The Confederate Department of Commercial Shipping is an organization responsible for maintaining the Confederate Merchant Corps and regulating interstellar commerce and shipping between colony worlds. The Merchant Corps describes the space-going commercial interests of Confederate-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Corps vessels fly a COS flag and insignia with a red ensign.
Freighter Identification Codes
Freighter Identification Codes are codes used by the COS to identify freighters. They are primarily used during COM transmissions, but are important for docking procedures and if the freighter wishes to utilise a FTL gate for travel.
Freighter Identification Codes usually compose of a three-letter code followed by an eight- or nine-digit number. The letters correspond to the first letters of the freighter's name. If the freighter's name is only two words, the letter "X" is used as a substitute for the third letter (e.g. The Lucky Lady would be "TLL", while Fair Maiden would be "FMX").
The Confederate Merchant Corps consists of many different private and state-owned shipping companies, including:
-Stellar Haulage
-Huron Limited, a subsidiary of Toyami Power
-Chariot Corporation
-Rotin Corporation
-Confederated Tankers
DCS Q-Ships
Q-Ships, or Mystery ships, are freighters that have equipped with secret weaponry attachments and shielding to rival battelships and other capital ships in another respective navy. This means Mystery Ships are used to protect groups of merchant starships. Mystery ships are not armoured to the standards of a regular Space Corps patrol ship, and they are certainly not as maneuverable and as fast as one.
Oddly, the DCS is the body that organises, maintains and commands the Mystery ship force. The Confederate Space Corps sends several officers in an advisory role, but it is ultimately the Civilian Organization that is in command of the "warships".
There are currently 245 Mystery ships in the DCS, 34 of those are in reserve.
