Editing Heveka Cargo Loader

|cost    = [[Cr]]628,000

|type    = Mobile Crane

As a Heveka is designed for use in potentially hazardous conditions ([[hostile world]]s, handling high explosives or radioactives, or just moving loads across unstable terrain), it has no [[crew]] compartment inside (thus risking no [[crew]]), instead requiring remote control to operate. As such, it comes with sufficient security to thwart most would-be hijackers.

A Heveka is slightly more expensive than a simple wheeled crane of similar strength, so it shows up where its capabilities are likely to see more than occasional use. For instance, any [[starport]] or [[spaceport]] on a [[hostile world]] where ships land outside (due to sufficient hangar space not yet having been constructed), or one that routinely sees dangerous cargo (such as a [[radioactive]]s mining port) - or merely wishes to routinely scan for contraband, as a Heveka comes with a high-end sensor suite that can thoroughly examine whatever it picks up. The legs can telescope out to balance as it laterally shifts cargo; there are iconic images of two of a Heveka's legs "hugging" a ship as its arm reaches up the ramp and deep inside. The on-board computer is designed to offer real-time administrative and/or legal advice (with software that can examine databases of local regulations - able to recognize most known formats across Charted Space - for items specific to cargo and passengers) to operators who might encounter tricky situations, such as having to tell a [[Count]] exactly why they can not unload that crate of [[dustspice]] on this world, or the exact legal reporting requirements should they encounter a cargo of [[slave]]s.

For most groundside emergencies, a Heveka is overkill - which is exactly what many emergency responders want. It is able to climb sheer vertical surfaces and even the underside of overhangs, so long as it can find a grip. Its sensors can penetrate kilometers of rock and rubble to search for life signs, radioactive sources (that may need containment before they contaminate the area), or fires (such as ones that may be spreading toward stores of fuel and oxidizers). A single Heveka is able to lift an entire 100 ton [[starship]]; some [[starport]]s simply use teams of Hevekas to move heavier ships when necessary (such as when engines fail, so a ship suddenly needs to be moved from docking hangar to [[shipyard]]). It needs transport to and from disaster sites, as its internal batteries do not give a long range and it is not as fast as most [[grav vehicle]]s.

The [[Heveka Cargo Loader]] was originally designed by the [[Hive Federation]]. Although there are questions about its exact date of origin, the design was among the gifts presented to the [[Third Imperium]] in [[588]] for peacefully incorporating the [[Old Earth Union]], and it was apparently first constructed less than a decade prior to that. It has since been declared that this was a [[manipulation]] to put people in the [[Third Imperium]] more at ease with [[Hiver]]s, although that may have been simple diplomacy.

 

Its use spread from there, reaching all across [[Charted Space]] (though rarely a common design) save in the [[Two Thousand Worlds]] (which uses similar designs, but specifically rejects this design out of fear of "[[Hiver]] influence" - which usually boils down to "fear that our people might get comfortable with those we have declared to be enemies") well before [[1105]]. A Heveka is included as standard equipment on a [[Dee Six class Downport]]. The design is cheaper and more agile than an equivalent [[grav vehicle]] (which might otherwise be expected at [[TL-13]]); a [[grav vehicle]] would have more speed and more range, neither of which are very helpful in this vehicle's designated role.