To whom it may concern,
I've contacted you to make an odd request, and to discuss an opportunity. My name is Dr. James Erzie, captain of the Talandar. At this point in time, your organization and I are not acquainted. I'm currently a Freelance researcher and energy physicist, and, in light of recent projects, have need of the services you may provide. I'm curious to know how your organization deals with individuals rather than businesses or military organizations, but in any case, I hope you'll be able to help.
I'm in need of a ship hull, and some boast that your smelting and construction is unparalleled and efficient. As this would be intended to be a research vessel, prime material would be ideal. I have blueprints and dimensions available already, and will share them if you choose to accept this deal. I just need a facilitator.
My name is Franz Pfannenstiel, Director of Research and Development Department at ALG. Your message was forwarded to our department, and I must say I was quickly intrigued!
It's true that we don't often conduct business with individuals rather than other companies, especially here in R&D, but we're certainly in no way opposed to it. I definitely want my department to be supportive of scientific research and all the minds that wish to pursue it.
To get to your actual request, we will of course need more information on what sort of vessel we will be dealing with here. Our facilities at Dortmund are set up to produce anything up to large trains on a commercial level, so we likely won't run into capacity issues, and with the blueprints on hand we could get the order in no time.
So, I would ask you for more details on the type of hull you are looking for. And I personally would also appreciate greatly a few more details on the research you will be doing, if you can share it.
Once we hear more, the board of directors will likely have some other questions before they will stamp the deal, but we can talk about that when the time comes.
Thank you for contacting us, and I look forward to doing business!
I appreciate the quick response,
The ship, in design, is a deep space research vessel with and expanded cargo hold that may second as a hangar. I have associates already working on the primary engine portion, however, that leaves the remaining eight engines untouched at this time. I would like to leave the engines for last, as I'm not sure whether they must be specialized until my other partners are complete with their designs. For the purposes of the shell, only fuel lines, bridge essentials, landing gear, and flight controls are necessary. All other interior designs can be left out, as I will likely tow the shell from your facility to the next location for interior design. Either that, or the ones tasked with doing that will come to the vessel at your facility.
As far as the actual hull goes, blueprints are here, providing a structural skeleton you may follow, as ship construction is not my expertise. For scale, the ship is 290 meters in length, and 159 meters from wing to wing. From the top of the tail rudder to the base of the fuselage is 45 meters in height. The overall structure needs to be lightweight, but tough; and as those two don't really mix all that well, premium materials must be used; think military grade if it helps.
The ship hull itself should not weigh more that 120,000 kilograms, and the limited internals, in total, can not weigh more than 80,000. I also need the hull to be as low maintenance as possible, as crews working with a freelancer such as myself may be severely limited. In addition, low maintenance means a larger operating range, and in turn, more power to the researching team.
I anticipate that this, as a whole, will not be cheap, so I am willing to deliver additional materials personally to reduce the cost. I look forward to working with you and the organization as we move forward.
-Dr. James Erzie
Good day again, Mr Erzie. My team and I have been pouring over your blueprints with great interest, and although I can't give a final statement yet I wanted to give you an update.
The design overall is entirely feasible, and the scale is not beyond the capabilities of our facilities to manufacture. And a highly durable chassis intended for rough stellar terrain is exactly the sort of thing we specialize in. The basic requirement of creating a durable shell with this blueprint is doable.
That would be the good news.
The bad news is a design mantra any engineer is confronted with time and time again: Low mass, high durability, easy maintenance: pick two. It's a silly proverb, but it's rather consistently accurate. Your mass limits are very strict, and there is simply no physical way we can combine them with both effortless maintenance and ruggedness as you would need in the harsh environments you seem to be interested in.
Of course, that doesn't mean nothing can be done, just that some compromises will have to be made. We are working at this moment on figuring out how we can turn this plan into a ship, and if you have any more input on that matter we will be happy to hear it.
As for your offer to deliver necessary materials yourself, that would of course both speed up the process and lower the cost for you. The alloys and reactor components we can produce ourselves, but raw materials required for those would certainly help, as would a number of electronic components. We can work out the details of those later.
I am definitely intrigued by this project though, and if I can get my team infected with my own enthusiasm for it, I'm sure we will be welding in no time! If everything works out, could I perhaps request a tour on the finished product?
Until then, let's work together for the best product.
It is certainly good to hear back once again,
Concerning your "proverb," high durability and low mass is my largest concern, as crew is something more easily obtained than military performance on a vessel. It's much easier to store fuel than rations, however, fuel is often much more expensive, at least compared to a low quality of food. In short, if the fuel efficiency is maintained, I'm sure I'll be able to expand my operating range by including more trained crewman as time goes on, so maintenance would be the sacrifice I'd make.
Concerning my input, I'd have to work more closely with your team to help. I'm currently housed in Bretonia, as my Order vessel is not welcome anywhere else at this time. I would have to get permission to enter your space on this vessel, which could take time. On the other hand, a recent job opportunity may provide me with an additional vessel to use, to which I could move into your space without issues. We shall see. Other than my personal input would be limited, as the ship's engineer has passed away.
I'm highly invigorated to hear the enthusiasm coming from you, so I do hope it is mutual with the lower levels of the organization. And, by all means, you will have a sponsored tour on the finished vessel for you and your teams, should this come to fruition. You would deserve it when things are said and done.
-Dr. James Erzie
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