The UEA SS Shifting Horizon

The UEA SS Shifting Horizon was commissioned as an exploratory vessel, with plenty of manufacturing and science capability, but not a lot of weapons or shields. The ship currently contains 10 officers, four others in cryo, 18 crew, plus four in cryo, and 20 civilians.
The ship is, at least officially, run by Captain James Montegue Harrison III, Earl of Shaftesbury, and his first mate, Commander Seth Grainer. However, the Captain is a leering, lazy, slobbish misanthrope, and usually leaves the actual duties to his first mate. Commander Seth Grainer is a sharp, upwardly mobile officer, though he does have some authority issues, especially with the Captain. Unlike the Captain, the Commander actually rose through military ranks to attain his position.

The crew includes four pilots, three of which are from a military background, three engineering techs, a communication tech, two science techs, three med techs, and five soldiers. A full list of current and previous crew is listed on this page.


The ship itself consists of three levels. The lowest level is mainly for the officers and crew, with bridge, the crew and officer quarters and mess hall, and ship storage accessible. The second level is a half-height storage area filled with cryo pods, for shipping people, animals, and plants. There is limited crew and passenger access. The third level is the civilian area, as well as engineering access to the power core and the jump drive. See the pictures below for a detailed map:

Officers & Crew, Storage, Engines

Civilians, Biodome, Science, Power Core, Jumpdrive

Note that the two maps overlay; the elevators (marked with an E) are directly connected.

The ship itself has enough energy for approximately 300 days of normal travel; any firefights will use more energy. Missiles, torpedoes, and railgun projectiles can be built from basic materials harvested from asteroids and energy from the ship. Weapons and other supplies can be purchased from the ship itself; the UEA found that soldiers tend to ration energy and bullets much more efficiently when the cost is taken from their own pay.

Additionally, the following vehicles were chosen:

• A general shuttle, with space for a pilot, 20 passengers, and 8 points of vehicles (mounted externally)
• A single-pilot space and atmospheric fighter with fixed quad-link medium lasers, useful for going up against other small ships, like fighters or bombers
• A 5-seat fighter/bomber with dual-link medium lasers and various sized bombs, for softening up ground-based targets or providing light escort
• A light jeep with space for six and two mounted heavy machine guns
• An ultralight hover transport, with space for 4 passengers, and no weapons
• A microscout, or single-seat jet with a long-range sensor suite
• A two-seat microsub with missiles and torpedoes

The vehicles have yet to be named.