WHAT’S THE STORY, MOTHER?
You are space truckers on the starfreighter USCSS Montero, running “the Gauntlet”— the trade route between Anchorpoint Station and the Frontier. Your ship’s cargo hold is packed with dozens of tanks of the rare gas Helium-3. Usually cargo such as this is towed in massive tanker modules that transport much higher concentrations of the gas a safe distance from a freight hauler.
The Montero isn’t rated as a commercial towing vehicle, however, and this small run is a special order for a Weyland-Yutani corporate account on Sutter’s World—a newly established Frontier colony. While the trip so far has been fairly routine, the Montero’s sensors developed a glitch before you left Anchorpoint and sporadically pinged contact with a sensor reflection before you activated the displacement drive and went FTL. Your cargo run so far has been without incident. Now, you are just awakening from hypersleep, ready to deliver your goods to the colony of Sutter’s World.
CLARIFICATION HELIUM-3
Helium-3 (3He see also helion) is a light, stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron (the most common isotope, helium-4, having two protons and two neutrons in contrast). Other than protium (ordinary hydrogen), helium-3 is the only stable isotope of any element with more protons than neutrons. Helium-3 was discovered in 1939.
Helium-3 occurs as a primordial nuclide, escaping from a planet's crust into its atmosphere and into outer space over millions of years. Helium-3 is also thought to be a natural nucleogenic and cosmogenic nuclide, one produced when lithium is bombarded by natural neutrons, which can be released by spontaneous fission and by nuclear reactions with cosmic rays. Some of the helium-3 found in the terrestrial atmosphere is also an artifact of atmospheric and underwater nuclear weapons testing.
Helium-3 is an incredible energy source. Unlike most nuclear fusion reactions, the fusion of helium-3 atoms releases large amounts of energy without causing the surrounding material to become radioactive. However, the temperatures required to achieve helium-3 fusion reactions are much higher than in traditional fusion reactions and the process may unavoidably create other reactions that themselves would cause the surrounding material to become radioactive.
SPECIFICATIONS USCSS MONTERO
USCSS MONTERO LOCKMART CM-88G BISON-CLASS COMMERCIAL FREIGHTER
The Montero is a starfreighter with standard Saturn J 3000 engines. As such, she is not rated as a commercial tug. She is fitted to haul cargo internally like a standard freighter, and has a cavernous bay with ventral access for such purposes.
CARGO
The Montero’s bay is currently full of 72 high-pressure tanks carrying 200,000 tons of highly flammable Helium-3 gas. Each tank is half the size of a tanker trailer. Helium-3 is an amazingly clean energy source used throughout the colonies. Its volatile nature means that it can be dangerous to transport. To ferry the cargo to and from orbit, the Montero is equipped with an ailing WY-37B Cargo Shuttle called Daisy. At about 80 years old, it has seen better days.
PASSAGEWAY UMBILICAL
The Montero is equipped with a 10-meter-long passageway umbilical, which can be used to connect to the airlocks of other spacecraft and thus allow passage without the need for a spacewalk.
GEAR ON THE MONTERO
The following pieces of gear are available on the Montero.
5 x IRC Mk.50 Compression suit
1 x M314 Motion Tracker
1 x Cutting Torch
1 x Watatsumi Bolt Gun
1 x M4A3 Service Pistol
1 x SpaceSub ASSO-400 Harpoon Grappling Gun
1 x M240 Incinerator Unit
1 x P-5000 Power Loader
