Starliner 400

The New Terran Hegemony covers a vast region of space, and despite centuries of advancement in interstellar ship technology, travel for individuals remains an experience that few without vast sums of credits look forward to. Journeys to nearby systems are unpleasant enough. Trips of more than one or two parsecs can take many weeks, and with few activities available and relatively cramped quarters, journeys are mind-numbingly boring.

The Travelex Corporation recently announcement of the launching of the Mother Karan, the first of its Starliner 400 class passenger liners, which intend to change all that forever.

"The First True Luxury Liner "

The Mother Karan, and the 3 sister ships planned for the Starliner 400 series, are the first "long jump" ships intended purely for the purposes of providing speedy, yet comfortable transportation of citizens across the Hegemony. Presently, those wishing to travel off their home worlds have few choices. The extremely wealthy can charter (or purchase) small, fast ships based on the fast scout or courier models used by the military or the Persean Scout Corps. Those without the credits required for such extravagance must typically book passage on commercial ships that carry both passengers and freight; often encountering crews that treat them like "cargo that moves around", and not paying customers.

The Mother Karan does not carry commercial freight; its cargo is limited to supplies intended to cater to the passengers' comfort. Cabins are well-appointed and well-maintained. Numerous amenities such as a casino, theater, and fine-dining restaurant offer opportunities to pass the travel time in enjoyable ways.

The most important feature of the Mother Karan and its sister ships, though, is the state-of-the-art engineering that provides 4 parsec jump capability. Very few passenger-carrying options before now could offer anything better than Jump-2; this means travel times on a Starliner 400 will be halved or better, since longer jumps generally means more effiicient route planning.

Planned Service

The Mother Karan is scheduled to ply a generally spinward-trailing route between New Terra and the Edgepoint system, with layover stops at a few major systems along the way. These layover systems will be chosen either because of civilian/commercial importance, or popularity as vacation destinations.

The others ships planned for the class will ply routes covering the remaining three "cardinal directions", thus offering luxury access to the entire Hegemony.

The Future

Travelex Corporation is dedicated to providing comfortable transportation for citizens of the Hegemony, whether they are traveling for business purposes or for recreation. Their plans do not stop with the 400 series luxury liners; they have already announced that initial planning and design for a 500 series - capable of Jump-5 - is underway. And, there have been leaks that a Jump-6 class is being discussed by corporate execs and designers as well.