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This is a product of Vition2's imagination with a couple of prods in the right direction from me.  The Sea Fox ArcShip

Sea Fox-class ArcShip

ArcShips have been the mainstay of the Sea Fox navy since the very beginning of their existence within the borders of the Inner Sphere while the Foxes have ground facilities it is the ArcShips that form the core of their Khanates.  Early vessels were a hodgepodge of DropShips bolted into a Potemkin mothership’s DropShip collars to become semi-permanent structures.  Since the early 3100s this has begun to change, as much more standardized modules have begun appearing attached to the skin of the ArcShips.  This report includes some of the more frequently seen modules.

Before I get into the individual modules, I’ll include a short generalized overview of how these modules appear to work and how the stats provided explain their use.  First, most of the information we have on the inner technical workings of these includes engines rated at a thrust rating maxing out at a G of thrust.  But only a single module has any exhaust ports - the HazMat module, and these aren’t even connected to the main engine.  These engines are rough placeholders fusion reactors built into each of these modules to provide power for extended periods of time.  Second, and more notably, each of these modules can be attached or unattached from their ArcShip mothership, with some work.  One of our scout ships was able to record a grainy image of the entire process which included a small tug dropship and at least a half dozen small craft.  Slight modifications to the dropship collar itself seemed to occur, making the process much more lengthy than the plug-and-play dropship attachments.  In total it took nearly 10 days to attach a new module.  Now on to the modules.

One of the most dramatic changes has been the permanent inclusion of specialized hydroponics modules massing a huge 410,000 tons each and extruding in fin-like projections from one of the quintuple docking collar sections, taking up four of these.  Each of these seem to consist of 4 demi-dropships more than 350m long, and nearly 175m wide, and are merged together with a mesh of structural reinforcements.  Inside is a marvel of food growing technology with each tube consisting of 3 cylinders of 20m high growing space set into massive grav decks moving at half a gravity each.  A fourth cylinder is centrally located and is filled with water and various aerating devices, inside is what amounts to a massive fish farm, with the aquatic animals being fed scraps and leftovers from the other three decks and the inhabitants of the ArcShip itself.  It is believed that the Clan keeps specimines of their totem animal, the sea fox, inside these farms.  The base of each of these includes miniaturized farming vehicles and recycling plants, serving as the hub for the workers needed to upkeep such levels of production - which estimates show each of these may be able to feed more than 1500 individuals, allowing a population of more than 15,000 without the need of any ground-based interactions.

The only other module found permanently attached to every ArcShip seen so far are a pair of HazMat modules.  Much smaller than the hydroponics modules, these shops seem specifically designed to work with hazardous materials.  It is suspected that this is where the first stages of fusion engines are built to be used in the various products built in other modules or the ArcShip itself.  These each appear as a small spire, projecting about 25m from the ArcShip, with a bulbous end, the base of these structures are so heavily reinforced that in the event of a catastrophic failure, the explosion will be vented away from the ArcShip.  Most ArcShips have these attached to the spine of the ship, but the Sea Foxes appear to still be experimenting with their locations.

The ArcShips themselves are very versatile, taking up between 8 and 10 of the remaining collar spots with a variety of modules - many of which churn out military and civilian products.  Most of the military factories are built in a similar fashion, each of these tends to focus on a specific type of product, either a single ‘mech model, a single aerospace model, or a particular vehicle.  ProtoMech and Battle Armour factories also often produce single models but the size of the product allows for a choice, either produce more of a single model at more prodigious rate, or produce more than one model - estimates put three ProtoMech models or five models of battle armour.  These types of modules also come in larger sizes, with space to build dropships within them, we estimate that even the largest of these has difficulty fitting DropShips larger than 25,000 tons.

Assisting in producing the military hardware in the factory modules above are the machine shops.  These are often much more versatile than the factory modules themselves, being able to produce smaller components for a variety of models as well as day-to-day tools, furniture, and other items for the civilians on board the ArcShip.

In the periphery and in conflict areas it is prudent to come with heavy armaments, and the Foxes have taken this into account.  A short hammerhead-shaped attachment, the weapons module is built around a quintet of capital scale missiles with nearly a score of sub-capital missiles function in a more defensive role.  The shape of the module appears purpose built to bring more weapons to bear on enemies with less potential for interference by other modules.  Of particular note, are a version of these more recently seen where the the central portion of the module has nearly doubled the number of missile tubes, how they manage to fit that much firepower into what is essentially a heavily modified DropShip is currently unknown.

In a similar vein as the reasons for the weapon modules, aerospace modules serve to take much of the defensive load of the ArcShip itself.  Seen frequently, almost every ArcShip seems to have at least one of these attached.  These modules serve as a workspace for nearly 1,000 individuals as they house and maintain the entirety of a cluster-sized aerospace contingent, including all the support personnel.  This module, along with their typical escort of a dedicated WarShip and and several stars of assault DropShips gives the ArcShip fleets significant levels of protection - though it must be noted that attacking from multiple angles will leave the fleets in compromising positions.

The living quarter modules are reminiscent of the hydroponics modules built to a smaller scale and in a way much more aesthetically pleasing.  These are where the highest ranking individuals are housed, but the parks and recreational areas are open to everyone.  It is a rare ship that has less than two of these modules included in it.

Lastly, we’ve received reports that the Foxes are adding modules which can be used to help produce their next generations of warriors.  We haven’t been able to confirm these but certain modules have been strictly off limits to everyone except higher level warrior-merchants and genetic scientists - strongly supporting our suspicions.  Based on the standard layout of the living quarter modules, we estimate that they could produce two or three Fox sibkos of 50 every year.

While the modules are effectively permanent structure built into the ArcShip, there is potential for trading them out.  This is a long and lengthy process which we haven’t directly observed, but if, as we expect, it takes twice as long to attach as it does to detach, it would take upwards of 2 weeks to attach a module.  These modules have served to function as the basis for space habitation and manufacturing as we have witnessed this actually occurring over Itabaiana and Spica but the slowly growing numbers of modules over Westover and Dehgolan suggests the Foxes are heavily investing in the spaceborne manufacturing processes.

The core Potemkin itself has also gone through quite a few changes.  First and foremost is almost a complete reorganization of the internal structure of the the Potemkin, what once was a series of floors built much like a skyscraper is now a series of concentric grav-decks of varying sizes, built to provide healthy living space for the thousands of inhabitants.  Additional inclusions are a large hydroponics area and a number of internal factories allowing the ArcShip to produce products even without the more specialized modules.

While the vast majority of modules seen so far are connected directly to the rechristened Potemkins - now designated Sea Fox-class ArcShips - or in clusters around their major holdings, they have been seen attached to other ship classes.  A number of Carrack-class transports have been seen with a single module attached, usually a standard-sized factory module, providing local and specific onsight manufacturing to customers paying handsomely - we’ve noted a number of these stationed above various Jade Falcon worlds, which we assume is part of the deal they brokered when they handed over the systems coreward of their current holdings.  Of the three Volga-class transports the Sea Foxes utilize, one of them has been turned into a veritable miniature ArcShip, with a single hydroponics module attached to support the clansmen working the factories, the other two Volga-class transports had been seen with one module attached, but there have been no reports of their current whereabouts for the last six months. 

Lastly, the Sea Foxes have attempted to attach modules to more combat oriented designs hoping either to increase their firepower or get them to function as carriers, the only observed attempt so far has been to attach an aerospace module to a Sovetskii Soyuz-class heavy cruiser, the results were unfortunate as the G forces exerted on the warship’s frame caused the module to rip off, taking the docking collar with it.  The concept seemed to lose traction after this problem as no similar reports have since been documented.

ArcShip
Class/Model/Name:  ArcShip - Core Vessel
Tech:              Clan / 3132
Vessel Type:       WarShip
Rules:             Level 3, Standard design
Rules Set:         AeroTech2

Mass:              1,510,000 tons
Hull:              Cortex DuoStress
K-F Drive System:  KF Mark LC
Length:            1,508 meters
Sail Diameter:     1,345 meters
Power Plant:       Chatham 7500 Standard
Safe Thrust:       2
Maximum Thrust:    3
Armor Type:        Grumman TR8 Ferro-carbide
Armament:         
   16 Maxell-45 Series NL45
   40 Laser AMS
   36 Large Pulse Laser
    6 Screen Launcher
    8 Barracuda
   24 Kreuss XX Heavy NPPC
Manufacturer:   Riga Interstellar Shipyards
Communications System:  TelStar HN
Targeting & Tracking System:  KTI 600I
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name:  ArcShip - Core Vessel
Mass:              1,510,000 tons

Equipment:                                                            Mass 
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                      181,200.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 2
      Maximum Thrust: 3
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive:  Compact (Integrity = 29)               683,275.00
Lithium Fusion Battery                                              15,100.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 6)                                             106.00
Structural Integrity: 80                                           120,800.00
Total Heat Sinks:    3,325 Double                                    2,679.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                  10,200.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:              3,775.00
Fire Control Computers:                                                   .00
Hyperpulse Generator:                                                   50.00
Armor Type:  Ferro-carbide  (1,139 total armor pts)                  1,212.00
                           Capital Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                179
   Fore-Left/Right:                  201/201
   Aft-Left/Right:                   201/201
   Aft:                                 156

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Small Craft (30) with 1 door                              6,000.00
   Bay 2:  Cargo                                                    92,987.00

DropShip Capacity:  25 Docking Hardpoints                           25,000.00
   8 Hydroponics Modules
   2 HazMat Modules
   8-10 Other Modules
   5-7 Available Docking Hardpoints
Grav Decks #1 - 10:  (400-meter diameter)                            5,000.00
Grav Decks #11 - 15:  (350-meter diameter)                           2,500.00
Grav Decks #16 - 20:  (300-meter diameter)                           2,500.00
Life Boats:  1000 (7 tons each)                                      7,000.00
Escape Pods:  1000 (7 tons each)                                     7,000.00

Crew and Passengers:
     68 Officers (71 minimum)                                          680.00
    279 Crew (279 minimum)                                           2,790.00
     48 Gunners (67 minimum)                                           480.00
 15,000 1st Class Passengers                                       150,000.00
    300 Marines                                                      3,000.00
     75 Marine Battle Armor Troopers/Elementals                        750.00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 NL45                     Nose         9      9      9      9  140  1,800.00
5 Laser AMS                Nose        --     --     --     --   25      5.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        Nose     3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   30     18.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        Nose     3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   30     18.00
1 Screen Launcher (15 msls)Nose        --     --     --     --   10    190.00
3 NL45                     FL/R        14     14     14     14  420  5,400.00
2 Barracuda(20 msls)       FL/R         4      4      4      4   40  1,560.00
5 Laser AMS                FL/R        --     --     --     --   50     10.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        FL/R     3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   60     36.00
1 Screen Launcher (15 msls)FL/R        --     --     --     --   20    380.00
3 Heavy NPPC               L/RBS       45     45     45     45 1350 18,000.00
3 Heavy NPPC               L/RBS       45     45     45     45 1350 18,000.00
5 Laser AMS                L/RBS       --     --     --     --   50     10.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        L/RBS    3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   60     36.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        L/RBS    3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   60     36.00
3 Heavy NPPC               AL/R        45     45     45     45 1350 18,000.00
3 Heavy NPPC               AL/R        45     45     45     45 1350 18,000.00
4 NL45                     AL/R        18     18     18     18  560  7,200.00
5 Laser AMS                AL/R        --     --     --     --   50     10.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        AL/R     3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   60     36.00
1 Screen Launcher (15 msls)AL/R        --     --     --     --   20    380.00
4 Barracuda(40 msls)       Aft          8      8      8      8   40  1,560.00
5 Laser AMS                Aft         --     --     --     --   25      5.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        Aft      3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   30     18.00
3 Large Pulse Laser        Aft      3(30)  3(30)  3(30)     --   30     18.00
1 Screen Launcher*(15 msls)Aft         --     --     --     --   10    190.00
5 Grav Deck #4 - 250m Dia                                            2,500.00
5 Grav Deck #5 - 200m Dia                                            2,500.00
5 Manufacturing Workshop - Small                                    25,000.00
1 Manufacturing Workshop - Large                                    30,000.00
1 Training Area                                                     25,000.00
1 Parks                                                              5,000.00
1 Recreation                                                         5,000.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                            Heat: 7,220   1,510,000.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00