The Orion Cargo Transporter is a Rare Forbidden Tech that slots onto a ship and makes survey runs haul more. It adds 50% Max Cargo on surveys the moment it unlocks, and that climbs to 220% at max tier and level, with three more cargo buffs switching on as you tier it up. The game files it under its Station category, but every effect on it is a mining effect. If your survey ships work, it pays.
What the Orion Cargo Transporter does
Everything on this piece points at cargo. The first buff is live from tier 1 and raises Max Cargo for surveys, so a miner fills a bigger hold before it has to fly home and dump. Three more buffs unlock as the tier goes up: protected cargo on surveys at tier 3, extra Amalgam cargo at tier 6, and Amalgam power effectiveness at tier 8.
| Buff | Unlocks at tier | Unlock value | Max value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increases Max Cargo for surveys | 1 | 50% | 220% |
| Increases Protected Cargo for surveys | 3 | 50% | 500% |
| Increases Amalgam Max Cargo | 6 | 50% | 250% |
| Increases Amalgam Power effectiveness | 8 | 25% | 150% |
Those values are current as of the latest game data. In play, the Max Cargo buff cuts how often you fly back to station, which is most of the value on any node that pays out faster than your hold fills. The protected cargo line climbs the furthest of the four, and it is the one that decides how much of a load you keep when a miner gets hit rather than how much you gather.
How to get the Orion Cargo Transporter
Forbidden Tech is unlocked in the refinery, and the currency is fragments matched to the piece’s rarity. This one is Rare, so you are collecting Rare Forbidden Fragments, which come from Q’s Trials and from special rewards.
You also need somewhere to put it. Forbidden Tech slots are opened with Forbidden Tech Fusion Rods, which come from the Forbidden Tech refinery and the store, and Fusion Rods are also what you spend to pull a piece back off a ship later. Spare parts you cannot use turn into Forbidden Tech Credit Pieces, which exchange for Forbidden Tech Credits in the refinery.
Upgrading the Orion Cargo Transporter
There are two upgrade tracks and they do different jobs. Tier-ups raise the level cap and switch on the later buffs at tiers 3, 6 and 8. Levels scale the values of whatever is already unlocked. Tier 12 is the ceiling, and it caps the piece at level 60, where the Max values in the table above land.
| Tier | Level cap | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Starting tier, no cost |
| 7 | 35 | 32 Forbidden Tech Reactor, 4,200 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
| 12 | 60 | 32 Forbidden Tech Reactor, 4,900 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst |
Taking it all the way through tier 12 costs 352 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 57,000 Forbidden Tech Tier-Up Catalyst in total. Levels 2 through 60 cost 1,856 Forbidden Tech Reactor and 475,975 Forbidden Tech Protomatter on top of that.
Reactors come from Daily Goals and the store, Catalysts from the Forbidden Tech refinery and the store, and Protomatter from Q’s Trials and the store. Upgrade attempts can fail, and Probability Devices raise the chance one succeeds, so hold them for the expensive tiers rather than burning them early.
Best ships and uses for the Orion Cargo Transporter
This belongs on a survey ship, full stop. The first two buffs only read survey cargo, so putting it on a battleship or an explorer does nothing at all.
The obvious home is the Amalgam, since two of the four buffs name it directly. On an Amalgam you get the general survey cargo increase plus the Amalgam cargo and Amalgam power lines, which is the whole piece working instead of half of it. On any other miner you are running the first two buffs and leaving tiers 6 and 8 idle, which is still fine, just worth knowing before you spend Catalysts.
The Orion Cargo Transporter in Star Trek
No episode or film features this device. It is a game original, built out of the Orion Syndicate’s reputation rather than a specific scene. The Orions have been in Star Trek since the original series, where an Orion slave market and Orion raiders turn up in early episodes, and Enterprise and Lower Decks both returned to the Syndicate as an organized criminal network operating across borders. Shield frequencies blocking transporter locks is old ground in the shows too, which is where the item’s story comes from: a Syndicate rig that punches through a shielded hold to lift the cargo, at the price of the occasional failed transport.
Is the Orion Cargo Transporter worth it?
Worth it if you mine seriously, and especially if you fly an Amalgam. It is Rare rather than Epic, so the fragments are more reachable than the headline pieces, and the tier 1 buff starts paying the day you slot it. Take it to tier 6 or 8 if the Amalgam is part of your routine. If your survey ships mostly sit docked, spend the fragments somewhere else.