Codex Entries- Human Technology
Sawyer Dimensional JumpDrive- Discovered accidentally during a singularity weapon test, dimensional drives are the humans' choice of FTL technology. They allow for transit at speeds almost as fast as those provided by mass relays, however they do not suffer from many of the relays' limitations, chiefly the fact that relays can only access certain systems. There are garden worlds just waiting to be colonized that have no relays near them, and thus can only be accessed by human jumpdrives. The jumpdrive takes the form of two large cylindrical projectors, one on each side of a starship. They fire beams that drill through dimensional barriers, allowing for ships to enter, and they fire again to exit Jump space. There are unconfirmed reports of recalibrated jumpdrives being used as black hole projectors by certain captains.
Shiva Antimatter cannon- The main armament of the human fleet, they fire single antiprotons at 10% light speed. An antiproton, when it meets matter, has a massive yield, producing temperatures measured in millions of degrees Celsius. Due to them not being kinetic weaponry, they bypass conventional kinetic barriers. Antiproton cannons operate on similar principles as salarian antiproton drives. Mass effect fields propel antiprotons into specialized firing chambers, however, instead of being injected into hydrogen reaction chambers, they are fired out of cannons by use of mass effect fields. Antiprotons detonate as soon as they hit matter, so they cannot be used for atmospheric combat, as the insulation fields that cover the antiprotons are designed to deflect small amounts of dust/debris, not plow through miles of thick atmosphere. Standard shiva cannons are capable of firing once every ten seconds, while heavier cannons are capable of firing as fast as 1 shot every 7.5 seconds.
AD-1 Antimatter warheads- Simple warheads containing tiny amounts of antiprotons, (10-12 max) used for planetary bombardment. Yield similar to fusion warhead, but harmful radiation is not generated by explosion.
SD-2 Singularity warheads- The final result of humanity's many attempts at creating a singularity warhead, this bomb's "detonation" in reality severely increases its mass to the point where it becomes a high gravity hazard. Detonation inside a starship will result in the ship imploding. The main use of singularity bombs is to disrupt enemy formations, causing gravity wells that force enemy ships together.
Null Barrier- A human take on standard kinetic barriers. While kinetic barriers apply force to stop or deflect incoming projectiles, null barriers project a field that, rather than stop incoming projectiles, it reduces their mass to zero. A 24 kilogram slug traveling at 1% light speed will, as soon as it enters a null barrier, have a mass of zero. It will hit with the approximate force of nothing at 1% light speed. Null barriers are much more energy efficient than standard kinetic barriers, allowing for ships equipped with them to take amazing amounts of kinetic bombardment, but they have a weakness in that they cannot stop heat or reactions from occurring. Thus a nuclear warhead will still detonate and cause damage, due to the null barriers being unable to stop heat from nuclear fusion.
Human AI- Human AIs are built to be sentient. They are considered full members of society, and hold several seats on the alliance senate. Most human ships have at least 1 AI aboard, which assist with ECM and cyberwarfare, as well as with FTL calculations. New generation human AI are born from cyber copied brains from human children. They are then raised alongside humans, and are educated alongside them, although at higher grade levels AI are taught in special classes by other AI.
AR-7 Lancer Omni-Rifle- Based off of salarian GARDIAN laser systems, this fires high power beams of infrared light, with some red light mixed in for targeting purposes. It is capable of burning through kevlar armor in seconds, and can bypass kinetic barriers. The rifle itself is capable of changing itself to fit multiple roles, and changing its firing pattern accordingly. While its standard form is an assault rifle, it is capable of changing itself to act as a long range sniper rifle, or as a close range 'pulsar' rifle, which fires a vaguely cone shaped pulse designed to clear out rooms. The rifle has two modes of fire- continuous beam and pulse fire. Pulse fire fires in rapid pulses, designed to save energy, but is less powerful. Contrary to popular belief, should this rifle take a hit in the field, the miniature fusion power source inside it will not "go nuclear."
SP-6 Suppressor Sidearm- Pistol sized sidearm, capable of changing between a pulsar mode similar to that of the AR-7 Lancer, and a continuous beam function similar to an SMG. Standard issue sidearm to all alliance personnel.
A-9 Crusader personal armor system- Standard issue marine armor. It is vaccum sealed, and protected against most natural and artificial hazards. The armor contains heavy duty heat sinks to absorb incoming thermal energy from human weaponry, and uses experimental null barriers to protect against kinetic hazards. The armor suit contains a port for the soldier's AI companion to be plugged in, and has a powered exoskeleton allowing for significant strength increase in alliance soldiers. Finally, adrenal stimulators and nutrient injections allow for soldiers wearing this armor to last weeks in the field without needing to sleep or eat.
WristComps- Based off of salarian omni tools, wrist comps are used by almost all humans. They provide a port for human AI to interface with, and act as personal wrist mounted computers. The one key difference, is that unlike the circular keyboard and gesture based system used by the salarians, which early designers deemed inconvenient, WristComps use flash fabricated silicon keyboards and projected screens. Only military models use an interface similar to those of the salarians.
Biogel- A special gel used by human medical facilities to heal flesh wounds. It is composed of cloned "omni-cells" which, when injected into wounds, are manipulated by nanites that change them into required cell types. The nanites are then expelled as solid waste. Biogel can repair most flesh damage in minutes, sealing wounds and stopping bleeding in seconds. Nerve and organ damage is healed quickly as well. This advancement has increased human lifespans significantly by creating cures for organ failure.
Human Military starship classes and numbers- Super Dreadnoughts- 8. Super Carriers- 3. Dreadnoughts- 108. Carriers- 136. Battlecruisers- 312. Cruisers- 662. Destroyers- 425. Frigates- 337. Corvettes and other capital ships- 170. The human military also owns hundreds of modified civilian craft for transportation and support roles. Human starships use little element zero in their construction relative to council vessels of the same size. Antimatter cores provide power for the ships, while tiny element zero cores spread throughout the hull prevent ships from tearing themselves apart while turning. Null barriers are standard issue, and most ships now have heat sinks to dissipate heat from solar radiation and incoming fire.
Human Super Dreadnought Specifications- Length- 8.23 kilometers. Width- 1.3km. Height- 2.74km. Armament- 8 heavy shiva cannon cluster as main armament. 12 turret mounted shiva cannons. 2250 20 kilo tungsten rods for planetary bombardment. 76 point defense laser turrets. 500 antimatter warheads. Compliment- Up to 2000 marines, 20 T-39 Albatross transporters. Assorted armored vehicles. Description- A human Colossus class super dreadnought is capable of capturing a system on its own. Its main shiva cannon array is capable of firing 1 shot every 2 seconds, and it mounts several turret mounted shiva cannons to supplement its devastating main gun array. The tungsten rod racks and antimatter warheads are capable of wiping entire cities out in seconds, and the compliment of marines allow for it to conduct ground operations.
Human Super Carrier Specifications- Length- 9.17km. Width- 5.3km. Height-2.98km. Armament- 4 Heavy shiva cannon cluster as main armament. 8 turret mounted shiva cannons. 136 point defense laser turrets. Compliment- 1000 malestrom fighter bombers, 2 corvettes, up to 4000 marines, 40 Albatross transports. Assorted armored vehicles. Description- A human Intrepid class supercarrier is designed for one role, and only one role on the battlefield. It is made to bring in swarms of fighters, to provide screens against enemy missiles and fighters, and to kill enemy capital ships with hundreds of cuts. It carries massive stores of munitions for said fighters to use against any foe, ranging from anti fighter missiles to anti capital ship singularity bombs. The SuperCarrier can also carry large compliments of marines for planetary operations.
Human Dreadnought Specifications- Length- 7.61 km. Width- 1.1 km. Height- 2.53 km. Armament- 6 heavy shiva cannon array as main armament. 8 turret mounted shiva cannons. 68 point defense laser turrets. 2000 tungsten rods for planetary bombardment. 400 antimatter warheads. Compliment- up to 1500 marines, 15 Albatross transports. Assorted armored vehicles. Description- The Everest class dreadnought is the largest 'standard' ship in the alliance navy, as super dreadnoughts either used as flagships or are part of the earth defense fleet. The dreadnought is capable of mounting planetary campaigns, and is more than capable of taking a colony by itself.
Human Carrier Specifications- Length- 8.1 km. Width- 3.3 km. Height- 2.83 km. Armament- 3 heavy shiva cannon cluster as main armament. 4 turret mounted shiva cannons. 124 point defense laser turrets. Compliment- 800 malestrom fighter-bombers. Up to 2000 marines, 20 albatross transports, Assorted armored vehicles. Description- The Enterprise class carrier is a massive fortress, carrying swarms of fighters armed to the teeth with antimatter and singularity warheads. It is equally capable of wiping a colony off the map as it is of destroying capital ships, and is a force to be reckoned with no matter where it is.
Human Battlecruiser Specifications- Length- 6.21 km. Width- 1.1 km. Height- 1.98 km. Armament- 4 heavy shiva cannon cluster as main armament. 6 turret mounted shiva cannons. 1750 tungsten rods for planetary bombardment. 54 point defense laser turrets. 200 antimatter warheads. Compliment- 500 marines, 5 albatross transports, Assorted armored vehicles. Description- The smallest human ship capable of conducting planetary campaigns, the Geneva class battlecruiser is the smallest 'Heavy ship' of the UEA Navy. They are not used in flagship roles, although they are more than capable of holding their own in ship to ship combat.
Human Cruiser Specifications- Specifications- Length- 3.4 km. Width- 980 meters. Height- 1.01 km. Armament- 2 heavy shiva cannons as main armament. 22 twin heavy mass accelerator turrets. 500 tungsten rods for planetary bombardment. 22 point defense laser turrets. 50 antimatter warheads. Description- The Bennett class cruiser is the smallest ship to mount heavy shiva cannons. It is the most common ship in the alliance navy, and is used throughout alliance space.
Human Destroyer Specifications- Specifications- Length- 2.3 km. Width- 775 meters. Height- 940 meters. Armament- 4 shiva cannons as main armament. 18 twin heavy mass accelerator turrets. 48 point defense laser turrets. Description- The Waterloo class destroyers have a special niche in human fleet tactics. Although they have a relatively small anti capital ship armament, they have a disproportionately large point defense turret armament, which they use to create anti fighter and anti missile screens for the larger capital ships.
Human Frigate Specifications- Specifications- Length- 1.02 km. Width- 540 meters. Height- 633 meters. Armament- 2 shiva cannons as main armament. 14 twin mass accelerator turrets. 12 point defense laser turrets. Description- Human Amaterasu class frigates typically serve as scouts and advance guard ships. They are usually the first ships to exit jumpspace in any military operation and often are the last ones to leave. They typically close rapidly with the enemy, entering their singularity disrupted formations and wreaking havoc. Due to this job requiring the frigate being exposed to significant amounts of enemy fire, frigates have much more powerful null barriers on them. Frigates are the largest military vessels used in corporate private fleets.
Human Corvette Specifications- Specifications- Length- 590 meters. Width- 200 meters. Height- 230 meters. Armament- 1 shiva cannon.10 antimatter warheads. 10 twin mass accelerator turrets. 8 point defense laser turrets. Description- Military corvettes use sensor masking equipment for long range scouting operations, as well as to move undetected around enemy fleets to attack from the flank or rear. Many corvettes have had their sensor masks removed and sold to corporations as private warships.
Human Malestrom Fighter-Bomber Specifications- Length- 12.3 meters. Width- 10.8 meters. Height- 6 meters. Armament- 2 M1018 Heavy cannons. 20 hardpoints for various munitions. Description- The Malestrom fighter-bomber is the primary single ship used in space combat, with hundreds being released from carriers armed with antimatter or singularity warheads for anti capital ship use. The main cannons were based off the M920 Cain personal artillery weapon designed in the early 22nd century. The M1018 essentially is 4 M920s fused together as a single rotary weapon. The 'Chain Cain' as many pilots fondly call their craft's armament, requires its own fusion reactor to sustain rates of fire needed in combat situations, but is capable of dealing devastating damage against both ground and space targets so long as the ammunition fabricator functions.
Human Modular Freighter specifications- Size- Varies. Armament- Varies. Description- Human modular freighters are the bread and butter of human corporate fleets, and is critical in bringing vital supplies to human colonies and fleets. Each freighter contains hundreds of hardpoints capable of mounting anything, ranging from huge cargo holds to Shiva antimatter cannons, although the latter is strongly discouraged by alliance officials, although this has not stopped many freighters being converted to impromptu warships by corporations that could not afford frigates.
Author's Note: I am currently stuck deciding as to which race to make first contact with, but I do have some ideas. They are: Batarian separatists running from the hegemony government, a privately owned volus craft, or a pair quarians on pilgrimage enter the sol system by accident. Thanks to dw77 for the Volus idea. I hope this chapter answers your questions about the technological state of humanity. And yes, you read correctly. I just couldn't resist giving my fighters chaingun Cains.