Cargo Haulers
Cargo haulers, also known as cargo tugs, form the backbone of interstellar commerce throughout Human Space. The most common forms are mostly automated, with only a small crew of half a dozen or less onboard to perform maintenance and take over control from the ship's computer in case of an emergency. Cargo haulers range in scale from relatively small, interplanetary vessels, to colossal interstellar ships that dwarf the largest of military vessels, some barely able to fit through standard wormhole gateways when fully laden with cargo. The core of modern cargo haulers consist of a skeletal-looking vessel, with a long cylindrical spine connecting the bridge and crew quarters at one end, with the fusion engine and torch drive at the other. Cargo containers are attached to the exterior of the ship's spine, and make up the vast majority of a fully-laden cargo hauler's volume.
Merchantmen
Merchantmen are a versatile type of ship used for a variety of purposes, principally by merchants transporting valuable cargo. They are moderately large, with tonnage comparable to military frigates, but generally with smaller crews to save on costs. Much of their size is dedicated to secure cargo storage, though they are generally better armed and armoured than most other kinds of civilian vessels. They are also intended to be capable of longer-range journeys, with many being equipped with
jump drives and facilities to support crews for months or even years at a time. In addition to their role as merchant ships, they are often repurposed as convoy escorts, exploration ships, personal transports, and for use in numerous other roles.
Freighters
While the bulk of cargo is transported by large and slow cargo haulers, many locations are too small, remote, or dangerous to justify the use of such vessels in supplying them. Merchantmen often supply such places, but more commonly, cheaper freighters are used. In a sense, space freighters are a middle ground between cargo haulers and merchantmen: they are built as traditional space ships, rather than the skeletal structure of haulers, but are designed specifically to carry cargo, rather than to be versatile like merchantmen. Despite this focus, however, they are sometimes converted to carry passengers or military cargo, or even converted into makeshift arsenal ships. There are multiple categories of freighters:
Light Freighters
Light freighters are small vessels with single-digit crew complements, typically intended to be used to transport sensitive data or high-value cargo at speed. Cheaper, interplanetary light freighters are also used by poor or isolated spacebourne communities to transport goods between
habitats and stations. However, the classification of light freighter has become something of a legal loophole to skirt around regulations when designing passenger liners or personal spacecraft. In the former case, it allows for certain safety and comfort requirements to be bypassed, and in the latter case allows for more powerful reactors and less safe engines to be used. Additionally, light freighters of all varieties are a favourite of pirates and smugglers, who use their speed and inconspicuousness to engage in nefarious activities.
Heavy Freighters
Heavy freighters are rarely used in secure systems, but are a common alternative to cargo haulers in the
Lost Systems and unsafe regions in the Outer Systems. They are typically slightly larger than a military cruiser, but can range in size from just larger than a frigate, to significantly larger than a battleship. Their crews range from ten to thirty, and their cargo capacity is second only by large cargo haulers or nomad treasure ships. They sometimes carry significant weapons systems, and have historically been used as warships in times of need, usually being fitted with missile systems and linked to the targeting systems of nearby warships, serving as ad hoc arsenal ships. A more common military application for heavy freighters is in the role of fleet tenders or transport ships.
Prospectors
Prospector ships are those designed to seek out mineral wealth or other valuables in the depths of space. While this process is often automated in advanced, populous systems, in poorer areas, small prospecting vessels are often employed by individuals, small organisations, or interstellar corporations to prospect asteroids and planets for valuables. Larger, jump-capable prospectors also exist, employed by
space nomads and those from settled societies looking to stake a claim on distant, untapped wealth. Owing to their endurance and advanced sensors, interstellar prospectors are often employed by scientists and archaeologists seeking to explore distant star systems. Smaller prospectors often only have a crew of one to three, while larger ones might have a crew complement of a dozen.
Personal Craft
"Personal craft" is the name given to small, interplanetary vessels designed for short-range tasks. They are, as a rule, incapable of reaching orbit from true planets or flying in atmosphere. They are instead built and operated entirely in space, often by small businesses or organisations. They can be designed or equipped to perform a variety of tasks, including mining, salvaging, or the transport of people or goods between space stations or habitats.
Space Liners
Space liners are large spacecraft designed to transport large numbers of people between locations. Most are designed exclusively for operations in space, but others are built as spaceplanes, and are capable of landing and taking off from habitable planets. They range in size considerably, but the most common have a crew of about half a dozen, and can transport around three hundred people.
Shuttles
Shuttles are relatively small vessels designed to transport people and a small amount of cargo. They are often found aboard larger ships to serve as ground-to-orbit transports or emergency escape craft. They can also be designed to operate independently, as personal spacecraft or interplanetary transports. They are usually crewed by two or three people, and can typically transport around twenty passengers.
Tugboats
Spacebourne tugboats fulfill much the same role as their maritime predecessors. They assist large ships, such as cargo haulers, perform tight manoeuvres, particularly when docking at space stations or habitats. They are usually assisted in this task by a large number of drones equipped with manoeuvring thrusters, which attach to the larger vessel, and are controlled by the tug's or the station's crew. In many cases, these drones are sufficient on their own, but the more powerful engines of one or more tugs can often prove useful, especially when time is of the essence. Tugboats are sometimes also employed in rescue or salvaging operations to move vessels incapable of moving under their own power, though most tugboats lack the endurance for long-range operations. They typically have a crew of three to five.
Treasure Ships
Treasure ships are some of the largest spacefaring vessels ever constructed by humans. They are vast cargo ships that form the core of nomad trading fleets, surpassing even large cargo haulers in capacity. Despite their purpose, they are constructed in a traditional manner, rather than mounting external storage, opting instead to store cargo internally. This makes them considerably less efficient, but somewhat more defensible, and provides other advantages. The internal cargo bays can be used to easily carry people or livestock, though specialised containers can allow cargo tugs to do this as well. An unexpected use came during the
Antimatter Crisis, when they were on several occasions used to carry entire fleets of frigates and destroyers while posing as trading vessels, launching sneak attacks on unsuspecting sedentary populations. Due to the manner of their construction, they are quite slow, and spend months or years on trading voyages. As such, they contain specialised rotating habitation sections for their crews of hundreds or thousands. Additionally, they are always equipped with their own jump drives, as nomads inhabit systems disconnected from the gateway network.
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