Weapons of the Empire

Weapon and Defense technology in the Empire is far beyond the comprehension of Humanity and its science, so no explanations are offered regarding the details of the operation of this technology. Listed here are the primary weapons used by the Imperial Navy and its remnants in the present day.

Projectile Weapons
1) Tactical Projectiles.  What Humans would call "Bullets" are widely used in Imperial Warfare.  Such projectiles are inexpensive, effective, and very precise -- usually limiting destruction and damage to the desired target.  Various high-density materials are used for maximum penetration and damage potential.  "Rail-Gunning" is common in Imperial tech, and many projectiles travel at over 0.9 times the speed of light.

2) Artillery and Advanced Tactical Projectiles.  Projectiles loaded with explosives and guided by non-AI systems are also commonly used.  AI systems are rarely used for guidance of these projectiles, as the cost and effort of construction does not justify the potential benefits.  Autocannons are the weapons of choice aboard Imperial destroyers and corvettes.

Physical, Explosive Weapons
1) AI missiles.  These are usually guided by AI computers, which use very sophisticated "free-thinking" programs to find and destroy targets.  Although all are very effective, there is always some variance in the performance of missiles, as each AI demonstrates a different solution to each problem, due to creative thinking.

2) SAI missiles.  Banned at various times throughout Imperial history, the construction and use of SAI missiles is problematic, as their purpose involves the intentional "suicide" of an SAI.

3) Missile warheads.  Most missile warheads consist of a high-explosive, non-nuclear, "non-toxic" material, which results in an extremely potent destructive explosive effect, but does not contaminate the target with radiation, toxic chemical residue, or any other long-term effects which are harmful to known life.

4) Atomic, Nuclear, Thermonuclear, Chemical, Biological, and other "Toxic" weapons were banned by The Empire over 100,000 years ago.  None are known to exist.  Present-day Imperial technology has developed non-toxic weapons which are more devastating than their toxic counterparts, rendering those toxic weapons obsolete.

Energy Weapons
1) Energy weapons which are incomprehensible to Human technology are also used, particularly on larger ships.  These weapons have the advantage of never running out of ammunition.  However, they are usually costly in terms energy usage, which means that a limited number of "shots" per unit of time are usually available.  Non-energy weapons can be continually used at high rates of fire, until the ammunition supply is depleted.

Examples of energy weapons in Imperial Technology are:

A) EMP Emitter.  EMP Emitters fire massive electronic pulses which are intended to disable/destroy enemy electronics.

B) PPC.  Particle Projection Cannons are energy-intensive weapons which combine energy with matter to form an extremely powerful matter/energy projectile or beam, usually resulting in the destruction of any target.

C) Razorback.  Razorbacks are continuous-fire plasma-beam weapons used to "cut open" an enemy vessel or structure.  They are very powerful and very energy-intensive.  The weapon is named "Razorback" because they are usually carried by large, dedicated vessels which only carry this particular weapon and a large, bulky, and powerful energy source.  These vessels earned the nickname "Razorbacks" tens of thousands of years in the past.

Capital Weapons
The Empire calls weapons which are capable of Mass Destruction -- such as the destruction of a significant portion of a planet, or even an entire planet -- a "Capital Weapon."

1) Neutron Spike.  The Neutron Spike is the deadliest and most destructive weapon in the Known Universe.  A Neutron Spike consists simply of a quantity of matter similar to the matter of a Neutron Star, which is fired into or near its target.  The weapon is transported in a "sheath", which somehow protects the carrying vessel from the effects of its mass and gravity, which is quite impossible to perform and comprehend using Human science and technology.

Once a Neutron Spike has impacted its target, or is within a certain range of its target, the sheath is "removed", eliminating the protection from the effects of its mass and gravity. It is unknown if there is any limit to the amount of Neutron Star Matter which can be "sheathed", but it is well known that Spikes do exist which could easily destroy a planet the size of Earth. Neutron Spikes have only been used on a handful of occasions, upon both planets and fleets of ships, and the results have always been catastrophic.

2) GRB.  Gamma-Ray Burst weapons are rumored to exist in Imperial technology, but there is no proof that they do exist, and there is no known instance of such a device ever being used.  Such a device would have to be located on a planet, moon, or very large vessel, due to the immense energy required to "fire" the weapon.  Such a weapon could instantly eradicate all life on a planet from an immense distance, while leaving the physical infrastructure of the planet intact.  The documentation proving the viability of the weapon is known to exist, but the location(s) of that information is unknown.