Cubicle Fighter

Cubicle fighters are special small fighter craft designed to be stored in standardized small craft cubicles, often mounted within a larger ship or station. The Planetary League Cubicle Fighter depicted in the illustration was a standardized design, mas-produced by a number of manufacturers throughout Era-1.

These inexpensive craft were widely used by most Planetary League agencies as light defensive fighters. There was also a very active private surplus market for these craft, and a wide array of variants, including many re-purposed versions were widely available.

The Planetary League standard cubicle fighter was designed solely for use in space. Having no landing gear, it could only depart or dock at a standardized craft cubicle. These cubicles were used for a number of small craft, including the also widely used Cubicle Shuttle, a sister craft produced by the same government programs and private manufacturers as the fighter. Docking and deployment was facilitated by robotic arms, and the pylons that connected the main guns to the fuselage had built in grip points for this system.

Cubicle Shuttle

Space is often at a premium on board a ship, often things have to be made as small as possible to fit into the hull, which is why the cubicle shuttle was created. Designed to fit into a compact storage cubicle when not in use, it can carry a pilot and up to four passengers on short flights, or act as a lifeboat in an emergency. Cubicle Shuttles are a mainstay of light transportation over short distances, and typically make up most of the shuttle compliment of larger ships.

The shuttles stubby wings can telescope for additional lift in atmospheric flight, and are the location of the grip points that allow it to be handled by the robotic arm that is used to pack and unpack the shuttle from a storage cubicle.

The cubicle shuttle’s standard defense package includes a basic point-defense system and a light deflector shield.