Re: [FT} RE: PT boats

>It doesn't work very well in FB if you pay for the tug (which you have
>to do in a campaign), because even the cheapest, slowest, and therefore
>most vulnerable tug you can build will cost you more than putting FTL
>drives into your combat ships would.

Islamic Federation ships are generally non-FTL with a tug lurking in the
background.  I postulate that not everyone has the ability to build star
drives at an affordable price (either due to rare raw materials or
industrial base), and the IF one of the "Have-Nots".  This means they
have
to build a few tugs and a lot of STL ships to best use their resources. 
In
game terms, it means you've got a batch of Thrust 6 ships with decent
firepower and the ability to skirmish--but they have a vulnerability, ie
the
tug, which can be exploited.  It also tends to limit the IF's ability to
go
on the strategic offensive, which allows for semi-independent emirs and
also
helps their smaller neighbors--eg, the Alarishi Empire--survive.

In a campaign, what you'd do would be to jump to relatively deep space,
drop
your combatant ships, make another trip, etc..	Don't let your fighting
ships leave the area until your tugs have cycled their drives and are
ready
to jump out if they detect and enemy ship (and pray your sensors are
better
than the enemy's stealth).