The Trampling Ram

The Trampling Ram is Captain Dordok’s long-serving starship and the home of a close-knit crew. Its speed and space-warp drive carry Jack Rust across the galaxy, while its crew repeatedly returns to the vessel after battles and escapes. (Chapters 110–123, 315, 443–461)

History

Dordok’s ship and crew home

Dordok introduces the Trampling Ram as a ship made for long travel: about one hundred feet long, fifty feet wide at its base, and built of void steel. He describes it as weighing ten tons, reaching ten thousand miles per hour, and capable of warping twice a day. Its sideways, elongated-pyramid shape dwarfs most ships at Pearl Bay’s docks. Dordok’s affection for it comes from the life shared aboard: he calls it the crew’s home and cradle, and believes a ship becomes good through centuries of travel and repair. (Chapters 110–111, 120)

Jack joins the crew as a sailor under the name Jared. The Ram takes him and his companions across space, carrying Count Plomer and Vlossana as passengers. Its main room’s broad glass walls let the crew watch the stars; the glass is also designed not to reflect starlight, which later helps the ship lie in ambush. When a D-Grade space monster attacks, the crew uses the Ram as a base for defense while Dordok fights the monster directly. The ship survives the battle, though several crew members are injured. (Chapters 111–120, 444)

Escape from the Hounds

After the Animal Kingdom’s Hounds discover Jack aboard, Dordok sends him and Brock away in an escape shuttle while he stays behind to hold off the hunters. The Ram is damaged in the confrontation, and Dordok is captured. Bomn takes the helm and leads the remaining crew away. Without an immortal aboard, they cannot immediately charge a warp, but the Ram’s speed is enough to outrun most D-Grades. The crew later gets the ship away from Earth-321 with most of its members. (Chapters 121–123, 250)

The Ram’s survival becomes one of Jack’s reasons to return to Hell and rescue Dordok. After Dordok reunites with Jack, the surviving crew rallies to him again. The ship continues to carry the group as they fight the Animal Kingdom and conduct strikes across the constellation. By then, Bomn speaks for the vessel, and Dordok is no longer its captain. (Chapters 226, 242, 250, 315, 323, 443–444)

A base for the crew’s later campaigns

The Ram remains an active base through the crew’s later campaigns. It positions itself between stars for ambushes, moves to retrieve Jack, and charges its warp drive to leave danger. Its specially designed glass walls do not reflect starlight, making it difficult to spot against space. During the later guerrilla war against the Animal Kingdom, the crew credits the ship with helping them strike quickly and escape. (Chapters 443–453)

After Jack’s return to Earth, Bomn and Vashter stay behind with the Trampling Ram to assist the constellation. Dordok has retired from traveling aboard it, and Bomn has taken over as captain. The Ram is last confirmed with Bomn and Vashter, still available to its crew. (Chapters 461, 463)

Abilities and properties

• Space-warp drive: The ship can warp twice per day, crossing large distances by drilling through folds in space. Dordok explains the principle through a wizard’s description of space folds around black holes, while admitting he does not fully understand how the mechanism works. (Chapters 111–112)
• Speed: Its maximum aerial speed is ten thousand miles per hour. The ship can outrun most D-Grades, a key advantage when its drive cannot be charged. (Chapters 111, 123)
• Construction: The hull is made of void steel; the ship weighs ten tons and measures approximately one hundred feet long by fifty feet wide at its base. It has a large interior with separate rooms, a main room, bridge, and secondary exit. (Chapters 111, 113, 120)
• Low-reflection windows: Its specially designed glass does not reflect starlight, allowing it to remain hard to see in space and support ambush tactics. (Chapter 444)
• Warp constraints: A warp takes preparation, and the crew cannot immediately charge one without an immortal aboard. The ship’s two warps per day also limit how often it can use the drive. The means by which the crew later escaped Earth-321 after Dordok’s capture is unknown. (Chapters 111, 123, 250)
• Crew operation: Crew operate the helm and ship functions. Bomn takes the helm during the Hounds’ attack and later succeeds Dordok as captain; Vashter and other crew members serve aboard it. (Chapters 117–123, 315, 323)

Ownership and custody