Amicus Starship Design Co., Ltd.

History: Amicus was one of the first independent starship contracting companies, started prior to the formation of the Interstellar Alliance in 2410. Owned and operated by the cetacean members of the Alliance, Amicus was responsible for three of the first fighter designs of the fleet. These unnamed craft (designated only by their model numbers, Am-4, Sn-6, and Am-2L) were later expanded into a full model line including the fleet's first armed launch, the Am-7 Aloysius.

Design Characteristics: Amicus designs tend to be very organic, with soft curving lines and pleasant visages. Amicus prefers light, fast ships with adequate armor and maneuverability overall.

Affiliation: Cetacean (IA)

Nomenclature: Am-x (where x is 1-12 chronologically)
Sn-x (where x is 1-12 chronologically)

Antioch

History: Antioch was a relative latecomer in the design field, but they came on strong in 2406 with their first offering, the OFI Ozark, a unique interceptor with forward-mounted disruptors which pivoted on both X and Z axes. A manufacturing powerhouse, Antioch released no fewer than ten new vessel designs in the next two years. Their last vessel, the SSA Shade, is now eight years old, and Antioch hasn't been heard from in so many years.

Design Characteristics: Antioch likes multiple-radian symmetry - for example, the HGB Hayansark which is essentially a flying disc, and the SFE Sidereal, which is reportedly the most difficult fighter to fly ever made. Their designs are innovative to the point of being unusable by anyone who isn't intimately familiar with their technology.

Affiliation: Human (IA)

Nomenclature: xyy (where x is the first letter in the ship's class, and yy is the two-letter abbreviation of the ship's configuration)

Arc Astrotech Ltd.

History: Arriving on the scene even later than Antioch, Arc Astrotech began in 2413 amidst a booming economy and a rich benefactor. After the success of Antioch, Arc wanted to steal some of the successful contractor's thunder. Unfortunately, their first design, the Leprechaun, left much to be desired. Its confusing entry mechanism, dinky proprietary "Shredder" projectile weapon system (which more often shredded the Leprechaun itself than its intended target), and lack of ample shielding earned it the nickname "The Suck of the Irish." Arc released three more designs, including the absolutely horrid Pika class shuttle, and then faded from public view.

Design Characteristics: Arc Astrotech vessels tend to suck.

Affiliation: Human (IA)

Nomenclature: None (no model numbers assigned)

Arcturas Intergalaxial Contractor

History: Arcturas was the fleet's second independent contractor, arriving on the scene just after Amicus had made a name for itself. Arcturas is seen by some (those partial to Amicus) as a copycat contractor; after the success of Amicus' fighters, Arcturas released two of its own, the A1 Arse and the A2 Lemming, neither of which came close to matching Amicus' design prowess. When the armed launch trend struck, Arcturas was closer but still behind Amicus with their A3 Foxfire armed launch. The company has weathered the test of time however, and even as a second nod to Amicus, Arcturas is here to stay.

Design
Characteristics: Arcturas designs follow other companies, namely Amicus, for function. They're never quite up to the same level of form as most others, appearing less refined and more plain to the eye. Arcturas has gotten better with this, however, as the A7 Aura Light is a true example of eye candy.

Affiliation: Human (IA)

Nomenclature: Ax (where x is a numeral chronologically)

Avtek

History: As quickly as they came, Avtek dropped a ship design in the laps of the fleet commanders (or one commander more specifically), and disappeared altogether. That ship was the DH-1 Dark Helmutt. It was the wet dream of one exalted commanding officer, Jake Heilscher, who had an unhealthy obsession with conquering Scotland for his own evil vices. We're still not sure if he succeeded, but Avtek made a name for itself in just one vessel.

Design Characteristics: With only one vessel to base an entire general design on, it's safe to say that Avtek's designs look a lot like the Batman symbol from the top. Squashed horizontally.

Affiliation: Jake Heilscher (IA)

Nomenclature: DH-1 (where DH-1 is the only ship they made)

Dromaeo Starcraft

History: Dromaeo Starcraft is the Alliance's leading warship designer, and the most successful contractor of the fleet to date. With over 24 designs to their credit, the raptors and dragons responsible for running Dromaeo Sc know what they're doing, and the safety and security of the Alliance as a whole depends on their continued expertise in the field.

Design Characteristics: The rule of thumb with Dromaeo Sc is warships, plain and simple. With only a handful of civilian designs to their credit, even those aren't your run-of-the-mill exploratory cruisers. Armed to the teeth with the latest in weaponry and defense systems, Dromaeo Sc vessels tend to cost more than most ships - though they more than make up for it with their power, reliability and value to the fleet.

Affiliation: Raptor & Dragon (IA)

Nomenclature: xx-yyz (where xx is the two-letter abbreviation of the ship's configuration, yy is a numeral chronologically, and z is a letter alphabetically pertaining to the design's revision level)

Feushun-duk, Ltd.

History: Relatively new to the contracting scene, Feushun-duk brings fresh, new design philosophy to the table and unsurpassed quality and workmanship. Their first design, the Fd14SA1 Foxwing, was nothing to write home about. However, six years later they struck gold with the Fd20SC1 Muse class scout cruiser, and continued to impress with two more designs, the Fd21CL1 Reliance, and Fd22GB1 Vixen.

Design Characteristics: As ironic as it sounds for a company owned by gryphons and other avians, Feushun-duk's ships have a very "avian" quality to them - tails and wings are prominent, but aerodynamic with respect to the size of the vessel. Feushun-duk produces small ships, nothing larger than a scout cruiser, which allows them to put more into each ship than they would be able to do producing large capital cruisers and the like.

Affiliation: Gryphon (IA)

Nomenclature: Fdxxyyz (where xx is an arbitrary number based on the order of introduction, yy is the two-letter abbreviation of the ship's configuration, and z is a number chronologically pertaining to the design's revision level)

Inferior

History: An unsuccessful attempt to independently launch their own contracting company by the dragons of the Alliance, the Inferior Snap! was anything but inferior. With retractable wings, a multitude of armaments and an intimidating profile, the Snap! was a formidable vessel in any fleet. Unfortunately for the dragons, the only thing more lacking than their marketing strategies was the name of their company, and much like the wings of their now rare armed launch, the company folded in 2410.

Design Characteristics: Another one-hit wonder. See the Snap!

Affiliation: Dragon (IA)

Nomenclature: None (no model numbers assigned)

Mercer

History: Purporting itself as a "fresh, new look to the Alliance", Mercer introduced their L100 armed launch in 2413, shortly before Arc's first resounding failure the following year. Despite its unremarkable name, the L100 was quite simply the most powerful armed launch ever produced at the time. Just the next year, their G100 TrinPira class gunship made its debut, stealing any attention Arc might have gotten with the Leprechaun. Their most recent offering, the V100 Vorpal strike cruiser, continues the Mercer tradition of no-holds-barred warships.

Design Characteristics: Similar to Dromaeo Sc's powerful, reliable warships, though as a smaller company they're unable to match Dromaeo Sc's production levels. All of their (three) designs so far share a common wedge profile as seen from topside.

Affiliation: Human (IA)

Nomenclature: xyyy (where x is either a letter denoting the designation of the ship, as with "G" for gunship, or the first letter in the class name, as with "V" for Vorpal, and y is a three-digit number identifying the particular revision of that design)

Ophiuchi

History: Not much is known about this strange contracting company, or who runs it. Ophiuchi works closely with the Alliance government and to the knowledge of the public, has only produced two vessels - the bizarre but powerful OPCH-001 Chandrasekhar class gunship, and the complimenting OPIL-002 Illuminati class assault cruiser.

Design Characteristics: Asymmetry is the name of the game with Ophiuchi. Early opponents of the Chandrasekhar gunship deemed it "unflyable" simply because nobody wanted to look at it long enough to figure out how to pilot it. Very quickly, however, its immense power and indispensability was proven to the fleet.

Affiliation: Unknown (IA)

Nomenclature: OPxx-yyy (where x is the first two letters in the class name, and y is a three-digit number identifying the particular revision of that design)

RooTech

History: RooTech approached the Federation back in 2403 with their unique ground assault vehicle, the W1 Wallaby. After being laughed out of the room, they decided to go into production on the vehicle themselves. Capable of rapid deployment and high ground speeds with its patented HopAlong™ motion system, the Wallaby proved the stuffy government heads wrong - until its internal dampeners begun to fail, and hapless occupants inside the bounding craft were tossed to death like so much salad due to crushing G-forces during movement.

Design Characteristics: Resembles a kangaroo. Or a wallaby. Don't ask how you get into it.

Affiliation: Human (IA)

Nomenclature: W1, presumably for "Wallaby" and the first model.

S.P.A.M.

History: The Socio-Polotical Astronomy Ministry (S.P.A.M.) was formed for the purpose of expanding mankind's knowledge into the vast reaches of space - back in 2112. At the time, little was known about outer space apart from what was gleamed by unmanned probes and the occasional mission to an outlying planet. S.P.A.M. was the little-known proprietor of Earth's first interstellar spacecraft, Starship B.O.B.

Design Characteristics: Starship B.O.B. was S.P.A.M.'s only production model. It was a large angular ship, mostly fuel tanks with some living space in between. B.O.B. also had artificial intelligence, and could communicate with the crew - most of the time.

Affiliation: Human (Pre-IA)

Nomenclature: None (no model numbers assigned)