[RFP]We're gonna need a bigger boat

[Dartz]

From: Captain@Ciara.Fen
To: [whom it may concern]

SUBJ: [RFP] Construction of Space Vessel. [Confidential]

To Whom it May concern

It's no secret at this point that the Ciara's getting old. She was almost 20 years old before we bought her, and a few thousand launch and landing cycles and a few Atlantic storms haven't been kind, not to mention the scars of the conflict ten years ago. What is a secret for the time being is that Sean, our engineer, found fatigue cracks in the keel during an ultrasonic inspection. Repairs aren't possible. He estimates the ship's safe to fly for only another six months or so.

So, we plan to retire the Ciara after our current contract with Stellvia Trading runs out next month. She won't be going to the scrapper's torch; the museum at Port Phobos have asked for her, to go alongside their Boskone cruiser as part of a war-era exhibit

Anyway, point is, we're in the market for a new ship.

Minimum requirements are that she must be water-landing capable, have sufficient armament, armour and sensors for self-defense (To PEPPER Class 1-C), sufficient propulsion capability to reach a minimum of 0.1c, 15 light-years range, crew and passenger accomodations for a minimum of 30, a 2 shuttlecraft of Bolitho-size or bigger, and cargo capacity of 50 tons. Ideally, she'd operate with minimal crew and maximum passengers. Delivery is expected within 6 months to a year from order. Bonus points will be awarded for onboard amenities and crew comfort. Being able to land somewhere conventional for a change would also be nice...

We're hoping to add an interstellar run to our usual repertoire, maybe out to Gallifrey or other offworld colonies if there's demand for it.

Full details, budget and specifications are attached to this message. There's a deadline of 4 weeks from today for submission of proposals. We'll make our decision within two weeks of that date.

Is mise le meas
Raymond Garret.

--------------

The one with the fancy hat and jacket, and the weight of the world on his shoulders.

SS Ciara: Secure Cargo, Passenger and Charter. Mars. Venus. Earth.

Or, a chance for the builders to run wild.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[HRogge]

From: Cathy at jenga.ci.fen
To: Captain at Ciara.Fen
Subject: Re: [RFP] Construction of Space Vessel. [Confidential]

Thank you for sending us your email.

Unfortunately our ship building capacities are currently very limited and specialized to the Normandy Class. Even building a new Normandy takes at least a year, developing a new large ship and build it might take us even longer.

I would suggest you get in contact with Hephaestus, they are always happy to build something large and we know from an insider source they have a lot of Battlesteel left over from a different project. They have built several large ships over the years, so they will surely be able to create a worthy successor of the SS Ciara.

Cathy

[M Fnord]

From: okb-3(at)soviet.fen
To: captain(at)ciara.fen

Subject: Re: [RFP] Construction of Space Vessel [Confidential]

Captain Garret,

Hasegawa Design Bureau would like to submit our Ha-5 concept for consideration. The Ha-5 is a light stock transport built specifically for interstellar commerce on the Sol-Vulcan run at the request of the Federation Merchant Marine. The design satisfies PEPPER Class 1 requirements, has a range of 35 light years. The hold design is modular, allowing for cargo of up to 100 tons, passenger capacity for 60 or a mixed grouping depending on need. The stock Ha-5 is capable of terrain and water landings, though additional modifications may be required if water landing is going to be the primary mode.

Attached are the Ha-5's operational specifications and schematics. We would be willing to discuss a reduction in price considering Ciara's position in Fen history.

Regards,
Cpt. S. Hasegawa
Chief Designer, OKB-3

http://www.projectrho.com/SSC/velbor10.jpg]Attachment: Ha-5.img

Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[ECSNorway]

From: j_dolittle(at)greenwood.fenTo: captain(at)ciara.fen
Captain;
It's always sad to see a proud ship sail no more. I'm sure you'll miss Ciara dearly.
I've been speaking with some of my colleagues over at Stonewell-Bellcom and we do have a few ideas, depending on the timeframe you're expecting to start your next run in.
We've been discussing a scaled-down version of the Island 3 habitat modules, for one, something suitable for your crew and cargo numbers with a suitable drive-frame fitted on. We've had a lot of compliments on the open-air styling of these, folk seem to like being able to get out in a big space even when they're Up Here. The 'Island 5' they're currently proposing would be about 300m long by about 75 broad, with six to eight decks (depending on configuration) providing plenty of cargo space and the domed hab deck giving you all the living space you need.
If you're looking for something with a more militant bent, we've got room in the yards for another Eagle-class frigate. We've already got plans drawn up to gut the crew decks and put in more luxurious accommodations (there was this Saudi fellow... deal never went through, but we got a good bit of the planning done.)
Good things, they say, come in threes, so we'll round out our proposal with this: John Shuttleworth Designs' Ad Astra. We've been knocking this one around as a thought experiment up here, scaling it up from its current 42m size to something a bit more fun, replacing the pontoons with warp nacelles....
I've attached a spec sheet and cost summary (including PEPPER-1-compliant defense suites for each hull) to this email. We welcome your inquiry.
Sincere Regards,
Jennifer DolittleGreenwood, Ltd

--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[LynnInDenver]

From: LordAndMaster(at)jmc.fenTo: captain(at)ciara.fen
Captain,
Sorry to hear the old girl is finally needing to be retired.
We do have some excess capacity, so to speak. We also have some plans we've been drawing up for a "White Dwarf" class ship. Obviously, nowhere near our dreamed "Red Dwarf" designs. On paper, it will be capable of interstellar travel.
Also, as a stopgap, we can provide shipbuilding plans, if not a couple of older models, of our Blue Midget design. They're also interstellar capable, but they're also somewhat smaller. On the plus side, each one also has a greatly reduced crew need. While we run with crews of four typically, they can be run by two in a pinch. Crews of three are the recommended bare minimum.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[Dartz]

I'll leave it for another week, to see if anyone wants to chip anything else in. Then I'll roll a fair dice and come up with a justification.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

From: not-a-lectroid(at)yoyodyne.fen
To: captain(at)ciara.fen

Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems has on file plans for the Nieves Class II Galactic Cruiser, which would be a close fit for your needs. If built to design, she has a 22 light-year range (enough to reach the Tannhauser Gate, but not return), and can carry either three S.A.M. Bolitho-class launches or one Federation Type-7 Shuttle. However, this design only carries 25 passengers, but it is rated for 65 metric tons of cargo in addition to trip consumables. We should be able to redesign the ship to carry 30 passengers and make safe water landings if you are willing to forgo 12 tons of cargo space and most crew amenities.

Please note that Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems is a ship design firm; we do not actually build our ships. But if you tell Hephaestus Mining and Metalworking that it's a Yoyodyne, you'll get 1% off the quote!

---

OOC: StellviaCorp buys designs as needed; it doesn't create them. Artemis builds research and survey ships, not passenger ships. The Sammies don't build anything that big. And I get the feeling you don't want a Romulan Warbird or a Corellian Frigate.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[DeputyJones]

From: [url=mailto:TheBigO@pavonis.fen[/url]
Ev'nin Cap'n,
As you know, DeLorean's been working with the Gearheads at Sara to put out a modifiable version of Genesis Climber Mospeada's Garfish-class high speed troop carrier, starting out with a destroyer for STARS and GJ-use and a cargo carrier version for market production (fans of Robotech fanon call the latter a modified Marathon-class, but as I consider Macek to be a five letter swear word, I'll not share my opinion on that). I've punched up some numbers and talked to my guys, gals, and whathaveyous in the project and they assure me that making a version of the detachable sub-pod water landing capable is doable.
As with most DeLorean products, we've tried to both stay as original to the canon source material and make the design as adaptable for real world use as possible. As such, the civilian model Garfish will be capable of the required PEPPER standards, but per Pavonis' standing agreement with GJ about selling warships we can only sell a ship capable of mounting weapons, not a ship already with said weapons, even if you can just buy them from Mishima or elsewhere at the same time that you buy the ship and mount them yourself (sheesh). Also, the modifiable internal design is made to be adjustable to fit the needs of a variety of customers.
The OCEO DeLorean Motor Company"Where we're going, we don't need roads."

[Dartz]

I tried to be fair:

from: captain@ciara.fen
To: (shiplist)

Subj: Decision on replacement for SS Ciara [Confidential]

To whom it may concern.

Thanks to everyone who sent in a submission - you made this much harder than we thought it'd be. This is only a summary mind - a full report will be sent individually soon enough, showing how scoring and voting was decided. If anyone feels they've been given a short-shift, we'll be happy to discuss things in person.

After careful consideration and a final vote amongst ourselves, we have made our final decision.

DeLorean's offering, the Garfish class, offered a highy configureable internal load, for a good price with flexible armaments. However, it also lacked the true ocean landing capability we were counting upon.

The offering from Yoyodyne, the Class II galactic cruiser, in our opinion was too much of a compromised design. While meeting all of our basic requirements and being otherwise well executed, unfortunately there were other vessels which exceeded our specifications in a number of important areas.

The Ha-5, offered to us by Hasegawa design bureau, exceeded our expectations in cargo capability, range and crew amenities, and cost, offering the best ton of cargo-per-credit ratio of all the designs we received.

The modified Eagle-class frigate, offered by Stonewell-Bellecomb, exceeded our expectations in all areas - especially in cargo capacity, crew comfort and armour. It is, however, bloody expensive.

Based on this, both Ha-5 and Eagle-class craft were shortlisted and put to a full crew vote. Ultimately, although far exceeding our specifications, we felt we just couldn't afford to operate an Eagle-class vessel on a long-term basis, therefore, we have decided to offer the contract to Hasegawa Design Bureau.

All going well, the replacement for the SS. Ciara will be the modified Ha-5 class cruiser, S.L. Macha.

Until the Macha has been completed, our cargo and passenger obligations will be handled by the Blue Midgets, 'Diarmuid' and 'Grainne', on chartered loan from the Jupiter Mining Company.

SS Ciara will be docked at Port Phobos for the last time on 22nd July of this year, after our final run from Stellvia to Phobos is completed. You're all welcome to come along, I managed to get two cases of Redbreast 12yo (Distilled when we first launched to space) with some custom labels made up which we'll be happy to share out. We'd appreciate if you don't tell too many people, as we really don't want a fuss over it. The last thing we want is a rush on tickets, touts driving up prices and ruining our reputation, or honest visitors getting in the way when we're still under contract and have work to do. Or worse, people outright cancelling our remaining contracts.

Anyway, I hope to see you all there.

Is Mise le meas.
Raymond Garret

--------------

The one with the fancy hat and jacket, and the weight of the world on his shoulders.

SS Ciara: Secure Cargo, Passenger and Charter. Mars. Venus. Earth.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[M Fnord]

From: okb-3(at)soviet.fen
To: captain(at)ciara.fen

Subj: Re: Decision on replacement for SS Ciara [Confidential]

Captain Garret,

Thank you for choosing the Ha-5 for your new vessel. I don't mean to brag... no, that's not true, I absolutely mean to brag: the Ha-5 is one of the best designs the Soviet's ever put together and I think you'll be very happy with your choice in the long run. (Incidentally, this news comes on the heels of learning that NATO has given the Ha-5 the reporting name "Cowcatcher." Not entirely sure what that means but maybe we could use it in the promotional material?) We've currently designated Hull No. 20 as "SL MACHA" with an estimated completion date of 9 December. We'll try to expedite that as much as we can - I understand that you'll want to be flying your own ship as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we'll need you and Macha's primary crew (at a minimum your helmsman, chief engineer and loadmaster) to come to Korolevgrad no later than 1 August for orientation and training. Please RSVP with a good date for your crew and we'll show you around the factory, get to see Hull No. 20 and help with the waving process, and get you started on the initial training.

Regards,
Sora Hasegawa
Chief Designer, OKB-3

Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"