Ares AWO-Bravo "Wegener"Large LTA Drone
CODE
Handling Accel Speed Pilot Body Armor Sensor Avail Cost
-3 5/10 20 4 4 2 4 10 23,500
GEARHEAD! brief:I know what you're thinking. No, wait! It's okay: they haven't figured out how to send Mind Probes through the Matrix. I just mean I can predict your reaction: why is
GEARHEAD! covering a
weather balloon? I have to be honest, when the assignments got handed out this week, my reaction was pretty similar. But the more I learned, the more interested I became, and I'm betting you feel the same way, or else you're not a
GEARHEAD! like us.
See, it's not just cars that we love, although we loves us some cars: it's machines in general, whether it's the Duke 36 racing boat, or the Commerce lunar mining rover. Machines that do a job, not just well, but
exceptionally, sometimes without fanfare or attention, accolate or frenzy. Some heroes remain unsung. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we raise our voices in chorus for the Wegener.
Do you ever go outside? I don't mean outside the building in your arcology, I mean
outside. Of course you do. Every once in a while, we
all like to go outside, and when we do, we like to know what's about to happen. Most of us live pretty controlled lives: it's the same temperature in this studio that it's going to be in my car on the way home, and my house will be exactly the same humidity as my neighbor's. It's so common now we don't think about the fact that just a few decades ago, some houses - yes, Virginia, even regular people lived in houses back then - didn't even
have climate control. But us? We
need it.
So when I go outdoors, I want my closet to pick exactly the right combination of clothes to keep me as warm and dry or cool and damp as I expect to be. But how does my closet know how to do that? How does it know what temperature it's going to be, not just outside my house, but all the way from here to Denver? Well, in my case, it knows because Ares pays a trio of very smart AIs to
tell it what the weather will be like, but how do
they know?
They know because they're watching every inch of the country. Not in a scary way, but in a good way. A safe way. They watch so that we can be comfortable. And they watch through these Ares AWO-Bravos. Nicknamed the "Wegener" after a famous balloonist and meteorologist who was far ahead of his time, the AWO-Bravo is the second in a line of lighter-than-air weather observation drones. Solar powered, and with incredible power reserves, Wegeners float autonomously, about five kilometers up, and about 5 kilometers from each other, 24 hours a day, coming in only for service or maintenance. The Wegener network covers nearly the entire country, or at least the parts we need to know about, with real-time weather at a level of detail that couldn't be managed with satellites.
Some 80,000 Wegeners have been produced over the years, and while that's not impressive by Jackrabbit standards, but weather observation platform standards, it's an unbelievable number. Bulk sales haven't cut costs, though: the Wegener still isn't inexpensive, but that's the inevitable side-effect of their incredible durability, longevity, and autonomy. These guys can see everything, things you didn't even know were there to be seen, and they're up there, all the time, making sure you're never caught unprepared for the weather. So when the door reminds you to take an umbrella today, cast a glance skyward: somewhere up there, a hero is keeping you dry.
Std. Ugrades: Clearsight Autosoft 4, Improved Sensor Array [Camera (Flare Compensation, Thermographic Vision, Vision Enhancement 3, Vision Magnification), Atmospheric Sensor 3, Barometric Sensor, Radar 5], Extreme Environment (High Altitude), Improved Economy, Signal Upgrade 5, Suncell
Common Options: None
> Well, of
course Gearhead picked the Ares AWO-Bravo over the SK WBM-6.
> Dragon Watcher
> Oi! That's
GEARHEAD!, dontcha know? Respect the trademark! *evil grin* Seriously, though, the Wegener is a lot more common over here; I know the SK gets used a lot more in the EU, but I can't blame the boys for playing for the home team. Still, you look at some of his math - 80,000 Wegeners, covering the whole country, 25 square kilometers each? - and you wonder if maybe they should try playing a little more fair.
> Pistons
> These guys should have gotten out of the business years ago. Shameless corporate pandering, is all it is now. Why's this even on Dumpshock? IT'S A WEATHER BALLOON.
> Kills-With-Guns
> It's always
been shameless corporate pandering: where have you been? Anyway, it's on Dumpshock because...dude, seriously, do you not get why this would be here? IT'S A FLOATING WIRELESS CAMERA IN THE SKY.
> machinehead