Gersemi

Look. She's not a great ship. The engine craps out once a month, the left thruster's jammed in horizontal so we can't do vertical takeoff anymore, and even when I bought her she was getting a hint of rust around the hull.
She's my ship, though. Knew it when I saw her at the dealer dock, and as soon as I flew her I knew I wasn't gonna let her go. She's hardy, and she'll get through with a good crew.

— Foster Cline

The Gersemi, serial number PHC-20430, is a second-generation Phantom Courier manufactured by Phantom Queen Enterprises. Constructed in 393 IE in the Morrígan System as a light-duty freighter, it was initially called the Jacobson and did minor shipping within the system. Since 412, it has been owned by the Cline Delivery Company and captain Foster Cline, doing courier delivery and transport within the Dumas System.

History

Like most Phantom Couriers, the ship was constructed at the PQE factory in Morrígan, with the intention of being sold to local customers. It was purchased in 394 IE by Emil Jacobson, who simply named the ship after himself and used it as part of the fleet of his merchant business. The Jacobson saw uneventful service, apparently being relegated to a safe trade route. Jacobson sold the eponymous vessel in 410, as part of the downsizing of his venture.
The documentation is spotty after Jacobson's sale, with the ship next verifiably appearing in a dealer dock in the Dumas System's OnRamp in 412, having likely been transported along with similarly outdated vehicles for on-selling in a 'lesser market'. On the 6th of July it was 'purchased' by Foster Cline, who, unable to pay the upfront cost, agreed to a lengthy and expensive repayment scheme for the ship. Now named the Gersemi, and after a brief servicing, it has served as the sole vehicle for Cline's contract delivery and transport company ever since.
Gersemi's service has been similarly as eventful as the company it supports, though has typically avoided serious damage. The noteworthy exception was an attempted space-flight hijacking of the Gersemi on the 3rd of September 427, sustaining serious damage to the bridge that required mechanic Amardeep Kaur Joshi to pilot the ship from the engine room. The incident forced the ship to dock at Satellite Plessis for two months for repair, and the injuries sustained by pilot Xandra Heeren forced their resignation a few months later.
While usually undamaged, the Gersemi has experienced multiple technical faults, ranging from intermittent engine failure that necessitated the installation of a full backup generator in 434, a recently jammed vector thruster that prevents precision control during vertical takeoff and landing, and a hull crack on the escape pod that forced it to be replaced with one from a third-generation Phantom Courier.

Crew

Current Crew

Name Role Joined Andrea Seward Captain, Accountant, Pilot 16 April 0425 IE Gideon van der Karmozijn Mechanic 24 March 0441 IE Jalen Romilly Lieutenant, Pilot 1 January 0443 IE Petra Cline Owner, Mechanic 2 April 0449 IE Zayvia Eskarra Gunner 9 April 0449 IE Gao Xue Pilot 18 April 0449 IE

Notable Former Crew

Name Role Dates of Service Foster Cline Captain, Pilot, Owner 6 July 0412 IE - 31 March 0449 IE Valentin Markovich Kovalyov Pilot 13 July 0412 IE - 22 October 0420 IE Yoon Woo Jin Mechanic 13 July 0412 IE - 20 September 0415 IE Ligaya Villanueva de Leon Gunner 13 July 0412 IE - 16 September 0415 IE | 1 August 0420 IE - 18 January 0421 IE Ogawa Yuuji Gunner, Lieutenant 26 December 0415 IE - 31 March 0449 IE Amardeep Kaur Joshi Mechanic 5 May 0417 IE - 29 November 0436 IE Selini Metaxas Pilot 23 October 0420 IE - 26 April 0427 IE Xandra Alida Heeren Pilot 1 July 0427 IE - 16 May 0428 IE Rajiya bint Haidar ibn Imran Al-Amin Mechanic, Pilot 30 November 0436 IE - 23 March 0441 IE

Previously Known As

Jacobson

Class

2nd Generation Phantom Courier

Classification

Intrastellar Light-Duty Freighter

Designation

PHC-20430

Manufacturer

Phantom Queen Enterprises

Creation Date

0393 IE

Owner

Petra Cline

Owning Organization

Cline Delivery Company

Complement / Crew

Minimum of 2, currently operating with 6 crew members

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

20 ton maximum, with made accommodation for 10 occupants

By the records, this ship is older than its entire crew, and from the outside you can feel every year of it. Each serving mechanic it's had has put in admirable effort to keep it intact, and for a Phantom Courier it handles remarkably well. I suspect any effort to convince the captain and the young owner to upgrade would be in vain, despite the innumerable benefits.

— Gao Xue, Pilot and Ship Enthusiast

Escape Pod

Outfitted with an escape shuttle from the generation newer than the ship it supports, the Gersemi has experienced many minor faults relating to this expensive appendage. The ship itself required rewiring at the port in order to accept the shuttle at all, let alone provide basic power to its systems while docked.
It being the wrong size has also resulted in it slightly protruding above the top of the ship, with Foster, Andrea, and Yuuji divided on the best way to handle the unsightly ridge. Proposals have ranged from altering the shuttle's frame to make the change more gradual, to adding an aesthetic panel to the top of the Gersemi so that it aligns with the top of the pod. As a result, the escape shuttle has sat slightly awkwardly in the ship, unaltered and extremely obvious, for many years.

Not sure I condone letting the captain's young daughter aboard that thing. Death trap waiting to happen.

— OnRamp Beta Spacedock Worker