NationStates Jolt Archive

Alfegos Aeronautics had come to Zinaire. Following messages referred to them via the foreign ministry, a meeting had finally been arranged between 8 representatives of Alfegos Aeronautics and the government of Zinaire. This though was a meeting with a difference. For the meeting place was no fixed location.

Drifting 20 miles from the north coast of Zinaire, an Olympia-class Air-Yaucht was preparing to receive the government officials. As its pair of AAe 10k "Special" 10 000hp engines slowed to a mere hum, the 8 men proceeded to the airship boardroom from their respective cabins. Though the airship size was relatively small, the vectored thrust capability meant that the airship was able to carry more than a simple airship of the same size. That meant spacious accommodation for up to 10 people, and quarters of relative comfort for the 6 crew members. Here, they were in a hub part of the airship: a large room connected to all others, bearing a large screen at one end by the main door to the helicopter hanger. What made this futuristicly-furnished room impressive though, aside from the sweeping Aerluminium table, was its floor, made from clear OxyNitride glass. Below, a brilliant view confronted all observers.

The pilot of the 100m-long craft flicked on the autopilot as he made the final adjustments for the airship computer: to hold the airship at a perfectly still point, with as smooth a ride as possible. He set the airship height to 1000m above the sea, before switching on the radio locator, to find the inbound helicopter that had been arranged as the transport for the diplomatic representatives from Zinaire.

The Zinairian helicopter contained a full compliment of Zinairian ministers– Anthony Marcus and Jackson Miller of the Foreign Authority, Henry Norton of the Military Authority, Emma Glass and Dorothy Brown of the Commerce Authority and Grace Underwood of the Transportation Authority. Additionally, there was Kevin Stevens, co-founder of DeTal-Stevens, a Zinairian defense firm and the various body guards required to protect high-ranking government officials and an important business man.

The helicopter approached the airship and hovered without the slightest idea of how to precede.

"This is the pilot of the Air Yaucht 'Progress', to government helicopter. I can see from your reaction this is the first time you've ever seen this sorta thing. Don't worry."

Over the radio, there was the sound of clicking switches.

"You see those red lights that've just come on? Fly towards it, until you're fully underneath the airship, and hover. That's it. Now wait while the bay doors open... keep steady! Now, I'll pass you over to the bay controller."

On the underside of the airship gondola, a part had opened to the rear. On the underside, an object looking like some form of stylish protrusion unfolded, revealing that it was a clamp.

"Hi helicopter pilot. Just stay as you are for the moment. That arm'll come towards you, and grab onto your craft. Keep yourself steady, and you'll be OK. Here we come."

The arm moved forwards, before three grips unfolded to clasp onto the helicopter. There was a hiss as pneumatic locks engaged, before a clang as all three grasped the craft. A few seconds later, a siren sounded.

"Don't worry: you're perfectly alright now. Kill the rotors, and shut down the engines. Then I'll take you inside."

As the helicopter was lifted into the gondola, one of the bodyguards muttered something about knowing what alien abductions felt like.

The passengers disembarked the helicopter and were directed towards the boardroom. Leaving the bodyguards outside, the seven decision-makers entered the room. They were immediately taken aback by the transparent flooring and Kevin Stevens knelt to examine it. When he rose he let out a deep chuckle.

"I have a feeling they'll be plenty of money changing hands today."

Emma Glass, the Minister of Commerce maintained her dour disposition and appeared totally unenthused by the floor.

"And I certainly hope that the end result of all this will be money changing into our hands."

Jackson Miller gave a slight grimace at the selfishness of his colleague then made a move to sit down.

"Yes, certainly. Hopefully we'll all be getting rich. Well, let's get down to business, gentlemen."

Following the Chancellor's lead, the Zinairian party took their seats the introductions began.

The controller nodded to the helicopter pilot and guests as the doors closed underneath them, leaving a gap for the arm to reach in. A pair of the cabin crew walked over to the helicopter side with a set of steps, before escorting them from the area through the sliding metal door into the boardroom. Inside, the men and women rose to their feet, bowing. The ground crew took stationary places either side of the table, whilst two of the Alfegan bodyguards took up positions to the side of the rooms.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard our corporate Air Yaucht, the "Progress". I am the Chief Executive Officer of Alfegos Aeronautics, Yhu'los Tha'ko. The young lady to my right is Re'dai La'cao, the Chairman of the company, whilst the man to my left is Hes'do Kahi, the head of the Airship Division. To his right, Thu'dor Yashi, deputy head of marketing. The other three are senior consultation staff to new nations in the Divisions of Airships, Commercial Aircraft and Military Armaments, and in order clockwise are Hugh Thomas, Kha'al Hi'soi and Thyu'ol Hjak'so. I apologise in advance for any confusion on names, but regrettably Alfegan names are often dreadfully unpronounceable to many foreign nationals.
So, before we start the presentation, would anyone like drinks?"

He clapped his hands, the two cabin crew standing to attention and stepping forwards.

Kevin Stevens gave another hearty laugh.

"Yes, I suppose nicknames will be in order. I'm Kevin Stevens of DeTal-Stevens."

The other ministers introduced themselves one by one, finishing with Jackson Miller.

"And I'm Sir Jackson Miller, Chancellor of Diplomatic Relations. To drink, water will be fine for all of us. Unless you stopped at a Zinairian liquor store on the way here and have some Tilleul."

"I think second names will be appropriate for now. Anyhow, if our guests are having water, we shall all have water to drink."

The two crewmen disappeared off, rapidly reappearing with trays of crystal glasses, each filled with water. As they were placed down, the CEO began talking.

"As I'm sure you can glean, Alfegos Aeronautics is a very powerful corporation not just in Alfegos but across a large area of the globe. We deal in many fields, from Armaments to Shipping, but as I'm also sure you could've guessed, we pride ourselves in being one of the very few major companies that specialise in Airships. Now before you think of airships as a breed only found in advertising and very rarely as small tourist transports, look about you. We shall show you now a short presentation about the Consul-class Airship, designated an AeroCruiser in role, to prove to you that airships have a practicality in, shockingly, the military."

The lights dimmed, before the screen lit up with the presentation he had said about.
http://z4.invisionfree.com/NSDraftroom/index.php?showtopic=3439

The Zinairians watched the presentation with interest. Kevin Stevens applauded at the end, but everyone else seemed to think it improper. Henry Norton, the Minister of Defense, was the first to speak.

"That's very intriguing, but, in all honesty, how effective is it against fighters and other airplanes?"

Emma Glass nodded.

"Yes, I know the Commerce Authority is interesting in shipping craft and I believe the Military Authority is considering them as a heavy airlift. Correct, Sir Norton?"

"Yes, indeed. In fact, coming here, that was our primary goal: better airlift capabilities. Do you have anything that would be good for that?"

"First to address your point, Minister for Defence: against fighters, the said airship is armed with a large volume of modified Surface-to-Air missiles to use against a detected fighter threat, with a large sensor unit being used in conjunction with combined airfleet sensors to detect the fighters and from there designate targets for firing upon.
In addition, the Consul is armed with extensive countermeasures, ranging from electronic measures that stop guidance systems on missiles from working to hardkill systems that destroy the missile before it can impact.
Finally, that airship has a serious amount of size: one missile will not be likely to cause even moderate structural damage. I can think of one incidence where an unarmed airship taken over by an illegal organisation survived continuous attack from a foreign authority's aircraft and naval units, downing a few of their fighters before it finally was destroyed by a shot to the heart as it were using kamikaze tactics. And the said airship was really quite small in comparison to most.
As for specialist aircraft hunters, such airships as the N-class Aerofrigate, which will be released for international sale soon are armed with Ultra-long range Surface-to-Air missiles, as well as the option to carry racks of vicious shorter-ranged missiles.

But of course, onto the most common request for airship sales: heavy airlifting. Now whilst we currently haven't released any major designs to the international community as of yet for fear of copies springing up, we can assure you that designs for you will be coming shortly.
We offer a range of airship sizes for heavy airlifting, depending on the amount of lift you want. We can start at the small Tradewind-class airship, which has a total payload limit of 100 tonnes and a relatively small size. This would primarily be used for more rapid, short range haulage, and uses vectored thrust systems to cut down on the amount of size it needs. However, I can guess you are interested in the much larger goods.
A common starter we recommend to you for a cheap price is the Liberty class AeroFreighter. These come in a variety of sizes depending on client wishes, with lengths of between 250 and 850 metres long. Due to the modular construction system we have for these airships, they come as the cheapest per tonne of lift, with lift ranging from 800 tonnes on the Extra-small size up to 12 000 tonnes on the Large size. The construction method also means said airships are faster to build, so your orders will come in quicker. However, engine power is not that great, and gas reservoir size is limited on most airships, meaning that the Large size has a maximum range of about 20 000km.
However, if you're looking for a more serious alternative, we can offer you the Clipper-class AeroFreighter. At 850m long, it has a much larger diameter, meaning for a total payload of 22 000 tonnes. The large gas reservoir means that it has a longer range of almost 30 000km, whilst engines are much more powerful at the cost of efficiency.
Finally, for airlifting, we move onto the largest of them all: the Duststorm-class Aerofreighter. Whilst it has a total payload of almost 50 000 tonnes, it has its drawbacks. The first is that it is 1km long. The second is that it is hardly cheap, takes almost 18 months to construct and has a very low average speed. However, you'll find that it has cost/tonne equivalent to most container ships, as well as having a much longer range. Using AerGas, the craft need not pay fuel tariffs at most airports, meaning that fuel costs are very cheap.

As I said, the designs will arrive shortly. Any questions about particular airships?"

The Zinairians nodded, impressed. Henry Norton opened a small laptop computer and pulled up the specs for the current Zinairian airlift and fast sealift craft.

"That's certainly an improvement over our current airlifts. Capacity-wise, anyway. Speed's an important issue, how fast are we talking for the Clipper class? I think that's what we're primarily interested in. Also, how is cargo loaded on? Ideally, we're looking for a RORO solution but if they speed is good enough, we'd settle for some other method."

Grace Underwood, the Minister of Transportation piped up.

"I'm also not really sure that we could fit a Clipper at any of our airports. The airbase and ZIA are quite crowded already. I don't know where we would put a couple airships nearly a kilometer wide. Do you have any suggestions? Maybe an offshore platform?"

"I'm glad you asked. The speed of the Clipper Class is approximately 60km/h cruising, or 80km/h on maximum speed. While not much compared to your aircraft speed, such a craft would easily be able to beat conventional shipping, as well as carrying much more in the way of cargo. Unloading wise, these airships can load and unload themselves, providing crates are stacked correctly on the ground. Of course, the airship can only normally collect standard airshipping crates or extra-large crates, but for the military there are models that will accept universal palleting systems, thus making such a feat much easier. Using that system, I reckon you could fit almost 24 MBTs aboard one of these airships.

As for landing at airports, such an airship problem would not be overtly difficult. Airships are able to land on normal runways, and drop off the crates just to the side/pick 'em up from side of said runway. What we normally have in our nation is a large field or concreted area to the side of the aerodrome used by both helicopters and the airships.
One solution you may wish to consider is mooring them just offshore, and using a barge to carry them inland.
Mainly though one just has to consider that an airship is only about quarter it's length in width in most designs.

Is there anything else that needs asking?"

Sir Norton hit a few more keys on his computer and scowled.

"It would appear that your airships are on par with the Algol class fast sealift ships that we use for the majority of our sealift operations. With a maximum speed of 33 knots, they're just a bit faster than the Clipper at cruising speed. I suppose the airships maintain the advantage of being immune to naval blockade but they're susceptible to air strike. Just a couple more questions. What are the countermeasures on a cargo airship? What's the square footage of cargo space? What other benefits do you consider airships to have over sealift ships? And finally, how long does it take to get a Clipper loaded and in the air once the order has been given?"

"Compared to sealift craft, such an airship would be able to travel over land: obviously there is a slight problem with a ship doing such a feat. Airships also have a much higher immunity to fire against them, soaking up shots that a normal cargo ship would find lethal. In addition, sea craft are often more expensive to repair, and use more expensive and polluting fuels than the airships.

As for space, you're talking about 120m^3 by 64 in main space, which is about 7680m^3 in space. For unloading, if stationed correctly, the airship would be able to load up and take off within 5 minutes.

Countermeasure-wise, we are able to help your nation install either native or Alfegan countermeasure units to the airships. These would primarily be electronic, but would also include hardkill Hailstorm systems for annihilating inbound missile threats.

Overall, think of an airship as an ideal compromise between sealift and airlift."

Sir Norton shut his computer and nodded.

"Yes, they are certainly not without their advantages. Just a few final questions though. What if our enemies are not kind enough to have built an airship-suitable aerodrome? It seems from your previous statements that we would have no problem dropping the cargo, but what if the airship is in need of repairs or needs to be refueled or refilled? If we are unable to fly it home or to the nearest friendly nation with the proper facilities, must we just leave it for dead? And what if, at the end of the campaign, we wish to use an airship to bring our equipment back to Zinaire, would it be easy, or even possible, to load the Clipper without a proper aerodrome? Also, how would the installation of these countermeasures affect the capacity of the airship? Would you recommend an escort instead? And if so, am I correct in assuming it should be an airship escort? Finally, do you have estimates on procurement costs and the cost of running a Clipper for a year?"

Grace Underwood cleared her throat meekly.

"I also have a question. We're looking for an air transport for people we don't just want to shove in the back of a Globemaster, but also aren't important enough to warrant one of our VIP transport jets. Do you have a passenger airship that would fit that bill? Preferably something that could transport between one and three hundred people comfortably."

(OOC: Bloody forum ate my post. Very tiring when it does that!)

"Airships, when damaged, need not be left for lost. Indeed, if an airship was to lose 40% of it's total raw lift, or nearly 8 million m^3, it would still maintain a degree of airworthiness. However, for repairs, all that is needed again is a nice open field and some tethers to hold it down, so that basic field repairs can be done to make it airworthy again. If necessary, once it's afloat again, Alfegos Aeronautics can offer you a recovery and repair service, where the airship is towed by another airship back to one of our hangers or airshipyards, so that extensive repair works can be performed.
The most crippling damage that could be done is with experimental oxidiser missiles or a direct hit to the control gondola. Both would leave the airship either crippled or adrift, the former being extremely difficult to repair. In either case, we are willing to tow an airship back for repair.
In actual fact with modern airships, we have found the only cause of destruction in them to be structural failure, the entire airship coming out of the sky as a result. If such an event did occur, Alfegos Aeronatuics is very happy to buy back the wreck, and in some cases we have been able to actually refit wrecks and have them flying again.

Anyhow, in the field, all that would be needed to reload items should you want to fly off are facilities where the airship will fit, and can be tethered so it doesn't go drifting everywhere. Fuelling can simply be done by filling it up with the AerGas we recommend you run it on from the back of a tanker, but given the amount needed, we can safely tell you the engines are able to run on many kinds of gas. By many kinds, I mean it'll run on coal gas, methane, natural gas, butane and propane. However, since this can keep flying for over 2 weeks, we can safely say that such fuelling is rarely necessary. As for helium fuelling, we'd recommend that it's refilled with helium after being repaired from cell damage by an attack, or after 100 000km of flight."

He heard a chime, and turned away to his laptop. Soon, he turned back.
"Right then: we have some news for you. The current version of the Clipper-class AeroFreighter is the 240, which uses all the latest updates, but according to people back home they've decided that they can now optionally sell the airship with a basic Roll-on Roll-off system you'd find on your cargo aircraft. You'd have a larger amount of space, they'll be compatible with infantry, and still maintain an easy loading/unloading system, albeit at a slightly longer time period for loading of about 10 minutes. I think you'll agree that, being that these will be used for the military, such a system would be much more beneficial.

Anyhow, back to those questions. Defence systems I know are mounted externally, so take up little internal volume. Controls can be found in the control gondola with the crew, and we reckon that our countermeasures systems have an 85% effectiveness overall against missile threats to the gondolas and underside, and 60% effectiveness over the rest of the airship. Considering that this is a similar rate to many aircraft, we can say that it ain't bad.
As for an escort, if needed, we'd recommend a small AeroFrigate such as the N-class. These can be outfitted for submarine hunting and long-range standoff against land and air targets, fitted mostly with Ultra-long range missiles in the latter role. They also carry a large compliment of anti-ballistic missiles, meaning that any attack from large missiles can be averted.
However, if you don't fancy that, faster surface vehicles or much slower air vehicles could provide an escort. The main threat being missiles and fighters, you'd be able to tailor your forces to the enemy preferred method of attack.

Now, to the tricky bit: price. One of these airships will set you back $12 million, but once you've bought it, they require little maintenance. Whilst we know you have no facilities to harbour them as of yet, we can provide you with mobile vehicle systems until you decide what you want as a permanent solution.
Running costs: how often would you be using this airship? Let's assume you use it for 30 weeks a year. The costs for fuel would be approximately $5 million per annum, while helium would only be about $100 000 and general repairs $50 000. The only real expense of these airships to run is fuel, but apart from that you've got an extremely cheap platform.

As for transferring personnel, we can recommend airyauchts such as this for very wealthy customers at a relatively low price yet high quality. However, even the cheapest would only have space for 30-or-so people.
Thing is with airships, you have to consider the sheer timespan you're transporting them for, due to relatively low speeds. For between 100 - 300 people, we have such airships as the Topaz, in high density configuration. Each passenger is provided with a cubicle area similar in quality to a 1st class airline seat, and larger in size, with the rest of the onboard space being taken up by shops, bars, entertainment areas and crew facilities. The airship is only about 320m in length, and would set you aside a mere $7 million fully equipped. Running costs would be cheaper due to the lower amount of fuel needed to actually move the thing, and size is much reduced due to the use of vectored thrust, as on this airship. To tell you the truth, we currently would only just be flying weren't it not for the engines on the airship. This means size can be reduced for the gasbag, but space increased. Overall, still a heavy lifting capacity.
For many flights, we use such things as the Emerald class in Normal configuration, where each group of people are supplied with a cabin for their stay. Since the time they'll be onboard is measured in weeks, we decide that opting for comfort is best. Such as on this airship, a very comfortable ship albeit very luxurious. These ones are custom made on order, but you'd be surprised to know we can have one of these ready for you in under a month. Best thing, as I'm sure you will agree, is that an airship like this makes a perfect setting for business. I noticed some of your reactions on entering here, and I'm sure you realise how impressive a palce such as this is for conducting meetings."

While several of the ministers nodded approvingly, Lady Underwood seemed displeased with the options for passenger transport.

"Not really what we're looking for I'm afraid, thank you though." She leaned back and whispered to the Minister of Commerce, "Make sure we set up a meeting with Airbus."

Sir Norton cleared his throat and placed his hands on the table.

"The Military Authority, on the other hand, could not be more pleased. Twelve million will be no problem at all, especially if maintenance proves to be as low as you claim it will be and the news about the update is quite welcome. However, is that the price with countermeasures installed? Also, tell me a little bit more about AerGas and it's benefits over diesel or whatever else airships can run on."

The CEO looked on nonplussed as he noted the reaction of Lady Underwood. Not the best woman to do business with.

"I stated the price without countermeasures. With them, we're looking at about an increase of $550 000 for the latest system we are allowed to sell. Please remember that such technology is highly crucial to the survival of many aircraft and airships, so the current latest systems will not be sold due to secrecy acts.

Anyhow, to AerGas. I'll let the head of the Airship Division handle that."

He gestured over to the person, who began speaking in a hoarse voice.
"AerGas is the recommended fuel on airships. It's made 6 parts Methane to 1 part Hydrogen, both produced in decomposition reactors. Most airships are designed to run on it since it is lighter than air, so actually provides a bit of lift, and is much more easy to store as a volume than a mass. Take the Clipper Class: the overall engine power on that is in the region of 400 000 horsepower, or 298 MegaWatts. Such fuel consumption using diesel would be, even with the most efficient diesel engines produced by our Engine division, over 10 tonnes an hour. To achieve the range we currently have, that works out at 5000 tonnes of fuel needing to be carried. As you can see, AerGas is a better alternative. It's stored in the central cells of the airship, so can't be ignited. If a leak occurs, the surrounding helium atmosphere means that it is very hard to achieve combustion.
However, as we said, you may wish to use other gases instead, which is fine so long as you make sure the engines are tuned for it before you take off, to achieve maximal longevity.

As for repair prices, those are with us expecting you to look after them well. As we have seen with some companies, not using them correctly or failing to adhere to our recommendations of use can lead to the repair bill soaring. Of course, we know that, being military property, you will look after them well."

He looked back at the CEO. He spoke up.
"Ma'am, about your little question with planes: did I mention we also sell conventional fixed-wing aircraft? If you are interested, I'm sure the Head of the Division will be able to arrange a nice deal with you once we finish negotiations with the military-side of purchasing.
So, how many of these can we expect you to purchase?"

bump

(OOC: Shisse, I totally lost track of this. Sorry about that.)

Sir Norton nodded, seemingly very pleased with everything he was hearing.

"Now just to make sure I won't be digging an early grave for the fellows in logistics, I have some questions about AerGas. How much does it cost? How is it stored and transported? Is it extremely combustible or otherwise dangerous while not onboard the airship? Can it only be purchased from you? But regardless of your answers, seeing as how we could always use a different fuel source, I think you can but us down for an initial fifteen Clippers with all the bells and whistles."

"Right you are then sir: I'll see to it right away." The CEO nodded, before making a sidewards glance at the Sales Head, who began busily tapping away at his laptop.

"Alright then... AerGas. It's basically an artificial fuel we synthesise from bio-methane that we produce on landfill sites, from sewerage and on pretty much every single farm in Alfegos; and Hydrogen produced from electrolysis of water or the manufacture of coke and Coal Gas. We mix it in a ratio of 6:1 methane to hydrogen. It's lighter than air, and obviously inflammable.We normally transport it by tanker to aerodromes, where it is stored in massive underground tanks. We often move it by ship in cylinder form, or by airship, again in cylinder form or just carried inside the airship envelope.
As with any high-compressed gas, it will make a loud bang when it ignites. However, we add two additives to make sure that you know that there is a leak via its detection by smell. We also provide gas detector strips that can be mounted in storage and transport areas, that allow you to visually tell the level of a leak. As for purchasing, it costs about $16 per cubic metre in Alfegos, though prices for you over here would be considerably higher taking into account demand and fuel consumption. If you want to find another seller apart from us, well they're quite hard to find. Prevania has an extensive airship fleet, one of the great airship powers of the world, though I believe they use either coal gas or nuclear power in their designs... the latter of course only on the largest of their airships, but still a rather dangerous prospect.

Anyhow, I'd recommend for your nation that natural gas would be your best fuel, since it can be piped directly to the aerodromes. As you said, we wouldn't really want to bulldoze the market for your logistics people.

Those airships will now have been commissioned. Due to the large amount of space an airship takes up, and their popularity, we only have so many to go at once. With this class, being the most popular, we do have 5 currently in storage that will be flown over to you, countermeasures and the RORO system being installed as we speak. Those will take about 1 week to arrive, on top of 18 hours of fitting and testing. These will be taking a technical crew alongside another group of advisers who will help the authorities on the ground to deal with these, and demonstrate them.

As for the other 10, we have sent them to the airshipyard authority, who tell us that there are three airshipyards currently without anything being built. The first batch of three will take 4-5 months construction time, same for the second batch. We hope that there will be no need for a third batch, there being space enough in forward orders in the Milkavich Airship Works. If you ever visit Alfegos for the airships, be sure to take a flight over there. 16 airshipyards, each building airships up to 1km in length, surrounded by factories producing all parts, refining all minerals... a complex that employs over 15 million people. Anyhow, they should be able to get the orders done.

So, what else were you willing to discuss? Are you perhaps interested in airships for a policing role, such as our I-class AeroPatrolcraft?"

Sir Norton seemed pleased with the deal he had made.

"Yes, excellent. We'll be keeping them at the Southern Zinairian Facilities, I think, right on the coast. Now, about those patrol craft, we didn't think to bring anyone from a police background, perhaps we could get them on the phone or something though. Is there a speakerphone or anything in here?"

Lady Overstreet chimed in again.

"Maybe, while that's being sorted out we could discuss those conventional aircraft you mentioned. Bear in mind, we're looking for volume primarily. We essentially need a way to transport people that doesn't involve shoving them into the back of a heavy-lift aircraft. I believe I mentioned Airbus earlier, something similar to the A380, maybe?"

"Yes sir, we do have telecommunications equipment aboard this airship. What is the number you wish to contact? We have the ability for videophone and very basic 3D imaging, though I doubt you'll have a 4-way camera system in a police head's office."

He nodded to one of the cabin crew, who walked over to the wall and slid open a panel, revealing a computer screen and keyboard set into the wall, which folded outwards as the screen came online.

"Anyway, to conventional aircraft: are you looking for transporting soldiers and equipment, or other groups? If so, we can offer different aircraft for such purposes. The Saffron 70 is a long-range model from our Saffron range of aircraft, either in the 70C cargo configuration, 70I soldier configuration or the 70S Standard passenger configuration. Each aircraft of the 70S looks at holding about 400-500 people in standard configuration, or about 600 people in full economy class."

"Ah," said Sir Norton, "excellent, could we get two different people on the line? Let's see, the Police Authority would be 19-555-738-2838 and the ZNPD headquarters would be 19-555-290-4728. I'm afraid I don't know the extensions, just ask for Sir Knight and Chief Terrance Dunn. Thank you."

"No, no, no. Not soldiers, we use the Globemaster. This is intended for moving large groups of people who aren't VIPs. For instance, a while back we needed to evacuate some tourists from Hisperians and we had to commandeer jets from ZinAir, the national airline. We just need something in standard passenger configuration– just one class. Do you have some specs I could look at? I don't suppose you have seating plans handy." Said Lady Overstreet, her cold disposition fading.

"Sadly, we didn't prepare that much in the way of aircraft specifications. I'll see if I can get some more precise specifications to you as soon as possible. As for now though, I think we'll have the Police chief on the line at any moment."

To the side of the room, the man at the console finished talking into a small handset before flicking a switch. There was a hiss of static as the line connected, before quietness. A red light appeared on a panel set into the table, opening to reveal a microphone unit atop a small speaker unit.

"Just speak normally: the directional mikes will pick up what you say."

Sir Norton nodded his thanks to the technician.

"Francis, Terrance, can you hear me? Henry here."

Francis Knight's gruff voice boomed back at him.

"I can hear ya'. Terrance?"

"Loud and clear." Said the chief of national police, "What can we do for you?"

"Well, you see, you may know this but I'm currently floating off the coast–"

"You're what?" Bellowed Sir Knight, "Have you been kidnapped? You said you're floating, are they not trying to make a getaway? I'll get some naval ships to search the coast. Any idea what side you're on, landmarks?"

Chief Dunn sighed audibly, "You're overreacting. I think he means he's shipwrecked."

"Then how would he have a phone? Didn't think of that did you? You rag-brained buffoon."

Sir Norton smacked his hand down on the table.

"Please, gentlemen, shut up. Don't you recall, the business meeting?"

Sir Knight cleared his throat sheepishly.

"Yes, now that you mention it, it rings a bell."

"Excellent. These fellows have some airships designed for police work and I called to see if either of you would be interested in hearing about them."

"Fine," said Terrance Dunn, "go ahead. My lunch is cold anyway."

"Hello there, Sir. I am the Chief Executive Officer of Alfegos Aeronautics, and thank you for listening to this proposal. I'll just pass you over to the Head of the Airship Sales department, who will tell you what we're talking about."

"Thankyou. Right then, what we're offering for sale is the I-class Aeropatrolcraft. While originally a military airship intended for providing designation, cameras and short-range RADAR, we have extensive manufacturing contracts with both the Alfegan Police Force, Neo-Ixania and some other nations.

The Police version can stay aloft for days at a time, since it need not move that much. It's only 120m long, so much easier to store than most airships, and powered on diesel unlike most.
Now, normally the two pods on the underside carry a battery of cameras and a RADAR unit. Now what we have on this are two groups each of 5 cameras facing outwards, 4 being automated cameras and 1 being a controllable camera. Now, the automated cameras come with a character recognition system, the whole system acting as a numberplate tracking system: at an optimum altitude of 100m, it can spot each numberplate, recognise the characters on it, and track it should a comparison with the police computer show it is either stolen or without registration. Thus, we have managed to cut vehicle theft in patrol areas by 70%, and registration avoidance by 55%.

We normally fit the primary camera for visual on the airship, the secondary being used for infrared spotting of criminals at night-time. There's normally a crew of only 3 needed for short flights, though for much longer flights the cabin aboard can hold 9 people and supplies for a few days, allowing for police observation operations to be carried out for long periods of time.
And all for a price of only $130 000 without weapons systems.

Sound attractive sirs?"

OOC: I'm super sorry, I was in Europe and I lost track of this when I got back and blah blah blah, sorry.

Terrance Dunn listened intently then cleared his throat into the phone.

"Those are good numbers you're giving me. Just two questions. How much area can each of those cover and how much training will the crew require? I suppose I have three, actually. Just how visible are they from the ground? If, say, we were to park one over someone's house, how long would it take them to figure out there was a police blimp–"

Kevin Stevens cut in.

"Airship. They're airships."

"Yes, a police airship. How long would it take them to realize there was one watching them?"

"The I-class, while having a range of about 400km and a maximal speed of 60km/h is very quiet. With the engines off, a suspect would have to look up to see one. In addition, at night-time, they can be almost invisible if lights are not used.
However, what people do not realise is that the airship need not move that much forwards and that, but upwards as well. The quality of cameras aboard these vessels mean that if a suspect is fleeing and the airship can't keep up, all it needs to do is increase altitude to provide itself with a long field of view.
Which goes back to the question that you put forward earlier: a suspect might not even need to have the airship above his house, but a kilometre away.
Training is relatively quick, save for the pilot. Though flying an airship is difficult, we can offer you fast-track courses to flying one of these, at a reduced cost.

Any more?"

Sir Dunn cleared his throat into the phone again. There way a pause and then the sound of him sneezing faintly. Another pause and another throat clearing.

"Thank you, but you neglected to answer my first question: how much ground can each airship cover on average? Once you answer I think we'll be all set to order a couple for the ZNPD."

"The airships, once launched, have enough fuel to travel 400km on engines alone, as we mentioned previously. If used stationary, it can see objects up to 1km away at a resolution of 8 pixels per centimetre, though after 1.6km the image quality is often too poor for use due to atmospheric interference the basic adaptive optic system the main cameras use can't over-ride.
If searching at its 1 kilometre range and moving at maximum speed, it can cover an area of 124 square kilometres in an hour, in extremely high resolutions. Being a stable platform, image quality is often good enough for prosecution to be done on these images.
If I have misunderstood your question, I apologise for my obvious ignorance."

There was a pause as Sir Dunn could be heard talking to his secretary.

"Gloria! How big is Zinaire?"

"Nearly 250,000 square kilometers, Mr. Dunn."

"Really? That big? Darn."

Terrance picked up the receiver and resumed his conversation.

"Very well, let's say ten to get us started. That should be enough to cover at least Zinaire City pretty well."

"The amount of land that needs covering is not that large you'll need 2000 airships: remember that these only need be deployed to urban areas or in car chases. But a primary order of ten have been confirmed. Would you like them with or without weaponry slots, and in any specific colours?"

The representatives at the table looked markedly more uplifted as the sale was secured. One of the men began to rapidly type into a laptop as he accessed the orders database.

"With current high demand, we have many made already... you're lucky that 8 are available for immediate dispatch, with the other two having a slot at the Ol'vi airshipyard. Being a minor one building small airships, you'll see that you have priority on orders, and with both bays being clear within 72 hours you'll have a wait of 4 weeks for both to be built.
As for training crews to aid with training for pilots over in the nation, we have two courses starting shortly for potential police force pilots. Since these courses are often booked quickly, we would recommend that you sign up now. Alternatively, we can afford to send private training staff over to the nation to work with the potential pilots in your nations."

"Hmmm, I suppose we'll take half in aerial camouflage or whatever you find makes them least detectable from the ground and the other half in black to act as a deterrent. If you were to put the ZNPD logo or just the letters "ZNPD" on the bottom of the black ones, would that be readable from the ground? Oh, and we'll want those without weapons. As for training, I think we'll want to go with private courses. Do you have any suggestions for how many men we should train?"

As Terrance was talking, Sir Norton leaned across the table to talk to the man who was working on his laptop.

"I'll want an itemized receipt of everything the government has bought today, I assume that's possible."

"In standard aerial camouflage... that'll be bluish-grey in colour. If you want an example of that, look out of the side to your left and you should just be able to see the Aerodestroyer escort we have. Once you see it, you won't be able to miss it.
With the black designs, the logo will sadly be difficult to see. We will of course provide a logo on the tail fins, along with the standard registration number. But ZNPD should be visible from the ground, since the letters will be approximately 20m high and stretched along the underside. As it is, we reckon the letters would be visible up to airship altitudes of 600 metres, above normal police helicopter altitudes."

The worker tapped in the order details into the keyboard, smiling as he finished.
"Don't you worry sir: the link we have to the main database via satellite means that we can print it out here once you have finished here today. Of course, copies will be sent to the main database and airshipyard forward databases on our side, and on your side in triplicate to the relevant government offices via secure transit and in electronic form both here and via that secure mail. It's the standard service we provide to governments buying unarmed airships. Armed airships, we stick in confidentiality, high security delivery of related documents via armed courier and other measures. Even with the government paper, we use an indelible ink filled with europium markers amongst other things so that any alterations are instantly visible. A recent addition is fireproofing to the non-tearing paper we use, so that they are even harder to destroy or forge.
We'll print it out as I said from our document printer we have onboard, whilst the extra copies are sent via a courier at the airport to the government."

"Okay, great. He have a deal. Five in camo and five in black with "ZNPD" on the bottom. I guess I'm done here so I'm going to go eating my f---ing lunch."

There was a click as Terrance hung up.

Sir Norton looked at the man perplexed. He opened and closed him mouth a couple times then finally spoke.

"Okay, cool. As long as we get a copy."

"Thank you all. Now, is there anything else that you would be interested in?"

"Yes, actually. Zinaire will soon be forming a major humanitarian organization. We are wondering if you have any crafts that you think would be an asset to a search and rescue mission. On a related note, any sort of weather airship would also be of interest."

OOC: Alfegos, where has thou gone?

(OOC: Army camp... sorry didn't say before. Had a lot of fun though...)

"Of course sir... we have yet to have revealed to you one of our masterpieces of airship design. I will ask you: have you ever heard of a stratellite?"

Flicking on the projector, an image came up of a small airship, an underslung compartment covered in antennae. Two small engines on the side looked insignificant compared to the complexity of the device.

"A stratellite is a very small airship that is launched using assisted propulsion systems up into the mesosphere, to park at approximately 80km above sea level. At this altitude, it is clear of all weather save for extremely rare noctilucent clouds, and free of most winds. In fact, the only movement detected by these craft are of the gravitational pull of the atmosphere by the moon.
These craft are completely unmanned, and used for all sorts of roles. As well as telecommunications, weather observation and surface mapping, we have these fitted for use in humanitarian roles. In the case of a natural disaster occurring, the first response from the inbound groups would be to launch one of these, likely from an ekranoplan craft. Within 45 minutes to an hour, you have a platform away from any interference providing emergency telecommunications for the country in the form of both radio, televisual and telephonic. It also comes with basic cameras with high-zoom lenses that allow for scanning of areas and observation of said area at a much cheaper price than any satellite. Plus the fact the entire launch and command unit can be fitted into a standard shipping crate, and the limp structure allows it to be folded down and flat-packed for transit.

In addition, for humanitarian work we would recommend more of airship transports we provide such as the liberty class or clipper class. One of them you may be interested in is the Sapphire H10 airship, a 450 metre long airship utilising vectored thrust to increase payload:volume ratio. The H10 version is fitted out as an emergency response unit for all situations, with 2 being held in each province of Alfegos and its colonies. The underslung cargo gondola is set out for providing aid in two sections: the forward area provides a large command centre/passenger area for anyone needed to be transported, with the possibility of it being folded down into a medical centre. The rear area uses a RORO system for disaster crates, manufactured by Solace Storm. Each one of these is a self-contained unit holding specific equipment for different disasters: in the case of a nuclear release/dirty bomb incident, crates would be loaded holding walk-in decontamination facilities, protection suits, containment equipment, composite shielding and specific first-aid equipment. These can be put into an awaiting airship from the depot in under 5 minutes, acting as the 'heavy' response after the primary care units arrive."

Sir Norton's iPhone (OOC: what else?) beeped. He discreetly picked it up and viewed his new email.

"Just got a message from the prime minister, gents. He said, and I quote, "forget about all that meteorological crap. Turns out there's a channel on TV that tells you the weather." There's also a postscript: "P.S. the hurricane-stricken can suck it." So, I guess we'll just be purchasing the military and police crafts."

"Right you are sir. If there is nothing else that you are interested in, then we shall finalise the details of your order and lunch shall be served."

To his side, one of started typing frantic commands into the laptop as he entered details into the receipt form.

"Lunch is a three-course meal in the traditional Alfegan style. I trust you will enjoy it."

Kevin Stevens, who, according to some witness accounts, had been dozing, immediately straightened up.

"Ah, thank god! I'm famished! No one said there would be lunch."

"Excellent. So then, here's your final receipt."

In the centre of the table, a small slot opened to reveal a piece of A4 paper slowly printed out. A small hologram on the top right corner shone in the light as the sheet was finished printing, the slot disappearing. The CEO bent forward to take it, checking the sales details on it.


Purchaser: Zinaire Government
Customer Number: #12279
Authorised Printer: M. Yu'so Ta'xha
Date: 28/6/08

Units Purchased
Aeropatrolcraft, I-class, Z Police Issue x10 $1 300 000
Aerofreighter, Clipper 140, Z Military x15 $188 250 000

Shipping: Free
Total: $189 550 000


"Here you go: is this exactly what you ordered? The Z in the order denotes your special order preferences, which are unique."

Sir Norton looked over the receipt and nodded.

"Yep, that looks right. Now let's eat."

"Thank you."

The CEO clapped his hands, the cue for the flight attendants to enter. They quickly and precisely set the table for dinner, with a large selection of silver cutlery for each of the men and women at the table, along with embroidered napkins. Shortly afterwards, the first course arrived: a large fruit salad for each person, filled with a strange mix of exotic fruits. Alongside, large pitchers of fruit syrup, water and wine were carried around the table, offered to each diner.

"It's a fruit salad, consisting of a mix of Alfegan fruits. All are very fresh, and come from our special plantation in Alfegos. Please enjoy them, and don't hesitate to ask me if you don't actually know what the fruit you're eating is!"

Kevin Stevens's loud, slurply bites were interrupted almost constantly by his full-mouthed cries of "What's this one?"

The others ate in more quiet dignity, but were obviously enjoying the salad. The only exception was Lady Glass who didn't tend to enjoy anything.

"The purple berries are Xha'su fruit. They grow on small shrubs wild in Milkavich province, but have been cultivated since. We use them like you would use grapes, especially in alcoholic beverages such as the wine which you have been served.

The furry green fruit are Uu'su. These come from the Uu'gos tree, a small relative to the common palm tree. They are very nice, unless you manage to bite a pip. I have had the misfortune of biting one before, but I can assure you that all have been removed from here.

As for the leaves, they are also from the Uu'gos tree. You get many things off the Uu'gos tree, not limited to the leaves and fruit. The sap is used to make Gos syrup, upon which most Alfegan fruit syrup mixes are based. The bark is used as roofing material on more traditional housing, whilst the wood is used as a cheap building material. The flowers are beautiful as well, and make a fine drink when boiled up.

As to the syrup that any of you have chosen, that is made from a mix of Gos syrup and the juice of the Ia'sua berry. It is similar to the taste of a grapefruit, which is a good resemblance since the Ia'sua is a citrus plant. I'd recommend you all dilute yours first before drinking, since pure syrup does have a habit of sticking to your throat."

Kevin, who although he had asked had only been half listening, smacked his lips and banged his fists on the table in a good-natured, satisfied manner.

"Whatever it is, it's pretty damn tasty. What's next?"

"Ah, here comes our main course."
The stewards quickly cleared the table, before arriving with the plates.
"Fe'foa bird with sweet potatoes and salad. And an all-spice sauce. Enjoy!" The CEO began eating, prising the meat apart with a knife into thin slithers before eating them with the salad.

Kevin, always having been a meat and potatoes sort a man, totally ignored his salad but dug into the sweet potatoes and the especially the poultry with messy ferocity. The other Zinairians looked on with a mixture of disgust and embarrassment on their faces.

The CEO and his staff looked on with slight distaste at the man wolfing down the food, but quickly hid it as they turned back to their guests.
"I hear that you recently discovered a large pocket of oil offshore of your nation. How's that going, especially with the likes of the Griffencrest Corporation drifting about?"

Noting the distaste among their hosts, Sir Norton elbowed Kevin sharply, prompting him to slip and spread a potato across his face.

Lady Glass smiled at the mention of the oil, "Yes, it was quite an extraordinary find, we count ourselves very lucky. As for keeping Griffencrest at bay, well, that's Sir Norton's department."

The minister of defense wiped his mouth, "Yes, I attribute their lack of interest in our find to our international connections. LION and whatnot, eh?"

"Yes. LION."
A sudden chill descended upon the table, which the CEO quickly broke.
"So, I hear you sold it off to the highest bidder. Neo-Eurasea, wasn't it? I'm still surprised as to the level of people still trying to secure oil which they know is finite in its size. We at Alfegos Aeronautics have spent many a year trying to perfect synthetic oil as it were, produced from GM algae. So far, it has managed to provide us with the hydrogen and methane we use as fuel, the ethanol used in foreign biofuel vehicles, and the petrochemicals we use in the plastics industry as I just mentioned. You see, one thing most people don't realise is what algae will do under certain conditions. Take away oxygen, and it will start producing hydrogen as a stress response in anaerobic digestion. The same is true with yeast and it producing ethanol. We've found that, if we modify a strain of Algae and deprive it of some epigenetic chemicals, it will produce compounds such as Octane, Propanol and Ethane. We've even managed to get very light paraffin molecules from such experiments. However, the main interest is still in the lighter ones, since they are most often used in plastics."