Martian & Beltward Line

M&B officer’s insignia and corporate house flag. Art by Izzy Serenity

One of the “Big Three” passenger lines, Martian & Beltward Line (M&B) was founded in 2103 by Sir Thomas Bruce of Liverpool. The development of the deuterium/helium-3 fusion process the previous year had drastically increased the efficiency and power of fusion torch engines, and Sir Thomas recognised that Mars and the Asteroid Belt would soon be open to far greater settlement and mineral exploitation.

Unlike its two great rivals, Halifax and Gillingham-Foyle Lines, which focus primarily on speed, M&B focuses on passenger comfort and a high standard of customer service. Martian & Beltward’s executive board demands that its ships be outfitted to the highest standards of elegance and luxury, without regard to cost or impact on performance. The M&B officer uniform is among the most elaborate of any shipping line, including a double-breasted black jacket with gold buttons and rank insignia, white trousers, and a peaked cap. M&B’s cruises have price tags to match, and the company is renowned as “the trillionaire’s line”.

Martian & Beltward’s reliability has been recognised by the World Union Department of Communications and Transport: shipping firms that run regular routes to a consistently high standard are often contracted by the department to provide colonial resupply and mail services. In honour of this, Martian & Beltward officers are permitted to wear the eight-pointed Union Star as part of their uniform insignia.

As of 2125, Martian & Beltward operates a fleet of twenty-six vessels. Its most numerous class is the nine-ship Quantum-class passenger liner, followed by the seven-ship Saeculorum-class passenger liner. It also operates four ships each of the Valorum- and the Chrysanthemum-class cruise liners. While M&B has traditionally focused on tourist and passenger trade to Mars and the Asteroid Belt, the company has recently taken advantage of the opening of Jupiter and its moons to tourism with the purchase of three long-range Desideratum-class cruise liners. The lead ship, the Desideratum, completed its first tour of Jupiter in 2124, while the second ship in the class, the Sacramentum, is expected to complete its shakedown cruise to Mars this year. The third ship of the class, the Spectrum, is still under construction.