Working notes, 2440
This entry covers the main V’ren shuttle and hull classes currently operating with the V’ren Trust fleet in support of Freehold and resettlement projects on and around Earth. Counts are approximate and refer to fleet-wide totals, not local allocations at a given hub. Route maps and duty rosters live in separate logistics sheets.
Human-readable labels like “Type 8” or “Type 48” are standardized Marmaduke Logistics usage. Original V’ren designations are longer and rarely appear in Earth-facing documents.
All shuttle classes can be flown remotely from a control center or with a single pilot and AI assist. In normal crewed operations:
- Types 8, 12, 26, 28
Usually crewed by a pilot and a flight engineer. - Types 48–60 (large hull family)
Rated for a minimum of four flight-crew positions in routine service:
pilot/co-pilot, engineer, communications, stellar cartographer/astrogator.
Post-service check flights are often done with only two crew who hold multiple ratings.
On inhabited worlds and in atmosphere, the stellar cartographer/astrogator normally functions as:
- navigator
- assistant communications officer
- information officer / data runner
They may also be tasked to assist engineering with simple hands-on jobs when needed (holding a light, passing tools, watching specific indicators), but they are still counted as flight crew, not as engineering staff.
Medical staff, security, and mission specialists may be embarked as needed, but they are never counted as part of the flight crew complement.
All shuttle maintenance is performed aboard the orbiting ships. Until permanent Earth–lunar L4 and L5 stations are constructed and fully online, no heavy maintenance or overhaul work is based planetside.
All V’ren military officers, regardless of specialty, are trained to fly the Type 8.
Contents
- 1 Performance and Transit Profiles
- 2 Quick Reference by Class
- 3 Crew Complements and T’mari’s Ratings
- 4 Type 8 – Small Passenger Shuttle
- 5 Type 12 – Commuter Shuttle
- 6 Type 26 – General-Purpose Shuttle
- 7 Type 28 – High-Pressure Environment Shuttle
- 8 Type 48 – Base Heavy Cargo Hull
- 9 Type 49 – Passenger Hull & Interior Family (incl. XLT)
- 10 Series 50–60 (Overview)
Performance and Transit Profiles
These profiles describe what the large hull family (Types 48 and 49, plus related variants) can do in atmosphere and space under normal operating conditions.
Earth–Lunar Transit
With proper configuration, any Model 48 cargo hull or successor variant capable of orbital work can:
- Travel from Rolla to lunar orbit in eight hours or less, depending on loadout and traffic control.
- Return from lunar orbit to Rolla in approximately four to six hours, using favorable braking and gravity-assist profiles.
Atmospheric Limits
In dense atmosphere, these hulls have a tested maximum speed of roughly Mach 7.5.
- Flying at this speed inside atmosphere is extremely hard on components and is reserved for emergencies and test profiles.
- For truly high-speed point-to-point travel, it is usually more efficient to fly a ballistic course, spending most of the journey above the atmosphere, with far less wear and tear on the airframe.
Normal Cruise Speeds
For ordinary operations:
- Over land, normal high-speed cruise is about 1,150 kph.
- Over open water (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian), normal cruise is around Mach 2, using established corridors where sonic booms are politically and environmentally acceptable.
Quick Reference by Class
Small shuttles and regional workhorses
- Type 8 – Small passenger shuttle, 8 passengers, used for small delegations and officer training. Earthside models have windows for the view.
- Type 12 – Commuter shuttle, short range, high frequency, used for day-to-day runs and “grocery” missions.
- Type 26 – General-purpose shuttle, mixed cargo and personnel, short/medium range, can be carried inside a Type 48.
- Type 28 – High-pressure environment shuttle, including aquatic science modules rated for extreme depths (e.g. Challenger Deep).
Large hulls and orbital-capable series
- Type 48 – Base heavy cargo model, main bulk hauler. Carries ten 53-foot containers internally or smaller shuttles.
- Type 49 – Passenger model and interior family (A–E). Matt’s yacht is a Type 49–XLT in this family.
- Types 50–51 – Science and debris control.
- Types 53–55 – Orbital habitation.
- Types 57–60 – Industrial, dump, mining, and salvage hulls.
- Types 52 and 56 – Exist in the broader catalog but are not currently used in Earth-facing operations and are omitted here.
Crew Complements and T’mari’s Ratings
Standard practice
- Types 8, 12, 26, 28
Pilot + flight engineer as normal; AI assist always available. - Types 48–60 (large hulls)
Four core flight-crew positions:
pilot/co-pilot, engineer, communications, stellar cartographer/astrogator.
Medical, security, and mission specialists may ride along, but they do not count toward the flight crew minimums.
On inhabited worlds and in atmosphere, the stellar cartographer/astrogator:
- acts as navigator,
- serves as assistant comms officer,
- functions as an information officer, handling charts, feeds, and data requests,
and may be temporarily tasked to help engineering with basic jobs when required.
T’mari Th’ron’s flight qualifications
- Fully rated as pilot and engineer on the Type 8 and Type 26, plus several smaller craft.
- On the Type 48 cargo hull and Type 49 passenger hull, she is rated for three of the four primary flight-crew roles:
- pilot/co-pilot
- communications
- engineering
- She is not rated as a stellar cartographer/astrogator. Deep-space navigation is the one bridge slot she does not fill on the big hulls.
All V’ren military officers are trained to fly the Type 8, making it the baseline shuttle for cross-branch flight proficiency and small-team movement.
Type 8 – Small Passenger Shuttle
Role
Small capacity passenger shuttle, used when the priority is moving a handful of people quietly and comfortably rather than lifting bulk cargo or running scheduled commuter routes.
Capacity and crew
- Seats 8 passengers in standard configuration.
- Normally flown by a pilot and a flight engineer, with AI support available.
- Can be loaded inside a Type 48: five Type 8 hulls per carrier.
Performance
- Excellent atmospheric handling; operates comfortably from small pads and improvised landing zones.
- Shares the overall family performance envelope but usually flies far below maximum possible speeds.
Variants
Multiple Type 8 models exist. For Earth missions, the fleet prefers versions with external windows, allowing passengers to see out. This is good for diplomacy, PR, and basic morale.
Usage notes
- All V’ren military officers are qualified on the Type 8.
- The class Matt and T’mari use for the Denver trip, small enough to feel personal but large enough to carry security, aides, and a modest entourage.
Type 12 – Commuter Shuttle
Role
Short-hop commuter and utility shuttle. High frequency, low mass, ideal for day-to-day circulation of people and small cargo.
Crew and capacity
- Typically crewed by a pilot and flight engineer.
- Compact passenger cabin and flexible cargo bay suited to crates, pallets, medical supplies, documents, and similar loads.
Performance
- Optimized for sub-continental ranges and quick turnarounds.
- Uses the standard cruise profiles: ~1,150 kph over land, Mach 2 over long ocean legs where corridors permit.
Usage notes
- Angelina’s preferred platform for informal “grocery runs”.
- While Matt was on his world tour, she happily sent a Type 12 to Cebu airport just to pick up Tanduay and bananas for banana daiquiris.
- Staff talk about them the way pre-Collapse people talked about delivery vans and commuter planes: familiar, ubiquitous, only exciting when you are waiting on one.
Type 26 – General-Purpose Shuttle
Role
Flexible mixed-use shuttle for short and medium range operations. Moves both people and gear when a Type 48 is overkill and a Type 12 is too small.
Crew and capacity
- Typically pilot + flight engineer, with AI assist.
- Interior can be reconfigured between passenger seating, cargo racks, and mission-specific modules.
Performance
- More agile in atmosphere than the large hulls.
- Can operate from prepared pads and modest clearings, important in neglected territories still under reconstruction.
Integration with Type 48
- A Type 48 can carry three Type 26 hulls in the rear volume when configured as a shuttle carrier.
Usage notes
- Often the first V’ren hull a rural human settlement sees up close.
- The sight of a Type 26 dropping in is already becoming shorthand for “help is here”.
Type 28 – High-Pressure Environment Shuttle
Role
Specialized shuttle designed for high-pressure environments, including deep ocean operations and other extreme conditions.
Hull and modules
- Pressure hull and systems are built to tolerate the loads found in regions such as Challenger Deep or even gas giants.
- Includes dedicated aquatic science modules, with configurable lab, sensor, and sample-handling spaces.
- Can be refitted for other high-pressure or corrosive environments as needed.
Usage and demand
- Several oceanographers among the V’ren colonists are eager to deploy Type 28 modules, including permanent underwater research facilities.
- They are already inundated with requests from Earthside scientists and global “science nerds” who want lab time in the new underwater complexes once politics and safety protocols allow it.
Type 48 – Base Heavy Cargo Hull
Role
Primary bulk freight lifter for the fleet in Earth service. The base cargo model of the large hull family.
Used for:
- colony seeding
- heavy machinery
- structural modules
- agricultural equipment
- containers, smaller shuttles, and general freight
Dimensions and structure
- Total length
Approximately 104 meters overall. - Forward section (24 m)
The forward 24 meters house engineering, the control deck, nose-cone sensors, and other sensitive equipment. The external profile is closer to a bullet train nose than a cone-shaped rocket. - Rear section / pressurized volume
The rear section forms the main pressurized cargo volume. Within that, the usable cargo bay is approximately:- 82 meters long, and
- about 8.75 meters high at the centerline,
with an oval footprint sized specifically to accommodate intermodal containers.
Container and cargo configuration
On Earth, the ten-container configuration is the norm for Type 48 hulls.
The bay is sized to take a double stack of five 53-foot intermodal containers, for a total of ten 53′ containers inside a Type 48:
- Each of the ten “slots” can hold either:
- one full-length 53′ container (often used for loose aggregate or liquids), or
- a rack of four quarter-length rigid containers for supplies, equipment, or sorted cargo.
In maximum quarter-length configuration, a Type 48 can carry up to 40 quarter-length rigid containers in the main bay.
The bay can also be reconfigured to carry smaller shuttles instead of containers:
- five Type 8 hulls, or
- three Type 26 hulls, secured in the rear volume.
Salvage and feedstock
All Type 48 hulls that return to space do so with as much salvage and liquid waste as can be loaded. They rarely leave Earth empty. River muck from the bombed-out cities of Jefferson City, Saint Louis, and New Madrid is particularly valuable, providing organics, heavy metals, and actinides that shipboard fabrication systems can break down and reuse.
Performance
- Shares the Rolla–Lunar profile:
~8 hours outbound, 4–6 hours inbound under normal conditions. - Capable of high-Mach atmospheric flight (tested to ~Mach 7.5) but extreme profiles are reserved for emergencies; ballistic segments and standard cruise speeds are preferred.
Crew and capacity
- Minimal bridge crew by human standards, heavily AI-assisted.
- Bay configured to the standard ten-container set, or mixed containers and shuttles as required.
Usage notes
- Dockside humans treat Type 48s as “flying freight yards”.
- The steady upward flow of river muck and urban ruin has already spawned jokes about the ships “eating the old world.”
Type 49 – Passenger Hull & Interior Family (incl. XLT)
Role
The passenger model of the large hull family. When Earthside staff say “a Type 49,” they usually mean a 48-family hull fitted primarily with Type 49 interior modules.
Type 49 is both:
- the passenger-configured hull profile, and
- the interior module family (A–E) used to build out passenger, medical, and quarantine layouts.
Matt’s personal yacht is a Type 49–XLT: a long-haul hull fitted with a unique XLT interior set built on the 49 modular standard.
Standard 49 modules (A–E)
Modules can be mixed within a single hull. Example: a humanitarian mission might fly a hull configured as 2×49A + 1×49B + 1×49D.
- 49A – Economy Plus
High-density seating and bunks. Lower volume used for cargo and luggage. Standard fit for worker and migrant transport. - 49B – Business Class
Lower-density seating with better workspaces. Lower volume configurable as either storage or a small conference/briefing room. - 49C – First Class
Spacious seating and compartment-style arrangements. Lower volume is a dedicated conference room with minimal storage. Used when someone needs to be impressed without going full custom. - 49D – Medical Suite
Medical quarter configurable as clinic, hospital, or full medical center. May include labs, imaging suites, exam rooms, hospital beds, and surgery/delivery theaters. - 49E – Quarantine Units
Isolation quarter with independent atmosphere and waste handling. Used for suspected contagion, unknown biologicals, or toxic exposure events.
Type 49–XLT – Matt’s “Space Yacht”
Matt’s yacht is formally a Type 49–XLT: a 48-family hull fitted with a unique XLT interior set based on Type 49 modular standards.
- The XLT uses the same mounting rails and quarter-section logic as standard 49 modules, but the entire interior is a custom one-off.
- In theory, the XLT interior could be swapped into another hull. In practice, moving it between hulls or fully refitting it in place is a day-plus job, not a sub-hour module change, because wiring, plumbing, structural tie-ins, and security hardpoints all have to be opened, inspected, and re-certified.
Layout (aft to fore)
- Rear cargo section
Smaller than a pure Type 48 cargo fit but still useful for supplies and specialty equipment. With rear hatch fully open multiple reefer rigid cargo pods are easily accessed on the lower section with a raised speaking or performance platform above that is 3 meters deep. - Apartment deck
A spacious apartment for Matt and family with full bathroom and bathing area, including a multi-person jacuzzi-style tub sized for up 4 adults and 2 children. - Shared office
A working office for Matt and T’mari, set up as a command and planning room rather than a decorative study. Located beneath apartment. - Reading and meditation room
A private quiet space under the apartment level, with additional secure storage. Located beneath apartment. - Lounge and passthrough galley
Forward of the apartment lies the main lounge and a shared passthrough galley. Décor chosen by MJ and Oxana in unapologetic 1970s disco style, complete with:- small dance floordisco ballreplica vintage furniture
- Conference level
Three conference rooms beneath the lounge for briefings, negotiations, and planning sessions. - Business-plus section
Forward of the lounge is a business-class-plus zone with workspace for the 40-member travel team, bunks, shower rooms, and storage below.
Theoretical range
On paper, with a crew of 12, a Type 49–XLT equipped hull could:
- make a Mars run carrying 20 non-crew passengers would take six months,
- support six months of supplies for those passengers, and
- carry return-trip supplies for the crew
without anyone being cramped or uncomfortable.
In practice, this is a theoretical capability. One of the larger orbital ships can make the same journey in less than a week, depending on Mars’ position, so deep-space legs use those platforms instead. The 49–XLT remains primarily an orbital–planetary and intra-system passenger and command platform.
Series 50–60 (Overview)
For Earth operations, the Type 48 cargo hulls and Type 49 passenger/interior family are the most visible parts of the 48–60 ecosystem, but related variants matter in the background.
Types 50–51 – Science and Debris Control
Science-focused hulls.
- Type 50
General science platform with labs, survey bays, and sensor arrays built into the hull. - Type 51 – Debris Control / Kessler Neutralization
Specialized for clearing debris fields and neutralizing Kessler-syndrome environments.
Several 51s from the Valnareth / “Squished Possum” inventory were deployed on day one to clear safe approach corridors for the arriving fleet and to prepare for deployment of a new satellite network around Earth.
Types 52 – Orbital Habitation
Long-term orbital habitat frames. Attach to the outside of habitation modules.
- Carry dwellings, life-support systems, communal spaces, and station infrastructure.
- Function more as space stations than as shuttles or transports.
- Only feature in Earth documents when their existence is relevant to policy, docking, or population counts.
Types 53–60 – Industrial / Dump Hulls
Industrial workhorses.
- Essentially unpressurized dump trucks for space, used for:
- mining
- construction
- large-scale salvage
- Move regolith, slag, rock, and scrap rather than people.
- Operate mainly in hard vacuum or very thin atmospheres.
- Most relevant to Earth operations as the final destination for material sent up via Type 48 salvage runs.
- Type 60 can be modified to carry military weapons platforms and troops.
End of White Pages v1 – Shuttles and Large Hulls
