Belistar Freetrader

Humans are not the only race that has developed Freetraders. The concept of independent armed merchantmen willing to go anywhere for a price, and move anything from point A to point B- regardless of whether authorities in point A want it leaving or point B want it arriving- is something surprisingly rare as a cultural phenomenon, but three races have developed it. The closest to the Terran idea of a Freetrader, however, is the Sarza.
The Belistar-class Freetrader is based off of an older Sarzan corvette design, and has been constructed in both Sarza and Terran-specific models (mostly control interface differences to compensate for Terrans having more fingers). The most popular Freetrader amongst the Sarzan Freetrader guilds, it has made its way into Terran space with the recent free-trade agreements and the decision by both the Dimrathi Free Systems and the Sarzan Republic (the two primary nations of the Sarzan race) to accept Terran credits as an exchange format.
While Sarza weapons technology lags substantially behind Terran standard from a military standpoint, the weapons are about on-par with the oft-outdated hardware civilians have access to. The three spinal medium PPCs (one aft) are bulkier than their Terran counterparts, but the pulse blasts make just as big of a hole. A Terran-made dual light PPC turret beneath them gives the Belistar quite an effective defense against fighters anywhere in a 180 degree arc forward. Six dual light PPC turrets and 10 single-shot Sefaron missile launch tubes (with a payload of ten missiles each) round out the weapons of this light Freetrader.
Due to the Sarzan propensity to prefer the high life no matter their profession, the four crew quarters on board are quite pleasant, comparable to high-lifestyle crew quarters on a Terran ship. A queen-sized bed, separate latrines with water showers, a small office nook, substantial floor, wall and under-bed personal storage, and individual entertainment systems make up each of the quarters. Materials are not lacking in flair, either. Neither spartan nor simplistic in design, the interior decor of the Belistar is typical of the Sarza, resembling some of the ritziest Victorian-era Terran luxury liners.
Despite the small size of the Belistar, the Sarza interior designers manage to make her resemble the Olympia or Titanic's first-class quarters, including wood paneling, gold chasing and carved wood trim and finials. Lighting is indirect and luxurious, with crystaline panels chased in gold and platinum in abstract vine designs.
Cargo space has not been forgotten, either. Two cargo holds- port and starboard- flank the engineering section, and can hold a surprising amount of cargo for the ship's size. More importantly for Freetraders, several smuggler's holds are placed in the interior walls abutting the reactors, and between the reactor shielding and factory-installed scan-spoofers, these holds resemble tertiary antimatter shunt ducts to any but the most potent of scanners. While not the fastest nor the toughest Freetrader out there, she can certainly hold her own, and do so with style!



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