Ships vary in design based upon the desired of the people who make them. The propulsion system is based on a special techno-magical device called a Void Engine, which allows the ship to both travel through the space between fragments and to keep them alive in the process. This is similar to the process by which sorcerers and magicians make food and water for people in fragments. In fact, ships will need to have a sorcerer as a crew member to keep it in working order.
And no, PCs are not the only groups with access to ships. The robots do still have them, as well as some independent salvage operations (read: pirates and smugglers). In addition to the other stuff found floating around, there are life forms that have adapted to life in the Void, some of which find ships and human crew members quite tasty.
There are no overt gothic or steampunk elements hardwired into the setting, although there's no reason why they couldn't be added as a purely visual style. Personally, I imagine them looking something like the robots from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but that's purely my take.
They also betray a certain amount of adaptability, so things like creepy insectoid robots are not out of place, and neither are the weird squid-like hunters from The Matrix
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