Syndicate Ships

The Rover is designed to do exactly as its name implies: rove about, causing trouble and wreaking havoc whenever the opportunity presents itself. Most view this small craft as little more than a pirate training tool; unlike most light fighters, which are equipped for battle against hostile life forms, the Rover was designed for only one purpose- to destroy other vessels. For this reason, construction of the Rover was outlawed by all factions several decades ago, shortly after the ship made its first appearance. An effort was made to recall and destroy all Rovers that had been sold before the ban; however, a number of the ships were successfully smuggled out of faction space and are now in possession of The Shadow Syndicate.

Though not a particularly large craft, the Reaper is well-armed and usually equipped with quite advanced, if outlawed, technology. Quick and responsive, Reapers are particularly renowned for their impressive maneuvering capabilities. Unfortunately the Reaper design failed to pass inspection by the Intergalactic Space Vessel Safety Administration (ISVSA), so commercial construction was halted and the plans were eventually scrapped. Illegal fabrication of the craft continues, however, despite efforts of faction authorities, bounty hunters and the Esteemed Pilots Syndicate to eradicate all facilities involved in the construction or sale of outlawed vessels.

No doubt pacifist Linda Lanner, famous designer of the Lanner-series tradeships, is turning in her grave at the sight of this twisted perversion of her life's work. Modifications to the weaponless Lanner's subsystems and roomy cargo holds have enabled the Blood Lanner to carry both guns and missiles as well as cargo- a pirate's dream come true. Though not technically illegal, there are no legitimate spacecraft construction plants currently producing the Blood Lanner- the public expresses such outrage at using a ship built for peace as an instrument of destruction that to do so would surely be corporate suicide.

If evil can be said to exist in the universe, surely it is manifested in the Sudden Death. No one knows who designed this monstrosity or where it is constructed- only that it is fast and deadly. Though seldom sighted, authorities believe there may be more of these ships around than anyone realizes. "The problem is there are seldom any survivors left to describe their attackers," says Gla'arrik of the Ska division of the Imperial Police. "But there are just not many ships out there big enough to leave only a few pieces of rubble in orbit where there was once a thriving business or busy space port. We believe these attacks are carried out with Sudden Deaths."

Other than most of its predecessors, the Harvester is not assembled from scrapped parts of decomissioned ships or wrecks. Instead, as the rumor goes, it is made up entirely of brand new high-tech modules smuggled in grand style to neutral space from the largest shipyards known inside faction territory. Regardless of its physical origins, the Harvester - initially dubbed "Harvester of Souls" - is the consequential product of a reorganized and ever strenghtening Shadow Syndicate. Although slightly limited in missile slots, the Harvester is one of the deadliest and most durable ships known throughout the universe. As the saying goes: "If Death were roaming space, he'd fly a Harvester".

The Trident is often overlooked because of its relatively weak armor capacity, but it is truly an exceptionally well-designed vessel and able to deal out considerably more damage than most others in its class. Together with its hyper-robust chassis this makes the Trident an outstanding training vessel - exactly what the Esteemed Pilots Syndicate had in mind when they purchased the ship's patent and sole construction rights. Now constructed only in EPS fabrication facilities and available only to members, the Trident has become quite popular and a number of companies are struggling to develop a comparable ship design for sale to the general public.

Developed under EPS contract by the same company which produced the original Behemoth design, the Celeus is a roomy, sturdy tradeship designed to make a trader's life a lot easier. A number of cutting-edge electronic subsystem modifications allow for automatic record keeping and load planning, among other things, eliminating a lot of the dreary paperwork all pilots dread. Though there are always some who fear new technology, for the most part reception of the Celeus has been overwhelmingly positive, and there are hopes that the new technologies will soon be made available outside of the EPS.

The Esteemed Pilots Syndicate quickly began to realize that their current line of ships would not be enough to stop the slave traders and drug dealers of the universe. To compete with the surprisingly sophisticated Shadow Syndicate designs EPS engineers decided to improve on an already battle proven ship, the Gargantua. By taking the chassis of the large dual blade class ship and converting it into a more space efficient mid size fighter the EPS successfully created a ship able to put justice on the offensive once again.

Like the Trident, the Vulcan is a remarkably well-built ship - in fact, they share many properties. Fast, responsive and astoundingly light-weight for its class, the Vulcan is favored among those members of the Esteemed Pilots Syndicate who prefer to fight for a better universe with guns and missiles. Some even say the Vulcan is becoming a symbol for peace and justice- the silhouette of this proud craft is seen on many fliers and publications propagating solutions to the ever-growing numbers of pirates, hackers and smugglers.

The Esteemed Pilots Syndicate is always looking for ways to better fight criminals and the scum of the universe. It comes to no surprise that a group of EPS scientists designed this small fighter in an effort to counter pirate activity. With its small size and extremely efficient energy distribution system, it can not only cloak in any environment, but also mount five guns, allowing it to defeat criminals in their own environment. Built on a modified Shadow Stealth Craft chassis, the Nano uses technology from all factions in order to produce the most efficient ship in such a small hull.

It would be very difficult to find an engineer capable of improving the design of the Liberator; however, the Esteemed Pilots Syndicate did exactly that. The Liberator EPS is bigger, faster and stronger than its predecessor, a truly fearsome opponent. The EPS has recently opened an advanced flight training school for those members who aspire to pilot the complex craft, and hopes to be seeing a steady stream of graduates heading out to fight for the rights of citizens across the universe in the stunning Liberator EPS.