City Dweller Float Ships
The variety of float ships in use by the City Dwellers is far to great to be detailed in a short article. The vessels come in an astonishing range of sizes from small one-man fliers to massive ships that dwarf the largest of Earthly sailing ships. Their uses are as varied: from dispatch couriers to cargo vessels of varied shapes and sizes to the inevitable warships.
These craft may be of the true voleric type as the small war skiff pictured to the above right and the Warroom-class war craft below, wherein both lift and motive power come from the voleric engine, or they may be of the more ordinary sort of float ship in which the engine provides lift alone and motive power must be obtained from some other source.
The most traditional source of propulsion relies on wind, resulting in the magnificent sight of a ship under a full spread of canvas plying the skies. Sail rigs are many and varied, and some, given the lack of a sea to caress the hull, distinctly strange - even unnatural to the eyes of an Earth-born sailor.
The skies of Mars, like the seas of Earth, can be fickle, stranding a ship when it most needs to move. The City Dwellers have addressed this problem with devices of intricate clockwork and even muscled-powered crankshafts to turn propellers and push their vessels through the stillest of airs.
Recently, with the arrival of Earth-built steam engines, some float ships have taken to using such devices to turn their propellers.
The most versatile aeroscaphs of the City Dwellers rely on ancient voleric engines for both lift and propulsion. Large ships of pure voleric type are relatively rare, their propulsive components having been damaged or failed over the centuries, but smaller vessels remain common. The Wind Cutter is a class of small, fast vessels often used for courier duty or as the pleasure vessel of a kheem.
Profiles of three Float Ships of the ancient Ta'Tween design family are shown below and to the right. On top is a large warship capable of carrying multiple cannon, several ports for the Tears of Death, and a substantial force of marines as well. In the middle is a small multiple purpose craft. It may serve as a simple transport, carrying cargo or a small unit of soldiers. It can also be kitted out as a dedicated warship that mounts a fixed, forward firing cannon and a Tears of Death port. On the bottom is a cargo carrier. Though clearly related to the others, its bloated form is swollen through the heed to carry bulk goods, rendering it not nearly so sleek and swift as its relatives, but of far more use to peaceful purposes.
Float Ship Weaponry
Float ships can be armed with any sort of cannon and gun available to ground forces. In addition, many are fitted with rams. The R-gun is a popular choice for small vessels as it has no appreciable recoil to disturn the trim of a light ship. The heaviest guns are usually mounted in line with the keel of a ship to avoid rolling the vessel when firing.
Tears of Death
The Tears of Death are a common weapon carried by City Dweller warships that is used for attacking targets on the ground. Vulgarly known as spike droppers, these weapon deploy bundles of sharpened stakes, sending them plummeting from on high to strike with devastating force.
Skud'ar Racing
The traditional Dethkatilleen races held in most Martian City States have their origin as training for war. Over the centuries, they have transformed from a simple display of martial skill to an elaborate sport of their own with myriad traditional rituals.
Race days in Martian cities are festive and elaborate affairs. Racecraft fly in heats with winners advancing to further rounds until a final, or Crown Heat, in which the most successful racers compete head-to-head for the prize. Competition is fierce. Needless to say, betting on the outcome of races is also fierce.