About half the mass of the Lucanus, the Cervus is faster and more maneuverable - though not both at once! (The low-thrust Vacuum-Ion Motor can spin the light hull easily, or gradually achieve high speed with low acceleration.)
The V.I.M. draws reaction mass from the vacuum potential of "empty" space, so the ship's range is far greater than typical for its size. The Cervus is potentially useful as a courier ship, but is too small to carry more than a short message.
"No!"
The Vacuum-Ion Generation-Obliteration Ray is the usual way of delivering that message. This device causes the fabric of space itself to emit particle-antiparticle pairs, which are magnetically directed at a target in alternating pulses.
In particular, the high-speed antimatter clouds impacting on the target's hull will convey the true meaning of binary zero!
