Solostar class Far Trader
| Solostar class Far Trader | |
|---|---|
| Type: R Freighter | |
| Category | ACS |
| Size | 300 Tons |
| Hull Configuration | Wedge Hull |
| Streamlining | Streamlined Hull |
| Tech Level | TL–12 |
| Engineering | |
| Computer | Model/2 |
| Jump | J-2 |
| Maneuver | 3 G |
| Fuel Treatment | scoops, purifier |
| Armaments | |
| Hardpoints | 3 |
| Accommodations | |
| Staterooms | 1 |
| Personnel | |
| Crew | 1 |
| High/Mid Passengers | |
| Payload | |
| Cargo | 161.3 Tons |
| Fuel tank | 61 Tons |
| Construction | |
| Construction Time | 3.5 Months |
| Origin | Rule of Man |
| Year Operational | -1823 |
| Price | |
| Cost | MCr98.985 |
| Statistics | |
| Quick Ship Profile | R-CS32 |
| Universal Ship Profile | R-C3823S |
| Images | |
| Blueprint | Yes |
| Illustration | No |
| Source | |
| Canon | Unpublished, fan design |
| Designer | Adrian Tymes |
| Design System | Mongoose 2nd |
| Era | Long Night |
| Reference | Fan: Adrian Tymes |
The Solostar class Far Trader is a civilian trader.
Description
The Solostar class Far Trader is essentially a stripped-down Star Butler class Yacht. It is one of the rare 300 ton starships that only requires a single crew, specifically an astrogator.
Visually it is not that distinct: a 2-deck 300 ton Wedge Hull, tapering in front. Aside from its self-repair drones and cargo crane (both of which are there to make operations more efficient), as well as its biosphere (the reduction in life support costs outweighing the increased finance costs), it has a minimum of systems, in order to minimize costs, maximize cargo space, and be as profitable as possible.
Supposedly, occasional pirates have even called this ship class "boring", though not too boring to rob. The Solostar class is noted for, according to one study, having a statistically lower than average number of incidents with starport traffic control, though the study's methodology has been called into question. There are no publicly known official reports on whether Solostar boringness actually reaches psionic levels, though there has been speculation, mostly by those not in a position to check.
Image Repository
Not available at this time.
General Description & Deck Plans
- Deck Plans for this vessel.
Basic Ship Characteristics
Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. [1]
| Basic Ship Characteristics [2] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Category | Remarks |
| 1. | Tonnage / Hull | Tonnage: 300 tons (standard). 4050 cubic meters. Streamlined Wedge Hull.
|
| 2. | Crew | Crew: 1 Astrogator. 1 virtual Pilot provided via software. |
| 3. | Performance | Acceleration: 3-G maneuver drive installed.
|
| 4. | Electronics | Model/2 ship computer. |
| 5. | Hardpoints | 3 hardpoints, all unused. |
| 6. | Armament | None. |
| 7. | Defenses | None. |
| 8. | Craft | None. Vacc suits required for EVA (extra-vehicle activity). Rescue Balls for crew escape normally carried. |
| 9. | Fuel Treatment | It is typically equipped with a fuel purification plant and fuel scoops. |
| 10. | Cost | MCr98.985 (no architect's fees, those having long since been paid). MCr89.0865 in quantity. |
| 11. | Construction Time | 3.5 months standard, 2.5 in quantity. |
| 12. | Remarks | A far trader that only needs a single crew. |
History & Background
Designed alongside and as a consequence of the Star Butler class Yacht (see that article for the full story), the Solostar class Far Trader has been remarkably unremarkable. All records suggest the class fared well at first, then fell into disuse during Twilight as interstellar trade dried up, being mothballed or scrapped by the time the Long Night set in. A few Solostars survived the Long Night by simply being forgotten about, only to be rediscovered a few centuries after the Third Imperium restored their purpose.
As with the Star Butler class Yacht, reverse-engineered and tuned-up Solostar blueprints are technically freely available to those who know to look for them. Although the concept should be more popular than it is - the design can pull solid profits for a solo operator with a decent trade route - naval architects who would otherwise look for it seem to keep winding up regarding the concept as "too obvious", "too basic", or otherwise not worth looking for.
Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities
Ship Interior Details: Most of the ship is a two-deck-high cargo bay, with fuel, drives, and power plant to the sides. The airlocks and repair drone hangars lie to the front of this space, while a large (6 meter by 6 meter) cargo hatch is at the rear, and cargo crane machinery lines the top. The front of the ship tapers to a one-deck-high "mid deck" containing the stateroom, commons, biosphere, fuel processor, bridge, and avionics.
During flight, the crew is expected to stay in this forward section, though stairs lead down to the cargo bay should the cargo need inspecting. "Inspecting the cargo" is generally used as an excuse to wander the cargo bay, since with a minimum of amenities, jumps can be boring indeed. There is provision (life support, sleeping quarters, et cetera) for up to two sophonts, but most Solostars only ever have one person aboard during flight.
For this quality, the Solostar class has been called a Trader Vessel version of the Xavier class Express Boat. As with that class, more than one Solostar crew takes week-long fast drug as a matter of course upon entering jumpspace (sometimes before, having calculated the jump and leaving it to the computer to actually enter, though this is seen as a dangerous practice). The repair drones are designed to mostly work outside the hull to maintain the ship, but can enter the cargo bay via the airlocks, and in more than one case have been reprogrammed to provide desperately-needed entertainment, either instead of or in addition to their original duties.
Most Solostars are corporately owned and just given registration numbers, not names. Even when they have names, few Solostars display as much flair - in their name or their hull painting - as typical far traders.
Selected Variant Types & Classes
51 Representative Freighter (R) Classes
A
C
D
E
F
G
H
- Haddox class Merchant Cruiser
- Hercules class Cargo Transport
- Hummingbird class Courier
- Hummock class Replenishment Ship
J
K
L
- Last Armada class Heavy Transport
- Leo class Ship's Boat
- Leviathan class Merchant Cruiser
- Liz Zhorka class Light Trader
- Logos Minos class Fleet Scout
M
O
P
- Panam Ajax class Logistics Transport
- Panther class Repair Vessel
- Pegasus class Bulk Cargo Carrier
- Pinnace
- Prosperity class Freighter
R
S
- Ship's Boat
- Shuttle
- Siyuihwye class Armored Trader
- Solostar class Far Trader
- Suluru class Mercantile Carrier
- Susa class Cargo Carrier
- Swift Dreams class Colonial Transport
T
- Three Sisters class Heavy Jump Transport
- Triad class Merchant
- Type AT class Freighter
- Type RAX class Protected Merchant
- Type TC(S) class Free Trader
- Type TI class Merchant
- Type TJ class Merchant
V
W
Z
References
| This article has metadata. |
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This ship was designed using Mongoose 2nd ship design rules.
|
- Author: Adrian Tymes
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.