The Spacing Guid	Spacing Guild Heighliner-Class Cargo Vsl.		The Spacing Guid
Heighliner-Class Discharging Frigates. The Heighliner-Class of the Spacing Guild are enormous carrier spaceships used for interstellar travel exclusively by the Spacing Guild of IX. Their operation requires both a Guild Navigator and a Holtzman generator. While the Holtzman generator uses the Holtzman effect to fold space and thereby facilitate traveling through space without moving, the Navigator is responsible to find a safe path through the universe and guide the ship along this path. This is accomplished under the influence of m'elange in the form of the orange spice gas, which gives the Navigator the limited form of prescience required for this job. Heighliners jump from planet to planet, parking in planetary orbits because they are much too large to land. In these parking orbits, normal spaceships -orbital ferries, or ships designed for interplanetary travel- embark and disembark the Heighliner. Special laws govern those aboard a Heighliner; Among other things, Heighliners are considered neutral territory and all acts of war aboard Heighliners carry very stiff penalties, such as being spaced right then and there, being dumped on the first planet that the ship reaches (regardless who might be there, and whether they like you), and being handed over to the Emperors, whos ideas on capital punishment starts with "How long can I make you scream before you get used to it?" (some of the worst abuses in this regard are "frowned upon" by the UGC, but only one, the use of Stallwurms, was specifically repudiated). Heighliners are built on Ix, from where they are spacefolded into space. The Holtzman Principle and the Heighliner-Class were built specifically in an attempt to break the UGC's economic hold over the universe, by providing ships outside the Imperial control in private ownership that could provide transportation services at a lower cost; It was hoped this would eventually put the majority of the economic control under Ixian control. This plan failed, but not for any real fault of the Spacing Guild; The services were far cheaper, and service highly reliable and efficient, but because the Guild would not allow UGC oversight of their activities (and thus reveal the extent of their scheming), the REF was order to refuse escort through any sector; Furthermore, the REF was additionally ordered not to respond to any hails for distress from a Guild ship. These factors, combined with the (correct) suspicions of the various local systems on the Spacing Guild, eventually lead to the Heighliner-Class's semi-failure; They still ply the systems, but the political machinations of the Guild have been thwarted, and therefore the profitability of the ships is limited. Holtzman Effect The Holtzman effect is named after the scientist who discovered it, Dr. Tio HOLTZMAN (though for many of its applications, HOLTZMAN in fact takes credit for the mathematical theories of his assistant, Norma CENVA). It's a single, very complex, mathematical formula that allow for shields, suspensors, glowglobes, and spacefold travel. The basic concept of shielding had already existed before HOLTZMAN'S theorem came into being, but these were crude devices only capable of scrambling a robot or computer's main hard drive (the fomula works much like a BATTLESTAR-Class RCIRS); The machines soon realize that human-machine hybrids (cyborgs called "cymeks") can slip though the planetary force fields to destroy the transmitters because they possess human brains, which are unaffected by the scrambler fields; Norma CENVA has the idea to use the field as an offensive weapon, projecting it with portable transmitters to knock out machines and their installations. HOLTZMAN calculates that the field can be modified to prevent penetration from physical projectiles, and human forces start installing these new shields on their battleships and most ground forces. With Liesco II secured against further attack, HOLTZMAN and CENVA begin developing further applications, most of which were civilian in nature, including the "Holtzman Drive." Holtzman Drive The effect is used in this case to fold space at the quantum level, allowing the starships to instantaneously travel far distances across space. However, the chaotic and seemingly non-deterministic quantum nature of "foldspace" requires at least limited prescience on the part of the human navigator; Otherwise the absurdly complex mathematics involved in producing reliable physical projections of such events would only be possible with advanced computers, which are strictly prohibited because of mankind's crusade against thinking machines (the Butlerian Jihad). To this effect, the Guild produces mélange-saturated Navigators who intuitively "see paths through foldspace" in this way. This stumbling block is overcome several thousand years after the events of Dune when Ixian scientists develop mechanical replacements for Guild Navigators (see No-Ship Variant). Vehicle Type: Class: Manufacturer: Crew: MDC BY LOCATION:
Hull	100	Hatches (many)	50
Speed and Statistical Data:
Length		Beam
No-ShipVariant: The No-Ship-Class variant is essentially identical to the standard Heighliner-Class, and with good reason; All but a few are in fact retrofitted Heighliners who's Navigators have passed away. In fact, all Heighliners now are equipped with the No-Ship processers, though one (the Tranzjip, literally, "Training Ship") is kept as a Navigator-only training ship (she has the processor but has never used it, and it might not even work, nobody's really sure). All stats are the same except as noted:
Length		Beam
Weapons System: None. The Heighliner-Class is not armed in any way shap or form.
Features:
Not really		A long list
Combat Profile of the Spacing Guild Heighliner-Class Vsl: Highly limited. They can't run, can't hide, and can't dodge, and since they're so lightly armed they really can't fight. A A The Heighliner-Class' main defense is the WELL DOCUMENTED results of messing with one. The entire Landsraad will punish you. They will not kill you. And you will beg for death before the close of the first day. They will not kill, you, however. (The UGC at first classified this as a war crime- until someone attacked a Heighliner- loaded with UGC Marines. After that, they never brought it up again.)