Imperial Courier

Imperial Courier
Maximum gross mass	480t
Empty mass	130t
Payload	350t (no drive)
Main thruster accel	16g
Retro thruster accel	6g
Gun mountings	1
Missiles	6
Crew	3
Hyperdrive ranges	Class 3: 5.62 Class 4: 10 Class 5: 15.62 Class 6: 22.50
Standard drive	Class 5 (cannot be replaced)
Fuel scoop	Not available

Overview

The Imperial Courier is the archetypal Imperial starship from both FE2 and FFE. It is probably the largest effective combat vessel in both those games as it provides a useful balance of speed and size. They are considered formidable opponents to relatively new players to the games.

It is closely related to the Imperial Trader, another starship commonly used by the Empire in both FE2 and FFE

Notable features

Considering the Empire's love for clones compared to the Federation's preference for mechanical artificial intelligence, a general surprise of Imperial designs is the high level of automation. Most ships of this size require a significant crew, but the Courier makes do with only three crew members, nominally a Captain (who is also an experienced pilot), a pilot First Officer and an engineer. Although most spaceports will not allow a ship to launch without the proper number of crew, the Courier can easily be flown single-pilot on a "milk run", however most commanders will find their job significantly easier with at least a pilot First Officer on board. Although highly automated, the ship is large and complex and should not be used for a prolonged period of time without an engineer on the crew.

Fiction

Famous Imperial Courier Commanders include Norman Mosser