On Thu, 11 Apr 2019 at 03:54, David Jaques-Watson <xxxxxx@pcug.org.au> wrote:

Dear Folks –

 

Catherine wrote:

> Wasn't there also later material saying that there was a secret,

> government-only comm network based on J6 ships...

 

Yes, the worst-kept secret in Traveller, the Imperiallines J-6 couriers.

 

They date back to The Travellers' Digest #04 (1986), “The Gold of Zurrian” scenario and its associated Library Data. So definitely CT in origin, predating MT by a year. I believe they also appear in later MT publications by GDW, so have become canon.



Ummm, we can do earlier than that.  The Traveller Adventure (1983), p.139.

HTH

tc


Externally identical to the type TI frontier transport, the
type TJ is never openly identified as such by its owners.
The type TJ fulfills Imperiallines' major covert mission: to
provide a jump-6 transport system within the lmperium for
material, agents, information, and equipment necessary for
various Imperial activities.
lmperiallines equipment is a grimy, dirty assemblage.
Under the grime, the ships all look the same; no one gets
close enough to see the differences between TI and TJ
types, and, as far as the public knows, all the ships are of
the TI type.
Imperiallines is a front. It would take a lot of work to see,
but through several interlocking companies and holders,
ownership finally goes back to an office in the Imperial
Household bureaucracy. lmperiallines is a fast-moving secret
Imperial courier.
The Tl's keep up the charade that the company is a tramp
freight transporter. Under various names and using various
different ship designs, all with the same specifications, the
company has offices in two out of three class C starport
worlds in the Imperium. In addition, the company has offices
at subsector capitals in many sectors, and calls frequently
with goods for many Imperial bases. lmperiallines
is the name used in the Spinward Marches.