Re: What Goes Up...
In reply to Shay Mordred-Spades (msg # 15):
As a member of the crew, Shay located ropes and rappelling gear beside a window hatch in the lounge on the lower lever. This was one of the exits the ground crew had used to lower themselves to the ground in order to moor the ship.
Ironsides nodded his thanks at Shay for pitching in. For an officer, he cared about his crew and appreciated them. The airship's commander proved to be a friendly and affable sort, not one to stand on ceremony. He'd been from Georgia, originally, and joined the Confederate Air Force about six years before the Final War.
"I used to be a ground-attack pilot, caught some shrapnel in the War." He showed them his artificial foot, a metal prosthetic that (along with the fragments inside him that couldn't be removed) earned him his nickname.
He explained that the Sky Raider was originally designed as a sky crane and cargo hauler. It and its six sister ships had helped build Hellstromme's dome over Junkyard that had protected the city from getting nuked on Judgement Day. Some were converted to passenger liners, but all were decommissioned before the war. Hellstromme industries had retrofitted them with an advanced stealth coating in the hopes of selling them to the USAF as special operations transports but this plan had come to naught.
The immense sky ship didn't used gas cells to provide lift, it used vacuum cells. Powerful air pumps sucked out all the atmosphere in a cell and a charged polymer material used in Hellstromme-designed space suits maintained the negative pressure without deforming. This was not only much safer than some gasses and provided more lift than all other gasses, lift could be generated as long as the ship had power from its Ghost Rock reactor, which gave it effectively unlimited range. The cells and the envelope skin of the vacuum-dirigible were also self-sealing and bullet-resistant.
After it was liberated from the Combine-occupied Hellstromme facilities in Denver, remote gun turrets (20mm autocannon and 4-cell AIM-140 AADSMRAAM missile racks) were installed along the top and sides of the envelope. More weapons stations were added along the sides and bottom of the 2-story gondola. It had almost unlimited range and could lift a cargo of 80 tons.
They started in the lounge, then through the crew quarters (lined with bunk beds).
"Let's start here on the lower level. We gutted it to make a fly-through flight deck and hangar but kept as much as we could. At the rear is the skyhook, we use it to recover the aircraft, and the repair bay. We use an electromagnetic catapult to launch them from the front. At the front of the flight deck is the lounge, and across the flight deck is flight ops and auxiliary controls. Ground vehicle parking is here."
Near the tied down technical were barrels of Spook Juice for the ground vehicles, more vehicle tools. He led the group up a set of stairs, showing off the different areas on the upper level.
"Off there are some luxury cabins. Three of these VIP ones are for your use. Pilots' quarters, bridge crew quarters. Bridge at the front. Skyhook mechanism in the rear, with crane controls."
Remote weapons were controlled from the CIC behind the bridge, beside the CIC was the armoury. There were various small arms, MGs, ammunition, even a few precious ATRs (Anti-Tank Rockets). In the middle of the upper level was the 1000 gallon Spook Juice tank to refuel the aircraft.
"Well, I guess that's it.
"Simon, we can put you and Fred in the middle VIP cabin. You have the ones on either side (front and back) as well."