Refugee Adder

Refugee Adder "Xpat"
Size (W×H×L)	30m×8m×115m
Cargo capacity	15 TC
Cargo bay extension	N/A
Maximum speed	0.175 LM
Manoeuvrability	Roll: 0.9 Pitch: 0.5
Energy banks	1
Energy recharge rate	Poor
Gun mounts	Fore
Missile slots	Unlikely
Shield boosters available	N/A
Military shields available	N/A
Hyperspace capable	Yes
OXP or standard	OXP
Available to player	No
Base price	N/A

Overview

Seeing an Xpat (pronounced expat) Refugee Adder in space, reminds a commander of the Cosmos's most grim destinies. Not often found alone (they are usually in groups), these flocks of unfortunates and other fugitives - to whom their ship represents a last hope and a desperate dream of freedom - are usually unaware of how extremely bleak the chances are of ever reaching a welcoming destination. Cynics refer to them as 'transients' due to their short life expectancy.

The usual inhospitable welcome

History

After "The Inus Miracle", when Ib Martin successfully rescued himself and 68 fellow victims of cruel persecution in a secretly modified Adder to reach safety on Aleusqu, whispered news of hope began spreading at hyperspeed. The schematics of Martin's Xpat modifications, a widely discounted patent by disgraced inventors Uli Gestirner and Pep Astroianni, were widely broadcast, and not long after, the first recorded spate of refugees took flight. Scores of the suppressed and poverty-stricken migrants grasped at the opportunity to find better lives, and initially a large number succeeded.

At first GalCop were slow to react, but gradually, as pressure from the wealth lobby increased, they took to a substantially more firm line of action. When it finally became evident that Xpats had become a favourite camouflage of slave-traders, the Reprobate Act was passed, and police were given orders to decommission Xpats upon sight. Tragically, this has done little to deter new waves of uninformed, desperate refugees.

An Iron Ass Xpat at near full speed.

Modifications

The Martin Xpat modifications are possible to implement at the enthusiast mechanic level, although there have been deadly accidents with Xpats before they ever got off the ground. The hull is extended threefold, and the engine is moved and reshaped into a spinning drive, simply called the Martin, which manages to produce enough power for planetary exit with the added weight, and maintain witchjump capability as long as the workmanship is solid. Often it isn't, as the second most common Xpat fatality is hull shredding upon entering Witchspace.

The space expansion raises the potential passenger and cargo capacity a great deal, comfortably fitting 70 humanoids. The highest recorded number of passengers, is 128, but those were undoubtedly inhumane conditions.

Slave-trafficking

The slave trade caught on early to the vast number of convoys that suddenly were common in space, overwhelming authorities. Both big crime and small-time peddlers took to the trend of shipping slaves by cover of the immigrants, and found no reason to change strategy until the Reprobate Act came into effect. Since then, only truly desperate slave-traders choose to do their business in an Xpat.

The PROHIP version of the Xpat, once again turned away from a station..

Download

• XptAdder.OXP v1.0 (2005) from CapnHack.com
• Iron Ass Vol.4 (2022) contains a dark metal retro version of the Xpat
• PROHIP Xpat b1 (2022) a progressive high-poly version

Broadcast Comms

The BroadcastComms MFD allows more interaction with the Refugee Adders...

Musings

This oxp creates ships with character and purpose. They also challenge your set of ethics (especially if you use Broadcast Comms). At the moment the calls for assistance cannot be properly met in-game. If one tries to shepherd the ships to the station, they will frequently see you as a danger and run towards pirates whom they have not noticed! And there is no way to meet their calls for water and medicine (even with SW Economy running which provides those commodities but also changes many other features of oolite trading).

The first presumably requires changes to the Refugee Adder AI. The second might call for an adaptation of Astronaut - with corresponding changes to the vanilla game code - to allow changing into a space suit inside one's ship, performing an EVA, carrying over to the Refugee Adder the TC's of water & medicine, and then "docking" there.

Links

• ...I did this experiment with a refugee-packed Adder Murgh (2005)
• Refugee Adder? OXP lost (2009)
• Finding OXP's (2009)
• The Search for the Refugee Adder (2009)
• Still lost (2011)
• Refugee Adders (Murgh .oxp) (2022)
• Author: Murgh
• Ethics