The Wayfarer-class Multirole Support Vessel is a small-grid, hydrogen-powered ship designed to serve a variety of functions, including prospecting, personnel transport, cargo hauling, reconnaissance and limited combat. Its most notable mission was the landing of Eli, Max and Perp on the surface of the Moon in order to to establish Dudebase Alpha.
Design
Features
History
With the Wayfarer docked to Leviathan, the trio departed for the Moon. In lunar orbit, it was determined that a ground vehicle would be necessary for reliable transport across the surface while the Wayfarer would act as a shuttle for crew and cargo between the selected site and Leviathan. An Apis miner was disassembled and rebuild in-orbit as a wheeled flat-bed rover, christened the Formica. With Perp piloting and Max occupying the Wayfarer's sole passenger seat, the Formica, with Eli in the cockpit, was docked to the Wayfarer's rear connector; during final descent, the Formica would be hot-dropped onto the surface prior to landing.
Several minutes into the surface reconnaissance flight, a large crater was selected as the future site of Dudebase Alpha, and the Wayfarer began its descent. The Formica hot-drop maneuver was executed earlier than planned due to the Wayfarer's vertical thrusters being insufficient to compensate for the additional weight of the rover. As the Formica lacked its own thrusters, it suffered damage from surface impact which necessitated repairs. The Wayfarer landed near the crater wall a few minutes later with no further incidents.
While Max and Eli continued with repairs to the Formica, Perp launched from the surface for further reconnaissance, as well as to test the Wayfarer's flight capabilities in a gravity well, something it had not previously done outside of the initial lunar landing. During a low-altitude flyover of the crater, the vertical thrusters were unable to provide enough lift to crest a rocky outcropping, which clipped the Wayfarer's starboard engine nacelle and caused the ship to crash a short distance from the other two engineers.
Immediately following the crash, Perp's initial efforts to repair the Wayfarer were hampered by Eli and Max pilfering the disabled ship's supplies, including its stash of weapons, as well as salvaging or otherwise stealing crucial components in order to upgrade the Formica and begin work on the base. Despite these setbacks, as well as an armed standoff between the three engineers, Perp was able to effect enough repairs to the Wayfarer and return marginal flight capabilities. The ship limped back to lunar orbit to rendezvous with Leviathan, where more comprehensive repairs brought the Wayfarer back to nominal status. The ship's vertical thrust was augmented in-situ, and it began ferrying cargo back down to the base.