Octopus

(Redirected from Model 97)
Octopus TRO3057r.png
Model 97 Octopus
Production information
Manufacturer Nimakachi Fusion Products Limited[1]
Production Year 3051[2]
Use Tug
Type Civilian Spheroid
Tech Base Star League
Technical specifications
Mass 15,000 tons
Structural Integrity 20
Length 102 meters
Width 64 meters
Height 64 meters
Drive System Merlin
Safe Thrust 3 g
Max Thrust 4.5 g
Fuel (tons) 700 tons
Fuel (days) 165.9 days
Armament
Armor Fore: 15
Sides: 15
Aft: 12
Crew 40[1]
  • 7 Officers
  • 28 Enlisted
  • 5 Gunners

Steerage Passengers: 216

Escape Pods/Life Boats 10/0
Heat Sinks 98 single
BV (1.0) 3,716[3]
BV (2.0) 3,753


Description[edit]

Based on the Star League era Model 96 "Elephant", the Model 97 "Octopus"-class DropShip serves as a tug for large vessels and as a rescue and salvage craft.

The "Octopus" is built around a brand new 6,000-ton Merlin interplanetary drive that provides the vessel with a maximum thrust of 4.5 Gs and allows the craft to maintain almost one half-G when towing the largest DropShips and JumpShips or smaller WarShips. The vessel has four permanently fixed landing legs for planetary landings, but given the nature of its work rarely has cause to make use of them. The nose of the craft features a sophisticated tug adapter and eight long arms which it uses to securely attach itself to any vessel, including those without docking collars, allowing the "Octopus" to act as the interplanetary drive for both. The adapter contains a universal airlock adapter to fit tight against any target vessel, with cutting equipment to force entry during salvage or rescue operations.

The class is also notable for the surprisingly high level of weaponry and armor it carries, which Nimakachi insists is merely prudent when operating alone in hostile territory, leading some observers to posit that beyond its supposed civilian market that the "Octopus" is perhaps intended as an oversize boarding vessel.

Armament[edit]

While classified as a civilian craft, the "Octopus" features a sizable and sophisticated new-tech weapons array. The nose bay features an ER and Pulse Large Laser, twin medium lasers and an Artemis IV FCS-augmented LRM-10, with identical weaponry on each fore-angle. Aft, the "Octopus" mounts twin Large Lasers and two medium lasers on each angle, with an ER Large and two standard medium lasers supported by an LRM-10 directly aft. Eight tons of ammunition keep the supposedly civilian and defensive use only missile launchers suspiciously well-fed.

Cargo[edit]

Due to its unusual role, the "Octopus"'s two main cargo holds are placed higher up in the craft than most spheroid designs, closer to the tug adapter to hold the goods and cargo brought aboard from stricken vessels. These two bays, with a total 3,000-ton capacity, are only accessible via the airlock in the adapter, preventing the cargo from being offloaded at a surface spaceport, only at an orbital station. The vessel also has facilities to support up to 216 crew and passengers from any rescued craft in one of thirty-six extremely cramped six-person capacity cabins, as well as the ability to carry four Small Craft.

Variants[edit]

None known

Named Vessels[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • In German products, the unit's proper name was translated to Modell 97 "Oktopus".

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, p. 58-59
  2. online date for the Octopus
  3. AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 256

Bibliography[edit]