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Authors: Joyce Chng
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inventors was busy building
something in the far-off Straits Settlement of Singapore. It would
take a month to ship their invention over. The Great Gathering
would soon arrive with all its glory.
Chapter Five
Taking Wing
By now, the preparations for the Great
Gathering were in full swing. Katherine found herself in the
background crew working to get the leo-fins as well as the
blimp-fins ready. She was given belated instructions to follow the
group on that special day itself. How ironic , she thought,
polishing the panels of a leo-fin in the sheltered hangar.
Thomas Von Dyke had been released from
Solitary after a week. He was now avoiding her and she liked it the
way it was. No more heckling from this noisome young man.
Katherine shivered. It was almost halfway
through Autumn. Tito was now fully-fledged, brightly yellow and
full of energy. The wings though were not working as expected. She
would have to coax Tito to fly or at least leave the confines of
the cage.
Her dreams were filled with wintry chill,
interspersed with the pleasant glow of spring, filled with Richard
Eddington’s heartening presence. She continued to excel in her
flight training and without Thomas impeding her, she found free
rein and expression. She soared.
~*~
Pilotmaster Lee pursed his lips thoughtfully
and put the letter down. It was passed to him by a trainee pilot,
courtesy from a group of collectors and inventors who had chosen to
remain anonymous. The letter voiced their anxiety regarding the
Great Gathering and that they feared it used for nefarious and
unwholesome purposes.
He closed his eyes briefly. They hinted
somewhat of a plot by anarchists to commit something dark and ugly
on that auspicious day. Why they sent the letter to him was
a surprise and a puzzle.
His Academy was no military encampment or
installation. It was to train students to fly and to navigate the
skies. Not to fight as soldiers. His Flight Academy was a school . To enlighten young minds.
He picked up a small delicate wedge of
mooncake pastry, filled with sweet lotus paste and pine nuts, and
nibbled at it, enjoying its sweetness and the nutty crunch. The
mooncake was delivered, with three other in an ornate lacquered
box, by hand from a fellow Chinese baker who had made his home in
London. It would soon be full moon. Mid-Autumn. It was at this time
his thoughts flew back to home. Father must be ancient now. So
would be his mother. His sisters. Hopefully married with broods of
children to keep them occupied. There would be lanterns and amusing
riddles. It was a time for family.
Lee signed aloud. His family was here now,
in London. With Karlida. With his students. Yet he realized that it
was never easy to have a clean break from the past.
What would happen if he had a child? A son.
Mixed race, half-Chinese and half-English, with his father’s eyes
and his mother’s hair. Playing with a dragon kite or a helicopter
toy – a bamboo dragonfly – a little engineer at heart,
spinning the light whirligig apparatus in the air, in bright summer
days? Oh, these were such pleasant daydreams, fit for a middle-aged
man who was suddenly reminded of his own physical mortality. What kind of legacy would I give my son or daughter?
Now if Karlida would just agree to
marriage…
He laughed softly to himself. She was not
one to settle down that easily.
Now the letter. It had such ominous
import. That alone worried him and sent thoughts of home and family
flying back into the secret recesses of memory. He was not going to
send his students as a military contingent. However, the name Aerial Fleet had already made a solid impression in the
hearts and minds of Londoners. The might of Britannia.
~*~
By the end of the month, the contingents
started arriving, in large or small groups, depending on the size
of the nation invited to the
something in the far-off Straits Settlement of Singapore. It would
take a month to ship their invention over. The Great Gathering
would soon arrive with all its glory.
Chapter Five
Taking Wing
By now, the preparations for the Great
Gathering were in full swing. Katherine found herself in the
background crew working to get the leo-fins as well as the
blimp-fins ready. She was given belated instructions to follow the
group on that special day itself. How ironic , she thought,
polishing the panels of a leo-fin in the sheltered hangar.
Thomas Von Dyke had been released from
Solitary after a week. He was now avoiding her and she liked it the
way it was. No more heckling from this noisome young man.
Katherine shivered. It was almost halfway
through Autumn. Tito was now fully-fledged, brightly yellow and
full of energy. The wings though were not working as expected. She
would have to coax Tito to fly or at least leave the confines of
the cage.
Her dreams were filled with wintry chill,
interspersed with the pleasant glow of spring, filled with Richard
Eddington’s heartening presence. She continued to excel in her
flight training and without Thomas impeding her, she found free
rein and expression. She soared.
~*~
Pilotmaster Lee pursed his lips thoughtfully
and put the letter down. It was passed to him by a trainee pilot,
courtesy from a group of collectors and inventors who had chosen to
remain anonymous. The letter voiced their anxiety regarding the
Great Gathering and that they feared it used for nefarious and
unwholesome purposes.
He closed his eyes briefly. They hinted
somewhat of a plot by anarchists to commit something dark and ugly
on that auspicious day. Why they sent the letter to him was
a surprise and a puzzle.
His Academy was no military encampment or
installation. It was to train students to fly and to navigate the
skies. Not to fight as soldiers. His Flight Academy was a school . To enlighten young minds.
He picked up a small delicate wedge of
mooncake pastry, filled with sweet lotus paste and pine nuts, and
nibbled at it, enjoying its sweetness and the nutty crunch. The
mooncake was delivered, with three other in an ornate lacquered
box, by hand from a fellow Chinese baker who had made his home in
London. It would soon be full moon. Mid-Autumn. It was at this time
his thoughts flew back to home. Father must be ancient now. So
would be his mother. His sisters. Hopefully married with broods of
children to keep them occupied. There would be lanterns and amusing
riddles. It was a time for family.
Lee signed aloud. His family was here now,
in London. With Karlida. With his students. Yet he realized that it
was never easy to have a clean break from the past.
What would happen if he had a child? A son.
Mixed race, half-Chinese and half-English, with his father’s eyes
and his mother’s hair. Playing with a dragon kite or a helicopter
toy – a bamboo dragonfly – a little engineer at heart,
spinning the light whirligig apparatus in the air, in bright summer
days? Oh, these were such pleasant daydreams, fit for a middle-aged
man who was suddenly reminded of his own physical mortality. What kind of legacy would I give my son or daughter?
Now if Karlida would just agree to
marriage…
He laughed softly to himself. She was not
one to settle down that easily.
Now the letter. It had such ominous
import. That alone worried him and sent thoughts of home and family
flying back into the secret recesses of memory. He was not going to
send his students as a military contingent. However, the name Aerial Fleet had already made a solid impression in the
hearts and minds of Londoners. The might of Britannia.
~*~
By the end of the month, the contingents
started arriving, in large or small groups, depending on the size
of the nation invited to the
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