The Eridani Star, or simply the "Eridani", was a Mission-class starship in service in the 23rd century. It was operated by the TransSolar company.
It was a small commercial transport vessel, and was armed and quite maneuverable. TransSolar used it for long-range exploration for the purposes of trade, and for this role they placed one of their most enterprising officers in the captain's position.
- Though in the Orion Ruse adventure module the position of captain is available to players, the introductory text describes the captain as an older man.
TransSolar sent the Eridani Star to the Orion Colony world of Daros IV with the goal of breaking the Orion monopoly over the sector, by opening a trade route there, and securing a long-term trade agreement with one of the ruling Five Families. This would mean a large bonuses for the Eridani's captain and crew. The company wrote a letter of introduction for Imri Keros of the Keros Family, who was thought to be most interested in trade with Federation businesses.
To this end, the ship carried a load of computers, electronics and other high technology goods to sell, as a sample of TransSolar's products. This cargo had a base value of 2200 credits per standard cargo unit. This was expected to sell for higher in the High Market of Daros IV, since its client worlds were generally primitive and hungry for advanced technology. The captain was authorized to use the profits to purchase a cargo for a return trip; 20% of the profits from the resale of that cargo would go to the crew as a bonus. The captain was also granted a fund of 20,000 credits for expenses, and would receive 20% of what was left unspent following the expedition's conclusion.
However, in reference stardate 2/1410 (circa 2273), while it was four days away from the Daros system, the Eridani Star was stopped by the USS Patton, which was carrying Starfleet Intelligence investigators also bound for Daros IV. The Starfleet officers commandeered the Eridani to carry them the rest of the way, with them acting undercover as part of its crew. Both the TransSolar traders and the Starfleet investigators arrived on Daros IV and commenced their separate missions, with the former in brutal competition with the crew of their rival company InstellCo's Werewolf and the latter opposed by the Klingon-Kerav alliance, and complicated by each other. (FASA RPG modules: Orion Ruse, Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update)
- As this is an RPG adventure module, the official outcome is unknown, though a successful conclusion would see the crew of the Eridani Star open trade between TransSolar and the Keros Family and fight off the threats of Werewolf.
| Mission-class courier starships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starfleet | Coura • Edward Pellew • Galileo • Huygens • Jgonas • John Paul Jones • Kuiper • Magnan • Mission • Peton • Walkad | 
|
| Private vessels | Eridani Star • Terri Bear • Two Brothers • Werewolf (aka Illusion) | |