Forager Class Mobile Manufacturing Center (Joint SE/Seren Ship)
Primary Manufacturer: Stellar Enterprise
Joint Manufacturer: Seren Engineering
Designer: Stellar Enterprises
Length- 2,200 m
Height- 1,100 m
Speed- 8 MGLT
Hyperdrive- Class 2
Backup Hyperdrive: Class 4
Shields-22,000 SBD
Backup Shields- 15,000 SBD
Projective SHields: 25, 000 SBD
Hull- 3,500 RU
Armament- 45 Turbolaser Batteries, 50 Dual Heavy Laser Cannons (fast tracking), 6 Warhead Clusters (10 tubes per cluster)
Fighter Complement- 60 Fighters or 120 Droid Fighters
Other Support Craft- Docking for 6 Sahvion Class Mining Frigates, numberous mining drones, hanger space for freighters
Description: The Forager class was created in order to provide a mobile base for the refinement and processing of gathered raw resources. Along with these abilities, factories were also included into the design of the Forager class. This was all drawn up and created in order to lower the amount of money spent on the construction of mining operations in systems with limited resources. It was deemed far cheaper to have a reusable base of operations instead of one that has to be built up and then abandoned whenever the resources within one system ran out.
With the Forage Class operations could be moved from one system to another without having to dismental previously built bases. It also saved manufacturing time since all refinement and processing could be done in system without the need for sending convoys to pick up ore and transport it around the galaxy to other centers. A Forager Class could exploit resources as soon as they are located and not have to wait for proper facilities to be built that could handle the operation.
In addition to being able to process the resources, the Forager will have the ability to manufacture produces internally with the said processed ore and resources. These onboard manufacturing facilities are capable of producing anything from weapons systems, electrical components for ships and planets, and whole starfighters to droids and other mechanized ground units. Basicially anything upto actual large ships could be produced inside the Forager provided that resources are available. These facilities are built to be quickly updated or modified to produce newer systems when neccessary.
From the Forager's center section jut out three extensions. These extentions contain processing and refinary facilities as well as transfering systems that move these newer created resources to the manufacturing plants located within the centeral section. The outside of these extentions contains the stations defensive weaponary while the inside of these arms forms a free space in which mining frigates can dock and unload. At the very tip of each extention is a single large hanger top on both ends to allow for quick enterance and departure. It is these hangers that also house the fighter support for the station, on large racks to keep the bay deck clear.
The Forager class combines both Stellar Enterprises created technologies as well as Seren technologies. As with the Sahvion class mining frigate, the Forager class is equipt with Enviromental Sen shields which are linked with the PSS-12 Reinforcer projection system allowing the station to project out shields for the protection of mining vessels inside the systems or defensive shields that might be proving cover for the station in the case of an attack.
Only a very limited of these vessels would ever be build do to their extreme cost and to the fact that they can move from one place another for an indefinate amount of time.