Tachyon class Light Trader

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Tachyon class Light Trader
Distant Fringe vessel.
Type: ML Merchant
Category	[[ACS]]
Size	100 Tons
Hull Configuration	Flattened Sphere Hull
Streamlining	Airframe Hull
Tech Level	TL–9
Engineering
Computer	Model/2
Jump	Jump-1
Maneuver	2 G
Armaments
Hardpoints	1
Offensive	Beam Lasers
Defensive	Sandcasters
Accommodations
Staterooms	2
Personnel
Crew	3
Officers	1
Enlisted	2
High/Mid Passengers	0
Payload
Cargo Hold	40 Tons
Fuel tank	12 Tons
Carried craft	x1 Air/Raft
Construction
Origin	Distant Fringe
End of Service	Current
Price
Cost	MCr38.488
Cost in Quantity	MCr30.791
Statistics
Quick Ship Profile	ML-AA21
Universal Ship Profile	ML–1612210–020000–20000-0
Images
Blueprint	No
Illustration	Yes
Source
Also see	Spaceplane
Canon	Unpublished, non-canon design
Designer	Ade Stewart
Design System	High Guard
Era	Milieu 1116
Starships are designed with the Classic Traveller format, using High Guard Shipyard v1.13 written by Andrea Vallance.

The Tachyon class Light Trader is a mercantile starship.

• It is a civilian ship and a Merchant vessel.
• Please also see: Ships of the Distant Fringe

Description (Specifications)

A generic class of civilian vessel, the Light Trader is a small commercial merchant ship designed to carry incidental cargo. It is typically encountered operating within clusters of stars within the Distant Fringe region. It is classified as a Merchant and is constructed as an X-Range design. Similar designs have been in use from the time the Distant Fringe was first settled.

• The vessel is a TL-9 design.

Image Repository

A Tachyon class Light Trader.

General Description

The Tachyon class is an airframe flattened sphere with a mean diameter of 19 meters and a mean height of 4.2 meters: the irregular shape of the hull increases the overall internal space, giving the ship a total enclosed volume of approximately 1,350 cubic meters. There is a single split-level deck. The rear of the vessel contains the machinery and fuel and has a small engineering control room. The central section is given over to the cargo hold, while the crew cabins, bridge, computer and electronics are located forward. An Air/Raft hangar is positioned below the accommodations section. This cramped space can only be accessed externally and can only fit certain models of vehicle.

A basic deck plan of the vessel indicating the general layout and positioning of major elements.

Basic Ship Characteristics

Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. The small craft factor indicates the number of squadrons (of ten subcraft) carried on the ship. Tonnage on the universal ship profile is shown in kilotons (thousands of tons) where necessary.

Basic Ship Characteristics
No.	Category	Remarks
1.	Tonnage / Hull	The Tachyon class is constructed using a 100 Ton hull built in a fattened sphere configuration. The hull is an airframe shape, giving good atmospheric performance that is further enhanced by airfoil surfaces and the vessels onboard gravitic systems. Individual sections of the ship are divided by bulkhead walls. The craft has an airlock located forward, adjacent to the bridge. The cargo hold is accessed by large doors. The vessel has a sturdy retractable wheeled undercarriage, allowing surface landings.
2.	Crew	Total Crew Complement: 3 x1 Command, x1 Engineering, x1 Gunnery. Accommodations There are x2 Staterooms. x2 Staterooms are given over to crew quarters. The captain has an individual cabin: the engineer and gunner travel double occupancy. Accessible areas of the hull are fitted with grav plates and inertial compensators and have full life support and environmental systems. There are internal monitoring and security systems throughout the vessel. Sections of the ship can be isolated in the event of an emergency. There are three Emergency Lockers.
3.	Performance / Engineering	The vessel mounts a DeVoss-type Jump-1 drive, a Maneuver-2 drive and a Power Plant-2, giving performance of Jump-1 and 2-G acceleration and producing 2 Energy Points. The ship has an agility rating of 0 and an emergency agility of 2. The dedicated internal fuel tankage gives the power plant 4 weeks duration. The engineering section has a control room. The jump drive utilizes a hull grid. The jump drive is fitted with a jump governor.
4.	Main Section / Electronics	Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/1 Computer: the ship does not have a backup computer. There are multiple workstations and control points throughout the vessel. The vessel is fitted with communications equipment, a basic sensor array, and has an avionics suite. It is fitted with backup commo and sensor systems. It has a transponder unit that can be deactivated on command.
5.	Hardpoints	x1 hardpoint. The battery arrangement is considered standard for the class. Alternative weaponry may be designated for specific routes.
6.	Armament / Weaponry	The normal fit-out for a Tachyon class is a single mixed triple turret. Typically this mounts: x2 beam lasers forming a single battery.
7.	Defenses	The hull is unarmored. x1 Sandcaster rack, mounted as part of the mixed turret weapons array. The vessel is not fitted with screens or other passive defensive systems.
8.	Craft / Subcraft	Vehicles x1 4-dTon Air/Raft. The hangar is a dedicated vehicle garage and cannot be readily accessed from the interior of the vessel, though sealed access panels can be removed to give access. The hanger is sealed and has a total volume of 54 cubic meters.
9.	Fuel Treatment	The ship carries a collapsible fuel tank with a capacity of 20 dTons.
10.	Cost	The basic cost of the vessel, complete with its Air/Raft, is MCr38.488. If multiple examples of the design are ordered all of the ships in the production run qualify for a 20% discount, which reduces the price per unit to MCr30.791. The vessel and its Air/Raft are standard designs. Detailed architectural plans are widely available and no design fee is chargeable.
11.	Construction Time	TBD months to build, TBD months in quantity.
12.	Remarks	No information yet available. Standard cargo capacity amounts to TBD.0 tons.

History & Background (Dossier)

A small merchant trader designed to carry incidental consignments of cargo. The design is representative and a large number of variants exist, particularly with regard to the allotted weapons systems, onboard electronics, and the fit out of internal spaces.

The interior of the vessel is particularly cramped and the vessels are noted for the substandard quality of their life support and environmental systems. The vehicle hangar is inaccessible without exiting the vessel.

Distant Fringe Vessels

The Distant Fringe is said to be a far spinward-rimward area inhabited by colonists and refugees originating on Terra. The region is extremely isolated, separated from the rest of Charted Space by vast, almost uncrossable rifts that were once broached by a system of calibration Points and the use of tankers. Those few academics within Charted Space who have found references to the Distant Fringe regard it as little more than a tall tale. Likewise, many of the inhabitants of the Distant Fringe believe the existence of Charted Space to be mythical.

Vessels originating within the Distant Fringe are very rarely encountered outside of the region. However, misjumps do occur and anomalies with bizarre spacetime and Jumpspace effects exist: as such, craft of this type are not entirely unknown within Charted Space.

Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities

Tachyon class Traders are sometimes referred to as "puffers", a reference to small coastal watercraft used on pre-Interstellar Wars Terra. The name has romantic connotations but also reflects the cramped and claustrophobic conditions of those ancient vessels.

Selected Variant Types & Classes

Civilian Ship - Light Trader:

1. Type AL class Light Trader
   1. Tachyon class Light Trader

References & Contributors (Sources)

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This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick, John Harshman. High Guard (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), 20-37. (Design Sequence Used)
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science