Vectorbike
"Skimmers"
Vectorbikes, commonly referred to as skimmers, are single-occupant personal transit vehicles used for short-range travel in space-centric civilisations. They are a standard form of everyday transport in high-density orbital environments, including cityships, station clusters, and planets with routine surface-to-orbit traffic.
Designed as an intermediary between pedestrian movement and shuttle transport, vectorbikes allow individuals to move efficiently through regulated space traffic zones, thin-atmosphere environments, and near-surface lift corridors. They are not classified as spacecraft and are not intended for long-distance or independent space travel.
Vectorbikes operate as open-frame vehicles and require the rider to wear a compatible pressure suit when used outside pressurised environments. While they integrate with local traffic control systems for navigation guidance and collision avoidance, they remain manually flyable and place primary responsibility for safe operation on the rider.
As mass-produced civilian infrastructure, vectorbikes are widely accessible. Older and lower-cost models remain in circulation alongside newer, safer variants, resulting in significant variation in reliability and performance across populations. Emergency services and industrial operators utilise modified vectorbike variants built on the same core platform.
In cultures where space travel is routine, vectorbikes are treated as unremarkable but essential tools of daily life. They are regulated, licensed, and culturally normalised, functioning much like ground vehicles in terrestrial societies.
Designed as an intermediary between pedestrian movement and shuttle transport, vectorbikes allow individuals to move efficiently through regulated space traffic zones, thin-atmosphere environments, and near-surface lift corridors. They are not classified as spacecraft and are not intended for long-distance or independent space travel.
Vectorbikes operate as open-frame vehicles and require the rider to wear a compatible pressure suit when used outside pressurised environments. While they integrate with local traffic control systems for navigation guidance and collision avoidance, they remain manually flyable and place primary responsibility for safe operation on the rider.
As mass-produced civilian infrastructure, vectorbikes are widely accessible. Older and lower-cost models remain in circulation alongside newer, safer variants, resulting in significant variation in reliability and performance across populations. Emergency services and industrial operators utilise modified vectorbike variants built on the same core platform.
In cultures where space travel is routine, vectorbikes are treated as unremarkable but essential tools of daily life. They are regulated, licensed, and culturally normalised, functioning much like ground vehicles in terrestrial societies.
Power Generation
Vectorbikes are powered by compact, high-density power cells engineered for short-range civilian transit rather than sustained flight. These cells are designed to deliver rapid, repeated energy bursts to support micro-thruster vectoring, stabilisation, and environment switching between vacuum and atmospheric operation.
The standard vectorbike power cell is:
- Solid-state and sealed
- Non-reactive and non-combustive under normal failure conditions
- Modular and easily removable for charging or replacement
Rather than providing continuous thrust, the cell supplies energy in controlled pulses, allowing precise directional control while keeping overall power output intentionally limited. This design prevents vectorbikes from functioning as long-range spacecraft and reduces the risk of catastrophic failure in dense traffic environments.
Most civilian models support short, routine travel cycles before recharge, including near-surface lift operations and orbital corridor transit. Older or lower-cost vectorbikes typically suffer from reduced cell efficiency, resulting in shorter operational windows and less stable handling.
All vectorbikes include a minimal emergency reserve integrated into the power cell housing. This reserve activates automatically during primary cell failure and is limited to basic stabilisation, signalling, and temporary support for suit-linked systems while the rider remains mounted. It does not permit continued travel and exists solely to extend survival time until recovery.
Emergency and industrial variants use reinforced power cells with greater reserve capacity but adhere to the same core limitation. No vectorbike power system is capable of sustained independent operation without access to external infrastructure.
Propulsion
Vectorbikes use a distributed micro-thruster lattice instead of a single primary engine. Multiple low-output thrusters are embedded along the frame, providing precise directional control through rapid, short-duration thrust pulses rather than sustained acceleration.
In vacuum and orbital environments, movement is achieved through constant vector correction, with thrust balanced across the lattice to maintain stability and comply with traffic lanes.
In thin atmospheres and near-surface zones, the system shifts to a hover configuration. Downward thrusters generate lift and ground-effect stability, while lateral thrusters control forward motion and braking. Vectorbikes are not capable of sustained atmospheric flight and rely on nearby infrastructure for vertical movement.
Control is body-driven. The rider is secured in a semi-rigid harness, and changes in lean and posture alter the vehicle’s inertial bias, which the control system translates into thrust adjustments. Hand controls provide fine input, braking bursts, and emergency stabilisation.
Traffic systems provide guidance and collision avoidance but do not override manual control. Poor maintenance or degraded thrusters, particularly on older civilian models, can result in reduced stability and increased drift risk.
Weapons & Armament
Vectorbikes are unarmed by design. Civilian frames are not built with weapon mounts, hardpoints, or targeting systems, and their power and control systems are not capable of supporting weapon discharge.
Given their open-frame construction and constant operation in dense civilian traffic, arming a vectorbike is both unsafe and illegal. Any attempt to modify one for offensive use is treated as a serious transit violation rather than a legitimate upgrade.
Vectorbikes are classified solely as personal transport vehicles and are not intended for combat, enforcement, or security roles.
Communication Tools & Systems
Vectorbikes are equipped with short-range communication and signalling systems intended for traffic coordination, emergency response, and rider safety rather than long-distance contact.
All civilian models include a transponder that continuously broadcasts identification, position, and motion data to local traffic control networks. This allows for lane guidance, collision warnings, and recovery prioritisation in the event of a breakdown or drift incident. These systems assist navigation but do not remove manual responsibility from the rider.
Basic rider-to-infrastructure communication is standard, including docking clearance requests, emergency beacons, and automated distress signalling triggered by power loss or critical instability. Direct long-range communication is not supported, and vectorbikes are not designed to function as independent relay or command platforms.
Higher-end civilian models and service variants may include enhanced local-band comms for coordination with shuttles, stations, or emergency services, but all vectorbike communication systems remain intentionally limited. Vectorbikes are built to integrate into existing traffic and response networks, not to operate independently of them.
Sensors
Vectorbikes are fitted with short-range environmental and proximity sensors designed for navigation, obstacle avoidance, and traffic integration. These systems provide the rider with immediate spatial awareness in dense civilian environments but are not intended for long-range detection or threat analysis.
Sensor suites focus on relative motion, nearby structures, and local traffic rather than wide-area scanning. They operate in conjunction with traffic control networks, supplementing external guidance.
Civilian vectorbike sensors are intentionally limited in range and resolution. They are designed to prevent collisions and assist recovery.
Additional & auxiliary systems
Vectorbikes include a small number of auxiliary systems intended to support routine operation. These systems are secondary to propulsion and power and are designed to fail safely without compromising rider survival.
Most civilian models incorporate basic stabilisation assists to reduce drift during low-speed manoeuvres and docking. Environmental regulation is limited to heat management and surface de-icing for exposed components when operating in extreme temperature ranges.
Standard safety systems include automatic shutdown protocols, passive lighting and visual markers, and integrated recovery beacons activated during power loss or critical instability. These systems are intended to aid traffic control and emergency response.
Higher-end civilian models may include improved stabilisation software, reduced vibration output, or expanded diagnostic monitoring. Emergency and industrial variants carry additional auxiliary equipment specific to their role, but all vectorbikes remain bound by the same core design limits.
Hangars & docked vessels
Vectorbikes are designed to be operated directly into and out of pressurised and unpressurised hangar spaces, shuttle bays, and designated docking zones. Riders are expected to pilot the vehicle to a controlled stop within the bay, power down, and dismount without the use of external handling systems.
Standard vectorbike frames include magnetic contact points and stabilisation locks that engage automatically on landing, allowing the vehicle to secure itself to deck surfaces, wall racks, or storage rails while docked. In unpressurised bays, suit protocols remain active until the rider fully dismounts and clears the vehicle.
Hangars and docked vessels equipped to accept vectorbikes provide basic guidance beacons and clearance signalling but do not actively retrieve or store civilian units. Responsibility for safe approach, landing, and securing remains with the rider.
Due to their open-frame construction and limited power reserves, vectorbikes are not intended to remain active while docked aboard vessels. Extended storage typically involves full shutdown and passive locking until redeployment.
Nickname
Skimmer
Rarity
Common
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