Imagine the scene. The Director of R&D at Isanth approaches his counterpart at Aome Salvage & Industries and asks him if ASI could produce a Fleet Mining System based upon their popular Isanth Type-VI. The only catch was the short deadline.
With the prospect of a lucrative association with one of the oldest ship building companies in the galaxy, a deal was soon struck and the Director of R&D was soon on a fast warper back to ASI HQ. The project was handed to the team that had brought you the Hyena Class Type C carrier with the Type D drone Fleet Mining System and the Micro Fleet Mining System. A single Isanth Type-VI was obtained for the conversion but it was found to be too heavy and under powered for the job, so despite the looming deadline, the team took radical steps.
Every single system was stripped from the donor ship and the ship core position was moved. The heavy armour was replaced with standard hull. The dual ventral access hatches were removed and replaced with a single, dual purpose USD and a dorsal access hatch was added just above and behind the cockpit. Like the Hyena Class Type C carrier, outriggers were installed to carry the mining drones. Originally, the conversion was expected to carry four drones but the team had recently produced the ultra light "Stick" mining drone as a test platform. The big brother to the drones used on the Micro Fleet Mining System, these could be used on the Type-VI conversion and a total of 8 of these capable drones could be carried. Finally, a new power system was installed along with new thrusters, radar jammer, gravity unit, scanner and a small but capable jump drive. Power has been optimised to allow the crew to charge the jump drive quickly providing the radar jammer is not active and the scanner is not recharging. It is anticipated that operators will charge the jump drive while idle waiting for the drones and "topped off" once the drones have returned.
Well within the deadline, the Director of R&D at Isanth was invited to an asteroid field. Expecting a simple field test, he was delighted to discover that ASI was delivering the fully completed system ahead of schedule and the inclusion of the jump drive was an unexpected but welcome addition and the performance of the 8 mining drones was impressive.
With the prospect of a lucrative association with one of the oldest ship building companies in the galaxy, a deal was soon struck and the Director of R&D was soon on a fast warper back to ASI HQ. The project was handed to the team that had brought you the Hyena Class Type C carrier with the Type D drone Fleet Mining System and the Micro Fleet Mining System. A single Isanth Type-VI was obtained for the conversion but it was found to be too heavy and under powered for the job, so despite the looming deadline, the team took radical steps.
Every single system was stripped from the donor ship and the ship core position was moved. The heavy armour was replaced with standard hull. The dual ventral access hatches were removed and replaced with a single, dual purpose USD and a dorsal access hatch was added just above and behind the cockpit. Like the Hyena Class Type C carrier, outriggers were installed to carry the mining drones. Originally, the conversion was expected to carry four drones but the team had recently produced the ultra light "Stick" mining drone as a test platform. The big brother to the drones used on the Micro Fleet Mining System, these could be used on the Type-VI conversion and a total of 8 of these capable drones could be carried. Finally, a new power system was installed along with new thrusters, radar jammer, gravity unit, scanner and a small but capable jump drive. Power has been optimised to allow the crew to charge the jump drive quickly providing the radar jammer is not active and the scanner is not recharging. It is anticipated that operators will charge the jump drive while idle waiting for the drones and "topped off" once the drones have returned.
Well within the deadline, the Director of R&D at Isanth was invited to an asteroid field. Expecting a simple field test, he was delighted to discover that ASI was delivering the fully completed system ahead of schedule and the inclusion of the jump drive was an unexpected but welcome addition and the performance of the 8 mining drones was impressive.
Yes, it might be a big change from the original but it was a standard VI that I based the entire ship on. I could have put in some more shapes and slabs to make it less boxy but I felt that it would be too much of a departure from the original.
Thanks for trying it out and taking the time to write a review though.