Express Boat

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Logo of the IISS X-Boat Service.

Express Boat (a.k.a. X-boat) are rapid communication ships which are designed to make optimum use of jump technology in communicating information within the Imperium. Because the Imperium is so large, ordinary communication must depend on ships traveling along established Trade Routes, making Regina (Spinward Marches 1710) nearly four years out from the Imperial Core.

• X-boats transport X-mail. Many ships are equipped with a Mail Vault for this purpose.
• It is a starship supraclass.
• The Supraclass designation is also known as Ship Mission, Ship Mission Code, Mission, or Ship Hull Designation.

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Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information:
Starship:

• Starship User Types
  • Civilian Ship
  • Paramilitary Ship
  • Military Ship
• Ships by Function
  • Bigcraft
  • Boat
  • Non-starship
  • Smallcraft
  • Spaceship
  • Starship
  • Subcraft
  • Warship
• Advanced Ship Classifications
  • Ship Mission Code / Supraclass
  • Ship Type Code / Superclass
  • Ship Class Code / Class
  • Model (TL)
  • Bloc (Lot)
• Basic Ship Classifications
  • Adventure Class Ship
  • Battle Class Ship
  • Fleet Class Ship
  • Size-Role Classification
  • QSP
  • USP
  • World Class Ship
• Speed of Travel
  • FTL
  • NAFAL (STL)

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Description (Specifications)

As an X-boat arrives in a system, it beams its recorded data to the express station, which then retransmits it to an X-boat standing by for a jump outsystem.

• Time between jumps is almost always less than four hours and has been recorded at under seven minutes, making the speed of communication nearly the speed of jump (...since X-boats carry Jump-4 drives, speeds near four parsecs per week).
• In practice, this speed is somewhat reduced by the fact that trade routes do not follow straight lines and that not all jumps are made at Jump-4. Nonetheless, the system achieves approximately Jump-2.6 per week.

Xboats are Jump-4 ships with no maneuver drive, crewed by single pilots. As an xboat arrives in a new system, it beams its recorded data to the express boat station, which then re-transmits it to an xboat standing by to jump outsystem. The first ship is then refuelled, possibly the pilot is replaced, and it awaits the arrival of the next incoming boat.

Time between jumps is almost always under 4 hours, and the record is under 7 minutes, making the speed of the communication nearly the speed of jump; 4 parsecs per week. In practice, this speed is somewhat reduced because xboat routes do not follow straight lines, and that not all jumps are made at Jump-4. Nonetheless, the system achieves approximately Jump-2.6 per week.

History & Background (Dossier)

The sheer size of the Imperium means that ordinary communications must depend on ships travelling along the main trade routes, making Regina (Regina / Spinward Marches 1910) nearly four years out from the Imperial Core Sector.

The express boat (abbreviated X-boat) system, established originally in 624 and expanded to cover the entire Imperium by 718, cuts this communication time by nearly 75 percent. Selected locations along major trade routes are established as sites for express stations, which are orbital facilities which service and refuel the X-boats on their communications runs. Often an express boat tender serves as the station.

The Xboat System was established by Arbellatra in 624, and expanded to cover the entire Imperium by 718.

Selected Variant Types & Classes

Express Boats:

• Type X class Express Boat
  • Xavier class Express Boat

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Tenders:

• Type XT class Express Boat Tender
  • Purcell class Express Boat Tender

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article has a secret.

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 Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. The Kinunir (Game Designers Workshop, 1979), 39.
• John Harshman, Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman. Library Data (A-M) (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 26-27.
• The Spinward Marches (CT)
• Twilight's Peak (book)
• Imperial Encyclopedia
• Marc Miller. The Traveller Book (Game Designers Workshop, 1982), TBD.
• Gregory P. Lee. Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure (Gamelords, 1982), TBD.
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science