Allie

The Loshad 108 is a hard-working Martian-made favorite found in service across many industries throughout the Sol system. Like most Martian hardware, the Loshad 108 is designed not to be indestructible, but to be easy to maintain and repair, extending its lifespan by accepting the inevitable and preparing to resolve it when breakdown arises. A fleet of Loshads can remain operational without the need for proprietary knowledge or contracted mechanics; businesses who invest in Loshad trucks can keep them running under their own power with their own tools and ready access to common replacement parts. Thanks to this mechanical autonomy and its reliable performance, the 100-series of Loshad trucks have earned a reputation for getting a job done, making it back home and returning to service as easily as possible. It might not sound like much but working guys love these things. It respects their time.

The Loshad 100-series is a line of trucks designed to transport things, and the marks within the series denote different sizes or configurations. A Loshad 102 is a small, light open-back pickup truck, for example, where a Loshad 130 is an extremely large truck designed to transport very large cargo. The Loshad 108 is a mid-sized van that is large enough to carry a variety of man-portable but cumbersome things while also being small and agile enough to navigate the backroads and intake lots found throughout a crowded space colony. Because it's built to transport a wide variety of stuff, the two major festures of the 108's design are smoothness and stability. Loshad incorporates Accra Labs gravity suspension technology in place of wheels so that the 108 can be loaded and unloaded easily, thanks to the low clearance provided by its four resting studs, and then move from point A to point B without suffering the bumps of uneven terrain by simply hovering over it, ensuring its cargo doesn't get jostled or damaged in transport. These four repulsor arrays can be pivoted in a number of directions, making parallel or lateral movement as easy as moving forward or turning, which is a big help in the dense urban space of Titan Garden. Climate control is also an important quality in maintaining stability, ensuring the cabin and cargo areas can be tailored to various levels of comfort or necessity- temperatures can be elevated for jobs that require warmth- like moving food or plants- or lowered when refrigeration is needed. In addition to serving as cargo delivery, 108s can be modified to serve as HVAC service professional vehicles, and it is a favorite model of local plumbers. A number of 108s have been modified to serve as food trucks. The Loshad 110 has a slightly longer body which is commonly used as a shell for an ambulance- if you've ever taken a ride in one, yes: that's the same make as the trucks that deliver your packages.

Timberwolf's linguist Clayton spent a lot of time riding in a 108 when he was employed by Baxler's Distribution Co. As the primary liaison between Baxler and Timberwolf, Clayton knows the ins and outs of a Loshad and has a lot of novel ideas on where and how to hide unlawful wares being smuggled into Titan via the Ermine. Because they're easy to take apart and repair, it's easy to know which panels are more or less obvious to hide small or flat things inside or behind. He knows how Titan security tend to stick their heads in the back door, scanning a suspicious truck for something out of the ordinary; he also knows that a major distribution company like Baxler entertains security intrusions but doesn't tolerate invasive inspections unprompted, so there is an incentive for a nosy security officer to find what they're looking for or let the truck go. There's a good amount of sleight-of-hand an intrepid smuggler can do with box arrangements and viewpoint angles, and Clayton's shared this ample wisdom with the rest of the Timberwolf team. Baxler is a powerful business partner, but they expect a certain degree of professionalism from their clients- they maintain a large fleet of Loshad trucks, so having a working knowledge of the hardware helps everyone run a smooth operation. We're not here to waste each other's time.

There's a lot you can do with a Loshad, and whatever you're up to you can bet your 108 will pull its weight. The 100-series is as easy to repair as it is to modify to any specialized purpose. An honest workhorse for dishonest workers; when it comes to moving from point A to point B, nothing gets you there and back as smoothly and securely as a Loshad.

One of Terra's most popular exports, the Olympia Solaris has redefined the daily driver for generations of motorists throughout the Sol system. This easy-to-maintain family-sized automobile is both fuel- and space-efficient, capable of serving a wide range of needs without breaking the bank. The main features of the Solaris include its fold-down bench-style seat, an array of top-mounted solar panels and a glare-reduction coated panoramic front windscreen offering a clear view of the boundless natural splendor Terra is known for. Olympia's patented all-weather clear coating is capable of withstanding the tumbling stones of a Mercurian underground, the pelting acid rain of Venus or the blistering sands of the Martian highways, which helps the Solaris find a home throughout the Inner Belt. Upscaled models are also popular on Callisto, where its solar panels ensure the tank is always topped up and the panoramic windshield affords an unobstructed view of approaching megafauna, two major concerns for a discerning Callistan buyer. Whatever your situation, the Olympia Solaris would be a welcome addition to your household.

The heart of the Solaris's design stems from old Terran history, in a time when fuel-efficiency was at odds with monolithic size. Known to old Terrans as a "station wagon", Olympia designed the Solaris to make the most of its modest volume and marry rugged utility to an everyday commute. The rear cargo space can fit anything from groceries to furniture to machinery or even just an additional row of passengers, with the rear bench seats folding neatly to allow even more carry space if it's needed, or provide a comfortable bedding space for travelers on long journeys. The Solaris uses a Sodium-ion battery array to provide a steady, safer power source than other battery technologies; these cells can be refilled using a standard S-2850b Electric Charging Station, but they also accept charge from an array of panels on the rear half of the vehicle's roof. Many drivers assume these solar panels are the Solaris's namesake, but the truth is it was named for the large overhead panel letting all the sun into the cabin. Terra is a beautiful planet, it has a wealth of natural splendor and its people take very good care of it, so it makes sense that a car designed to travel in such a lovely world should afford passengers an opportunity to see as much of it as they can. This overhead panel is made from Neptunian glass, same as your standard starship, so it's as durable as any steel roof, but its glare-resistant coating can be toggled from the cabin to let more or less of the sunlight in, so it does not distract from a driver's vision. At maximum settings the Solaris's windshields can appear as solid glossy gold, affording a traveler a modicum of privacy, should they prefer it.

While the humble Solaris is at home in many lifestyles, it carries a bit of a reputation as a tacked-down family vehicle, so it's a surprise to some that Emily- Timberwolf's ex-bandit security officer- counts herself among Olympia's proud customerbase. Emily enjoys the practical utility of a modern station wagon, it's a car that puts in work and doesn't need to prove itself to anyone. Jack, her crewmate, has teased her that she isn't gonna pull a bad girl rolling up in a Solaris, to which Emily would say she wouldn't want a woman who can't appreciate the practical qualities of her beloved ride. She's over gearhead women, she lies to her best ability. Bryce knows better than to tease her over her Solaris because, like Emily, he too appreciates the practical qualities of a family station wagon. Timberwolf is in the business of discrete transportation of hot merchandise, and what better form of secrecy than to blend into plain sight? The fold-down bench seats of a Solaris give the humble vehicle ample space to move goods that contain very expensive deliveries hidden inside of them from the Ermine's dock to a recipient's location. Large, secure transports can draw unwanted attention, but how could anyone know one Solaris among hundreds is carrying unlicensed Horizon job carts inside the wooden frame of an antique chest of drawers? Tack on that long-lasting fuel efficiency to minimize recharging stops on particularly long delivery routes and you have a proper smuggler's dream car. It pays to blend in.

From the tundra to the tropics, the Olympia Solaris can be found wherever starfarers set foot. Take in the beauty of your surroundings through its broad, open windows; leave no ecological footprints with its long-lasting electric battery. The cargo space you need in a neighborhood-friendly size, whatever it is you're hauling, trust Olympia to light the way.

A rare and sought-after gem, the Mercurian-made A'aqraba Stinger has the muscle to go toe-to-toe with any street car you can put it up against. Built to navigate the winding tunnels and unique hazards of Mercury's subterranean civilization, the Stinger's balanced weight, road-gripping tires and and adaptable all-wheel powertrain ensure the car is capable of pulling up inclines and avoiding precipitous falls. When you take all that out of the Mercurian underground and drop it onto a strip of E-District roadway, the Stinger runs like a fighter who's just dropped its training weights. Built between 2357 and 2368, exports of new-model Stingers were hard to come by, with interplanetary trade routes disrupted by the dawn of the Inner World Terraforming Conflict, and so sales of these old Stingers were mostly limited to Mercury itself. Here in 2389, original A'aqraba parts for that vintage are hard to find anywhere in the Sol system, so if you see a Stinger on the road, either someone took great care of theirs or someone made a very lucky buy. Either way, you can be sure the car belongs to a proud owner who will assuredly describe to you the pains they took to preserve their baby.

Restoring a Stinger can be a fun money-sink, and every owner has a different priority in what they want to fix up about the one they got their hands on. A prominent feature of A'aqraba's design was its use of piped bumpers- designed to take incidental bumps and scuffs, a Stinger's front and rear bumper are mounted to the frame of the car in a way that makes it easy to tie a line and tow one out of a ditch if it happens to take a bad roll. Some owners insist on their bumper pipes looking factory-new, while others feel a few cosmetic scuffs add to the authenticity of a car built to run under the rocks. The Stinger houses a formidable eight-chamber Alsumi engine inside an enclosed block, delivering power to its four wheels independently so that on tricky terrain traction can be sent to whichever tires have grip to pull the car to level ground again. A not-uncommon hazard of the Mercurian tunnelway is the occasional flooded dip in the road, which can often block traffic until it is dealt with. The Stinger's elevated tailpipe ensures that proton exhaust is not drowned or obstructed when the car attempts to cross one of these flooded dips. The elevated pipe also keeps hot exhaust from igniting pockets of flammable gas that might be beneath the Stinger itself, and it's positioning along the driver's side of the car allows it to be visible or accessible to a Mercurian driver who may have a use for their Gift in handling breakdown on a long and difficult drive. Most Stinger owners maintain the exhaust in this configuration, and many go so far as to seek out original hot-metal warning label decals to put on theirs, but a few Stinger owners will modify their exhaust pipes to run along the bottom of the car, either out of preference for the aesthetic or for concern in navigating the hot exhaust pipe when they enter or exit the driver's side of the vehicle. It's a very controversial topic within the A'aqraba restoration community, but you're bound to see a little of the latter among the bulk of the former.

One of the A'aqraba community's proudest members is Timberwolf's charming captain, Bryce. A long-term pet project of his, Bryce salvaged a 2359 Stinger and a small cache of original parts from the wreck of a merchant hauler called the Osprey, found broken apart in a patch of dead space somewhere inside the Asteroid belt. Immediately recognizing what he had on his hands, he's since worked with his chief mechanic Pixel and his on-staff Mercurian cannoneer Jack to slowly bring his salvaged wreck back to life as authentically as possible. Bryce loves to roll the windows down and take his Stinger out for a ride around Titan Garden, letting the engine rumble and turning heads wherever he goes- he loves to take members of his own crew out for the ride with him, but what he loves most of all is seeing the deep and abiding envy the sight of an old A'aqraba strikes into the heart of his rival salvage captain, Amy. She's so jealous, and she can't hide it at all. It drives her wild, and he knows it. So, confession time: Bryce's restoration of the Stinger isn't one-hundred percent authentic. There's one component he purposefully used an aftermarket part for, replacing the original steel timing chain with one made of Venusian carbon links, offering similar durability and heat tolerance with less friction between each link. It's the one part that's wrong, and it's one no one will be able to see when he pops the hood to show off his Stinger- no one but Amy and her Mercurian Gift. He'll take any excuse to bring the Stinger out for a ride, but sometimes he'll take the long way out of the Dockyards just to cruise past the Red Raven hangar, hoping to see the look in those cinder-glowing eyes when they see the salvage haul of a lifetime roll by. Bryce can never hear what Amy is shouting over the growl of that big eight-chamber engine, but it's always the highlight of his day.

A modern A'aqraba is a perfectly reliable car, but if you happen to get your hands on a vintage Stinger, take good care of it. If you're racing for credits and you hear the rattle of the exhaust cap roll up next to you, puffing out gouts of proton flame, you can be sure you're in trouble. However you come to meet an old A'aqraba, you're going to want to be on the right side of its sting- its venom goes right for the heart.

Bright, trendy and easy-to-use, the Terran-made Papillon ZX-9 offers nimble freedom of movement to all starfarers, whether they're living on a homeworld, in a domed lunar city or aboard the circular corridors of a deep-space colony. Designed to be intuitive and gentle with as few breakable parts as possible, the ZX-9 is the right choice for a starfarer who doesn't want to bother with too much mechanical fuss. Controlled by a spring-loaded thumb throttle and built-in momentum monitors, the ZX-9 delivers soft acceleration and deceleration curves that prevent even first-time riders from enduring unwanted jolts or jumps in speed; claw-based throttle options are also available for Neptunian riders for whom a thumb switch isn't helpful, ensuring the ZX-9 is intuitive for all species. The ZX-9's accommodating build is fully street-legal and emission-free; it's capable of maintaining speeds that don't disrupt normal intra-city traffic, it simply isn't built to try to compete with anything else. For the rider who just wants to get from point to point with as little fuss as possible, Papillon has what you're looking for.

Ease and comfort are the main targets of Papillon's design, and to achieve those ends they designed the ZX-9 to use Accra-developed gravity suspension technology instead of traditional wheeled designs, the same as one might find in an Accra Labs drone chassis. A set of three repulsor arrays positioned in a long triangle give the ZX-9 a natural forward tendency while also making it stable and easy to steer, feeling like it simply goes where the rider wants it to be. Gravity suspension technology avoids the need for shock absorption or terrain compensators by simply hovering overtop of steel paneling seams, small rocks, debris and unattended potholes- the ZX-9 maintains a short relative altitude that doesn't dip when it crosses small or even medium-sized terrain variations, without floating high enough to cause a rider anxiety about falling off their scooter. A set of four resting studs can be found beneath the scooter's foot well, providing a steady and even landing profile when the scooter transitions between parked and powered-up states. The ZX-9 features a pair of click-out accessory holders positioned next to pairs of convenient device charging ports, a large storage compartment beneath the two-person bench seat, a passenger-accessible rear hand rail for added stability and an on-board radio for the pleasure of the riders. Fold-out cupholders are mounted to the inside of the steering column's front guard paneling, allowing thirsty motorists to keep both hands on the handlebars when they're riding between sips. Accented with handsome chrome trim, you can find a ZX-9 in almost any color you want, with options for standard or pearlescent paint styles. Not everyone is interested in wrangling a piece of machinery, and even they deserve a way to get around. For them, there is a better way.

Being the business face of Red Raven, Scarlet spends a good bit of time bouncing around Titan Garden, going from place to place taking meetings with clients of all kinds who are interested in buying what her crew procures from the wild. It used to be she'd take the train everywhere, but as a gift from the family her crewmates pitched in and bought her a ZX-9 to make her trips around Titan a little bit easier. Scarlet absolutely loves her Papillon- she has anxiety about starship travel and prefers to stay on solid ground as much as possible, so the jostle-free hover technology means she doesn't need to think about her ride taking a nasty bump when she's enroute to appointments or smoothie shops. Feeling the breeze of a brisk, mild ride through her hair is a welcome change from taking trains everywhere, and the ZX-9's under-seat stowage compartment allows her to more discretely transport items of value to clients with particular tastes for the hard-to-obtain. She's become a bit of a motorbug, puttering into the office and volunteering to make drink runs for the crew simply for the joy of riding her scooter somewhere. She hasn't had her Papillon modified at all, it's completely stock standard, and for as much as Amy would like to tune it up for her, it makes her friend the happiest to keep it maintained just how it is. She'll often let Scarlet take her for a ride, too, in a reversal of their roles from their time growing up on Mercury. It's nice to see her old friend find happiness in control of a vehicle.

For the everyday rider who prefers mild to wild, who doesn't enjoy the ozone smell of engine exhaust or the rumble of a motor beneath their seat, Papillon offers clean and quiet scooters that look nice and perform exactly to expectation. All creatures deserve their comforts, and no matter who you are or where you live, the ZX-9 will help you get wherever you want to go. Space travel is complicated enough as it is; some things could stand to be simpler. Papillon: Find Your Own Wings.