Paramour
Two Paramour class ships in combat near Venus
The Paramour is an open architecture ship design that started out in the early 2200s during the colonization of Venus. The limited funds available to the Venus Colonization Project would require a lot of re-use and recycling of the available infrastructure. This would start out often with jury-rigged modules being added to existing ships, or older ships being merged into newer designs to save their critical components. By 2230 a standardized ship architecture was widely used by ships around Venus and by 2260 that design architecture had evolved to include a wide range of modules that could be easily swapped out between ships. The low cost of ownership and the ease of upgrading would see Paramour type ships start to proliferate to many different operators throughout human space by 2300
Two Paramour class ships in combat near Venus
The Paramour is an open architecture ship design that started out in the early 2200s during the colonization of Venus. The limited funds available to the Venus Colonization Project would require a lot of re-use and recycling of the available infrastructure. This would start out often with jury-rigged modules being added to existing ships, or older ships being merged into newer designs to save their critical components. By 2230 a standardized ship architecture was widely used by ships around Venus and by 2260 that design architecture had evolved to include a wide range of modules that could be easily swapped out between ships. The low cost of ownership and the ease of upgrading would see Paramour type ships start to proliferate to many different operators throughout human space by 2300
Overview
Class: Paramour
Operators: Independent Operators and the Venus Colonization Project
Manufacturer:
Diameter:
Crew: 3-10
Propulsion:
Maximum Acceleration: 0.6g
Range:
Sensors:
Armament:
Cargo Capacity:
Support Craft:
Operators: Independent Operators and the Venus Colonization Project
Manufacturer:
Union Launch Alliance (ULA): Various Modules
Jovian Propulsion Labs (JPL): Various Modules
The Magnetic Assembly(MA): Various Modules
Length: Variable
Diameter:
Crew: 3-10
Propulsion:
Maximum Acceleration: 0.6g
Range:
Sensors:
Armament:
Cargo Capacity:
Support Craft:
History
In the early 2200s the ‘Paramour’ was just an open architecture for ship design being used by the Venus Colonial Authority, but by the 2260s the open ship architecture had become a standard set of swappable ship modules.
The large number of older and cheaper ship modules would make a decently sized second hand market for Paramour components. This would also lead to a large number of operators for Paramour type starships, which would in turn lead to a decent market for Paramour modules. Nearly every company that produced starship drives, sensors, and weapon systems has had at least one team that has decided to pair their technology with a Paramour module. Though the sales of these modules have never been amazingly high compared to other more lucrative products, it has led to a slow but steady supply of Paramours being operated by independent users throughout Human space.
Ships of Note
SS Black Adder
The SS Black Adder is a small 4 module Paramour with a nuclear thermal rocket module and a pair of solar sails that could be pushed on by the laser arrays in the Hawking system. The ship would be hired to steal manufacturing equipment from an asteroid base in deep space near the Hawking system.
Layout
The Paramour class starship is built out of a core module that contains 6 airlocks. This core module contains all the mechanical locks, power transmission, and piping systems to allow the needed fluids, current, and oxygen to flow around the ship as needed. Engine, Weapon, and other modules are then connected to this central core to create a full starship. Connector modules can also string together multiple core modules to build larger ships or space stations. The type and placement of modules varies greatly between ships.
Modules
Core Module
Cargo Module
A small module that can be used for storage of personal equipment internally, or additional equipment like missiles externally. It also has a small number of RCS thrusters for station keeping.
Command Module
Solar panels, communication equipment, a pair of small sleep areas and a command room, the command module has everything the ship needs to operate.
Ion Engine
Laser Weapon System
The Laser Weapon System module is a component developed by the Magnetic Assembly with four triangular heat radiators and a pair of laser optics.
Nuclear Thermal Rocket
