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Civilian Ships
Countless traders, merchants, holiday makers and other civilians travel from world to world every day, and there is a huge market for civilian vessels to fill these roles. Civilian vessels are generally weaker for their size compared to military vessels, and tend to have little or no armaments. It is generally more productive for a trader to hire armed escort vessels if there is perceived danger, than it is to rely on second rate weapons and unskilled gunners to try and defend against pirates and privateers themselves.
Rules Modifications
PDS
It is assumed that PDS systems can fire on other ships without requiring a fire control system. This allows merchant shipping to have light weapons for defence without needing a full set of fire control systems (at which point they may as well use Class-1 beam batteries).
Free Traders
Free Traders are generally privately owned vessels of small size, which don't make scheduled runs but perform whatever work is available. They are the most likely to be armed.
Wraith Free Trader
Class: Free Trader (MF)
Mass: 30
Points: 65
The most common of the Free Traders, it mixes a good cargo hold with armaments and a fast drive.
Freighters
Freighters are designed to carry large amounts of freight on regular runs. The following ship classes are commonly found in civilised space. They are little more than a hull wrapped around cargo containers, with a drive at one end and a crew section at the other.
Atlas Light Freighter
Centaur Medium Freighter
Class: Medium Freighter (MM)
Mass: 80
Points: 128
A medium freighter, designed to carry hazardous material. The crew compartment is far from the cargo hold, providing some measure of safety in case of an accident.
Tradewind Freighter
Class: Medium Freighter (MM)
Mass: 80
Points: 128
The Tradewind class of medium freighters were built in a number of different configurations. This, the standard cargo model, was the basic design from which the others were based. It is a typical medium freighter, with no frills, and a good sized cargo hold.
Tradewind Tanker
Class: Medium Freighter (MM)
Mass: 80
Points: 128
The Tradewind class of medium freighters were built in a number of different configurations, of which this example is the tanker variant. Modified to allow easy refuelling of ships 'in flight', the Tradewind Tanker is a common sight around major spaceports.
Behemoth Medium Freighter
Class: Medium Freighter (MM)
Mass: 120
Points: 201
The largest of the medium freighters, the Behemoth is capable of shipping 8,000 tonnes of cargo. For a freighter, it is reasonably tough, and as standard carries a PDS to provide minimal defence.
Passenger
Vantage Luxury Yacht
Class: Light Freighter (MM)
Mass: 32
Points: 66
The Vantage class of luxury yacht is a spacious vessel designed for private use and ownership. It is fast, much faster than most civilian vessels not specifically designed for racing. Most owners are company executives, rich playboys or nobility. It has plenty of room for staff accommodation as well as staterooms for the owners. A few variants include defensive systems at the expense of living space.
Horizon Liner
Class: Light Freighter (MM)
Mass: 40
Points: 76
The Horizon class of passenger liner is typical for its type, though has a reputation of being more robust and reliable compared to alternatives such as the Olympus. Because of this it has slightly less passenger space, and is a bit more expensive, so tends to get limited in use to long range cruises which are further from the core systems.