For the love of Coal city- A steampunk short story

Nani was an apprentice to Dr. Luhan and Chief Dayal- They were among the engineers who managed the Spider- the power plant and water supply tank. Spider was the heart of Coal city. An oval engine 1100 meters high and about 600 meters wide at the middle, and the power lines and steam pipes and cooling cables plugged into it made it look like gigantic spider. The water tank was split into sections connected by a multitude of pipes "the ribs"; as water was moved and filled and vented. Spider was responsible for power to all the caverns and the rail system.
The problem was water or rather the lack of it. There was a deep well, this was the water which was used for generating the steam which powered the Spider and a 2000 meter water fall from Upside which was piped for personal use and to water the greenhouses. Of late the well was running low and a portion of flowing water was diverted to the Spider, now even that was markedly reducing.
A team of 5 people was sent Upside to check and report. 2 engineers, 2 mech-hands and me. Mech-hands are men with steem-powered vambraces on their hand, feet and spine with a rechargeable compressor attached to their backs. They can lift and move 400-450 kgs easily. But delicate tasks are not for them due to the bulky vambraces. on the plus side they sleep in the sitting position with legs splayed.
Linda was amazing. A 1o meter long and 3 meter wide bronze and steel cylinder with powered by a compressed carbon engine, with 24 pairs of blue steel claws each with its own compressor arrayed along the cylinder uniformly except for the reinforced glass canopy which covered the seating and storage area. She could move in any direction without turning. Nani was transfixed from the moment Dr. Dayal fired it up and patiently explained the control levers and dials and knobs.
When the climb started to get to Upside everyone was tense except Nani whose face was glued to the canopy. He did not even notice their seats were tilting along the hydraulic shock absorbers as the climb steepened. When Linda crossed out onto the ridge Nani got his first look at the twinkling stars.
They waited for 20 minutes for the engine to cool down before restarting their journey. Dr. Dayal was driving Linda at angle up Coal mountain. Soon the canopy started to fog up and micro vents had to be opened for the steem to clear the glass front. It became clear that they had left Coal Mountain when they reached a smaller peak from where the whole vista of the valley could be seen. And the problem- A small avalanche had diverted a part of the water flow away from the water fall to flow gently down the slopes. Only when Linda was attacked did they find out that the avalanche was not natural but caused by the savage Upsiders.
When Nani next awoke it was Sam the mech-hand shaking him. Pain filled his mind as he remembered how Linda had to be abandoned, and the deaths of the rest of the party. Sam had carried Nani and jumped into a gully, that was when something hit him and he blacked out. "You go on and warn Coal city while I divert their attention. Come on boy!"
"Yes yes."
Sam Waved at him and turned away leaping upon a huge boulder and running away without bothering to move silently.
The next 4 hours were excruciating for Nani. As he made his way to the ridge from where they had climbed out. Fear had blotted out all sense of fatigue but his body still slowed down. Nani nearly fainted from relief when he reached the gash in Coal mountain from where he could see the iron pillar marking the entrance to Coal city.