security considerations

[AnyaKimlin]

Just keep it simple - someone has sent a terrorist message that there is a bomb on one of the ships. (but it doesn't specify which one) It is probably a prank but they decide to play it safe - send the ships out without the 'Royal' family and they go in a different one. Because of the scarcity of pilots it would require finding six, I should imagine eight would be a challenge.

Give them a reason of national importance they have to be where they are going at a certain time. It doesn't have to be dramatic and can be as basic as a birthday party for a dignitary, or a funeral, or wedding etc Something they don't want to be seen as being absent from, because that would send a message to whoever sent the threat that they took it seriously.

OR pull an Flight Into Danger/Airplane and give some of the pilots food poisoning

 

[Glitch]

I'm wondering am I starting the sequel too late, in which case this is giving me lots of ideas for a mid point high drama.

It depends on the story you're trying to tell. Have you decided what the story is going to be about?

 

[David Evil Overlord]

And might also be seen as an insult to the birthday boy, the dead guy, the happy couple, the etc. whose event they miss.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Mentioning Arthur Hailey's drama made me think of this:

Arthur Hailey's Airport - it might give you some low level ideas about what might go wrong.

 

[Vertigo]

How about they set off in two ships. One ship develops problems in a location with very low survival chances after a short period of time. You do mention deserts with storms nasty enough to almost prevent flying (storm could have casued the problem); could these storms be potentially lethal? The other ship is the closest ship available to rescue them and chances are they will be dead by the time anyone else gets to them. Result: all end up in one ship.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

That might work, Vertigo. yes, the winds are supposed to be lethal, and both ships can be leaving about the same time. Plus sabotage can be pulled into it, too. I like it. ty.

 

[Vertigo]

You're welcome!

 

[The Judge]

Surely the royal craft would be escorted? If I were in charge of security and the threat was as real as it appears here, I would make sure there were back-up craft.

Having said that, I don't know if Air Force One is accompanied by other planes except jet fighters. But I'm pretty sure when eg Hilary Clinton travelled on helicopters there would be three of them continually changing places -- that made it harder for terrorists to know which of the three to strike, plus if hers failed, there were two others to pick her up.

 

[Vertigo]

I agree with you Judge but I'm sure that could be got around. The escort planes would probably be fighters of some sort and quite likely incapable of carrying passengers.

 

[James Coote]

Maybe the security team(s) are incompetent.

Maybe there was a breakdown in communication between security teams and by chance they all ended up on the same transport

More likely, there is an occasion, some state ceremony or function of the state (like they all have a key to the vault that holds the crown jewels), that they all have to attend. The president, vp, and all the senators are all in the same room during various set piece events in the US if I understand correctly. So you start with them all together then move them all together, rather than them coming together in-transit

You could have some archbishops and vice-presidents that aren't important to the story who are killed off (to emphasise the immediacy of the danger that forces them to stick together)

Or perhaps one or two of them conspire to get the others together in the same place

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I can get them together easily enough on the ground; they pretty well are a lot of the time, too, and can carry it out on the ground, it was just that having it in the air would have given a little more action for the opening scene. But I can work around it.