Other Modification Class-A Cargo Container

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CLASS-A CARGO CONTAINER

AFFILIATION
Free use.

MANUFACTURER

• Xizor Transport Systems.
• Various.

TYPE
Modular shipping container.POWER SUPPLY
External power coupling.

SENSORS
N/A.

SIZE
Length - 73 meters.

COMPOSITION
Durasteel.

DESCRIPTION​

Class-A cargo containers are a form of intermodal shipping container widely used by the Galactic cargo transport industry. Originally designed during the Galactic Civil War, the design originated with Xizor Transport Systems, a front company for the Black Sun crime syndicate. Despite the design's less-than-savory origins, however, the Class-A became a staple of the bulk transport industry, and endures even into the present day.

The Class-A cargo container is a simple design, essentially a large durasteel box which can be mounted aboard a ship equipped with a compatible mounting system. The container has segmented drop-down doors mounted along its sides, allowing it to be fully or partially opened for easy loading and unloading. It is also equipped with a standard docking ring, allowing for easy inspection of the contents.

Class-A containers are rated for 25,000 tons - 25 kilotons - of cargo. They are equipped with a number of useful systems, including an independent artificial gravity generator, environmental controls and even a short-term stasis field generator, which can be used to preserve perishable cargoes during transport. When open, the container's internal heat and atmosphere is retained by a magnetic field generator. Power for these systems is drawn from whatever vessel the container is attached to, or from some other external source.

In addition to inert cargo, Class-A containers can be used to transport other materiel, including vehicles such as small starships. Although not recommended, it is technically possible to use a Class-A cargo container as a small hangar; without modifications, the type can fit 4 light freighters, or up to 8 starfighters. Pirates in particular are known for using container ships fitted with Class-A containers as improvised carriers.

On a more unsavory note, Class-A containers can be used to carry living cargo. This generally takes the form of plants or livestock, however some less-than-reputable beings have discovered that a Class-A container can carry sentients as well, albeit in appalling conditions. Up to 40 individuals can be shoe-horned in with improvised amenities for sleep and sanitation, or 60 with no such accommodations. Carrying passengers in shipping containers violates multiple interstellar laws, however, and is generally only done by slavers and other criminals.

Although incredibly useful and versatile, Class-A cargo containers do have some drawbacks. Mainly, they are designed to be carried by ships with a very specific mounting system. They can be carried by vessels not specifically configured for them using various improvised attachment methods, but in general this is considered more trouble than it is worth. Due to the weight and power draw of these containers, they can affect shipboard systems; vessels hauling Class-A containers suffer a -15 MGLT penalty to sublight speed for each container, and cannot use any of their mounted weapons. Maneuverability is also reduced to "sluggish," no matter the original classification.

Vessels explicitly designed to haul Class-A cargo containers suffer no penalties for doing so.

Class-A cargo containers can only be hauled at all by vessels larger than they are. No ship less than 60 meters in length can carry a Class-A container.

LEGALITY​

Legal. Ownership of Class-A cargo containers is unrestricted in most of the Galaxy.

INTENT​

To create a standard intermodal container with a variety of uses.