Peacekeepers of the Vast/Screamer

A screamer is a type of probe common in ISL space used for one way communication over long distances. Screamers are rockets that use a barely contained nuclear reaction to accelerate towards a destination, most commonly a Peacekeepers of the Vast/hyperspace beacon. Once near the destination, the screamer transmits whatever data it was loaded with: either broadband, or narrowcasted at a pre-defined target. The screamer then continues past the destination and accelerates towards the nearest star, where it will eventually fall down the jump gradient, return to normal space, and be destroyed.

A screamer's contents can be encrypted but there is no way to avoid revealing that a large burst of information was transmitted. Screamers travel more than twice as fast as the fastest courier ship - they don't turn around to slow down halfway through the trip. Screamers are meant to travel through hyperspace, but they can be launched in normal space. Large ships with powerful jump engines can open a window and fire a screamer through it, but most ships need to enter hyperspace fully to launch them.