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- Jan 14, 2009
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Okay, so if you talk to me with any kind of frequency, you know I've been building this. But I've never actually put any of it up for public viewing before. So I'm going to apologize in advance here, because this setting is a little...broken? Right now anyway. There's not a huge amount of cohesion in the timeline in a lot of different ways, or at least not with huge degrees of detail. It's mostly just setting up the various planet clusters with an overview of how life works on that place, as well as a bit of history. So, let's start with some tech...
More basic setting tech information is as follows:
Power generation is taken care of with widespread deployment of fusion power. Solar is still in use in some place where it is more opportune, like withint he inner system. The closer to the sun you get, the more effective solar becomes.
There is a kind of FTL travel, and that's done by catching a tachyon stream and sailing on. Literal sails are deployed, and the ship is placed under the effects of a tachyon field, removing the need for concerns such as time dilation, and also the vast strain the ship would be under. Deceleration is handled byt he destination typically, with a countering stream of tachyons hitting from the opposite side, slowing hte ship down. Sudden stops can be achieved with explosives charged with Tachyons, often disrupting hte tachyon field and bringing hte ship to a halt, or at least a massively lowered speed, manby times used in the form of mines by defensive forces to prevent enemy ships from approaching at FTL speeds.
Food is mainly taken care of through high efficiency Hydroponics and vat-grown meat. More traditionally raised or grown foods are considered luxury items.
Every citizen of a planetary cluster is provided with rations of hydroponics, meat, a space ot live and free access to local education. All free of charge. Employment is primarily a voluntary process, with working for cash a way to advance yourself, or at least let you upgrade your diet significantly.
Medical care is available, with emergency care freely given, as well as lower end cybernetics to replace missing limbs, or clone-grown replacements. Basic genetic therapy is also available to treat genetic illnesses, like diabetes. Alll of which is freely offered.
More advanced genetic therapy and cybernetics are available, typically at cost, sometimes very great cost, though the cost and quality of such varies from place to place, with Venus being one of the most advanced and proficient locations for both practical and cosmetic gene therapy.
Kinetic Cannons – The most basic and widely used weapon system for capital warships. At it's heart, a kinetic cannon uses coil gun technology, short barreled ones primarily used for broadsides weapons, allowing traversing turrets to engage other ships. The large spinal mounted cannons become more powerful rail guns, beginning to accelerate projectiles to more significant fractions of light speed, and delivering impacts of staggering power.
Lasers – Short ranged comparatively, due to diffraction effects, lasers are still in wide use. Nearly all point defence networks make use of lasers, the near instantaneous striking of each shot makes them devastating in this role. Sustained fire will eventually cause damage to the emitters, reducing range and accuracy until the emitters must be replaced or repaired. Most lasers function within the Red Light range, a reliable range of light that results in less wear on the emitters. While much more expensive, some emitters are built in the Ultraviolet range of light, which provides dramatically more range and power, but requires much more frequent maintenance. Exceedingly rare and expensive, and constructed almost exclusively in the Plutonian Cluster, there are a handful of X-ray based laser weapons produced, and these weapons are the very best of their class produced.
Plasma Cannons – Plasma weapons are a variation of kinetic cannons, using coil gun technology to accelerate a small magnetic field generator. These field contain a high pressure field of plasma. On impact with a solid target, the plasma comes into contact with the material and transfers all of it's accumulated energy into the target. Each shot must be prepared, the field generator is coated with materials that are rendered into plasma through powerful lasers. While powerful, this process does slow the overall rate of fire of the weapons.
Missiles – Smaller guided warheads that are mainly used by and against Short Ranged Craft. A dizzying array of these weapons exist, variables in range, power, and speed profiles are common, and a variety are carried depending on the required targets. Smaller capital ships and destroyers often carry bays of such weapons, intending to sweep swathes of the Short Range Craft from space. Countermeasures for these weapons are a mixed thing, offering a combination of thermal deflection and ECM emissions, while not completely effective they often give a chance for evasive maneuvering to be effective.
Rockets – Used exclusively by Short Ranged Craft, these unguided weapons are fired in swarms. Often too small to deliver much noticeable damage, they are nonetheless able to weaken armour for other strikes, and provide saturation fire against point defence networks.
Torpedoes – Built on the same principles as the smaller missiles, these weapons are built to damage capital ships. Though smaller in variety than missiles, there is still quite a variety of torpedoes in use. Often much heavier in armouring to help survive enemy point defense systems, these weapons carry a variety of payloads, from simple explosives, to atomics, all the way to fantastically expensive anti-matter weapons. Most capital ships carry a supply of these weapons, launching barrages of them to overwhelm point defence networks and deliver damage from unexpected angles.
Particle Beams – Rarer than other weapons, these beam cannons can be devastating, though many of them are rendered far less effective due to the magnetic shields on heavier craft. Many battleships mount several of these on turret mounts to deal with corvettes and frigates more effectively.
Exoskeleton Frame – Combining normal body armour with a powered frame to augment the strength of a soldier is a tactic that dates back centuries. Often employed to bring heavier weapons to bear, these suits are frequently used as a stopgap measure between normal infantry and Powered Infantry. While they can bring far more firepower to bear, they lack much in the way of any additional resilience, as well as being limited in operational life by the need to carry battery units to keep the frame moving.
Exoskeletal Armour – The first class of Powered Infantry, these suits are very close in size to the wearer, adding only a few inches in each direction. Still, these few inches make a very great deal of difference. Armour strong enough to sustain far more punishment, even the most basic of suits still amplifies the strength of the wielder two to one. More advanced models carry onboard electronic suites suited for uplinks with satellite units and to share tactical telemetry with friendly units. Some may even mount on-board weapons, though these are typically limited in scope due to power or ammunition limitations.
Battle Amour – Considerably rarer than Exoskeletal Armour, but much larger, these suits typically add nearly a foot of size to their wearer, being as large as they can before they are considered piloted rather than worn. Amplifying the strength of the wielder by a factor of at least four, these suits create an Infantry soldier more on par with light vehicles. On-board electronics make soldiers like this an easy fit for command and control roles, while platoons of these troops can act as a mailed fist to smash aside opposition. Carrying heavy weapons that Standard Infantry would use as support weapons, they are a threat to nearly anything they face. Basic models still rely on battery power, these models are often limited in their ability to mount additional weapons and systems. More advanced models will mount small onboard generators, ranging from small 'micro-nuke- fission reactors, to portable fusion plants. It is these units that will typically carry several additional weapons system, such as shoulder or arm mounted lasers.
Titan Armour – More of a piloted craft than armour, these suits range between twelve and eighteen feet tall, and dwarf even many armoured vehicles. As it is a single pilot, and humanoid in shape, military organization place them with infantry. Even the most basic unit mounts an onboard fusion plant, providing ample power for the suit and all of the weapons and electronics they carry. Running on pure mechanical force, these suits are capable of flipping smaller tanks, and delivering punishing barrages of fire, while maintaining the mobility of a humanoid form. Titans are expensive and difficult to maintain, so it is rare to see more than a few within infantry companies. However, in large scale engagements, platoons, or even companies of these suits may take to the field in a concentrated wave of destruction.
Cannons – A catchall term for any weapons that still rely on some kind of chemical propellent, cannons are alive and well on the battlefields. Most use caseless rounds, providing greater ammunition capacity than might be expected, while there are still some rare cases where a casing is used for a particularly volatile propellant. Nearly all civilian weapons are cannons, with a very select few being energy weapons. Cannon weapons can be found in a staggering array of varieties, varying in rate of fire, size of projectile, and speed of each fired shot. Cannon weapons are readily available in nearly any place within the system, making resupply a simple matter.
Kinetic – Coil and Rail gun types of weapon, kinetic weapons are widespread throughout the system. Unaided troopers can typically only carry the lightest of these weapons due to their recoil force, but Powered Infantry make widespread use of them. There are a few more advanced coil weapons that require an external generator to run, but rather than firing a simple slug, they fire a hypervelocity lance of molten metal at their target. Expensive, difficult to maintain, and slower to fire, these weapons are still considered to be some of the most feared and effective kinetic weapons deployed.
Laser – The most common energy weapon to be deployed by infantry, lasers have been in use for centuries. Most are optimized within the Red Visible spectrum, keeping power and maintenance requirements low, though some are build on shorter wavelengths for more powerful beams and longer range.
Shardgun – These weapons uses Ablative Laser Propulsion to shoot streams of hardened glass or resin ‘needles’ with a terrific rate of fire. These shards tear into flesh and other soft substances with brutal effect, and can even slice through light armour with sufficient weight of fire. The weapon’s ammo is composed of solid blocks of such material, from which an internal laser grid cuts each individual needle at incredible speed as it is fired. Although preformed ammunition bricks are issued, most shardguns are also capable of creating fresh ammunition from any appropriate materials. The weapon hoppers contain a powerful furnace that will vitrify materials placed inside it over a set time period – the most favoured substance being common mineral sand.
Plasma – Plasma weapons are a variation of kinetic cannons, using coil gun technology to accelerate a small magnetic field generator. These field contain a high pressure field of plasma. On impact with a solid target, the plasma comes into contact with the material and transfers all of it's accumulated energy into the target. Each shot must be prepared, the field generator is coated with materials that are rendered into plasma through powerful lasers. While powerful, this process does slow the overall rate of fire of the weapons.
Grenades – Whether thrown or launched, the use of an explosive on the battlefield has not lessened. Infantry usually carry several grenades to battle, used in clearing rooms of opposition, dislodging entrenched foes, or damaging hardened targets. A wide variety of grenades are available for infantry, from simple fragmentation bombs, to concussion bombs, up to more exotic weapons such as small fusion grenades, there is a weapon suited to any situation.
Launched grenades are commonly seen as an additional add-on to other weapons in the form of an under-barrel attachment. In other cases the launchers may be stand alone units, drum or belt fed, and can often provide quite a weight of fire. Far more varied in types than thrown grenades, these weapons can be found in AP roles, as well as other classes as well, such as Squash Head rounds designed to attack armoured vehicles and buildings.
Rockets – Fulfilling the same role on the battlefield that they have for nearly a thousand years, rockets provide heavy firepower at range, allowing infantry to fight outside their weight class.
Missiles – Simply guided rockets, missiles are as common as their unguided partners, with some requiring a target to be spotted in advance, while others may simply have their target designated by the launcher, though these missiles may have to contend with enemy jamming.
Fighter – The middle ground of Short Range craft, these ships are not as sprightly as interceptors, but come much more heavily armed and armoured. Fixed mounts for twinned cannons remain, but this is often supplemented with another pair of cannons, often of a differing type to the standard mount, providing greater breadth of options. Four to six hardpoints are in place, depending on manufacture and design, provide access to missile based weapons, and a small internal bay provides heavy munitions for attacking ships far in excess of their size.
Bombers – Among largest of the Short Range craft, these lack the ability to effectively engage other Short Range craft, relying on heavy ablative plating to allow them to force their way through screens and survive point defense systems. Eschewing normal cannons, they mount a pair of small turrets to ward off interceptors as best they can, but they tend to be small output weapons. Up to eight external hardpoints allow them to mount a variety of attack options, but their true strength is in the huge internal bays. A single bomber carries enough munitions to damage a ship, while a full squadron can lay waste to lighter ships in a single devastating barrage.
Gunships – The most massive of the Short Range Craft, the Gunship is large enough to require crew in addition to a pilot. Powerful engines and strategically placed thrusters allow the ship to move quickly and much more nimbly than it's size might suggest. Heavy cannons are mounted, typically a quartet of them, with many carrying extra mounts below the cockpit. A large turret mount adorns the aft of the craft, typically carrying two further cannons on par with the standard quartet, though it is frequently given a monstrously power laser emplacement for added firepower far outstripping the damage capabilities of other Short Range Craft. Up to a dozen external hardpoints are present, allowing a variety of options, from missiles designed for dogfighting purposes, to rocket pods allowing a weight of unguided fire to be deployed, or even stand alone cannon pods. The internal bays are large, though still only on par with that of a bomber, despite the craft being more than twice the size and mass. Gunships represent a significant investment, and are not typically seen in any but elite military groups, though some have managed to crop in particularly well equipped pirate gangs.
Frigates – Command ships for many picket fleets, and often one of the principle ships that are deployed for recon and investigation missions, frigates are still a more nimble craft than most, but are outpaced by corvettes. They are the smallest ship that can comfortably carry a force of Short Range Craft. Weapons arrays are varied, but frigates are heavily armed for their size, though they lack the heavy plating of larger ships to survive sustained barrages.
Cruisers – The primary workhorse of the battle fleets of the various clusters. Cruisers are a large ship, well equipped with a variety of weapons, and layered in heavy armour, often supplemented with additional ablative plates over critical locations, and frequently sporting powerful magnetic fields as well to assist in deflecting particle beam weaponry. Most cruisers carry at least a squadron or two of Short Range Craft, providing them with either additional defences, or a swift attack force. Each ship has enough size that it can mount two to three heavy spinal mount cannons, providing massive firepower on target, as well as an array of weapons mounted along the broadsides and dorsal mount to provide less damaging but more easily brought to bear weapons. Several large bays usually mount heavy torpedo weapons, useful for engaging ships beyond accurate projectile weapon range, or assisting in overwhelming enemy point defense networks.
Destroyers – A cruiser weight class that sacrifices much of the defensive aspects of it's nature to mount huge quantities of missile and torpedo weapons, providing long range striking capability, and the missile support allow them to engage vast numbers of Short Range Craft. They lack spinal mounted weaponry, but do have more tightly packed point defense systems, allowing them to defend themselves as well as other ships from incoming torpedo and Craft.
Battlecruisers – A heavier design of warship, typically used as a command ship for smaller fleet engagements, sometimes simply as a heavier ship to push through enemy lines. Typically half again the size of a standard cruiser, these ships are more heavily defended, and often mount either additional spinal mounted weapons, or sometimes simply larger bore weapons. Additional space is made for more Short Range Craft, with rare occasions allowing the housing of Gunships.
Battleships – Command and control vessels, these ships also represent some of the most lethal warships deployed. Each of them run at least two kilometers in length, and all of them mount at least one heavy spinal mounted weapon, running the full length of the craft, allowing projectiles to be accelerated to tremendous speeds. Broadside, dorsal and ventral weapons allow them to engage entire squads of lighter ships such as cruisers, and they very frequently carry large numbers of Short Range Craft to support their operations. Armoured as heavily as possible, these ships can absorb a huge amount of abuse, often continuing the fight even after suffering multiple hull breaches. Each of these vessels represents a significant investment of resources, though each cluster maintains a considerable fleet of these ships.
Carriers – Simply put, these are large hulled vessels primarily devoted to bringing swarms of Short Range Craft to bear. Maintenance and repairs are possible on site, with some of the more advanced models of carrier capable of constructing new craft. Lacking spinal mounted weaponry, they still carry smaller cannons, mounted along the flanks of the ship, as well as vast point defense networks. Carriers typically are only deployed in larger fleets, but may sometimes act as a command vessel in smaller fleets requiring Short Range Craft support.
Dreadnaught – The largest mass produced warship in use by the various clusters, a dreadnaught is a huge ship, the smallest among it's class running six kilometers long, with some of the larger ones doubling that size. The spinal mounted weapons on a dreadnaught can inflict tremendous damage, with only the most advanced armour types capable of sustaining even a single hit from such a weapon, and even those cannot do so more than once. Smaller weapon mounts adorn the flanks of these warships, some of which carry as much power as the spinal mount on a cruiser. Many dreadnaughts can carry large numbers of Short Range Craft, as well as enormous quantities of torpedo bays. Most do not carry missile arrays for engaging Short Range Craft, but notably Dreadnaughts created by the Jovian Confederation do so, reducing their reliance on point defence and support from their own Craft.
More basic setting tech information is as follows:
Power generation is taken care of with widespread deployment of fusion power. Solar is still in use in some place where it is more opportune, like withint he inner system. The closer to the sun you get, the more effective solar becomes.
There is a kind of FTL travel, and that's done by catching a tachyon stream and sailing on. Literal sails are deployed, and the ship is placed under the effects of a tachyon field, removing the need for concerns such as time dilation, and also the vast strain the ship would be under. Deceleration is handled byt he destination typically, with a countering stream of tachyons hitting from the opposite side, slowing hte ship down. Sudden stops can be achieved with explosives charged with Tachyons, often disrupting hte tachyon field and bringing hte ship to a halt, or at least a massively lowered speed, manby times used in the form of mines by defensive forces to prevent enemy ships from approaching at FTL speeds.
Food is mainly taken care of through high efficiency Hydroponics and vat-grown meat. More traditionally raised or grown foods are considered luxury items.
Every citizen of a planetary cluster is provided with rations of hydroponics, meat, a space ot live and free access to local education. All free of charge. Employment is primarily a voluntary process, with working for cash a way to advance yourself, or at least let you upgrade your diet significantly.
Medical care is available, with emergency care freely given, as well as lower end cybernetics to replace missing limbs, or clone-grown replacements. Basic genetic therapy is also available to treat genetic illnesses, like diabetes. Alll of which is freely offered.
More advanced genetic therapy and cybernetics are available, typically at cost, sometimes very great cost, though the cost and quality of such varies from place to place, with Venus being one of the most advanced and proficient locations for both practical and cosmetic gene therapy.
Space Weapons Technology
Kinetic Cannons – The most basic and widely used weapon system for capital warships. At it's heart, a kinetic cannon uses coil gun technology, short barreled ones primarily used for broadsides weapons, allowing traversing turrets to engage other ships. The large spinal mounted cannons become more powerful rail guns, beginning to accelerate projectiles to more significant fractions of light speed, and delivering impacts of staggering power.
Lasers – Short ranged comparatively, due to diffraction effects, lasers are still in wide use. Nearly all point defence networks make use of lasers, the near instantaneous striking of each shot makes them devastating in this role. Sustained fire will eventually cause damage to the emitters, reducing range and accuracy until the emitters must be replaced or repaired. Most lasers function within the Red Light range, a reliable range of light that results in less wear on the emitters. While much more expensive, some emitters are built in the Ultraviolet range of light, which provides dramatically more range and power, but requires much more frequent maintenance. Exceedingly rare and expensive, and constructed almost exclusively in the Plutonian Cluster, there are a handful of X-ray based laser weapons produced, and these weapons are the very best of their class produced.
Plasma Cannons – Plasma weapons are a variation of kinetic cannons, using coil gun technology to accelerate a small magnetic field generator. These field contain a high pressure field of plasma. On impact with a solid target, the plasma comes into contact with the material and transfers all of it's accumulated energy into the target. Each shot must be prepared, the field generator is coated with materials that are rendered into plasma through powerful lasers. While powerful, this process does slow the overall rate of fire of the weapons.
Missiles – Smaller guided warheads that are mainly used by and against Short Ranged Craft. A dizzying array of these weapons exist, variables in range, power, and speed profiles are common, and a variety are carried depending on the required targets. Smaller capital ships and destroyers often carry bays of such weapons, intending to sweep swathes of the Short Range Craft from space. Countermeasures for these weapons are a mixed thing, offering a combination of thermal deflection and ECM emissions, while not completely effective they often give a chance for evasive maneuvering to be effective.
Rockets – Used exclusively by Short Ranged Craft, these unguided weapons are fired in swarms. Often too small to deliver much noticeable damage, they are nonetheless able to weaken armour for other strikes, and provide saturation fire against point defence networks.
Torpedoes – Built on the same principles as the smaller missiles, these weapons are built to damage capital ships. Though smaller in variety than missiles, there is still quite a variety of torpedoes in use. Often much heavier in armouring to help survive enemy point defense systems, these weapons carry a variety of payloads, from simple explosives, to atomics, all the way to fantastically expensive anti-matter weapons. Most capital ships carry a supply of these weapons, launching barrages of them to overwhelm point defence networks and deliver damage from unexpected angles.
Particle Beams – Rarer than other weapons, these beam cannons can be devastating, though many of them are rendered far less effective due to the magnetic shields on heavier craft. Many battleships mount several of these on turret mounts to deal with corvettes and frigates more effectively.
Infantry Equipment
Armour
Standard Body Armour – Well covered in ballistic plates made from a combination of ceramic and metallic plates backed with a flexible body of impact resistant materials, military body armour renders a soldier largely immune to civilian weapons. Basic suits still carry re-breathers to allow some resistance to gas hazards, and with the addition of a sealing helmet the armour can be sealed against vacuum environments. Magnetic boots allow passage along the exterior of most structures, as well as allowing limited movement along walls. More advanced models of armour are more resistant to incoming weapons fire, with more advanced protective materials being used, and often incorporating a suite of electronic tools into the helmet, allowing more intensive information to be acquired. Some few suits can also mount Electronic Warfare Suites, allowing them to attempt to interfere with enemy troops. Prohibitively expensive suits can be mounted with active camouflage systems, allowing them to be more effective as scouts and snipers. Armour
Exoskeleton Frame – Combining normal body armour with a powered frame to augment the strength of a soldier is a tactic that dates back centuries. Often employed to bring heavier weapons to bear, these suits are frequently used as a stopgap measure between normal infantry and Powered Infantry. While they can bring far more firepower to bear, they lack much in the way of any additional resilience, as well as being limited in operational life by the need to carry battery units to keep the frame moving.
Exoskeletal Armour – The first class of Powered Infantry, these suits are very close in size to the wearer, adding only a few inches in each direction. Still, these few inches make a very great deal of difference. Armour strong enough to sustain far more punishment, even the most basic of suits still amplifies the strength of the wielder two to one. More advanced models carry onboard electronic suites suited for uplinks with satellite units and to share tactical telemetry with friendly units. Some may even mount on-board weapons, though these are typically limited in scope due to power or ammunition limitations.
Battle Amour – Considerably rarer than Exoskeletal Armour, but much larger, these suits typically add nearly a foot of size to their wearer, being as large as they can before they are considered piloted rather than worn. Amplifying the strength of the wielder by a factor of at least four, these suits create an Infantry soldier more on par with light vehicles. On-board electronics make soldiers like this an easy fit for command and control roles, while platoons of these troops can act as a mailed fist to smash aside opposition. Carrying heavy weapons that Standard Infantry would use as support weapons, they are a threat to nearly anything they face. Basic models still rely on battery power, these models are often limited in their ability to mount additional weapons and systems. More advanced models will mount small onboard generators, ranging from small 'micro-nuke- fission reactors, to portable fusion plants. It is these units that will typically carry several additional weapons system, such as shoulder or arm mounted lasers.
Titan Armour – More of a piloted craft than armour, these suits range between twelve and eighteen feet tall, and dwarf even many armoured vehicles. As it is a single pilot, and humanoid in shape, military organization place them with infantry. Even the most basic unit mounts an onboard fusion plant, providing ample power for the suit and all of the weapons and electronics they carry. Running on pure mechanical force, these suits are capable of flipping smaller tanks, and delivering punishing barrages of fire, while maintaining the mobility of a humanoid form. Titans are expensive and difficult to maintain, so it is rare to see more than a few within infantry companies. However, in large scale engagements, platoons, or even companies of these suits may take to the field in a concentrated wave of destruction.
Weapons Technology
Cannons – A catchall term for any weapons that still rely on some kind of chemical propellent, cannons are alive and well on the battlefields. Most use caseless rounds, providing greater ammunition capacity than might be expected, while there are still some rare cases where a casing is used for a particularly volatile propellant. Nearly all civilian weapons are cannons, with a very select few being energy weapons. Cannon weapons can be found in a staggering array of varieties, varying in rate of fire, size of projectile, and speed of each fired shot. Cannon weapons are readily available in nearly any place within the system, making resupply a simple matter.
Kinetic – Coil and Rail gun types of weapon, kinetic weapons are widespread throughout the system. Unaided troopers can typically only carry the lightest of these weapons due to their recoil force, but Powered Infantry make widespread use of them. There are a few more advanced coil weapons that require an external generator to run, but rather than firing a simple slug, they fire a hypervelocity lance of molten metal at their target. Expensive, difficult to maintain, and slower to fire, these weapons are still considered to be some of the most feared and effective kinetic weapons deployed.
Laser – The most common energy weapon to be deployed by infantry, lasers have been in use for centuries. Most are optimized within the Red Visible spectrum, keeping power and maintenance requirements low, though some are build on shorter wavelengths for more powerful beams and longer range.
Shardgun – These weapons uses Ablative Laser Propulsion to shoot streams of hardened glass or resin ‘needles’ with a terrific rate of fire. These shards tear into flesh and other soft substances with brutal effect, and can even slice through light armour with sufficient weight of fire. The weapon’s ammo is composed of solid blocks of such material, from which an internal laser grid cuts each individual needle at incredible speed as it is fired. Although preformed ammunition bricks are issued, most shardguns are also capable of creating fresh ammunition from any appropriate materials. The weapon hoppers contain a powerful furnace that will vitrify materials placed inside it over a set time period – the most favoured substance being common mineral sand.
Plasma – Plasma weapons are a variation of kinetic cannons, using coil gun technology to accelerate a small magnetic field generator. These field contain a high pressure field of plasma. On impact with a solid target, the plasma comes into contact with the material and transfers all of it's accumulated energy into the target. Each shot must be prepared, the field generator is coated with materials that are rendered into plasma through powerful lasers. While powerful, this process does slow the overall rate of fire of the weapons.
Grenades – Whether thrown or launched, the use of an explosive on the battlefield has not lessened. Infantry usually carry several grenades to battle, used in clearing rooms of opposition, dislodging entrenched foes, or damaging hardened targets. A wide variety of grenades are available for infantry, from simple fragmentation bombs, to concussion bombs, up to more exotic weapons such as small fusion grenades, there is a weapon suited to any situation.
Launched grenades are commonly seen as an additional add-on to other weapons in the form of an under-barrel attachment. In other cases the launchers may be stand alone units, drum or belt fed, and can often provide quite a weight of fire. Far more varied in types than thrown grenades, these weapons can be found in AP roles, as well as other classes as well, such as Squash Head rounds designed to attack armoured vehicles and buildings.
Rockets – Fulfilling the same role on the battlefield that they have for nearly a thousand years, rockets provide heavy firepower at range, allowing infantry to fight outside their weight class.
Missiles – Simply guided rockets, missiles are as common as their unguided partners, with some requiring a target to be spotted in advance, while others may simply have their target designated by the launcher, though these missiles may have to contend with enemy jamming.
Small Craft:
Interceptors – Smallest and fastest of the Short Range craft, these craft rely on maneuverability for survival, but carry fierce dedicated weapons. Typically mounting a pair of cannons of some type, and usually two to four hardpoint to mount missile based weapons for more extensive dogfighting capabilities. Laser, particle weapons and solid projectiles all have a place, with some planets and organizations showing a marked preference towards a specific style of weapon. Fighter – The middle ground of Short Range craft, these ships are not as sprightly as interceptors, but come much more heavily armed and armoured. Fixed mounts for twinned cannons remain, but this is often supplemented with another pair of cannons, often of a differing type to the standard mount, providing greater breadth of options. Four to six hardpoints are in place, depending on manufacture and design, provide access to missile based weapons, and a small internal bay provides heavy munitions for attacking ships far in excess of their size.
Bombers – Among largest of the Short Range craft, these lack the ability to effectively engage other Short Range craft, relying on heavy ablative plating to allow them to force their way through screens and survive point defense systems. Eschewing normal cannons, they mount a pair of small turrets to ward off interceptors as best they can, but they tend to be small output weapons. Up to eight external hardpoints allow them to mount a variety of attack options, but their true strength is in the huge internal bays. A single bomber carries enough munitions to damage a ship, while a full squadron can lay waste to lighter ships in a single devastating barrage.
Gunships – The most massive of the Short Range Craft, the Gunship is large enough to require crew in addition to a pilot. Powerful engines and strategically placed thrusters allow the ship to move quickly and much more nimbly than it's size might suggest. Heavy cannons are mounted, typically a quartet of them, with many carrying extra mounts below the cockpit. A large turret mount adorns the aft of the craft, typically carrying two further cannons on par with the standard quartet, though it is frequently given a monstrously power laser emplacement for added firepower far outstripping the damage capabilities of other Short Range Craft. Up to a dozen external hardpoints are present, allowing a variety of options, from missiles designed for dogfighting purposes, to rocket pods allowing a weight of unguided fire to be deployed, or even stand alone cannon pods. The internal bays are large, though still only on par with that of a bomber, despite the craft being more than twice the size and mass. Gunships represent a significant investment, and are not typically seen in any but elite military groups, though some have managed to crop in particularly well equipped pirate gangs.
Capital Ships:
Corvettes – The smallest craft in military service that comes equipped with a Tachyon field generator and sails, the corvette represents the backbone of the patrol and picket fleet. Nimble for a capital ship, corvettes often a great deal of mass devoted to engines, giving them the greatest combat acceleration available. Firepower on these craft is limited in some scopes, but typically do carry enough weaponry to threaten much heavier ships, particularly when they operate in small groups. The design of a corvette varies wildly, with some of them mounting spinal mounted cannons for maximum firepower, others maximizing their acceleration and maneuvering capabilities to bring masses of short ranged weapons, like laser and plasma weaponry to bear. Nearly every design however mount several bays of torpedo and missile weapons, allowing the delivery of swarms of lower speed projectiles into the enemy ships, or a method of dealing with incoming Short Range Craft at distance. Frigates – Command ships for many picket fleets, and often one of the principle ships that are deployed for recon and investigation missions, frigates are still a more nimble craft than most, but are outpaced by corvettes. They are the smallest ship that can comfortably carry a force of Short Range Craft. Weapons arrays are varied, but frigates are heavily armed for their size, though they lack the heavy plating of larger ships to survive sustained barrages.
Cruisers – The primary workhorse of the battle fleets of the various clusters. Cruisers are a large ship, well equipped with a variety of weapons, and layered in heavy armour, often supplemented with additional ablative plates over critical locations, and frequently sporting powerful magnetic fields as well to assist in deflecting particle beam weaponry. Most cruisers carry at least a squadron or two of Short Range Craft, providing them with either additional defences, or a swift attack force. Each ship has enough size that it can mount two to three heavy spinal mount cannons, providing massive firepower on target, as well as an array of weapons mounted along the broadsides and dorsal mount to provide less damaging but more easily brought to bear weapons. Several large bays usually mount heavy torpedo weapons, useful for engaging ships beyond accurate projectile weapon range, or assisting in overwhelming enemy point defense networks.
Destroyers – A cruiser weight class that sacrifices much of the defensive aspects of it's nature to mount huge quantities of missile and torpedo weapons, providing long range striking capability, and the missile support allow them to engage vast numbers of Short Range Craft. They lack spinal mounted weaponry, but do have more tightly packed point defense systems, allowing them to defend themselves as well as other ships from incoming torpedo and Craft.
Battlecruisers – A heavier design of warship, typically used as a command ship for smaller fleet engagements, sometimes simply as a heavier ship to push through enemy lines. Typically half again the size of a standard cruiser, these ships are more heavily defended, and often mount either additional spinal mounted weapons, or sometimes simply larger bore weapons. Additional space is made for more Short Range Craft, with rare occasions allowing the housing of Gunships.
Battleships – Command and control vessels, these ships also represent some of the most lethal warships deployed. Each of them run at least two kilometers in length, and all of them mount at least one heavy spinal mounted weapon, running the full length of the craft, allowing projectiles to be accelerated to tremendous speeds. Broadside, dorsal and ventral weapons allow them to engage entire squads of lighter ships such as cruisers, and they very frequently carry large numbers of Short Range Craft to support their operations. Armoured as heavily as possible, these ships can absorb a huge amount of abuse, often continuing the fight even after suffering multiple hull breaches. Each of these vessels represents a significant investment of resources, though each cluster maintains a considerable fleet of these ships.
Carriers – Simply put, these are large hulled vessels primarily devoted to bringing swarms of Short Range Craft to bear. Maintenance and repairs are possible on site, with some of the more advanced models of carrier capable of constructing new craft. Lacking spinal mounted weaponry, they still carry smaller cannons, mounted along the flanks of the ship, as well as vast point defense networks. Carriers typically are only deployed in larger fleets, but may sometimes act as a command vessel in smaller fleets requiring Short Range Craft support.
Dreadnaught – The largest mass produced warship in use by the various clusters, a dreadnaught is a huge ship, the smallest among it's class running six kilometers long, with some of the larger ones doubling that size. The spinal mounted weapons on a dreadnaught can inflict tremendous damage, with only the most advanced armour types capable of sustaining even a single hit from such a weapon, and even those cannot do so more than once. Smaller weapon mounts adorn the flanks of these warships, some of which carry as much power as the spinal mount on a cruiser. Many dreadnaughts can carry large numbers of Short Range Craft, as well as enormous quantities of torpedo bays. Most do not carry missile arrays for engaging Short Range Craft, but notably Dreadnaughts created by the Jovian Confederation do so, reducing their reliance on point defence and support from their own Craft.
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