I see.

I shaped the blue first in light armor. The black is heavy armor with the intent of holding some key elements of the ship together. So assuming she does get into a fight, the idea is to escape alive, even if much of the factory is lost.

Valuables are set forward as much as possible (refined ore and components, each in their own dedicated large container). Two gatling guns will cover the retreat and hopefully stop missile or torpedo attacks. I'm not sure if dropping chaffe is a viable defensive strategy, but I will add it if it works.

That said, this ship could play a role in raids, if heavier ships and/or fighters were doing most of the fighting. I'll probably put some rocket pods on the front to augment the one defensive gun with a credible threat.

The ship is intended to carry and process a large load, and survive any random encounters rather than win battles. I'll leave to others to design the heavy sluggers and effective fighters. I'll all about the production and freight.

I like the design! Especialy the black armor rising above the blue!