*Upgradeable
to Energy Cannons (80 damage, fire time 1.2 s). **This
number is inaccurate; each component of the Command Ship has
a number of nav lights.
Ship names:
Kuun-Lan, Faal-Corum, Gaal-Ten, Coor-Lan, Teer-Gig,
Naab-Corum, Toet-Coy, Eheb-San
The epic voyage
of the Mothership proved that in order to survive the
threats posed by a hostile Galaxy, you had to have a vessel
that was prepared to handle anything. Once it became obvious
that politics on Hiigara would favor the most powerful
families, lesser Kiith like Somtaaw realized that their only
hope to achieve some sort of political and social autonomy
lay in the stars. Already experienced in deep-space-mining
techniques from their work in the Kharak system, Somtaaw
engineers began to design the kind of vessel they knew would
be able to spend a year or more on the circuit, harvesting,
refining and trading while supporting a crew of nearly a
thousand engineers, miners and flight crew.
A ship of
this size and power exceeded even the construction
capabilities of the Imperator-class Carrier, and so Somtaaw
petitioned for access to the shipyard facilities of the
orbiting Mothership herself. Through many political trials
(see History of Kiith Somtaaw), the New Daiamiid finally
granted Somtaaw access to the Mothership for a mere 45 days.
The Explorer-class design was finished within days when
Somtaaw Engineers gained control of the Mothership's PDA,
and construction began immediately; all parties involved
knew full well that this was probably the only time Somtaaw
would have access to the massive construction facility.
Accordingly, no expense was spared!
The first
Explorer was dubbed the Faal-Corum and launched on day 20,
to the rousing cheers of thousands of Somtaaw watching from
monitors planetside. Even before the Faal-Corum cleared the
docks, engineers were modifying the design of the second
Mining ship to incorporate the lessons learned in
constructing the first. The Kuun-Lan launched on day 35 with
more powerful engines, an extra layer of armor, and a 30%
greater module capacity.
It is these
modules that are the core of the Explorer-class design
philosophy. Knowing that this was the only chance they had
to create a near-Mothership-class vessel, Somtaaw engineers
designed the Explorer to adapt to almost any situation
through the use of modules that could be constructed by the
Explorer herself while still in deep space. The hard lessons
of the Homeworld War were also not forgotten. Though
intended for exploration and mining, the Explorer carries a
full complement of heavy and medium turrets for
self-protection, and is capable of constructing both the
Seeker-class Reconnaissance Fighter and the Acolyte Heavy
Fighter. Pirate corvettes expecting an easy prize often
realize their error too late as an Explorer's heavy rail
guns come on-line; Worker-class Resourcers will always
retreat to the protection of the Command ship's guns at the
first sign of trouble.
Both the
Faal-Corum and the Kuun-Lan require a crew of 1150, and
during long missions they carry an additional 2000 crew
members in cold sleep, to help man the ship in three-month
shifts. Currently the Faal-Corum is on a deep-space survey
mission, while the Kuun-Lan is on the second leg of a
nine-month mission to mine the star systems surrounding
Hiigara.
Unlike her
larger Homeworld sisters, this mothership is capably armed;
even without the Siege Cannon, the Kuun-Lan's cannons can
successfully defeat attacking fighters.
|