Sterling-class

The Sterling-class is a modular class of small utility vessel, manufactured by PlazWorks Shipyard and Construction Company and Starcore Mining-Co for the Trident Foundries military and civilian contractors.

Description
The Sterling-class is a modern light utility craft, able to be adapted to fill almost any role thanks to it's incredible modularity combined with a simple, clean design.

In general, the Sterling-class utilises a range of military grade components from PlazWorks combined with a light frame, to create a good all-round cargo ship.

Exterior
The Sterling-class has a simple, boxy design for rapid manufacture, with the two engines placed at the rear for easy maintenance.

Interior
The vast majority of the interior of Sterling-class vessels is taken up by a huge cargo/hangar bay which can hold a large assortment of cargo crates, starship parts or shuttles. A small 4-man crew room is located behind this, with the control deck above the crew room.

Systems
The rear section is dominated by 2 Hunter-type plasma engines, which is a modernised corvette engine first used on the Hyperion-class, allowing the transport to keep surprisingly good speed and efficiency. Combined with its dual drive core, and medium pulse phase drive, the ship can effectively haul a large quantity of cargo with only a small 4 man crew.

History
The original design was proposed by retired transport and mining contractor Patrick Sterling, who had survived the Union conflicts of GY 2416-18; though not a part of the fighting, he did help with performing several key smuggling runs and a large portion of food ration smuggling past blockades and fleets that greatly helped contribute to the Union's survival during that period. He had noticed and actively partitioned that the ageing civilian fleet designs utilized by Trident's trade commission were obsolete and too complex to maintain. His solution finally came after having built up a significant reputation during the war, he managed to secure an audience to show his design to. His design being a compact, simple ship which can be quickly adapted for various multitask operations.

Amazingly, Patrick Sterling managed to convince the majority of the construction companies with the rather simple design, even PlazWorks was interested in securing the contract for the ship, who are more known for producing the majority of Trident's warships rather than civilian vessels. Patrick Sterling would eventually accept contracts with PlazWorks and Starcore Mining-Co, who refined the existing design.

The design was so effective and compact that PlazWorks directly modified one into a landing craft for the Independent-class flagship project, which was nicknamed the “Skiff” by the crew as it made a good boarding or landing craft.