Madame Blue's Birthday

This is a steampunk story set in an Alternative American History when there were two Civil Wars. The daughter of a famous inventor has decided to change her allegiance from the North to the South.

 

 

Madame Blue’s Birthday
(or Black Steam)

 

By Stafford Battle

[email protected]

 

 

 

Today was her special birthday.

 “Madame Blue, despite the lack of a wormy and decayed carcass to put on display, your father A. J. Whiskers officially has been legally declared deceased and thus, in popular parlance dead,” said General Pegasus Slant, a flickering reed of a man. “Secretary of War, Abrams Lincoln appointed me to oversee the transfer of your father’s patents, assets and factories to help prepare the North for victory, again. “

She drifted around the boardroom; examining various objects.

He added, “All your father’s artifacts must be accounted for. The nation requires every scrap of parchment as well as all pine and wire models finished or unfinished of his inventions. Madame Blue, are you listening?”

She said, “Another Civil War.” The putrid stink of pending hostilities filled her mind with images of young men anxious to don crisp new uniforms and see the world. Wispy gray-haired military officers would polish sabers and metal legs and arms; as they adjusted mechanical eyeballs to gaze into glory.

Since her father’s abrupt disappearance, Blue had kept her husband and daughters hidden in the forest maze of a swamp in rural Maryland; along an escape route for brave, runaway freedom seekers. Bounty hunters and their witless lackeys shunned the thorny underbrush, baffling marshes and tea brown waters twitching with long, thick, highly venomous serpents. But now with opposing armies in the sky and their deadly arsenals on high, Blue felt it was time to relocate her family to safer territory.

Her father always surprised her on her birthday. Sometimes, it was simple gifts like colorful wind-up toys that sprayed rubber bullets and sang catchy tunes. She hummed,  “Yankee Doodle limped to town, missing half a body . . .”

“Madame Blue.” General Slant tapped his cane in a rapid staccato on the polished wooden floor. He cautiously leaned close to Blue and inhaled the perfumed mist around her. Her skin shone with imported oils from the Congo. Meticulously braided, coarse black hair was draped delicately over her bare shoulders and reaching down past her puffy white sleeves to her slender waist " the clothing was the style of the day for women of high social affluence and extreme wealth. Slant dared to place his hand on her torso dangerously near her shapely hips, presumably to guide her to a padded chair as if she needed help to seat herself while the reading of the last will and testament of her father A. J. Whiskers was coming to a close.  Slant whispered in her ear, “None of my most reliable agents have seen your father for months. The Black Prometheus of Steam is dead; never again to glorify the aerial battlefield.”

She adjusted herself in the chair. Slant stepped away and groped a miniature model of a flying harness built for a single soldier to soar through the sky. He said in admiration, “Prometheus gave us devices that we barely understood.” He paused as he gazed hungrily at a prized collection of manuscripts locked in an iron-glass box. “You and I will discuss matters in my private chambers on the lush green shores of the Potomac River flowing past the Presidential White Palace. We will sip French champagne.” His hot, stale breath stank of cheap whisky and rotting teeth.

The reading of the will eventually concluded. General Slant stood tall in his bright blue uniform and said aloud, “If your beloved husband was to meet misfortune, I eagerly would assume the role as your protector. Blue, are you listening to me?”

Blue was contemplating the tiny mechanisms embedded on her sleeve. By now, her husband and daughters should be on the last phase of their journey. Her hand dropped discretely to the side of her corset as if she was reaching for her oriental silk fan to cool her cheeks. The loss of a luxurious city manor was a small price to pay. Her father had abundant gold and iron bars hidden throughout the world.

Slant pressed his thin lips together. After a long moment of reflection he said, “You are extremely lovely for an Afrikan person, Madame Blue. You are as striking as a dusky sunset. Such female splendor should never be wasted nor carelessly bought and sold like a rude sack of coal.”

“Your praise is sadly eloquent,” said Blue. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was important to stay focused. That was the lesson that her father constantly had preached to her. Blue normally would never have been dressed in such puffed up silk finery and scented like a tropical flower garden. The long skirt hampered her movements, while the thin spiked heels made walking awkward; running was impossible. The tightly laced linen corset forced her to take shallow breaths and on occasion to fan herself to cool down in the summer heat. She preferred loose, rough wool and stained leather aprons infused with the odor of machine oil and gunpowder. She dearly missed her sturdy cowhide boots. But disguise and diversion were necessary.

She thought fondly of her husband, escorting her young girls to safety. He was not a large man in stature nor fearsome in appearance. He was a Vodun priest allowed to marry and to have children. His congregation believed he was connected to vengeful Afrikan spirits reaching into this world. If he had been in this room, he happily would have strangled General Slant for touching her. Blue endured Slant’s indignities because she had received a brief coded message from a trusted informant who had critical news about the true fate of her father and his clandestine operations to aid the South.

“Blue, you seem distracted.”

“General, it is time for action.”

Slant slunk away. He motioned to his men as he stepped away from her and placed his back against a wall.  His hand reached towards the tiny silver pistol in his vest while his soldiers formed a human shield around him.

Blue said, “You need my help to operate my father’s greatest warship and bombard  Richmond from the air. The North and South capital cities are barely a hundred miles apart. There will be frequent exchange of attacks. You should get started.”

General Slant relaxed a tiny bit. “I always advocated that the capital city of the Union should have been moved further north but not too close to the Spanish vermin infesting Canada. Boston was my favorite choice. The Irish are mostly tolerable when sober.”

She said, “Guarantee the safety of my family.”

“I will do my best.”

“Take me to the aerial warship you stole from my father.”

“The federal government of the United States doesn’t steal. It commandeers, legally.”

“Your engineers are in a desperate situation. The warship will not respond to them. Tell Lincoln an incursion from the South is forthcoming with advanced steamed-powered aerial weapons beyond anything he can imagine."

"There is no evidence."

“Proof is coming soon.”  She plucked the secret message from her perfumed bosom and gave it to him. "Look at the wall clock." The hands were creeping towards nine AM.

He read the note. In an instant, two of his soldiers took the parchment and rushed out of the room. “How long have you known about this?”

“I received the message just before coming here.” The clock chimed. The building shook violently.

There were numerous explosions in nearby sections of the city. A boiler factory was set ablaze with a thunderous explosion. A gear warehouse spewed jagged metal parts into the air. The hydrogen generation facility furiously glowed with blinding hot heat burning through granite containment walls. Slant nervously peeked out the window, searching the skies. “Our borders and heavens are well guarded. Our fleet is overhead and on alert. Our soldiers are on the ground. All eyes investigate the skies.”

She sighed. “Aerial drones from the South boosted to great heights, then dropped stealthily to their targets. Moving too swiftly to be noticed by the human eye. They track to a beacon like this one.” She reached inside the folds of a seat cushion to produce a shiny metal object. “Somebody in the South is using my father’s inventions to destroy his northern factories.”

“Is this object dangerous? Will it drop bombs on us?”

She ignored the obvious and tossed the transmitter to him. “Have your people examine it.” He juggled it for a moment then firmly grasped it. She slowly walked around the room; savoring her father’s favorite private space in Baltimore for perhaps the last time. The wood and leather smells brought back fond memories of her childhood.  Blue said, “I also have de-activated several devices crudely placed here and here, hidden in the furniture to destroy all my father’s works and papers. TNT sticks in the chairs. Liquid nitro in brandy casks. Enough to vaporize this entire structure.” Blue had learned to sniff out explosives when she was a toddler. It was a trait that she had passed on to her young daughters. It was a game they played. Similar to other games she enjoyed with her father on Sunday afternoons before supper. Her favorite dish was wild rabbit and mashed potatoes. Her father loved to hunt.

“Is this building still a target?”

“I suggest we leave, immediately.”

Slant gestured urgently to his entourage. “This is very disturbing. Hopefully, there are not too many casualties in the factories. That would disrupt production of vital war equipment."

"The workers are on vacation today, in celebration of my birthday. General, I may collaborate with the North to defeat the South if my conditions are met. But we have to depart, now.”

"Yes, Madam Blue."

“Lincoln can’t dodge every assassin’s bullet. You need my expertise.”

“You have tremendous value to the North, Madame Blue. I will impress that upon Lincoln.”

“My husband is traveling to meet me at the dockyards in the Greater Alexander Station. I surmised that is where my father’s warship is hidden?”

“You undo me. Your mental processes are quite astute. We will make arrangements for the comforts of your family. I will watch over your pretty young girls very closely.” As they exited the mansion, two couriers presented a crumpled cardboard box. Slant said, “A birthday cake arrived.” The pink ribbons were retied in ugly knots. “It seems to have suffered in transport.”

Blue examined the remnants of the pastry. She smeared a piece of icing and cake on her fingertip and tasted it. The message was loud and clear.

Slant said, “Washington, D.C., has excellent bakeries. Your cake lacks flavor and color. It is inferior.”

The general was anxious to escorted Madame Blue onto his armored, horseless mobile. His hand was pressed just below her waist to assist her into the carriage. The streets were frantic with firemen and soldiers. Residents and shopkeepers were nailing shut their doors and windows. As the General’s entourage squeezed delicately through the panicked streets, Blue stayed deeply buried within her thoughts despite Slant’s best attempts to engage her in casual conversation. Finally, in disgust, he gave up as they entered the secret shipyard.

 

#

 

“Ayo! You have come to us. Praise the almighty,” said Mohammed. He never called his wife by the name her father had given her. Their children clustered around them.

“Happy birthday, mama!”

“We have gifts, mama!”

“Are we leaving soon, mama?”

“Thank you, thank you and yes, my darlings. Be respectful and don’t interfere with adults.” She hugged her husband fiercely. “Take the children to their places in our cabins aboard my father’s warship.” She kissed him with vigor to let him sample the cake still on her tongue. He nodded solemnly. He said, “Ayo, these gaudy garments you wear do not allow your beauty and true strength to shine. We should be naked in the sun, making more babies.”

She licked his earlobe. “The ancestors will guide us.”   Her family disappeared below decks aboard the sky vessel her father had designed to conquer the world.

The General was impatient. He said, “Ayo, is that the name you prefer to be called?”

“Ayo is a private name my husband chose for me. You should call me Madame Blue.”

Slant said, “Ayo. Your family is safe. The southern barbarians must be punished.”

“I must change out of this constricting costume to be of any use to you. I need mobility. I need my leather work clothes. I need my tools.”

“All available. But please, no trickery, Ayo. Major sections of the ship don’t respond to our efforts.”

Blue lifted the helm of her skirt to reveal sheer red silk stockings. She removed a small clockwork device from her calf and placed it in General Slant’s hands.  She smiled, “Wipe the drool off your chin. This device is what you really want. Tell your captain there is a slot on his chair that this mechanism will easily slip into. Navigation control will be at his command.”

“Weapons?” He kept greedy eyes on her body as she lowered and adjusted her skirt.

“That requires more preparation. Be sure that a proper meal is sent to my family’s suite. No candies. But fresh fruit is allowed. My daughters must have a quiet place for their studies. They shouldn’t be disturbed or spied upon.”

The General exposed his crooked smile. “Hopefully, we can hit the confederate capital before nightfall.”

“You underestimate the ultimate speed of my father’s invention. Mid-afternoon, on my birthday, Richmond will be in sight. Hours later, I can be over the skies of Atlanta. Before dawn, New Orleans will be under my shadow.”

“Lincoln will be pleased.”

“With proper forethought, even the great Atlantic ocean is no barrier. I must change clothing.”

He pointed to a door. “You can use this office. It appears to have been your father’s chartroom.”

“Certainly.” Blue entered the spacious cabin. She was alone and waited until Slant’s footsteps faded. She then smeared dark ink over numerous peepholes in the room as the click of several small closets creaked open.

Blue pushed a stout metal bolt into place to secure the main hatch. Her young girls tumbled into the room like tiny acrobats joyously bouncing and leaping. “Is anyone hurt?” Blue asked as they popped up in a row " one, two, three.

“No, no, no.”  They scattered about the cabin, exploring. “This was too easy.”

They hugged her one at a time. She said, “Children, this is very serious business.”

“Granddaddy left plenty of instructions and instruments everywhere!”

“There are hidden passageways only big enough for us.”

“You promised us adventure, mama. I’m bored!”

“Me too.”

“Can we have sweets?” asked the youngest.

Blue frowned and said, “No. We are moving to the South.”

“That General is a nasty, smelly man. He spies on girls and boys when they use the wash rooms.”

“You should allow daddy to punish him.”

“Your father is a holy man, a priest dedicated to peace.”

“A very angry priest, mama.”

“An avenging angel, mama.”

“Daddy is awesome like you.”

“We want to be like you and daddy.”

Blue stomped her foot and said, “We do not irresponsibly harm. These European people are naïve, aggressive but mostly innocent. They are all descendants of mother Afrika. We must honor the wishes of the ancestors.”

The girls replied in unison, “Human life is sacred. We must protect all people. Enslavement of the human soul must end.”

The youngest girl said, “Mama, we have your birthday gifts. We were very careful. None of them exploded, yet.”

“Daddy has met with some of the crew. They will follow him.”

“He had to disable several sailors who disagreed.”

“Two may recover to function normally.”

“I am still bored.”

“This may be too, too easy.”

There was a loud banging on the cabin door.

“Hide.” Like wild squirrels, the girls disappeared in an instant. Blue unlatched the door. Two burly sailors with bulky luggage entered the room. Without uttering words, they dropped the heavy loads and departed.

The entire ship groaned as it lifted up into the air and the propellers whirred into action creating a harsh vibration that rattled the bones. The ship rapidly gained altitude and caught up with the Union fleet already in flight towards Richmond for retribution. There was cheering on all decks of the ships as A.J. Whisker’s greatest invention took the lead and the other military vessels struggled to keep pace in the air.

“Girls help your mama to get dressed. “ They re-appeared with nimble fingers. “I want you to complete your special assignments.” Blue changed into a white and red nautical dress with flat heels and flexible skirt that allowed ample freedom to move. A bulky leather jacket would keep her warm. Other equipment was discretely placed. “Thank you, my darlings. This is perfect. Go. Be safe. Obey your father.” The young girls popped back into their tunnels. Blue left the cabin to join the General on the aerial bridge in the brisk breeze.

He spread his arms. “That is the majestic Potomac River far below us. It is the dividing line between the civilized North and the savage South,” said Slant. “You can see my villa on the hillside. “The master bed chamber has an excellent view of the rapids and white water. Blue, we need active naval weapons. We are crossing into Virginia.”

“Take this.” She unwrapped an object tied in a silk cloth.

“It appears to be an ordinary skeleton key.”

“The trick is to find the lock.”

“Where?”

“Everywhere. Look around you. Insert and twist once to the right, three times to the left.”

“Thank you, Madame Blue.” Indeed, there was a keyhole on the observation deck. He pushed the key in and turned it. The ship hummed with new power. Gun turrets emerged from their hiding places. Munitions were armed. “Take this to the Captain.” A crewmember rushed forward to follow his instructions. Slant gripped the railing as the ship increased speed and altitude.

When 30 minutes had passed, there were bright flashes in the sky and multiple explosions amidst the fleet trailing behind. Several Union ships were hit; their bags of hydrogen were burning furiously. Sailors were leaping overboard; some desperately clinging on long ropes that barely reached the land. Others chose a quick death on the rocky ground below.

Blue said, “I suggest we stay above the bombardment. This airship can climb to several thousand feet and disappear. It will be cold at those higher altitudes and difficult to breathe.”

“From there, we could drop our explosives on the city while we sail safely above the skirmish,” said Slant.

“However, the rest of the Union fleet may not be able to follow us.  You will be isolated.”

“Yes, that is quite obvious, Madame Blue. Perfect conditions for a mutiny,” said Slant as he motioned for his agents to come closer with hand weapons ready. “The champagne is still available to you.”

“My children?”

“Hiding somewhere in the bowels of the ship. The imps were trying to disable vital equipment.  They are mechanical prodigies and vicious little animals that bite. We eventually will isolate their tunnels. All the mutineers  are barricaded in an aft hold. We will break-in soon.”

“My husband?”

“I should slit his throat for the problems he caused me. He is very difficult to capture. But I will  have your entire traitorous family for the firing squad.”

“You will not hurt my family.”

“You will reveal all your father’s secrets to me or I will put down your litter and dismember your husband. Your actions will determine what happens to them.”

Blue closed her eyes for a moment. But there were no tears. He was counting.

Slant said, “Blue, your plot to steal my flagship failed. I now have complete control.”

 “No.”

“Blue . . . Ayo, please don’t make this difficult. We could have a perfect life together.”

“You and me?”

“It is not impossible.”

There was a shudder as a compartment of the giant air ship separated and dropped away.

“Never. ” Blue leaped over the railing.

“Blue!”

Blue fell into the white clouds. As she faded from sight, her father’s birthday gift sprouted wide cloth wings and powerful steam jets.  She glided through the air like a seagull towards the aerial platform drifting lazily down; the bottom of the warship had detached itself and stealthy hovered far below the main craft. She landed gracefully on a wooden deck. Loyal sailors helped to remove her flight harness. Her husband and children hugged her.

Explosions boomed overhead. Blue’s sailors veered sharply away from the falling debris.

“Granddaddy predicted there would be fireworks on your special birthday.”

“Granddaddy was never wrong.”

“It was a beautiful ship.”

“This one can take us where we need to go.”

“Happy birthday, mama!”

 

"the end"