Okay so why would you take up valuable space on your Carrack, Idris, Polaris, Crucible, Reclaimer or even your Star G for one of these? What uses would you put it to if you had your druthers? IMHO, what we need is a long list of modules for this, that are deployable such that they do not require the ship to be around. Copy the list below and add your suggestions.
--Transport: room for 8 plus gear.
--Cargo: room for x cargo crates
--Mining: Robotic drill head that works independently for up to 3 days
--Gas capture and storage: skims and refines small quantities of fuel form gas giants that can then refill a single fighter, etc.
--Minelayer: automated mine laying equipment
--Stealth Sensor Array: keeps passive scan on a portion of a planetary system indefinitely. Hard to detect.
--Active Sensor Array: automatically sends data back to owner when any ship enters its scan radius.
--Convenience Store: Big Bennies, Wawa coffee and smokes or the harried pirate on the run, deployable on planetary surfaces, and in empty space. Generates automatic revenue to owner based upon usage.
--Tool and equipment storage: used in combination with mining, reclamation and maintenance services.
--Automated Hardpoint: sports a small turret ta can fire across a hemispherical targeting horizon, automated to launch missiles or attack with lasers.
What else? Add to the list so we can see this thing become useful.
