Technology Baseline

Ships

• Types.

  • Small Haulers: Used for short runs, low cargo volume, and crews of 3–8. They can land on rough surfaces but have limited range.

  • Mid Bulk Carriers: Standard for long-distance trade. Crews of 10–40. Require regular stops for fuel, water, and maintenance.

  • Heavy Carriers: Large, slow, and expensive to maintain. Crews of 50–200. Used by Mega-Corporations and Central Authority fleets. They dominate main trade lanes but avoid unstable routes.

• Maintenance.
  Most ships are decades old. Replacement parts often come from scrapyards, salvage, or black-market fabricators. Few ships are uniform; most carry patchwork systems from multiple sources.

• Navigation.
  Ships use charts provided by Data Guilds and verified by Keth auditors. Updates are critical, as lanes shift. Outdated charts are a common cause of wrecks.

• Defense.
  Standard hull plating stops debris and low-caliber weapons. Extra shielding and countermeasure suites exist but are rare due to cost and energy use.

Power

• Station Reactors. Large fusion or fission systems provide long-term energy. Core stations use Talarq-built parts for heat resistance. Mid stations rely on older models with scheduled downtimes. Rim stations often run patched units with no official inspection.

• Local Grids. Cities and ports depend on distributed grids. Core grids have redundancy; outages are rare. Mid grids are functional but prone to regional failures. Rim grids collapse often, with blackouts lasting weeks.

• Fuel Types.

  • Hydrogen Isotopes: Standard for stations and larger ships.

  • Brine Batteries: Vellari-derived; used in water-rich systems.

  • Kelp Fuel Vats: Rim solution from Deepmere; cheap but unstable.

Weapons

• Firearms. Slug-throwers are common. Cheap and effective, but ammunition is heavy and costly outside core worlds. Revolvers and carbines are popular with crews.

• Energy Systems. Directed-energy weapons exist but need high power draw. Mostly used by Central Authority patrols or wealthy Free Companies. Parts and coolant are expensive.

• Ship Weapons.

  • Point Defense: Small turrets against boarding craft or debris.

  • Rail Launchers: Heavy, slow to recharge, strong penetration.

  • Energy Lances: Precise, costly to fire, limited to high-end ships.

• Combat Norms.
  Most fights are fast and short. Crews target engines, cargo holds, or life support to force surrender rather than total destruction. Ammunition cost makes prolonged battles rare.

Cybernetics and Gene Edits

• Cybernetics.

  • Core: Licensed clinics provide stable installs. Prosthetics, data ports, and neural boosters are common among professionals.

  • Mid: Available but quality varies. Some parts are outdated or incompatible.

  • Rim: Black-market installs are frequent. Many fail early or require constant repair.

• Gene Edits.

  • Core: Licensed edits provide lung mods, bone density adjustments, or sensory improvements.

  • Mid: Agricultural and industrial edits are widespread but often tied to corporate contracts.

  • Rim: Low-cost splices are crude and risky, sometimes leading to deformities or health collapse.

• Social Status. Expensive cybernetics or edits are status symbols. On rim worlds, a working limb-replacement is more about survival than prestige.

Everyday Devices

• Rugged Gear. Most people own cheap, replaceable tools. Standard comms, ration heaters, and work lamps are designed to survive drops and dirt.

• High-End Gear. Encrypted comms, precision instruments, and advanced processors are license-locked to prevent resale or theft. They can be tracked remotely by manufacturers or corporate security.

• Black-Market Mods. On the rim, it is common to bypass license locks, though this voids safety guarantees. Devices may fail suddenly if updates are blocked.

• Medical Devices. Portable medkits exist across the galaxy. Core kits include nanite injectors and targeted healers. Rim kits may just be bandages and disinfectants.

• Entertainment Devices. Core citizens use immersive holo systems. Mid citizens rely on patched copies. Rim citizens share cheap projectors or old recordings.

Summary

Technology in the Drift galaxy is functional but uneven.

• In the core, it is standardized, licensed, and reliable.

• In the mid, it is practical, available, but inconsistent.

• In the rim, it is patched, smuggled, and often unsafe.

Crew survival depends less on owning the best gear and more on maintaining what they have, knowing how to repair it, and planning around the risks.