Xboat Station design

[robject]

Military Transport T-C2400 (Xboat Station) MCr234.5

Built on the modular Imperial Assault Carrier frame, this Xboat Station exists to serve as a communications link between incoming and departing Xboats. The communicator array is mounted in an attached modular deep space large bay, for exceptional power and reach.

There are crew niches for 50 persons, typically allocated for replacement crew. The cramped living quarters are compensated for by ten large crew lounges (16 tons each) plus two breathtaking observation lounges overlooking the ship structure and space (100 tons each). There are enough army-surplus meals to feed 400 people for a month.

This model has grapples for holding up to 1575 tons of auxiliaries; typically most of these are used by fuel barges, for refueling support shuttles and Scout craft, but there are usually at least three grapples available for use (for a ship of up to 105 tons in size).

Actual volume: 634 tons
Crew comfort: 3
Passenger demand: -5

    Tons  TN  Component                             MCr  Notes
--------  --  --------------------------------- -------  --------------------
    2400  12  Cluster Hull, no lifters               61  C, no lifters
     -24  14  No landing gear                       -24  
       0  14  AV=28. 1 Kinetic Charged                0  
      54  6   Gen Gravitic Drive-1 (M)               27  1 G (orbital)
       4  14  DS Ext Scope                            6  
       4  17  DS Ext EMS                              6  
     102  18  DS LBay Communicator                   51  
     0.5  8   Computer Model/0 std                  0.5  
       4  9   Infirmary                               2  treats minor trauma
      10  9   Life support (400 people/month)        10  400 people/month
     4.5  7   Cramped bridge                          0  
      50  9   Crew Niche (50)                         5  #50 1 crew
     160  14  Crew Lounge (10)                       20  #10 
     200  9   Observation Lounge (2)                 25  #2 
      20  9   Cargo Hold Basic                        0  
      45  14  Grapples (1575 tons max) (45)          45  #45 2 per 35t

 

[MCEvans]

What system? CT, MT, MgT

 

[Dragoner]

It's T5.

Nice, Robject.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Very cool!

 

[MCEvans]

I need T5

 

[DeltaX15]

Why are the crew eating army-surplus meals, and not IISS ration packs?

 

[far-trader]

Why are the crew eating army-surplus meals, and not IISS ration packs?

Because they taste better!

:devil:

Also, they came with the surplus ship, because the IA troops wouldn't touch them.

IISS MRE 7 Day Ration Pack - 1.2kg

Why so light? Because it is so horrible you'd rather starve for 6 days before resorting to eating the 1 day ration*, and it'll probably kill you.



* no joke, though I can't recall the country, some RealWorld army had a MRE pack that advertised (iirc) it as a 3 Day Ration... built on the presumption that on the 1st Day you DID NOT eat any of the ration, creative accounting... at least so I heard.

 

[robject]

Hey Delta, Far-Trader gave you the correct stock answer. However, as those rations get eaten back, they'll need to be replaced by whatever the IISS has on hand. Can you recommend Scout Ration Packs?

And, the way I'm thinking of it, there's typically not an assigned crew (as in a pilot, engineer, sensop, etc). Scouts who are transferred there to await Xboat assignment are responsible for making sure everything's in order, and I guess there will be maintenance personnel who show up a couple times a year. But I see this thing as being stationed somewhat past the 100 diameter limit of the mainworld, perhaps. I suppose it could be in the outsystem, but I doubt it -- do you reckon it's near the Xboat tenders, maybe?

 

[Rigel Stardin]

The station could be placed in the outer system. Since the design is modular an x-boat tender could ferry certain components to and from a planet for annual maintance. Bring back with it new crews, modules and ships which just underwent repairs as well.

 

[DeltaX15]

Robject, as Scouts spend a lot of time on-ship with little chance of foraging / scrounging for extra food sources, IMTU the IISS ration packs are far superior to any another. Meal quality (within the limitations of the packaging) is what you would get at an average dinner / greasy spoon.
In fact they hold a high trade value, and asking in the right (for wrong values of right) places can normally lead you to a couple of cases that have left the local Scout base by the back door! (Scenario hook I had, but didn't develop it any further)

I think a better (or at least one to be answered first) question than "Where is it in system?", and "How does it resupply?" is "Why is it in system?"
The stated design purpose is "... Xboat Station exists to serve as a communications link between incoming and departing Xboats". Historically, this role is performed by the Xboat tenders. S07: "(tenders) serve as a relay station between the planetary surface based message center and the express boat itself. Messages are forwarded to the tender for transmittal
to the xboat just before it leaves for the next star system."
This leads me to think that where an Xboat Station is deployed, there is no "planetary surface based message center", and the Station takes on that role.
So, this leaves the system as
a) There is no planet upon which to base a message centre.
b) The system is not Imperial controlled, locals don't want major IISS infrastructure dirt side, but there is a good reason to have a Xboat junction there.

I think the logical place is to have the Station close upto the Tenders - and outside the 100D limit.
Under case a, this could be anywhere in system, all re-supply would have to come in from other systems (via an IISS Supply Ship - a ship waiting to be designed?).
With case b, it all depends on how friendly the locals are. The less friendly, the further the Station (and Xboat jump targets) are into the outer system. More friendly locals would increase the chance that (non personell) re-supply could be made with shuttle runs to the planet, so that would indicate the area of operation is more inner system.