As the Halcyon is registered as L-69 (LZ-69?), the Hal is likely to be a considerably older airframe than the Zepherus (at 312). Is it possible that she was originally designed as a high-altitude bomber (similar to the U.S.S. Shenandoah) early in the Great Airship War, with a primary role of anti-surface fleet bombardment for the Austro-Hungarian Navy? Then she could've later been refit as a fast climber (incorporating an expansion frame system, gas venting and the aforementioned water reclamation ballasting system) and troop dropship at her construction yard in Timbuktu to co-incide with the training and organization of her Sky Hussar company. Her re-purposing and transfer to the IAPS could be motivated by some prior incident/damage or change in naval tactics/technology that made her less suitable/outdated for her Navy role.
Billd 17:52, June 10, 2010 (UTC)
The "L-" rather than "LZ-" prefix is Luftschiff rather than Luftschiff Zeppelin.
As for the number, it was picked entirely for its sexual connotation, and not for any ordinal notation.
Vonziggy 00:00, June 11, 2010 (UTC)
You do refer to Hal in the text as a zeppelin rather than simply a dirigible. I wasn't going to go there first, but since you raise the issue, you do realize that an expanding airframe and unfolding zeppelin skin to accommodate the pressures of swift ascent as Halcyon climbs leads to a whole other series of sexual connotations...
Billd 03:50, June 11, 2010 (UTC)