A dazed and confused Ranell returned to the virtual meeting. His teammates noticed his agitation but politely refused to comment on it. The financial projections resumed, but the group dynamic was in shambles.
Larbonne spoke first, “Josef, perhaps we’ve done enough for today…”
“Yeah, I’m done.” Ranell crossed his hands in his lap. He wore a pensive look, and his head nodded almost imperceptibly as if he were reaching some major decision. "Yeah, I think I’m done with all of this.”
“What do you mean, Josef?” Anderson asked. “Working on these projections? Trying to find solutions for our airship problem?" Anderson never let anyone forget that the decision to purchase the airships had put GML in this position.
“To hell with the airships!” Ranell saw the shocked expressions, but he didn't care anymore.
“Dr. Ranell?” It was Ken Stass, his Director of Planning.
“What?”
“If your serious about giving up on the airships, I’ve got an idea.” During the divestment, Stass had been forced to lay off most of his planning department. He’d nearly had his own position cut too. The whole process had been terribly difficult for him, so rather than cut him off, Ranell mustered his last ounce of compassion and forced himself to listen to this new idea.
“What is it, Ken?”
Stass came straight to the point. “Why don’t we donate all the airships to a non-profit charity?”
“Come again?” Despite the unrelieved ache threatening to break his heart, Ranell found himself intensely curious. “Give them to what charity?”
“Any charity. Or we could even start our own 501(c)(3) and donate the airships to that. It doesn’t matter so long as we can show a loss to GML. We should be able to depreciate them at the current market value.”
Ranell was speechless. He shook his head for a minute, digesting the thoughts. "What? Where did this come from? We've got contracts to fulfill with Strange Lake. They’d sue us into oblivion."
“I… I’ve been giving this a lot of thought.” Stass reached down and Ranell could hear the sound of his keyboard clicking. “As far as the contracts with Strange Lake, the writing's on the wall. Our ships just don't have enough cargo capacity to transport the volumes of ore necessary for us to break even… even with the rise in inflation.” Stass looked nervously at Anderson, seeking confirmation.
“I think he’s right about that, Josef.” Anderson nodded.
Stass picked up the thread, “The Airlander corporation is coming online with one of its new 50-ton cargo capacity airships right now. We barely beat them for the Strange Lake deal. I'm sure we could sell our rights to them. They’d love to take over our operations here.”
“The great race for the kingdom of the sky is real after all,” Larbonne stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Anderson jumped on the idea. “It just might work! Think about it. We donate the birds, and with inflation driving up their fair market value minus what we've already spent on the loans, we'd probably end up with a little cash out of the deal. Also, we’d get paid by Airlander for the Strange Lake contract. I say it’s a win-win!”
Ranell’s head was swimming. “Ok, ok. Let’s flesh this idea out. But not today.” He was so tired. “I’m done. Let’s hit it again tomorrow.”
Without even the usual obligatory goodbyes, Ranell severed the feed.
Ranell laid down in the bunk of his tiny cabin and experienced bubbles of enthusiasm beginning to percolate again in his heart. It’s been a long time since I felt enthusiastic about anything. The one thing I know how to do well is transport goods from where they are to where they need to be. With these airships, I could deliver food to famine victims in places inaccessible to anyone else. I could do search and rescue operations. He fell asleep thinking about the endless possibilities for disaster relief.
“This eez so sudden,” Larbonne said cautiously as they discussed Ranell’s plans the next day. “But I’ve known you too long to interfere with your planning once it’s started. Just be careful, my friend.”
“You know me, Domenique. I’ve always got contingencies.” Ranell grinned sadly, “I’m done with GML, but maybe I’m being called to become the world’s Quartermaster.”