The station was abuzz with activity and rumors; it had been some months since a living piece of Kusari history had been brought to Yukawa’s drydock,
a Date class cruiser hull. For a good while only some engineers had been allowed access,
leading some to speculate perhaps it would simply be turned into a flying museum; not unlike the fate of some older capital vessels in other houses.
Eventually the engineers stopped visiting the hull and things seemed to die down a little as everyone went about their work. At least, until today.
It started with a single transport delivering some supplies; nothing too special. On an average day at least several of those arrived at the station,
be it to deliver some supplies or pick something up. But then another came, and another one, and another one.
The Logistics department was in full swing and engineers started heading towards the ancient hull in the drydock;
after centuries of neglect the restoration of this once proud vessel was finally underway.
The Hull
The ancient hull itself was hardly in any state to be used on its own, while not necessarily brittle, it simply would not be able to withstand modern firepower.
However, to maintain the vessels historic value, as well as the clients wishes, the hull would have to be strengthened and used as a ‘skeleton’ of sorts.
This would allow the vessel to maintain its shape and performance without compromising any of the desired results.
Kishiro’s engineers that were assigned to the project worked around the clock on the hull, relieving each other’s shifts every 8 hours.
This lasted for the greater part of two weeks, in which times the entire outer shell of the vessel was essentially replaced with the sturdiness of modern Ship Hull Panels.
With the basics of the hull done, the next part of the phase was to reinforce the plating to be more akin to a heavy capital asset.
Reinforced Alloys, noted for their significant weight and sturdiness, were lifted and welded to the vessel with specialized heavy construction machinery.
Modifications
With the hull largely prepared it was time to make the needed modifications so it would be able to spread and
hold an energy charge from the power core without damaging the structural integrity of the vessel.
Repair ships were launched from the shipyard, making the needed alterations in the weightless embrace of space.
The Energy field equipment was installed in special grooves alongside the hull, according to the research done by the R&D team,
spreading them out in such a manner would allow them to be able to distribute the expected energy across the hull in safe manner.
This did however leave a slight vulnerability in the design; the energized hull was designed to dissipate part of the brunt of energy weapons, not archaic physical projectiles.
In theory, one such weapon would be able to take down several of the devices in the grooves, causing ‘holes’ in the energized hull that would no longer benefit from the extra protection.
Once the modifications were completed the vessel was brought back. For now, the engineers would have to wait for the modified power core before they could continue testing the hull.
Likewise working on the interior, without knowing if the technology worked as it should, would merely put assets at risk.
// This story is part of Project Dragon Scale