Back outside dawn was breaking, and Rebbecca made her way down to the edge of the city to watch. Down by the low perimeter wall, out of the maze of streets, the air was brisk. Rebbecca was used to the sweltering temperatures of the engine room, and she shivered slightly, not entirely without pleasure, as she leaned on the wall and watch the sun burst over the clouds.

Here above the clouds there was no weather. Days were always sunny, nights were always clear. Only the wind changed, but it seemed that the city had been designed with that in mind. The streets were short, and rarely straight, so as to baffle the air and keep it from howling unchecked amongst the populace. The city itself sloped upwards from the edge, the staggered rooftops dotted liberally with windmills wheeling in the breeze, using the energy to grind grain or to pump water, or storing it in giant flywheels and steam batteries.

Rebbecca stood for a time with her eyes closed, feeling the warmth of the sun and the cool of the breeze on her face. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and started walking again, this time towards the airship docks. Hart’s workshop would be open by now, and that was her first stop.