Knight of Wands (A Steampunk Fantasy Adventure Novel) (Devices of War Book 2) by SM Blooding

been modified and now worked even better, with a long range antennae that worked with the biometric long range antennae in our lethara’s brain. I looked up at his underbelly overhead. It was gelatinous and in constant movement, pulsing with different lights. Somewhere in there was an antennae. Interesting.
    The sonar and radar had morphed, growing in size. According to Oki, our sonar had a longer range as well, but had changed significantly because we’d been able to tap into our lethara’s biometrics.
    Based on what they’d learned with the sonar, they’d been able to apply the same basic principles to the radar. Though it wasn’t working quite as well as the sonar, it was still working better than anything the Hands had. At least that we knew of.
    Our communications had altered as well. The previous version of radio that the Families had used to communicate had been awkward for everyone. Joshua, who apparently had entirely too much time on his hands, had adapted a type of communication that the ocwhals used. They were a really big fish capable of communicating via song over long distances.
    The bad news was that it only worked underwater for now. So any above ocean messages had to be communicated the old fashioned way.
    The good news was that Joshua was working on an adaptation for that as well.
    A red light lit the dashboard and a warning buzzed through the air before one of the technicians flipped a switch. The buzzing went away, as did the blinking red light.
    “What was that?”
    The technician looked up at me, startled, his almond-shaped eyes widening as soon as he saw who he was talking to. “That, sayyd , is our pollution detector.”
    Oki stepped up and the technician sighed with relief.
    I frowned at the back of his head. What was that about?
    “We’ve taken in a few of the Hands’ planes. They burn fuels. Keeley—who has officially become your lethara’s healer—was the first to point out that the fumes they emit were making him sick. This tells us when we need to circulate the air around the docks.”
    “But the city is open to the cavern.”
    “We just opened up from a tight space. That’s perfectly normal. Trust me. Your lethara is quite happy with this new development. His neural system is linked to the device. It’s possible he just wanted some air. We are in a confined space. I doubt he’s happy about it.”
    I nodded and looked up at him. He filled nearly the entire cavern. He was a creature of the sea and the air. If I were him, I would feel a little claustrophobic as well. I reached out and put my hand on the closest trunk. His skin was thin and almost slimy. “If he needs to travel to open waters, then I suggest you let him.”
    Oki nodded and turned back to the controls. “Well, I know you have some catching up to do with Keeley.” She winked at me. “In your absence, Mother named me acting command, so feel free to scamper off.”
    Acting command, huh? I really didn’t think Mother would let her leave. “Where’s Ryo?”
    “Playing acting command of the Fleet.” She turned to me. “Really, Synn, you need to figure out what you’re going to do there. You have two cities. You can’t be in both places at once.”
    If we had a working communications system that that worked better, I might be able to.
    I headed down to the docks, which currently submerged in the water. A thin film poured from the larger trunks of the lethara and surrounded the piers to keep the water out. Airplanes of several different types littered the docks, all one or two-seaters. Some had wings that had to flap. Others had propellers. I needed to incorporate this technology into my fleet of airships. If we ever found ourselves in a fight with the Hands and their planes, our airships were going to need something more than sails and wind to maneuver.
    What if we could pull the sails, stash the rigging and masts, and use propellers instead when needed? What would we use for fuel? We didn’t believe in