Outfitted and equipped with cutting-edge technology, the Starfarer is an important backbone of interstellar commerce. Yet to focus on the grandeur of the ship alone would miss the true beating heart of this tale, the men and women who operate these stout ships and their exhilarating lives on the drift.

Chief Jack Conroy, Clydesdale’s First Officer, receives his morning briefing from the Boatswain. Don’t let their easy interplay come off as laziness or inattention: these are experienced spacemen with thousands of voyages between them, always keenly aware of their responsibilities and the constant dangers they face.

Meanwhile, in his personal quarters, the tanker’s captain, awakens from four hours of union-mandated rest after overseeing midwatch during the transit in-system. Jarvan MacGravy, or ‘Little Mac’ as he’s affectionately known by his crew, is now again ready to take the reigns. His quarters are an oasis, the lone respite on a crowded ship.

Old spacehands have a saying: never trust a ship that doesn’t break down. Repairs are a constant aboard a complex spacecraft like Clydesdale. With hundreds of systems working at any given time, those repairs require expertise in a variety of disciplines, including welding, electronics repair, programming, repainting and a thousand other tasks. The crew performs this work with a knowing smile: their pride in their ship’s efficiency is telling.

Deeper in Clydesdale’s innards, Chief Engineer Clayton Fitz monitors the massive reactor that powers the transport. As with any power plant, there is constant danger of everything from meltdown to system failure, but the truly great engineers won’t settle for baseline performance. Instead, they actively man stations such as this to maximize energy output, constantly trying to improve engine efficiency as little as one micron at a time.

It isn’t all sweat and toil! In Clydesdale’s shared crew quarters, the off-shift personnel prepare to bunk down. It’s spartan, but more than enough for those accustomed to traveling the stars. The Captain discourages talking politics and sataball allegiances here: games of Trigger, easy camaraderie and tall tales of adventure are the order of the day when off duty.

The klaxon sounds! Long range scanners have detected a slow-moving blip on a potential intercept course. Such incidents are, more often than not, false alarms. The last alarm was the passing of an errant comet. Yet even the most experienced of hearts still skip a beat when the shrill call goes off. Could it be pirates seeking a target of opportunity? Vanduul raiders dedicated to nothing but slaughter? Only time will tell as the crew springs to action stations!

Unlike a warship, Clydesdale does not carry a crew of dedicated turret gunners on hand to watch the stars at all time. Instead, engineers and spacemen fill this essential job when crisis arises. Don’t let the lack of military experience fool you, these emergency gunners each have hundreds of hours of experience. Some, like Junior Engineer Janel Cosca, have even passed extensive certification programs. Tense minutes seem like hours to whoever’s ‘in the pods,’ each knowing they may be the only line of defense against an unknown enemy. And then, finally: the all clear. It was an errant Hull C which had drifted off the normal spacelanes.

The ship is docked! Without further incident, Clydesdale arrives at her destination, Archangel Station, and sets down gently in one of the standard hangars. Buggies carrying inspectors and customs officials speed to the landing platform, where they are dwarfed by the massive vessel.

Before she can unload her fuel and cargo, a thorough Customs inspection is in order. Local security scan Clydesdale for contraband while Captain MacGravy outlines the fuel and cargo intended to be traded. The local TDD representative comes out to make a visual inspection and officially receive the cargo.

The stevedores go to work! Starfarers like Clydesdale are more than massive fuel tanks: an extensive cargo bay allows the ship’s quartermaster, Ralph Dion, to engage in all forms of mercantile pursuits. The crew and the groundside personnel continue unloading essential goods ferried here to restock local shelves.

With her cargo holds now a few tons lighter and her crew a few credits richer, Clydesdale is ready to finish her contract and deliver her precious supply of fuel to the station’s waiting storage tanks. Specially built for the task, transferring the contents of the Starfarer’s massive detachable fuel pods is a straightforward affair as Quartermaster Dion ensures that the business at hand is conducted quickly and more importantly, safely.

Deep inside the tanker, Max Bresh (nicknamed ‘Scrub’ much to her dismay) initiates the defueling process. Massive quantities of refined quantum fuel surge from the ship into the storage tanks buried deep within the hangar. A process seemingly as simple as drinking through a straw… but one that can be as dangerous as playing with a live grenade!

Outside the ship, the pneumatics whirr. An Archangel deckhand monitors the defueling process, ready to release the dead man’s switch at a moment’s notice should something go wrong. While the ship’s state of the art containers render the fuel as inert as possible, Clydesdale is equipped with secondary systems to provide an added degree of safety.

The fuel is delivered, and Clydesdale’s crew prepares for takeoff. In the hauling business, time is money. To stay profitable, you have to stay mobile, so Clydesdale has little time for liberties. Mere hours after she arrived at Archangel, the enormous tanker has picked up any critical supplies that are needed and pushed off towards the stars.

And so the day ends as it began! Captain MacGravy briefs Chief Conroy on the day’s events and issues orders for the next shift before heading off to catch some much needed rack time. Conroy’s already begun running the next shift through engine drills and gunner reaction time. As Captain MacGravy heads to his bunk, he smiles: he has a good crew, one he is proud to trust with his life.