In David Drakes "With the Lightnings" the RCS Aglaia is a (IIRC) a
Corvette-equivalent hull (Actually, I think the RCS Princess Cecile is
larger) with (FTL) propulsion equivalent to that which would normally be
used for a Light Cruiser.
She also has minimal weaponry 'cos she trades the volume for Distinguished
Passenger Quarters & support.
Couriers in the series are also generally described as having a completely
separate, & generally isolated, messages & encryption computer, often with
dedicated personnel who're passengers rather crew, who carry messages to &
from the ship on physical media.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Onno Meyer" <[email protected]>
To: "The GURPSnet mailing list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 6:51 PM
Subject: Re: [gurps] Space Freighter Memes III
Hello everybody,
I'm thinking about archetypes and memes for a series of "Fast
Courier" starships. What does "Fast Courier" mean?
* Speed over payload.
* Not a scout. She carries people or cargo from planet A to
planet B, she doesn't map the destination world first.
* Not a warship. If she is armed, that is for self-defense,
since she might carry valuable cargo.
So what does that leave as concepts?
* The Serenity and the Millenium Falcon were freighters were
flexibility and speed counted for more than big cargo bays,
but I've covered those memes with the TL10 and TL11 Light
Transports.
* Corporate Courier. Accountants will watch the bottom line,
but if it makes sense to spend some real money, this ship
does it. Possibly VIP quarters for a CEO or Executive VP.
* Parcel Service. One of thousands of similar ships, with
high speed and cargo rather than passengers. Still, few
amenities and large engines.
* Secure Armored Transport. Speed is important, but so is
security.
* Diplomatic Courier. Not a warship, but the crew might be
seconded from the military. Good defenses, but no offense
and no stealth -- "here I am, I'm legit".
* Criminal Courier ska smuggler. Might be disguised as a
Parcel Service ship. Memes include the blockade runner,
which tries to break through with high speed, and the
real smuggler, which tries to pass an inspection. Partly
covered by my TL11 Light Transport and an earlier TL11
ship.
* Spy Ship. Either a "normal" Parcel Service ship with a
few hidden sensors and commo systems (think black van)
or a shiny VIP Courier with pop-up weapons (think Bond).
* Bounty Hunter. No proper badge, so the ship isn't armed,
but there are detention facilities inside.
* Corporate Troubleshooter. Base 08/15 doesn't answer, and
the bosses don't want to call the Marines. Again a ship
which expects trouble, but isn't legally supposed to be
armed. Maybe this is better handled as a Scout or Salvage
Tug variant.
* Medevac Ship. Not search and rescue, but rather the kind
of ship which takes injured people from a frontier world
clinic to a proper core world clinic, if they can afford
it.
* In many settings, civilian starships routinely go armed.
In that case, replace "unarmed" with "light, legal guns".
Any thoughts? There are more than enough concepts to cover
seven TLs from 10 to 16, if all work out.
Regards,
Onno
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