Long way down. Of course that was the point of setting up flight operations on a cliff. Malserrin strode across the grassy field. The grass was fading to
yellow and short - not enough water, too much heat. And the grass died completely almost a yard from the hard asphault tarmacs which cut at non-congruent
angles across the grassy field. The hangar doors were partly open, which meant they were partly closed as well. Approaching quickly, Malserrin could see the
bulk of an airship tucked inside the moderately sized hangar. It didn't quite seem complete, but that could be a trick of the shadows inside the hangar.
Not important anyway.
A short man, brown coveralls and wild, curly hair stepped quickly outside the doors of the hangar. He wasn't looking Malserrin's way, but movement
captures the vision and the man watched him approach.
"Mr. Dawson?," guessed Malserrin. He knew the type of engineers Cornelia preferred, and this man fit the description to the tee.
After a few pleasantries and an quick, not-really-needed introduction, the man stuck his head back into the hangar. "CORNELIA!," he hollered.
"YOUR BROTHER IS HERE TO SEE YOU!" The man turned quickly towards Malserrin and waved him in. "Last I saw she was crawling around the rafters
somewhere," he grinned. "Should be down soon enough."
Mal strode in, heading towards a large engineering table on the port side of the hangar. As expected, it was covered with blueprints, diagrams and various
design specifications of a wide variety of machinery. He gave them a quick glance as he awaited his sister.
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Cornelia, Malserrin: Dawson and Dawson Hangar
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 Malserrin |
Cornelia, Malserrin: Dawson and Dawson Hangar |
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 246 10/24/2009 10:59 PM |
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Cornelia of Amber |
#1 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 384 10/25/2009 6:28 PM |
Several banging noises resonated in the hangar, followed by a copious amount of swearing. If the Nan-Shan was a brig, cut for speed and easy to handle, Cornelia's new airship, the Sun Wukong, clearly was a scientific vessel, somewhat bigger, probably a bit slower too, a Pourquoi Pas? or a Beagle, created with a specific task to handle. Precision equipment was being designed and affixed. Malserrin could recognize blueprints for a phlogistometer and an aetheroscope, and under the gondola hanged what looks like a chronotheric capacitron, albeit heavily modified. As the banging could suggest, Cornelia was currently fine-tuning all that delicate equipment with the help of a heavy spanner. After a moment, she walked down a ladder, closely followed by what was appearing to be a young officer of her crew, with a harassed look on his face that Mal has learned to assimilate with people working under his sister's orders. At least, Cornelia never had any qualms about getting her hands dirty, whether in war, medicine or mechanics, and in this case her dress and face were smudged with grease. "I told you, Alonzo," she commented with a satisfied grin, "all it needed was a good bang on the side. First rule of engineering: if it doesn't work, smack it. Take note." "Mal, you may remember Mr Frame," she added, introducing the young man. |
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 evilWurst |
#2 | |||
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Guardian of the 3 sacred words
Posts: 2163 10/26/2009 1:25 PM Hey, I post a lot! |
As an additional cause of worry on the man's face: clearly he must realize the effects of all this mass that's been added on since the test flight.
It's the largest airship ever locally produced by the Dawsons' firm, well beyond the point at which one needs one of the royal blood of Amber doing...
whatever it is they do that makes things work where they shouldn't work. The new system of pulleys and steam should have them moving at a run before they
reach the cliff edge... the thermal updraft, the winds, it should all carry them far enough to slip into more favorable shadows...
At least, that's what he tells himself before forcing those worries away and turning to immediate tasks on the checklist. |
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Malserrin |
#3 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 247 10/31/2009 12:40 AM |
"Your rule sounds like mine. First rule of an unknown situation: Run a sword through it, see if anything more is known on re-examination," chuckles
Mal.
He continues to look through the various airship plans as he speaks. "Good afternoon, Mr. Frame. Cornelia," continues Mal atfer a pause. "You mentioned the other night that you may have a line on the 'MAP' which we did a bit of research on a while back. Care to elaborate? I didn't pay it much mind that night, but then I got to thinking. Long story short, I want to try something. So if you can track it down, or need some help tracking it down, I would like to see if I can find it. Sounds like we each have other activities planned, so no rush. We can joint venture for it when you get back. Or if your knowledge is time sensitive, I can try tracking it down in the next day or two. I should be able to get a little time off before my governing sentence starts." "As for the other topic I wanted to talk to you about ... ancient history," smiles Mal. Grabbing a blueprint, Malserrin holds it up and turns to face the vehicle. "You think this lift equation is right?" he asks, noting how much Cornelia's new ship is supposed to lift versus how fragile it looks. "In unpredicatable winds?" |
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evilWurst |
#4 | |||
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Guardian of the 3 sacred words
Posts: 2165 10/31/2009 1:21 AM Hey, I post a lot! |
"Capacitors," says a vaguely familiar voice, from the direction of an access hatch. Cornelia's mechanic friend climbs up, wearing his usual
worksuit and toolbelts.
"If I may?" He points at a different blueprint - a blowup of the center line of the upper deck. "Note these twelve devices, the ones that look like, um, spheres inside cylinders inside gyroscopes. The inner sphere stores net motion, or replays it, depending on the setting. The cylinder is a restrictor that blocks the effect except in the direction of the one open end, and the frame is to aim it... so you see, if we set a pair in opposite directions, and set them to charge, the ship won't move either way along that line until the caps are full. And if we set two other identical pairs, all at right angles... the ship can hover absolutely immobile in the gale of a shadowstorm." He smiles. "Or point them all down, set them to absorb, and the ship can't fall. Or point full ones down and set them to discharge at the right rate, and a fall would be cancelled perfectly. Or point a full one in one direction, and an empty one in the opposite direction, and match the charge/discharge rates, and you can shift charge from the full one to the empty one." |
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Malserrin |
#5 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 248 10/31/2009 3:18 PM |
"Capacitors," states Malserrin. "Multiple uses. Flexibility is always the best for unknown situations. So do you fabricate the capacitors here
in Amber? Or are they imported?"
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evilWurst |
#6 | |||
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Guardian of the 3 sacred words
Posts: 2166 11/01/2009 12:23 AM Hey, I post a lot! |
[There was an identical doublepost so I deleted the second one]
Brand the Mechanic shakes his head. "It's my understanding that they're only found in shadow; that Cornelia had to specifically seek out a place that produced artifacts with those qualities. That's why her ships work across so many shadows, and why no one else has duplicated the feat." |
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Cornelia of Amber |
#7 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 389 11/01/2009 6:44 PM |
"Conditions around a shadowstorn change very fast and unpredictably," explains Cornelia helpfully, "which makes adapting your vehicle to them,
like you do when you travel through shadow, nigh impossible. With these Al Bhed capacitors, I simply don't have
to, and I can focus on flying the Sun through the storm."
She has a self-satisfied smile. "Soon, Mal, my hobbies will make yours look like weak tea in comparison..." "But that is not what you came to talk about," she adds, grabbing her brother's arm "Let's get ourselves a cup of tea, shall we? Thank you, Brand. Mr Lowry, store those thaumameters in my cabin, if you please! We usually have a choice of lukewarm tea and the gut rooter we use to degrease the parts," she comments at the attention of her brother. "At least the last one kills the bacteria." "Map," she says, referring to the first point of a mental agenda she seems to have established for the discussion. "I set a shadowtrap on Spira before leaving. Broadly speaking, the current owner of the map has found himself irresistibly attracted to the place, and unable to leave it. I was planning to pop by on my way to the shadows Brooke brought to our attention this morning and Trump you from there. I figured you could use the break..." She directs him towards a side table which displays a samovar and a collection of dirty mugs. "Tracking him shouldn't be much of a problem. He's living on my expenses and quite probably staying at my place there." |
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Malserrin |
#8 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 250 11/03/2009 2:49 AM |
"The Map." Fayde avails himself to the lukwarm tea while mulling over the Title of the Object for a long moment.
He seems to have drifted off, lost in thought, but eventually Mal continues. "Be careful, Cornelia. I would prefer to be there when you confront whoever it is you shadowtrapped. Just in case." |
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Cornelia of Amber |
#9 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 390 11/03/2009 6:00 PM |
"Oh, I am sure your presence will spice up things, as usual." She smiles mischievously at her brother. "But I'll call you before I
make contact, as I have planned."
She takes a sip of the strong tea, and winces. "I guess I had worse... 'Tis usually the case, after a few centuries." "Now, you mentioned 'Ancient History' as a way to attract my attention, if I recall..." She raises an eyebrow, expectingly. |
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Malserrin |
#10 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 251 11/03/2009 6:37 PM |
Malserrin looks back at Cornelia wondering whether to tell her the truth or come up with a convincing lie. It takes a while, but Mal reaches a decision. He
starts with, "And here I was trying to steer the conversation away from that and hope you would forget. I already had the information I wanted, but
..."
"Ancient History. As in the elder generation of Oberon's kids. The date of Eric's supposed death. Demons attacking on the black road. Mention of flying creatures coming in and landing on the hillside, attacking Amber's troops." "Got me thinking Amber could use an air force. Probably not too much in the way of aerial combat, but the ability to strike from above, or drop squads at strategic positions behind enemy lines. Even as scouts, an airship could serve the defenses of Amber. And anti-ship capabilities would be easy - dropping hull penetrating lances from a sufficient height could devastate an enemy fleet. " Malserrin shrugs. "Nothing to grand at start. Just a little personal experiment to see where it goes. Maybe work a bit more with special forces instead of the regular army." |
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Cornelia of Amber |
#11 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 392 11/04/2009 4:41 PM |
Cornelia chuckles.
"You know, Mal, I have been talking about this for years..." "Back when we were building Albion's airship fleet, I suggested to Dad that Amber could use the same. He gave me the 'that's a good idea, why don't you submit a feasibility study to whoever is in charge' treatment. At this point it was Desmond who was at the head of the army, so of course he was adamant against anything I would suggest." She takes a sip. "Then, the despicable little git got offed, and Nytiana replaced him. And we enter the wonderful realm of Family Miscommunication. Once in a while, I update my project and put it back on the table. Dad tells me it is up to Nytiana, she tells me she doesn't have the time to deal with it and besides, it's a big decision so Dad should take care of it. And since I do not want to trample upon their prerogatives, my proposal for an Amber Air force goes back to the Cornelia's silly ideas folder. Repeat every fifty years." She sounds more amused than embittered. "But if you can manage to force the idea through, by all means go ahead. If anyone can get away with it, it's you. And I like the special forces idea," she adds with enthusiasm. |
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Malserrin |
#12 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 252 11/04/2009 8:25 PM |
"I don't plan to propose it, I just plan to do it," laughs Malserrin. "Besides, Dad isn't here, and why bother Nityana, she has the army
to worry about. And I can get away with not doing a feasibility study. The beaucrats will just roll their eyes and mumble about troublemaking prince Malserrin
who constantly ignores the rules."
"That old way of thinking is troublesome. Stagnant. That you can only contribute in an area that you are an expert in. An idea about Amber's defenses can be a good one even if it comes from someone who isn't a specialist in the field of warfare." Mal gives a wicked smile. "Works both ways. I wouldn't want you to discount my idea if I come up with a new way to catalogue books in a library. Which reminds me, when can you review my paper regarding heximal syntos library organization?" |
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evilWurst |
#13 | |||
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Guardian of the 3 sacred words
Posts: 2167 11/04/2009 8:39 PM Hey, I post a lot! |
[note: Amber does use hot air balloons tethered to Kolvir for recon. And the local arsenal of riflemen and mortars would be effective against both the kinds of
attacks in legend and the type that might come if someone managed to duplicate and weaponize Cornelia's ship.
That said, the arguments for and against air patrols have never been completely answered. One might say that there's the risk that a clever invading commander could use airships to drop troops out in the countryside, outside the firing range of the city fortifications, and that Amber should be prepared against such. But one might also say that patrolling that large an area is a large expense against a minimal risk, and that Amber's militarization might be reflected into shadow and actually create the threats it was intended to counter... ] [edit: spelling fixed] |
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Cornelia of Amber |
#14 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 393 11/11/2009 5:46 PM |
"Heximal syntos library organization? Oh, Ill be glad to. Just give it to me at your convenience," answers Cornelia, apparently unaware of whether
her brother was joking or not. "I should be leaving by eight o'clock, but I'll Trump you within a couple of days anyway."
"Birthday party. Nice shindig. I had a great time. Young Declan Feldane is a charming fellow. Quite imaginative. Now," she adds, lowering her voice, "you were going to tell me about that pregnant girl." |
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Malserrin |
#15 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 253 11/12/2009 2:07 AM |
"Was I now?" grins Malserrin. "Oh yes, all about her. Miss Holly-Ann Issas. Age twenty two. Fifth child of Lord Emory Issas and and Lady
Firlanda Issas, cha Colibro. Yes, that family Colibro. Three older brothers, one older sister, two younger sisters as well. Old money, family business is
timber and construction it seems. Mother's family is of course shipping and soldiering. Let's see, what else can I tell you. Education? Last year's
social activities? Color preferences?"
Mal turns and finds an old, overstuffed thinking chair. Just the kind of chair one needs to sit deeply in and conteplate new aeronautical designs. It even has some small grease stains worn into the armrest. Mal sits heavily in the chair, sinking deep into the embracing fabric. "Honest answer, Cornelia? I'm not sure. We were together and the timing is feasible. But the odds of it happening are so slim. So I don't know. And when I found out ..." Malserrin pauses for a moment. "I like this girl Cornelia. When I found out, insisting on a paternity test wasn't the first thing that came to mind." |
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Cornelia of Amber |
#16 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 394 11/12/2009 6:27 PM |
There is a pause, as Cornelia mulls over what her brother said. She blows on her tea, gathering her words.
"We had many adventures together, Mal," she answers softly, "but this one you need to live by yourselves, you and Holly-Ann. You don't need my advice, nobody seems to those days. And you don't need my blessing, although you have it and it matters more than you would think." "Do your own thing," she adds, with something in her eyes that seems to be tenderness, "and remember that I'm a Trump call away if you need me. But you won't. You'll be a great dad if that's what you want to be." |
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Malserrin |
#17 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 254 11/16/2009 8:47 PM |
"If that's what I want to be," Malserrin trails off.
Then he stands up from his chair and wanders over to the design tables where one of the Mr. Dawson's is still fiddling around. "Mr. Dawson. Can I commission you to draw up a few plans for airships? I am looking for something light and fast, a sturdy personnel and equipment carrier. Go for a spectrum of design types, heavy lifters to those with maximum speed and manuverability. I don't need firm lift ratio calculations right now, just a general idea of what the airships can do. And it will be for use only in Amber and its environs, so no need to worry about travel to exotics. Any other factors you can think about, calculate it in." "And of course don't forego the work Cornelia has you doing. I wouldn't want to tromp too much over her domain," smiles Malserrin. "If you are up for it, let me know your going rate for design work. I can get the funds you request transferred into an account of your choice." |
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evilWurst |
#18 | |||
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Guardian of the 3 sacred words
Posts: 2175 11/17/2009 2:22 AM Hey, I post a lot! |
The engineer considers.
"The limiting factor is the parts you can get me. None of the critical lifting elements can be made in Amber; Cornelia's airships have always been made using the devices she brings out from shadow. I can't procure military hardware either, but you could probably get those fairly easily, since you'll be wanting Amber standard gear... and we'll probably have to do a lot of tests to meet your requests, especially for speed and heavy lifting. This one's the biggest we've built yet, but it's terribly slow until taken out into shadow. Hmm, we've never done reliability tests on the equipment for long term use here either..." |
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Malserrin |
#19 | |||
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Waiting for another life
Posts: 255 11/17/2009 8:30 PM |
"Just the plans will do for now. We can worry about specific equipment at a later time. A feasibility study of what can be done. Say how big to lift 15
men in light combat gear. 25 men? 50? Once we find out what is possible, we can work on the procurments and testing."
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evilWurst |
#20 | |||
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Guardian of the 3 sacred words
Posts: 2179 11/18/2009 1:08 AM Hey, I post a lot! |
Dawson nods. "We can get some rough schematics charted out for you, using the staff that aren't currently working on this project. Offhand, I'd
say, take a ship this size, minus the scientific gear, and it should handle a crew of six and maybe 25 riflemen, assuming runs of only one day. Less if you
expect it to see directly combat; I'd expect you'd want more plating and less windows, maybe a gun deck... well, anyway, I'll have them think it
over and put some ideas to paper."
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