May 21st, 8254

You sit back in the chair behind the desk in your (hopefully) temporary office. It's been a bit over a year and three months since you turned your old command, the HMSCS Night Horse over to the Navy to become the propulsion test bed ship HMS Night Horse. The navy promised the Surveyor's Corps a replacement ship in return but dragged their feet over making the needed refits to another Timber Snake class destroyer. Fortunately your suggestion of a 'mere' Draco class clipper, preferable one of the Cassiopeia sub-class, as a suitable replacement seems to have taken hold in the mind of your superior officer and his opposite numbers over in the Navy.

You stare at the ceiling and ponder over the history of the Draco class of ships. Draco class cutters are something of an odd duck class for the Navy: a very high speed transport ship. The Navy's logistics and transport division makes us of a bare handful of classes, often of quite venerable design lineage, and in only three roles.

First are the bulk cargo haulers and transports: the Parasol and Universalis classes respectively. Both are able to move stupendous volumes and masses of materiel. The Parasol class can move 1.6 million tons of food, fuel, munitions, or other materials. The Universalis class can, at full load, carry an entire army group: four million men, war machines, and all of the essentials. Both classes pay for this carrying capacity in armor and weapons, of course, but also in speed. They are driven by merchant type plasma drives and are unable to keep up with any Navy combat formation's cruising or patrol speed even if the cargo carriers run flat out with no safety margin. For moving things in mass from one base to another however they are nearly unrivaled.

Next up are the fast fleet transports, the Wayfarer class fast transports. While they top out at only four hundred thousand tons of cargo they do have the speed to keep up with most Naval formations while underway. They also carry the needed cargo shuttles to transship cargo while underway. They make up the vast backbone of the Navy's logistic backbone with their combination of speed, reasonable protection and firepower (for a cargo carrier), and carrying capacity giving them great flexibility. There is one sort of formation that they just can't keep up with however: Escort ship packs.

Mirroring the 'wolfpacks' of ancient wet water navies, or the flying columns for ground army formations, escort ship packs are fast moving and relatively hard hitting formations intended for raiding and patrol duties. Stripped of even light cruisers, and often comprised entirely of Timber Snake class destroyers, these formations move with extreme rapidity. Not even the Wayfarer class ships can keep up, making resupply operations difficult. Thus the Draco class clippers were born. Commercially built to military design and carrying a 'mere' one hundred thousand tons of cargo, they are capable of matching a Timber Snake for speed and come within seventeen percent of matching their maneuverability on average. In exchange they carry only 'merchant marine' grade armor - often described as 'better then nothing, if only just' - and a single dorsal weapon mount.

The Cassiopeia sub-class of the Dracos are the Navy-built and intended to wander a bit deeper into harm's way. The most distinctive features are the use of a modified version of the Timber Snake class' otherwise unique Viper plasma drive and an additional keel weapon mount capable of firing into the aft arc of the ship. The Cassiopeias are still built to only merchant marine standards of armor but are actually ten percent faster then a 'stock' Timber Snake and come within seven percent of the maneuverability. The Cassiopeias are still transport ships however, and have no hope of matching the Timber Snake's maximal hitting power as they lack the internal volume needed to mount things like anti-ship missile bays or mine laying equipment.

Now a memo sits on your desk with the details of your soon-to-be command. The official orders assigning you to command her are working their way through the system, awaiting only the formal transfer of the ship from the Navy to the Surveyor's Corps, but some thoughtful soul sent ahead the refit summary for you to read over. You lean forward and open the memo to review it's contents.

TO: Captain Lawrence Warde, Lord Gayle, Surveyor's Corps Celesmore Detachment

SUBJECT: Summary of equipment fit of the HMS Ahywa Sofia, soon to be HMSCS Ahywa Sofia, Cassiopeia class cutter

Plasma Drive: Viper Mark two Alteration one (improved speed and maneuverability)

Warp Jump Drive: Korolev Mark nine (Star) – Modification: improved energy efficiency

Warp Jump Screen Generators: Alfven Mark seven (Star) – Modification: improved energy efficiency

Void Screen Generators: Repulseor Mark one (Star) – Modification: improved energy efficiency

Bridge: Explorator Mark four (Star) – Modification: improved energy efficiency

Life Support system array: Vitalis Mark eight (Star) – Modification: improved energy efficiency

Crew Quarters: Navy standard Voidsman Quarters, Alteration two (Automaton crew accommodations)

Sensor Array: Navy BQR-52 Mark six (Star) – Modification: improved energy efficiency

Cargo hold: Draco pattern integral cargo hold

Weapons: Two “Red Angel” Particle Projectile Cannons Mark Seven Alteration two (improved range)

Crew compliment: 105 Automaton 'ratings' (Model: Automation Mark two), 35 officers of all ranks, plus command staff.

Estimated Delivery date for handover: June 15th, 8254.

SIGNED: Dockmaster Luke Burton

You set the memo down and smile. Not even a month left before you get back into space proper and back to exploring beyond the borders of the Star Empire. You reach for your tablet and the memo app. You have a chance to request officers for your commands staff, though you will probably only get one of your requests approved.