# Support vehicles — useful local journeys

## C06-P12A-01 — Scope, authority and visual language

SUP01 Survey Rover, SUP02 Cargo Crawler, SUP03 Ice Submersible and SUP04 Atmospheric Survey Skiff are four existing support-vehicle families. They solve local terrain and working problems; they do not add spacecraft capability classes or assign destinations to the supplied Tier 2/3 rocket silhouettes. This package develops their configurations, occupied use, services and return journeys. Full Mars and farther-world campaigns remain outside the selected expansion.

The source authority is the preserved Spacecraft and orbital places chapter, its support-craft register, the Planetary materials and reference catalogue, the relevant destination chapters, and CD05-T09/T11. These pages add recommended design detail. Geometry, crew capacity, cargo budgets, movement physics and exact supply rates remain proposed. Described behaviour is a documentation target, with no implementation or runtime verification claimed.

The visual direction remains Minecraft themed: chunky block-built silhouettes, readable low-resolution texture patterns, square glazing, visible service panels and restrained material palettes. Attractive atmospheric light may frame a scene, while the objects themselves retain simple game-scale surfaces. A powdered sample is a small pixel-textured pile or contained item; metal stock has readable flat faces rather than microscopic scratches and photoreal highlights. New support families should feel related to the confirmed pale casing, dark mechanisms, orange markings and focused blue screens without copying Explorer fins onto every object. Different environments justify different structural shapes.

## C06-P12A-02 — Shared deployment, ownership and service rules

Each first vehicle arrives as a prepared craft or a bounded assembly package carried by a capable earlier expedition. Its deployment bay, handling equipment, commissioning supplies, spare service items and independently viable return plan are included before departure. A folded-looking model does not prove that a full vehicle fits inside an Explorer. Carrier fit requires a separate declared payload and access review. The current Explorer remains the first orbital/lunar craft; support vehicles do not silently expand its capability.

A local controller previews the vehicle's occupied shape, boarding space, loading access, moving envelope and service position. Assembly advances through support frame, motion system, controls and protection, equipment fittings, then commissioning. Committed parts remain with one persistent vehicle identity. An unfinished chassis can be saved and resumed; loose parts remain identifiable stock. Upgrading, storing or transferring a vehicle cannot produce both a complete vehicle item and a second deployed copy.

Services keep their identities. Charge or a declared propulsion supply powers movement. Breathing supplies serve an occupied sealed compartment where present. Environmental conditioning has a visible equipment role. Cargo passes through a load position; data synchronization transfers records, not material. A service connector reports the actual linked craft and stock. Mechanical locks release and couplers retract before movement. Protected return reserves cannot be consumed by ordinary processing or an automatic cargo order.

The shared state vocabulary is assembly, isolated service, parked ready, occupied preparation, local travel, working stop, return requested, refuge/recovery and inactive parked. A stopped motor or thruster has visibly stopped motion. Words and icons accompany warning colors. No eligible participating player means stable parked inventory and mission state, without remote fuel drain, unearned production or absence debt. An active excursion has clear interruption rules rather than silently advancing while its player is elsewhere.

## C06-P12A-03 — SUP01 Survey Rover: configuration and operation

The Survey Rover carries a survey kit, manageable samples and a compact shelter allocation along suitable Mars routes. Its value is a mobile working base between established shelters. It does not climb every cliff or make a pedestrian route automatically drivable. Generation and surveying distinguish wheel clearance, turning space, stopping shelves and the walking connections that complete a route.

The recommended candidate has a low rectangular cab, broad visible wheel assemblies, an accessible side step, a rear modular rack and a short instrument mast that remains below its declared travel envelope. The suited pilot occupies a forward control position with useful ground visibility. A rear service partition keeps reserve breathing stock and electrical equipment out of the footwell. Sample boxes and shelter packages secure to the rack with recognizable clamps. A reachable exterior work surface supports reading a sample or replacing a prepared cartridge while parked. Wheel count, suspension travel, cabin dimensions and additional seats require later fit and handling studies.

The default documented outing uses one pilot in a sealed cab; this is a planning example, not a final seat limit. Enter from the stopped service side, close the pressure boundary, confirm route and return allocations, then release the parking state. The display keeps heading, known refuge, movement energy, protection and route condition together. A survey page can expand without obscuring the essential travel information. Moving instruments animate gently; stowed equipment stays secured. Opening a service panel requests an isolated stop rather than allowing a repair animation inside a moving wheel.

Earth/Moon stock provides the initial frame, seals, cells, instruments and spares. PM03 Ferric Lattice can later replace selected repairable frame members, while PM04 Brine Catalyst can improve an appropriate local processing or service module. Neither is needed to deploy or bring back the first rover. Changes should be visible at interchangeable external members and service boxes, rather than turning the entire vehicle into unrecognizable luxury bodywork.

## C06-P12A-04 — SUP01 worked outing, recovery and choices

At an established Windcut Tablelands service pad, the player loads a survey instrument, sealed empty sample boxes, repair stock and a deployable refuge allocation. The initial map identifies a drivable terrace and a walking-only continuation. Departure preserves enough movement and life-support stock for the planned return plus its defined contingency. Weather information makes the conservative route legible before the player leaves shelter.

The rover follows the terrace into a broad Buried Delta channel. At a narrow junction, the player parks on a marked turning shelf, establishes a physical route marker and carries a sample tool along the foot route. Data identifies a useful continuation, while collected ordinary geological samples remain in separately tracked containers. This outing does not require optional Mars life. A forecast dust front encourages a return to the sheltered stopping point instead of a race through reduced visibility.

If the front arrives earlier in the worked scenario, the player closes the cab, checks the known sheltered route and waits or proceeds within the vehicle's stated capability. A filter warning names the cartridge and remaining supported margin. A blocked gully triggers a mapped alternate or a retreat to the previous stopping shelf; it does not teleport the rover through terrain. Back at the pad, the player unloads samples, synchronizes the route, replaces consumed service stock and leaves the same rover parked ready. The useful result is a better route and a material investigation, followed by a practical frame or service improvement once its processing chain exists.

Survey fit, cargo fit and additional occupied space compete for the same authored module allowance. More protection may reduce sample space or demand more service effort. A compact configuration retains access to narrower routes. The completion example must demonstrate an obstructed route, interrupted service and recoverable disabled craft as well as a normal drive. EQ26's supported recovery mode preserves the player and unique progression records; nonessential cargo may await a disclosed salvage task.

## C06-P12A-05 — SUP02 Cargo Crawler: configuration and operation

The Cargo Crawler moves bulky equipment and repeated supplies over prepared local routes. It makes a workshop, quarry service area, remote pad or outpost easier to sustain. It does not replace all storage systems or deliver through any available gap. The route includes a load bay, secure path, passing or stopping positions where needed, and an unload bay that can accept the intended shipment.

The recommended shape is a low, broad deck on clearly separated tracked bogies, with a short forward control enclosure and upright load stops. This is a proposed silhouette, subject to the terrain and turning review. The load deck remains visually dominant. Tie-downs, crate footprints and a side service cabinet explain its job. A cab or protected control position matches the destination; an open industrial yard configuration should not be presented as vacuum safe. External supply boxes must not occupy the driver's access path.

The payload interface handles declared freight modules, secured crates or supported equipment packages. Loading a machine package records its components and state; it does not scoop up arbitrary occupied buildings. A yard hoist, gantry or compatible loading device places the package at its authorized attachment. Cargo locks animate closed, and the manifest identifies the destination receiver. Crew cannot ride as ordinary cargo. Any extra occupied position requires a designed restraint/seat and the corresponding protection and supplies.

First operation uses established frames, traction parts, energy storage and ordinary handling fittings. PM06 Porous Nickel Matrix can later offer a lighter rack or isolated instrument mount, while PM03 can support repairable heavy-duty members. These are alternative property choices, not prerequisites for every crawler. A large rack can carry an awkward useful package but takes more turning and loading space; a compact rack serves smaller established paths.

## C06-P12A-06 — SUP02 worked delivery, interruption and return

An occupied regional yard needs a replacement service assembly and ordinary structural stock. At the departure workshop, the player selects the receiver, checks available unload space and stages the real goods beside the crawler. The loader places the secured package, the manifest reserves its inventory once, and the vehicle reports the route's current clearance. The player boards only after loading motion stops.

The outward journey follows a prepared track with one constrained bridge approach. A newly placed crate obstructs the approach in this example. The crawler stops before the unsafe span, showing the obstruction and available retreat. The player clears the route or returns to a passing position while arranging an alternate. Choosing another path requires a usable survey and actual clearance; the route display cannot invent a road through a cliff.

At the destination, a full receiving bay pauses delivery while keeping the shipment on the crawler. The player makes room, lowers the load into the assigned position and confirms the receiving installation's accepted components. Returned empty containers, a worn replaceable assembly and surplus reusable packaging form the homeward load. Back at the original yard, recovered material goes to its proper inspection or reclaim process. The delivery is complete when the receiver can use the supplied assembly and the crawler is available again.

A power interruption during handling leaves the load secured in a declared stable state. A disabled traction unit allows an isolated repair with imported spares or supported recovery to an established service point. Salvage cannot duplicate delivered stock. Later route assistance or logistical assignments remain separately scoped capabilities; this worked outing succeeds through direct player operation. Acceptance compares the crawler's setup and service effort with the repeated walking/handling it saves, rather than claiming an unmeasured throughput number.

## C06-P12A-07 — SUP03 Ice Submersible: configuration and operation

The Ice Submersible extends an established Europa descent into mapped local water volumes. It works from the submerged dock reached through the Ice Descent Controller's protected shaft and pressure lock. The first usable craft and initial seals, thermal support, instruments and recovery equipment come from prior resources. Its initial operating zone includes accessible upper-ocean observations; local gel or acoustic material cannot be required to survive its first outing.

The recommended design is a compact block-built protected body with a faceted forward window, guarded lamps, visibly bounded maneuvering units, a short sample manipulator and separate external sample boxes. The occupied compartment is an actual fitted space with reachable controls and a defined hatch. Service volumes remain outside the pilot's movement area. Hull ratings are fictional game capabilities represented in the interface; the concept is not a real pressure-vessel design.

At the dock, the player enters through a controlled pressure connection, verifies return supplies and releases the capture fittings only after the boundary state is correct. Pressure, cold, current and visibility have separate readings and responses. The motion model is approachable supported local movement. Known ice keels, dock lights and route markers complement instruments, and an assistance option can follow an already surveyed return corridor. Exact buoyancy, thrust and numerical operating envelopes remain unresolved.

The manipulator performs only a bounded sampling or instrument-placement action while the craft holds a permitted working position. Lamps, sensing pulses and motion have documented ecological effects where the established colony rules require them. PM07 Cryoseal Gel can improve a replaceable cold-service seal; PM08 Resonant Silica can improve an acoustic sensor element. The two improvements remain distinct and both follow first discovery with imported equipment.

## C06-P12A-08 — SUP03 worked observation and controlled return

The player starts at the existing submerged dock, with a mapped corridor beside an ice keel and an accessible observation point. Imported seals and supplies cover the entire route. Leaving the dock records a return path and protected allocation. The first stretch establishes the light and scale of Lantern Ocean while keeping identifiable terrain within useful view.

At the observation point, the player stops outside a filter colony's stated disturbance zone, dims the appropriate light and records its response to the current. A permitted instrument is placed on a surveyed nonliving attachment site. A modest accessible sample is collected only if the selected activity allows it; observation itself remains a useful result. This example does not demand entry into deeper Vent Gardens or harvesting the organism that makes the scene meaningful.

A current change closes the preferred approach in the return example. The player follows the surveyed sheltered alternative around the keel, comparing current and visibility indicators. If a service fault reduces the operating margin, the response is a supported return to a known reachable dock or refuge, with EQ26 recovery when the declared contingency applies. “Emergency ascent” never means passing vertically through solid ice or assuming an unknown surface opening.

Capture guidance aligns the returning submersible with the submerged dock. Motion stops; capture completes; the pressure interface becomes safe before either hatch opens. Samples move to separate storage, records synchronize and worn service elements are inspected. A later quiet-sensing fit trades sample storage or endurance allocation for improved observation. Acceptance requires a complete wet-side departure and return, clear pressure states, an interrupted service transfer and recovery without lost unique records.

## C06-P12A-09 — SUP04 Atmospheric Survey Skiff: configuration and operation

The Atmospheric Survey Skiff connects established sheltered landings and observation points inside supported Titan local volumes, including Hollow Weather. A ground route and a functioning landing refuge precede its first use. It does not turn all of Titan into unrestricted flight or cross to orbit. A surveyed launch/landing area, weather information and a conservative return route are part of its service site.

The proposed silhouette places an angular compact gondola beneath a clearly braced flight-support structure with block-stepped lift cells, visible steering surfaces and accessible landing feet. This reads as a distinctive local work craft. The player position has forward and downward visibility; a small instrument rack and secured sample allocation sit behind it. The chosen occupied enclosure must meet the documented atmosphere requirements. Exposed crew imagery cannot substitute for that protection.

The first supported flight fit uses pre-existing suitable materials and complete imported service supplies. After discovery, PM11 Amber Polymer can improve cold-environment housings and PM12 Liftweave Membrane can enable a specialized replacement lift-envelope configuration. The latter improves an already viable route rather than creating a circular requirement for reaching its own source. The simplified flight system does not assert real Titan chemistry or final lift calculations.

## C06-P12A-10 — SUP04 worked relay outing and package acceptance

At an established Harbor Lantern hangar, the player loads a weather observation package and checks two surveyed landing shelves. During a forecast clear interval, the skiff follows a supported local corridor into Hollow Weather. Physical markers and terrain remain part of navigation. At the first shelf, it lands and secures before the player places the instrument on an approved nonliving mount.

Fog returns across the farther route. The player selects the known sheltered return leg instead of continuing toward an unverified opening. A missed interval means landing at the previously checked refuge and retaining the protected homeward supply. A damaged steering or support module triggers the defined controlled-landing/recovery response within supported terrain; the documentation does not promise a safe landing anywhere. At the hangar, the player unloads records, replenishes consumed stock and inspects the same craft. The useful result is a more dependable observation route for later work.

An instrument-focused fit offers better route information; a freight fit provides more secured load space; a larger support envelope asks for a larger hangar and operating clearance. None is a universal upgrade. Final acceptance for all four families requires a coherent exterior and occupied layout, complete earlier-resource deployment, explicit services, a worked mission and return, a recoverable interruption, saved partial/parked states and a property tradeoff. Remaining measured-fit, terrain, capacity and runtime tests stay visible in the register. These pages complete the selected design explanation; they do not claim those future tests have passed.