- Revised and Expanded Terran Empire Technology -
PPC vs. Phaser Array - In the Terran Empire universe, the Phaser Array causes more continuous damage to shields and regenerating armor than a PPC volley of similar time span would (PPC bolts allow shields and armor a chance to regenerate slightly between bolts). This is oftentimes offset because current Mk.'s of PPC recharge their capacitors fully in between every bolt, allowing them to fire continuously as long as they are powered. The reason they are not standard weapons on all ships is due to the fact that Phaser Arrays have 2x the range of current PPC's and are more easily varied for a multitude of tasks (wide beam planetary bombardment, boring (melting shafts into planetary bodies) capabilities, greater NDF effect on targets, etc.) than a PPC is capable of.
Guided Weapons vs. Energy Weapons - Terran Empire universe guided weapons generally only have a fraction of the destructive potential of standard energy weapons. Their main advantages are seeking ability and engagement range. They can home in on evading enemy targets, scoring significantly greater hits than PPC's and Phaser Arrays on small, fleet targets. Their max range is most often at least 5x the range of a Phaser Array. Unless they are used in numbers against an enemy, they are primarily used for generating weak points, or small kinks, in enemy shields for follow up phaser strikes to target.
- Shipboard Weapons -
- Phaser Lance - - Essentially just a massively oversized phaser. Similar to the one under the future Enterprise-D's saucer section in TNG "All Good Things". Capable of punching through to the core of a planet in a single sustained shot, causing massive damage. Requires half a minute recharge time after full power continuous firing. Due to the large size of this weapon, only larger capital ships can mount it (Galaxy Class and upwards). Anything smaller than an Akira is completely destroyed by one shot, and most things the size of an Akira up to a Sovereign being hit by this weapon will suffer moderate to heavy damage and total loss of facing shields. Normal yield per beam is ~1000 GT.
- Type XV Phaser Array - - Designed by Terran Empire engineers to combat the Borg. Autoremodulates beam frequency twice as fast as the highest known rate of Borg adaptation. Does about the same level of damage to Borg ships as a standard Trek Sovereign phaser array does to regular (non Borg) opponents. Does about 50% greater damage than Sovereign phaser array to non Borg targets. Same capacitor recharge time as seen in TNG "BOBW" under normal power generation conditions. The longer the generating Phaser strip, the longer the sustained fire before allowing capacitor recharge. GCS main phaser arrays can fire continuously for 10 seconds before capacitor is drained. Normal yield per five second, single beam burst is ~22 GT. Bastion phaser arrays are 100 GT per second.
- Pulse Phaser Cannon (Ball Turret Mount) - - Basically a standard Pulse Phaser Cannon mounted in a turret to give it greater useable arcs of fire. Terran Empire PPCs are all 35% greater in damage caused to targets. Arc of BT mount varies depending on where it is placed, but is generally at least 90 degrees and usually less than 120 degrees. Fire rate in TE vessels is the same as seen in DS9s Defiant, but sustainable continuously under normal power generation conditions. Range is only ½ that of Type XV Phaser Array. Normal yield per bolt is ~3 GT.
- Heavy Photon Torpedo - - Picture a torpedo casing the size of a shuttle filled with antimatter. Can be used as a standard Matter/Antimatter explosive, but is generally preferred to be used as an Antimatter delivery device, (warhead filled with AM only used against unshielded targets, using the targets own matter to combine with the AM in the warhead to create the explosion.) due to its low speed, low maneuverability and resulting high vulnerability to anti missile fire. Usually used as a coup de grace shot against starships, as a heavy weapon against starbases after their facing shield is dropped, or as a planetary attack weapon after planetary shields are down. Slow refire rate of once a minute and bulky launcher generally limit this weapon for use solely on Starbases and the biggest capital ships. Generally one hit by this torp on anything smaller than a Nebula class will result in instant catastrophic damage (M/AM usage). Nebula sized and above will generally loose facing shields and sustain moderate damage, but most vessels that are operational can usually either destroy this torp or avoid it, hence its use generally on immobilized, shieldless targets. AM usage yield is ~600 GT. M/AM usage yield is ~300 GT
- Quantum Torpedo - - Developed as a weapon to fight the Borg the Quantum Torpedo is about the same size as the venerable photon it replaced in the TE fleet. Its destructive potential is 3x greater than the standard photon, and since it uses a zero point energy explosion as its warhead, there is no chance for the Borg to adapt to it ahead of time as its explosive frequency is unknown till the explosion occurs. Mounted on all new TE ships as standard. Older vessels can be modified to carry this munition during minor refits and overhauls. Torpedo can be set for proximity detonation at expense of warhead damage to target. Standard yield is ~950 MT. Proximity yield varies due to distance of explosion from target, but generally ~400 MT to 800 MT.
- Phalanx Quantum Torpedo - - A 1/8 sized version of the standard Quantum torpedo. Torp size is 1/8 scale and so is warhead yield. Use primarily as an anti fighter weapon, but used in large numbers it can still hurt capital ships. Torp tube load time is less than one second. Usually mounted in tandem with a dual PPC-BT mount in a PD cluster. Usually mounted in a turret to give maximum coverage. Standard yield is ~119 MT.
- Mauler Device - - Developed originally in secret by the Romulans and shared with the rest of the Grand Alliance powers who wanted it, this weapon has slightly shorter range and 3x the recharge time but 1.5x the firepower as a Phaser Lance. It is also a lot bulkier than the Phaser Lance, citing that smaller ships mount it almost exclusively, at the expense of other weapons systems and crew compartments(in essence the smaller vessels that mount it are basically designed around the Mauler Device), and larger vessels mount it in more limited numbers than a similarly sized TE vessel would have Phaser Lances. Standard yield per beam is ~1500 GT.
- Drone Missile - - Developed by the Mirak Star League and refined in secret during the years of TE occupation, this weapon now is considerably faster than a starship at full impulse and each individual missile mounts armor and rudimentary shields to increase survivability against phaser arrays. Usually launched in swarms to swamp current generation PD. Usually have ECM drones seeded in with warhead salvos to further confuse targeted vessels sensors. Normal yield is ~500 MT.
- Expanding Sphere Generator - - Developed by the Lyran Star Empire and refined in secret during the years of TE occupation, this weapon creates an highly energized spherical field around the generating vessel. This field stops all known missile and torpedo weaponry, and can be used to destroy shuttles and fighters if they collide with it. Can also be used to allow ramming tactics, as contact with the field will cause severe damage even to starships. Can be set for varying radiuses from the generating vessel, but the farther out it is generated, the less powerful it is. Damage with small (1) radius is ~750 GT. Damage with a medium (2) radius is ~500 GT. Damage with a large (3) radius is ~250 GT. Recharge time one minute per ESG apparatus.
- ESG Lance - - Expansion of ESG tech. It allows a micro ESG bubble to be sent long distances to a far away target. Micro ESG bubble has the same damage potential as a standard ESG set for the closest, most powerful setting. Range is about the same as a Mauler Device.
- Plasma Torpedo - - Sends a ball of energized plasma towards the enemy. Speed is similar to a Quantum Torpedo but the damage potential is slightly higher against non Borg targets. Against Borg targets, the torp gains no advantages against adaptation as the Borg can usually detect the frequency of the torp and adapt to it. Reload time is slightly longer than a standard Quantum tube. Can be set for shotgun mode, splitting the single large energy torp into ten smaller energy torps for use against fighters and shuttles. Old versions lost energy throughout their flight till the totally dissipated, and were only slightly faster than enemy ships. Latest versions have a special energy field encasing the plasma allowing full power shot to be maintained throughout engagement range. Once at the end of engagement range, the encasing field fails catastrophically, collapsing the torp. Range is about 3/4 that of a Phaser array. Reload time per torp is about 40 seconds but up to 10 torps can be held in most launchers to be fired as needed. Energy intensive weapon, requiring a hefty power core to operate effectively. On smaller ships, this usually means that things like shield reinforcement and ECM must be either limited or totally abstained from during reloading. Can be overloaded at the expense reducing of max range to ~1/2 that of a Phaser array. Normal yield is ~1 GT. Overloaded yield is ~2 GT.
- Disruptors - - Developed originally by the Romulans and Klingons. Bolts of energy that usually have close to a 1 second burst from a PPC in firepower. Heavy versions can be overloaded to carry near double Quantum torp levels in damage, but they sacrifice refire rate to do so. Normal Disruptors refire at 4-second intervals, with the Heavy version refireing at 7 seconds normally and 10 seconds overloaded. There is also a rapid- fire version that has about the same ROF as a PPC, but each individual bolt does ~10% more damage than a PPC bolt. Normal yield per bolt is ~20 GT. Heavy yield per bolt is ~30 GT. Rapid-fire yield per bolt is ~10 GT.
- Plasmatic Pulsar Device - - Developed by the Interstellar Concordium. Weapon range and damage are virtually the same as a Phaser Lance. Weapon sends a carrier beam to target first, doing no damage. Then waves of plasma follow the carrier beam down to the target. Newer versions feature more waves per use than older ones, and they now have the ability to envelope enemy vessels, enabling the PPD to not only do full damage to facing shields, but also do 1/3 damage to adjacent shields (ex. Facing shield is fore, PPD does full damage to fore, but also does 1/3 damage to port, starboard, ventral and dorsal shields). Normal yield is ~250 GT per plasma wave, with most current PPD's throwing out 5 waves per activation for a total yield of ~1000 GT per attack on facing shield and ~250 GT "splash" damage on surrounding shields.
- Breen Energy Dampening Weapon - - Only Recently Developed, the weapon leaches all energy generated by an enemy starship, causing all systems to become inoperative for close to an hour. This is usually plenty of time to deal with the enemy vessel once its weapons, engines and shields have failed. Recharge time is 5 minutes per weapon mount. Other than the leach effect, this weapon does no only minimal damage to the target. Aside from power drain effect, normal yield is ~0.5 KT.
- Fusion Beams - - Developed by the TE's client state, the Hydran Kingdoms. A stream of excited tritium and deuterium nuclei are projected to the target. The nuclei fuse and become helium nuclei, releasing tremendous amounts of energy at the moment of contact. Almost suicidaly short ranged, the Fusion Beam requires close to a minute cooling time between shots. Damage is ~750 GT at normal, ~1000 GT at overloaded and ~1500 GT when suicide overloaded (weapon mount melts down after firing as cooling system cannot handle the massive temperatures that much firepower causes). Cannot be used as a planetary assault weapon due to short range unless ship drops down into the planet's atmosphere first.
- Hellbore Cannons - - Developed by the TE's client state, the Hydran Kingdoms. High velocity fusion bomb that utilizes a special containment field. This field causes the fusion explosion to wrap around a target, thus enabling the weapon to target the most damaged shields on an enemy even if they are not the arc facing the initial point of impact. Due to its speed, the Hellbore is considered a direct fire weapon similar to a phaser. Damage is ~712 MT with reload times of 10 seconds per cannon.
- Psychonic Attack - - Using extreme mind conditioning and both bio and cyber augmentation, Section 31 is capable of creating a powerful telepathic being that can be used to generate a Psychonic attack. This attack, when directed at a enemy vessel within visual range, causes ship wide temporary insanity and paranoia, resulting in the enemy crew attacking each other and damaging ships systems. As a result of Section 31's conditioning and implanted mental imperatives, the beings that are made into telepathic weapons generally are lacking in personal hygiene, mental capacity and social abilities.
- Genesis Torpedo - - Perfected by Dr. David Kirk, son of Dr. Carroll Marcus and Fleet Admiral James Kirk, on the Regula One weapons development facility, the Genesis Torpedo reformats the surface of a world to whatever its matrix was programmed with. Everything from single celled organisms to plants to animals of all kinds can be created out of the reconstituted matter of the target. Prime means of eliminating Borg infested worlds and, in conjunction with planet placement (towing a planet or planetoid to a desired spot using Battlecruiser sized vessels), generating new M-class planets for colonization. Due to depletion of stockpile against Borg and destruction of Regula One by Grand Alliance forces, there are currently only a handful of Genesis Torpedoes available and it will be years (as of 2387) before any new ones are produced.
- Self Replicating Mine - - Can be outfitted with a gravitonic warhead, slowing targeted ships STL speed. TE version is usually outfitted with a shuttle sized ZPE warhead of 500 GT yield. Can be sent to subspace to remain hidden till needed/activated by a nearby enemy vessel. Mine can make a duplicate of itself up to 100 times before loss of replication reagents causes replication system to go offline. (eg. Mine self- replicates just before destruction, then the next mine does the same, then the next mine does the same, etc. x 100)
- Shipboard Defenses[/b][/I]
In the Terran Empire universe (in general terms), the larger a vessel is, the more power it can generate. This in turn affects things like power available to shield emitters and weapons systems. Thus, the larger a vessel is, the stronger its shields are and the more spare power it will have for other uses after powering its shields.
- Cloaking Device - - Standard cloaking device used to hide ships from normal sensor systems and the naked eye. Reduces sensor range while in use. Vulnerable to Tachyon Detection systems, either fixed beam networks or tactical ranged sensors on starships. Active shields and weapons capacitors leak energy through the cloak, negating its effectiveness nearly completely. Guided weapons can be fired while cloaked, but modern starship sensors can easily trace the weapons impulse trail back to the defenseless but cloaked vessel, usually resulting in easy kills of the cloaked attacker.
- Multiphaseic (Phase) Cloaking Device - - Advanced cloaking device seeing limited use in TE's Starfleet and Section 31 vessels. Allows phase cloaked vessel to pass through most normal materials without incident, makes the vessel totally invulnerable to both conventional weaponry and all known sensor systems. Severely limits sensor range while in use. Takes a long time (in a tactical sense, and the larger the phased ship, the longer the process of phasing and unphasing takes) to unphase a vessel, meaning it is vulnerable to fire for a long period of time in a normal engagement before it can bring up defenses and power weapons. Phased objects need to be unphased to interact with normal matter again (eg. phased shuttles docked in a phased ships shuttle bay cannot simply fly out the shuttle bay doors and reappear in normal space unphased, the Multiphaseic Cloaking Device must be activated at reverse polarity to unphase cloak an object that has been phase cloaked.)
- Tachyon Anti Cloak Sensor Arrays - - Sensors, largely developed by reverse engineering Dominion and Borg anti cloak sensor arrays, that can detect cloaked vessels. Useable range is limited to the tactical envelope and only gives a general direction and distance to contact, allowing a fleet or defensive emplacements to saturate an area with fire to kill cloaked enemy vessels (due to the fact that active shields and armor generators would give away the ships position even in spite of the cloaks effects). Systems are generally bulky and are usually only mounted on Akira sized hulls and above. Power intensive even on most TE vessels, meaning that shields are usually unable to recharge while the sensor array is in use.
- Spaceborn Warning And Control (SWAC) Pod - - Most often employed on Nebula Class Battlecruisers (due to their mission changeable pod) but can be mounted on other starships during a shipyard layover or refit. Long range anti cloak and normal sensors. Expanded communications and datalink capabilities, allowing for target information to be transmitted to the rest of the Fleet faster and more reliably than would otherwise be the case.
- Ablative Armor - - Mounted standard on all TE starships. This is a layer added to the exterior hull of a vessel that sacrifices itself to protect what is underneath. After battle, this is usually in need of at least minor repairs. Able to stop ~50 GT per cm.
- Regenerative Shields - - Standard shields of nearly all TE starships. These shields regenerate themselves considerably faster than a normal shield would, allowing damaged shield arcs to be boosted back up to full power rapidly without having to divert extra power to reinforce them. Able to stop ~100 GT per full charge (Akira class energy generation)
- Ablative Armor Generators - - Mounted on most new TE starships and added via starbase and repair yards to older vessels during refits. These generators combine transporter, replicator and nanite technology to create regenerating ablative armor. While the regeneration ability is not very fast, the armor itself is the next generation, providing slightly better protection once deployed than standard ablative armor. Able to stop ~55 GT per cm.
- Reinforced Structural Integrity Field - - Mounted on some TE capital ships, this modification allows equipped ships to survive and continue to fight after suffering damage that would have destroyed other starships of the same class not equipped with the RSIF
- Internal Armored Bulkheads - - added armor used around nerve centers on a starship, like Slipstream Drive Cores, Flag and Main Bridge and Heavy Weapons Emplacements.
- ECM Drones - - Computer controlled drones that can nearly perfectly mimic the sensor profile and visual look of any known starship, station or similarly sized spatial body using top of the line Electronic Countermeasures and holo technology. Can generate single contact for larger vessels per drone, and multiple contacts for smaller vessels. Used in conjunction with shipboard ECM/ECCM suites to provide using fleet/starship with greater protection. Can even simulate weapons fire, though weapons do no damage when they hit.
- Emergency Tactical Hologram - - Computer controlled security holograms. Invulnerable to normal weapons. Used almost solely in boarding actions against superior number and/or capability opponents.
- Remote Shield Reinforcement Generators - - Recent TE development. Uses special generators mounted on one starship to provide at least double shield strength to other nearby allied ships in the fleet. Generating vessel itself doesn't receive benefit from this, even if used in tandem with another generating vessel. This is a side effect due to the Generators operation. With the Generators offline, the vessel will become eligible for reinforcement just like any other vessel, but it will not provide reinforcement to other vessels itself. If two or more generating ships are used in close proximity, the shield boost itself isn't increased, just its area of effect. Adds an extra ~300 GT per shield arc of protection (Akira class target energy generation).
- General Shipboard Tech -
Ship classes in the Terran Empire universe are as follows from smallest to largest.
Shuttle (eg. Type 9) Fighter/Runabout/Scout (Cobra Fighter) Frigate (Saber) Destroyer (Defiant) Cruiser (Soulwolf) Battlecruiser (Akira) Battleship (Galaxy) Super Dreadnought (Wraith) Monitor (Bastion)
On general terms, any single vessel from a smaller class would have great difficulty in taking out any single vessel from the next larger class. Their hulls are usually to small to mount enough weapons and powerful enough shields to allow it to deal out sufficient damage to the larger enemy before the larger, more powerful vessel destroys the smaller one.
This means that most smaller vessels are used in swarm tactics, putting out enough firepower on multiple platforms that the larger enemy will be destroyed before it picks off no more than a handful of the lighter units. The wider the gap between classes, the greater the numbers required for successful completion of a swarm attack. Smaller classes are, on the whole, more maneuverable than vessels in the bigger size classes, often times enabling them to oftentimes dodge fire when done in conjunction with active ECM to further throw off enemy aim. The smaller the class, the better able they are to dodge enemy fire.
Starbases are most often require equivalent to 3x their class size warship analogue in firepower to be taken out due to free space acquired by removal of most if not all STL and FTL drive ability from their size class norm.
Most vessels of Akira sized and above carry multiple power cores (Warp or Slipstream) for added power and redundancy.
Max Impulse is 75 PSL. Smaller vessels take less time to get there and are usually able to go slightly above 75 PSL. As a general rule, the smaller a vessel is, the faster STL speed it is capable of in emergency situations. Max STL speed attainable by any known starship is 80 PSL due to internal compensator limits. Any higher speed and the slightest bump could cause compensator failure with messy results for the ships crew. Compensator reliability is a shallow curve towards failure till you get near 80 PSL. Then reliability drops off sharply. Compensator failure is exceedingly rare under 80 PSL. It is exceedingly common above 80 PSL.
- Flag Bridge Holo Display System - - Combination of astrometrics and holodeck technology. Essentially turns the Flag Bridge of a starship into a scaled down holodeck. Used to provide fleet commanders with the best, most detailed information on enemy and allied fleet dispositions. Used in conjunction with a set of sensor imbedded gloves, the CO can call up info and give orders rapidly and easily. Recently developed and is being incorporated into the refit schedule of all command vessels from Squadron level clear up to Fleet level.
- Hyper Com - - Once the TE began to get really big, R&D began to work on a longer ranged version of the standard subspace com. The end result is the Hyper Com, allowing near instantaneous communication across up to ¾ of the Galaxy.
- Quantum Slipstream Drive - - New high speed FTL drive given as a gift to the TE by a species in the Delta Quadrant in gratitude for eliminating the Borg threat. Equipped vessels are capable of crossing the known Galaxy in a matter of weeks instead of many years at warp speeds and many months using Subspace Corridors. All major fleets in Starfleet currently have this drive or are in the process of getting one during their next refit. Sector patrol units have been deemed unnecessary to receive this warp drive replacement.
- Subspace Corridors - - Similar to Borg transwarp corridors but appear to be a natural occurrence throughout the explored Galaxy. Set up as a chaotic web like network whose pathways must be plotted in order for orderly traffic to use them. Slightly lower in speed than Borg Transwarp, but naturally occurring so there is no need for massive transwarp gates to be built and maintained. Usual means of most Starfleet (until QSS drives become the norm) and Civilian long distance travel.
- Warp Field Inhibitors - - All vessels Cruiser sized and above have these devices. When active, they prevent Warp Field Bubble formation over a fairly large area (close to solar system in size). While Subspace Corridors can still be used for FTL travel while this device is active, one could only enter and exit corridors along their path, and all known paths terminate outside of the final planet in a system.
- Borg STL Drive - - Currently fresh out of R&D and only in use on the TE Bastion Class Monitor ISS Athena. Basically the same drive used on a Borg Cube, giving the Spacedock sized Athena considerably more maneuverability and STL drive redundancy thanks to its dispersed, part of the hull matrix, design than the other, Impulse drive powered Monitors. Currently in refit plans for all TE Monitors and some Wraith class Battleships
- Ground Weaponry -
Ground troops are not used as extensively in the Terran Empire as they are in the 21st century. This is mainly due to the fact that one usually has to drop at least part of a planetary shield to land ground troops. Only starships possess enough firepower to bring them down (eventually). But if a starship controls the high orbitals unopposed, it can rain down much greater firepower than any ground-based force can on another. A singe Terran Empire Cruiser can melt the entire upper crust of a planet in less than half an hour of bombardment. But seeing as how most parties want to keep planetary bodies as intact as possible, especially M-class worlds (before Genesis torpedoes became prevalent as both a means to eliminate hostile natives and set up idyllic settings for Terran colonization), this is usually an option of last resort.
Fortunately for ground units, modern cammo skins and ECM allow them to operate with relative freedom on a planetary body that an enemy whom controls the high orbitals wants taken intact. There is still a place for ground warfare in the Terran Empire universe, it just usually takes a back seat to planetary fleet engagements (whichever fleet wins in orbit usually decides who gets the planet. If no nearby fleets are available, and the enemy will eventually break through the shield before help arrives, locals are to destroy shield stations and surrender to the enemy rather than have the planet turned into a lifeless husk. Boarding actions are another matter. They require the best protection and weaponry an individual can have. As a result, the Terran Empire developed an array of weapons and the Power Armor Suit (basically a strap on tank) to aid in the successful boarding of enemy vessels.
It is often hard to accomplish unwelcome planet fall as even remote colonies have at the minimum 100,000 GT capacity theater shields, more often full light planetary shield networks in place.
- Grav Gun - - Standard weapon of Terran Empire Marine and Army Armored Infantry. Designed incorporating gravity generation tech and rail gun tech, it fires smart projectiles at Mach 15 thanks to its gravity puller rings. Ammo available is Armor Piercing, High Explosive and Flechette. AP is basically a pinky sized solid duranium penetrator with micro impulse engine boosters to punch through most known armors. Mostly used against tanks and APCs and against assault shuttles. HE version contains a few grains of suspended antimatter and matter. When it either contacts or is in close proximity to the target, the magnetic fields holding the two apart collapse and release the violent energies of a micro M/AM explosion. Mostly used against power armor and unpowered heavy combat armor. Flechette rounds send out a cloud of razor sharp metal slivers at Mach 15, creating the modern equivalent of a pre WW3 shotgun. Varying choke setting can be chosen, from close to 3 meters spread at 20 feet to 3 cm spread at 20 feet. Mostly used against unarmored or lightly armored targets and for crowd control.
- Power Combat Armor - - Standard armor in use by all major TE infantry units. Consists of Duranium main structure with Ablative Armor plate overlays. Its synthetic musculature allows the suit to give the infantry close to four times the strength of a normal human. This allows for nasty things like punching straight through bulkheads and sealed doors. In addition to the armor of the suit, it also comes equipped with an low grade forcefield, allowing it to stop a few rounds from a grav gun or a sustained 10 second shot from a maxed out phaser. The suit is completely self contained and with a full charge can run at combat levels for 24 hours without need of recharge. Inside, it provides all the amenities one would find in a long shift work space suit (waste removal, nutrient laced water, puréed meals, etc.) Sensors are modifiable, but generally include 360 degree low light, infrared, X-ray and zoom optical modes. Also included are all the functions of a standard tricorder but with enhanced range and short range anti cloak sensors. All sensor data is projected onto a HUD in the suits helmet, along with damage, ammo and power levels. The AG boots of the armor are capable of giving limited flight to a user (a la Spock's boots in ST:V) All suits come equipped with both personal cloaking devices and chameleon cammo skin whose camouflage pattern or stealth effect the user can alter at will. They also contain an extensive (for a personal unit) ECM/ECCM suite to defeat sensors both from ground and space based sites. Powered by Fusion reactor.
- Pulse Phaser Heavy Carbine - - Heavy weapon of choice in the modern TE Marines and Army Infantry. Capable of extreme destruction of both ground and air targets, this 1/38th scale and power version of the starship weapon is extremely deadly in the hands of someone who knows how to operate it effectively. While current models are susceptible to overheating under continuous use, they are powerful enough to take out most Main Battle Tanks and Assault Shuttles and even pose a risk to light starships flying in atmosphere if used against them in numbers. What they do to Infantry, even ones in power armor, is truly gruesome.
- Bladed Weaponry - - During the TE's war against the Borg, fighting against hordes of Drones soon devolved into melee ranged phaser rifle but and dagger vs. Drone exoskeleton. As a result, many security personnel and infantry units soon adopted a rather archaic weapon set as secondary weapons, namely blades. The bladed and club like weaponry were highly successful against Borg adaptation as a Drone's personal shielding was only effective at stopping energy weaponry. Soon a virtual cornucopia of custom made great swords and battleaxes found their way into shipboard and planetary armories. Although they now pose little use in the current battlefield, those who used them refused to give them up, and in a pitched close quarters battle, they have saved many a trooper's life. The weapons are made of an intensely strong and resilient alloy and sharpened to single molecule sharpness, allowing them to hack through most objects like a hot knife through butter. Some are even more advanced, having billions of tiny serrated edges on the blade edge and motors in their handles that cause the blade to vibrate at hypersonic velocities, creating a chainsaw like effect that actually helps pull the blade through a target. An unenhanced human can fell a large tree in a single stroke with one of these blades.
- T-69S Sniper Rifle - - Standard long rifle currently in frontline TE service. Capable of firing a Grav Gun bullet as far as the scope's line of sight at Mach 25, or if situation allows transport the bullet to targets up to the same distance. The gun is fully silenced and bullet is coated in special layer to prevent visible trail from being left in its wake due to the extreme atmospheric speed it travels at. Usually able to take out a power armored infantry soldier in one shot.
- Fury Power Armor - - Exact capabilities are classified ( ( ), but it is assured that both humanoid and canine versions are more capable than standard power armor in strength, armor and shield stopping power, armament and sensors.
- Hyper Velocity Missile[/b][/I] - Infantry weapon designed for destruction of armor units while causing minimal damage to the surrounding countryside. Basically an impulse engine mated with an armor piercing nose cone. The missile is launched from an apparatus similar to ancient Bazookas. Once it clears 15 m from the launcher, the missile brings its internal impulse drive online and accelerates to 90 PSL within a quarter of a second. The kinetic impact delivered to armor units is usually sufficient to pierce shields and often armor, but multiple strikes may be required on current MBT's.
- Assault Shuttle - - Varying designs of large, armed and armored shuttles used to ferry troops and vehicles to the front lines of battle and provide close air support when needed.
- Drop Ship - - Varying designs of Frigate sized, heavily shielded and armored cargo ships used to bring large amounts of troops and vehicles down to a hostile planet.
- Conquistador Armored Personnel Carrier - - Standard frontline Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. It can carry up to 20 fully equipped Powered Combat Armored Infantry into battle. The Conquistador is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from at least a few rounds from a Main Battle Tank or a few seconds of fire from a Frigate's weapons. It has a single rapid-fire PPC turret and four Grav Guns in 180-degree turrets mounted front, back, left and right, for self defense. Powered by M/AM reactor. Both Anti-Gravity and track propulsion.
- Conquistador Mobile Command Post - - Standard frontline Mobile Command Post (MCP) in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. High-speed data nets and communication systems are standard, giving ground commanders a detailed holographic map of the evolving battlefield, including both allied and detected enemy units. The Conquistador is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from at least a few rounds from a Main Battle Tank or a few seconds of fire from a Frigate operating in atmosphere. It has a rapid- fire PPC and quad Grav Guns mounted in main turret for self-defense. Powered by M/AM reactor. Both AG and track propulsion.
- Viking Mobile AAA Battery - - Standard frontline AAA Battery in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. The Viking is a modified Conquistador chassis with all space usually given up to internal troop transport filled with Phalanx Micro-Quantum torpedoes. 12 are launched in a volley, then the Viking usually relocates to prevent destruction due to the enemy following the initial track of its weaponry back to itself. The Phalanx launcher is mounted in a turret and while primary used against air targets, the Phalanx torpedoes can and often do attack nearby ground targets of opportunity. . The Viking is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from at least a few rounds from a Main Battle Tank or a few seconds of fire from a Frigate operating in atmosphere. Powered by M/AM reactor. Both AG and track propulsion.
- Harbinger Main Battle Tank - - Standard frontline Main Battle Tank (MBT) in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. The Harbinger is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from close to half a dozen rounds from a Main Battle Tank or about a dozen seconds of fire from a Frigate operating in atmosphere. Powered by Dual M/AM reactors. Both AG and track propulsion. Dual Heavy Grav Guns and PPCs in single main turret. One Grav Gun in 180- degree turret mounted on front, left, right, and aft.
PPC vs. Phaser Array - In the Terran Empire universe, the Phaser Array causes more continuous damage to shields and regenerating armor than a PPC volley of similar time span would (PPC bolts allow shields and armor a chance to regenerate slightly between bolts). This is oftentimes offset because current Mk.'s of PPC recharge their capacitors fully in between every bolt, allowing them to fire continuously as long as they are powered. The reason they are not standard weapons on all ships is due to the fact that Phaser Arrays have 2x the range of current PPC's and are more easily varied for a multitude of tasks (wide beam planetary bombardment, boring (melting shafts into planetary bodies) capabilities, greater NDF effect on targets, etc.) than a PPC is capable of.
Guided Weapons vs. Energy Weapons - Terran Empire universe guided weapons generally only have a fraction of the destructive potential of standard energy weapons. Their main advantages are seeking ability and engagement range. They can home in on evading enemy targets, scoring significantly greater hits than PPC's and Phaser Arrays on small, fleet targets. Their max range is most often at least 5x the range of a Phaser Array. Unless they are used in numbers against an enemy, they are primarily used for generating weak points, or small kinks, in enemy shields for follow up phaser strikes to target.
- Shipboard Weapons -
- Phaser Lance - - Essentially just a massively oversized phaser. Similar to the one under the future Enterprise-D's saucer section in TNG "All Good Things". Capable of punching through to the core of a planet in a single sustained shot, causing massive damage. Requires half a minute recharge time after full power continuous firing. Due to the large size of this weapon, only larger capital ships can mount it (Galaxy Class and upwards). Anything smaller than an Akira is completely destroyed by one shot, and most things the size of an Akira up to a Sovereign being hit by this weapon will suffer moderate to heavy damage and total loss of facing shields. Normal yield per beam is ~1000 GT.
- Type XV Phaser Array - - Designed by Terran Empire engineers to combat the Borg. Autoremodulates beam frequency twice as fast as the highest known rate of Borg adaptation. Does about the same level of damage to Borg ships as a standard Trek Sovereign phaser array does to regular (non Borg) opponents. Does about 50% greater damage than Sovereign phaser array to non Borg targets. Same capacitor recharge time as seen in TNG "BOBW" under normal power generation conditions. The longer the generating Phaser strip, the longer the sustained fire before allowing capacitor recharge. GCS main phaser arrays can fire continuously for 10 seconds before capacitor is drained. Normal yield per five second, single beam burst is ~22 GT. Bastion phaser arrays are 100 GT per second.
- Pulse Phaser Cannon (Ball Turret Mount) - - Basically a standard Pulse Phaser Cannon mounted in a turret to give it greater useable arcs of fire. Terran Empire PPCs are all 35% greater in damage caused to targets. Arc of BT mount varies depending on where it is placed, but is generally at least 90 degrees and usually less than 120 degrees. Fire rate in TE vessels is the same as seen in DS9s Defiant, but sustainable continuously under normal power generation conditions. Range is only ½ that of Type XV Phaser Array. Normal yield per bolt is ~3 GT.
- Heavy Photon Torpedo - - Picture a torpedo casing the size of a shuttle filled with antimatter. Can be used as a standard Matter/Antimatter explosive, but is generally preferred to be used as an Antimatter delivery device, (warhead filled with AM only used against unshielded targets, using the targets own matter to combine with the AM in the warhead to create the explosion.) due to its low speed, low maneuverability and resulting high vulnerability to anti missile fire. Usually used as a coup de grace shot against starships, as a heavy weapon against starbases after their facing shield is dropped, or as a planetary attack weapon after planetary shields are down. Slow refire rate of once a minute and bulky launcher generally limit this weapon for use solely on Starbases and the biggest capital ships. Generally one hit by this torp on anything smaller than a Nebula class will result in instant catastrophic damage (M/AM usage). Nebula sized and above will generally loose facing shields and sustain moderate damage, but most vessels that are operational can usually either destroy this torp or avoid it, hence its use generally on immobilized, shieldless targets. AM usage yield is ~600 GT. M/AM usage yield is ~300 GT
- Quantum Torpedo - - Developed as a weapon to fight the Borg the Quantum Torpedo is about the same size as the venerable photon it replaced in the TE fleet. Its destructive potential is 3x greater than the standard photon, and since it uses a zero point energy explosion as its warhead, there is no chance for the Borg to adapt to it ahead of time as its explosive frequency is unknown till the explosion occurs. Mounted on all new TE ships as standard. Older vessels can be modified to carry this munition during minor refits and overhauls. Torpedo can be set for proximity detonation at expense of warhead damage to target. Standard yield is ~950 MT. Proximity yield varies due to distance of explosion from target, but generally ~400 MT to 800 MT.
- Phalanx Quantum Torpedo - - A 1/8 sized version of the standard Quantum torpedo. Torp size is 1/8 scale and so is warhead yield. Use primarily as an anti fighter weapon, but used in large numbers it can still hurt capital ships. Torp tube load time is less than one second. Usually mounted in tandem with a dual PPC-BT mount in a PD cluster. Usually mounted in a turret to give maximum coverage. Standard yield is ~119 MT.
- Mauler Device - - Developed originally in secret by the Romulans and shared with the rest of the Grand Alliance powers who wanted it, this weapon has slightly shorter range and 3x the recharge time but 1.5x the firepower as a Phaser Lance. It is also a lot bulkier than the Phaser Lance, citing that smaller ships mount it almost exclusively, at the expense of other weapons systems and crew compartments(in essence the smaller vessels that mount it are basically designed around the Mauler Device), and larger vessels mount it in more limited numbers than a similarly sized TE vessel would have Phaser Lances. Standard yield per beam is ~1500 GT.
- Drone Missile - - Developed by the Mirak Star League and refined in secret during the years of TE occupation, this weapon now is considerably faster than a starship at full impulse and each individual missile mounts armor and rudimentary shields to increase survivability against phaser arrays. Usually launched in swarms to swamp current generation PD. Usually have ECM drones seeded in with warhead salvos to further confuse targeted vessels sensors. Normal yield is ~500 MT.
- Expanding Sphere Generator - - Developed by the Lyran Star Empire and refined in secret during the years of TE occupation, this weapon creates an highly energized spherical field around the generating vessel. This field stops all known missile and torpedo weaponry, and can be used to destroy shuttles and fighters if they collide with it. Can also be used to allow ramming tactics, as contact with the field will cause severe damage even to starships. Can be set for varying radiuses from the generating vessel, but the farther out it is generated, the less powerful it is. Damage with small (1) radius is ~750 GT. Damage with a medium (2) radius is ~500 GT. Damage with a large (3) radius is ~250 GT. Recharge time one minute per ESG apparatus.
- ESG Lance - - Expansion of ESG tech. It allows a micro ESG bubble to be sent long distances to a far away target. Micro ESG bubble has the same damage potential as a standard ESG set for the closest, most powerful setting. Range is about the same as a Mauler Device.
- Plasma Torpedo - - Sends a ball of energized plasma towards the enemy. Speed is similar to a Quantum Torpedo but the damage potential is slightly higher against non Borg targets. Against Borg targets, the torp gains no advantages against adaptation as the Borg can usually detect the frequency of the torp and adapt to it. Reload time is slightly longer than a standard Quantum tube. Can be set for shotgun mode, splitting the single large energy torp into ten smaller energy torps for use against fighters and shuttles. Old versions lost energy throughout their flight till the totally dissipated, and were only slightly faster than enemy ships. Latest versions have a special energy field encasing the plasma allowing full power shot to be maintained throughout engagement range. Once at the end of engagement range, the encasing field fails catastrophically, collapsing the torp. Range is about 3/4 that of a Phaser array. Reload time per torp is about 40 seconds but up to 10 torps can be held in most launchers to be fired as needed. Energy intensive weapon, requiring a hefty power core to operate effectively. On smaller ships, this usually means that things like shield reinforcement and ECM must be either limited or totally abstained from during reloading. Can be overloaded at the expense reducing of max range to ~1/2 that of a Phaser array. Normal yield is ~1 GT. Overloaded yield is ~2 GT.
- Disruptors - - Developed originally by the Romulans and Klingons. Bolts of energy that usually have close to a 1 second burst from a PPC in firepower. Heavy versions can be overloaded to carry near double Quantum torp levels in damage, but they sacrifice refire rate to do so. Normal Disruptors refire at 4-second intervals, with the Heavy version refireing at 7 seconds normally and 10 seconds overloaded. There is also a rapid- fire version that has about the same ROF as a PPC, but each individual bolt does ~10% more damage than a PPC bolt. Normal yield per bolt is ~20 GT. Heavy yield per bolt is ~30 GT. Rapid-fire yield per bolt is ~10 GT.
- Plasmatic Pulsar Device - - Developed by the Interstellar Concordium. Weapon range and damage are virtually the same as a Phaser Lance. Weapon sends a carrier beam to target first, doing no damage. Then waves of plasma follow the carrier beam down to the target. Newer versions feature more waves per use than older ones, and they now have the ability to envelope enemy vessels, enabling the PPD to not only do full damage to facing shields, but also do 1/3 damage to adjacent shields (ex. Facing shield is fore, PPD does full damage to fore, but also does 1/3 damage to port, starboard, ventral and dorsal shields). Normal yield is ~250 GT per plasma wave, with most current PPD's throwing out 5 waves per activation for a total yield of ~1000 GT per attack on facing shield and ~250 GT "splash" damage on surrounding shields.
- Breen Energy Dampening Weapon - - Only Recently Developed, the weapon leaches all energy generated by an enemy starship, causing all systems to become inoperative for close to an hour. This is usually plenty of time to deal with the enemy vessel once its weapons, engines and shields have failed. Recharge time is 5 minutes per weapon mount. Other than the leach effect, this weapon does no only minimal damage to the target. Aside from power drain effect, normal yield is ~0.5 KT.
- Fusion Beams - - Developed by the TE's client state, the Hydran Kingdoms. A stream of excited tritium and deuterium nuclei are projected to the target. The nuclei fuse and become helium nuclei, releasing tremendous amounts of energy at the moment of contact. Almost suicidaly short ranged, the Fusion Beam requires close to a minute cooling time between shots. Damage is ~750 GT at normal, ~1000 GT at overloaded and ~1500 GT when suicide overloaded (weapon mount melts down after firing as cooling system cannot handle the massive temperatures that much firepower causes). Cannot be used as a planetary assault weapon due to short range unless ship drops down into the planet's atmosphere first.
- Hellbore Cannons - - Developed by the TE's client state, the Hydran Kingdoms. High velocity fusion bomb that utilizes a special containment field. This field causes the fusion explosion to wrap around a target, thus enabling the weapon to target the most damaged shields on an enemy even if they are not the arc facing the initial point of impact. Due to its speed, the Hellbore is considered a direct fire weapon similar to a phaser. Damage is ~712 MT with reload times of 10 seconds per cannon.
- Psychonic Attack - - Using extreme mind conditioning and both bio and cyber augmentation, Section 31 is capable of creating a powerful telepathic being that can be used to generate a Psychonic attack. This attack, when directed at a enemy vessel within visual range, causes ship wide temporary insanity and paranoia, resulting in the enemy crew attacking each other and damaging ships systems. As a result of Section 31's conditioning and implanted mental imperatives, the beings that are made into telepathic weapons generally are lacking in personal hygiene, mental capacity and social abilities.
- Genesis Torpedo - - Perfected by Dr. David Kirk, son of Dr. Carroll Marcus and Fleet Admiral James Kirk, on the Regula One weapons development facility, the Genesis Torpedo reformats the surface of a world to whatever its matrix was programmed with. Everything from single celled organisms to plants to animals of all kinds can be created out of the reconstituted matter of the target. Prime means of eliminating Borg infested worlds and, in conjunction with planet placement (towing a planet or planetoid to a desired spot using Battlecruiser sized vessels), generating new M-class planets for colonization. Due to depletion of stockpile against Borg and destruction of Regula One by Grand Alliance forces, there are currently only a handful of Genesis Torpedoes available and it will be years (as of 2387) before any new ones are produced.
- Self Replicating Mine - - Can be outfitted with a gravitonic warhead, slowing targeted ships STL speed. TE version is usually outfitted with a shuttle sized ZPE warhead of 500 GT yield. Can be sent to subspace to remain hidden till needed/activated by a nearby enemy vessel. Mine can make a duplicate of itself up to 100 times before loss of replication reagents causes replication system to go offline. (eg. Mine self- replicates just before destruction, then the next mine does the same, then the next mine does the same, etc. x 100)
- Shipboard Defenses[/b][/I]
In the Terran Empire universe (in general terms), the larger a vessel is, the more power it can generate. This in turn affects things like power available to shield emitters and weapons systems. Thus, the larger a vessel is, the stronger its shields are and the more spare power it will have for other uses after powering its shields.
- Cloaking Device - - Standard cloaking device used to hide ships from normal sensor systems and the naked eye. Reduces sensor range while in use. Vulnerable to Tachyon Detection systems, either fixed beam networks or tactical ranged sensors on starships. Active shields and weapons capacitors leak energy through the cloak, negating its effectiveness nearly completely. Guided weapons can be fired while cloaked, but modern starship sensors can easily trace the weapons impulse trail back to the defenseless but cloaked vessel, usually resulting in easy kills of the cloaked attacker.
- Multiphaseic (Phase) Cloaking Device - - Advanced cloaking device seeing limited use in TE's Starfleet and Section 31 vessels. Allows phase cloaked vessel to pass through most normal materials without incident, makes the vessel totally invulnerable to both conventional weaponry and all known sensor systems. Severely limits sensor range while in use. Takes a long time (in a tactical sense, and the larger the phased ship, the longer the process of phasing and unphasing takes) to unphase a vessel, meaning it is vulnerable to fire for a long period of time in a normal engagement before it can bring up defenses and power weapons. Phased objects need to be unphased to interact with normal matter again (eg. phased shuttles docked in a phased ships shuttle bay cannot simply fly out the shuttle bay doors and reappear in normal space unphased, the Multiphaseic Cloaking Device must be activated at reverse polarity to unphase cloak an object that has been phase cloaked.)
- Tachyon Anti Cloak Sensor Arrays - - Sensors, largely developed by reverse engineering Dominion and Borg anti cloak sensor arrays, that can detect cloaked vessels. Useable range is limited to the tactical envelope and only gives a general direction and distance to contact, allowing a fleet or defensive emplacements to saturate an area with fire to kill cloaked enemy vessels (due to the fact that active shields and armor generators would give away the ships position even in spite of the cloaks effects). Systems are generally bulky and are usually only mounted on Akira sized hulls and above. Power intensive even on most TE vessels, meaning that shields are usually unable to recharge while the sensor array is in use.
- Spaceborn Warning And Control (SWAC) Pod - - Most often employed on Nebula Class Battlecruisers (due to their mission changeable pod) but can be mounted on other starships during a shipyard layover or refit. Long range anti cloak and normal sensors. Expanded communications and datalink capabilities, allowing for target information to be transmitted to the rest of the Fleet faster and more reliably than would otherwise be the case.
- Ablative Armor - - Mounted standard on all TE starships. This is a layer added to the exterior hull of a vessel that sacrifices itself to protect what is underneath. After battle, this is usually in need of at least minor repairs. Able to stop ~50 GT per cm.
- Regenerative Shields - - Standard shields of nearly all TE starships. These shields regenerate themselves considerably faster than a normal shield would, allowing damaged shield arcs to be boosted back up to full power rapidly without having to divert extra power to reinforce them. Able to stop ~100 GT per full charge (Akira class energy generation)
- Ablative Armor Generators - - Mounted on most new TE starships and added via starbase and repair yards to older vessels during refits. These generators combine transporter, replicator and nanite technology to create regenerating ablative armor. While the regeneration ability is not very fast, the armor itself is the next generation, providing slightly better protection once deployed than standard ablative armor. Able to stop ~55 GT per cm.
- Reinforced Structural Integrity Field - - Mounted on some TE capital ships, this modification allows equipped ships to survive and continue to fight after suffering damage that would have destroyed other starships of the same class not equipped with the RSIF
- Internal Armored Bulkheads - - added armor used around nerve centers on a starship, like Slipstream Drive Cores, Flag and Main Bridge and Heavy Weapons Emplacements.
- ECM Drones - - Computer controlled drones that can nearly perfectly mimic the sensor profile and visual look of any known starship, station or similarly sized spatial body using top of the line Electronic Countermeasures and holo technology. Can generate single contact for larger vessels per drone, and multiple contacts for smaller vessels. Used in conjunction with shipboard ECM/ECCM suites to provide using fleet/starship with greater protection. Can even simulate weapons fire, though weapons do no damage when they hit.
- Emergency Tactical Hologram - - Computer controlled security holograms. Invulnerable to normal weapons. Used almost solely in boarding actions against superior number and/or capability opponents.
- Remote Shield Reinforcement Generators - - Recent TE development. Uses special generators mounted on one starship to provide at least double shield strength to other nearby allied ships in the fleet. Generating vessel itself doesn't receive benefit from this, even if used in tandem with another generating vessel. This is a side effect due to the Generators operation. With the Generators offline, the vessel will become eligible for reinforcement just like any other vessel, but it will not provide reinforcement to other vessels itself. If two or more generating ships are used in close proximity, the shield boost itself isn't increased, just its area of effect. Adds an extra ~300 GT per shield arc of protection (Akira class target energy generation).
- General Shipboard Tech -
Ship classes in the Terran Empire universe are as follows from smallest to largest.
Shuttle (eg. Type 9) Fighter/Runabout/Scout (Cobra Fighter) Frigate (Saber) Destroyer (Defiant) Cruiser (Soulwolf) Battlecruiser (Akira) Battleship (Galaxy) Super Dreadnought (Wraith) Monitor (Bastion)
On general terms, any single vessel from a smaller class would have great difficulty in taking out any single vessel from the next larger class. Their hulls are usually to small to mount enough weapons and powerful enough shields to allow it to deal out sufficient damage to the larger enemy before the larger, more powerful vessel destroys the smaller one.
This means that most smaller vessels are used in swarm tactics, putting out enough firepower on multiple platforms that the larger enemy will be destroyed before it picks off no more than a handful of the lighter units. The wider the gap between classes, the greater the numbers required for successful completion of a swarm attack. Smaller classes are, on the whole, more maneuverable than vessels in the bigger size classes, often times enabling them to oftentimes dodge fire when done in conjunction with active ECM to further throw off enemy aim. The smaller the class, the better able they are to dodge enemy fire.
Starbases are most often require equivalent to 3x their class size warship analogue in firepower to be taken out due to free space acquired by removal of most if not all STL and FTL drive ability from their size class norm.
Most vessels of Akira sized and above carry multiple power cores (Warp or Slipstream) for added power and redundancy.
Max Impulse is 75 PSL. Smaller vessels take less time to get there and are usually able to go slightly above 75 PSL. As a general rule, the smaller a vessel is, the faster STL speed it is capable of in emergency situations. Max STL speed attainable by any known starship is 80 PSL due to internal compensator limits. Any higher speed and the slightest bump could cause compensator failure with messy results for the ships crew. Compensator reliability is a shallow curve towards failure till you get near 80 PSL. Then reliability drops off sharply. Compensator failure is exceedingly rare under 80 PSL. It is exceedingly common above 80 PSL.
- Flag Bridge Holo Display System - - Combination of astrometrics and holodeck technology. Essentially turns the Flag Bridge of a starship into a scaled down holodeck. Used to provide fleet commanders with the best, most detailed information on enemy and allied fleet dispositions. Used in conjunction with a set of sensor imbedded gloves, the CO can call up info and give orders rapidly and easily. Recently developed and is being incorporated into the refit schedule of all command vessels from Squadron level clear up to Fleet level.
- Hyper Com - - Once the TE began to get really big, R&D began to work on a longer ranged version of the standard subspace com. The end result is the Hyper Com, allowing near instantaneous communication across up to ¾ of the Galaxy.
- Quantum Slipstream Drive - - New high speed FTL drive given as a gift to the TE by a species in the Delta Quadrant in gratitude for eliminating the Borg threat. Equipped vessels are capable of crossing the known Galaxy in a matter of weeks instead of many years at warp speeds and many months using Subspace Corridors. All major fleets in Starfleet currently have this drive or are in the process of getting one during their next refit. Sector patrol units have been deemed unnecessary to receive this warp drive replacement.
- Subspace Corridors - - Similar to Borg transwarp corridors but appear to be a natural occurrence throughout the explored Galaxy. Set up as a chaotic web like network whose pathways must be plotted in order for orderly traffic to use them. Slightly lower in speed than Borg Transwarp, but naturally occurring so there is no need for massive transwarp gates to be built and maintained. Usual means of most Starfleet (until QSS drives become the norm) and Civilian long distance travel.
- Warp Field Inhibitors - - All vessels Cruiser sized and above have these devices. When active, they prevent Warp Field Bubble formation over a fairly large area (close to solar system in size). While Subspace Corridors can still be used for FTL travel while this device is active, one could only enter and exit corridors along their path, and all known paths terminate outside of the final planet in a system.
- Borg STL Drive - - Currently fresh out of R&D and only in use on the TE Bastion Class Monitor ISS Athena. Basically the same drive used on a Borg Cube, giving the Spacedock sized Athena considerably more maneuverability and STL drive redundancy thanks to its dispersed, part of the hull matrix, design than the other, Impulse drive powered Monitors. Currently in refit plans for all TE Monitors and some Wraith class Battleships
- Ground Weaponry -
Ground troops are not used as extensively in the Terran Empire as they are in the 21st century. This is mainly due to the fact that one usually has to drop at least part of a planetary shield to land ground troops. Only starships possess enough firepower to bring them down (eventually). But if a starship controls the high orbitals unopposed, it can rain down much greater firepower than any ground-based force can on another. A singe Terran Empire Cruiser can melt the entire upper crust of a planet in less than half an hour of bombardment. But seeing as how most parties want to keep planetary bodies as intact as possible, especially M-class worlds (before Genesis torpedoes became prevalent as both a means to eliminate hostile natives and set up idyllic settings for Terran colonization), this is usually an option of last resort.
Fortunately for ground units, modern cammo skins and ECM allow them to operate with relative freedom on a planetary body that an enemy whom controls the high orbitals wants taken intact. There is still a place for ground warfare in the Terran Empire universe, it just usually takes a back seat to planetary fleet engagements (whichever fleet wins in orbit usually decides who gets the planet. If no nearby fleets are available, and the enemy will eventually break through the shield before help arrives, locals are to destroy shield stations and surrender to the enemy rather than have the planet turned into a lifeless husk. Boarding actions are another matter. They require the best protection and weaponry an individual can have. As a result, the Terran Empire developed an array of weapons and the Power Armor Suit (basically a strap on tank) to aid in the successful boarding of enemy vessels.
It is often hard to accomplish unwelcome planet fall as even remote colonies have at the minimum 100,000 GT capacity theater shields, more often full light planetary shield networks in place.
- Grav Gun - - Standard weapon of Terran Empire Marine and Army Armored Infantry. Designed incorporating gravity generation tech and rail gun tech, it fires smart projectiles at Mach 15 thanks to its gravity puller rings. Ammo available is Armor Piercing, High Explosive and Flechette. AP is basically a pinky sized solid duranium penetrator with micro impulse engine boosters to punch through most known armors. Mostly used against tanks and APCs and against assault shuttles. HE version contains a few grains of suspended antimatter and matter. When it either contacts or is in close proximity to the target, the magnetic fields holding the two apart collapse and release the violent energies of a micro M/AM explosion. Mostly used against power armor and unpowered heavy combat armor. Flechette rounds send out a cloud of razor sharp metal slivers at Mach 15, creating the modern equivalent of a pre WW3 shotgun. Varying choke setting can be chosen, from close to 3 meters spread at 20 feet to 3 cm spread at 20 feet. Mostly used against unarmored or lightly armored targets and for crowd control.
- Power Combat Armor - - Standard armor in use by all major TE infantry units. Consists of Duranium main structure with Ablative Armor plate overlays. Its synthetic musculature allows the suit to give the infantry close to four times the strength of a normal human. This allows for nasty things like punching straight through bulkheads and sealed doors. In addition to the armor of the suit, it also comes equipped with an low grade forcefield, allowing it to stop a few rounds from a grav gun or a sustained 10 second shot from a maxed out phaser. The suit is completely self contained and with a full charge can run at combat levels for 24 hours without need of recharge. Inside, it provides all the amenities one would find in a long shift work space suit (waste removal, nutrient laced water, puréed meals, etc.) Sensors are modifiable, but generally include 360 degree low light, infrared, X-ray and zoom optical modes. Also included are all the functions of a standard tricorder but with enhanced range and short range anti cloak sensors. All sensor data is projected onto a HUD in the suits helmet, along with damage, ammo and power levels. The AG boots of the armor are capable of giving limited flight to a user (a la Spock's boots in ST:V) All suits come equipped with both personal cloaking devices and chameleon cammo skin whose camouflage pattern or stealth effect the user can alter at will. They also contain an extensive (for a personal unit) ECM/ECCM suite to defeat sensors both from ground and space based sites. Powered by Fusion reactor.
- Pulse Phaser Heavy Carbine - - Heavy weapon of choice in the modern TE Marines and Army Infantry. Capable of extreme destruction of both ground and air targets, this 1/38th scale and power version of the starship weapon is extremely deadly in the hands of someone who knows how to operate it effectively. While current models are susceptible to overheating under continuous use, they are powerful enough to take out most Main Battle Tanks and Assault Shuttles and even pose a risk to light starships flying in atmosphere if used against them in numbers. What they do to Infantry, even ones in power armor, is truly gruesome.
- Bladed Weaponry - - During the TE's war against the Borg, fighting against hordes of Drones soon devolved into melee ranged phaser rifle but and dagger vs. Drone exoskeleton. As a result, many security personnel and infantry units soon adopted a rather archaic weapon set as secondary weapons, namely blades. The bladed and club like weaponry were highly successful against Borg adaptation as a Drone's personal shielding was only effective at stopping energy weaponry. Soon a virtual cornucopia of custom made great swords and battleaxes found their way into shipboard and planetary armories. Although they now pose little use in the current battlefield, those who used them refused to give them up, and in a pitched close quarters battle, they have saved many a trooper's life. The weapons are made of an intensely strong and resilient alloy and sharpened to single molecule sharpness, allowing them to hack through most objects like a hot knife through butter. Some are even more advanced, having billions of tiny serrated edges on the blade edge and motors in their handles that cause the blade to vibrate at hypersonic velocities, creating a chainsaw like effect that actually helps pull the blade through a target. An unenhanced human can fell a large tree in a single stroke with one of these blades.
- T-69S Sniper Rifle - - Standard long rifle currently in frontline TE service. Capable of firing a Grav Gun bullet as far as the scope's line of sight at Mach 25, or if situation allows transport the bullet to targets up to the same distance. The gun is fully silenced and bullet is coated in special layer to prevent visible trail from being left in its wake due to the extreme atmospheric speed it travels at. Usually able to take out a power armored infantry soldier in one shot.
- Fury Power Armor - - Exact capabilities are classified ( ( ), but it is assured that both humanoid and canine versions are more capable than standard power armor in strength, armor and shield stopping power, armament and sensors.
- Hyper Velocity Missile[/b][/I] - Infantry weapon designed for destruction of armor units while causing minimal damage to the surrounding countryside. Basically an impulse engine mated with an armor piercing nose cone. The missile is launched from an apparatus similar to ancient Bazookas. Once it clears 15 m from the launcher, the missile brings its internal impulse drive online and accelerates to 90 PSL within a quarter of a second. The kinetic impact delivered to armor units is usually sufficient to pierce shields and often armor, but multiple strikes may be required on current MBT's.
- Assault Shuttle - - Varying designs of large, armed and armored shuttles used to ferry troops and vehicles to the front lines of battle and provide close air support when needed.
- Drop Ship - - Varying designs of Frigate sized, heavily shielded and armored cargo ships used to bring large amounts of troops and vehicles down to a hostile planet.
- Conquistador Armored Personnel Carrier - - Standard frontline Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. It can carry up to 20 fully equipped Powered Combat Armored Infantry into battle. The Conquistador is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from at least a few rounds from a Main Battle Tank or a few seconds of fire from a Frigate's weapons. It has a single rapid-fire PPC turret and four Grav Guns in 180-degree turrets mounted front, back, left and right, for self defense. Powered by M/AM reactor. Both Anti-Gravity and track propulsion.
- Conquistador Mobile Command Post - - Standard frontline Mobile Command Post (MCP) in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. High-speed data nets and communication systems are standard, giving ground commanders a detailed holographic map of the evolving battlefield, including both allied and detected enemy units. The Conquistador is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from at least a few rounds from a Main Battle Tank or a few seconds of fire from a Frigate operating in atmosphere. It has a rapid- fire PPC and quad Grav Guns mounted in main turret for self-defense. Powered by M/AM reactor. Both AG and track propulsion.
- Viking Mobile AAA Battery - - Standard frontline AAA Battery in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. The Viking is a modified Conquistador chassis with all space usually given up to internal troop transport filled with Phalanx Micro-Quantum torpedoes. 12 are launched in a volley, then the Viking usually relocates to prevent destruction due to the enemy following the initial track of its weaponry back to itself. The Phalanx launcher is mounted in a turret and while primary used against air targets, the Phalanx torpedoes can and often do attack nearby ground targets of opportunity. . The Viking is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from at least a few rounds from a Main Battle Tank or a few seconds of fire from a Frigate operating in atmosphere. Powered by M/AM reactor. Both AG and track propulsion.
- Harbinger Main Battle Tank - - Standard frontline Main Battle Tank (MBT) in Terran Empire Army and Marine arms. The Harbinger is protected by both cloak and cammo skin as well as high powered ECM/ECCM units. Its shields and armor can protect it from close to half a dozen rounds from a Main Battle Tank or about a dozen seconds of fire from a Frigate operating in atmosphere. Powered by Dual M/AM reactors. Both AG and track propulsion. Dual Heavy Grav Guns and PPCs in single main turret. One Grav Gun in 180- degree turret mounted on front, left, right, and aft.