Starcraft

Starcraft is a term for any vessel that is able to move about through the void of space. The majority are able to travel between planets and the void, though some larger vessels are unable to function inside an atmosphere due to their tremendous size. Many starcraft are outfitted with warp drives, which enable ships to travel at faster than light speeds.

## Starcraft Classes

### Large Starcraft

#### Barges

Barges are utterly gargantuan ships, hugely ponderous and slow by the standards of any other vessel. They are usually the size of small cities, and can essentially serve as mobile space stations which travel between star systems.

* Battle Barges: A rare vehicle, battle barges are barges outfitted for war. Due to the extreme expenses required in making a ponderous and heavy barge battle capable, this class of barge is quite rare, but those that due exist are true juggernauts in the battlefields of the stars, equipped with mind boggling amounts of firepower and stupendous amounts of armor and shielding. However, their huge size makes them painfully slow to maneuver, requiring them to be backed up by other vessels to prevent them from being flanked and overwhelmed.
* Cargo Barges: Employed by interstellar companies with plenty of cash to burn, cargo barges ferry massive amounts of goods across the stars. Though slow and ponderous, a cargo barge's large size and thick hull makes it difficult for most pirates to assault, though its great cargo does make it quite tempting prey.
* Prison Barge: Undesirables often find themselves aboard prison barges, huge vessels which serve as mobile jails. Sometimes operating as moving maximum security prisons to thwart rescues of high profile criminals, and sometimes simply transferring prisoners from place to place, prison barges are seen fairly frequently throughout the galaxy.

#### Carriers

Carriers, as their name indicates, are ships which carry all sorts of items. They are large vessels which can be used to carry great amounts of supplies, people, or other smaller starcraft from system to system. Generally speaking, they are slow and cumbersome, but heavily armored, and often sport light armaments, though they primarily rely on other vessels, potentially the ships that they are transporting, for firepower. As they serve to ferry various forms of cargo throughout the stars, they are necessarily capable of faster than light travel.

* Cargo Carrier: Cargo carriers serve to transport various goods, such as food, medicine, and raw materials from world to world, with the vast majority of their structure being composed of vast chambers in which said cargo can be stored. Cargo carriers usually carry a crew, and possibly the droids and equipment necessary to transport cargo on and off of the carrier.
* Starship Carrier: Starship carriers serve to transport smaller starcraft, typically skimmers and attack shuttles which are unable to move between star systems themselves. They are filled with ship hangars and barracks, to house the smaller starcraft and the personnel to pilot them.
* Troop Carrier: Troop carriers are typically filled predominantly with barracks, although they also house numerous hangars to support the shuttles and drop pods which bring said troops down to planets.

#### Cruiser

Cruisers are larger ships, universally able to travel between star systems, cruisers are the fastest and most nimble of big spacefaring vessels, with a large portion of space within them being used to support the engines which endow them with such speed. They are lightly armored compared to other large starcraft, so as not to negate the benefits in speed granted by the potent cruiser engines.

* Heavy Cruisers: The more rare form of cruiser, heavy cruisers have their speed compromised by large additions of armor, shielding, weapons or large cargo shipments, though they are still faster than most other large ships. Heavy cruisers are often employed as warships by militarizes, which usually equip them with powerful defense and weapon systems, and a few hangars to deploy skimmers.
* Light Cruiser: The more common form of cruiser, light cruisers maintain or improve upon their standard speed capabilities, not adding on enough additional technology to slow them down. Militaries often equip them with more potent scanning equipment, often using them as scout ships, when using them as warships. Due to their speed, they are also often employed for civilian transport, as they are able to move passengers from one place to another with impressive speed.

#### Frigates

Large and highly versatile ships, frigates are reasonably well armed and armored, reasonably fast for their size, but not impressively so. They serve as the jack of all trades of the large ships, and can be outfitted for all manner of tasks. They possess faster than light capabilities.

* Heavy Frigate: Approaching near the ponderous size of a barge, heavy frigates are among the most common ship classes warships, often being the centers of warfleets across the galaxy. They can be fitted with tremendous amounts of armor, shielding, and weaponry, and can even transport smaller starcraft yet still have just enough speed to be useful in battle. Heavy frigates are employed occasionally as cargo ships by civilians, being able to house cargo amounts not too far off from carriers, but also capable of being outfitted with enough armor and weapons to deter the vast majority of would be pirates. This is of course, provided such merchants have the money to outfit such an expensive vessel.
* Light Frigate: Light frigates, like their larger siblings, are often used as warships, being able to pack large amounts of armor and firepower, but more maneuverability, usually having all the same equipment as heavy frigates, but to lesser degrees to enable them greater mobility. Not as expensive as heavy frigates, they are more likely to be used by civilian merchants, and occasionally as passenger vehicles, for those who wish to sacrifice speed for some extra protection.

#### Space Stations

Space stations are immobile structures which typically orbit planets, stars, and other celestial bodies, constructed around them to serve purposes from planetary defense to mining to research. They are always fitted with hangers of some sort for other ships to dock, to bring and receive supplies, new personnel, or anything else the station requires.

* Battle Station: Battle stations are built for war. Outfitted with armor, shielding, and weaponry, they generally serve to defend whatever it is they are stationed around, be it a planet, asteroid or other station, or to perhaps block routes to some other location.
* Docking Station: Docking stations serve to provide a place for other ships to dock, resupply, and make repairs, serving as extraplanetary spaceports.
* Medical Station: The medical stations dotted throughout the galaxy serve as spaceborn hospitals, serving the medicinal needs of the galaxy's denizens should they not wish to go planetside for medical treatment.
* Mining Station: Mining stations are made to harvest resources, being equipped with the tools and machinery to do so.
* Prison Station: Prison stations are made to contain prisoners, and possess all the cells, guards, and resupply points necessary for their needs.
* Research Station: A research station is made to gather data on their surrounding area, and are thus given the necessary scanners and other such devices to fulfill their purpose.

### Medium Starcraft

#### Corvettes

Medium sized, nimble and fast ships capable of faster than light travel, corvettes are often used by militaries in battle to defend more cumbersome vessels in close to medium range combat. Corvettes are often employed by police forces, as they are fast enough to chase down most criminal vessels, require a small crew, and usually have enough firepower to deal with the majority of criminals. A fair number of civilians employ such craft as well, as they can be outfitted with all manner of equipment, making them suitable as pleasure yachts, research vessels, or simply high speed transport.

#### Destroyers

Destroys are mid sized military craft, heavy and slow for their size, yet gifted with heavy amounts of armor and firepower, which they bring to bear across the stars they travel between. Destroyers specialize in long to mid range combat, relying on guidance systems to destroy enemy craft whilst outside their range, designed to obliterate faster moving ships from a distance. Should enemy craft get within range of them, destroyers possess enough armor to withstand their assaults for time enough for their superior firepower to put an end to their foes. Destroyers typically function as defensive craft, serving to bolster larger, more cumbersome ships, or to defend planetary defenses from ships of equal or lesser size to themselves.

#### Freighters

Freighters straddle the line between corvettes and destroyers, being slower and tougher than the former, and more nimble and dexterous than the latter. Unlike the other two, however, freighters are almost exclusively civilian ships, though of course, certain civilians like having a bit more firepower than others.

* Heavy Freighters: Strong and sturdy, heavy freighters lack both the defensive and offensive capabilities of the militaristic destroyers, but they can come close if properly outfitted, and generally outmaneuver their more potent cousins. Heavy freighters are often used by civilian merchants to transport goods, and occasionally by pirates who prefer firepower to mobility.
* Light Freighters: Light freighters approach the quickness and dexterity of a corvette, though the approach admittedly is rather far from completion. They are, however, a bit tougher, massively cheaper, and all in all less finicky. They are often employed as family vehicles, by smugglers who require the option to make a quick getaway, and pirates who favor speed over toughness.

### Small Starcraft

#### Pods

Pods are tiny craft which usually contain a half dozen or so people, universally attached to larger ships in order to serve various purposes for them. Pods are not designed for interstellar travel, with most of them not even being sufficient for travel between planets.

* Boarding Pods: Boarding pods are designed to make fast, hurried journeys between ships, typically in the heat of combat, transporting strike teams to board other vessels. As such, they possess powerful engines, which make them faster and more maneuverable than most other pods, as well as a few defense systems to protect them long enough to reach enemy vessels. Strike teams are usually crammed in shoulder to shoulder, ready to instantly deploy as they arrive, with boarding pods usually being controlled by automated systems so as not to detract any organic personnel from their assault duties.
* Drop Pods: Drop pods are heavily armored and shielded pods, designed to be deployed right from orbit onto planets below, serving a similar function to boarding pods, but for planetary assault. They rely on their potent defenses to see their combative cargo through to planetary surfaces, with their piloting also being handled by technological systems. Drop pods are disadvantaged, however, in that they are very cumbersome in getting back to their parent ship, and are rarely employed in retreats.
* Escape Pods: Without a doubt the most common pod form, escape pods are almost universally found on any vessel of significant size. They serve to transport the crews of said vessel off of it in case of any emergency, possessing potent life support capabilities, and usually being stocked with sufficient provisions to sustain survivors until rescue arrives, as well as automatic homing beacons to alert nearby ships of their distress. Whilst escape pods are capable of maintaining their functions in space, most are primarily designed to transport their occupants to the nearest habitable world, with most being equipped with scanners and automated piloting systems to safely transport their passengers there.
* Utility Pods: Utility pods are usually designed to operate directly besides larger ships, typically being one or two man vessels equipped with various tools to assist in maintaining the vessel, such as arms, welders, and other such devices necessary to make repairs.

#### Shuttles

Shuttles are relatively small ships, usually used for short range transport, from vessel to vessel or vessel to planet. As such, they are not equipped to be able to travel faster than light.

* Assault Shuttle: Assault shuttles fill most of their available space with armor, shielding and weaponry, being military vessels designed to deploy from larger ships in order to attack planets.
* Cargo Shuttle: Cargo shuttles, as their name implies, serve to transport cargo between ships and planets, for such vessels which are too large to conveniently be able to journey into a planet themselves.
* Passenger Shuttle: Passenger shuttles are made to carry people between ships and planets, and can be luxurious craft made to ferry dignitaries from surface to orbit, or military dropships crammed with soldiers which will rapidly be deployed into combat.

#### Skimmers

Skimmers are small starcraft, which are very fast and maneuverable compared to larger ships. Oftentimes mass produced military skimmers are unable to engage in faster than light travel, relying on carriers and other transport ships to move them, whilst individually owned skimmers are much more likely to be able to engage in interstellar travel.

* Bombers: Bombers are among the slowest and most ponderous of skimmers, laden with a heavy cargo of torpedoes, bombs, and other explosives to deliver against their enemies. They quite often have crews of three to ten, depending on their size, and may indeed have gunners to help defend them from enemy craft, as well as being more heavily armored than other skimmers.
* Fighters: Fighters, or assault skimmers as they are also known, are made for skimmer to skimmer combat, sometimes in space, sometimes in atmosphere, and sometimes both. They are nimble and agile, possessed with considerable firepower for their size, and are employed in space and aerial battles. Most fighters only support a single pilot, although some larger ones may be able to support a gunner or two.
* Interceptors: Interceptors are the fastest and most nimble of skimmers, outclassing even the fighters in terms of speed. They serve to hunt down and destroy intruding ships, replacing a bit of lost firepower and armor with vastly increased maneuverability.
* Runners: Runners, or recon skimmers, are lightly armed and lightly armored. Fortunately for them, they are likely to detect enemy craft and escape long before they get within firing range, thanks to their potent scanning equipment. Certain rare recon skimmers are also equipped with cloaking technology, to allow them better infiltrate into enemy territory. Runners usually only have one pilot, though a few do have a secondary crew member.

## Starcraft Roles

Haulers

Junkers

Tugs

Warships

Yachts

## Starcraft Parts

### Reactors

Reactors, alternatively called generators or power sources, are the crucial parts of a starcraft that allow it to generate power to supply its other components. Most starcraft require reactors to operate for long periods of time, though some smaller starcraft such as skimmers might lack reactors and instead rely on batteries and recharging from other, larger vessels. Larger starcraft, or starcraft that require redundant systems, often have multiple reactors with different fuel requirements.

#### Psion Reactors

Psion reactors (also called Umbral reactors) are a rarely seen form of reactor that generates power by consuming psionic energy. These reactors are, owing to their rare materials and difficult construction, scarcely used in the modern galaxy. Psion reactors contain crystals attuned to the Umbra which can draw on the Umbra for psionic energy, which is then converted into power. Some psionic reactors which lack these crystals (or have their crystals rendered non-functional) can instead be powered externally via one or multiple psykers.