VandesCrafts MH-03 Freighter
Public technological record
Property of the Royal Atheneum of Hövnís, Eörpe
The MH-03 series of freightersfrom VandesCrafts are well-rounded riftcrafts that's suitable for transporting most kinds of goods across long distances.
Despite more advanced and cost-effective options exist today - where neuralims have replaced the need for physical crews and cargo spaces are significantly increased - the MH-03 remains very popular for a number of reasons. Primarily for being comparably cheap to buy and maintain, and they are surprisingly durable. They also have a lot more options available pre-purchase and still retain the relative ease of making post-manufacture modifications that's lacking in more modern crafts.
Etmyology & Definition
The naming of the series was kept rather simple, with the 'MH-XX' standing for 'Medium-sized, Heavy-loading, Number XX'. VandesCraft are known for keeping their riftcraft serialized, where each new model of a series intended to be the improved successor to the previous one.Characteristics
The first MH-01 was branded as an all-purpose riftcraft that didn't quite take off as - although receiving standing ovations for being durable, cheap to drive, and easy to maintain - was a little too mediocre and either too small/too large or lacking the necessary features to really be suitable for the wide variety of uses it had been advertised for. A lot of buyers ended up converting the hangar space of the lower deck into additional cargo space, and complained about the arrangements of the various compartments of the upper deck. For MH-02 and forward VandersCrafts decided to abandon their initial idea and altered the ship's layout to be more suitable as a dedicated transport vessel. In comparison, the MH-02 and MH-03 freighters were resounding successes and have remained highly popular to this day.Standard Configuration
Power Generation
The ship comes fitted with two nuclear fusion power generators and a backup ion gas battery for emergency power. The main power generators are designed to only run on the radioactive element ytikirium. They are not considered safe to fuel with newer elements, such as cheirium. As is the case with most riftcrafts it's advised to let qualified personnel at hangars and docking bays handle the emptying of depleted fuel and refilling of new fuel.Propulsion & Engines
The MH-03 is fitted with three engines, which gives it a considerable speed boost over its predecessors.Defenses
Despite being a non-military vessel the MH-03 features an impressive hull created from an alloy blend patented by VandesCrafts. One especially notable quality is being highly effective at isolating the Darkverse soundscape, and it's currently the sole manned riftcraft with a rift rating above 5.5. The ship is fitted with a very basic, weak kinestatis shield generator primarily meant to repel space debris and block foreign Darkverse lifeforms from reaching the hull.Weaponry
The MH-03 is fitted with a pair of small particle beam guns that while technically weapons, are rarely considered as such as most most riftcrafts have hull and shields that they'd have a hard time making a dent in. Their primary purpose is to clear larger space debris in the direct path ahead, and to repel foreign Darkverse lifeforms that may have penetrated the shields.Navigation
The MH-03 features a modern astronavigational computing system, which - still without utilizing a neuralim - automates many tasks that a dedicated astronavigator previously were required for. For this reason it's often considered unnecessary to hire in dedicated astronavigator for your crew if the freighter is meant to only run a number of standardized routes, especially along main rift lanes.Docking System & Hangar Requirements
The MH-03 features the standardized docking system DR-UWRSLW-00SI, including the pre-programmed protocols that allows for auto-parking to compatible docks and hangars. While the auto-parking system is considered well-balanced and stable, there's a general consensus that the manual landing systems remains subpar and can be difficult for inexperienced pilots.Communication
The craft features a standard inter-communications (intercom) system. Each room is fitted with a communications panel that needs to be manually activated to record and transmit sound, but will automatically activate and play sound sent from another source. All panels can only send one to one, with the exception of the main communications hub on the bridge which can both send to and receive from multiple channels at once. While it's been argued that the high sound-insulating qualities of the hull would allow for a more advanced intercom system, VandersCrafts chose to keep the tested and proven current configuration. The main communications hub on the bridge is additionally fitted with a subverse communications relay, that allows for nearly realtime two-way communication with other nearby entities. It also allows for tapping into local subverse network media channels. To keep the costs down, it doesn't feature meshverse access capabilities.Production Data
In Production
Gurton City, Vandesmyr
Technical Data
Deck Plans
by Nimin N.
The little details really sell this, especially the things the freighter doesn't do too well (like the intercom system). I also like the comparison to previous models. :D
Thanks! It was a bit out of my comfort zone writing about a spacecraft, but, I did enjoy trying to consider both positives and negatives as it was meant as the 'reliable low-cost without bells and whistles' kind of ship. Once I've gotten some more of the space travel mechanics down on paper, I'll probably have an easier time writing more of these. :)