Looking over the bridge of the Caroline Anaheim, you shuddered slightly. This ship was new, outfitted with piles on piles of gauges and systems. It was a masterwork item, a true creation of beauty.
You also had to fly it from Marquette to Copper Harbour solo.
Now, to be fair, the Caroline Anahiem wasn't a massively complicated ship. It only nominally required forty hands or so for straight sub-Aether flight. Turn off the Zeppelin Device and shut down it's boiler and get the steam re-routes set, that forty hands dropped down to twenty-three. Set the boiler fires and drafts so that you wouldn't be adjusting them for performance ever, twenty-three became sixteen. Lock the motors in first gear, sixteen to ten. Clear off the bridge crew and spotters, ten looked like three.
Those last three roles were the Engine Chief, the Pilot, and the Navigator. You were a pilot before you were a Captain, and you'd done the Marquette to Copper Harbor route before. Fortunately, your batboy also understood a fair amount about boilers, or at least enough to read a gauge or three and crank the coal impeller to keep heat up. Now came the tricky part- getting your ship out of this mess.
{Handle Ship roll: 1d100= 28+39(Air Sense) +5(Skyborn) +15(Ship Bonus) -15(Undercrewed) =72 /60. Success! }
It took you about ten minutes to get a hang of the controls of the ship, but a rudder was a rudder and elevators were elevators no matter what you were flying. The voice tubes were at the Captain's station, though, and that made for some interesting problems- starting with the fact that because you had the engines locked in first, you had to keep a really low thrust on them. More than a few times leaving the Marquette skyport you'd had to run back to the Captain's chair and tell the batboy to pull the scram valve, dumping all the steam straight up into the condenser coils to cut thrust or just get a little bit more lift.
Still, once you were out of the main sky lanes and the bustling crowds of Marquette you got a chance to breathe easy. The waystations to Copper Harbor were all in place, and you could follow this route blindfolded. This turned out to be a decent state of affairs, because with the engines stuck in first and you fighting a crosswind the whole way coming in off Superior it ended up close to midnight when you pulled into Copper Harbour. After tying off to the short landing masts, you called back to the batboy, a smile on your face.
"Cut the air feeds to the boiler and duct all steam to condensers. We're home."
---
Looking out over your perspective crew, you frowned slightly. You had friends you'd used as recruiters and helpers, and right now the crew they'd gathered up was… well, you'd say motley for now.
The first and most important member of your crew was Jacob Young. A young pilot, he'd been handling ferry trips around the Peninsula for years as a kid, and a degree in Aeronautics only made him more confident. Brash, cocky, and fond of risk-taking, you'd talked him aboard this operation on the promise of bringing home a ship he could fly that wouldn't be a scow. At least he'd be happy.
Next up, your clerk and first mate, Donald Zamwekis. Donald had been with you from when you were a kid, and between his accounting skills and ability to rope people into your childhood drama he'd always had your back. He'd done most of the bulk recruiting for this little adventure, and you knew without a doubt he would keep you covered.
Third in the motely cast you'd assembled was Lauri Suukahili. A Finn of absolutely no renown, his skill with weapons in general had made him your first and only choice for the position of ship's weapons officer. Machinist by trade and fighter by disposition, he easily personified sisu and all it represented.
Following Lauri was your Chief Engineer, Thomas McCloud. While capable of putting on the shamrock and playing up his Irish heritage, the Catholic you'd hired on for the engines and boilers still owed you a few markers. All that mattered to you was that he could keep the engines turning, though.
Czeslawa Katarina, your doctor, made five. With her mother as a midwife from the Old Country, she had learned the ways of herbs and teas before getting a nursing certificate from the board of old salts in Sault St. Marie. Every ship needed a doctor for the ailments of the crew, and to be perfectly honest you knew with Czeslawa you were far ahead of the curve on that score.
Continuing the officer's parade aboard, you looked at your Espatier chief and nodded respectfully. You were all too sure you were going to end up with some brawler of a vessel running into and out of fires, and as a result you'd scrounged for the best leader of men you could for when it was time for cold steel to rule them all. Lucia Valdosta, female she may be, was certainly the correct choice as far as you were concerned.
Last, your Navigator came to board. You'd known Elizabeth Cook for a large number of years, and the girl was Skyborn, just as you were. Where you'd been a marvel at the controls of anything that kissed the clouds, though, Elizabeth was one of those few people who could see the skies and Aether, picking her way through current and cross-current to guide a ship safe to rest wherever she may go.
It was with Elizabeth that your good news ended, though. Few expenses were spared on forming your officer's company, and the money had to be drawn from somewhere. Said somewhere was your air compliment- ninety-five souls of various sobriety who'd all need a firm shaking out over the course of the trip. Gathering your officers, you all took them to the small wardroom and shut the door.
"Ladies and gentlemen," you said, smiling. "Thank you for accepting to work with me. Our first job for the Caroline Anaheim is a simple run- as much copper ore as we can take, straight to the foundries in Toulouse. Navigator, there are three well-known routes we can take; any commentary?"
Pulling out her personal map case, Elizabeth scrolled out a map of the Earth covered in dancing lines of a dozen colors.
"Well, we can take the most common route, the Merlin Pathway." Elizabeth began, sketching a straight route to New York, and then doglegging to Bordeaux. "On the plus side, it's well-policed, safe, and constant. Minus side, we'd have to go through Bordeaux, and I've heard things lately that suggest the customs groups there aren't so good. Give it a week for travel time, plus two days in customs."
Elizabeth sighed, and started tracing another route. "Next is the Sorghum Run. We'd need to take the Mississippi Current to Hati, then enter the Sorghum Run proper, but once we're in it we'd only be in Aether for a day, two at most. Plus, we'd be exiting near Albi, which is only a short sub-Aether hop to Toulouse. Call it five days"
You looked at Elizabeth, who fidgeted under your gaze for a second before she sighed. "Then there's the Quebecois Route. It's… poorly mapped at best, riddled with pirates and English, and will take three days."
Shaking your head, you shoot her a small glance. "Just because it's on your family's proprietary maps doesn't mean it's not there. Anyway, a vote. All for the Merlin?"
Three hands raised.
"All for the Sorghum?"
One hand raised, Lucia's. She must of heard of the pirates running from Cuba or something.
"All for the Quebecois Run?"
Three hands.
"Whelp, that's a tie. Captain gets the deciding vote."
Which route to take?
[] Merlin Route- Slow, steady, and the possibility of a holdup in customs. Estimated nine days.
[] Sorghum Route- Fairly fast, low but existent odds of pirates. Estimated five days.
[] Quebecois Route- Lightning fast, low but existent odds of pirates, virgin trade route for the Navigator. Estimated three days.
How much cargo?
[] Light load- It's a new ship, go easy on her. Twelve tons of cargo, no effect on ship handling or performance.
[] Medium load- It's a new ship, with no miles on her yet. Twenty-four tons of cargo, small penalty on ship handling and performance.
[] Heavy load- We do have bills to pay, after all. Fifty-six tons of cargo, moderate penalty on ship handling and performance.
