TUG-b13

The **TUG-b13**, also known as the **quadrijet transfer spacetug** and more commonly known simply as the **quadjumper**, was a type of spacetug manufactured by Subpro Corporation. A quadjumper was located at Niima Outpost some thirty years after the Battle of Endor, and Rey and Finn wanted to use the ship to escape the First Order's attack, but the quadjumper was destroyed by strafing runs before they could reach it.

## Characteristics

The quadrijet transfer spacetug was a model of spacetug manufactured by Subpro Corporation for use in orbital transfer yards. The vessels used magnetic clamps to attach themselves to the undersides of cargo containers and then quickly move them around within the yards using their four large thrusters. This was a vital service given that every second spent moving cargo containers meant credits lost for a transfer yard boss, and most bulk freighter captains lacked the equipment to move their cargo across the final few kilometers from their vessels to the hands of their customers. The vessel measured 7.98 meters in length and required a single pilot to operate, with room for two passengers. It could be entered and exited through a rear hatch located between the four thrusters at the back of the ship, which was accessible by a retractable ladder stored beneath the cabin. The hatch would seal during flight using a hatch locking claw.

The quadjumper's four cylindrical thrusters had engine intakes located at the front of the spacetug, with electrostatic baffle vanes that kept out dust. Behind these were a series of compressor blades, which made up the turbine engines used by the craft in atmospheric flight. These connected to an central thrust nozzle located at the rear of the engine. The thruster's ignition chamber and fuel atomizer were then located behind the blades, and at the rear of the thruster were the ion drives used for space flight, which kicked in once a series of thrust bypass doors opened as the craft left atmosphere. These connected to an outer thrust ring running around the turbine engine's central nozzle. Coolant pumps and lines, plus the vessel's power cells were also located at the rear, packed within the engine's casing beside the ion engines. The vehicle lacked any armament, but could be easily modified with additions to the dorsal attachment points including weaponry, sensor packages or external fuel tanks. Special modifications were needed to increase cargo or fuel capacity.

The upper two thrusters were partially covered by red heat exchanger plates, while all four were equipped with repulsor stabilizer vanes. The quadjumper's hydraulic landing gear was built on the craft's base, emerging between the two lowest thrusters. Above the vessel's cockpit, the spacetug had a tow cable housed underneath the rear hatch at the back of the ship. The bow cockpit itself was designed to give the single pilot maximum visibility and so consisted of almost entirely transparisteel viewports. Two passenger seats were located behind the pilot's seats, and could be folded away in order to allow access between the cabin and the cockpit. The cabin itself took up the central space between the four thrusters and was located above the vehicle's fuel tank. It included at least one crew bunk built into the side walls and had hatches at either end leading to the cockpit and exiting the ship. A retractable cargo crane was hidden directly above the cabin on the roof of the ship and could be used to guide a refueling hose that was housed with it. The magnetic clamps used to attach the vessel to freight containers were located above the cockpit of the tug.

## History

"*The garbage will do!*"
―Rey, after being forced to flee to the Millenium Falcon instead of a quadjumper [[Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens|[src]]]

Aside from being used in orbital transfer yards, the maneuverability, power and ability to fly in both atmospheric and spaceflight modes made the quadjumper popular with prospectors and smugglers. Around thirty years after the Battle of Endor, a group of junk haulers who moonlighted as gunrunners used an unmodified quadjumper while working in the Western Reaches at the edge of the Unknown Regions. The junk dealer Unkar Plutt planned to buy the vessel and told others of vague plans to make large amounts of credits using the vehicle once he owned it. While the deal was being worked out, the ship was left parked in Bay 3 of Niima Outpost on the desert planet Jakku. When the outpost was attacked by the First Order as they attempted to locate the turncoat stormtrooper Finn and the Resistance astromech droid BB-8, Finn, BB-8 and the scavenger Rey attempted to reach the quadjumper so that they could escape on it. Before the trio could reach the ship, it was destroyed by fire from TIE/fo space superiority fighters that had mobilized from the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer *Finalizer*. The destruction of the vessel forced the three to instead board the YT-1300 light freighter known as the *Millennium Falcon*, which was parked in one of the outpost's other two bays.

## Behind the scenes

The quadrijet transfer spacetug first appeared in The Force Awakens in which it was referred to only as a quadjumper. The vehicle's full name was then revealed in *Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections*, a reference book written by Jason Fry and illustrated by Kemp Remillard and published one day after the film's 2015 release.

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 *Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections*
2. ↑ *Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles*
3. ↑ The Force Awakens