Now that I'm finally running a BattleTech RPG game after nearly four years of having literally NO ONE to play ANY games with, I'm finding myself wanting to explore some aspects of the BTU more deeply than I have before, and it's really quite a thrilling experience for me - especially since I've already learned quite a lot from my question about DropShip life. :)
In any case, this is the first of three threads I'm starting, to discuss satellites, recharging stations, and high ports/trade stations. This post will focus on discussing trade stations/high ports.
Now, first let's clarify what I'm talking about. When I talk about a trade station, I'm thinking of a space station that is placed at the zenith/nadir jump point, or in orbit of a planet. The purpose of a trade station is to act as a spaceport (in SPAAACE! ;D), where DropShips can go to deliver cargo and passengers, and to refuel/resupply, without needing to land on the planet itself. This is particularly useful for DropShips which are too large to land on the planet, such as the Behemoth. The trade station does not necessarily include batteries for recharging JumpShips, though ti might have them if it is located at the jump points. It won't necessarily have repair facilities either, though it is possible.
Now first, I will say that these kinds of facilities don't seem to appear much in canon, so I'd also like to hear some discussion about them in a theoretical/Fan-canon sense, since I'm considering using them in my own RPG campaign at some point. That said, let's discuss just how common these things might be (or how common you think they should be), and where they might be likely to appear. I can see trade station being used on busy trade lanes to help take pressure off of ground-side facilities, and to accommodate large DropShips that can't land on a planet's surface. That way, such large ships can dock with the station and offload their cargo directly in a much more efficient and timely manner, which would allow them to load a new cargo and get back to travelling more quickly, thereby affording the operator a bigger profit margin. The station would then handle the transfer of cargo to the planet's surface or other ships. Other than that, I'm relatively clueless on where they would best be located in a system, or the kind of systems that would be best served by a trade station, so comments and thoughts on the positioning of such an asset would be most appreciated.
The second thing I'd like to talk about is how such a station might operate. For example, I can see trade stations having a large number of quarters, and rather than being intended for permanent residents, they would really be intended for use by people who were stopping over temporarily on a longer trip. I can also see trade stations having a large complement of marines working as security forces - keeping crime in check, checking trade manifests, inspecting cargo for contraband, arresting criminals and other troublemakers, protecting against pirate boarders, etc. A large number of docking collars would be a must so that DropShips could dock with the station - I can see stations having a number of docking pilots on hand, and the stipulation that all DropShips must have one of the station's docking pilots aboard to perform all docking and undocking procedures for safety reasons. A large number of small craft bays would seem to be required, housing a swarm of cargo and passenger carriers for a variety of duties, and a few of them could be set aside to hold a few AeroSpace Fighters for defense in troubled regions - I'm sure the technical crews would appreciate the extra elbow room, too. Massive cargo bays are almost a must, so that the station can store the cargo being transferred through its facilities.
Weapons would likely be light, meant only for discouraging attack by pirate bands rather than for any kind of real defense against a determined invasion force or something of the sort. Recharge batteries would be useful if the station was located at a jump point, but would otherwise be excluded to save weight for other features that would be more useful. Repair facilities may or may not be included, but would generally be intended only for DropShips, and most stations would only be able to fit the most common vessels, so I'm thinking the majority of trade stations would have repair bays of 15-30,000 ton capacity at most. JumpShip sized repair bays would be right out unless the station was located at a jump point.
I can see most trade stations using a horde of small craft to transfer the majority of cargo and passenger traffic moving between the station and the local planet(s), but I can also see a role for one or two permanently-assigned DropShips working to transfer larger loads between these locations - I'm thinking something like a Buccaneer, Mule, or possibly even a DrosT IIA (which is widely available even in the later eras according to it's fluff). If the station was at the jump point, I can see a lot more emphasis on regular trips by one or two DropShips to move traffic between the station and the planet(s) in system.
That's all I've got for now; comments and opinions, anyone?