HopeTech

> "*They're trucks! In space!*"
> ― HopeTech slogan
>
>

**HopeTech** is a ship manufacturing corporation in the Settled Systems. It was founded by Ron Hope, who serves as company president, and is based out of HopeTown in the Valo system.

## Overview

HopeTech was founded by Ron Hope, a former blue collar deep space hauler who spent his life savings to establish a company dedicated to making sturdy, dependable cargo freighters that prioritize function over form. None of HopeTech's ships are elegant or excel in combat situations, but they are generally more affordable than their competition, they can haul vast amounts of cargo, and they are known to be as reliable on their 300th flight as on their first. The corporation constructed HopeTown, which combined employee housing and amenities, a starship factory, and a corporate headquarters into a single settlement, on the planet Polvo in the Valo system, cementing its image as a business that treated both its customers and its employees like family. HopeTech grew rapidly, and in time Ron Hope attained a seat on the Freestar Collective's Council of Governors.

As of 2330, HopeTech was consistently outperforming its sales targets, but this was not always the case. As recently as 2328, HopeTech had been suffering a series of consecutive quarterly financial losses, and industry observers were convinced that the company was on the verge of insolvency and dissolution. The fact that HopeTech's fortunes managed to turn around so quickly was considered a testament to Ron Hope's leadership.

Behind his blandly congenial public persona, however, Ron Hope was a cutthroat profiteer. In a bid to diversify HopeTech's portfolio, Ron attempted to produce a fertilizer for crops and advertised it to Freestar settlers. The fertilizer was disastrous for these farmers as it killed their crops, but it also had the side effect of catalyzing mineral formation in the soil. Rather than recall the product, Ron continued to sell it to farmers, waited for their farms to fail, and then hired the First Cavalry to force the farmers to sell their land to HopeTech cheaply, which would then reap the mineral-rich land for raw material that could be used to manufacture HopeTech's ships. This saved HopeTech a substantial amount of money and allowed it to produce more ships than ever. HopeTech's underhanded methods were uncovered by the Spacefarer in their capacity as a deputy of the Freestar Rangers in 2330. Regardless of whether the Spacefarer exposed Ron Hope's crimes or accepted his bribe to keep silent, the president of HopeTech met his demise soon afterward.

## Products

### Ships

Class A

* Lil Muv
* Lil Muv II
* Pik Up
* Pik Up II
* Pik Up III
* Railstar
* Railstar III
* Thresher
* Thresher II
* Thresher III
* Watchdog
* Watchdog II
* Watchdog III
* Watchdog IV

Class B

* Big Rig
* Big Rig II
* Caravan
* Caravan II
* Caravan III
* PCH
* PCH II
* Space Ox
* Space Ox II
* Space Ox III
* Spacetruk
* Spacetruk II
* Spacetruk III

Class C

* Babylon
* Babylon II
* Highlander
* Highlander II
* Highlander III
* Renegade
* Renegade II
* Renegade III
* Silent Runner
* Star Semi
* Stronghold

### Ship Modules

* Armstrong 10 Cockpit
* Armstrong 10R Cockpit
* Armstrong 20 Cockpit
* Armstrong 20E Cockpit
* Armstrong 20R Cockpit
* Hope 4 Landing Bay
* Hope 5 Landing Gear
* Hope 6 Landing Gear
* Hope 11 Docker

## Vendors

* Full part selection
	+ Inaya Rehman (HopeTown)

* Partial part selection
	+ Jasmine Durand (The Key)
	+ Lon Anderssen (Red Mile)
	+ Ship Services Technician (Akila City)
	+ Ship Services Technician (HopeTown)
	+ Ship Services Technician (Paradiso)
	+ Ship Services Technician (The Clinic)
	+ Ship Services Technician (The Eleos Retreat)

## Personnel

* President Ron Hope
* Bennu St. James
* Birgit McDougall
* Cosette
* Elana Nwankwo
* Frank Langston
* Inaya Rehman
* Maxwell Evans