Aurora Drive Yards

The **Aurora Drive Yards** (ABY for short) was a network of shipyards, drydocks, space stations, and supplemental infrastructure that worked as a shipbuilding corporation from the Ancilicus star system. Its headquarters were based on the planet of Ancilicus.

The Aurora Yards represented the finest of Ancilican orbital construction, and their own ships were considered to be of the highest quality found in the Galaxy. During the ASF-k'adurbian standoff period, the ASF-K'adurbian War, and the following Vrox Rampage, Aurora Drive Yards was conscripted by the Allied Systems Federation to build starships, orbital infrastructure, and weapon systems for the Federation's military-industrial ventures. After the Vrox were defeated and Galactic Dawn came to be, the company once again turned to their fine crafting of high-quality starships.

## History

Aurora Drive Yards was founded a couple decades after the Ancilicae became a spaceborne species. The company made its profits by establishing extraplanetary research and mining bases. It was in fierce competetion with its competitors during this time.

Eventually the company became integrally involved with the construction of the Ancilicus Space Elevator, providing most of the orbital construction required. This gave the company a significant share of the stocks of this enormous infrastructural project. When the elevator became active, Aurora Drive Yards quickly became powerful and influential enough to absorb its rivals and establish itself as the primary orbital construction company of the Ancilican people.

Aurora Drive Yards kept most of their former rivals in places of vassals, where each subsidiary could specialise into their own field, contributing to Aurora's market influence.

It was only in 2142 that Aurora Drive Yards was once again faced with competition, the ZenMars Shipyards conglomerate. This human-founded conglomerate had expanded the influence of the Alliance of Systems to several neighbouring star systems, and had the industrial prowess to rival the Aurora Yards. The companies continued a rivalry well into the founding of both the Allied Systems Federation and the Terran Unitary State.

During the late 23rd century and the early 24th century, Aurora Drive Yards once again had a corporate rivalry. Now with Terran Orbital Construction over the rights of the Sirius Drive Project. A legal case was fought out in court between the two companies for a few years, after which ADY lost the case and had to start paying TOC for the rights of the Dyson class civilian cruiser.

## Products

Aurora Drive Yards produced many types of civilian crafts and freighter ships. In addition they also produced numerous types of military starships and support craft, ground verhicles, and equipment. These products were either sold on contract, or by the individual product. Major buyers and business parnets included the Alliance of Systems, the Allied Systems Federation, the Bor Empire, the K'adurbian Stellar Empire, the Pirate Alliance, and the Ursear Republic. Many planets, companies, and individuals also were frequent buyers of the Aurorian wares.

The military vessels produced by Aurora Drive Yards were:

* Atlas class - A medium support craft carrier.
* Bastion class - A large support carrier / mobile city.
* Excalibur class - Mainline battlecruiser.
* Endeavour class - A exploration vessel using advanced Warp technology; refit of the Praiara class.
* Hercules class - A massive transport vessel; refit of the Excalibur class
* Hermes class - A light support craft carrier
* Lambda class - A cannonship derived from the Excalibur class' main cannon.
* Praiara class - A long-range tactical cruiser.
* Runau class - A small planetary lander.

## Facilities

The Aurora conglomerate held a great number of facilities to serve its businesses. Their main base of operations was the Aurora array, a massive orbital shipyard / space station on the spacebound end of the Ancilican Space Elevator. It was from here that most starship construction took place and that logistics were distributed. The main administrative headquarters of the conglomerate was down in the capital city of Ancilicus. Many other orbital facilities were scattered throughout the Ancilicus system, and some locations in other star systems were claimed as well. These facilities' main task lied in mineral extraction and allow production, as well as the fabrication of smaller parts that were shipped back to the Aurora array or other shipyards. One of these facilities was on the federation planet Concordia, where Osmium was mined.