Ship Lore

[Thexare]

Series CX "Scimitar" Light Fighter
Series QX "Switchblade" Heavy Fighter
Series Z "Sabre" Strike Fighter
Series CZ "Cutlass" Strike Bomber
Series YX "Dromedary" Freighter
Series W "Warhammer" Patrol Cutter
Series DL Transport
Series DLX Bulk Transport
Series WZ "Montante" Multirole Corvette

---

History

The ubiquitous Border Worlds craft were originally developed by the Outcasts. Every time they improved on the design, they sold older craft to allies and prospective allies - always maintaining their advantage, but offering valuable equipment nonetheless.

But that was generations ago. When the predecessor to the Stiletto was distributed in 763 AS, enterprising Zoners at the newly-established Freeport 10 purchased several for engineering experiments. In the interest of ensuring the Zoners keep the access routes to their homeworld safe, the Outcasts consented to this. Their modifications were effective at increasing the power of the craft, despite being somewhat crudely done, and they "voluntarily" surrendered two examples to the Outcasts for proper refinement.

Seeing what parts were used in their upgrades, the Outcasts realized that their manufacturing process needed revisions. They intended to continue arming their allies, but even as close as Freeport 10, many of the more advanced parts were unavailable. While they could ship parts, that would divert ships from the cardamine trade. As such, they began specifically producing lower-quality but easier-to-maintain craft to sell to anyone who might be useful to the Outcasts. The first Series X "Dagger" was released to great success, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of Lane Hacker raids. Sales to the Zoners continued as well, primarily to cast doubt on the sourcing of the ships.

The Series Y "Stiletto" and Series YX "Dromedary" came next, launched together in 792 AS. By this point, the manufacturing process had been essentially perfected, and the Outcasts continued to sell ships directly to their allies. They also began selling them through the Zoners for redistribution, knowing that those who fled the Houses wouldn't then sell the craft to law enforcement. Later, in 804 AS, this arrangement was put in jeopardy by Zoners selling Dromedaries to the IMG.

The Series Z "Sabre" was released to great fanfare in 798 AS. With more firepower than any other fighter on the market, the Sabre drew significant interest immediately. Its cost, however, limited the number of buyers; the Red Hessians chose to simply duplicate the design on their own instead of buying it.

As the Tau War raged on, the Zoners of Freeport 6 desperately cobbled together the Series CX "Falcata" bomber. Though they had no intention of entering the war, they worried about the possibility of pirates using the chaos to strike their station. Unfortunately, the Falcata's designers didn't seem to fully grasp what makes the shipline work, resulting in a clumsy, ugly ship that was uncomfortably fragile for its role. At the end of the war, the Outcasts began selling their own Series CZ "Cutlass" bombers as their new Conquistador line's development accelerated. They sold a batch to the Freeport 6 Zoners at a discount, with the condition that they scrap all of their Falcatas; apparently, Outcast designers considered the ship an insult.

The original Series ST Transport had an expansive internal cargo hold and impressive agility, but somewhat anemic firepower. Since it was essentially a standard cargo vessel, Outcasts sold the vessel openly as early as 783 AS, and sold the blueprints to several other organizations as well - all the better to make their smuggling craft seem normal. It remained extremely popular for many years, though it's rarely seen in modern times. It has been largely supplanted by the Zoner-designed Series DL and Series DLX transports released in 822 AS, whose external cargo pods allow for much faster cargo transfers at bases equipped to handle them. This now includes the majority of pirate bases as well.

Deep in Omega-41, the Zoners at Freeport 5 knew that even as unpleasant as it was, they had to protect themselves. As such, they produced the Series V "Voulge" Bomber, which... didn't really work out so well. An utterly graceless ship weighed down by the incredibly thick radiation shielding the system demanded, the Voulge failed to meet expectations. The few circulated were recalled due to rampant technical issues, and the designers went back to the drawing board. Over the course of several years, a custom heavy generator was developed. In addition, they engineered dynamically-rerouting shielding that could drain power from the radiation shields in combat or in areas where that level of hazard protection wasn't needed. This allowed for significantly improved engine performance while maintaining both anti-fighter and anti-warship capabilities and keeping the pilot reasonably safe. The Series W "Warhammer" was somewhat more successful than the Voulge on the market, but the Outcasts generally take some offense to the craft.

The Series WZ "Montante" was produced from a rarity among the Outcasts - a failed upgrade. The structure of their Tridente gunships allowed impressive agility, but significantly complicated internal repairs; as such, they sought to design a more reliable gunship more suited to long-range operations. The resulting Montante is a very capable ship, its only failure is that it's not better. Though it does have a longer operational range than their Tridentes, its reduced firepower proved disappointing and the blueprints were sold off - though some Outcast captains do prefer the Montante even still.

It's not clear when the Series CX "Scimitar" and Series YX "Switchblade" were released. It took the Universal ID System several years to properly recognize them as seperate from the older Dagger and Stiletto, which many factions - the Lane Hackers especially - were only too happy to exploit. It's believed that this was somewhere around 809 AS, at the same time as a revision to the Dromedary was released by the Zoners.

Variations

The majority of Border Worlds ships still in service were specifically designed for export, to be compatible with local parts. As such, many factions have made their own variations. Notably, the Lane Hacker-designed Series XE "Shamshir" was designed for electronic warfare. While it retained the Scimitar's agility and firepower, its guidance system was much weaker and generally unable to handle guided missiles, especially in asteroid fields.

The Outcasts do still field a considerable number of these craft as well, The Maltese pattern is believed to have higher performance, but this may simply be due to the pilots.

Maintenance and Reliability

Maintenance was specifically accounted for in the design of the export Border Worlds craft. Though their parts tend to be expensive, they're widely available on Zoner Freeports and many other stations as well.

The Warhammer is particularly resillient. Junkers report being able to repair them with a remarkable range of components, likely due to the Freeport 5 Zoners wanting to maintain their defense ships no matter what they have on-hand.

Perception

Border Worlds fighters are widely respected for their combat ability. Fast and with class-leading firepower, they have long been considered among the best on the market. The cargo vessels, likewise, are often the first choice of freelancers and many organizations, legitimate and otherwise.

The Montante is generally considered more of a mid-range vessel. While fully capable of taking on competing corvettes and efficiently providing anti-fighter defense, its performance is not considered remarkable in any particular field. It's considered extremely reliable for long-duration operations, however.

The Warhammer and Cutlass have a poor reputation due to their predecessors and the unique design of the Warhammer. While both are considerably improved over their predecessors, the reputation of unreliability lingers nonetheless.

Special Notes

Border Worlds craft are not luxury vessels, they are engineered for peak performance. As such, they may not be particularly pleasant for long voyages. The larger craft - the Warhammer, Montante, and cargo vessels - have room for more personal comforts (which must be installed aftermarket), but some believe this defeats the purpose of a rugged ship for rugged people.