Octopus
Sarna News
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| 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 | 35 tons standard |
| Crew | 40[1]
Steerage Passengers: 216 |
| Escape Pods/Life Boats | 10/0 |
| Heat Sinks | 98 single |
| BV (1.0) | 3,716[3] |
| BV (2.0) | 3,753[citation needed] |
Contents
Description
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.[1]
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 g 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.[1]
The class is also notable for the surprisingly high crew facilities and 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, the "Octopus" is perhaps intended as an oversize boarding vessel.[1]
Armament
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
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 rescued 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.[1]
- Bay 1: Cargo (3,730 tons), 2 doors
- Bay 2: Small Craft (4), 2 doors
Named Vessels
Notes
- In German products, the unit's proper name was translated to Modell 97 "Oktopus".
Gallery
Original Octopus from TRO:3057