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Worker
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| Ship Information | |
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Classification
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Purpose
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Resource Collector
Salvage and Repair |
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Ship Type
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Utility Support Vessel/Resource Collector
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RU Cost
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500 RUs
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| Technical Information | |
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Mass
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5200 tons
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Length
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50.3 metres
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Acceleration
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400 m/s2
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Speed
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425 m/s
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Eras
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Affiliation
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The Worker-class Resource Collector was the workhorse of Kiith Somtaaw's resourcing operations. It would later become a crucial part of their campaign against the Beast entity, repairing friendly ships, salvaging enemy ships, and collecting the resources needed to build the Somtaaw battle fleet.
Design and Development[]
While the other Kiithid continued to use the 50-year-old Resource Collector, Kiith Somtaaw felt they needed an entirely new collector for the more specialized mining work. A ship was needed that could operate in more densely packed asteroid fields and could navigate more comfortably in the more dangerous environments such as fast-moving asteroids. New designs were tested extensively, but no new model could stand up to the tasks set before them. Often, these prototype models became dangerously unstable when carrying a full load.
A Somtaaw engineer working on the project came across the schematics deep in the Motherships' data banks for a re-entry vehicle used for hauling heavy cargo from low orbit during construction of the Scaffold over Kharak, 120 years ago. While useless in the modern era, Somtaaw saw the potential of the design and adapted it for their needs. Fitting newer engines and control systems, the new ship dubbed the 'Worker' excelled in all the demands set before it. The compact design allowed for more flexible maneuvers, being able to quickly rotate on its centre of gravity, allowing it to avoid any potentially disastrous asteroid collisions.
Although there was some resentment to the name 'Worker', the new model is slowly becoming accepted by the miners of Kiith Somtaaw.
Adaptable Design[]
The Worker had only been in service for a short time when the Beast War began. The first upgrade to the Worker came just on the eve of the war, when the Kuun-Lan mining ship was requested to find and repair the Bushan-Re, a Destroyer in the service of Kiith Manaan. Having no dedicated repair ships, Somtaaw engineering teams quickly adapted the Workers' PDA to emit a repair beam. While not as efficient as a dedicated repair-capable PDA as found on Support Frigates, the Workers' new ability saved valuable time and expense, and even the lives of the Bushan-Re's crew when the Hiigaran ships were assaulted by Turanic Raiders.
That same day, the Kuun-Lan's Worker ships were upgraded yet again with Salvage technology, to recover the Naggarok's beacon pod. The ability to salvage would prove useful when the Kuun-Lan encountered a derelict siege cannon in a debris field. The cannon would later prove crucial to the Somtaaw's victory over the Beast. Worker ships could also salvage damaged Taiidan and Turanic vessels then drag them to the Kuun-Lan, the nearest Processor or Carrier for capture. However, without the Infection Vaccine, any attempt to salvage a beast-infected vessel subverts the worker.
Beast Variant[]
Beast Infected Worker.
At the start of the Beast War, the Beast obtained the schematics of the Worker from Kiith Somtaaw, and swiftly put them into service. It served as the Beast's Resource Collector. Beast workers could also be outfitted for salvage uses, but this was rarely used for capture purposes, as the Beast could already Subvert ships using a Beast Infection Weapon or a Cruise Missile. Normally, the Beast version of the Worker could not be upgraded for Repair Duty, perhaps due to Beast ships being able to self-repair. In Multiplayer the Beast Workers are fully capable of remote repair. To do so, if playing as the Beast, the player must seize control of already upgraded Somtaaw Worker, then retire it in order to be able to research the technology and apply it to his own Worker ships. In the later part of Cataclysm campaign, Beast infected Workers can sometimes be seen repairing their capital ships, in addition to their constant regeneration, being Beast ships.