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A Solarian Navy sailing past Port Vernia as Marriane watches.
Void ships, or just ships, are vessels capable of sailing through the Aetherial Seas. They vary heavily in size, class and function, but share many similarities. They are a very common sight in the post-excursion period of humanity, and are used as the primary means of long-range transportation between settlements.
From simple fishing vessels to catch sky-eels, single seat dinghies to monstrously large battleships with enough firepower to level an entire trading post with a single broadside, all ships capable of sailing through the Aether work on the principle of collecting and using Aetherial energy via giant sails. The sails absorb energy from the surrounding Aether to be sent to generators on board the ship which converts it into usable fuel to propel the ship forward via propulsion engines.
Void ships are made primarily of wood, with some armoured metal parts used in places where additional structural integrity is necessary.
Without gravity in the void, there is no solid up or down, thus navigation is made harder without cardinal directions. Captains navigate using points in the sky or astronomical bodies, or expensive three-dimensional skycharts made from clever arrangements of bio-lamps.
Artificial gravity is generated on board, typically with ‘up’ along the main masts.
Given the three-dimensional nature of the Aether, void ships have to incorporate methods of traversal that change it’s heading at will. Some ships will have rear engines that rotate similarly to joints in the human body, or multiple rudders that redirect the flow of Aetherial gas.
Some ships even mount additional propulsion engines on various parts of the ship that activate in tandem to rotate the entire ship quickly. This method of traversal however stresses the structural integrity of the ship heavily, so much so that even Solarian ships made of Carran wood are hard pressed to endure it without shearing the ship in half. Thus, this method is only used on smaller, faster ships that are purpose-built for such maneuvers, an example being League Nailships.
The six degrees of movement found in the Aether also brings massive changes to naval tactics and strategies. A ship can outmanuever and attack from an opponent’s keel, or sail up while yawing in relation to an enemy ship to deliver devastating concentrated broadsides. A blockade on a planet is now infinitely more challenging given the need to dispatch forces around a literal sphere in space, supply lines can now stretch around and below a defending force or even the simple act of charting trade routes now has dozens of possible paths.
All Aetherial energy collected must first be converted into usable fuel using generators before being sent to the engines. The process is fairly quick, and efficient enough for ships to usually have a fuel surplus given they stick to areas of space with sufficient Aetherial gas.
However, the process of converting Aetherial energy to fuel produces a large amount of heat, usually enough to melt the generator after prolonged operation. Thus, radiators are mounted on surfaces of ships to vent heat out into the surrounding void. Leftover heat is used to power the galley, provide heating and produce electricity at the onboard power boxes. Some ship designers mount generators on ships that are directly exposed to space to allow maximum heat dissipation, but which run the risk of being easily damaged especially during combat encounters.
The League has been secretly experimenting with producing ships that do not use radiators at all, to prevent them being targeted as weak points. A prototype has been created that doesn’t vent heat out into the void, but instead stores them in prepared heat sinks which are jettisoned once it has reached capacity. This allows for a radiator-less design but requires constant resupplying of heat sinks, thus negating the advantage of self-sustaining fuel of traditional ships.
Most civilian ships are not armed, with the exception of long-distance merchant ships and those in areas of space where the influence of local governments are diminished. Even then, most ships only carry a few naval cannons and hand-held weaponry, mainly to deal with marauders and wild fauna (occasionally, flora too).