Classes

Mercenary Mercenaries are fighters for hire. They guard crews and cargo, fight off pirates and handle boarding fights. Many are ex-soldiers or people working off a debt. Most take bounty work between jobs, because bringing someone in alive pays better than a month of guard duty. On the Rim, a good mercenary is the only law a crew has.

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Technician Technicians keep old machines alive. They patch hulls, fix reactors, tune sensors and keep the air running. Half the ships in the Drift are held together by a technician with tape, spare parts and bad coffee. They deal with knockoff parts, rushed jobs and clients who pay late. Without them, ships stop flying.

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Pilot Pilots fly ships through lanes, ports and bad weather. They handle hard burns, dodges, landings and fuel-saving runs. A good pilot can slip a freighter past pirates or land it in a storm. Autopilots exist, but most are too old to trust. Many pilots sleep in the cockpit and eat there too.

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Navigator Navigators plot routes through the Jump Lanes. They read Keth charts, spot fake ones, and plan around tolls, pirates and dead beacons. A good navigator saves weeks of travel and a lot of credits. A bad one gets the crew lost in the dark. Some chase illegal shortcuts for the money and the thrill.

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Salvager Salvagers strip wrecks, dead ships and empty stations for anything worth selling. They cut, tow and sort parts in dangerous places. A good wreck can pay off a debt. A bad one collapses, leaks poison, or turns out to have someone still living in it. Rival crews fight over the best finds.

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Field Medic Field medics keep crews alive after accidents, raids and sickness. They do first aid, stitch wounds and run emergency surgery on a galley table. They trade care for favors and work with whatever supplies are left. Far from a real clinic, a small infection can kill. A crew with a medic lives longer.

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Broker Brokers find work and make deals. They know every bar owner, fixer and loan shark in port. They talk prices down, pay the right bribes, and make sure the client pays at the end. Some are honest. Some are the reason the job went wrong.

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Data Operative Data operatives crack, guard and fake information. They break into systems, block hackers, and change the records that decide who owes what. Some work for banks and companies. Others forge IDs and wipe names for cash. In the Drift, the right file can clear a crew or get it arrested.

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Runner Runners move people and cargo fast and quietly. They take rush deliveries, nervous passengers and goods that cannot wait. Some are honest couriers. Others run blockades or smuggle. The pay is good because the risk is high. Getting caught means a cell, a debt or a pirate's gun.

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Power Engineer Power engineers run the reactors and grids that power ships and towns. They handle hot parts, emergency bypasses and failing cores. Their work stops explosions, fires and blackouts in places most people will not enter. A good engineer can tell a real Forge part from a fake. When they fail, a whole station can go dark.

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Surveyor Surveyors scout places nobody has mapped. They chart bad lanes, scan asteroid belts and test the air on strange worlds. Data brokers, governments and Free Companies buy their reports. They often work alone with a few drones. Out past the beacons they find wrecks, dead stations and signals nobody can read.

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Steward Stewards keep a crew fed and sane. They manage food, supplies and bunks on long runs. They break up fights, listen to complaints and cook the one meal everyone looks forward to. In port they deal with aid groups and shelters. The job is not glamorous, but a crew without a steward falls apart.

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Civilian Civilians are most of the people in the Drift. They work docks, farms, mines, bars and offices. Most are in debt and get by on family, friends and neighbors. They cannot fly or fight well, but everyone depends on their work. They are the people crews pass, protect, rob, or end up becoming.

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Official Officials work for the Central Authority, a planet government or a big company. They run customs, courts, prisons and police offices. They can approve a crew, delay it, or ruin it. Some are honest and try to protect their towns. Many take bribes. Crews learn fast which kind they are dealing with.

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Outcast Outcasts live outside the system. They are smugglers, syndicate muscle, runaway debtors, squatters and hermits on dead stations. They get by on tricks and short alliances. Many know secret routes, hidden stashes or people nobody else can reach. Sometimes they help. Sometimes they sell you out.