[@Milkman][@EmiliaBaiYue] Definitely agree with you both. Maybe the best middle ground would be something similar to the Dune approach? Normal ships are fitted with a fusion engine of some sort to travel short-mid distances in "realspace" between individual planets/stars, and then to travel between clusters of stars (a far greater length) you attach/park your ship on massive ships equipped with "jump" drives/engines and be isolated inside your ship, but attached to the carrier for transport. And then you could add a megacorp eith a monopoly over jump tech/jump carriers. And then the possibility for rickshaw and or smuggler jump carriers, which are riskier but cheaper/not tracked (potential for smuggling). 

I also have a few questions about the setting:
1) What're the races like? Have alien races been absorbed into the UNS? How alien are we talking? Can we make our own races up for characters? Because I'm aware you talked about players adding onto the lore. I have some cool ideas for races.
2) What company does the Dauntless serve? One of the main megacorps? A small freight company? Freelance? Is it a UNS government vehicle?
3) Can get some more details on roles? What does being the First Officer entail? How about the Navigator?