The Sturmkrähe (Storm Crow)
by John HareType: Light warbird, Waffenadler
class
Date of Commission: AC 1015
Port of Call: Freiburg
Service Record: The Sturmkrähe is a recently commissioned ship but is the first not in full active service. One lesson the Order has taken to heart is the length of time it takes to make a warbird hull, particularly after the numerous hulls that had to be made in recent years. The more ships lost the longer it takes to get them all back in the air. The Sturmkrähe is currently hidden near Freiburg by one of the older commanderies from which it gets its provisions. What the Order is doing is stashing a warbird for when it needs its services soonest because of the loss of a warship or a redistribution of ships because one is being repaired or there is trouble nearby and other warbirds can't respond on time. So while it has an active skygem it receives no power from the artifact until another warbird's skygem is depowered (ie destroyed, put in for repairs or has exited the skyshield into the void. Since the warbird isn't being used there is no drain on the artifact and thus the skygem isn't depleted. However due the lack of experienced captains the Sturmkrähe is currently without one. In fact it is missing slightly less than half its allotted crew. This is because the more experienced crews are being used aboard active warbirds and the Order doesn't wish to use inexperienced crew on the Sturmkrähe because of the lack of training it gives.
Currently the assigned first officer Dietmar Scholarse is acting as captain and has orders to draw Oath sworn personnel from the commanderie if ordered into the air. Dietmar is a short compact man whose quiet and calm speaking sounds very formal but highly assertive. It is because of him that the crew that is available is highly trained as he practices drills of all types. Of course being that the ship is grounded means that occasionally the crew forgets parts of the drills, such as always using the guide ropes to move about the ship. On one occasion after noticing such failings the second drill found the crew rushing to their positions and those not using the guide ropes slipped and fell in the patches of oil that Dietmar placed in certain areas. Also with careful engineering and limited use of the skygem Dietmar has managed briefly adjusted the ship's orientation with the ground to simulate dive attacks, evasive rolls and steep climbs.
Notes: this ship has a high
possibility of taking on other members of the Order for a brief
time until the full crew is assembled. Because of what happened to
the Sturmkondor, Dietmar takes no chances and ensures they are all
Oath sworn, or they get to ride in the cargo hold disarmed and
under guard. The four senior members of the crew which includes
Dietmar, the brother Abbot, the second officer and the third
officer take turns watching the scroll of communication that would
inform them that they can lift or order them into air.