[hider=The Morte Imperium - WIP] [center][h1][color=9e0b0f]THE MORTE IMPERIUM[/color][/h1][/center][hr][center][img]http://oi49.tinypic.com/28lsw11.jpg[/img][/center] [h2][color=9e0b0f][b]Overview[/b][/color][/h2] [b]Official Name:[/b] Das Grösses Mortereich aller Todestern (Gothic), Imperium Magni Morte (archaic Mortean) [b]Common Name:[/b] Morte Imperium, Mortereich, Morte Empire [b]Government:[/b] Elected Centralized Totalitarian Monarchy [b]Insignia:[/b] A decorated large red "I" symbol with a skull motif in the center. I equates for Imperium meaning the empire in the archaic Mortean. [b]Political Description:[/b] The Mortean government is imperial, formed under necessity during the early centuries to fend off the Luxans and other crazy invaders. Initially it was a typical monarchic government with the rule of Karl von Metzel and his descendants. However this soon changed and for 800 years now the Kaiser is an elected title which currently only assumed for the length of 2 years. It's possible to get re-elected but no more than 4 times in a row (so a total of 10 years of rule). Since the title is elected technically anyone can become a Kaiser, provided they pass the rigorous selection method for candidates. There are a few days of promotion and campaign and then the candidates get voted on. There are no solid political parties, albeit siding with certain social groups may provide benefits at the election. After appointed as the Kaiser he or she has absolute power to do anything for the good of the Empire. Yet the Kaiser is tightly monitored and after 2 years pass he or she is thoroughly evaluated and potentially punished for any misconduct (sometimes even executed). The Empire also have ministers and other political leaders with their own powers and responsibilities. Their conditions are similar to that of the Kaiser but to a lesser extend. In Morte everyone watches the other and ready to report wrongs straight back to the authorities. This complex relation of hierarchy and keen supervision what defines Morte social structure the most. In terms of foreign politics ever since the final defeat of the Luxans it's practically non-existent. Though with the first expeditionary fleet being sent off-world that's soon to be changing. [b]System Name:[/b] Todestern (also the name of their star) Todestern is a death world located within the Stormlosweg sector. It used to be a plentiful system with a luminous yellow dwarf star. Then the terrible Kilonova Disaster happened. A relativistic neutron star fragment hit their own star, drastically altering it during the process. It changed and shifted adopting a sickly greenish hue while emitting highly dangerous radiation. During this time it also gained a new name, Todestern (literally meaning Death Star). Absorbing the energy of the neutron star fragment Todestern is an unique astronomical body with many strange and highly dangerous properties. Aside from its constant radiation hazard Toderstern is the most notable for its solar winds filled with antimatter. [b]Inhabited Planet(s):[/b] Mortis and Lux are the only habitable planets and just barely (see descriptions) [b]Homeworld:[/b] Mortis[hider=Image] [img]http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120909193414/masstrek/images/thumb/d/da/Thalaron_wave_post-impact_of_Romulus..jpg/500px-Thalaron_wave_post-impact_of_Romulus..jpg[/img] [/hider] Mortis is the 3rd planet of the Todestern system. Before the Kilonova Disaster it was used to be Lieberland, a lush green planet. That was until VR220 (Vor dem Reich 220 - 220 years before the Empire) when a neutron star fragment impacted with their star Leichtstern and changed the fate of the system forever. The gravity of the star suddenly increased, shifting the planet's orbit thus promoting it to the third planet while the star underwent its slow and ugly transformation into Todestern. The planet was now known as Mortis, an irradiated death world with only minimal habitability for 4 billion denizens. Yet the dwellers of this world prevailed and through the use of their technology this planet is the home of most Morteans. [b]Major System Assets:[/b] [u]Todestern Ring[/u] Not quite a ring but a system of solar panels and mining bases surrounding their star thus providing much of the Empire's energy need both directly via solar power and indirectly via collecting antimatter from the solar winds. Permanent colonies are established in the Ring for the workforce, infamous for their poor living conditions. Aside from energy production some of the larger solar panels were also re-purposed to power orbital construction sites. [u]Lux[/u] Former homeworld of the Luxans. While situated further from the sun Todestern the fact Luxans made no preventive measures doomed their civilization. For centuries after the Kilonova Disaster this planet provided home for the crazed Luxan race. After the Eleventh Luxan War the planet turned to Morte custody but the Luxans never lived it down and in a few centuries they became extinct to the Morte's purging. Lux's position further away from Todestern made it safer for agriculture though radiation protection is still necessarily. [u]Brennenweg[/u] One of the two gas giants of the Todestern system and the primary location of the Morte space industry. The planet has a ring system and multiple moons as well as located in the vicinity of the asteroid belt between Lux and Brennenweg. Thanks to its rings Brennenweg can collect decent amount of antimatter which is then utilized for starting up atomic reactors for local use. Brennenweg is responsible for mining raw minerals and the main producer of advanced superdense materials essential for spaceships. Of course it's also the main location of the Morte warship production. [u]Silberdort[/u] A cluster of multiple large colonies established almost at the edge of the system, located at a "sweet spot" safe from irradiated solar winds and other sources of extreme radiation. The original plan was to establish extra habitation for the Empire's growing population. But they soon realized the luxury in free air, decent greenery and the overall leisure of life made possible in Silberdort. Soon the colonies transformed to a place exclusive for the upper class while the rest of the Empire still struggles with overpopulation. [u]Outer Rim:[/u] Todestern like most star systems is surrounded by an asteroid belt. While not as prominent as Brennenweg these asteroids are also mined for minerals. In addition the Outer Rim is important for defense with warning buoys and patrolling starships ensuring nobody penetrates the borders. [b]The Hypergate:[/b] Ancient construct encased in ice and mistook for an asteroid for millennia. It was only discovered in the Outer Rim after the Eleventh Luxan War and it changed Morte history forever. It took over a decade to be put back into order but now the Morte are ready to explore the galaxy and find new worlds to discover. [h2][color=9e0b0f][b]Racial Information[/b][/color][/h2] [b]Species:[/b] Mortean [b]Population:[/b] ~ 6 billion (overpopulated!) [b]Morphology:[/b] [img]http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/97317/ChissMale.jpg[/img] Morteans are humanoid creatures with blueish skin, red eyes that might glow in the dark, sharp teeth and slightly pointed ears. They are at average shorter in stature (~ 160 cm) due to malnutrition but at times they can grow above 2m in height. Due to the effects of radiation they have an alarmingly high percentage of mutations which is sometimes very visible. Unlike humans the Mortean blood is colored cyan. [b]Anatomy:[/b] Morteans have human-like body makeup but there are considerable differences in their chemical system. Mortean bones are made of various bio-steels, enhancing their durability and tolerance to radiation. Though the not so amazing side effect is that Morteans can get stuck to sufficiently strong magnets. Their sharp teeth are capable of chewing through many things and it isn't impossible for a Morteans to chew on rocks and ores (though not the most nutritious choice for sure). Mortean stomachs are versatile and work by different reactions and this generally applies to their entire system. Toxins that could be lethal to humans may be even considered nutrients. In reverse the Morteans have a number of harmful and deadly toxins specific to their physiology. Biologically the Morteans can live for 200 years but in effect the mutations and awful living conditions reduce the average life expectancy to 40 years. Due to their relatively well-adopted physiology to their environment there's a popular theory that the Morteans were actually engineered this way. Though due to the lack of documentation from the Dark Ages and beyond it's currently impossible to determine. [b]Cultural Information[/b] Due to the effect of radiation, birth defects and mutations are relatively common and according to statistics 27.4% of the children die at (or before) birth. For every Mortean death is a common experience which swayed their society into an unique direction. Morteans neither fear death nor welcome it. They accept death as a natural element of their lives and strive to serve their community during the short time they're given (average 40 years). Morteans are utilitarians to the extreme, working precisely like cogs in well-oiled machine. In the eyes of others Morteans themselves do appear almost machine-like, having little in the way of personal goals and instead striving to complete their duties to the community as a whole. This unique mindset also makes Morteans numb to the feeling of loss other species experience. Morteans are capable of boundless cruelty without the slightest emotion behind. Compassion in its typical sense is almost completely foreign to them. On the other hand their higher orientation towards logic means Morteans always do things with reason. They have a clear view on risks and benefits which makes negotiations with Morteans surprisingly simple. The official language of the Mortereich is the Gothic. It resembles German from the ancient human civilization albeit they are far from a perfect match to each other. There are also 3 other major dialects and even more minority dialects within the population which can range from slight mutation to something that doesn't even sound like the same language. [h2][color=9e0b0f][b]Brief History[/b][/color][/h2] TBA [h2][color=9e0b0f][b]Technological Information[/b][/color][/h2] [b]Power generation:[/b] - Solar Power: Considerable portion of civilians use solar power mostly gathered from panels surrounding Todestern. This is stored in plasma cell batteries which then be centrally distributed to the population. - Plasma Engines: Morte's equivalent of internal combustion engines. They use superheated plasma and gravomagnetic fields to drive motors or provide power. They are common as emergency generators where nuclear power is not affordable as well as operating vehicles outside the power grid. Many surface military vehicles also use plasma engines. - Atomic Reactors: Powerplants using various nuclear reactions to provide energy. They are usually catalyzed by the pair annihilation of small amounts of antimatter thus they can effectively use almost anything as fuel. - Antimatter Capacitors: Compact mechanisms using controlled pair annihilation to provide massive power. Antimatter is generated by standard methods which is then stored and built up for highly energetic applications, most notably FTL drives and weapon technology. [b]Engineering/Fabrication:[/b] Having both time and abundant energy sources the Morte made great progress at the research of nanotechnology and metamaterials. They can alter atoms for special functions, create matter from more exotic particles (AKA other than just electrons, protons and neutron), force matter into different grid structures or even compress either atoms or grids into a denser yet stable state. The simpler processes are long part of the industry while the most exotic means either are rare or only studied in research labs. While this sounds impressive compared to modern material science the Morte are still far from being the masters of the field and depend on the same raw resources as everyone else. While metamaterials opened up new possibilities industry was truly revolutionized by using nanotechnology. Nano-scale construction improved material quality and combined with the manipulation of gravomagnetism introduced a whole new industrial method: Nanolathe. By spraying nano-scale particles on an electrical field it's possible to establish a "pattern" after which the constituent materials can be applied on the surface from layer to layer. The whole process can be described as a new and improved form of 3D printing which allows precise and relatively swift fabrication. More importantly nanolathes are versatile and aside from procuring the raw materials a factory line can quickly switch between products. One of the main drawbacks of nanolathes are their energy need which is why they are always located close to an abundant power source. Decent quality fabrication also requires a large area suspended in zero gravity and expensive equipment, promoting centralized orbital factory construction. [b]Starship propulsion[/b] [u]STL Propulsion - Plasma Impulse Drives[/u] A family of thrusters utilizing both heat and gravomagnetic forces to turn inert propellant into plasma and expel it at great velocity. It's a variable and versatile system which can combine both high thrust and specific impulse. Also referred as Plasma Drives they practically can use almost anything as propellant. For longer treks it's preferable to burn less propellant while raising the exhaust velocity to maximum. For combat maneuvers it's advised to use more and denser propellant to attain higher thrust at the same output. The larger and more complex a plasma drive is the higher efficiency it could reach. A sizable portion of the Morte ships are nothing but their propulsion systems alone. [u]FTL Propulsion - Foldspace Drive[/u] By manipulating and folding spacetime it's possible to cheat special relativity and effectively move the ship at superluminal speeds. Fold Drives are economical and dependable, capable of continuous operation so long the ship doesn't use power on much else. Compared to other races' intrasystem drives Warp is slower and requires the ship to navigate in normal space. The gravitational forces of the Foldwave Bubble(also called warp field) protects the ship from micrometeroid impacts but larger objects may burst the bubble and the fold/warp effect is suddenly gone, returning the ship to its real speed. [b]Armor:[/b] Durachrome is the most popular family of armor materials within the Empire. It's classically created by fusing metal atoms until they reach an "island of stability" as well as compress the grid structure to the densest stable form. The end result is a metallic matter with great strength and density best identified for its brilliant reflection (hence its name). To ease production Durachrome is typically created within the intense pressure and massive gravity of the gas giant Brennenweg which thus became the industrial heart of the Morte Empire. Of course material strength is only one facet how Morte protect their ships as they employ composites, complex structures and shapes designed to better resist attacks. Morte use their armors as the chief form of defense and it often makes up 20-30% the mass of warships. [b]Shielding:[/b] Panzerbereich A shielding which uses gravomagnetic fields to suspend and rapidly circulate fine metallic nanoparticles for protection. This sphere of particles is generally raised at a standoff distance, roughly around 10 times the ship's length in radius. Panzerbereich are chiefly used as radiation protection as well as converter to channel the trapped surplus energies back to the ship's reserves. During space combat its main purpose is to serve as standoff protection. It can disperse energy weapons, break fragile kinetic penetrators or pre-detonate thinly skinned missiles. Of course the Empire's ships can't shoot through the shields without the same disadvantages either thus they momentarily open holes in the field to send out signals, attacks or launch fighters. The rate of making these holes and closing them is exponentially longer with size. Thus opening tiny holes for comm signals or radar scans may take an instant, holes for weapons to fire through can take few moments but to open a hole for the fighter bay and then closing it might take a considerable time which makes them the most vulnerable. [b]Sensors:[/b] - Standard sensors: A category used to describe typical slower than light sensing and detection equipment like radars, telescopes and so on. - Hypersensors: A category of superluminal forms of sensing and detection. They are typically active detection like foldspace radars but there are tachyon imagery methods which passively gathers background tachyonic shadows of objects. Tachyonic sensors are crude and require digital enhancement by combining it with other sensory data to be more reliable. [b]Communications:[/b] Foldwave radio is a superluminal communication method replacing nearly all standard methods. They are fast, precise and more resistant to interference. Quantum Link is an older superluminal mechanism which was used to disprove past skepticism about faster than light travel. It uses quantum entanglement to resonate between two attuned devices thus effectively achieve instant communication regardless of the distance. [b]Computation:[/b] Quantum computing is widely utilized in Morte systems. Unlike semiconductor type deterministic computers a quantum computer works by probability and uses various quantum mechanisms. Quantum computers store data in qubits and these systems are inherently not compatible with normal computers. Quantum computers don't inherently offer greater computation speed but their mechanics allow mathematical formulas which speed up probability calculations massively. You could say that quantum computers are made for quantum mechanics, a field of science important to understand particles and nanotechnology. Military-grade quantum computers operate at extreme temperatures and use foldspace fields to minimize quantum decoherence. This allows them to operate at much higher performance in return for considerable power drain. In addition when a military grade quantum power loses power or has a field malfunction it instantly turns toast. To prevent the worst case scenario starships also have backup systems storing most data in case of emergencies. [b]Weapons:[/b] - G-Rails: Railgun systems that use plasma armature to electromagnetically launch matter at hypervelocity. Plasma armatures don't degrade from the strain and recycle the waste heat back into the power reserves. Plasma Railguns can either shoot solid projectiles or small packets of matter at far greater velocities (thus behaving like energy weapons). - PPE: Pressed Particle Emitter. Not quite an unique weapon but a mechanism. It accelerates tiny amounts of flash-compressed matter in an extremely thin stream of great density. Since the particle mix is unstable it violently explodes but before that it will likely penetrate the hull. The effectiveness of the PPE degrades with range thus they are most commonly used that can be defined as short range in space warfare. - Missiles, Torpedoes: Best interpreted as AI/telemetry guided tiny spacecraft these weapons are used for long range warhead delivery. Depending on their design and loadout they can fill out many roles. Missiles are usually described as the smaller type used for long range interception or light ordnance unleashed en-masse. Torpedoes are much larger and generally fielded against enemy warships. Torpedo launchers are classically found at the front since they tend to be shot via gravomagnetic catapults to give them a speed boost.[hider=Warhead Types] - Plasma Warhead: The equivalent of conventional warheads in Morte. Essentially they're weaponized plasma cells that violently burst when triggered though the exact mechanics are more complicated. Plasma warheads are inherently dense with electromagnetic fields and manipulating this could alter the shape of the explosion to fit more specialized purposes. In addition the charged plasma naturally acts like EMP, knocking out any insufficiently reinforced electronics. While versatile plasma warheads are much less energetic atomic warheads which makes them a relative niche in comparison. Most commonly found in cheap missile systems. - Atomic Warhead: Compact nuclear devices commonly used for long range ordnance. They can use various types of fusion and fission alike depending on which design fits the purpose the best. The most popular type splits superdense radioactive metamaterials for massive power. - Antimatter Warhead: While nuclear reactors can be catalyzed by antimatter this kind of warhead relies entirely on the pair annihilation of matter-antimatter for destructive effects. They are undoubtedly powerful but nowadays Morte considers them a waste of strategic materials since Atomic Warheads can reach yields close to the same level. As such pure antimatter warheads are rare though not completely unheard of within the Empire. - Lancer Warhead: By shaping the power of atomic reactions it's possible to unleash a relatively coherent "lance" of extreme velocity plasma to attack reinforced targets. They're the atomic equivalent of shaped charges and have the best effect on direct hit as the cone of plasma jet loses intensity with range. Lancer-B was developed as a newer alternative which basically turns the warhead into a single shot laser projector, increasing its focus and firing range albeit at the cost of further reduced efficiency. - Jaeger Warhead: A recent development which is still undergoes field testing, it uses well placed smaller warheads to compress the matter to superdense state while launching it like a focused jet at the target. Basically the result is a bomb-pumped PPE. It has less range than Lancer-Bs but can pack a surprising punch. - Kinetic Warhead: The simplest form of space missile, it's nothing but propulsion with a superdense penetrator core at the front. - Multi-kinetic Warhead: Missiles that carry multiple kinetic penetrators and disperse them in well-calculated pattern prior to impact. Sometimes the sub-munitions also have guidance and limited propulsion to assist them finding targets. Other times the warhead is nothing but the void combat equivalent of a canister shot. - Beehive Warhead: When canister shots are put to the logical extreme. Beehive Warheads are a deceivingly sophisticated weapon which uses countless micron-sized balls of superdense metamaterials precisely positioned by an electromagnetic field emitted from the center of the device. The result is a deadly "wall" of trillions of hypervelocity micropellets usually spread exactly a centimeter from each other spread in a circular area with dozens of kilometers in diameter. Beehive warheads are excessively used for long range interception and they can be dangerous to anything not sufficiently protected.[/hider] [h2][color=9e0b0f][b]Military Information[/b][/color][/h2] [b]General Description:[/b] With almost a thousand years of constant warfare with outside aggressors Morte became a militaristic nation where soldiering is part of every citizen's duty. Just prior to reaching adulthood all Morteans regardless of gender receive combat training and discipline. The best of the trainees are offered to become part of the regular military which, given the overall better living conditions of soldiers, is an offer not many refuses. Even after the training adult Morteans are obliged to periodically refresh their soldiering skills and accept to be drafted in a moment of notice. This kind of social structure aided Morte to eventually triumph over their technically superior enemy, very much drowning them in numbers. On the other hand having a hundred years without war the Morte civilization faces the greatest crisis since their foundation: Peace and prosperous growth. [b]Space Forces:[/b] The Mortenkriegsflotte is the most important part of the military. Their task is to secure the Empire's borders and fend off foreign invaders. With centuries of war history and conflicts with aliens the Morte amassed considerable experience at space warfare. Their starships are built armored and tough, designed to survive more than a few penetrating hits. On the other hand Morte ships are relatively small to allow them to manufacture even more of them. The preferred Morte fleet tactic is massed long ranged fire and thus their main cannons are fixed at the front. [hider=Ship Classification][u][b]Ship Categories[/b][/u] - [b]Small Craft:[/b]Fighters and such space vehicles. They are agile and small, perhaps even too small because they lack a viable FTL drive. - [b]Escort:[/b] Demi-warships often just large enough to carry an FTL drive and guns enough to be considered a threat. They are lightly armored but numerous compared to warships. - [b]Warship:[/b] The backbone of the Mortenkriegsflotte - [b]Capital Ships:[/b] The largest warships which are often equipped with nanolathes and other equipment to better support the fleet. Their extra capabilities increase the versatility of a fleet considerably. [u][b]Ship Classes[/b][/u] - [b]Fighters:[/b] Small space vessels usually consisting little more than a cockpit with guns strapped to the engines. They are swift and also light enough to be employed in surface combat. Their chief roles in space are interception though they can have some anti-ship capabilities. - [b]Gunships:[/b] Little brother of the destroyers these vessels are armed to teeth while being small enough to be loaded into carriers. Their role is bombardment and attacking warships. - [b]Corvette:[/b] Usually the smallest kind of Escort, they are lightly equipped but at least capable of FTL travel. - [b]Destroyer:[/b] Escort ships equipped with anti-ship weapons and essentially used as force multipliers. Destroyer is less of a fix class and more like a design philosophy with Heavy Destroyers actually counting as warships. - [b]Frigate:[/b] Usually the smallest type of warships, frigates are less heavily built than the rest of their peers. Compared to other ships their STL/FTL speed is superior but at the expense of protection and firepower. Perhaps exactly because of this the century of peacetime saw renewed interest in them and most innovations and new ship classes were frigates. - [b]Cruiser:[/b] The standard warship they are mid class in weight and the workhorse of the fleet. - [b]Battleship:[/b] Heavily armed and armored ship designed for more demanding roles. - [b]Carrier:[/b] Large warships designed for carrying as many small craft as possible. Their variants fickle between the size of warships and capital ships. - [b]Dreadnought:[/b] The largest type of warships which deserve to be referred as capital ships. They tend to use more experimental technology, both for its good and bad. [/hider] [b]Ground Forces:[/b] Most of the Empire's wars were fought in space which means they put relatively less emphasis on ground forces. Many equipment used in surface battles are over a hundred years old. Vehicles are relatively small in number. Infantry due to their usefulness for boarding actions saw the most improvements in the history of the Empire. There isn't a single adult in Morte who didn't serve in the infantry for at least a short while. Currently at "peacetime" the size of the ground military is limited to 2.5 million but this number can steadily climb during wartime. On the other hand the Morte has limited experience at planetary warfare (mostly involving the Luxan Wars from centuries ago) and their training mostly composes of policing, ship boarding an the basic army drill.[hider=Reichsgrenadier][img]http://orig15.deviantart.net/cc9a/f/2012/236/8/a/the_krieg_prepare_for_war_by_the_higgins-d5cadz6.png[/img] The common foot soldier serving within the Empire. They wear nanofiber mesh suits which provides minimal protection and acts as an external layer of artificial muscles for small but notable assistance. This is reinforced by plates of durachrome layered with other elements to provide passable protection against futuristic small arms or the odd hypervelocity shrapnel. Morte suits are environmentally sealed and provide safety in hazardous areas. Their most common armament are PASER Rifles and plasma grenades. Against more protected targets they generally use missile launchers and portable PPEs.[hider=PASER] Positron Accretion Stimulated by Electromagnetic Radiation. It's an old kind of weapon mechanism Morte utilized to arm their ships with in the past. While wasting antimatter is no longer a viable option at ship-to-ship warfare a refined version of this technology found application within the line infantry of all things. It shoots nanograms of positron jacketed in metaparticles neutral to it and shoot out via a compact gravomagnetic accelerator. As the thin particle "shell" penetrate the target the positrons react with normal matter thus producing an explosion akin to a small grenade (not to mention spreading EM radiation). Preparing the "particle shell" takes some time (for safety reasons) thus the PASER Rifle is limited to semi-automatic rate of fire. To avoid a lucky shot to the AM storage leading to catastrophic results the antimatter is kept in metaparticle form and only converted prior to assembling the "particle shell" in the chamber. PASERS consume a surprisingly low amount of energy per shot and reliable enough that a soldier can use it for the entire length of battle without any maintenance or recharge. On the other hand once the enemy understands the nature of the PASER they are relatively simple to deal with. Either shields or sufficiently thick layer of exotic material which lacks electrons would render the PASER into just a highly focused low energy particle rifle which only leaves a microscopic wound channel. Morte ship and military installation interiors are "neutralized" to make PASER use safe within them.[/hider][hider=GMA]Gravomagnetic Arms, an old type of weapon using gravomagnetics to accelerate hypervelocity projectiles to the target. There are many types ranging from civilian and sports guns that use simple mechanisms and solid bullets to ones that use a miniature nanolathe to prepare the projectile for more specialized performance. GMA are getting you much less "bang" for the same energy spent on the shot thus they aren't the primary military guns anymore. On the other hand you never need to worry about antimatter containment which makes them still very popular. Specialized units also use advanced GMAs for unique situations or when PASER countermeasures are in effect. [/hider][hider=PPB]Pressed Particle Bazooka. Morte infantry does make use of advanced missile launchers but they found a more cheaper alternative to take on hardened target. PPB is basicallya scaled down infantry-portable PPE which shoots a thin stream of flash-compressed superdense matter, only at lower velocities. PPEs are extremely energy efficient when it comes to penetrating armor and shields plus when it set up right it can dump all its energy inside bunkers or vehicle compartments. On other hand Bazookas consume a lot of energy (require replacement plasma cell after each use) and compressing the particles to pre-critical stage takes a while (and you can't hold particles in this state for very long so you can't just ship Bazookas "ready"). In spite of that PPBs are quite popular and it's unlikely they go out of fashion anytime soon. [/hider] [/hider][hider=Panzerkampfschweber IX --- WIP] TBA [/hider][hider=Artillery --- WIP] TBA [/hider] [b]Notable Fleets:[/b] TBA [/hider]