Artemis (ship)

CIV Artemis is the spaceship that houses the artificial intelligence of the same name. Its purpose is salvaging. CIV stands for "commercial interstellar vessel".

History
Artemis' hull was originally designed as a tugboat but received several modifications and upgrades under at least two different owners, namely Tumbleweed Defense Force and a privateer specializing in salvage. Among the changes are the additions of heavy armor in various locations, turreted guns, a jumpdrive, and build and repair nanites.

During the course of Deadly Salvage, Artemis is both damaged as well as repaired and modified on several occasions and to varying degrees, the latter however always under the watchful eyes of her resident AI who very much insists on preserving the shape she has grown fond of:

Design


At the start of Artemis' and Detrevni's joint adventures, Artemis' hull was distinctly symmetrical about the planes splitting front and aft as well as port and starboard, forming a dumbbell or hammerhead shape with an enlarged center section. The only asymmetries were a bump on the keel towards the designated bow as well as the antenna tower being set towards the stern. Cruise propulsion for both directions was provided by large thrusters housed in stubby nacelles on the sides.


 * Length: 77.5 m
 * Width: 32.5 m
 * Height: 32.5 m

(values approximate)

In the course of the events including and after the salvage operation of the derelict AI ship that ended up severely damaging Artemis and leaving Detrevni as the only human survivor, necessity demanded that the front/aft symmetry and ambiguity be dissolved. The modifications replaced the armored "endcaps" with more specialized constructions: The bow cap was largely replaced with the muzzle of a railgun while the stern was repurposed with a pack of the main (and only remaining) thrusters ahead. This extended the original length to 97.5 m. The original tower superstructure that contained the bridge was also damaged. It was broken down for parts during the initial repair and was never replaced. The bridge itself effectively moved to a lower deck.



During Detrevni's six months of being stranded on Breakwater, Artemis gained distinct barriers of plating that extended from the sides up and down, hugging the contours of the center section and almost wrapping it completely. Parts of these barriers were subsequently lost during a decisive encounter with William Nathan.



Some time after Resolute's rehousing, Artemis took the opportunity to not only repair and replace the barriers but also install further maneuvering thrusters. Further modifications included interior changes to the point of providing a large inviting lounge, a feature she had no little pride in installing to match Detrevni's newly gained status of de-facto ambassador of the AI race.