STAR ARMY

Sci-fi roleplaying and worldbuilding community

User Tools

Site Tools


cargo

Cargo

This article describes the nature of cargo and supplies in the SARPiverse, as well as some common logistical practices, as well as the movement of item between planets and star systems. The lists provided are not all-inclusive.

Cargo Concepts

Cargo takes innumerable forms in the SARPiverse. Anything that might need to be stored and moved could count as cargo. Cargo might be imported if it is cheaper to do so, or it may be exported if there is a local surplus.

What Cargo?

Below is a list of a few types of items which might be transported between cities, planets, or systems. This is list is not all-inclusive, and is only meant to give some ideas of things which could be moved as cargo.

  • Food Items such as raw agricultural products, alcohol, frozen pre-cooked meals.
  • Military Assets such as ammunition, repair parts, personal armor, uniforms.
  • Raw Materials such as metal ingots, chemicals, stored gasses.
  • Fuels or Power Cells such as hydrogen fuel cells, plasma fuel cells, crude oil.
  • Salvage such as broken ships, recovered military components, broken weaponry.
  • Medical materials including equipment, medicines, live organs.
  • Biohazards such as chemicals, radioactive materials and toxic substances.
  • Living beings can sometimes be considered more cargo rather than passengers, in the cases of un-hatched eggs.
  • Livestock animals or pets may be transported as cargo.

FTL and Cargo Transport

This section will include information on how widely available FTL affects cargo in the setting (e.g. why it's not always prohibitively expensive to ship things to other planets in SARP).

Bulk Cargo

Bulk cargo consists of large quantities of typically non-perishable commodities like fuels (oil, coal), grains (dry rice, dry corn), sand, water, and so on. Bulk carrier ships typically have large storage tanks that are huge containers for their cargo. In the Star Army setting there are bulk carrier ships for elemental materials (e.g. gold, hydrogen gas, etc) and anti-matter (used for fuel).

Containerized Cargo

Containerized cargo is the preferred method of carrying cargo in most of the SARPiverse because, while it's not the most space-efficient or mass-efficient method, it's easy and cargo containers neatly fit into standard cargo bays.

Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) Design

The Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) starships/craft typically have a ramp that vehicles can drive onto the ship/craft. RORO cargo consists of vehicles and/or cargo on vehicles, for example, instead of transferring a truckload of cargo to the ship, the truck keeps the cargo in the truck and transports the entire truck. This is often used for ferry-type services or moving military units that want to bring their inventory of armored vehicles with them. This is also used for moving expensive mining vehicles and farm equipment.

Robotics

Many advanced societies and factions make use of fixed or independently-mobile robotics to assist with cargo operations. These groups may not necessarily have a dedicated article describing these robots.

Shipping Practices and Standards by Species/Faction

Some species and factions have unique practices with regard to the shipping and storage of cargo. Relevant articles can be found below.

Organizations and Cargo

A number of organizations in the SARPiverse are Cargo-centric. Such groups can be added here in the appropriate subsection.

Shipping Companies

Companies whose primary purpose is the movement of goods and cargo may be added to this list.

Government or Military Logistics Organizations

Military or Government logistics organizations.

Criminals and Cargo

These articles cover black markets, smuggling and other intersections of crime and cargo.

Aliens or Cultures with Trade/Cargo Traditions

  • The Graxlat Species has a reputation for acting as scavengers, thieves, and merchants.
  • Many Freespacers are merchants.
  • The Nationals faction of the Chelti are merchants, traders, and artisans.
  • The Delsaurian species has a mercantile culture.
  • The Kuvexian species is known to engage in frequent wars for the purpose of acquiring new things.

Cargo and Shipping Occupations

Occupations which primarily manage the storage or movement of goods and cargo may be added to this list. They should be listed with the faction that makes use of them, if applicable. The list is not all-inclusive.

Major Trade Hubs

Trade hubs and commercial centers both great and small may be added to this list. The location and factional alignment (if applicable) of the center of trade should be given.

Above: Art of an advanced storage facility, generated by Charaa using Copilot.

Cargo Storage and Transportation Methods

The means and methods by which Cargo is stored and moved is varied in the SARPiverse. Read on about some of these topics below

Cargo Containers

Mobile cargo container technology articles can be found here. Ideal storage containers are intermodal, though some cargo is transported in breakbulk fashion.

Shipping Facilities, Starbase Components, Ship Cargo Bays

The following articles describe cargo-related facilities that may be found on planets, vehicles, starships or stations.

Yamatai Star Empire Transport Starships

These are transport starships commonly found in and around the Yamatai Star Empire. Some classes of ship in this list may be found beyond its borders.

Other Faction Transport Starships

Some common transport starships of factions aside from Yamatai may be found in this list.

Ground-Based Cargo Transport Vehicles

The primary purpose of these ground-based vehicles is to move cargo. They should be listed with the faction that makes use of them, if applicable.

Above: Art of a Ground-based Cargo Transport Vehicle, Generated by Charaa using Copilot.

In-Atmosphere Cargo Transport Vehicles

These transport vehicles are designed primarily for airborne in-atmosphere planetary transport.

Teleportation Technologies

Teleportation technologies have unique applications to the transportation of cargo.

Guides and Resources

OOC Notes

Hollander created this article on 2024/04/07 16:55 in response to a request for such a page by Wes.1)


Quality:
cargo.txt ยท Last modified: 2024/05/19 15:08 by wes