Weapons and Robots

Weapons and Robots
Part two of the guide to Crow Universe technology

Weapons
Weapons are many and varied, ranging from the simple to the complex. Some of the more exotic weapons are noted here, as well as common weaponry found throughout the galaxy.

Bladed - Quasi-metal
Quasi-metal, or sylth (Khatin), is a metal that is highly sensitive to energy currents, much like lodestone. Its standard phsyical form is that of a bright silver liquid, and it is highly conducive to being shaped by energy micro-fields. As the micro-fields take a lot of energy, these sorts of weapons aren’t practical for field use and are usually supplanted by blades of solid material. Reportedly, the T’hnn Vkk have developed an alloy that requires only an initial energy burst to reshape the metal, then it will hold its form. Such weapons are available only on the black market, and only because they’ve been pried from the cold, dead hands of T’hnn Vkk warriors.

Guns - Projectile
Guns are very much a part of everyday life in a universe that has a large warrior/mercenary sub-culture. Most guns found in the Confederacy are projectile - i.e. they shoot a bullet made of a jacketed malleable substance (lead or similar). Earth was surprisingly well equipped in this market when they entered the Confederacy, and a large fraction of capital was made from arms sales. Most projectile guns come equipped with “chargers” - devices that energize and liquefy a crystal core inside the bullet. Upon contact with an object, the core explodes and does considerable damage.

Guns - Energy
Most energy guns found in the Confederacy belong to the neuro-disruptor class, i.e. stun-guns. These weapons are easily recognized by the flat focusing crystal at the end of the “barrel” of the weapon, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Stun guns set to higher levels have been known to kill, though the higher energy flow tends to crack the focusing crystals much faster.

Guns - Plasma caster
The most dangerous type of gun are the plasma casters. If not well-maintained, they can cause just as much havoc amongst their wielders as their targets. A plasma caster utilizes crystal ammo much like the chargeable core in bullets, but the crystal is jacketed merely in an organic web. This web keeps the crystal in a uniform shape as it is energized, liquefied, and fired. This weapon results in high damage in a localized area.
Note: Most ship armaments consist of large plasma casters, as well as lasers (for hull cutting). The larger a plasma caster is, the safer it tends to be as the device can be cooled more adequately.

Note: The Treyyags are renown for their massive arms market, ranging from the mundane to the exotic (sonic weapons and energy field armor).

Robots
Robots exist in the CU and can be found in a multitude of niches. Most commonly they are found in environments unsuitable for living creatures, as “pets,” or as armor suits. A few types are listed here.

Whirlygig
The most common of personal robotics (not counting the bazillion varieties of “pets”), the whirlygig is a versatile ‘bot that can be designed for a multitude of purposes. Each whirlygig is equipped with lodestone-driven mobility, and can hover/travel very quickly. Most commonly they are used as portable cameras, media units, or as “traffic cones.”

Armor suits
As the name suggests, these are highly sophisticated suits of robotic armor guided by a pilot and augmented with an AI unit. Usually they are found in operations in dangerous environments where a human presence is considered necessary (some mining operations, ship cargo-loaders). However they also have military applications, though these are less common due to the high cost of upkeep and training. Some famous units are the aerial Guardians of New Pontiac, Natoré, and the HOUND (Hybrid Operation Urban Nonstandard Defender) units of Angelli, Titian 1.

Skiffs, Lodestones, and Hypertunnels

Skiffs, Lodestones, and Hypertunnels
A guide to some of the technology of the CU

Lodestones
The mineral known as lodestone is the material that makes anti-gravity and faster-than-light travel possible in the galaxy. It is a dense yet brittle, highly magnetic stone that can be found throughout the galaxy. Once processed, the magnetism of the stone can be controlled with energy currents. Lodestone is used in the magnetic drives of ships (used for opening hyper-gates, detailed below), in the decks to provide gravity, and in skiffs/ships (see below) to create “anti-gravity.”

Unprocessed lodestone is blue-gray in color, though variation is encountered depending on the purity of the mineral. Lodestone mined in asteroid fields near the galactic core or in star nursery nebulae tends to be the purest.

Skiffs
Skiff is the catch-all term for any vehicle that leaves the ground, excepting those for extra-planetary travel. Lodestones provide the lift for the vehicle, reacting with the planet’s own gravity well, while fuel engines provide the momentum.

“Skiff” used by itself generally refers to a multi-person vehicle that hovers a few feet off the ground - i.e. a hover car. Skiffs can attain a height of 100 feet, and usually come equipped with safety devices. The undercarriage is smooth, bearing the lodestones that allow the craft to hover. Elevated highways are created with lines of lightweight cable that carry a current that boosts the lodestone strength in the vehicle. “Speed bumps” are made from lodestones buried in the road to disrupt the skiff’s movement. Driving a skiff falls somewhere between driving a car and flying a hovercraft.

“Skyskiff” refers to any vehicle that regularly attains heights beyond that of a regular skiff, but do not enter outer space. These are the airplanes of the CU.

“Seaskiff” (or replace “sea” with any body of water) denotes any skiff that is designed for water travel. Usually this means the vehicle is built so that it can rest in water safely.

Hypertunnel
“Hypertunnel” is short for “hyperspace tunnel system,” an extra-dimensional space that is used for faster-than-light travel. Every space ship capable of long-distance travel is equipped with a magnetic drive. This drive opens up the gates into the hypertunnel. Gates are easily opened near gravity wells - the larger the well, the farther out and easier the gates are to open - however, it is impossible to open a gate within a certain distance of the mass causing the gravity well. Planets have a “gate zone” where gates are easily opened by even the least sophisticated magnetic drive. More powerful drives can open gates anywhere.

The paths of the tunnels also seemed to be governed by the presence of extraterrestrial masses such as planets, stars, etc. The system appears to move in a circular pattern like that of the galaxy, and does gradually change over time as the galactic masses move.

The diameter of a tunnel seems to be indeterminable, as no instruments have yet been created by any race that can accurately measure the “walls” of the tunnel. Fleets of ships have been known to travel comfortably through a single hypertunnel.

The magnetic drive interacts with the tunnel, providing the momentum to move through it, thus the more power running through a drive means a faster speed through the tunnel. If a drive is powered down, the ship can come to a dead stop in the tunnel - however, this is not recommended as there appear to be currents within the tunnel that will move a ship hundreds of light years off course.

The tunnels were discovered thousands of years ago by the elder races and the technology to open the gates was passed down to the younger races. The Khatronians have been the ones to pass out the technology to the newest members of the Confederacy, and have also done the most mapping since the Ka Vvorrn fell into seclusion. The Khatronians have developed the most sophisticated tracking programs for navigational computers from these maps. Their ships are also the best equipped to travel within the tunnels, though for this reason they are rather loathe to sell ships to other races