Soup by a steampunk

She was beautiful. The hull, more than 130 meters long, gleamed silvery in the morning sun. The craft was of a sleeker design than other zeppelins of comparable size, giving her a more streamlined look. The gondola, too, appeared far less bulky and almost fragile. This zeppelin conveyed an impression of graceful speed given shape. Von Kober walked down its length, mesmerised, then something at the craft's stern caught his eye.
“What is behind this hatch, or is this just an additional emergency exit? It does not look like thedoor of a weapon bay to me.”
“Behind this, my dear captain” explained the admiral “is one thing we are truly proud of. I am not too firm on the details but the chief engineer, Lieutenant Gruson, should be here any minute. He will give you a tour of the Württemberg.”
“Where is he now?”
“Warehouse II, I presume, checking the crates we received this morning.”
About ten minutes later another Diesel arrived at the Württemberg. The man who got out looked somewhat familiar.
“Good morning Engineer Gruson.” The admiral almost strode towards the man, despite his stiff leg, looking like a proud father. “This is Captain von Kober.”
Engineer Gruson saluted both officers. “Good morning Admiral, good morning Captain.” He narrowed his eyes. “We have met before, Captain von Kober, haven't we.”
“Yes, I believe so. It was most likely at the Imperial Aeronautical Research Facility in Berlin, I presume.”
“Yes, most likely.”
This was all that could be said about that. Von Kober had a rather definite idea now, where and when he had met the engineer, but the nature of the project prohibited public mention.



Read the complete first chapter here.