And here's the "flavor text" from the original thread:
"One of the primary shortcomings of the Wanderer-class blockade run...er free trader was it's limited cargo capacity, less in fact, than many other transport vessels of it's size class. While most of the time this wasn't a problem for the...independant merchentmen...who utilized such vessels, on occasion, a particularly valuable "salvage opportunity" had to be wholy or partially abandoned because there simply was not enough room to fit it in the ship's holds.
"Eventually, a shipbuilding consortium got the good idea to do something about the situation. Keeping all the 'selling points' of the Wanderer, they designed a new ship that incorporated additional cargo capacity, as well as a few systems improvements of their own. Most notably, they introduced the idea of extending the nacelle length by 50% over standard, allowing for the instalation of additional warp coils. By computer regulating the firing sequence for the coils in a staggered manner, it was possible to increase the effective cruise speed of the new ship by an entire warp factor for the same reliability and fuel consumption, as well as giving the ship a 'dash speed' of 2.5 warp factors higher.
"Thus was born the Marathon-class (official designation) High Value Cargo Transport, which quickly established itself as a boon to traders (and others) who specialized in moving high-priority and/or sensitive carges, and a headache for more legitimate merchant concerns, Starfleet Captains on 'pirate duty' and independant system goverments throughout Free Space."
