Fieldberg Station nears completion

With the influx of raw materials being brought in from the mining outposts springing up throughout the system in the relative safety created by the removal of raider stations, Dry Station was rapidly collecting far more than it could handle on its own.

The bottle neck needed to be addressed not only to handle existing supply, but anticipated growth.  Dry Empire would, after-all, move beyond the system to neighboring stars in the future and this would require growing raw material processing to meet demand for construction materials, fuels, weaponry, hulls, food stuffs, and a host of other products.

To convert such large quantities of raw materials into usable resources required a processing plant of a quantitatively higher order.

One of the mining outposts built nearer to Dry Station was selected as the base platform, and a design was chosen for a separate linked processing platform being produced while the mining outpost's existing infrastructure was used as a logistics and work platform during the construction process.  Ultimately it would be modified and included in the overall design, but during the initial stages of construction the 3 man mining outpost was used to house work crews, organise the details, store supplies, deal with shipping traffic, etc.

FRG Thor was designated to oversee the construction, a good indicator of its value to Chairman Broez.

The empire's most powerful vessel is assigned to escort the station during construction.

The station is built around a platform design consisting of large alloy I-Beams spanned by light-weight fluro-illuminated structural supports.  This basic platform design is strong, cost-effective, and provides a good base for larger structures that would otherwise need a structural integrity to avoid damage caused by inertia tearing smaller weaker components apart... for example in the event of a rogue impact or an attack.

One of the Pisces Class generator modules being moved into position.

CRV Alannis occasionally visits the site to buffer defenses as construction continues.

A battery of 8 Pisces-Class triple generators (three sets of 3x3x3 per Pisces) will provide the processing plant with power generation to dwarf even FRG Thor's power matrix.

The processing plant has a few key components, being:

• 2 large matter signature storage cryovats
• Matter conversion battery
• Battery of energy storage cells
• Battery of Pisces Class 3x3x3 (x3) energy generators
• Central processing AI unit
• Central processing and habitation module
• WDU rack
• Fluids purification plant (life support module)
• Shuttle Bay
• Observation port
• Traffic Control Tower
• Logistics area (wharf and cargo container storage area)
• Defense matrix (specifications currently classified)

The human areas are some of the last zones to be completed, followed by the shuttle bay and the logistics area.

Construction of the platform draws to a close, with the plant expected to be operating within 6 months.  It will be defended by an unprecedented defense matrix, and is expected to be the single highest trafficked platform shortly afterwards, providing an input and output that will dwarf Dry Station's current traffic load.

Processing Plant "Fieldberg Station" during the final stages of construction.

Currently the Fieldberg Station has the central processing AI, energy generators, energy storage, matter signature storage cryovats, observation deck, stage 1 habitation facility, and WDU control facilities operational... as well as the initial mining outpost infrastructure which remains unaltered.

The final stages of the habitation facility will allow the crew to move in, the modification of the original mining outpost, and will greatly accelerate the final stages of Fieldberg's construction.

Deep Space Scanner

Having stumbled on a couple of pirate bases and hundreds of raider vessels while flying various ships, it became obvious that the surrounding space was filled to the gills with bad guys.

While I was apparently able to dispatch these guys with relative ease now using FRG Thor and even CRV Alannis, they still caused me headaches in SVG Excavator and SVG Speeder (although I almost never took her out any more, as she was now obsolete).

In addition, I knew that somewhere out there was a force of ships large enough to blockade the Trading Guild, which were far larger and stronger than my own empire.  Therefore the raider force must be pretty significant.

So it became desirable to locate and map other bases, and either avoid them, negotiate with them, or wipe them out... which I was becoming quite good at, it seemed.

I made plans to build a large deep space scanner.

Scanner scaffolding braces the structure while it is being built.

The scanner would be able to scan 4 sectors in all directions for enemy vessel activity, and scan the entire star system for bases and derelict space craft.  The Trading Guild advised that their own bases employed a cloaking system that bypassed the Geiger signature detected by the scanner, so their own structures would remain invisible to me.

The underside of the docked structure requires its own power and data feed to the station's core.

An independently docked structure, the scanner extends far above the station.

The scanner is docked to the station as an independent structure... effectively it's a vessel.  The station's own Geiger resonance needs to be isolated for the scanner to work, so attaching it directly causes the scanner to fail, requiring that it is its own structure.

Having it separate like this also will allow it to be undocked and moved as Dry Station expands and grows over time with new additional structure.

The scanner towers above the rest of the station, giving great penetration into deep space.

Once the device was fully operational, I engaged it and performed it's first scan of the system (hit P in game to see system/galactic map).

To my great surprise other bases began popping up on the monitors throughout the system... it seems I was surrounded by structures not my own...

My local sector had only my own Dry Station, the local Trading Guild shop and my own vessels in it.

My local star was smothered in other structures... enemy or derelict was unknown at this time.

My star is one of very many in the local area.

After some few hours of scanning telemetry, the device's systems were able to plot every star and wormhole in the entire galaxy... I was an insignificant speck in a sea of stars.

It was time to scout and map every one of those structures in my local space, to identify if they were enemy, friendly, or derelict.

Docks and cargo siphons

During the final stages of building FRG Thor, one of the key things I found was that having ships drifing nearby Dry Station was awkward and somewhat cluttered.  Additionally it was both slow and inconvenient to do several astronaut trips between a newly returned vessel and the station's Factory, using my own personal data banks as a shuttle to carry digital mass signatures to my facility.

So I drafted plans to build a dock at Dry Station and fit it with a system that would automatically siphon digital signatures from a drop box next to the docked vessel, so that I wouldn't have to travel any distance and therefore save me a bunch of time.

Dry Station with her initial compliment of docking arms fitted.

The docking arms were a continuation of Dry Station's simple and inexpensive alloy mesh structure acting as a support for the mammoth cables required to transmit digital matter signals.  e=mc2, which meant that even small amounts of matter converted into monstrous amounts of energy.  All that energy required very heavy duty cabling to avoid being burnt out during transmission and storage.

At the end of each docking arm I've fitted a drop box connected to the central factory matter signature storage facility.

The docking arms were capped with a labelled drop box into which I could drop all matter signatures without having to travel the distance from the docked vessel to the factory myself.  From the drop box the signatures are siphoned down the heavy duty cabling to a central storage box, which in turn feeds all matter signatures into the sorting box.  The sorting box (which has until now been my overall drop-box) then distributes matter signatures into various sorted boxes to make finding and accessing them much easier.

Thor requires the biggest docking arm to date due to her size.

Different coloured cabling leads to different docking arms.

Red is SVG Speeder's docking arm cable.
Yellow is SVG Excavator's docking arm cable.
White is CRV Alannis's docking arm cable.
Orange is the recently added docking arm cable for FRG Thor.

Black cable is for a recently wired in scanner complex.

The central siphon box is connected directly to the power grid to cope with the humongous quantity of energy required.  Matter signatures can be drained from all siphon boxes simultaneously and then fed at a steady pace into the factory's sorting box.

The entire set up allows me to disembark a newly docked vessel, and drop all matter signatures into the siphon box immediately adjacent to the docked ship.  From there Dry Station will automatically draw it into the matter signature facility and sort it into it's necessary home.  Whenever a new matter signature is encounted that does not have a home yet, it remains idle in the sorting box, and this acts as a prompt for me to either re-configure an existing storage box to receive it, or create a new storage box for that catagory of matter signatures.

The entire set up makes life much easier for me, and ensures that the factory always has a precise location to draw any particular type of matter signature from.

Thor crushes a small nearby raider outpost

After months of building using Dry Station's shipyard and automated construction facilities, the frigate FRG Thor was finally ready to be launched.

She had all paint, decals, computer systems, navigation lights, docking, weapons, and crew systems in place, and was fully outfitted with a full compliment of fuel, water, food stuffs and weaponry.

My first frigate was ready to her inaugural voyage.

Thor ready for launch.

I recruited a single officer from the Trading Guild, one Ensign Zakfield, to man the engineering systems and tested Thor's systems ready for her launch.

Everything came back green, and Zakfield confirmed we were ready for launch.

We eased FRG Thor out of dock and took her on her inaugural flight to the nearby raider's station responsible for the recent pirate harassment on Dry Station, and which had also harrassed SVG Excavator on a few recent trips to the nearby asteroid field to collect resources.  It would be an excellent test of her abilities and send a clear message to the raiders that Dry Station was not to be trifled with.

After several hours of travel Thor arrived in the airspace of the raider station and was immediately swarmed by dozens of fighters who opened up on Thor and barraged us with small fire.  Thor's shields absorbed hit after hit and we sat with impunity in half the range of the frigate's large rocket launcher commanding the surrender of the station and her fighter contingency.

FRG Thor's shields absorbed an unprecedented amount of fire from raider fighters.

The pirates ignored our transmissions and grew in numbers as still more fighters flooded into the system from nearby asteroid fields.  Soon Thor's considerable shields had dropped to within 80% capacity and my patience drew to a close.

I targeted the station with the Thor's main rocket array and let a single round loose.  It covered the space between Thor and the station in seconds, screaming a blue trail behind it as it went, before battering the station with it's colossal detonation.  The station's shield fizzled and arced as it strained to disperse the immense energy of the blast around the structure.

Another round was released as soon as it was chambered, and this time the station shield could not restrain it.  The shield collapsed and superstructure crumbled under the blast, exploding metal, glass, bodies and gas into space from a gaping wound in the structure.

The station's radio chatter went quiet, but the assault from the cloud of fighters continued unabaited.

It was time to turn Thor's attention towards the swarm.

The main rocket launcher on board Thor was like shooting ants with a shotgun, although somewhat cumbersome.

Her smaller wing-mounted lock-on missiles fired rounds much faster and were more effective against the smaller craft.

Turning the frigate to track the highly maneuverable fighters was a small challenge, however I found that once I'd locked the weapons onto a target that the lock-on missiles (including Thor's main rocket) would follow the target regardless of it's maneuvers.  In this way I was able to swivel, track, and swat one fighter at a time until I was swimming in a sea of burning wrecks and drifting debris.  I was flying a one-ship exterminator, and I liked it.

Thor was almost invulnerable to attack from a swarm of raider fighters, while she swatted them one by one.

Zakfield kept the frigate's main systems operating at peak and continued cycling the phase of the shields while I focused on target tracking and blowing fighters out of the sky, and the system worked well.

Destroyed pirates would often spill debris and loot into space as their cores overheated and crew perished.

Before long my frigate was surrounded by drifting debris, overheating cores, and a rapidly expanding field of atmospheric gases released from shattered hulls... Her shields never dropped below 75%, and were now slowly recharging as she sat unmolested in space outside the silent raider station.

Thor parks outside the raider station while I board and inspect the ruin.

I exited her airlock and made my way into the huge hole that Thor had blown in the side of the raider station, while Zakfield held Thor menacingly outside with weapons trained and ready.

Thor sat outside the station while I boarded and inspected it.

The station had several very large holes blown into it as well as small fire damage from fighter cross-fire.

The station's main cores were intact however... no threat of nuclear meltdown just yet.  I left them thrumming healthily while I returned to Thor waiting outside.

Within the station I found several dead raiders, destroyed computer systems, and shattered debris as a tribute to my total domination.  A raider survivor was found hiding in the main control facility, and I captured him and held him in the crew quarters of Thor for the journey back to Dry Station.

Little else of value existed on the station, which I resolved to soak up later by returning to the zone with SVG Excavator.

Thor returns triumphantly to Dry Station with her cargo of loot and a prisoner of war.

 That particular raider station would trouble me no more.  I could take Excavator safely out into the asteroid fields without fear of harassment or raids.

Experimental Escape Pod and Hatch

The original plan for FRG Thor included plans for an Officer's Escape Pod (all crew on this automated vessel are designated officers) located at the aft dorsal section of the ship, just behind the Obs Deck, shielded by a mirrored set of blast barriers and covered by an armored escape hatch that would detonate free in the event of escape-pod launch.

It was ambitious and new, but Thor's design and build went ahead anyway, knowing that it could be altered if for some reason it was unable to be achieved.

With the completion of the Obs Deck, Bridge, and internal areas around the area that the Escape Pod would be located, it was now time to build the Pod as well as the Escape Pod bay, and that meant tackling the hairy prospect of a seperate detonating escape pod hatch.

Between the Blast Barriers set just back from the Obs Deck the Escape Pod Hatchway and Pod Bay was created.

The internals of the Pod Bay don't need to be armoured and so are quite raw, in a similar style to CRV Alannis.

Once the Pod Bay was created (which had been done similarly to the Escape Pod Bay of CRV Alannis), it was time to see if I would be able to successfully attach a hatch to the hatchway and pod while it was docked during standard operations.

Proof of concept was a success!  A hatch could be successfully docked to a docked escape pod.

The underside of the hatch, docked to the Mock Pod to gauge depth requirement of Pod.

The mock pod docked to the base of the Escape Pod Bay.

Now that I knew it was possible, it was time to build the escape pod.  Rather than build it within the confines of the Escape Pod Bay within FRG Thor, I decided to manufacture the Pod on a small addition off to the side of the shipyard, to the stern of Thor. Once completed the Pod and Hatch would be manuevered into position, however manufacturing it in space rather than in the bay meant greater visibility and access.

Escape Pod and Hatch was manufactured in a new small additional wing to the shipyard.

The Escape Pod was a basic design, fully armoured, fit with highly maneuverable engines, and a radar jammer to assist escape.  The Hatch was the original design cut and moved from the top of Thor and fit with the necessary docking systems.

The interior of the Escape Pod is cramped but functions perfectly to rescue all six crew members.

The Escape Pod fits 6 people with the possibility of a further three under extreme conditions.  1 to enter the Core and pilot it, four seated on the red seats, and 1 to 3 standing on the Core between the seated passengers.  The interior of the single-layer armour was fitted with as many shields as possible in the cramped space, giving the Escape Pod the greatest possible chance for escape during a battle scenerio.  The exact specifications of the shielding are kept as a closely guarded secret to help any passengers survive an attack.

The entrance to the pod was closed behind a new armoured Blast Door manufactured specifically for the Pod.

Now that the Pod was completed, it was time to manuever the Pod into the Pod Bay, ready for active duty.

Escape Pod and Hatch are maneuvered into position above the Pod Bay, ready for insertion.

Hatch is detached and Pod is inserted into the Pod Bay.

Pod in final operational position, with Hatch removed.

Once the Pod was inserted, docked, and wired into Thor's systems, it was time to cover her with the armoured Hatch that would protect the Pod during combat operations.

Hatch has final additions fitted to it so it covers the Pod Bay securely.

View from within Pod Bay as Hatch is maneuvered into position.

Hatch being moved into final position as seen from the shipyard.

Hatch fitted successfully, with Pod secured and wired in.

The internal view of the Escape Pod Bay, showing the Hatch in place and the Blast Doors open on the Pod ready to receive passengers.  The fore-side panels of the Escape Pod Bay still need to be fitted and aligned to the escape passages as they are built.

So the overall build was a success.  An experimental design that I did not know would succeed in fact succeeded.  I was pleased that my efforts had not been in vain, and set about finalising the escape passageways leading from the Bridge and the rest of the frigate's internals.

Thor's Mess Hall, Medibay, Core Room, and Halls are completed

After weeks of production, the internal main-stream traffic hallways, Core Room, Medibay, and Mess Hall are completed, along with the closure of the hull surrounding the crew quarters and engine facilities.

Crew Quarters, shield and jamming facilities, and some other basics like waste disposal and engine supporting systems still needed to be fit... but Thor's overall production was fast approaching launch.

The front of the Core Room was fit with one of several Gravity Syncronisers, as well as three Matter Banks for storage of various materials necessary to repair and maintain the frigate.

The Port Wing access hallway was completed awhile ago, and grants access to the external port airlock among other things.

Looking sternwards from the Core (through an open blast door) is the ramp to the Bridge, and the hallways leading to the Mess Hall, Medibay, and Crew Quarters.

The ramp upwards to the Bridge.

Looking back from the main hallway to the Core Room, past the base of the ramp to the Bridge.

Further back down the main hallway looking forwards towards the Core Room, showing access to the ramp up to Medibay.

Thor's Medibay sports two triage beds as well as a central operations table, state of the art and fully automated, able to repair a body short of necrononomy.

One of two triage beds.

Triage beds can be darkened to allow a patient to rest if necessary.

Main computing core of the Medibay provides access to most systems, as well as a vocal AI that can assist with most diagnosis and treatments.

A little further down the hallway from the Medibay access is the entrance to the Mess Hall.

Mess Hell serves 6 at once (Thor's entire crew) with all food and utensils provided by the Epicurian Combinator and a waste-disposal chute disposes of finished meals and utensils to be broken down and re-combined as necessary.

I found that during the build I was beginning to use Thor's systems and facilities more than Alannis's and even more than Dry Station due to their high degree of comfort and accessibility.

I was still sleeping in freefal in my suit, however once Thor's crew quarters were complete I knew that I would be using them as my main digs...