How To Get A Spaceship
This essay was written for the Fading Suns mailing list in an attempt to answer a question that I had been wondering about for some time, namely that, with the average incomes listed in the Player's Companion or in Forbidden Lore: Technology, how was anyone supposed to be able to buy a spacecraft? It's written with both player and GM in mind, to suggest how a GM might allow a player to come by his own spaceship, and how a player might go about trying to get a spaceship of his own.
I imagine that most spaceships in the Known Worlds are not owned by individuals but are instead the property of organisations - Noble Houses, Guilds, the Church, or Emperor Alexius. Therefore if characters wish to have the use of a spaceship they must petition one of these organisations (as Columbus had to petition the King of Spain for ships to use for his voyage of discovery).
The loan or gift of a ship will not be cheap. A Noble House might loan or gift a ship in return for some significant service, or as a reward to a favoured one; as might Emperor Alexius. A guild might loan out a ship for a trading mission in return for a cut of the profits (I imagine this is how most traders transport their goods), while the Church would probably loan a ship to characters wishing to go on some holy mission.
Example 1: The young Marquis Kurt "Vile" Decados decides it's about time he had his own luxury liner, so he petitions Prince Hyram for such a gift. He is granted his request, but in return he must perform a service for the Prince - a prominent Vuldrok ambassador needs ferrying to Byzantium Secundus. Some of the things the Vuldrok has to say to the Emperor could cause embarrassment to the Hawkwoods, and they're out to get him, by any means possible. Of course the liner comes with a small squad of fighters to protect it, but that's all. And that's not the end of poor Kurt's problems - the Vuldrok ambassador is not exactly the easiest of people to get on with to say the least. Still, if he manages to survive all this, he gets to keep the liner...
Example 2: Chief Engineer Margaret "Dolly" Parting is doing some research in an ancient library, when she discovers a text that describes a cache of Second Republic goods hidden on some distant moon. She immediately petitions the Engineer's Guild for aid, and they agree to grant her a starship and crew (for which they will pay). In return, she must turn over the artefacts to the Guild for research (though she will be rewarded and given a prominent position in the research team). Margaret, being a good Engineer, wouldn't dream of doing anything else, and soon is blasting off in her ship to find those artefacts. Now she only has two problems to deal with - the Inquisition, who are suspicious about the nature of her mission, and the fact that the "distant moon" only happens to be in the Stigmata system...
Example 3: Charioteers Bill Bayleigh and Roger Tailor have spotted a niche in the market - just recently a trader brought a crate of Speckled Gopher Prawns back from Madoc to Byzantium Secundus, and they sold like hot cakes. They petition the Charioteers' Guild to allow them some ships, so they can provide a transport service for merchants wishing to trade in this new delicacy. The guild agrees to their request, and grants them the loan of several A-57's. In return the guild asks for 10% of their profits before crew wages are deducted (wages which Bill and Roger must foot the bill for). They'd better show a decent profit, too, because if it's not worth the Guild's while they'll take their ships back and let someone else use them. Oh, and did I mention that Bill and Roger aren't the only ones trying to take advantage of this new trading opportunity?
This next piece was written in response to a comment that in Emperor of the Fading Suns (Holistic Design's computer strategy game set in the Fading Suns universe), the player starts with 6 ships. Of course the player in question is one of the top three Dukes of the House, in the time before the Emperor Wars destroyed many fiefs and hence the riches of the Nobles who owned them...
I'm inclined to think that most of the "fleet" of a Noble house, i.e. its warships, are owned by the House as opposed to any individual, and may be assigned to the command of any House member as deemed necessary. So, for example, Count Enis Sharn is only a Count but, because Pandemonium is an important system to the Decados, he probably has quite a few warships (maybe 10?). Whereas Duchess Salandra may be powerful and important but, in her position on Byzantium Secundus, probably has just some fighters to protect her yacht. (Although that's probably got some rather nasty hidden armaments...)
If we are not to allow characters to be planet-rulers - and I think only those characters with the highest ranks in both Nobility and Riches benefices could possibly claim this station - then it is highly unlikely they will have warships under their command. Problem solved.
I should reiterate that such warships would absolutely not be the property of the Noble concerned, although it might seem that way for most purposes. If a Noble used such a ship for a personal mission, and as a result his planet suffered, he might well have some nasty questions to answer. (Like, "What would you like to try first, the rack or the red-hot pokers?")
In the case of the EotFS computer game, I would presume things have turned to such an "every high-ranking noble for himself" situation that those nobles with warships have seized them for personal use - something which would normally not happen.
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