Phineas turned in his chair and found that Eliza had already fallen asleep. He sighed. She was picturesque, if a little banged and bruised. If she'd chosen an easier life, she'd be truly beautiful. Not that he found that she wasn't, but he tried in vain to ignore such stirrings in favor of his job. 

He turned back to the control board. The sun had set, and darkness had descended upon the Mediterranean. The sky was full of countless stars, and empty of the omnipresent lights of passing airships. He, they, were truly alone. 

The shore was nowhere in sight, and Phineas found himself beginning to drift off. He resisted at first, but the stress of the week and the exertions of the day demanded rest. Finally, he succumbed to slumber.

----

A strong breeze buffeted the hovercraft, shaking Phineas from his sleep. He picked his head off the dashboard; it did not appear to have messed with any of the controls. The oil, however, was dangerously low, and a red light was blinking intermittently next to the dial. Phineas looked out the window and was startled to see lights in the distance. Under the moon, the shore was visible less than a mile away. Phineas kicked the ship into a quiet descent and turned in his chair, lightly shaking Eliza to wake her up.