Reporting to the foreword ballast control station instead of the bridge with a cup of coffee in hand, you looked at the loadmaster standing there with the look of the dead in his eyes.
"Captain." He stated, a lustful gaze at your mug of steaming black goodness cut short by your cough.
"How's she doing?"
"Fixed the ballast issues; and we're down to a quarter degree tilt on the hull. Aft end's still heavy, but that was because there was an issue last night with a crossbreeze."
You nodded. "Draft some help from the loose hands, get them adjusting whatever needs adjusting. Do we have sandbag ballest so we can even the bubble without playing with the tanks?"
The loadmaster shook his hand back and forth. "We've got some, but there's not a lot of room to put it on the cargo deck to correct roll. The ship's only got wet trim tanks, so we've been having the worst kind of fun keeping her even. Between leaks and the pumps trying to short on us, it's been a hassle.
Nodding, you patted him on the shoulder. "Good news for you, then- we're doing a local flight to the Dardenelles today, and this piece of junk's getting sold."
The malicious look in the Loadmaster's eyes almost made you start, but you remembered back after you crashed your third lighter that you'd insured to the nines after someone tried to steal your second one. There were few things happier than seeing that Oldsmobile-Tannenbaum's charred wreck on the beach and knowing that with all the cash Fats was sitting on, you'd be getting a brand new Ford Model L for your trouble. Still, it would be best to make sure everyone knew about the transfer, so you left the loadmaster's station to go put a notice up in the mess hall.
---
Once the mess hall notice was up, you got back to check in with Donald about your crew status. After conducting the necessary payouts, issuing of shore leave time, and assorted sundry, he let you know that you did have a flying crew on hand, with about half the rates in the city proper and unlikely to be coming back. This done, your path to the bridge was uninterrupted until giving Jacob a swift kick in the shins so he'd wake up and get on the pilot's station.
Why pilots slept on the bridge compulsively, you never knew. Either way, you were good to go, and it was time to get the show on the road. Standing by the signal pipes, you grinned happily.
"All hands, prepare for liftoff. All hands, prepare for liftoff."
As warning bells went off along the ship signaling free float, you grinned. "Bow station, execute undocking from tower."
{Handle Ship: 1d100=18 +17(Leadership) +15(Pilot); 50/55, Small Failure)
"Bow station to bridge, we're detached, but the seals on the water uptake system got yanked. We're shutting systems now, requesting Damage Control party."
Rolling your eyes, you assented. "Bridge to bow station, affirmative. Directing damage control party to you now. Bridge to forward ballast control, please dispatch damage control team to bow station for water line failure."
"Forward ballast reads affirmative, dispatching damage control."
{Damage Control: 1d100=18 +10 (Fresh Crew) -5(Ship penalty) = 23/30, Small Failure)
"Bow station to bridge, we cannot control flooding at this time. Requesting forward ballast station drain bow ballast and fresh water tanks to rear at this time."
Groaning, you just put your head in your hand. God, you were so happy to be getting rid of this hunk of junk. "Bridge to bow station, confirming relay. Bridge to forward ballast control, shift all ballast out of forward tanks please."
As you got an affirmative, you watched the bridge clinometer tilt slowly until it read you were at a three degree up angle. It wasn't a bad result, as far as you were concerned, but it would complicate your altitude control over the sea. Still, it was time to get moving.
"Bridge to Engineering, full power please." You requested, before you got an angry engine noise back.
"Engineering to Bridge, we're having some problems getting the number two boiler lit."
Rolling your eyes, you replied back carefully. "Well, let us know before you start revving up. Get us best speed on the shafts, and we'll be about it.
From the pilot's yolks, Jacob coughed loudly. "If you don't mind sending down some bridge crew? Because I'd like this one last time with the poor ship you're dooming to the breakers, if you please?"
Sighing, you rolled your eyes. "Jacob, this ship is a flying cowpat. Not ten minutes ago, we had the front end go a-kilter for absolutely no reason. I can't throw good money after bad on it."
"Fine. And if I sell my shares; what then?" he asked, growling.
"Then I'll wish you well, and cash your shares at our earliest convince. Probably going to be Delhi, considering the rate of events."
Jacob's smile twisted upwards. "You misunderstand me. I said sell, not cash. The Hellenic Postbank has an officer in Constantinople- I wonder how your new bitch's family will feel about your ship holding Greek ownership?"
Jacob's words stopped you cold for a minute, before you sighed. "Jacob, this isn't a good plan. They'll never buy your shares in an experimental hauler that's falling apart at the seams."
"But an Ottoman cruiser fresh off the blocks? I figure I could squeeze them for a few thousand drachma, and possibly shares in one of their privateers- excuse me, 'salvage ships' to boot."
"Why, exactly, are you telling me this?" you asked, eyes flinty. "This whole plan would much better behind my back, after all."
"Favorable conditions for a buyout." Jacob said, chuckling as he rolled a drachma through his fingers. "One hundred and fifty dollars a shareholding percent, twelve hundred dollars total."
Hissing to yourself, you meantally calculated the cost of his offer. A hundred and fifty dollars a share was absurd- they were worth about seventy-five apiece, you reckoned, considering that each share was valued against the ship's company and cargo, but not the ship's value. Even if you took into account the ship's value, they might be worth a hundred dollars, if you were lucky.
After taking on an Ottoman cruiser, and as decadent as they were rumored to be, and considering how much a ship's furnishings could raise…
"We'll need to discuss this later, Jacob." You said, cold. "You have the con."
---
Arriving at the Dardanelles Yards, your ship was greeted by a military patrol vessel to guide you to your berth. This one, thankfully, was a barn berth, giving you a little more maneuvering room in terms of docking. Jacob handled affairs well enough, while you got your Espatiers ready to make a show of affairs. Deploying off the ground elevator, you came out in your sterner attire to meet with the Ottoman yard delegation. You weren't at all surprised when Mustafa greeted you, his boisterous laugh and handshake warming you back up after the mess that was your interaction with Jacob back on the bridge.
"Ahaha! van Riebeck, I knew you'd be here!" the chortling designer said, laughing. You nodded, stepping along smartly. "I take it you want to see your new ship?"
"Of course." You replied crisply, moving with him on to the outside. A small motorcar was there, puttering away in idle as you and Mustafa got in. Moments later, you were at a retrofitting barn, and you got your first good look at the Cruiser 12.
Physically, it dwarfed the Carolina Anahiem, being nearly twice as long and a third again as wide. Unlike the slightly flattened shape of your current ship, this one was totally round, although it did boast the dubious feature of a superstructure. As Mustafa led you in, you blinked in admiration. She was a reasonably well-appointed ship, with sound grate flooring and solid walls of doped fabric. Layout-wise, though, she was incrediablly different from the Carolina Anahiem's low-slung grace. Rather than a long coredore of inhabited space at the ventral keel, Cruiser 12 had a centeral citadel inside her armored bulkheads in which the crew compartments and engines were located with a reasonable amount of subdivisions between them, with the assorted tankages located outside the citadel except for a select number of internal damage-control tanks and reserve pipe lines. Underneath the citadel was the doubled spine of the ship, along with a relatively large provisions and freshwater hold, with the blackwater moving system inside as well. The ship was quad-shafted, with direct shafts to the motor control room that transmitted the energy up to the four fans. As Mustafa explained during the tour, the main issue was repeat loss of power on the starboard upper motor, with secondary issues in the ship's engines related to steam distribution. Your personal bet was loose seals somewhere, but it wouldn't matter as your ability to perform in-flight engine plant service was limited.
Fore and aft of the citadel were the bomb and cargo bays, two giant caverns that were slotted into spacing of the frames and horizontal adjusters for the vertical frames to allow for the giant voids in the ship. The aft one was only half as tall as the second due to the need to fit the shaft alleys inside around it, above which were the main auxillery crew quarters. Still, you weren't quite happy with your tour. As much as you'd seen, you felt that there was a catch that you hadn't seen yet.
When you found it, though…
"Mustafa, I'm no expert in Ottoman ship construction, but normally there aren't four Zeppelin devices on American airships."
Nodding, Mustafa looked at you and grinned. "There was another issue Cruiser 12 has- one of the Zeppelin devices is a little spotty."
"Which one?"
"Back right. Thing is, the ship generally flies on two Zeppelin devices with her full ammo and fuel load. If you're careful and don't decide you need to haul eight tons of bombs, though, you should be able to squeak by on one."
Putting your head in your hands, you sighed. "Alright, alright. Has the ship been deeded yet?"
"Of course!" Mustafa replied, beaming. "We'll take this over to the bridge for the contract signing, and then you can get to work on transferring your crew and whatever you feel like taking off your ship."
Nodding, you went up to the bridge. It was time to sign some papers.
Cruiser 12 Unabridged Stat Block
Ship Name: Cruiser 12
Ship Type: Medium Cruiser
Ship HP: 130
Ship Max Lift: 345
Ship Standard Lift: 135
Raw Bonuses
-Crew Use Bonus: +5
-Engineering Bonus: +0
-Damage Control Bonus: +10
-Weapons Bonus: +10
-Handling Bonus: -10
-Medical Bonus: +0
-Boarding Action Bonus: +0
Weapons Slots
-Prow Spinal
--EMPTY
-Aft Spinal
--EMPTY
-Dorsal Port Broadside
--EMPTY
-Dorsal Starboard Broadside
--EMPTY
-Port Broadside x2
--EMPTY
-Starboard Broadside x2
--EMPTY
Hull Slots
- Crew Quarters (Standard)
- Armory (Standard
- Auxiliary Crew Quarters (Cramped)
- Zeppelin Device x4 (Zeppelin License Pattern)
- Aetheric Sails (Medium, Dual)
- Powerplant, Large x2 (Zeppelin License Pattern)
- Motor, Medium x4 (Zeppelin License Pattern)
- Cargo Bay x2
- Bomb Bay x5
- Internal Belt
- Central Rangefinder
- Unused Space x4
THE BIG VOTE
Vote by Plan please.
Guns
[] Mount all your guns on Dorsal mounts. (Pros: All guns gain Central Rangefinder bonus. Cons: All guns will be disabled in event of a boarding action.)
[] Mount your 6pdr spinally, and the Gatlings in Waist mounts. (Pros: Some guns unaffected by boarding actions. Cons: Waist guns do not get Central Rangefinder bonus.)
Bomb Bays
[] See if you can deck them into subdivisions for cargo space. (Pros: Gains more cargo slots. Cons: Adds weight, which may bring a second Zeppelin device online and increase fueling costs.)
[] See if you can deck up the tops of the bomb bays, while not affecting the rest. (Pros: Middle ground option. Cons: Wastes some space.)
[] Leave the bomb bays as they are. Maybe you'll find a use for them- perhaps your own lighters? (Pros: Free, no weight additions. Cons: No additional cargo room)
Unused Space (You may vote multiple options; you have four units of space to work with)
[] Create a dedicated passenger's quarters. (2 space)
[] Create a dedicated Navigator's study. (1 space)
[] Create an additional Cargo bay. (2 space)
[] Create an office for your slowly expanding reams of paperwork (1 space)
[] Create a sparring area and athletics zone (1 space)
[] Create extra fluids tankage (1 space)
[] Create an emergency fuel scuttle (2 space)
[] Create a second infirmary (1 space)
[] Leave space empty
[] Write-in (SUBJECT TO QM VETO)
Hiring Policy
[] You're short on hands, but you can train in the air. Hire indiscriminately. (Loose 1 crew quality to a net -1)
[] Hire the bare minimum to keep this new, larger ship afloat.
