From the Earth to the Moon Ch. 02

James gave a rough sketch of the idea he had for the position of spokeswoman for the Edison Moon Project.

"Why me, James? Or is this just a way to keep me on the island longer for your more...subtle plans." Again, Katherine laughed at the blush that came to James's cheeks.

"Well, you know all the reporters on the island, and you have no problem keeping them in line."

"They are a rowdy lot," Katherine conceded, "But a few knocks around the head is all that's needed to get them into line."

"And you come in with a blank slate, with no enemies or favors owed," James continued. This was definitely true. Even the detractors of Katherine's father had no unkind words for her, save perhaps that she should abandon her plans for becoming a reporter. She was definitely the darling of the press group.

"And after a few years as the Project's spokeswoman, I'm fairly certain you'll be able to get a job at any newspaper you want. And we should have a cable between St. Lucia and the United States before the end of next year, which means the reporters here won't have to rely on mail dispatch boats."

"A cable between here and the United States?" Katherine asked, her surprise obvious at that possibility."

"Why not? There's been a cable between Europe and the United States for the last seven years. With the scientific activity happening on the island, I'd be surprised if we don't have a cable laid by next summer. So what do you think, Kate? You'll be the news nexus of the most advanced outpost of humanity on the planet."

"And how could I say no to a charmer like you?" James put his hand out for a handshake, deciding to treat Katherine as he would a man he had just signed on to the ethernaut corps. Kate was having none of that, however. Instead, she stepped forward, pulled James' head down and planted a stunning kiss on his lips.

Kate hadn't planned on the kiss lasting more than a second or so. Instead, it ended up stretching out for a few minutes. Finally, she gently pushed James away. "Mr. Davidson, do you know where your hands are?"

Guiltily, James snatched his hands away from Kate's posterior.

"Now, James, I didn't say you had to move your hands. I just asked if you knew where they were. I definitely did."

James turned a bright red, which sparked another gale of laughter from Kate. "By the by, will I be working for you?" she asked.

James shook his head, glad to have a change of subject and a chance to cool down. "No, you'll probably be working for the Director himself."

"Good. I don't want to be carrying on like we just did with my boss. Assuming you want to carry on like that some more."

James just nodded dumbly.

"Well, I'll let you work out the details of my new job with the Director, while I talk to my father." As Kate was leaving the office, she turned around toward James. "Oh, and James? Not that I have any experience to compare it to ... none, to be truthful ... but you have very nice hands." Kate laughed as she left the room.

James could only think to himself, What have I gotten myself into?

-----

The Director didn't just like the idea. He loved it.

"It'll save me a lot of headaches, and that Kate O'Sullivan will have the reporters eating out of her hands. Do you think her father will let her do it, though?"

"Oh, he'll give Kate some bluster and gruff, but it's a foregone conclusion, I'd say," James answered.

James and the Director conversed on other matters before James took his leave, a paper in his pocket quoting the figure that the Director was willing to pay for an official spokeswoman's salary.

James's next stop was at Otto Lilienthal's aeronautical division. He met Lord Brent on the way, and James brought him up to speed on the spokeswoman position.

"Why, James, you've become a veritable suffragist," Lord Brent laughted.

James merely snorted.

"On other matters, my sister was wondering if you would escort her to the pre-launch soiree at the Indian house" The Indian house was the residency of the employees and dependents of the East Indian Trading Company on St. Lucia. It had also become the unofficial gathering point of the higher level functionaries on St. Lucia, in the same manner that Daniel's Cafe Americana had become the unofficial watering hole for the reporters and the ethernauts.

"I thought you'd be doing the honors, Lord Brent."

"Can't. My fiancée is coming in on the RMS Oceania."

Lord Brent chuckled as James tried to pry his dropped jaw upwards again. James knew that Lord Brent's mother had been trying to arrange something for her son, but he had no idea that things had advanced this far.

"She's a lovely girl, James, comes from a very well connected family in the peerage."

"Well, my congratulations, Lord Brent. And tell your sister I would be delighted at the opportunity."

"Excellent, James. Now, how are you doing on your time for the month?" All the ethernauts were required to fly so many hours in one of the ornithopters a month.

"Thought I'd go work on that right now. After I had a short talk with his Highness."

"Ah, yes, the matter of invisible boundaries. Well, good luck on that."

The two ethernauts made their way into the giant hangar that served as the domain of Otto's aeronautical division. There were the frameworks of various stages of gliders, ornithopters, and other flying machines that Otto was working on. Otto was gathered in the corner with some of his assistants, hammering away with a finger at a plan of some sort. Otto waved at the two ethernauts, then gestured them toward the corner of the hangar. There was the young prince, tinkering on his ornithopter.

Wilhelm's ornithopter was slightly modified so that the controls accommodated the Prince's shortened left arm. But other than that one nod toward his handicap, the Prince remained the undisputed master of the aerial domain.

"James! Lord Brent!" James smiled in spite of himself. The prince had come to the island...well, to put it bluntly, he had been a spoiled brat demanding all the accolades he considered due him. But putting the Prince in the ornithopter had been like flipping a switch on a light bulb. The prince was now an eager to please young man who would sleep in his ornithopter if his caretakers in the German legation would let him.

The prince stood up and brushed off the dark overalls that were the duty uniform of ethernauts going through training or flying their ornithopters. His grin was infectious. "Are you going up? Can I join you?"

"And show us up again?" Lord Brent chuckled. "Please, show at least some respect for your elders." The young prince blushed and ducked his head.

"Highness," James began. The prince looked up, his attention focused. "We have restricted airspace for a reason."

The Prince nodded. "I know, James. It's just that...well, once I'm up there, everything on the ground just seems less important."

James nodded. "Highness, I understand, but I expect every person in the Moon Project to show discipline."

The Prince nodded. "Understood, James. It won't happen again."

James smiled. "Very well, then. Why don't you direct us toward a decent pair of ornithopters so that we'll at least make the appearance of keeping up with you."

With a laugh, the Prince led James and Lord Brent to a pair of ornithopters.

The ornithopters were cramped, to say the very least. You literally had to crawl into the frame while one of the hangar's many assistants helped you strap in, then pushed you out into the small green where it took more strenuous effort to get you launched.

But once you were airborne...

The ornithopter was good for about an hour's flight time, but what an hour! An aeronaut could reach almost 3,000 feet in the ornithopter, giving him an incredible view of St. Lucia and the surrounding waters. The pilots had gotten into the habit of buzzing the HMS Shah until an official complaint from her commander had put a stop to the practice.

By prearranged agreement, James made a circle around the island, Lord Brent and the Prince flying on either side, watching the progress of not only the Moon Project, but the island in general. The Moon Project had caused quite a boom in the island's commerce. One of the newest projects on the island was being directed by a young Serbian by the name of Ognjeslav Kostovic Stepanovic (but whose American compatriots insisted on calling Oggy, much to the Serb's amusement and delight). The Serb had originally come to work in Otto's aeronautical division, but decided instead to take advantage of the island's economic boom and go into business for himself. In actuality, the Serb was backed both by Edison and J.P. Morgan, and was the de facto head of all of Edison's research projects on St. Lucia that didn't fall under the auspices of the Moon Project. This including the island's burgeoning airship industry. One of Stepanovic's airships was scheduled to be launched soon after the launch of the Prometheus. The British Navy would take delivery of the airship, and it would work in tangent with the HMS Shah. 'Oggy' was even envisioning commercial airship traffic between St. Lucia and New Jersey within a year's time. James thought Oggy was being overly optimistic, but then again, nobody thought the Moon Project would have gotten as far as it had in the short time it had been on the island.

St. Lucia has to be the best place in the world for a man like me to be, James thought to himself. And from the way it attracted inventors like Otto, Oggy and Al, he wasn't the only man to think so.

James noticed the Prince rocking his wings and smiled. It was time to play 'follow the leader', a game where each aeronaut tried to keep up with the leader. The Prince, the acknowledged champion of this game, was inviting the two ethernauts to keep up.

James and Lord Brent both rocked their wings, showing their consent, and the Prince dove for the water. The game was on.