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This article is about the DropShip class. For other uses, see Argo (disambiguation).
Argo concept art.png
Argo
Production information
Manufacturer Boeing Interstellar[1]
Production Year 2762[1]
Use Mobile base
Cargo Carrier
Assault Carrier
Type Modified Civilian Spheroid[1]
Tech Base Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass 97,000 tons
Structural Integrity 40
Length 320 meters
Width 215 meters
Height 215 meters
Drive System Fusion
Safe Thrust 3
Max Thrust 5
Fuel (tons) 850
Fuel (days) 461.95
Armament 9 x Gauss Rifles
11 x ERPPCs
8 x ER Large Lasers
5 x AC/20
14 x (Artemis IV) LRM 20s
26 x Medium Lasers
Armor Ferro-Aluminum Armor
Crew 17 officers, 67 enlisted/non-rated, 3 gunners, 66 bay personnel[1]
Heat Sinks 358 (415)
BV (1.0) ?
BV (2.0) ?


Description

The Argo class of DropShips was an experiment by Boeing Interstellar, conceived to serve as a self-sufficient mobile base to support a flotilla of exploration ships. The idea was for Argo class vessels to follow behind the first wave of explorers into a new system and support surveyor, terraformer and colonizer teams there in the sense of a "shore leave" base and logistical hub. It featured state-of-the-art habitation and an internal cargo conveyor system that could ferry equipment and vehicles between the cargo bays and several docked vessels. Being unable to land, the Argo could not deploy ground vehicles (or 'Mechs) itself.[1]

Folding grav deck of the Argo

For its long-term mission profile where it would stay in new, unsettled systems for months and where the crew would live on the ship for years if not decades at a time, the Argo was fitted with a folding grav-deck design with three habitation pods, one of them reserved for passengers and temporary guests. It features three MASH medical theaters, larger-than-usual quarters and passenger accomodation, recreational areas, fitness centers, and extensive hydroponic gardens. It also features a Multiple Docking Collar System (MDCS).[1]

Rotating grav deck of the Argo (apocryphal)

The Amaris Civil War that began only three years after the first Argo vessel embarked on its shakedown voyage (and was subsequently lost), and the subsequent Succession Wars, made Boeing Interstellar abandon the design and repurpose their Galax shipyards for wartime production.[1]

One of only two prototypes ever built of the Argo-class of DropShip, the Argo was built by Boeing Interstellar at their Galax shipyard. (The other was the Myrmidon, which was never completed.)[2]

The Argo was sent on its maiden voyage to the rimward periphery in 2762. Contact was lost, and the Argo was presumed to have been destroyed as part of the New Vandenberg Uprising (2765-2766).[2][3]

The ship would be rediscovered in a partially canibalized condition on the moon Axylus, where the self-appointed pirate queen Grim Sybil was using it as her base of operations.[4] The former Markham's Marauders mercenary unit were hired by Kamea Arano to successfully recover the vessel for Kamea's Arano Restoration, with the mercenaries calling the vessel home for the duration of that campaign.[5]

During this conflict and afterwards, the Argo has undergone numerous restoration projects to bring the ship back to its original form as well as mulitple upgrades to add onto the ship's offensive capabilities during this time of war. Engineers chose to use the Lee Class DropShip as a base to replicate the needed hardware upgrades.

Armament

A very large peacetime exploration ship lacking any significant weaponry and featuring only paltry armor, thrust and maneuverability, the (theoretical) main defense of the Argo would be aerospace fighters launched from its six small craft cubicles.[1] It also features twelve BattleMech cubicles, presumably intended for WorkMechs (particularly ExplorationMechs).[1]

Cargo

The Argo has a cargo capacity of 57,039.5 tons to support explorer missions and help establishing new colonies.[1] The aforementioned six small craft cubicles and altogether three MDCS Docking Collars allow the Argo to carry a small fleet of support DropShips and small craft.

Quirks

  • Un-streamlined; the Argo is explicitly described as "too large to land on a planet, much like the similar-sized Behemoth."[1]
  • Large DropShip[1]
  • Grav Deck; unusually for a DropShip, the Argo features a set of three habitation modules, capable of folding backwards for thrust-gravity, but when deployed, can rotate around the Argo's center axis. This, for all intents and purposes, acts as a DropShip Grav Deck for the Argo. Any critical hits against "Side/Cargo" will result in a cargo critical hit on a d6 roll of 1-3, and a Grav Deck critical hit on a roll of 4-6.[1]
  • Multiple Docking Collar System[1]

Named Vessels

Only two prototype Argo-class vessels existed, and only one of them ever slipped its moorings. This prototype, also named Argo, dropped out of contact during its maiden voyage in the deep periphery. The other prototype, Myrmidon, was broken down for parts before being fully completed.[1]

Canonicity

The Argo was created for the BattleTech (Video Game) by Harebrained Schemes LLC, but it has since been properly canonized through its writeup in the (fully canonical) House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition) sourcebook.

Notes

  • The (canonical) Argo class differs slightly from the original design for the computer game. Most importantly, the mass is 97,000 tons instead of 100,000 tons.
  • The original apocryphal writeup clearly stated that the Argo class was built at Boeing Interstellar's Galax shipyards, with the first ship launched in 2762. This seems to be an anachronism however as the Galax shipyards were still under construction as of 2765 according to Field Report 2765: Federated Suns, p. 6, "Infrastructural Integrity". To reconcile this information it could be assumed that the shipyards under construction were the WarShip yards which were either being built from scratch, or by expanding and refurbishing the yards that had previously been used to build the Argo.
  • At the time of its construction, the Argo was the largest DropShip ever constructed by far. The 100,000 ton Behemoth was only in a prototype stage as of 2658, and its design would not be finalized until 2782.

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), pp. 61-63
  2. 2.0 2.1 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 61 "Rules Annex - Argo-Class DropShip"
  3. BattleTech video game 8 March 2016 Kickstarter Update
  4. "BattleTech Video Game
  5. House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 55 "Scenarios: Rampart Company - Scenario 3"

Bibliography