Board Thread:Custom Lore Development/@comment-26444332-20170120003536

"I didn't build this fleet to have it be destroyed by a bunch of half-lizards! Concentrate all fire on the nearest Federation battleship!"

- Admiral Akeno Shinozaki, Battle of Porvan II

Capital ship is a general Consortium term (other civilizations have different standards), referring to any armed starship that has a length greater than a hundred meters. Ships of this class range from small and nimble corvettes, like the Kenshin starcruiser, to titanic Star Dreadnoughts, such as the Eryushidēta.

Ships of this class are typically designed for fleet warfare, often positioned in armadas stationed in high orbit around a strategic planet. They are commonly fitted with ship-to-ship and anti-fighter defensive weaponry, ranging from heavy ion cannons to quad pulse batteries. Many (at least in the Consortium) serve as fighter-carriers as well.

The most iconic and well-known weapon of the Consortium, the pulse cannon uses a large energy-cell to power an electromagnetic accelerator that fires a toroid ("pulse") of plasma. During operation, the weapon first locks on a target and begins the process of firing. A plasma sphere is created in the core by superheating and compressing gases, stripping them of their ions. Once the gas is superheated, compressed, and a plasma sphere is created, it is then loaded into the electromagnetic accelerator, which is then energized. Once fully energized, the accelerator is activated, which results in the "pulse" being launched at an extremely high rate of speed to the intended target. The entire process can take less than three seconds for a large battery, while small rifles and carbines used by infantry can take less than a millisecond; the reason being that most Consortium plasma is pre-fired and then placed into battery shells and cartridges equipped to handle it, to both reduce the strain on ship reactors during combat and increase firing speed.

The types of pulse cannon vary: the most well-known, the pulse battery, is a deck gun-like instalment, protected from the void of space by an atmospheric forcefield. It is useful for any sort of duty, but the Aetanii often use it for their signature lightning assaults, broadsiding an enemy vessel before they have a chance to respond. However, smaller dual pulse batteries for dueling with enemy vessels, and heavy quad pulse batteries (which can be brought up from belowdecks to a position similar to an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer's main heavy batteries) are also prevalent. The most common pulse weapon is the light quad pulse battery, protected from space by a forcefield and used for anti-starfighter duties.

(Consortium pulse weapons fire blue bolts of energy.)

A slightly different take on the traditional pulse weapons of the Consortium, maser cannons typically form about one-fourth of a standard Aetanii vessel's "pulse" armament. Due to their similarities (and the Consortium's wish to conceal one of their truly unique weapons) maser batteries are often simply referred to as pulse batteries.

The maser's operation is somewhat similar to a standard pulse cannon: a toroid of plasma launched from an electromagnetically accelerated barrel. However, instead of pre-fired plasma being used, material is transformed into plasma on-site by a beam of high-intensity microwaves (hence the name: "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation").

But due to this process, the microwaves leave a distinct particle element to the "pulse": making the projectile have both the destructive qualities of energy and the kinetic power of matter launched at an extremely high speed. Due to this, a maser can be likened to a cross between a pulse cannon and a railgun, making it extremely effective against both shields and armor.

Consortium masers come in all the different variants that pulse batteries do, but typically have around a second's different between shots, due to their slightly slower reload times. Maser rifles (called Aozora rifles) exist, but they have the same disadvantage of a slightly slower reload time.

(Consortium masers fire azure bolts of energy.)

The Consortium also makes use of lasers (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), which produce an intense, energy rich emission of coherent light. Laser projectors are small, cylindrical capsules that deploy from interior parts of an Aetanii starship's hull to the exterior, by means of a movable platform and sliding doors, to minimize the vessel's profile. The projectors are simple in design and use: they are merely anti-starfighter weapons, capable of fast-tracking and destroying several starfighters per minute.

(Consortium laser weapons fire gold beams of energy.)

A rare sight within the Consortium, ion cannons are weapons that fire beams of ions (positively or negatively charged particles). The ion cannon is actually a type of particle cannon; only the particles used are ionized. Due to their electrical charges, they also have the potential to disable electronic devices, and anything else that has an electrical or similar power source, using a phenomena known as an Electromagetic Pulse (EMP).

However, these are semi-rare weapons aboard Aetanii starships, for a reason: the power. But it is not because their power is too low; rather, it is because their power is too high. Due to the massive energy sink created by such weapons, firing more than one or two at a time usually leaves Consortium vessels unable to return fire at inopportune times. Only in the largest Consortium vessels is this problem not apparent.

(Consortium ion weapons fire silver-blue beams of energy.)

However, the Consortium does not solely rely on energy weapons (or even their masers, which are both energy and kinetic). Interdiction cannons are large and advanced versions of a particle accelerator. Extremely heavy missiles are accelerated with a huge electromagnetic force, and have muzzle velocities that make the dirt surrounding the missile (an extremely dense and solid shell) burn in the skies (when in an atmosphere). Most armour and shields can barely withstand the force, with the target often completely penetrated by the power of the missile. 