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| Selerium Refueling Stations | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 7 2017, 12:15 AM (16 Views) | |
| Invicta | Sep 7 2017, 12:15 AM Post #1 |
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![]() OVERVIEW Selerium Refuel Stations can be found dotted across the Human Sphere. Nearly every star system contains one. A few can be found in deep space. The process of refueling a ship with selerium is not a complicated one. While there is some cost associated with the equipment needed to safely store selerium outside of a Yutani Drive's internal storage compartment, the premise is simplistic and not at all one that requires the expertise of a specialist. What becomes complicated is providing an avenue for ships to refuel their stocks while protecting the supply from piracy. A cache of selerium in deep space is an easy mark for someone looking to make a quick haul. A question that needed to be asked was how to ward off pirates without maintaining a private security force at each station. The answer is this refueling station design. Conceptualized as a one-stop shop for any ship that needs to resupply with raw supplies, food rations, and selerium, the refueling stations that can be most commonly found in the Human Sphere do not require a fleet presence to protect from common piracy. While their kill switch mechanism can be abused for economic sabotage, it entirely erases any incentive for a pirate to try and mount a heist. A refueling station's supply of selerium is contained in a circular structure with a vacuum sealed tube. The selerium is rotated through a centrifuge-like system that slows and stops to deposit selerium to a docked ship. When the station is at risk, those in the control room can activate a 'kill switch' command. Two spouts open in the tube and begin spraying a corrosive agent while the centrifuge spins. The broken vacuum creates an immense amount of friction which, when coupled with the corrosive agent, renders the selerium nothing more than chunks of irreparably damaged crystals within moments. The side effect of this kill switch is that it also bears some risk to a ship that's currently docked. If a pirate were to try mounting a heist while under the guise of a ship needing resupply, the kill switch would likely cause severe damage to their vessel if activated. SUPPLY SIZING Most standard iterations of the common selerium refueling station possess enough space for at least 30 jumps of selerium. Maximum storage is 60 jumps before requiring resupply themselves. To ensure that these stations are multi-functional, many refueling stations also contain several months worth of food rations and 'starship necessities' like lubricant, spare parts, emergency clothing, and more. This however does not mean that all refueling stations are completely stocked up or possess the same supplies. It is possible that some of the stations a ship comes across are lacking certain materials or are running low. Be wary of rundown refueling stations! CONCERNS Due to the very real threat of economic sabotage, there is some question about whether or not this kill switch is an ideal solution. Some have suggested that automated defenses are far safer, and others have suggested that deep space stations shouldn't exist to begin with to avoid the problem altogether. Indeed, there have been some instances where an unknown ship made hostile movements towards a refueling station, triggered the kill switch, and then simply left. Many believe that this is a new form of subtle warfare: goading polity-supported stations into destroying their supplies of selerium weakens their economy and drives up the price of the wonder material. This has resulted in some deep space refueling stations maintaining some sort of private security force to discourage this type of goading. A pirate heist is more likely to entail destroying or attacking station security while economic sabotage may shy away from such a move to avoid discovery. COMMON USE Selerium Refueling Stations have an OPEN Common Use policy. While polities are certainly free to come up with their own methods of refueling their ships, this is a relic of the days of the Confederacy and unless replaced will likely be what is used in most star systems. CREDITS Artwork designed by Nick Foreman on ArtStation. You can find the original source here. |
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7:37 PM Jul 11
