Warhammer 40K Fluff Discussion XVI: Where the Ordnance is Hand-Delivered!

[The Glyphstone]

I was wondering something.

Does *every* piss-poor ships in the Imperium has a Navigator on board? Maybe more than one? Even the lousy minimalist freighter?

Canonically, you can navigate exceptionally short, well-traveled and mapped warp routes by means of computer/cogitator. This is actually quite important because the Imperium doesn't have enough Navigators to guide every Chartist freighter and tramp hauler. But even the most stable warp currents are still dangerous if you're flying 'blind' by rote calculation, so the role of civilian freighter captain is a career with very high turnover rates. There is explicitly a Warp Engine printed in the Rogue Trader game that incorporates advanced cogitators to semi-replace a Navigator, though it's noted as a piece of tech the Nobiliate really, really hates because it makes them redundant.

You'll never see two Navigators on one ship though. Ever.