Shepherds in the Dark Night

Relief Convoy RQ-17, consisting of two "Liberty Ships" and several astro-marine freighters, and escorted by two Thresher-class Destroyers, navigates through a Nebula.

Liberty Ships are designed to be built as quickly and as cheaply as possible, resulting in extreme modularization. They can be assembled by even the most basic slipway in under a day, provided the necessary modules have been provided. They also make use of existing modularization options, reducing build times and increasing flexibility. Thus, very few Liberty Ships are ever alike.

Astromarine freighters follow another paradigm in cargo transportation. They are designed to both make use of existing seaport infrastructure, and service small settlements. Small settlements typically cannot afford the manpower, materials, monetary, land, and labor costs of 'true' pad-type or runway-type astrodromes. Standard astrodromes typically require hundreds of square miles of land for reinforced runways and pads, sound and heat buffer zones around these, and cargo and boarding facilities. It is much cheaper for an astromarine freighter to land in an ocean and dock at a port located in any bay, river, or lake with sufficient depth.