Archimedes

The Archimedes-class reflects the Confederacy's conviction that extraction is an engineering problem, not a labor one. Dual mining lasers feed into a compression subsystem that halves ore volume in the hold, while the integrated geological scanner identifies optimal drill points before the first laser fires. A pulse laser provides deterrence — Solarian mining regulations require armed capability in contested belts, and the Archimedes meets the requirement without compromising its survey loadout. Independent trials confirm a twenty percent improvement in ore yield over baseline extraction systems. The Confederacy submitted the methodology for peer review. Twice.