Of crucial importance to any interstellar society are the subjects of travel and communications. Without the means to journey from solar system to solar system, or talk to people on other planets, the Terran Empire could not exist. Travelers in the Terran Empire and other Galactic civilizations can journey from a planetary surface into space, within a single solar system, or from one star system to another.
Price to Orbit | ||
| Spacecraft Type | Credits per kg of cargo | Credits per passenger |
|---|---|---|
| Orbital Elevator | 10 x G2 | 1,000 x G2 |
| Rocket booster | 50 x G2 | 5,000 x G2 |
| Ramjet spaceplane | 40 x G2 | 4,000 x G2 |
| Antigrav/Reactionless | 30 x G2 | 3,000 x G2 |
| Electromagnetic launcher | 5 x G2 | Not recommended |
| G2 is local gravity (in Earth gees) squared — for Mars, with a surface gravity of 0.38, G2 is 0.144. The price per passenger includes life support and a baggage allowance of 50kg (additional baggage costs more). | ||
Getting from a planet's surface to space takes energy, and that costs money. The Terran Empire has five ways to reach space from a surface:
See the accompanying table for typical prices for each method. On Terran worlds, most shippers favor rockets and reactionless thrusters. Getting down from space is as hard as getting up. On planets with a Thin or better atmosphere, spacecraft can use aerobraking — shedding velocity in the atmosphere by converting kinetic energy to heat. This costs nothing, but does require vehicles equipped with heat shielding or armor (5 DEF or better). On airless worlds, ships have to brake using their motors, making the price to land a payload equal to the launch cost.
In-System Travel Times and Costs | |||
| Method | Time | Cargo (credits/kg) | Passenger (credits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycler Station | 200 days x D | 50 | 2,000+(50xD) |
| Shuttle | 50 hours x D | 300 | 8,000+(800xD) |
| • Surface-to-Surface | +4 hours | +100 | +1,200 |
| Fast Shuttle | 20 hours x D | 500 | 15,000+(1,500xD) |
| • Surface-to-Surface | +4 hours | +100 | +2,000 |
| System Ferry | 100 hours x D | 200 | 4,000+(600xD) |
| Cargo Sail | 500 days x D | 20 | Not recommended |
| D = orbital separation between the two planets in AU | |||
| Listed prices are for orbit-to-orbit transport, except for surface-to-surface shuttles | |||
Travel within star systems uses a mix of methods. Some older systems still have cycler stations — large, comfortable space stations traveling in "resonant orbits" between two planets — linking inhabited worlds. Passengers live aboard the cycler for months at a time, but the cost (which includes food, drink, breathing gases, and standard accommodations) remains low and communications links make it possible to work during the voyage. Many cyclers effectively become huge space colonies with large permanent populations.
Many systems, including heavily-inhabited ones, use high-speed shuttles — spacecraft with antimatter rockets or reactionless drives designed for fast transit between worlds in a system. (The fanciest of them also have surface-to-surface transport ability, and add the cost of surface-to-orbit travel to the price of a ticket.) Some, particularly the larger or more luxurious models, cost nearly as much as a starship, so only wealthy travelers use them. Larger, slower, cheaper "space ferries" carry large numbers of passengers from one world to another in systems with a lot of in-system travel.
Some worlds move in-system freight by automated lightsails on long flights taking months to complete. Naturally, this only works for items able to survive spending the better part of a year, or more, in vacuum. Piracy remains a threat; hijackers can sometimes rendezvous with the slow, hard-to-maneuver cargo sails to loot the cargo.
The accompanying table lists prices for standard methods of in-system travel. For more luxurious accommodations, private shuttles, or the like, increase the cost appropriately. On the other hand, persons qualified and willing to work as part of the crew, or who accept sub-par accommodations, can often reduce their travel costs proportionately.
During the reign of the Empress Marissa, Terran scientists know two ways to evade the limits of Relativity and go faster than light. More advanced civilizations understand a third. Humanity developed its first stardrive, the Hyperdrive, at the beginning of the twenty-third century. Navigation in Hyperspace was difficult, and early voyages took weeks just to reach star systems near Earth. Steady improvements continued throughout the first era of interstellar colonization and the Xenovore Wars, but the journey to the frontier was still a one-way trip for most people. Early in the history of the Empire, Human engineers developed a new drive. Scientists had long speculated that the same technology which transposed a starship into Hyperspace might also allow instantaneous jumps between points in normal space-time, but this remained mere theoretical speculation until a chance discovery of some partial Mandaarian drive system readouts provided the data needed to make a critical breakthrough. The Imperial Navy tested a crude "Displacer drive" in 2480, but for decades Displacer engines were unreliable and limited in range. By 2530 Displacers could make short interstellar jumps, and Displacer-ships began competing with Hyperdrive vessels.
Today, the Empire uses Displacer-ships mostly for passenger transport, courier ships, and time-sensitive freight. Other cargo goes by slower and cheaper Hyperdrive ships. Military vessels often have both systems for maximum tactical flexibility. Beyond Displacer drive lies the Spacewarp Drive, an ATRI 12 technology that bends space to allow easy, cheap FTL movement. Several other civilizations in the Galaxy already use Spacewarp ships; the technology derives from STL reactionless propulsion flight systems.
First-class passage on a large luxury starship, such as a Terran Grand Liner, costs about 1,000 credits per light-year and rivals service in a top hotel on Earth. The traveler gets a private suite, a large baggage allowance, and the services of a steward on board. But more modest passenger accommodations also exist — second-class passage costs 150 credits per light-year for a double-occupancy cabin, shared bathroom, and meals in a less fancy dining room. At the bottom of the scale, steerage passengers get a bunk, access to a communal toilet, and a daily ration of protein bars for as little as 50 credits per lightyear.
Accommodations on smaller ships cost proportionately less. A good stateroom on a merchant ship goes for a luxury liner's second-class rate, and many ships have a couple of extra bunks available for steerage prices. A person willing to tolerate cramped, uncomfortable, and possibly dangerous conditions can travel fairly cheaply.
Travelers can also work for passage — take a job on a starship in exchange for passage to another world. To do this, a traveler must have some useful skill, and the ship must need an extra hand on that run. For example, appropriate skills on a small merchant ship would probably include Combat Piloting, Computer Programming, Electronics, Mechanics, Navigation, or Systems Operation. Larger ships might require service staff (High Society), entertainers (Acting, Acrobatics, PS: Musician), medics (Paramedics), or extra security (PS: Law Enforcement, Security Systems, or Criminology). While on board the traveler gets steerage-style accommodations and works a daily 8-hour shift.
When a character searches for this sort of trade, the GM rolls once per week against the character's qualifying skill to find a berth. The GM applies modifiers based on where and how the character looks for work (crowded starports deserve a bonus, backwater colonies a significant penalty). Characters with a criminal record or a well-known Hunted or Reputation Disadvantage won't get the job without some fancy Persuasion rolls.