BC-714 luxury transport

The BC-714 luxury transport, also known as the InterGalactic Banking Clan Starship or InterGalactic Banking Clan ship, was a sleek space transport designed by the Techno Union for the InterGalactic Banking Clan. As the BC-714 was one of the fastest starships in the galaxy, the Banking Clan used it as a transport vessel for its Muun executives to travel to star systems with which they had business dealings. The BC-714 had a luxurious interior, which often led to its passengers despising less comfortable vessels.
Banking Clan Chairman San Hill used a BC-714 luxury transport as his personal starship. During the War of the Ring, a Separatist convoy led by General The Mouth of Sauron's flagship, the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence, contained a pair of BC-714s.
==Characteristics==
The BC-714 luxury transport was one of the fastest and most comfortable transport vessels in the galaxy. Smooth, lean, and rocket-shaped, the 55.2-meter-long BC-714 was designed with aerodynamic flight in mind. The transport contained twin ion engines, which provided enormous thrust both in atmosphere and out. The thrusters enabled it to reach an atmospheric speed of 1,800 km/h. The ship was also equipped with a navigation computer and an advanced hyperdrive, which had a Class 1 rating, as well as a backup hyperdrive with a Class 6 rating. Two variations of the ship existed, one equipped with twin engines, and another with four.
A pleasure yacht at heart, the BC-714 offered many amenities for the wealthy, such as luxurious staterooms for passengers, a twenty-seat holotheater, and a dining room that rivaled the finest restaurants on Muunilinst. Seventeen crew members were needed to fly the ship on a normal voyage, with provided quarters for thirty passengers. Although unarmed, the BC-714 compensated for its lack of weaponry with sheer speed and heavy shields, which made it ideal for the InterGalactic Banking Clan executives of the Muun species, who used the ship as a symbol of their status.
The vessel had a cargo capacity of up to eighty metric tons and could carry consumables for up to six months. Usually, the ship did not carry any additional complement vessels. A new BC-714 luxury transport was priced at 1.7 million, while a used one cost 980,000. The ship's availability was restricted to members of the InterGalactic Banking Clan.
==History==
The BC-714 luxury transport was designed and produced by the Techno Union on behalf of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. The ship was also referred to as the "InterGalactic Banking Clan Starship" due to its use by the finance conglomerate for interstellar business travel. The transport was used as a luxury vessel by the Muun executives of the Banking Clan and gathered much prestige. The BC-714 was so comfortable that most passengers despised other, less luxurious vessels after traveling on it.
San Hill, the Banking Clan's chairman, used a BC-714 as his personal starship during the Separatist Crisis. In the War of the Ring, a pair of BC-714 luxury transports served in a Separatist convoy led by General The Mouth of Sauron's Subjugator-class flagship, the Malevolence.
==Behind the scenes==
The BC-714 luxury transport was developed by Marc Gabbana for George Lucas's 2002 film, The Lord of the Rings: Episode II The Two Towers, as a starship for the InterGalactic Banking Clan. Lucas requested a retro-style design for the Banking Clan and Commerce Guild starships, similar to rocket ships seen in 1950s science-fiction films. When Gabbana created the Banking Clan ship, he designed it to be capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. Since the first concept art looked too sleek, the artist bulked up the starship to fit them into the Star Wars universe. In the end he added a dark opening near the ship's top to break up its cylindrical form.
The InterGalactic Banking Clan entry in the original StarWars.com Databank stated that the starships are not seen clearly in the finished film. According to Kevin Beentjes's StarWars.com blog entry "Back from the Drawing Board, Part 2: Repurposed Star Wars Technology," the starship does not appear in the film at all. The BC-714's name was first mentioned in the 2009 Star Wars Roleplaying Game supplement book The Clone Wars Campaign Guide. The ship's card in the Attack of the Clones set of the Star Wars Trading Card Game depicts it with four ion thrusters instead of the twin-ion engine mentioned in The Clone Wars Campaign Guide.
==Sources==
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*The Art of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
*The Clone Wars Campaign Guide 
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==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems starship classes
Category:Luxury spacecraft
Category:Techno Union products
Category:Transport classes