. "And we still have to pack."

Alex gave her a look.

"I still have to pack?"

Alex sipped her coffee as May sprinted back upstairs to pack up her things.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Alex covered her mouth as she laughed at the sight of the disappearing May. She was such an adorable young woman, Alex thought.

Alex opened the leather case and perused some of the papers in it. Most of them were official looking documents, giving her permission to act in the interest of this Ministry or that Department. A few were letters of introduction for when she became acquainted with the governors of the floating cities. There was a memorandum from Alan Pinkerton himself, outlining her possible duties in light of the Pinkerton's recent contract with the US Department of Justice.

Then there were pictures. Pictures of skeletons. Unusual skeletons. With notes from zoologists that Pinkerton had contracted to look at the pictures. Along with the notes was a handwritten letter from an Agent of the newly created United States Secret Service.

Alex saw that the front desk clerk was approaching her table, so she immediately put the papers and pictures back in the case. There would be time to study them later.

"I just received the telephone call, Miss Tuttoilmondo," the man said politely. "Your airship is ready. It must be quite exciting to work for the Pinkertons and have such a mode of transport available for you."

"It has its moments," Alex replied with a half smile. "By the by, I think I saw in your shop that you had those vacuum flasks for sale, the ones invented by...by..."

"Dr. Weinhold, Miss," the front desk clerk supplied. "A company here in San Francisco just got the license to produce them."

"If you would, include two of those on our bill. One with coffee, the other with hot chocolate. You can send then with the bellboy when he comes to collect our baggage. My companion should be done packing in forty five minutes."

"Of course, Miss," the front desk clerk replied. "Will there be anything else?"

"That will be all," Alex answered. The front desk clerk gave a small bow of his head and made his way back to his station. Alex took another sip of her coffee and let her mind drift to the view of the bay.

 

[Lily_Wight]

May was a blur as she buzzed about the room packing her things. She had three open bags into which she sorted everything she owned.

The biggest bag was for her clothes, which she still had trouble believing. Ever since she had been with Alex, her wardrobe had been increasing well beyond what was necessary. She couldn't really admit to herself how much she liked having pretty clothes, but she never fought when Alex suggested a new outfit. Not that Alex was frivolous about clothes, May just wasn't used to having more than two outfits.

She still had the ratty old coveralls that had been her only clothes for years, only now she pulled them over clothes befitting then partner of an up and coming Pinkerton detective.

The middle size bag was for her tools. May's incessant tinkering kept her tools and implements strewn about her workspace, and packing them took longer than the clothes because she actually took the time to organize them as she did.

The last, and smallest bag was an ancient valise made of worn black leather that she had "inherited" from Elyas. This bag she packed last, and took extreme care to organize the stacks of notes and shop sketches that she had been working with. She sealed them back into their folders and note books before lovingly tucking them back in the valise.

May closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, calming herself the way Elyas had taught her, before securing the valise to the top of her welder with leather straps and slinging them both onto her back.

She strapped the other two bags together the same way and carried them down to meet her partner.

Alex was standing by the door to the street with her bags stacked beside her.

"Ready to go?" May smiled.

"Almost." Alex held out a hand to accept a metal cup from the clerk.

"Uncanny,Miss Tuttoilmondo." He said handing May a steaming metal cup, as well. "45 minutes exactly."

May blushed and looked down at the cup, then gave the clerk a questioning look.

"It's a vacuum flask, complete with hot chocolate." He said smiling.

"Really?" She looked to Alex for confirmation. Her partner nodded. "Wow, thanks."

She took a sip and winced as it burned her tongue.

"Um...it works." She laughed.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"The wonders of modern technology," Alex smiled at her companion, sealing her own flask back up. "I believe we have an airship to catch?"

The bags were loaded behind the backseat of an open horse carriage. As Alex and May climbed into the back seat of the coach, the horses gave a little stir as they were startled by a bang from a strange three wheeled contraption making its way down the street.

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"A Butler Petrol Cycle," Alex said to May. "I've heard they had made their way to New York from London, but I had no idea they had arrived in San Francisco. Remarkable." Pausing for a moment, Alex confessed to May "I don't have your talent for mechanical innovation, but it does seem to me that the design could be made sleeker somehow. Well, we have an airship to catch." A word to the driver sent the ladies on their way.

Jt was about a thirty minute ride to the outskirts of San Francisco to a collection of buildings and mooring towers, where a regularly scheduled passenger blimp deemed a "shuttle" flew between San Francisco and the floating city of Cyllene. One or two ornithopters could be seen parked beside some of the open hangars, and other odd experimental vehicles. A large wooden sign with bright red letters advertised the odd assortment of steel and wood as the San Francisco International Port of Air Vehicles.

Alex studied the sign and shook her head. "A bit wordy for my taste. There needs to be some way to shrink it down a bit." Pointing up to the Cloud Nine, she added, "Our chariot awaits. I'm told the elevator that takes us up to it is electric, not hydraulic. With all these changes, I have a feeling I'm going to be your assistant in ten years."

 

[Lily_Wight]

"A Butler Petrol Cycle," Alex said to May...
Alex confessed "I don't have your talent for mechanical innovation, but it does seem to me that the design could be made sleeker somehow. Well, we have an airship to catch."

"Elyas showed me a schematic for a steam velocipede once." May said watching the petrocycle roll by. "Maybe I could figure out how build us one."
...

Alex studied the sign and shook her head. "A bit wordy for my taste. There needs to be some way to shrink it down a bit."

"I would call them Eyries, were it up to me." May nodded, agreeing with her own opinion.

Pointing up to the Cloud Nine, she added, "Our chariot awaits. I'm told the elevator that takes us up to it is electric, not hydraulic. With all these changes, I have a feeling I'm going to be your assistant in ten years."

May stifled an excited squeal at the sight of their new home, and nearly squealed again at the idea of Alex becoming her assistant.

"I would be a tough but fair teacher." May joked. "I'm not sure if all assistants get spankings, or just 'feral urchins' as Elyas used to say when I was acting up."

The thought was out of May's mouth before she considered it. It made her imagine Alex dressed as she, herself, used to, in a greasy pair of coveralls, half unbuttoned with nothing underneath. The outfit took on a distinctly different tone imagined with Alex's more... generous anatomy, and the talk of spanking.

May blushed and looked away as they boarded the electric elevator. A couple men carried their bags, but May refused to part with her welder for even a moment.

The elevator was the big enough to carry the women and their luggage five times over. On the surface, things like this were rare, but Alex didn't bat an eye until she could see Cloud Nine come into view.

Cloud Nine was so beautiful it made her heart hurt. She looked at Alex, tears welling up as she smiled.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Alex draped her arm around the younger woman's shoulders and gave her a light peck on the forehead. For Alex, the Cloud Nine was a visible sign of approval from Alan Pinkerton. It meant that not only did he approve of her past accomplishments, but that he trusted her to represent the interests of the Pinkerton Detective Agency and its clients in the newly opened aerial frontier.

But Alex knew the Cloud Nine meant much more to May, and Alex was glad to have played a part in giving this to May. "Home sweet home," Alex said, giving May's shoulders a squeeze with the arm around them.

A steel ramp connected the boarding tower and the Cloud Nine, and Alex and May watched as the men carried their bags on board and then descended down the elevator. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Alex gave May a swat on her behind. There was no force behind the swat, just enough to make a noise.

"And that, my dear assistant," Alex laughed, "Is for thinking of doling out spankings when I come under your power. Maybe I should get my own in now, before I come under your terrible rule. Now let's go check out our new home."

Alex had to admit that the double decked Cloud Nine was indeed a beautiful sight to behold, with the living quarters in the fore, the pilot house, boiler room and other mechanicals in the aft, and an observation deck connecting the two on top, with a passageway running between the two areas on bottom, and a subdeck beneath it all for storage.

"I know there's actually quite a luxurious bathtub in our quarters," Alex drawled, "But if I know you, it's the engine room you want to check out first."

 

[Lily_Wight]

"Home sweet home," Alex said, giving May's shoulders a squeeze with the arm around them.

Alex released her embrace as the pair boarded their new home, and May took the opportunity to look away and wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked up to Alex in every way: professionally, personally, in fashion, in pure beauty, not to mention stature. Her emotional strength was only the latest thing May wished to emulate. Alex never seemed to look down on May, but she had never seen the Pinkerton cry, and May was embarrassed to be doing it in from of her again.

A steel ramp connected the boarding tower and the Cloud Nine, and Alex and May watched as the men carried their bags on board and then descended down the elevator. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Alex gave May a swat on her behind. There was no force behind the swat, just enough to make a noise.

May squealed girlishly in surprise.

"And that, my dear assistant," Alex laughed, "Is for thinking of doling out spankings when I come under your power. Maybe I should get my own in now, before I come under your terrible rule. Now let's go check out our new home."

"You may, of course, exercise your power now." May walked in a circle around Alex as she talked. "I will endure any number of spankings." May did her best to sound aloof and authoritative. "But I will have ten years to build a machine to exact my spanking retribution." May laughed.

Teasing soon gave way to awe as May continued to take in the sights.

"I know there's actually quite a luxurious bathtub in our quarters," Alex drawled, "But if I know you, it's the engine room you want to check out first."

"What's the point of taking a bath before you've gotten good and dirty." May said over her shoulder as she started carrying the bags to their quarters. "If you want to take a bath now, I'll be in the engine room for about an hour." May kept talking the whole way down. "Though, you may want to be clothed when the harbor pilot arrives, plus I was thinking, you know if you wanted, we could find a nice secluded bit of sky to watch the sunset."

May set the bags down and turned to look at Alex. Her demeanor changed from idle talk to nervous blushing.

"If you wanted to take a bath then, I thought maybe, I could join you, if you want, you know... We could keep the curtains open to watch the sunset together." She looked at her feet as she spoke. "Anyway, you don't have to decide now, I still have to run through the mechanical systems before we depart."

May adjusted the strap of on her welder as she she ran out of the room. The boiler room was a thing of beauty. Elyas had taught her well, but he wasn't especially wealthy. Everything on this ship was the newest model, brand new and shiny. Still it only took May Agee minutes to get over her shock and start tinkering.

As promised, she didn't start any projects, but she saw little problems everywhere she looked: valves not locked, pressures nudged up or down. She set her welder down by what would become her work bench and started tweaking the settings on every system to better suit her liking.

When she finally tore herself away the harbor pilot was on deck talking with Alex. He had his little one man airship tied to ours.

"Sorry, I'm late." May said wiping her hand on a towel before shaking the man's hand. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Not at all," Alex said, taking a handkerchief out of her purse and wiping a black mark off of the tip of May's nose. "Mr. O'Connor..."

"O'Connell, ma'am," the harbor pilot corrected. He was a youngish man, perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties, with dark red hair, a thick handlebar mustache and a clean shaven chin. Truth be told, O'Connell would have preferred for May to have been gone a bit longer, as he was trying his best to charm Alex. The fact that she did not get his name correct did little for his confidence in his charm.

"My apologies, Mr. O'Connell," Alex said with a gracious smile. "Mr. O'Connell was just giving me a few suggestions about where we could take in the sunset," Alex told May.

"I'd be happy to take you ladies to the best spot to catch a green flash," Mr. O'Connell suggested in the most ingratiating fashion he could. "That's a ---"

"An optical phenomenon produced by the refraction of the light of the setting sun," Alex finished for him. "I read Jules Verne's Green Ray as soon as I could get a copy," Alex continued, turning her attention to May. "If it's not in our ship's library, I'll make sure I pick up a copy at the first port of call. It's a lovely story," Alex assured May.

Turning back to the pilot, she added, "I wouldn't dream of taking you from your duties, Mr. O'Connell, just to escort the two of us around for a bit of sight seeing. And speaking of duties." Alex gave a pointed look at the one man ship. With a harrumph, O'Connell made his way back to his little ship.

"So, was everything to your satisfaction, including all the changes you'll need to be making?" Alex asked May with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye.

 

[Lily_Wight]

"Not at all," Alex said, taking a handkerchief out of her purse and wiping a black mark off of the tip of May's nose. "Mr. O'Connor..."

...

The shorter woman blushed at having her nose wiped for her. May's stature made her seem younger than she was, especially when standing next to her statuesque partner; not being able to keep her nose clean didn't help.

...

"So, was everything to your satisfaction, including all the changes you'll need to be making?" Alex asked May with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye.

"It's a good place to start." May beamed as she followed Alex into the pilot's house. "I'll keep my promise not to start any projects right away."

Alex gave her an incredulous smile. The harbor pilot's small craft was hovering in front of their bow, and he made little signals with flag semaphore.

"He's ready." May said, knowing full well Alex had memorized the code too. Alex gestured for her to take the helm.

"I couldn't, really." May waved her off, but Alex insisted. "Together, then."

May relented and stepped between her partner and the shiny brass wheel. Alex stepped up behind her. When May put her hands on the helm, Alex put her hands on hers. Alex's ample bussom rested on May's shoulders, which neither of them took notice of, as it was a common occurrence.

Together they gently went through the ignition sequence and throttled up to follow the pilot out of San Fransisco's busy traffic lanes. He led the Cloud Nine out over the bay, gaining altitude until the only thing in sight was sea and sky.

"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines, going where I list, my own master, total and absolute." May quoted under her breath as the harbor pilot pealed off and returned to his duties.

"What's that?" Alex's breath tickled her ear.

May smiled, turning to face her.

"Comerado, I give you my hand!" She spoke up, further reciting as she took alex's hand in both of hers. "I give you my love more precious than money, I give you myself before preaching or law; will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Alex tilted her head to one side, giving May a half smile as she squeezed her hands lightly. Closing her eyes, she brought verse from her own memory.

"Aloft and lighthearted, we take to the open skies,
Healthy, free, the world before us,
The wide blue skies before us,
Leading wherever we choose."

"I hope Mr. Whitman will forgive me for taking liberties with his iines." Alex looked out the front of the pilot house. "Our guide is signaling his return to port. Shall we set sail for our sunset, Captain?" Alex asked, giving May's hands one last squeeze before releasing them.

 

[Lily_Wight]

"I hope Mr. Whitman will forgive me for taking liberties with his iines." Alex looked out the front of the pilot house. "Our guide is signaling his return to port. Shall we set sail for our sunset, Captain?" Alex asked, giving May's hands one last squeeze before releasing them.

"He will have to." May smiled. "We have officially loos'd those limits too." May looked out at the horizon then looked back to Alex, surprised. "I'm the captain, now?" She laughed. "Then my first official order is to ascend."

Alex pulled some levers and the Cloud Nine started to tilt, bow raising to the sky almost thirty degrees. They both held on and smiled at one another as they felt the powerful engines do their job beneath them.

After a few minutes she leveled the ascent. It didn't look different from the windows, but a quick look downward showed they had gained quite a bit of altitude.

"Set a couse up the coast?" May suggested and Alex did so, spinning the wheel condifently until the Compass read north.

"Now let's get you out of that dress." May grinned mischievously, while she unbuttoned her vest. "I want to work up a sweat before our bath."

May left her vest on a hook inside the pilot's house as she walked out onto the deck. The breeze was a little chill and her nipples pressed against her white blouse as she started the stretching regimen that Alex had taught her to do before martial arts training.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Now let's get you out of that dress." May grinned mischievously, while she unbuttoned her vest. "I want to work up a sweat before our bath."

"I think I've created a tyrant," Alex laughed as she headed for their quarters. "Let me change and I'll be right back," the older woman said as she ducked into the aft quarters of the airship.

Once she had closed the door, Alex hurriedly removed her dress, corset and all the undergarments and accessories that marked the well dressed woman moving about in well-to-do social circles during the latter part of the Victorian era. Once she removed all her garments, the casual observer (though it might be doubtful that an observer of the nude form of Aleksandra Tuttoilmondo could do so casually) would note that, from her neck down, Aleksandra possessed no body hair.

The latter was the result to a visit of the office of Dr. Amelia Walker on the floating city of Cyllene. Approximately ten years ago, an opthamologist in the city of Tulsa developed a technique called galvanic electrolysis, which he used to remove ingrown eyelashes. Dr. Walker had extrapolated this technique to remove hair from other parts of the body. Since one of the constant slanders against suffragists was that they were less feminine and usually possessed more body hair (an insult that had become quite popular with the publication of Charles Darwin's works), it had become almost the norm for high society suffragists living in the western United States to avail themselves of Dr. Walker's services. Though Alex did not consider herself political, she was the sole woman detective in the world's largest private detective agency. Thus, in a moment of weakness, she allowed a well-heeled female friend to pay for a visit to Dr. Walker's offices.

Immediately afterwards, Alex wished she had convinced her friend to buy Alex a lifetime supply of Star Safety Razors instead.

The pain did eventually dissipate.

The visit, though, did introduce Alex to some of Dr. Walker's like minded business associates. A French woman by the name of Herminie Cadolle and her partner, an American woman by the name of Marie Tucek, had created a shop to manufacture and sell women's underwear, specifically undergarments designed to replace the corset. The top half of the replacement garment was called the soutien-gorge by Herminie, a bust supporter by Marie, and just more comfortable than a corset by Alex.

One she had put on her bust supporter as well as her knickers, Alex donned a very loose cotton blouse and a pair of athletic bloomers. Doing a few stretches, she grinned as she looked down at her bare feet, wiggled her toes, and headed out on deck to join her student, apprentice and dear friend.

 

[Lily_Wight]

The pair had done this work out many times. Like always, it was very relaxing at the start. The stretching routine was challenging, but familiar.

Both women were at their peak flixibility, and the stretching was to maintain their readiness, and warm up. Next, Alex led them in several minutes of shadow boxing. May let her eyes close as she continued the memorized moves, enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair and the deck under her bare feet. The forms were steady and gentle leaving the women facing each other several paces apart, ending in a mutual bow.

May set her face in the determined frown Alex had come to recognize as her concentration face, as she settled into a deep stance, knees bent at 90 degrees. Alex kept her expression neutral as she matched her stance and waited.

May's legs tensed before she lunged forward aiming a jab at her opponent's midsection. Alex saw it coming, slapping the attack aside.

"You are telegraphing." Alex said, slapping aside another jab.

May sped up, peppering in kicks with her punches. Alex watched her move. May's footwork was flawless, pivoting, and turning with each attack. Unfortunately, she was more graceful than dangerous.

Alex smiled as she matched step with her student, advancing and retreating, blocking or dodging every attempted attack. It was a dance, one that Alex seemed to enjoy.

The smiling only made May redouble her efforts.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Left block. Right block. Downward block. Two handed slap block. Alex had to admit that May not only had speed, she had discipline. Most especially, none of her kicks or blows were wild. They were precise and well delivered.

"Stop!" Alex barked. Stepping forward, she took both of May's hands. "You're doing better. Especially your kicks. But if you get into a tight situation, remember what I've told you: go for the shin or the knee. Men are boxers. They're used to taking punches to the head. And men have learned from an early age to protect that which is most dear to them," Alex laughed. "Low kicks will disable and immobilize your opponent, allowing you to either finish him or flee, whichever the situation warrants."

Alex rolled her head on her neck, releasing some tension. "How about a Tai Chi exercise, to end things on a soothing note?"

 

[Lily_Wight]

The pair bowed to each other again before starting their Tai Chi. The slow graceful movements reminded May of her dancing days. They weren't especially happy days for her, but she did miss the dancing.

She was so happy at this moment: the cool breeze brought goosebumps to her sweaty skin, but the sun was warm enough for comfort, she had a brand new home with her only friend... May broke out into dance in the middle of their Tai Chi.

May had only danced in front of Alex on one other occasion, but she couldn't help herself. She laughed as she twirled and leapt about the deck, then did her high kick routine. The dance may have lost something without the dress she used to wear, but it felt good to dance unencumbered in form fitting pants. She felt so free she may as well have been dancing in the nude.

Alex laughed and started to clap a beat for her to dance to. May matched the beat and showed off her best routine. Viktoryia taught her to play her crowd and she did it on instinct, keeping eye contact with Alex and smiling flirtatiously as she danced.

"Join me." May laughed holding out a hand.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Alex shook her head with a laugh and waved May off. "When it comes to dancing, I have the grace of a buffalo. And the only thing worse than my dancing is my singing."

Alex gave one final stretch of her body before deciding, "I hate to end the party, but I do have a satchel full of papers to review, and there's that manual on the weather observation instruments to go over as well. The United States Weather Bureau has commissioned the building of an Analytical Engine in Synefopolis, and they're wanting all government and government contracted airships to log weather observations when feasible, which includes us." Sensing the younger woman's disappointment, Alex added, "Why don't we go to the galley, and I'll see if I can make us some lemonade?"

 

[Lily_Wight]

May was an expert at handling disappointment. She stopped dancing and pushed her feelings down, keeping them off her face as she followed Alex to then galley. Alex looked cute in her exercise clothes as she mixed up lemonade.

May must have looked a mess in her sweat soaked clothes. Her cravat was undone, and her blouse was unbuttoned to the point of indecency were anyone but Alex to see. She tried to fix her wind blown hair, but it was no use without a brush and a mirror.

She busied herself, instead, with making a small stack of finger sandwiches to share. May set them on the table as Alex poured the drinks. The pair passed the afternoon sitting in amiably silence, eating and drinking while they each studied their own work.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Alex stretched her back and rubbed her eyes. It was the least glamorous part of the job, the research, the preparation, the paperwork, but often it was the most necessary. The advent of the age of floating cities had accelerated technology to the point that someone working for the Pinnkertons could find herself in a myriad of situations while carrying out her job.

Still, after an afternoon of reading reports, as well as perusing some of the manuals for the Cloud Nine, Alex's head was swimming with phrases like "forced biological convergence," "numerical weather prediction" and "automated gyroscopic trajectory control."

Alex looked over at May and couldn't help but smile. The younger woman was nose deep in one of the airship's technical manuals, her countenance one of utter concentration. Alex stood up, made a motion for May to remain seated and continue her studying, then headed to the pilot house.

Alex gave a quick look over the "Maxwell Board," named after James Clerk Maxwell, whose theoretical work had been the basis for modern automation. All the gauges were showing that the Cloud Nine was holding her position. In the aft portion of the subdeck, a modified Ferrell machine was digesting data fed into it from various instruments and minutely adjusting the position of the Cloud Nine accordingly.

Satisfied with everything in the pilot house, Alex made her way back to the airship's living quarters and straight to the bathroom.

When Alex had been told of her assignment on the Cloud Nine, she was expecting the quarters to be spartan in nature. As far as bathing was concerned, she was expecting a simple shower such as Dr. Delabost had installed in French barracks and prisons. And indeed, there was such a shower in the airship's bathroom, though the two valves on the inside of the shower that allowed the control of the water's temperature provided much more comfort than did the Delabost showers.

But the centerpiece of the airship's bathroom was the largish bathtub in the center of the room. There was room enough for two to sit snugly, if comfortably. The tub was even equipped for aeration. Alex was not quite sure why the designers of the airship had placed such a sybaritic device in the bathroom, but she was definitely not complaining.

Deciding to add another degree of indulgence in the bathtub's first use, Alex began running water into the tub, and added two colored capsules of bath salts to the water (the capsules were infused with the fragrance of lilacs, and were being sold and marketed on the floating cit of Cyllene as bath beads). As the tub slowly filled, Alex went back to the library and piped, "Sunset is approaching."

 

[Lily_Wight]

"Sunset is approaching." Alex's head said poking in the room.

May's keen mind was focus on studying Cloud Nine's manuals, but she slammed the book closed and stood up, sharply. Her partners disembodied head vanished, and May hurried to catch up, eager for a relaxing bath.

Since joining Aleksandra, May had experienced a level of affluence her humble beginning never dreamed of. She had been to bath houses, and hotels with aerated tubs on rare occasions, but the sight of such a thing in her very own home left her mouth agape.

Alex smiled at her slackjawed partner as she undressed. The curtains that normally covered the large glass windows were pulled back revealing the open horizon. There was nothing but sea and sky in view, save for a few clouds and the sun as it lazily approached the sea, already painting a shimmering reflection on it's surface.

May recovered and began disrobing as well. She was still not completely used to the little bloomers and chemise that had become her favorite undergarments, but they were necessary for the tight boyish clothes she chose to wear. She watched Alex disrobe, her gorgeous hairless legs seemed even longer as she slipped out of her bloomers.

Alex tested the water with a toe, and her satisfied moan echoed in the silent room. She sighed as she eased down into the tub and a moment later, May follow suit.

The tub faced the window, and may effectively sat on the taller woman's lap as they reclined in the warm sudsy water. They would have normally faced one another, but the point was viewing the sunset, not practicality.

Alex slid her body down into the water and May's with her. The pair emerged, faces first, smoothing their wet hair back from their eyes. Alex played with May's hair idly after she was satisfied with her own.

Their skin cut quit a contrast, so close together. Alex bent one knee, sliding it up under May's arm. May trailed her fingertips down the long hairless leg.

"I'm jealous of how smooth and perfect your skin is." May mused aloud.