Tell Them I’m Not Coming Back

In the World Builder’s Handbook, there is a section regarding “empty” parsecs on Traveller navigational maps. In summary, “empty” parsecs are anything but. It’s likely more accurate to describe these parsecs as non-commercial. There are no easily navigable stars to jump toward, or gravity wells for maneuver drives to interact with. The result for ships jumping in is the promise of a difficult arrival in system, and a long, slow acceleration to go anywhere.

These same circumstances apply in parsecs that have systems with active travel. Except that most jump and maneuver traffic never venture beyond the primary system’s gravity well.

As described in the World Builder’s Handbook, there are plenty of potential gravity anchors to jump to. White Dwarfs, Brown Dwarfs, Rogue Planets (including Gas Giants), Asteroids are just a few, in a volume of more than 30 cubic light years, there is abundant room to add objects to draw Travellers into their next adventure.

Bridging the Gap

Some empty parsecs lie between two (or more) trading mains in a region. It is possible, even probable that Jump 1 traders would simply carry enough extra fuel (sacrificing cargo space, or using external fuel bladders) to make the extra jumps in series. However, in those parsecs that experience heavy pass-through traffic, a bridge station can be built.

At minimum, a bridge station is the equivalent to a Class C Starport. Capable of docking 6,666.27 dTons of ships at once. They are often in orbit around Brown Dwarfs or Gas Giants and maintains a small fleet of skimmers to pull unrefined fuel off the high regions of the atmospheres. Bridge Stations that are heavily traveled will incorporate Fuel Refineries to offer Refined Fuel.

Bridge stations will also have some basic maintenance facilities for civilian ships. Prices are often elevated, often double the normal cost of maintenance and repair elsewhere, but when a ship needs repair in-between established systems, the Captain pays what they need to in order to keep flying. Crew Accommodations, Brokerages, Storage, Hiring Halls, and an a variety of services are built into bridge stations. A successful bridge station eventually expands to accommodate nearly any service that a trader and their crew might need.

Microjumping

It is difficult and dangerous to jump within a parsec. As described in the World Builder’s Handbook, jumping through a cluster has a 1D penalty to Astrogation checks that changes every day. Jumping within a parsec would suffer a similar penalty. Jump computers aren’t designed for such short jumps, and work best when using a gravity anchor to calibrate arrival from out of Jump Space.

Regardless of the distance jumped, a ship will spend ~168 hours in Jump Space. Fuel consumption for the jump is equal to 40% + 1Dx10% of a full Jump-1. These microjumps are impractical for any distance below 1 LY. (which is roughly (very roughly) ~ 25% of the distance across the breadth of a parsec). A microjump does not save time and is not fuel efficient. But, there are times where jumping to locations within the parsec is necessary.

Pirate Bridges

Pirate fleets, if they enjoy enough success, or become large enough can use an empty parsec as a location for a hidden bridge. A base station where pirate vessels can strike from and escape to. These pirate bridges also serve as a trading hub for stolen cargo, mixing and obfuscating the goods to a point where it becomes nearly impossible to track their theft. “Pirate” brokers negotiate sales of stolen cargo to willing buyers.

It would seem, from an overview of an empty parsec on a subsector or sector map, that establishing a pirate bridge would be easy, even inevitable, to discover by the local Navies, and subsequently eliminated. After all, if a known pirate fleet uses Jump 2 ships to attack trade lanes, and there is an empty parsec within Jump 2 of several victimized systems. The Naval authorities can easily triangulate the parsec and send an anti-piracy task force to eliminate the threat.

Keep in mind, a parsec is a volume of 30 ly³. enough space that can contain thousands of Sol-type star systems. As Douglas Adams famously said,

“Space is big, it (the Guide) says. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.” (Why yes, I was looking for an excuse to use the famous quote from Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy and I apologize for nothing.)

Point being there’s a lot of space in space, and using Maneuver Drives, even the fastest Maneuver Drives need centuries to cross a single light year. So, unless the precise coordinates of the pirate bridge can be uncovered, simply knowing which parsec it floats in won’t reveal it’s location.

Toll Bridge, Troll Bridge

Building a bridge station is extremely expensive. Materials are sourced from the target parsec as much as possible. Because of this, many bridge stations are built within buffeted asteroids towed into orbit around a rogue gas giant. Even using raw materials mined from nearby sources, manufactured components need to be delivered from outside the parsec. Which is an intense logistics effort.

Once operational, bridge stations charge premium fees for services. Nickel-and-diming ships that come through for everything, from berthing fees, fueling, and resupply, to restaurant meals, bar drinks, and rest stations. Think about the services (hotels, restaurants, bars) that surround major airports, or the services offered within major airports.

Pirates often lurk near the jump points to the bridge station, obstructing incoming ships and extorting a “toll” for access to the station. These pirates don’t hijack or take their victim’s entire cargo. That would attract too much attention from the station’s security and reduce overall traffic.

The same logistical challenges to build a bridge station in an empty parsec also affect protecting the station. Every security ship docked with the station, takes up docking space that can be used for revenue. Thus, bridge stations will keep as few vessels as possible on patrol at the station. Most of the time a single System Defense Boat, or a small squadron of Light or Heavy Fighters. Most of the time it’s easier (and cheaper) just to pay protection to the regional pirate fleet.

Getting a message out from a bridge station to a neighboring parsec takes a minimum of one week. The response to that message will take a second week. Thus, for fourteen days, bridge stations in empty parsecs are on their own in an emergency.