ISV Marathon-137A

Sollan courier ship commandeered by LORIAN ARISTEDES during his escape from the planet Belusha.

ISV MARATHON-137A | RCO-73455

POINT-OF-ORIGIN: GODODDIN, GULF OF CENTAURUS, VA-59:17 KS-311D

DESTINATION: FORUM

The Marathon-137A was little longer than a common shuttle, a rapid courier more engine than anything else. It was designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to carry its messenger across the light-years as quickly as possible. Lorian knew the Marathon-class well: its warp drive was capable of reaching speeds as high as 1.3 Kc, thirteen hundred times the speed of light. Even at such tremendous speeds, it would take years to cross the breadth of the Imperium.

Decades.

Such vessels usually possessed a crew compliment of fewer than ten men, could operate with as little as a man alone—and often did. Messages could be transmitted instantaneously between the stars, thanks to quantum telegraphy, but the transport of particularly sensitive material, or of hardware, required these small, fast couriers.

The Dregs of Empire, Chapter 18: To Crack the Sky