Grovestone class Smallcraft Tender
| Grovestone class Smallcraft Tender | |
|---|---|
 Mobile smallcraft and vehicle service | |
| Type: GV Ship Tender | |
| Category | ACS |
| Size | 300 Tons |
| Hull Configuration | Close Structure Hull |
| Streamlining | Braced Cluster Hull |
| Tech Level | TL–13 |
| Engineering | |
| Computer | Model/4 |
| Jump | J-2 |
| Maneuver | 3 G |
| Fuel Treatment | Purifier |
| Armaments | |
| Hardpoints | |
| Accommodations | |
| Staterooms | 1 |
| Personnel | |
| Crew | 2 |
| High/Mid Passengers | |
| Payload | |
| Cargo | 81.5 Tons |
| Fuel tank | 61 Tons |
| Carried craft | repair drones, Sproutstone |
| Special features | manufacturing & repair facilities for vehicles and smallcraft up to 10 displacement tons |
| Construction | |
| Construction Time | 6 months Months |
| Origin | The Borderland Subsector |
| Manufacturer | GeDeCo |
| Year Operational | 1080 |
| Price | |
| Cost | MCr179.4604 |
| Maintenance cost | Cr14,955 |
| Statistics | |
| Quick Ship Profile | GV-DB42 |
| Universal Ship Profile | GV-D3823B-P |
| Images | |
| Blueprint | Yes |
| Illustration | No |
| Source | |
| Also see | Sproutstone class Mining Drone |
| Canon | Unpublished, fan design |
| Designer | Adrian Tymes |
| Design System | Mongoose 2nd |
| Era | 1105 |
| Reference | Fan: Adrian Tymes |
The Grovestone class Smallcraft Tender is a TL–13 civilian industrial starship specialized in the construction and maintenance of smallcraft and vehicles
Description
A Grovestone is built to resemble a floating grove of trees, with root-like extensions at its bottom to dig into loose soil. It is specifically intended to land where there is little to no infrastructure, and needs no concrete pad to land on (though if landing at a proper starport it does not have to, and should not, deploy these extensions). Above these extensions is one of the two main discs, above which are two thicker trunks, then another main disc to top the structure off.
One side of the space between the main discs is the docking facilities for two Sproutstone class Mining Drones, which nestle into the trunks. The other side is the ship's main purpose: a "smallcraftyard" with space for a smallcraft or vehicle, up to 10 displacement tons, to be constructed or repaired. The "back" side of one of the docking trunks contains a variety of fold-out tools to operate in this space, while the other contains a smelter to turn raw ores mined by the Sproutstones into components for use in maintenance.
A Grovestone is meant to operate where there is a lack of functioning infrastructure. As such, it is more often found in systems with low TL or a maximum of a Class D Starport. While technically its facilities are meant for smallcraft, in practice it more often operates on vehicles, particularly grav vehicles, that may be incredibly useful for a given world but which the locals can not maintain on their own.
Under Imperial standards, a Grovestone should have two crew. While some do, the design is optimized for a single multi-talented Astrogator/Engineer, who is also the person operating the smallcraftyard. It is common for Grovestones to come with training manuals for crew to pick up the skills necessary, as part of the extensive software support provided by the Ship's Computer.
When on the ground, the bottom of the smallcraftyard is 10 meters above ground level. Those vehicles that are not able to fly up under their own power are most often moved to and from the smallcraftyard by Sproutstones. A landed Grovestone often accumulates a ring of vehicles parked around it, waiting for service or awaiting pickup. This is also the case when landed at water, as sea surface vessels are usually unable to fly; in this case, a Sproutstone can hold each vessel during the entire service procedure, acting as a drydock.
Image Repository
Not available at this time.
General Description & Deck Plans
- Deck Plans for this vessel and the Sproutstone class Mining Drone.
Basic Ship Characteristics
Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. [1]
| Basic Ship Characteristics [2] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Category | Remarks |
| 1. | Tonnage / Hull | Tonnage: 300 tons (standard). 4200 cubic meters. Close Structure Hull.
|
| 2. | Crew | Crew: 1 Astrogator, 1 Engineer. Almost always the same person, who also crews the mobile shipyard when the ship is landed. Pilot and Sensor Operator provided by software. |
| 3. | Performance | Acceleration: 3-G maneuver drive installed.
|
| 4. | Electronics | Model/4 ship computer. |
| 5. | Hardpoints | No hardpoints. |
| 6. | Armament | None. |
| 7. | Defenses | None. |
| 8. | Craft | Two Sproutstone class Mining Drones. Vacc suits required for most EVA (extra-vehicle activity). Rescue Balls for crew escape normally carried. |
| 9. | Fuel Treatment | It is typically equipped with a fuel purification plant but no fuel scoops, relying on its smallcraft to scoop fuel. |
| 10. | Cost | MCr179.4604 (no architect's fees, the design having been made freely available). MCr161.51436 in quantity. This includes two Sproutstone class Mining Drones. |
| 11. | Construction Time | 6 months standard, 4 in quantity. |
| 12. | Remarks | A mobile smallcraft and vehicle construction and maintenance facility, for places without good infrastructure. |
History & Background (Dossier)
The Grovestone class is only technically a product of GeDeCo. It was developed on Tech-World and Falcon by architects equipped by GeDeCo, though not with any oversight or permission from GeDeCo executives. Once developed, the templates were promptly "leaked".
Officially, those involved were making a product for a local need: there were many nearby worlds without good access to maintenance facilities - a situation familiar to many in the Third Imperium, but without nearly as organized trading network to supply the worlds in need. Grovestones were intended to go from world to world in a circuit, processing resources and providing stopgap infrastructure until the worlds could develop their own. The tree shape was an artistic touch, as these ships would be planting and maintaining seeds of civilization.
Unofficially, it is suspected that many Grovestones wound up supporting pirate bases, and that this may have been the intent of the architects. Although not capable of maintaining starships, the mobile infrastructure it provides - and its ability to operate without much of a supply chain - make it ideal for bases that can not afford easy-to-spot logistical tails and that may have to pack up and move on short notice. Needing only one crew means less people who must be trusted.
Within a few years of the design files spreading via the X-mail network, Grovestones began occasionally appearing in areas along the Third Imperium's border not served by more organized logistics. Predictions of rapid adoption in the Vargr Extents proved to be falling to stereotypes: the Vargr might not have the large scale economy of the Third Imperium but they are not completely terrible at logistics. There is some use in the Extents, but only about the same rate as in territories not claimed by any interstellar polity and near enough to the Third Imperium to have systems compatible with its templates.
Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities
Ship Interior Details: The design is technically a tailsitter: six decks stacked atop one another, with the maneuver drive on the bottom deck. Two grav lifts connect all six levels of the ship, with iris hatches separating each deck that, it has been said, are just about the only anti-boarding measure a Grovestone has.
The bottom two "decks" are a set of six tree-shaped landing legs, capable of landing on and securing to bare dirt if no concrete is available; the legs are primarily fuel tanks and maneuver drive, though the lifts connect to airlocks on the bottom level. The legs can safely secure even to soft soil; in the event of a water landing, they make sure the waterline stays along the disc just above the legs, and discourage marine life and pollutants from attaching.
Above the legs is a disc the living quarters, bridge, and fuel processor, surrounded by storage for ores and components. The bridge has just a single workstation, facing a holotank console. The stateroom and commons are combined in a space off to the side. The fresher is the one place aboard ship where an ordinary door might be expected; to save on maintenance, another iris hatch is used instead, which is often left permanently open.
The two "decks" above that are the main functional pillars, each containing a dock for a Sproutstone, associated fuel and mineral transport capable of draining a Sproutstone's fully inflated cargo in one hour, a subhangar for repair drones, and the lift shafts. The remaining space of one of the pillars is a mostly automated smelting facility; the other contains tools that extend out into the space between the two disc levels - the "smallcraftyard" - to work on any smallcraft or vehicle in that area. The ship's third airlock opens directly into this space, to facilitate hands-on interaction as needed - or, more often, to facilitate meeting the customer in person at the site of work on their vehicle. These tools are usually operated from the bridge, with the holotank offering multiple views: different angles and zoom levels, augmented displays illustrating what to do in what sequence, and so on. It is not uncommon for one or both Sproutstones to aid in this work. The tools have access to the cargo spaces above and below, and are often the primary means by which cargo is moved around them.
On top is what could be referred to the engineering disc, with the jump drive, power plant, sensors, and another storage area for ores and components.
Class Naming Practice/s: Tree motifs, especially references to synthetic trees, are common. Examples include Steel Orchard, Aluminum Forest, and Fabber Bush.
Selected Variant Types & Classes
3 Representative Ship Tender (GV) Classes
References
| This article has metadata. |
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This ship was designed using Mongoose 2nd ship design rules.
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- Author: Adrian Tymes
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.