AMS Predator

Predator — Merchant / Privaeer Airship

About

Merchant Airship (destroyer sized—“barely more than a destroyer in terms of mass”).  In reality, a raider/privateer airship commanded by Captain Frances Madison Grimm; XO and first mate—Commander Creedy. She has one of the oldest core crystals around and is very fast. She sings as she dives.

Character / Personality

After Ferus spoke with her, he called her quite insouciant.  Folly is also able to talk with her and arranged for the Predator to “paint” the Mistshark so it would be visible to the human eye (while the Predator was pursuing the Mistshark).

“I asked Predator to show you where the master’s collection is.” There was a long silence on the bridge, broken when the pilot said in a flat voice, “What?” You must forgive them, the ship’s voice said to Folly. The dear things are blind and almost deaf. Except for my captain, of course. He hears me better than all but a few, like yourself.”

Description

Shaped like an "oddly contoured half tube suspended between three rounded towers that rose up at either end of the ship and in the middle (masts). Folded along her flanks were a number of bundled rods of some kind that looked like they could be unfolded out, and old-style canvas cloth hung from them—sails, made to be extended horizontally, along the ship's flanks.

• The Predator is not armored with metal.
• Broadside weapons consist of 7 light etheric cannon on each side of the ship.
• She has a medium chase cannon.
• The entire crew is ex-fleet.

Structure

• There is a Suspension Rig in the center of the ship that housed the Lift Crystal. It bears the entire weight of the ship, distributed through the eight cables.
• The entire ship's was made of costly wood.

Parts and Mechanics

• Airships Parts, Gear and Technology

Crew Number

• Her full complement is 96 sailors.

Crew Positions

• Captain
• XO — Comanding Officer
• Pilot/Helmsman — stears the ship
• Apprentice Pilot — learning to be a pilot
• Engineer — operates the ship's mechanics: Crystal power and steam owner
• Doctor — Ship's Doctor
• Gunnery Officer — In charge of gunners; highly skilled gunner
• Gunner — skilled at operating Etheric cannon
• Crewman —
• Deckhand —
• Cook —
• Boatswain (pronounced bo's'n) —
• Lookout —
• Aeronaut — crew member
• Boarders — those that are skilled at close fighting and shooting etheric weapons

Other Details

• Five (5) crew were killed in action with the ASA Itasca.
• The predator uses wind-sail as secondary propulsion.
• AMS stands for Albion Merchant Ship.
• Creedy gave the men liberty while the captain was gone overnight, kept. Quarter crew on board.
• Rowl likes to climb the masts which he calls "ship trees".

Crystal Mechanics

Almost all airships run using the power of Crystals. Predator gets its power from the power Core Crystal in its lower deck. It has a first generation power core that according to Crystalfew thousand years old at least. The age of the crystal allows it "to produce more electricity from less etheric energy than almost any crystal". The Power Core Crystal is what powers the rest of the crystals, the most important being the Lift Crystals.

After the Predator's Lift Crystal was damaged during the opening battle with ASA Itasca, the Spirearch gifted Captain Grimm with a brand new lift crystal which according to Grimm is invaluable. The new Lift Crystal is a Mark IV-D that is fit for a battlecruiser. According to Grimm, the Lift Crystal "could easily keep a ship thirty-five times Predator's mass aloft. Grimm knows that the largest part of a ship's power budget was allotted to its lift crystal. Because of the efficiency of the new lift crystal, more power could be used for other systems.

Officers and Crew

• Francis Grimm — Captain
• Journeyman — ship's engineer
• Kettle — Steersman, many other tasks
• Creedy — XO
• Stern — followed Grimm from the AFS Perilous; Excellant shot
• Leftenant Hammond — starboard gunnery officer
• Doctor Bagen — ship's Doctor
• Baker: crewman — Excellant shot

Others:

• Aricson: Gunner — blown off the ship by shrapnel during the battle with Itasca; presumed dead.
• Bennett — crewman; watched the Black Horse Inn after Harrison, "Harry", left, reported to Grimm
• Eubanks —
• Harrison — deckhand; guide Grimm and the few to the Black Horse Inn where there passengers were in trouble.
• "Harry" — Harrison
• Henderson —
• MacCauley — Ventral lookout; spotted AFS Glorious while being chased by ASA Itasca

• Michaels —
• Tarky — engineering crew; injured, can only hobble around; left behind while crew went ashore to assist their passengers against the enemy marines;
• Waller — ship's cook

~~

• Predator starboard number 3 gun crew
• Unnamed lookout
• 18 unnamed crewmembers

Connections

Passengers:

• Team
  • Folly
  • Ferus
  • Gwen Lancaster
  • Benedict Sorellin-Lancaster
  • Bridget Tagwynn
  • Rowl

Visitors:

• Alexander Bayard
• Calliope Ransom
• Santos
• Sycorax Cavendish

Ship Related:

• Fleet
• Albion Ships
• Airships Parts, Gear and Technology
• Crystals — Core Crystals, Lift Crystals, Trim crystals
• Weapons — Etheric cannon, Gauntlets, Long Guns Weapon crystals, Swords
• Masts, Web Masts, Etheric webbing, Wind-sails
• Battle Gear, Body Armor and Goggles
• Fleet Shipyards, Habble Landing Shipyards, Albion Marines

Other:

• Commodore Hamilton Rook and AFS Glorious
• Captain Esterbrook
• Lancaster Vattery, Temple of the Way
• ASA Itasca and Captain Castillo
• Mistshark
• AFS Valiant, AFS Victorious, AFS Thunderous
• AFS Perilous, AFS Speck
• Windlass
• Habble Landing, Habble Morning
• Ventilation Tunnels

Events

1. Aeronaut's Windlass

She was damaged badly in a skirmish with the Auroran airship, the ASA Itasca. Enough to mean they could only get around using sails—meaning that they could no longer perform as a privateer ship, and it would take years to earn the funds to repair her. The crew goes ashore to help hold off Auroran Marines while their own Fleet and Marines are in the air—mobilized due to the attack—not realizing the true threat is in the Spire, not the air. They help save Esterbrook at Lancaster Vattery. Next thy follow Rowl to rescue Bridget, Gwen, Benedict and Barnabus Astor from Diego Ciriaco.

The Spirearch gifted the Predator with a new Lift Crystal in exchange for direct service to him—to transport and assist a team on a mission to Landing.

The Spirearch's team—Bridget, Rowl, Folly, Gwen, Benedict and Efferus Effrenus Ferus—arrived at the Shipyards and boarded the Predator. Gwen is suspicious of Grimm because he's a Fleet outcast—of he reasons for saving the Lancaster Vattery and also her and her friends. She asks questions to Creedy, Grimm and Kettle and decides to wait-and-see about Grimm in the face of deep loyalty by his crew. Predator got a shipment of Crystals— Lift Crystal and Trim crystals—from Lancaster Vattery, sent by the Spirearch. Calliope Ransom, captian of the Mistshark, came aboard to offer Grimm a job, he turned her down. Sycorax Cavendish and Sark come on board the ship. She tells Grimm and Ferus that she has Folly and Bridget prisoner and she demands that Ferus give her his wagons filled with his collection. He agrees—which causes him to go into a kind of coma, only Folly can fix it.

Journeyman and Gwen install the crystals. Gwen and Journeyman fire up the new crystals. Then explosions occur—the Auroran Marines are headed for the Mistshark. The ship is preparing to use their Etheric cannons and launching their webbing to take off, with the Marines. Predator gets its shroud up. Journeyman takes her in a dive to escape the Mistshark's cannon. Grimm only sees her vanish and he's heartbroken. The ship rises.

See Also

• Battle Gear
• Airships Parts, Gear and Technology
• Admiral Watson
• Lancaster Manor
• Ventilation Tunnels
• Diego Ciriaco

Quotes

• "Sir, it might take you several years to earn it that way, but it would be honest work at least. Tere's no shame in it." ... "And no joy, either," grim sai. "Not for me, not for the crew, and not for the Predator. You can't expect a cat to change its fir for you because you think it would be better." — Creedy and Grimm
• "A ship is more than wood and crystals and Ethersilk, Byron. Some thick-skilled vat counters have always said it was nonsense but the men on the ship's know better. Airships aren't just vehicles—no the men who treat them like more than that get more out of them." — Grimm to Creedy

• "With all due respect there is ample transport to Landing. Send them down in a barge or a windlass" ... Lord Albion'shead drawback slightly, his eyebrows lifted I surprise. "Captain, I a not sure why the idea upsets you so." ... "My ship isn't a barge. And she's bloody well no windlass," Grimm snarled. "And while I'm alive she never wil be. Not for the Fleet, not for the bloody Spire Council, and not for you, sire. Thank you for the offer, but I can help you." — Grimm and Lord Albion