Caterpillar

The Drake Caterpillar is a large, modular cargo ship with a focus on significant capacity and flexibility. It is commonly used for legitimate commerce, extended search, and rescue missions. However, because of the low cost and popularity among civilians, the Caterpillar is known for being used by pirates as the storage location for their ill-gotten gains.^[1]^[2]

Features

Command Module

The command module can be detached from the main hull and used as an independent ship. It can be used to move multiple Caterpillar hulls, or as an escape ship. Even at some shipping stations, Caterpillar crews have been known to race command modules while waiting for their cargo to be transferred.

Cargo Module

The cargo modules are outfitted with port and starboard elevators that allow each section to act as a self-contained unit. Operators can add or remove cargo without disturbing other modules.

Front Cargo Bay

The front cargo bay can be used for additional storage and housing open-canopy vehicles like the Dragonfly. It is equipped with an airshield, which allows crew to transfer pallets and launch small vehicles without decompressing. The module is also outfitted with a manned turret, a cargo lift, and multiple sensors to assist in piloting.

Tractor Beam Station

The tractor beam station consists of a terminal that allows the ship to safely guide debris and even errant cargo directly into the side access doors of the cargo modules.

Specifications

Radar

1x

S2

Chernykh

Civilian (C)

Cooler

2x

S3

ThermalCore

Industrial (C)

Life support

1x

S3

Life supportlfsp_tydt_s03_comfortairmax

Power plant

2x

S3

Ginzel

Industrial (C)

Self destruct

1x

S1

Self destruct (60s)

30,000 🗡️ · 120 m

Shield generator

3x

S3

Stronghold

Industrial (C)

Fuel intake

2x

S1

Fuel intakeintk_drak_caterpillar

0.025 SCU/s

Fuel port

1x

S1

Fuel portdockingtube_fuel_ports_drak_caterpillar

Fuel tank

1x

S1

Internal Tank

Quantum drive

1x

S3

Pontes

Military (C)

Quantum fuel tank

1x

S2

Internal Tank

Main thruster

4x

S3

Main thrusterdrak_caterpillar_thruster_aux

12.7 MN

Maneuvering thruster

6x

S1

Retro thrusterdrak_caterpillar_thruster_retro

4.2 MN

28x

S1

Maneuvering thrusterdrak_caterpillar_thruster_mav_fixed

4.2 MN

Turret

1x

S5

Drake Caterpillar Weapon Mount

Top

2x

S3

CF-337 Panther Repeater

Klaus & Werner

2x

S1

Magazinefaux_magazinemagazine

374/374 Ammunition

2x

S6

Manned Turret

Bottom, Top

4x

S4

VariPuck S4 Gimbal Mount

Left, Right

4x

S4

CF-447 Rhino Repeater

Klaus & Werner

4x

S1

Magazinefaux_magazinemagazine

375/375 Ammunition

2x

S4

Remote Turret

Left, Right

2x

S2

SureGrip S2 Tractor Beam

Greycat Industrial

Weapons

2x

S3

VariPuck S3 Gimbal Mount

Left, Right

2x

S3

M5A Cannon

Behring Applied Technology

2x

S1

Magazinefaux_magazinemagazine

100/100 Ammunition

Defensive devices

1x

S1

Joker Defcon Flares Ammo

1x

S1

Magazine

25/25 Ammunition

1x

S1

Joker Defcon - Noise Launcher

1x

S1

Magazine

10/10 Ammunition

Cargo grid

1x

S1

Cargo griddrak_caterpillar_cargogrid_nose_access

20,000 SCU · L 2.5 m x W 6.25 m x H 2.5 m

1x

S1

Cargo griddrak_caterpillar_cargogrid_nose

60,000 SCU · L 10 m x W 6.25 m x H 3.75 m

4x

S1

Cargo griddrak_caterpillar_cargogrid_module_walkway

32,000 SCU · L 1.25 m x W 10 m x H 2.5 m

4x

S1

Cargo griddrak_caterpillar_cargogrid_module_ladder

80,000 SCU · L 6.25 m x W 1.25 m x H 10 m

4x

S1

Cargo griddrak_caterpillar_cargogrid_module

384,000 SCU · L 7.5 m x W 10 m x H 10 m

Armor

1x

S1

Personal armor

No vehicle parts information found.

Model

Ship profile

Isometric	Above	Port-side	Front	Rear	Below

Isometric	Above	Port-side	Front	Rear

Special editions

Image	Name	Description
	'Best In Show 2949'	White and dark grey colour with purple accents and a IAE logo. Limited edition. Created to celebrate the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2949 event. ^[3]
	'Pirate'	Dark olive green and dark grey colour with pirate decals. It's only available when defeating "Pirate Swarm" in Arena Commander. ^[4]

Paints

The following paints (skins) can be used on all variants of the Caterpillar.

Paint Name	Description	Price (aUEC)	Price ($)
"Deck the Hull"	Pale green colouring with dark grey and red accents. Limited edition. Reward for the Luminalia 2951 event. ^[5]	[not available]	(Reward)
"Foundation Festival"	Metallic silver in colour with teal & white accents and a Foundation Festival logo. Limited edition. Only available as a reward to backers who took part in the annual Foundation Festival event. ^[6]	[not available]	(Reward)
"Ghoulish Green"	Metallic green and dark grey colour with dark grey accents. Limited sale. Only available during the Day of the Vara event. ^[7]	[not available]	11.00
"IceBreak"	White and metallic blue colour with dark grey accents. Limited edition. Reward for the Luminalia 2951 event.	[not available]	(Reward)
"Mistwalker"	Green 3 tone digital camo pattern and dark grey colour.	[not available]	13.00 ^[8]
"Polar"	White and grey colour with dark grey accents.	[not available]	11.00 ^[9]
"Stormbringer"	Blue and dark grey colour with white accents.	[not available]	7.50 ^[10]

Universe availability

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Purchase
System	Terminal	Price
Stanton	New Deal - Teasa Spaceport - Lorville	12,474,000

Pledge price history

Date	Pledge cost (USD)	Insurance	Availability	Sale
2012-11-18	225	LTI	Limited	Kickstarter final day addon ^[11]
2013-09-20	225	LTI	Limited	Caterpillar 72 hours flash sale ^[12]
2013-11-20	245	LTI	Time-limited	2013 anniversary sale ^[13]
2014-11-22	245	2 years	Time-limited	2014 anniversary sale ^[14]
2015-11-21	245	3 years	Time-limited	2015 anniversary sale ^[15]
2016-11-18	295	4 years	Time-limited	2016 anniversary sale ^[16]
2016-12-16	295	6 months	Time-limited	2016 holiday sale ^[17]

Lore

In the wake of the Cutlass' success in 28th Century, Drake Interplanetary's CEO and lead designer Jan Dredge was looking for a new project to move the company forward. Although the Cutlass enjoyed some success in commercial hauling, it is more known for its combat abilities. Dredge knew that they should take the same design principles and apply it to something much bigger.

The Caterpillar prototype is initially unreviled at the 2871 Intergalactic Aerospace Expo. The ship received a lot of critics for its old design, the negativity almost threatened the whole project. It wasn't until the reports of Caterpillar spread through the Empire, that the tide began to turn. People were floored by two things: the ability to mix and match cargo modules and the price.^[2]

On 2903-06-21 SET, a Caterpillar broke out from heavy traffic, and rammed into an eriesium transport using the front sensor array as hooks to latch onto the hull. The front cargo door opened and pirates leapt onto the immobilized transport and cut their way inside while the turret engaged the shocked security detail.

Within five minutes, the security detail had been destroyed, the transport breached and the eriesium taken. The Command Module detached from the Caterpillar and the pirates disappeared back into the spacelane with their fighter accomplices. By the time authorities arrived, they found an image that permanently seared itself into the public's consciousness, a Drake Caterpillar attached to the vented husk of a transport.

Despite an exhaustive search through all the system, authorities never figured out who was behind the heist. The Caterpillar was forever tied with criminal element to the present after the event.^[2]