Ambassador MK-II Modular Corvette
Weight: 120-300 tons.
Length: 60 meters.
Max Acceleration: Variable (Avg: 200m/s/s.)
Armament: None (optional, see below).
Standard Crew: 2 (pilot, co-pilot).
Carrying capacity: approx 300 tons, up to ~300 ponies.
Lead Designers: Flywheel LiirHra.
Can Be Piloted By: Ponies.
Notes:
The first iteration of the Ambassador was designed as a high-end inter-orbital shuttle for diplomats and overseers, of which only a dozen were constructed and only ten of which ever flew. The Ambassador MK-II was related to its predecessor in name only, being redesigned from the ground up as a multipurpose modular utility shuttle.
The MK-II almost never came to be, however. Due to resource cuts and restructuring within the Scaffold engineering department, many of the Mothership's proposed support craft were cut during development. Only the protests of Flywheel LiirHra, then the head of the design division, kept the Ambassador on the drawing boards. Flywheel believed in the design to such an extent that he personally took over development, a decision which would lead to the greatest success of his career.
Under his management, seven proposals were developed for a middleweight shuttle with extensive hold capacity. The sixth of these was the familiar lozenge-shaped design known today. This design was selected, and further developed such that the entire midsection of the craft—starting at the back of the cockpit section and ending at the drives—could be removed entirely and replaced with a variety of modules. Proposed modules included scientific instrument packages, cargo and passenger configurations (which were by far the most commonly used), extended sensor/comms suites, and even some weapon emplacements. Several Ambassadors were loaned to the Coalition military and modified into adjustable spy satellites, using sophisticated imaging systems to track Gaalsien troop movements and industrial patterns. Two were even modified further, fitted with bomb-bays and used as suborbital point-strike bombers. The atmospheric-entry technology used in these latter craft—the Yuul'Naan and the Sky Bastard—would eventually be adapted to allow refitted ambassadors to serve as planetary landing craft, further broadening their role.
The versatility and reliability of the Ambassador design extended to the Scaffold and Mothership fleets as well. The Ambassador chassis forms the core around which both the Porter-Class tug corvette and the Mercy-Class rescue corvette are based, and later corvettes in the Mothership's employ would be heavily based on the Ambassador layout.
In addition, the Ambassador was known for its race-agnostic control interface—able to be piloted by any pony with four hooves—which would later be adapted into a multitude of designs, from variant Arrow fighters to system control consoles on the Mothership itself. This system was received warmly by unicorn and earth-pony pilots, proving far easier and more effective than older control schemes. While pegasus and even unicorn-specific layouts still existed, using them eventually became a taboo among Ambassador pilots—a cultural element which would translate over to most other corvette crews.
The Ambassador itself never faded out of view. Its usefulness as a general transport and reconnaissance craft, as well as the fact that it was one of the only ships in the fleet capable of being refitted for atmospheric entry, earned it a secure place in the Mothership's repertoire.
~300 ponies in a 60 meter long ship, that is some tight packing (unless the ponies are really small).
7026391 Indeed. Kinda interesting that the entry places such emphasis on this point... wink, wink?
P.S: By the way, dear author -- have you played the Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak game yet, which deals with land-based battles on Kharak's surface? I mean, I haven't, but I was just curious if anything from that game might make it into your work here.
7023781
7026391
I did my job correctly! Woo!
(But really, thanks guys. I know my update schedule is ludicrous, but it really means a lot that you're still around to read when I finally put something out.)
7026391
This is a funny problem, actually. See, a Boeing 747 is about 76 meters long, and can carry 660 people (!!!!!!!) according to The Mighty Google*. The Ambassador is shorter, but also significantly wider. If the craft was fitted with dedicated high-capacity seating, (and ponies are person-height and thus slightly bigger overall.) I figured 300 was a good number—maybe even lowballing things. This, of course, would be the cheap way to travel—Ambassadors with classier cabin configurations certainly do exist, and would seat far fewer ponies. However, if you really needed to get a lot of ponies someplace in a hurry, that's roughly the number you'd get.
*And Wikipedia. Also, it should be noted that this refers to the maximum possible seating. 400-500 people is much more common.
7026490
I have indeed played the game—and would you believe that the developers took the Gaalsien and did with them almost exactly what I was doing in this fic? Down to them having superior technology (hovercraft, better railguns) because they've been pilfering ancient tech, their characterization as religiously-motivated-desert-dwelling raiders, and even their basic motivations. While it'd be absurd to try and take credit for any of that, it does make keeping this story welded to HW canon much easier.
But aside from those wonderful little coincidences, I have actually started looking at how to incorporate the new game's story and style into OLH. You've seen a little of it already, when Dash discusses the "Relics" back on Kharequus, but there's more to come.
I've been hoping some Gaalsien would survive long enough to get onboard the Mothership. Perhaps even a Gaalsien who is Great and Powerful? Since you have to rescue at least a few of the ponies on the planet if Applejack and Pinkie are going to survive, I hope you will also rescue Shining Armor. His talent for large scale defensive spells might be all that makes it possible for a few hundred ponies to survive the initial attack for awhile.
7028302
No, the tragedy isn't compelling if too many live. Shining Armor would be a powerful asset to a ship, but the story is better served if he's fated like the rest of them.
Wishful thinking is all well and good, but we can only grow when we don't get what we want. It's not even about what we'd enjoy. It's about what will drive Twilight Sparkle to greater heights.
7027072 Three hundred is a bit of a low ball considering maximum emergency capacity, but if you don't want them to get off the ship with muscle camps and a unique "densely packaged herd animal" smell you should probably stick to that range.
Edit; You mentioned it being lozenge shaped, so if the main compartment is sixty in length I'd expect nearly forty across and fifteen high, all well within reasonable aesthetic and structural ranges.
7041319
Precisely.
I am so in love with this everything!