Ship

There are several major classifications of ships in Solar Storms, several military and several 'civilian', though this latter term is somewhat specious given the modern state and laws of the Consortium.

Appearance

There is no aerodynamics in space. There is such a thing as impact angle, for ships in combat, however this usually gives warships a simple conical appearance. Most vessels intended for combat are in constant rotation, not to generate pseudogravity but instead prevent a distant laser from being able to focus on a specific point on the craft.

Most combative spacegoing vessels, with exceptions in the Void Fleet and the Silver Fleet, are stark white, with almost nothing in the way of visible windows, blemishes, or markings, with the potential exception of their 'wings'. Noncombat ships are often similar, though many will have identifying marks prominantly displayed on them.

Assuming it is more than a toy, it is easy to see if a ship is sigiled or not. Mundane vessels have 'wings' - massive plates designed to dispose of excess heat. Most ships have three of these, though two or four is not uncommon. Being drastically more efficient vessels, those who have patterns throughout their design have less need for such a flaw and can do without. Vessels with screens can also dispose of heat through them, though this is rarely of significant consequence outside of the planetary-scale screens of Earth, Mars, and Ouranos Prime.

Classification

Sometimes, terms such as spaceship and starship are used exclusively. Although there is still a large amount of interchangible usage, the former generally refers to a fully autonamous craft, while the latter is not designed to leave its home star system.

Beyond that, ships are organized into classes by registry and mass. This code now encompasses all modern vessels, including those built by Ouranos Prime before the Contact War and by the Procyon Concord.

Identification

The registration id runs through RRR-X-X-NNNNN, where RRR-is a three-letter registration id, X-X is a two-letter ship identification, and NNNNN is a multidigit fleet identificiation id, which allows the vessel to be uniquely identified.

Registries

• CCR-X-X-NNNNN - Consortium Corporate Registry - what's left of these has been rolled into the Registered Gerens Code.
• CMR-X-X-NNNNN - Consortium Military Registry
• GFR-X-X-NNNNN - Golden Fleet Registry
• HPR-X-X-NNNNN - Helios Police Registry
• OPR-X-X-NNNNN - Ouranos Prime Registry - all surviving ships in this registry have been grandfathered into the others.
• PCR-X-X-NNNNN - Procyon Concord Registry
• RGC-X-X-NNNNN - Registered Gerens Code
• SFR-X-X-NNNN - Silver Fleet Registry
• VFR-X-X-NNNN - Void Fleet Registry

Letterring

The first letter identifies the type of ship, while the second is based off of the ship's mass, on an order of magnitude scale. For the first letter:

• A - Atmospheric Vessel
• C - Cargo ship
• E - Escape pod
• G - Gunship
• H - Harvester
• I - Missile grids
• M - Mindpod
• N - Cannon ship
• P - Probe
• R - Carrier
• S - Starsail
• T - Turret / 'tank'
• W - Warship
• Z - 'Personal' - 'Other' ships.

For the second:

• A - Less than 1,000 tonnes
• B - Less than 2,500 tonnes (But less than A)
• C - Less than 5,000 tonnes (And so on)
• D - Less than 10,000 tonnes
• E - Less than 25,000 tonnes
• F - Less than 50,000 tonnes
• G - Less than 100,000 tonnes
• H - Less than 250,000 tonnes
• I - Less than 500,000 tonnes
• J - Less than 1,000,000 tonnes
• K - Less than 2,500,000 tonnes
• L - Less than 5,000,000 tonnes
• M - Less than 10,000,000 tonnes
• N - Less than 25,000,000 tonnes
• O - Less than 50,000,000 tonnes
• P - Less than 100,000,000 tonnes
• Q - Less than 250,000,000 tonnes
• R - Less than 500,000,000 tonnes
• S - Less than 1,000,000,000 tonnes
• T - Less than 2,500,000,000 tonnes
• U - Less than 5,000,000,000 tonnes
• V - Less than 10,000,000,000 tonnes
• W - Less than 25,000,000,000 tonnes
• X - Less than 50,000,000,000 tonnes
• Y - Less than 100,000,000,000 tonnes
• Z - Greater than 100,000,000,000 tonnes

For transport vessels such as cargo ships and harvesters, the mass is based off of their 'maximum' payload. This is usually determined by assuming the ship is packed full of molten iron.

Numbering

Most registries overlap their numbering schemes, for example, HPR-M-A-42597 and CMR-M-A-42597 are different mindpods. Most registries use a differing number scheme for each class, but not size, of vessel, so CMR-T-O-42597 is, obviously, a different ship. Sometimes numbers are skipped if a particular regisitry is famous for some reason, and for the Void and Silver Fleets, their numbers are entirely unique to the ship, and the first four digits are currently reserved for their sole use, belonging to no other registry.

It is widely believed that by the time a fifth digit is needed, all such vessels will have long since been retired, or that very few will need renumbering, at least.

Combat Ships

There are three classes of combat ships, ships whose primary purpose is to actually inflict damage upon a target. They often have very little in the way of human crew, with most systems being directly managed through various forms of artificial intelligence. To counter, however, no such ship is without sapient guidance, almost always human, through drones are often radio-controlled.

Cannon Ships

Cannons are essentially just that, gargantuan weapons of limited mobility in space. They make use of massive heat-spreaders covering several square kilometers in area, but otherwise look like gigantic, elongated members of their namesake. They have some point defense, but largely rely on other ships and their armoring to defend them.

The main weapon is usually either a gigantic laser or gauss cannon, the latter often firing artillery specialized enough to pierce screens. A single pair cannon version was built, but the limited range of this weapon made it unviable with such a lack of mobility. It has since been converted into a laser model. A related 'ship' is the nuclear mine, which is essentially a shaped-charge nuke, designed to emit most of its destruction in a single direction before it blows itself apart.

The first of these vessels were enormous sixty-klick long vessels whose purpose was to crack the immense defenses of Ouranos Prime, and they still make up the most powerful mobile weapons in the terran fleet. Nothing save the satmets has exceeded their yield in modern times and as technology advantances, so do they.

By far the most expensive vessels in humanity's arsenal, only a dozen of their kind remain, the vast majority being converted into lesser, more mobile weapons platforms after the Contact War, or experimental stations. Since they are almost purely offensive structures, they currently rest in solar orbit several light-minutes away from the Sun and eachother, should they be needed (and able) to assist against some invasion. None have been added to the Regalia, as they can make use of as much heat-spreading as they desire, the patterns being used for more important tasks.

Due to their power, cannons have a crew of three, which must all give their vote to firing the weapon. They are always in mindpods, enabling easy escape should catastrophe occur.

Turret Ships

Turrets are essentially giant guns placed in a rotating gimball system, basically functioning as the spaceborn version of the tank. Unlike cannons, they come in an extremely large variety of sizes, generally based on how much firepower and mobility they require, always sufferring a tradeoff between the two. They also possess more complicated defenses, giving them the general monicker of 'tank'.

Like cannons, the main gun is usually either a laser or coilgun. Some, however, make use of pair cannons, due to having vastly superior tracking at close range.

These vessels were built largely by the forces defending Ouranos Prime, though the Consortium developed quite a number as well. Currently nearly a hundred thousand of varying sizes are either part of the Golden Fleet or awaiting their sigils.

Turrets are usually only piloted by a single individual, located in a mindpod in case of disaster.

Missile grids

A missile grid is a massive, frequently circular array of tubes designed to launch a mass of single-shot weaponry such as a missile or nuclear mine, with the intent that they will overcome the point defense of a target through numbers and being a glorified mirv warhead.

They are usually the smallest members of a given fleet, rarely launching more than a few dozen of their chosen projectiles just as they enter combat range. After which, the mindpod ejects, and the grid is pretty much a dead vessel.

The Consortium maintains a few thousand of these, as they are quite useful in potential emergency situations. The raw number of turrets makes their initial presence somewhat obsolete, but many more can be produces should they actually be required.

Gunships

A gunship is essentially a massed cannon platform. Like the missile grid, its purpose is somewhat superfluous, designed to provide 'cover' to a large region of space by filling it with a mass of dangerous projectiles. It is generally considred to be among the ugliest vessels in the terran arsenal.

Several thousand have been built, and like turrets are piloted with a single mindpod.

Warships

While technically anything capable of defending itself with more than its defensive, propulsion and communication systems could be considered a warship, most vessels possess simple point defenses in order to deflect and vaporize small rocks that may chance across their path, or near the path of something critical.

Actual warships are those vessels that are designed to fire more than a single shot with the hope of disabling another vessel, yet are not dedicated to a single, overpowering weapon. They tend to be more civilian in scope and purpose, having actual living space rather than simply armored slots for braincases, often combining features with utility vessels.

Warships are typically used for civilian, geren, and police purposes. Several dozen are also a part of the Regalia as members of the Silver Fleet and Void Fleet.

They have no standard design, crew, or weaponry, though some designs are certainly more effective than others. Many try to mimic the members of the Regalia, and often their ships are classed accordingly. Some, as members of the Golden Fleet, do possess significant capability within the Solar System.

Warships are also considered to be somewhat useful as they are generally capable of entering an atmosphere, unlike turrets or cannons. Outside of the Regalia, however, none are capable of performing well in both vacuum and pressurized settings.

Utility Ships

Most other ships fulfill a transport or recreational role. Like warships, they are quite varied, and more so. There are a couple basic categories.

Probes

Perhaps the first 'spaceship', in the sense that even the Voyager and Pioneer missions are, technically, probes, modern ones are fired out of a massive electromagnetic coil at significant fractions of c, to be sent blazing by a distant star system to analyze it for several days before it flies on. Even still, they require decades to reach their targets. They are generally considered drones.

Inside the Solar System, probes also serve as sensors, monitors and beacons for various purposes.

Mindpods

A mindpod is a simple escape pod designed only to support and transport a braincase. It consists of an engine, a reactor, an armor, and a holding cell for the brain. Many are patterned.

A standard mindpod is designed to be ejected from its vehicle at at least 300 kps, if not faster. Recovery can be expected within days inside the Solar System in extreme circumstances, while it usually occurs within hours. Outside the heliopause, it could take months or perhaps even years for recovery.

Escape pods

Like mindpods, but actually hosting a body instead of merely a braincase. They are used by triates and those who don't care to separate mind from body, which is not an unpopular position.

Cargo Ships

Cargo ships usually look like giant spheres with an engine and heat-dispersion 'wings'. Fast, patterned variants are often bullet-shaped and capable of entering an atmosphere. Other specialised variants resemble flying saucers, whose sole purpose is to lift another vessel from atmosphere into orbit.

Vessels intended to carry sapient cargo are often escorted and possess significantly higher defenses.

Carriers

Currently, all carriers possessed by humanity are members of the Void Fleet or the Silver Fleet, and are assumed to be quite primitive.

A carrier creates a massive warp in the vicinity around it, literally pushing the fabric of space itself forward. The field is usually quite huge, often covering thousands of kilometers, and requires enormous amounts of energy, typically measured in tonnes of energy (as in, through E=MC^2, one tonne being approximately 90 thousand million million million joules of energy).

This sort of power is not normally available for common consumption. Instead, a klein tap is used, though even patterned exotics have immense difficultly properly focussing the energy. Rather than trying to harness it directly, it is allowed to reflect into the surrounding space, allowing the warp field to form and propel the region.

Collision between a warp field and an object usually results in the atomization of the object.

Carriers are not subtle. The energy they use to move the fabric of space itself decays into many forms of radiation, leaving an trail visible light-years away. The design is quickly becoming more efficient, however, and the klein taps easier to control.

Harvesters

Harvester vessels are gigantic strip-mining ships designed to literally take planets apart. The two main variants are those designed to enter the atmosphere of a gas giant, harvesting deuterium and other rare elements, and another which lands on an asteroid, moon, or planetoid, devours a sizeable chunk, processes it, and leaves.

Most possess little in the way of construction capability, though extremely large projects will use specialized vessels to disassemble a world. Those that collect deuterium are effectively tankers, supplying fuel to the rest of the star system they reside in.

Starsails

Taking the idea of a probe several orders of magnitude larger, a starsail is a gigantic plate, launched from the Solar System to carry personel and cargo to other star systems. Though the interstellar medium, stellar radiation and gravitational assistance allows for a notable slowdown, the sails must still consist mostly of fuel just to slow down enough to take significant action within the target system.

The primary cargo of a starsail is a few sapient overseers (usually human but not always as in the case of Procyon), along with simple harvesters and manufacturing capabilities. They then set up their own massive coil array, which allows further vessels to be sent with little fuel. In the case of a major star system, construction begins on a stellar gate, and the starsails' purpose is finished, until humanity decides to explore further systems.

Other Ships

Most other vessels serve the whims of their creators for various purposes, either creating (often smaller) replications of ships from old science-fiction, surving as spacegoing, fancy cruise liners with exotic features, or simply some other oddity.