Tim continues his short series on Antares spacecraft. This time, he looks at the ships of the merchant navies of faction-controlled space and the ubiquitous Freeborn trading frigate.
An overview on the ratings given here can be found in the article on the Algoryn.
Mercantile Starship Design
Freeborn and trading ship design, unsurprisingly, is geared towards efficiency in the area they operate. This means that ships within the area of control of a major faction are likely to be large and lightly armed, whilst those in the Spill regions or Determinate have more weaponry and protection. Some of the more interesting ships are those in the interface regions: they need some protection but are generally left alone as few raiders wish to invoke the ire of both bordering factions.
Freeborn and trading ship design, unsurprisingly, is geared towards efficiency in the area they operate. This means that ships within the area of control of a major faction are likely to be large and lightly armed, whilst those in the Spill regions or Determinate have more weaponry and protection. Some of the more interesting ships are those in the interface regions: they need some protection but are generally left alone as few raiders wish to invoke the ire of both bordering factions.
Across Antares, there are a great many non-Freeborn classes of mercantile vessels, many with minimum weapons such as light mag cannon or short-ranged mag carronade to deter shuttle-borne piracy. Almost all Freeborn vessels would be armed thus, irrespective of their operating environment.
The larger Spill regions such as the uncontrolled regions of the Determinate will see an increase in a class of ship called ‘armed traders’. It is in this space thaat the ubiquitous Freeborn ‘Trading Frigate’ can be found – a large frigate that offers a mix of fabricator capabilities, cargo, extensive industrial-scale compactors and passenger space.
It’s worth reiterating the Freeborn summary from the weapons article:
The Freeborn use whatever they consider most cost-effective in the role they wish it to take, and even that decision varies by House. The most common class of vessel is the trading frigate with ample holds and storage facilities, most of which have a spinal weapon of some type, typically lances or spinal x-rails throwing Algoryn MSD, heavy missiles or spikes. Secondary weapons are often mag weaponry as they can fabricate replacement ammunition readily from whatever they pick up. Domari passengers can double as crew when casualities are taken, can assist with repairs and can also act as defensive militia when fighting in boarding actions. Freeborn ships are fairly fast and Acc varies between 5 or 6.
| Ship Type: | Cargo/ Transport | Combat | Liners | Survey/ Scout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeborn | 160g | 180-200g | 140g | 220g |
| Spill | 60-100g | 90-140g | 60-100g | 100g |
Representive Ship Class Stats
The Freeborn live on their ships and readily customise them for their own needs so have a huge number of seemingly different types of vessels within the same general class. As a result, the following are representative, only!
‘d’ refers to domari – such passengers can operate as crew, in emergencies, or as militia for boarding actions. These are often passengers aboard other ships, though could be deliberately hired to be aboard by the ship’s captain
| Class: | Oszoni Trading Frigate | Wynfalcon (Vynoa) | ‘Peace’ Transport | ‘Peace’ Liner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type: | Trading Frigate | Armed Trader | Transport | Liner |
| Length: | 340m | 300m | ~285m | ~275m |
| GA Drive: | 180g | 140g | 80g | 80g |
| Armour: | 12×13 | 12×12 | 10×9 | 10×9 |
| Fire Control: | Acc 5 | Acc 5 | Acc 4 | Acc 4 |
| Crew: | 3d+1d | 3d+1d | 3+1d | 3+1d |
| Marines: | 1+1d | 1+1d | +1d | +1D |
| Spinal Weapon(s): | X-Rail: MSD; Heavy Missiles; Spikes | X-Rail: MSD; Light Missiles; Drones | Launch Rails: Spikes | Launch Rails: Light Missiles |
| Secondary Spinal Weapon: | – | – | – | – |
| Main Armament: | 2×Mag Cannon | 1×Mag Cannon | 2×Mag Carronade | 2×Mag Carronade |
| Secondary Weapons: | 2×Mag Carronade | 2×Mag Carronade | – | – |
| Tertiary Weapons: | – | – | – | – |
| Area Defence Systems: | 3×Mag ADS | 2×Mag ADS | 2×Mag ADS | 2×Mag ADS |
| Shuttles: | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| XCM: | -1 | -1 | – | – |
| Notes: | 4×passenger suites (3 spare); extensive cargo holds (one occasionally swapped out for fabricator) | 3×passenger suites; good holds (1 spare) | Merchant; extensive cargo holds; 4× passenger suites (1 spare) | Merchant; extensive transmats; 6× passenger suites (1 spare) |
Class Descriptions
The only commonality between Freeborn vessels is in the area of trading vessels of roughly frigate firepower but which are equipped with more extensive cargo holds and passenger areas: the trading frigate. Such vessels act as homes for entire families in potentially dangerous Spill areas and can even deploy marine contingents to defend or take potentially profitable planetary areas. They also use a mix of advanced, resharded IMTel technology and weapons build from their own, so cost-effective, fabricators. Freeborn trading frigates have passenger quarters that are deceptively spacious. At a pinch they have been known to carry at least twice the number of passengers than they are rated for, especially when bearing refugees from war-torn worlds (for a fee, typically). Names (highly variable): Oszoni Princess Beraan.
Whilst merchant vessels within the interior of Concord and Isorian space are often unarmed, those towards the fringes and interface areas have some defences intended to discourage light raiders. Above is a medium transport and liner below, both being slightly smaller than frigate size. Names: Variable, typically by numeric designation only if Concord/Senatex operated.
Antares Nexus 