Wide Sky · Vessel
NV Dawnward
Built at the Mercer Yards on Mars and named toward the dawn. A civilian survey ship with no business in a war: a mobile laboratory, diplomatic habitat and — the part that matters — a provenance authority, able to seed nodes and make the first authenticated observations in a reach that is dark on the ledger. She opens the Sable Reach in 2312 and spends the rest of the trilogy being pushed a long way past what she was built for.
Designation
Mercer-class Survey Ship
Service
Commissioned ~2312
Hull
Survey hull — laboratory, habitat and node-seeding decks
Complement
Civilian — Open Reach Survey complement, science and contact staff
Propulsion
Span-rated fold array (deep-survey rating)
Armament
Light defensive fit only — deliberately under-armed
Classification
Open Reach Survey · node-seeder and provenance authority · home berth Highreach