Leviathan

After the fencing match, the men board the walker, and Alek makes the machine run for the first time. At first, it is exhilarating, but he doesn’t know how to stop in time and surrenders the controls to Klopp as the machine begins to fall. Once Klopp stabilizes the walker, he claps Alek on the back and congratulates him. Alek is shaking, upset that he almost let the machine fall, but Klopp tells Alek that everyone falls the first time they run. Klopp tells Alek he did very well, especially considering how top-heavy the machine is. Volger reveals a stash of gold bars hidden beneath the command room floor, and Alek no longer wonders how they will pay for fuel in Lienz, the nearest city.

Alek returns to the controls and directs the walker toward Lienz. Visiting the small city will be the first time in two weeks that Alek has seen other people besides the crew in the walker. He is wearing dusty peasant clothes and thinks no one will imagine he is a prince.

The story switches back to Deryn, who is now serving aboard the Leviathan as a midshipman. She easily passed the midshipmen test and began serving immediately. She happily pretends to be a boy and enjoys the classes the midshipmen are required to take. The midshipmen (middies) are in the middle of a combat drill, and Deryn is carrying bags of feed to the dorsal (top) side of the ship. She is far ahead of the other middies, preferring to climb the ropes freely instead of clipping herself in every few feet.

She reaches the top of the airship slightly before her friend, Newkirk. Newkirk is a “Monkey Luddite” and feels uncomfortable aboard the Leviathan. The two take a moment to rest, and Deryn enjoys being topside because it reminds her of being aboard her Da’s balloons. Mr. Rigby, the bosun in charge of the middies, catches up and urges them to keep running.

The middies’ responsibility in the combat drill is to feed fabricated bats dried fruit that contains metal fléchettes. Deryn reaches the feeding ground first and thinks it’s odd to watch the animals swallowing the metal.

After the bats have been fed, the middies typically return below deck. But this time, Mr. Rigby allows them to stay topside and watch the Leviathan finish the combat drill. The bats fly over an old, empty schooner that the Navy towed out for this drill. After a signal from the airship, the bats poop the metal fléchettes out, shredding the schooner. The navy then releases a waterbeast, a Kraken that slowly rips apart the remains of the schooner and drags it underwater.

Newkirk applauds, saying that he’d like to see the Germans get ripped apart like that, but Deryn doesn’t want to imagine what would happen to a crew of people attacked by the fléchette bats and the Kraken. She asks Newkirk if he signed up for the Air Service because he hates the Germans, but Newkirk says that he signed up for the Air Service because he believes the air is the safest place to be during a war.

Deryn is shaken from watching the combat drill and hopes that the Germans and Austrians aren’t ill-advised enough to start a war. She knows that they are afraid of fabricated beasts and rely on machines, hence the name “Clankers.” She doesn’t believe that their machines could defeat the fabricated beasts.

Alek, Volger, and Klopp join the crowd in Lienz to find a mechanics shop. Alek is shocked by the smells and sights of the common market and is amazed that no one seems concerned about the impending war. Volger tells Alek that most common people cannot read.

In the mechanic’s shop, the owner offers Alek a toy. Though Alek would’ve been fascinated by the toy two weeks ago, he is insulted by the man’s tone and reaches for where his saber would usually be. The owner stares at Alek until Volger and Kopp drag Alek outside and chastise him. Alek realizes that he practically gave away his identity and feels stupid.

Volger and Klopp send Alek to purchase a newspaper as they find fuel. Alek has never held money before and doesn’t know how to order a newspaper, so he gives the newspaperman a coin and collects as many papers as he can. All of the papers claim that the entire world supports Austro-Hungary, but Alek doesn’t believe that. As he hurries back to Klopp and Volger, Alek realizes that he can speak multiple foreign languages perfectly but cannot speak the language of his own people well enough to order a newspaper.

On their way back to where the stormwalker is hidden, a group of soldiers on horseback chase them. Alek drops the fuel and food he was carrying and runs ahead while Klopp and Volger hold off the soldiers. A single horseman follows Alek, and he dives into the tall grass to hide. The horseman follows Alek into the grass, and Alek leaps toward him, trying to grab the soldier’s saber. The soldier loses his balance and falls off the horse. Alek holds the saber to the soldier’s throat but sees that the man is already dead. He mounts the horse and rides to the walker, which Bauer and Hoffman have already started.

Alek takes control of the walker and runs it toward Volger and Klopp. He manages to keep the walker upright while Bauer and Hoffman fire at the soldiers, making them retreat. Klopp and Volger climb into the walker, bruised and bloodied but alive. Klopp congratulates Alek on his piloting, but Alek only feels sick for killing the young soldier.

Back on the Leviathan, the other middies are thrilled to be flying near London. They bicker and tease each other until Mr. Rigby enters the cabin with the Captain and head scientist. The Captain assures the middies that he isn’t bringing them news of war, though Austria-Hungary did declare war on Serbia a week ago. Instead, he tells them that the Leviathan will be picking up an important scientist and some precious cargo that they will be transporting to Constantinople. Deryn is confused because Constantinople is in the Ottoman Empire, and she thought the Ottomans were Clankers. The Captain adds that they must lay off some of the middies in order to take on the cargo, and he and Mr. Rigby will be determining who will remain aboard.

In the meantime, Deryn and another middy are sent ahead via Huxley to greet their guest and secure their landing spot. As Deryn descends, she worries that this will be her last time flying. She loves being aboard the Leviathan because it is the only place where no one has seen her in a dress, forced to act like a proper lady. She would hate to lose her position because of this scientist.

Deryn searches for the scientist. When she sees a woman in a traveling coat carrying a valise, she realizes that the woman is the boffin, the scientist the Leviathan is onboarding. She introduces herself as Dr. Barlow as Deryn takes her valise. Deryn says that she didn’t expect the boffin to be a woman, and Dr. Barlow laughs, saying that the topic is heavily debated.

Dr. Barlow shouts instructions as two young scientists carry a large case toward the Leviathan’s landing zone. Deryn moves to help but pulls back when she feels heat radiating from the cargo. She asks if it’s alive, but the scientists tell her that the contents of the cargo are a military secret.

Dr. Barlow joins the group with a strange, striped beast that looks like a dog but jumps like a kangaroo. Deryn thinks that it’s fabricated, but Dr. Barlow says that her pet, Tazz, is completely natural. They watch the airship land, and Deryn explains the process of landing to Dr. Barlow, who surprises her yet again by telling Deryn that she fabricated the airship.

Deryn makes Dr. Barlow laugh, and the scientist says she is glad to have Deryn as a cabin boy. Deryn wants to argue and say middies are not mere cabin boys, but Dr. Barlow is already walking toward the ship. Deryn sighs, realizing that it will be much harder to keep her identity a secret with another woman on board.