MANIFEST

MANIFEST is a hard-SF freight tycoon set in one solar system, with the planets moving round the Sun while you work. The desk You start as a small company based at one of the many ports in the solar system. Freight comes up on the board from all over the system, from the smelters at Caloris to Phoebe Far Terminal out beyond Saturn's rings. Each consignment has a deadline. You pick the ship and plan the flight: fusion torch ships burn the whole way, flip at the turnover point and brake into port, the choice is how hard. Burn hot and you arrive early with a light tank and a worn-out drive. Take it gently and you're counting on nothing going wrong. Meanwhile the planets go on round the Sun, and the lane that paid well last month might be the long way round now. The fleet Every ship is an individual. The cheap ones in the yard have been flown by somebody already, and they may not have been the best at taking care of them. Drives, thrusters and hulls all take a toll when pushed hard, so a ship you've run into the ground is slower and more expensive to operate, a tired drive gets throttled back until you book it in for repairs. Each ship has a captain with a name. Captains get good at the cargo they carry, and a veteran of the ore runs will turn a ship round in port faster than a new hire. Leave one in the wrong job long enough and they'll go and work for somebody else. The system Solar flares roll out from the Sun, and a ship caught in the front takes a dose. Dock workers walk out and a port closes, if they're feeling generous, with a few days' warning. Some crews weren't so lucky, and what's left of their ships can be salvaged. Most of the job is se