AU - Hangar Bay/Flight Deck

[TheXym]

The Hangar bay is in this thread as well as everything else outside the Ravine.

Hangar Bay - the highest level of the Main Base. The only Level 5 built. The hangar and workshops are all underground. This area has the largest 'window' to the outside, used mainly for ventilation, although it has it's own camoflaged steel shutters.
There is a large elevator platform, similar to that used on Aircraft carriers, that brings the F-302's to the surface for operations.
There are 24 F-302's based here. They fly as 8 groups of 3 aircraft or 6 groups of 4, or in any permutation that 24 aircraft can be split. Which is a lot.
Until his abrupt promotion to Base Commander, Colonel Sharp was the Commander, Air Group for the base.

Outside the ravine - grasslands with scattered bunches of trees and brush. Most of this is found along the stream bed. See here for more detail.

[TheXym]

[from main canyon]

Braun led McKinnon, Ashwood and Valentine to a well-concealed personnel lift that would not have been detected except for a very close inspection. Once they were all on, he hit the controls, and the lift began a very swift but smooth ascent to the hangar deck just below the top of the base.

Lances eyes bugged slightly as he exited the lift behind Braun, taking in the scene, attempting to file every detail for future reference. He was taken by the sheer size of the bay, it was about 4 times larger than the alpha sites, with space for at least 2 complete squadrons of 12 F-302s, with a separate refueling/maintenance bay for each bird, as well as bays for quite a few additional fighters should the need arise. "Impressive, corporal. You've got a large-scale operation here, that's for sure. What do you have, 2 squadrons here?"

Braun smiled. "Actually, we've got 24 F-302's based here. They fly as 8 groups of 3 aircraft or 6 groups of 4, or in any permutation that 24 aircraft can be split."

[SilverRider]

Ashwood

Hanger Bay

Kim watched in amusement as Lacne looked like a kid in the candy store, so to speak. Now she noted that it would hard for her to actually drag him away from this place.

She might need Sharp to drag him away, but then groaned, when she realised that if Sharp got here, both men would end up having a ball and not leaving. Darn, she grumbled mentally.

She blinked at what Braun said, while she had no what he rambled on about, the only thing she did understand was that they had one hundred and twenty fighters in total. "Impressive," she nodded, turning to Valentine, "How many we got back in our reality on Gaia?" she asked him.

[TheXym]

((OOC copied the description from the other thread Blue, sorry about that - I'm assuming that the items we discussed in PM re: AU F302s are still a go, if not, I'll edit accordingly))

"Mind if I take a closer look at the 302's, Corporal?, Lance asked. He was definitely eager to check them out, since he could already see a few differences just from the cursory look he'd had. Despite his enthusiasm being evident on his face, his eyes made it very clear that he was being 'professional' in his assessment.

Braun smiled, as McKinnon's enthusiasm was infectious. He could tell that the major certainly loved to fly and was appreciative of their fighters. "I don't mind, but let me see round up someone who'll be able to better answer your questions, and I can already tell you it's going to be look, don't touch." The corporal headed over to a group of mechanics, spoke briefly while gesturing towards their three guests. Finally, a rather tall, lanky man with a neatly trimmed black mustache and a balding head in gray coveralls with a healthy spattering of grease stood and walked back over with Braun.

As they approached, Braun spoke. "Majors McKinnon and Ashwood, Lieutenant Valentine, this is our maintenance crew chief, Sergeant Peter Watts."

Watts quickly wiped his hand off on a rag he had in his back pocket and shook their hands. "A pleasure to meet you. Right now my crews are doing a firmware update on the command and control software, so there's no way to let you in the cockpits at this time, but I'll give you the quick tour and a brief run-down on them. Perhaps another time you'll be able to stop by when it's less hectic. Follow me."

The sergeant led them to a fighter bay on the right, gesturing towards the very large lifts at the far end of the hangar deck and the bigger one in the middle. "The far lifts are normally used to lift the 302's into launch position. Each can handle two birds at a time, and it takes about 15 seconds to go from fully loaded to fully raised or vice versa. The larger one in the middle of the bay is what we normally use to recover the fighters after they finish a mission. There's also a smaller elevator back by where you came in that can handle a single 302 in emergency situations" Turning back towards the bay they were approaching, Watts continued. Each of the fighter bays has full diagnostic, repair, and maintenance gear as well as ordinance loading/unloading equipment. It cost us a lot more to build, but if we were to take a hit that crippled part of the bay, we'd still be able to get some fighters in the air via the other elevators."

[Vincent]

Ashwood

Hanger Bay

Kim watched in amusement as Lacne looked like a kid in the candy store, so to speak. Now she noted that it would hard for her to actually drag him away from this place.

She might need Sharp to drag him away, but then groaned, when she realised that if Sharp got here, both men would end up having a ball and not leaving. Darn, she grumbled mentally.

She blinked at what Braun said, while she had no what he rambled on about, the only thing she did understand was that they had one hundred and twenty fighters in total. "Impressive," she nodded, turning to Valentine, "How many we got back in our reality on Gaia?" she asked him.

[Hanger Bay]

Vincent thought for a bit,

"We've got around 7, but I also think we've got a Heli tucked up somewhere," he turned just as the Maintainace Chief started explaing their F-302's, he nodded, it seemed like a good stratgey,

"So how about weaponry and engines?" he was suddenly a lot more interested, he'd spent a fair amount of time testing planes for USAF, and, if pushed, could probably make sense of the stats. The engines were obviously the most improtant part, they defined a lot of what else was in the plane, aerodynamics, internal dampers, controls, etc. Weaponry was the next thing he looked at, there was no point in having a military plane with little or no firepower, unless that was what it was designed for.

[TheXym]

((OOC, the 120 fighter was my bad, according to Blue it's 24, I fixed it in my post and in the top of the thread))

Lance was nodding, taking in all of the information he could as Watts spoke about the fighters.

"One of our innovations is STOL capability. With the enhanced naquada engines putting out a 35 percent increase in thrust over the previous version, which is comparable to that of the 302s in most AU's we've come in contact with, and some small maneuvering jets in the nose and front part of the wing underside they're able to take off in 40 percent of the distance that the older 302s would." Watts spoke.

He continued by pointing out a couple of small domes on the fuselage, just behind the cockpit on each side, below the wing's leading edge, and also on the dorsal surface, behind the canopy. "These little domes are our pride and joy. With the help of the Iberian scientists, we've developed shield generators for our fighters. They're nothing like the Asgard shields, but they come in handy. Death glider laser blasts will bounce right off, as will most other low to mid power energy beams. Unfortunately they don't have the juice to deflect any capital ship weaponry, or even a hatakh's lasers, and projectile weapons like railguns or missiles aren't affected at all, but they've saved our flyboys more times than they'd like to admit."

Lance's eyes bugged a bit at the shield description. They were far from perfect, but definitely something they could use. He'd have to let Sharp know about them to see if it was possible to negotiate to obtain the plans. He looked over at Vincent to see his reaction. Since Valentine had been doing a lot of test flying, he may have some insights that he'd miss. Before he could speak, Watts led them to the stern of the fighter for the next explanation.

"This one is my baby," Watts spoke with evident pride. "It's a rude surprise for anyone trying to drop on your six for the easy kill. Watch the cone at the tail end of the fuselage." With that, he clambered up the ladder into the cockpit and flipped a few switches. The cone panels retracted to reveal the barrel of what looked like a 20mm Vulcan gatling cannon. "The Aft Defense System. Six rotating barrels capable of firing 1200 rounds/minute, every twelfth round is a tracer, depleted uranium shells, with an expanded spectrum camera above to relay target information to the cockpit. If you're flying with a backseater, it can be used as an anti-missile defense as well"

Lance's jaw dropped. The idea was so simple yet so profound. Why the heck hadn't they thought of it in their universe. His mind drifted as he thought of the pilots he'd known who could have been saved if such a system was on their fighters. He grinned as Watts hopped back out of the cockpit. "That's amazing, Sergeant. Just... amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing your other innovations, as well as hoping to see them in action at some point, though preferably in a demonstration, not in active base defense." He then moved next to Ashwood and Valentine and whispered. What do you both think? Vincent, I know you've done test work, so I'm going to really want to see your thoughts when all is said and done. Sharp would go NUTS over this."

As he was awaiting their reply, a female tech came over to ask Watts a question regarding the fighter her team was working on. As she glanced at the visitors she smiled.... until she recognized McKinnon's features. At that point her smile disappeared, replaced by a look of sheer hatred.

((OOC Shel or Gen, care to do the assault on Lance?))

[ShelBel]

(( OOC: LOL, didn't I do it last time? *goes to look* Yup, I did. GEN! YOUR TURN! ))

[Gen Blue]

(( TAGS!! ))

[ Hangar Bay - Sgt Higgins ]

"Hang on, guys. I've got to check with Watts on this." Sgt Mary Lou Higgins trotted over to the head mechanic. Seeing some unfamiliar faces, she started to smile in greeting. The smile was wiped away as she recognized McKinnon.
Barely pausing, the woman shouldered her way past Watts and, with no words of warning, landed a roundhouse left to Lance's middle. "You sneaking, lying, unprincipaled, unmitigated B@$^@*d."
She swung her foot back to kick the downed man.

Sergeant (soon to be Airman) Mary Lou Higgins

[Vincent]

((OOC, the 120 fighter was my bad, according to Blue it's 24, I fixed it in my post and in the top of the thread))

Lance was nodding, taking in all of the information he could as Watts spoke about the fighters.

"One of our innovations is STOL capability. With the enhanced naquada engines putting out a 35 percent increase in thrust over the previous version, which is comparable to that of the 302s in most AU's we've come in contact with, and some small maneuvering jets in the nose and front part of the wing underside they're able to take off in 40 percent of the distance that the older 302s would." Watts spoke.

He continued by pointing out a couple of small domes on the fuselage, just behind the cockpit on each side, below the wing's leading edge, and also on the dorsal surface, behind the canopy. "These little domes are our pride and joy. With the help of the Iberian scientists, we've developed shield generators for our fighters. They're nothing like the Asgard shields, but they come in handy. Death glider laser blasts will bounce right off, as will most other low to mid power energy beams. Unfortunately they don't have the juice to deflect any capital ship weaponry, or even a hatakh's lasers, and projectile weapons like railguns or missiles aren't affected at all, but they've saved our flyboys more times than they'd like to admit."

Lance's eyes bugged a bit at the shield description. They were far from perfect, but definitely something they could use. He'd have to let Sharp know about them to see if it was possible to negotiate to obtain the plans. He looked over at Vincent to see his reaction. Since Valentine had been doing a lot of test flying, he may have some insights that he'd miss. Before he could speak, Watts led them to the stern of the fighter for the next explanation.

"This one is my baby," Watts spoke with evident pride. "It's a rude surprise for anyone trying to drop on your six for the easy kill. Watch the cone at the tail end of the fuselage." With that, he clambered up the ladder into the cockpit and flipped a few switches. The cone panels retracted to reveal the barrel of what looked like a 20mm Vulcan gatling cannon. "The Aft Defense System. Six rotating barrels capable of firing 1200 rounds/minute, every twelfth round is a tracer, depleted uranium shells, with an expanded spectrum camera above to relay target information to the cockpit. If you're flying with a backseater, it can be used as an anti-missile defense as well"

Lance's jaw dropped. The idea was so simple yet so profound. Why the heck hadn't they thought of it in their universe. His mind drifted as he thought of the pilots he'd known who could have been saved if such a system was on their fighters. He grinned as Watts hopped back out of the cockpit. "That's amazing, Sergeant. Just... amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing your other innovations, as well as hoping to see them in action at some point, though preferably in a demonstration, not in active base defense." He then moved next to Ashwood and Valentine and whispered. What do you both think? Vincent, I know you've done test work, so I'm going to really want to see your thoughts when all is said and done. Sharp would go NUTS over this."

As he was awaiting their reply, a female tech came over to ask Watts a question regarding the fighter her team was working on. As she glanced at the visitors she smiled.... until she recognized McKinnon's features. At that point her smile disappeared, replaced by a look of sheer hatred.

((OOC Shel or Gen, care to do the assault on Lance?))

Vincent's jaw almost dropped, the technology they'd put on, the shields were an interesting concept, something he'd definately be rekomending back on Gaia, the engines were a h311 of a lot better too, 40% didn't sound all that huge, but in flight terms that all added up. It meant deployment and reaction times would be cut down by a sizeable ammount.

He couldn't help going up to Watt's baby and giving it a quick once over,

"Doesn't the sheild domes affect the aerodynamics of the bird? I know on the old Spits they lost speed just by having different rivets on the plane,"

The rear mounted gun was one of the best he'd seen too, he'd tried out a few, with vairying success, but never enough to be put on any bird, though they hadn't had the cameras to do it with, he'd have to get the techs on that too.

He looked over to Lance,

"The engines are impressive, and the aft-defense is the best I've ever seen, I had a lot of problems with some of the one's I tried out with USAF, either being too bluky, but mainly it was in the relay, and targeting, I'd love to see the whole thing in action. Too bad they're being updated," he couldn't hide the dissapointment, the way to get a feel of any bird was to fly in it,

"I'm guessing you've improved the dampers and everything to cope with the extra thrust you get from those engines," He was so engrossed on remebering every little detail of the bird that he missed Lance's second AU-ex

[TheXym]

[Hangar Bay]

"Doesn't the sheild domes affect the aerodynamics of the bird? I know on the old Spits they lost speed just by having different rivets on the plane,"

Watts smiled. The lieutenant obviously had a sharp eye and was an experienced pilot. "You're right. It's always been a very tricky equation to compensate for the differences in the airframe, particularly with surface changes, but with the help of the Iberians we were able to come up with a design that minimized the effects, and the control firmware compensates for the surprisingly small amount of turbulence they may cause. If you had an extra strength magnifying glass and looked at the domes closely, you'd see they're covered with microdimples - think along the lines of a golf ball and you'll have the right idea. The amazing thing was, the Iberians came of with a dimple pattern based upon an assymmetrical fractal...." The sergeant was definitely enthused by having a knowledgeable audience. He didn't notice the approach of Higgins until she shoved past him.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]
Barely pausing, the woman shouldered her way past Watts and, with no words of warning, landed a roundhouse left to Lance's middle. "You sneaking, lying, unprincipaled, unmitigated B@$^@*d."
She swung her foot back to kick the downed man.

Sergeant (soon to be Airman) Mary Lou Higgins

Lance had been so engrossed by Watt's discourse, and impressed by Valentine's insightful questions that he never saw her coming. The impact to his gut right below the xyphoid process forced the air from his lungs and he dropped to a knee. Hearing the acid dripping from the woman's words, he felt, rather than saw the foot rearing back to drive towards his face. "For crying out loud already, I'm NOT your universe's @$$#0!3 Lance.", McKinnon growled. The first assault in the canyon he'd been able to blow off as a misunderstanding. This one actually hurt, and it was getting really old, really fast.

Kicking his leg out to attempt a footsweep of his assailant, he was only partially successful. He didn't drop his attacker, but rather merely caused her to lose some leverage so that her second kick grazed his shoulder instead of snapping his head back beyond design tolerances. He rolled to the side and gained his feet, and dropped into a defensive stance, his eyes steeled on the sergeant, noting her namebadge. "This is NOT the first time I've been assaulted for no reason today. I repeat.... Higgins. I am NOT your Lance McKinnon. Look at my rank... Major, not Captain. I may look like him, but from all accounts I've heard, he sure as hell is nothing like me as a person. Two things. First, I'm NOT a B@$^@*d... don't impugn the integrity of my parents or the bloodline of my grandfather. Second, what the h3ll did your Lance do to set you off, because it seems like the guy has been conducting himself in a manner that's making ME want to deck him. Come on... what's the deal?" As he spoke he quickly glared towards Braun, his eyes clearly saying 'I thought you were supposed to prevent this from happening.' Quickly turning his eyes back towards Higgins, he raised an eyebrow. Since she hadn't yet thrown a follow up kick, but was still tensed in a way he couldn't quite read, he continued. "Look... I'm going to stand down so you can explain yourself. You can either take the cheap shot at an innocent man or speak up." McKinnon slowly rose from his defensive posture and lowered his arms to an akimbo position. This was either going to give him some answers, hurt really bad, or some combination of both.

[SilverRider]

Ashwood


Hanger Bay

Kim watched as the grin on Lance's face turned in to a real fur and he blasted his head off at the Sgt. She was now feeling really sorry for Lance. Sure the first time it happened a quite funny, but it was going way out of control.

It seemed that just about every second person wanted to deck him.

Noticing his posture, "Easy Lance," Kim told him, as she stepped up next to him. "Whatever you do, just don't throw the first punch."

If she could she would rather zat this realities McKinnon, one from their reality didn't need this.

[TheXym]

Ashwood


Hanger Bay

Kim watched as the grin on Lance's face turned in to a real fur and he blasted his head off at the Sgt. She was now feeling really sorry for Lance. Sure the first time it happened a quite funny, but it was going way out of control.

It seemed that just about every second person wanted to deck him.

Noticing his posture, "Easy Lance," Kim told him, as she stepped up next to him. "Whatever you do, just don't throw the first punch."

If she could she would rather zat this realities McKinnon, one from their reality didn't need this.

Lance glanced over at Kim. "Don't worry... I won't throw the first punch. She's most likely very justifiably p!$$3D at their Lance, and if I ever get the story I'd lay good odds that I wouldn't blame her." He dropped his arms from the akimbo position and spread them as he asked Higgins, "So, how's this going to go down? I'm wide open for the cheap shot or, as I asked before, you can explain to me just what the h3ll is going on here."

[SilverRider]

Ashwood

Hanger Bay

Kim nodded, "I know but it doesn't seem fair that you get decked for what your twin is doing. Just remember Valentine and I are here to back you up."

Even she turned to look at Higgins, waiting for the sgt to explain herself.

[Vincent]

[Hangar Bay]
Watts smiled. The lieutenant obviously had a sharp eye and was an experienced pilot. "You're right. It's always been a very tricky equation to compensate for the differences in the airframe, particularly with surface changes, but with the help of the Iberians we were able to come up with a design that minimized the effects, and the control firmware compensates for the surprisingly small amount of turbulence they may cause. If you had an extra strength magnifying glass and looked at the domes closely, you'd see they're covered with microdimples - think along the lines of a golf ball and you'll have the right idea. The amazing thing was, the Iberians came of with a dimple pattern based upon an assymmetrical fractal...." The sergeant was definitely enthused by having a knowledgeable audience. He didn't notice the approach of Higgins until she shoved past him.
<snip>

[Hanger Bay]

Vincent looked awed, they'd found the perfect way of dealing with it. He repeated the word golf ball in his head to force himself to remeber. He looked up at Watt's as he stopped talking then followed his gaze, it seemed the AU-Lance had made another friend for their Lance.

He nodded as Ashwood said they were behind him, surprised it was just Lance getting stick.

[Gen Blue]

[ Hangar Bay – Mary Lou Higgins] ((Beyond design tolerances – LOL ))

Higgins’ crew came dashing over and made a wall between her and the group of Alters. “M’lou, stop it. He’s not worth getting busted over.”
Still fuming, Higgins caught her balance and started muttering a string of curses. Two of the squad herded the woman back a few feet while another faced them. He sneered at Lance and spoke to Ashwood, “Take my advice, lady. Stay away from this one. Ours is hell-bent on boffing anything female. It wasn’t bad enough that he was sleeping with both M’lou and her older sister, he got the younger one drunk and slept with her too. Guess he wanted to get the Higgins ‘hat trick’.”
As he turned away, he added, "Be glad it was M'lou. Bethy carries her sidearm and Carolina could snap you in two with her bare hands."

((BTW - M'lou Higgins is Cal's roomate in our reality.))