“You’re back early, Miss Pannicot. How did it go?”
“Not well, Sarah,” Rebbecca sighed. “Hopefully it will go better tomorrow. Any trouble here?”
“No, Miss.”
“I’ll be down below then, if anyone needs me.”

Rebbecca sat dangling her legs over the railing, watching the giant shadow of the city scudding over the clouds far below. The seven enormous propellers carved great gouges with their sweeping turns. For as long as she remembered this had been her peaceful refuge from the noise and bustle of the city and the engine room. Now there was a dull grating noise audible over the wind, louder again than it had been yesterday. The damage was not visible from here, not without clambering from ring to ring across the underside of the city, dangling in a harness over miles of empty space, but it was clear that it was getting worse every day.