Lightjammer
The Lightjammer is a type of slower-than-light starship that saw service in the Colonisation Era.
“See that radar ghost? Lightjammer out of Sirius. Moving so fast the pings are only barely catching up to her. Flip on the radio and you'll hear her crew playing music. Just broadcasting to the void. All the long-haul ships do it. Helps with the loneliness if you can hear another ship on comms, even if you'll never see 'em.” – King
Lightjammers were the last generation of the pre-FTL heavies. In their long modular tails, they carried cargo, passengers, and messages between the stars, never stopping, only slowing to allow cargo transfers over planets. Most lightjammers were independently owned, with captains selling their services to militaries and corporations. As the largest ships in the sky, they could carry unparalleled payloads or become formidable warships, and even governments paid highly for a contract. They were rendered obsolete by the development of the FTL jump drive, but the age of the lightjammers is still looked back on as a golden age in spaceflight history.
Lightjammers were typically driven by Alcubierre/fusion drives, capable of pushing them up to 0.8 or even 0.9c. They could carry a variety of lasers, missiles, and electromagnetic guns in their tails or fitted to the main hull. Crew complements rarely exceeded 10; despite the size of a fully-loaded ship, the majority of that mass required no supervision during flights which could take years, so large crews would be wasted space.