Percolator
A large (one million to one hundred million tons) robotic spacecraft used to refuel gigantic ships or fuel tanks from a gas giant. The "percolator" is sent into the atmosphere to force a hydrogen slurry above the atmosphere. Thus a ship could use fuel scoops without entering the atmosphere. It would take days or even weeks to refuel, since the "slurry" is a highly local phenomenon.
On the other hand, a percolator's activity is easy to spot from a great distance, since the slurry acts as a signal, reflecting energy with high efficiency.
Percolators can be built by very wealthy worlds, or interstellar empires, and require Resource Units to build.
Technological Requirements[edit]
The percolator is a TL18 structure.
The practical robotics and AI of the percolator is available at TL16. Scrambler technology, used here to agitate the atmospheres of exotic worlds, is a TL17 technology. Finally, the holographic equipment used for calibration and maintenance of the hydrogen column is available at TL18.
Early percolators are buildable at TL17.
Obsolescence[edit]
The percolator's technological service span is relatively short: at TL19, elemental matter transporters are available, and hydrogen can be transported directly off the atmosphere via a teleporting skimmer.