ColonyCord class Fast Trader
| ColonyCord class Fast Trader | |
|---|---|
| Type: AF Fast Trader | |
| Category | ACS |
| Size | 2,000 Tons |
| Hull Configuration | Wedge Hull |
| Streamlining | Streamlined Hull |
| Tech Level | TL–12 |
| Engineering | |
| Computer | Model 2/bis |
| Jump | J-3 |
| Maneuver | 3 G |
| Fuel Treatment | Scoops, Purifier |
| Armaments | |
| Hardpoints | 20 |
| Accommodations | |
| Staterooms | 13 |
| Personnel | |
| Crew | 13 |
| Officers | 1 |
| Enlisted | 11 |
| Pilots | 1 |
| High/Mid Passengers | |
| Payload | |
| Cargo | 947 Tons |
| Fuel tank | 605 Tons |
| Construction | |
| Construction Time | 18 Months |
| Origin | Second Imperium |
| Manufacturer | GSbAG |
| Year Operational | -2104 |
| Price | |
| Cost | MCr563.34 |
| Maintenance cost | Cr46,945 |
| Statistics | |
| Quick Ship Profile | AF-VS33 |
| Universal Ship Profile | AF-C2933S-D |
| Images | |
| Blueprint | Yes |
| Illustration | No |
| Source | |
| Also see | Fast Trader |
| Canon | Unpublished, fan design |
| Designer | Adrian Tymes |
| Design System | Mongoose 2nd |
| For entry level merchant princes. | |
The ColonyCord class Fast Trader is a civilian Fast Trader.
Description[edit]
The ColonyCord class Fast Trader was first conceived as a lifeline for small to medium colonies: a single ship able to serve the entire trading needs of such worlds, making a circuit to tie them into interstellar society. While it has seen some use in the Frontier Trader role, subsequent use - especially since the rise of the Third Imperium - has far more often been for larger shipments: mercenary companies, surveys in force, or just cleaning out the markets of a world, the kind of higher-profit operations associated with merchant princes. Many an aspiring sophont has stated that acquiring a ColonyCord as an independent operator is proof of entry into this class, and many of their crews serve with the dream of someday owning their own.
With high jump drive and significant maneuver drive performance, as well as the ability to engage in wilderness refueling, a ColonyCord is suited to service lesser-developed worlds usually only visited by much smaller traders. With its large cargo hold, it can often accommodate all the spare cargo such a world has for export at any given time, leaving nothing for said smaller traders. It can also bring in equipment too large for said smaller traders but vital to the development of said worlds, such as a startup shipyard capable of manufacturing 100 ton starships, once the crew convince someone to pay for it.
The most visually distinctive feature is the wing-like fuel scoops. Officially, these are to be folded to present a more compact profile when docking at a starport and unfolded when scooping fuel. Many ColonyCords leave them unfolded most of the time, as they make for an impressive display when landing at a small downport with little to no other traffic to be mindful of. They are too thick to help substantially with in-atmosphere performance, despite what the uneducated often assume upon seeing the unfolded structures, though do assist with the streamlining.
General Description & Deck Plans[edit]
- Deck Plans for this vessel.
Basic Ship Characteristics[edit]
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: 2000 tons (standard). 28,000 cubic meters. Streamlined Wedge Hull.
|
| 2. | Crew | Crew: Pilot, Astrogator, 7 Engineers, 2 Mechanics, Administrator (who usually doubles as the Captain), Medic. Usually more than one of these will double as a Broker. |
| 3. | Performance | Acceleration: 3-G maneuver drive installed.
|
| 4. | Electronics | Model/2/bis. |
| 5. | Hardpoints | 20 hardpoints, unused. |
| 6. | Armament | None. |
| 7. | Defenses | None. It relies on speed to outrace pirates and other threats, which is not always successful but can at least get pirates to chase easier prey. |
| 8. | Craft | None. Vacc suits required for EVA (extra-vehicle activity). Rescue Balls for crew escape normally carried. |
| 9. | Fuel Treatment | It is equipped with a fuel purification plant and fuel scoops. |
| 10. | Cost | MCr563.34 (no architect's fees, those having been paid long ago). MCr507.006 in quantity. |
| 11. | Construction Time | 18 months standard, 13 in quantity. |
| 12. | Remarks | A ship on the border between a large Tramp Vessel and a small Transport. Sometimes called a ship of "merchant earls": small-time or not yet fully established merchant princes. |
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
According to GSbAG records (which may be propaganda, but no other primary sources contest these facts), they introduced the ColonyCord as part of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Rule of Man. Although its size and expense meant that not as many were sold as smaller ship classes, for its size it was a moderately popular design. Manufacture gradually shut down as the Long Night set in, but complete blueprints were still available when the Third Imperium was founded and began encouraging starship manufacture to resume trade. Updating the design to use Fusion+ did not substantially alter performance, but was commonly done to better interface with modern maintenance facilities.
Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities[edit]
Ship names are as varied as most Tramp Vessel classes, though most try for at least a veneer of class and respectability, such as "Merchant Swan" or "Profit For All".
Internally, the ship shows the same irony as many larger transports: big ship, small crew compartment. For all the ship's large size, the crew spends almost all their time on board in the forward part of the middle (third) deck. While this area has a somewhat luxurious space allotment relative to most starships, it is not uncommon for crew, especially first-time spacehands, to wander the cargo hold to fight cabin fever. The cargo crane is programmed to be summonable to any point in the hold and carry crew about, for instance to access spots on the drives (along the hold's sides) in need of maintenance or repair.
Selected Variant Types & Classes[edit]
Merchant Vessel - (Deep Trader / Long Trader / Fast Trader):
References[edit]
| This article has metadata. |
|
This ship was designed using Mongoose 2nd ship design rules.
|
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.