I can see the Roughriders using these space planes as personel and cargo transport in a more civilised climate - ie: from one well-established base/port to another. Meanwhile they still use their C-130's to do the 'dirty work' of dropping into the hot zones or areas where the term 'airfield' is only charitably applied.
Of course, the Roughriders would make a few modifications to the engines in order to bump the overall speed factor to 0.03 or 0.035.
I can just hear the pirates now...
"Don't bother with that one."
"Why?"
"Registry number's Roughriders."
"What, afraid of reprisal?"
"No. They mod their engines. Faster than the baseline models and they're always armed. Rhodes doesn't screw around."
As for the Fen group responsible... Why not some NASA Fen? I'd say there's enough of them around to constitute a small faction, and with enough talented aerospace engineers to cook up something like this. They would have close ties to the Trekkers because of their whole bent on exploration, and would have kindred spirits among the VVS and Roughriders. Hell, there might even be a few NASA personnel that crossed over into this faction because it was either stay at NASA or go to work for TSAB.
Thier main base would be a sizeable rock out in the Main Belt, with satelite posts just about everywhere. They would do contract work for all the major 'Dane space agencies and have their lifting done by the Solomon Space Agency.
Most ships and installations are named for same of 'Dane origin, such as the post on Mercury that monitors solar activity which is called Skylab, and the Venusian Atmospheric Labrotory which is called Beagle.
... And any more details and I think we'll have enough for a small fenwiki page. (^_^
Of course, the Roughriders would make a few modifications to the engines in order to bump the overall speed factor to 0.03 or 0.035.
I can just hear the pirates now...
"Don't bother with that one."
"Why?"
"Registry number's Roughriders."
"What, afraid of reprisal?"
"No. They mod their engines. Faster than the baseline models and they're always armed. Rhodes doesn't screw around."
As for the Fen group responsible... Why not some NASA Fen? I'd say there's enough of them around to constitute a small faction, and with enough talented aerospace engineers to cook up something like this. They would have close ties to the Trekkers because of their whole bent on exploration, and would have kindred spirits among the VVS and Roughriders. Hell, there might even be a few NASA personnel that crossed over into this faction because it was either stay at NASA or go to work for TSAB.
Thier main base would be a sizeable rock out in the Main Belt, with satelite posts just about everywhere. They would do contract work for all the major 'Dane space agencies and have their lifting done by the Solomon Space Agency.
Most ships and installations are named for same of 'Dane origin, such as the post on Mercury that monitors solar activity which is called Skylab, and the Venusian Atmospheric Labrotory which is called Beagle.
... And any more details and I think we'll have enough for a small fenwiki page. (^_^