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Starship Caledrus - Galactic Class Cruise Ship

The ship which Woodstock pilots is to say the least a behemoth. A grand design with space for not only humanoid inhabitants, but areas for many different species of tiny to gigantic life forms.

The ship is more than 14 kilometers long, stands 6 kilometers from top to hull, and varies from three to eight kilometers wide. It was built in a hyperwarp, outside of space. This project took almost 10 years to complete. Seen from the side it vaguely resembles a deepsea lure-fish, from the front, oddly like a dragon's or giraffe's head.

Caledrus is a brightly glowing ship, with an exterior that glimmers with its own sweet light, as a nebula or the like. This light does not detract from the view from the interior.

The structure of the ship is so massive that it could not possible survive planetfall. Instead, there is a hangar full of exploration pods, ships, shuttles and other planet-worthy personal crafts.

The entire exterior of Caledrus is made of a translucent steel/glass, most areas have a walkway that allows anyone to see out. Some of these hallways have grav-cell floors so that the exterior of the ship is overhead, whereas most are to one side or the other. Pillars and towers of observation decks top off the ship, at the stern, just above the engines. Many inhabitants have permanent quarters in these towers, and there are grand suites where guests are invited to stay for the duration.

The bridge of Caledrus is toward the front and top of the ship, in a somewhat isolated pod. From the bridge, all facets of ship activities can be monitored and controlled. Every corridor, room and environmental chamber has monitor systems - most are not invasive as video cameras, but many have sensors which detect brain activity, keeping an eye on who is where.

The engines of Caledrus are redundantly fast. However if they maintain an in-space speed, the ship can cross the entire galaxy in a matter of months. There are pockets of improbability aboard, places where other realities intrude on a regular basis - and these places become glutted with people when the Infinite Improbability Drive is used.

Woodstock does not charge Hitch Hikers a fee for transportation. Scientists use the ship as a roving base. The funding for their surveys goes to the ship's upkeep. Those who want actual tours of planets must pay for their cruise.

The different climates and habitats that Caledrus utilizes are features which had been planned from the start. Huge aeries and flight zones for winged or floating creatures have their own weather patterns. Hot and moist swamps and lakes have been created for sea-faring folk and their pets. Even a 'lava dome' exists for the hottest and most inhospitable of the inhabitants.

Most of the ship, however, consists of the same things you'd normally see in a cruise liner anywhere in the galaxy. Rooms, luxury suites, restaurants, pools, game areas, health spas, research libraries, even a couple laboratories for the rare mad scientist.

The typical climate and appearance of the ship's main halls and rooms is a brightly lit, comfortable-for-humanoids level. Noise is dampened from room to room. Areas of the ship which are not in use are shut down and dark, and are inaccessable unless an emergency forces open the doorways. From the bridge, all locks and doors, portals and transport tubes, including teleporters, may be controlled.

The ship has twenty four full-time employees - ranging from two cooks, six cleanup crew members, several security agents, and medical staff, as well as professional navigators and pilots. The rest of the staff, all six hundred of them, are transient and pay-per-duty. The only requirement for a job is skill. No skill, no job.