nocebo system

lacking the compact transistor-electronics that would otherwise render starfighters obsolete, the peoples of Drywinds, the Jadestone mining colonies, and the Waterfall-led Inner League need a fast and cheap crewed vehicle to deliver kinetic firepower against large "capital ships" without putting their own main-gun arrays in too much danger. this is where the Lancers come in: a class of one-woman, bare-bones "fighters" fueled with dense, explosive monopropellants that quickly push them to high relative velocity.

Lancers are light-to-medium on equipment, being about the size of a truck or tank and about as well-armed. they usually carry one to several magazines of artillery-style shell or rocket, plus a pair of MGs for dispatching other Lancers that come within their combat regime.

Combat between Lancers and other vehicles depends on hard acceleration and quick compensation: burning engines at high G to give their kinetic slugs a high impact velocity, tearing through enemy hulls. The same also applies to Lancers being intercepted by enemy fire while they are traveling at high relative velocities, so for pilots the importance of a safe attack-velocity regime is great; and pilots must be able to make fast and random course corrections, to avoid fire, while not losing track of the enemy against the stars.

Lancer pilots use a system of mirrors, not pictured, to keep a full view of their surroundings; and a strut-mounted telescope/periscopic sextant, an extremely precise mechanical clock mounted in their seats, an ephemeris with metal pages, and a basic mechanical computer to keep track of their position against the heavens, as well as their allies' and enemies'.

Lancers can be outfitted for orbital patrols as well, fending off criminals and intercepting unidentified spacecraft on suspicious trajectories. these Lancers are outfitted with heavier armor and more powerful engines, plus an enclosed cockpit with true life-support, for longer patrols and short, close-range skirmishes.

Retired, mothballed, and otherwise out-of-service Lancers often find their way to the race track on dwarf-moons like Queen, where ancient asteroid impacts and geological processes carved out long valleys and and canyons that today sit in vacuum. Racers try to maintain orbital velocity inside the canyon - around Mach 2 for a body of such size - without hitting any walls, using the Lancers' impressive maneuvering capabilities to stay alive.