Large Non-Miltary Ships
Explorer/Mapper:
These ships are exclusive to Earth and are among
the largest ships in the known universe (nearly
as big as a Vaipen Hiveship, the largest seen
was 12 miles long) with the largest, Excaliber,
at just over 7 miles long. These ships are used
by companies for deep space mining and
exploration and by the Earth government for
jumpgate and station construction. These craft
can stay out of contact for over five years
without difficulty and can house over 200 ships.
Despite the fact that there are only 30 of them
in use (4 are in construction as of 14 Jan 2260)
all but 8 of them are owned by corporations, the
other 8 being owned by the government and either
in deep space or on loan to one of the other
races. These craft have weapon systems as good,
if not than, any of the ships in service in the
Earth Stellar Forces and can carry as much as 2
or 3 deep space traders. It has been suggested
that one of the ships in construction,
provisionally called 'Archon', is going to be
bigger still and may be used by the military as a
mobile command station.
Colony Ships:
These ships are similar to explorer ships but
normally only about half the size. They are
primarily used to transport colonists and their
equipment to new outposts which are not suitable
for passenger cruisers. These craft have integral
jump engines and docking facilities so they can
function as orbital stations while the final
outpost is being constructed. Ship suggested by
Karl A Rostrup.