Zheug class Fueling Shuttle/meta
Zheug class Fueling Shuttle
This ship was first created using Mongoose Traveller Second Edition rules. Ship stats are presented below, with consent of the author.
Zheug class fueling shuttle, TL-13 Maintenance: 1,670 credits/month Crew: pilot, gunner MCr: 20.042 Excess power: 0.625 System___________________________________________tons___MCr____power Streamlined light hull (34 Hull)_________________-95____4.275__19 Aerofins (retractable wings)_____________________4.75___0.475__0 Thrust-3 maneuver drive (3*energy efficient)_____2.85___8.55___7.125 Fusion power plant (energy efficient)____________2______2.2___-33 Fuel tank (4 weeks' operation)___________________1______0______0 Bridge___________________________________________6______0.5____0 Collapsible fuel tank (can hold 74 tons)_________0.74___0.037__0 Cargo (usable for fuel tank)_____________________73.26__0______0 Ship's locker (dedicated cargo)__________________0.4____0______0 UNREP (transfer 80 tons/hour)____________________4______2______4 Basic sensors____________________________________0______0______0 Fuel scoops (free w/streamlining)________________0______0______0 3 fixed mount laser drills (3*energy efficient)__0______0.975__2.25 Computer/5_______________________________________0______0.03___0 Basic sensors____________________________________0______0______0 Software: maneuver/0_____________________________0______0______0 Software: library________________________________0______0______0 Software: virtual crew/0_________________________0______1______0
The "faster skimming" has the UNREP transfer unrefined fuel from the surrounding gas giant or water at its full rate, filling the Zheug in a bit under 1 hour. Without this, it would take about 78 passes of 2D minutes each, on average 546 minutes (9.1 hours), to fill up its tanks. Any ship or station it is on will likely need several times the total 74 tons of fuel a Zheug can deliver on each there-and-back run. Especially for a starship, this can shave days off the time it takes to refuel (assuming the ship has sufficient fuel processing capacity), when buying from a starport is not convenient.
The UNREP's articulation, as used in ice and ore mining, is narrative fluff to give a Zheug the necessary manipulators to mine without crew assistance, and does not affect the rate of mining (which is governed by, and rated for, having 3 laser drills doing the mining, yielding an average 21 tons each 6 hours). Overseeing such a run takes a Mechanic/EDU check for each 6-hour shift (though only taking 1D hours, distributed throughout the shift), as a task chain leading into the Gunner (turret)/DEX check for malfunction.