New ship descriptions

I’ve been working on descriptions for some of the new ship classes coming with Operation Fever Dream – the return to 2650-era OtherSpace:

Rucker-class fast transport

Exterior: A needle-nosed vessel with a curved upper hull dome and a flat lower hull that expands into a delta wing and angled tail toward aft. Thrust gimbals jut from either side below the tail. An airlock hatch can be found in the port hull. Viewport windows form a semicircle around the cockpit.

Cockpit: A small chamber taken up mostly by the main command console, which has two chairs for a pilot and co-pilot bolted to the deck. Viewport windows open onto the scene outside. A hatchway leads back into the passenger cabin.

Passenger cabin: A spacious cabin with seating for 20 passengers – ten rows of two seats each, divided by an aisle that leads from the cockpit to the aft service module and the airlock hatch.

Teng-class fast transport

Exterior: An egg-shaped transport with a sleek sliver of transparisteel for a forward viewport and a series of window slits spaced along the side hulls of the main cabin. Twin thrust gimbals jut from either side of the aft hull.

Cockpit: A small chamber with a control console and seats bolted to the deck for pilot and co-pilot. A sliver of transparisteel provides a view of the scene outside. A hatchway leads back into the main cabin.

Main Cabin: A spacious chamber with seating for 20 passengers – two rows of ten each, divided by a central aisle that leads from the cockpit to the service access module and the airlock. Window slits spaced along both bulkheads offer views of the scene outside.

Casady-class shuttle

Exterior: A shuttle shaped like a bell on its side, with the cockpit windows built into the head and a trio of thruster gimbals emerging from the lip.

Main Cabin: A small cabin with a main console for a pilot separated by a thin sheet of transparisteel from seating for eight passengers that’s divided by a narrow aisle that stretches back to the airlock hatch and service module.

Vassar-class shuttle

Exterior: A rectangular shuttle with wrap-around cockpit windows and several portholes along the side for passengers to view the scene outside. Two thruster gimbals jut from aft.

Wynden-class light freighter

Exterior: A kite-shaped hull with a cockpit bubble rising above the forward upper hull and four thrust gimbals jutting from aft. The rectangular cargo hold descends below the rear lower hull.

Cockpit: A clear transparisteel bubble set above the forward upper hull of the freighter’s kite-shaped main hull. The main platform supports the control console and bolted-down seats for pilot and co-pilot. A ladder leads down into the main corridor.

Main Corridor: A wide utility corridor with gray deckplates and bulkheads, stretching from the cockpit access ladder to the engineering pod. A freight elevator platform sits in front of the hatchway to engineering. Controls on the platform console make the elevator rise or descend into the cargo hold below.

Cargo Bay: Slung below the belly of the kite-shaped hull, this chamber is dominated by rows of shelving units for storage of cargo taken in transit from source to destination. A service console crouches next to an alcove for parking heavy equipment. A freight elevator provides access to the main corridor above.

Lowe-class light freighter

Exterior: This vessel resembles nothing so much as a triple-armed silver saguaro cactus dropped on its side and flying roots first into the black. The top-most arm contains the ship’s engineering section, with access tubes descending toward the quadruple thrust gimbals arranged around the middle arm. Elevator shafts connect the top, middle, and lower arms. The lower arm contains the ship’s cargo bay.

Cockpit: A boxy chamber at the extreme forward tip of the side-turned space saguaro with a trio of oval windows opening onto the scene beyond. Seats for pilot and co-pilot are available at the main control console. A hatchway leads back into the main corridor.

Main Corridor: A narrow utility corridor that stretches from the cockpit to the service elevator that leads up to engineering and down into the cargo bay.

Cargo Bay: Built into the lower arm of the side-turned space saguaro, this chamber is dominated by rows of shelving units for storage of cargo taken in transit from source to destination. A service console crouches next to an alcove for parking heavy equipment. A freight elevator provides access to the main corridor above. An aft hatch opens to the exterior while planetside for loading of cargo.

Engineering: A C-shaped control console station forms an arc around the faster-than-light drive module, which is perched within a pillar of radiation-shielded transparisteel. Access tubes lead down toward the thruster gimbals around the middle arm of the side-turned space saguaro. A freight elevator provides access to the main corridor below.

Sands-class light freighter

Exterior: A wedge-shaped vessel with three rectangular cockpit windows jutting above the forward upper hull and three large thrust gimbals poking from the wider aft hull. The cargo bay hangs below the central lower hull.

Cockpit: A chamber with three rectangular windows overlooking the forward upper hull, taken up mostly by a control console and a pair of bolted-down seats for pilot and co-pilot.

Main Corridor: A wide utility corridor that stretches from the cockpit to the ship’s engineering chamber. A freight elevator platform about midway through the corridor descends into the cargo bay.

Cargo Bay: Built into the lower hull of the wedge-shaped vessel, this chamber is dominated by rows of shelving units for storage taken in transit from source to destination. A service console crouches next to an alcove for parking heavy equipment. A freight elevator provides access to the main corridor above. An aft hatch opens to the exterior while planetside for loading of cargo.