Containers and Delivery System

Developed by Seiren Isbala and Luca Pavone, the Containers and Delivery System, otherwise known as 'CADS' is a secure storage system, capable of being delivered into a battlefield in a variety of ways. The system was developed to handle a pressing need for sudden, small arms and supplies on a battlefield to handle changing or extended circumstances while reducing the need for a full vehicular transport to deliver the goods. The CADS are boxes of various size which can hold a variety of goods, but are mostly used for battlefield-essentials.

The containers themselves have some easy internal formatting to accomodate whatever supplies they've been given, and have a 3 letter nomenclature or a picture (Made of a simple programmable slime insert) on the sides of them to easily show off the designation they've been given to the current mission.

They are easy to store, easy to tag, and easy to secure with a durable construction. Their deliverability means that PT is capable of erecting forward operating bases from a warehouse ship in space, with supplies coming from the air and multiple containers with all of the necessary supplies being dropped on location, then constructed.

Containers are constructed in the following sizes:

Intended for storing sidearms plus ammunition, this small box is the easiest to deliver, and the least conspicuous. They can also carry ammunition, rations for a small squad, first aid and trauma packs, a patchwork repair kit, office supplies, or computing technology.

Most often called 'briefcases', these are usually delivered to agents or squads out on the field, or to members of the Phoenix Team for a pick-me-up in the fighting¹⁾.

A larger case intended to hold a long weapon, a suit of armour, or large amount of items. Possibilities include a rocket launcher with warheads, a batch of rifles and ammunition, the medical supplies necessary to perform a triage, or the tools and materials needed repair part of a larger building.

These are often nicknamed 'toolchests' since they can remain man portable with the lifting efforts of one or two people.

The largest of the deliverable boxes, this can contain a whole arsenal of weapons, ammunition, and armour fit for outlasting a siege; or the tools and equipment necessary to fortify an existing building or create a temporary structure; or the medicine and food needed to turn a famine around. The boxes are reinforced to take a beating, and their internal contents are protected from outside interference until the box is open.

Large boxes usually open from in a 'double door' configuration, earning it the nickname of 'wardrobe' from UDD troops. Indeed, Large boxes are perfect for storing suits of personnel armour, or delivering a powerered armour to the field.

The following container types have been created:

A catch-all box not specialised to hold anything, the interior is lined with spongy material to ensure the contents inside are safe and secure. Intended for general supplies, but most often used to transport technological and science equipment. They can open in a number of ways:

• Hinges in the middle - Half of the box opens from hinges placed in the middle, opening like a venus flytrap. When stood upright, this makes an excellent place to store things. Popular on the larger boxes, which are nicknamed 'wardrobes' or 'toolchests'.
• Open top - The top half of the box comes open, usually intended for weapons, ammo, medical supplies, and food. It is not recommended to open these standing up, as the interior storage will be suited to a flat storage.
• Fold Open - The sort used for Large Tools and Materials containers, this container is stood up, and opens on all sides to create the one of the cores of a forward operating base. Multiple Fold-Open boxes can be lashed to each other to create a larger tent system.

These containers contain guns from PSG's arsenal and enough ammunition to hold out in a firefight, the contents secured in racks. The number of guns and amount of ammo delivered vary by crate size. These crates have a button on the bottom end that can be kicked in event of emergency to launch their payload up into the air for quick retrieval. Otherwise, each container can be adjusted to open in whatever fashion is necessary for the weapon in question. Most usually, they open with hinges in the middle.

Ammunition crates, true to their names, are crates that carry ammunition. Like guns, they can alter the crate opening mechanisms beforehand to suit the munitions for easy access.

It is strongly recommended that large or medium boxes of explosive content, such as ammunition, grenades, rockets, or other explosives is dropped at a safe location and opened away from a combat zone unless absolutely necessary.

Medical CADS come prepackaged with hemosynth, nanite injectors, and more of the usual suspects for a First Aid kit - this way, personnel of all species are covered by a kit delivery. They're set up to fold out from the spine down, splitting like a venus flytrap to showcase their goods.

Larger Medical Aid containers include a wider variety of supplies, and more of them, enabling a medical checkpoint or quarantine station to be set up at a desired location.

• Small - Contains a medpack suitable for 1 to 4 people.
• Medium - Contains medical supplies suitable for a squad, or for setting up a triage. Multiple Medium containers are capable of keeping a platoon sustained while remaining man or vehicle portable.
• Large - Contains equipment necessary for field surgery. Two or three large containers have all the supplies necessary to create a field hospital, or medical checkpoint. Doctor not included.

Food CADS are hermetically sealed against bacteria, and insulated against extreme weather conditions that may follow. They have a much simpler access system, with a simple pop-open top that can be unlocked by twisting mechanism on the hatch. Included in every box is the necessary cutlery, crockery, and water for the meal, with drinking water or water filtration pills in a plastic bottle.

• Small - Stores a fresh meal for one or two, or rations for twelve.
• Medium - Stores enough fresh food for ten people, and enough rations for a hundred people.
• Large - Stores enough fresh food for twenty five people, and enough rations for two hundred and fifty people.

Tools and Materials CADS carry the equipment necessary to build structures, including being able to use the panels of the box itself as part of the construction. Some assembly of the contents is required, and instructional cartoons are included to assist with construction. Some T&M CADS may also include computing equipment.

• Small - Contains the items necessary to erect a bivvy tent for one, or a tarpaulin tent for a small squad. The box's panels can be used to patch up a hole in a wall or provide a stable floor.
• Medium - Contains everything necessary to erect a large tent which can comfortably sleep 10 people. The box's panels can be used to create a floor for the interior of the tent, patch up a large hole in the wall, or be turned into cover. Can be combined with other Medium crates to create a larger tent structure.
• Large - Contains the equipment needed to build a permanent dwelling, such as a small house, a watchtower, a guard checkpoint, a bunker, and other structures. Multiple Large containers can be pooled together to create a forward-operations base.

Each crate itself has a popup handle built into the top of the casing itself, but besides that there are two primary methods of crate delivery, not including carrying them by hand.

The easiest way is delivery via drone. This can be accomplished by any drone which can carry a box of up to 125kg, and follow directions to a location. But, this strategy is suceptible to any typical anti-drone strategy, such as EMPs, frequency jamming, hacking, firing at them, and so on.

For heavier loads, the Medium and Large boxes are designed to give more than one drone a hand-hold necessary for delivery of contents.

The other method is dropping the containers via parachutes from an airdrop. While less location-accurate, this method has none of the same faults as drone delivery. Airdropping CADS has all the same faults that airdropping anything else does, such as being a slow, easy, target during descent.

For heavier loads, the Medium and Large boxes are designed to have more hardpoints to attach parachutes to.

Luca created this article on 2016/04/22 18:06. Co written with Moogle.