Aeschylian weapons

Signature Aeschylian weapons and battle gear.

(This data is not canon and is being included to provide information for a TP)

The Aeschylus system, given its extremely remote location in comparison to the political centres of the galaxy, has developed over the past 4000 years or so its own very distinct styles of weapons and equipment. Likewise, the total absence of JedI from its population due to a genetic lack of midichlorians has meant that lacking ‘witchy fancy-pants uber-warrior showoffs with glowing sticks’ (as the standard Aeschylian view of such types stands) instead prompted a greater development of military technology and personal weaponry than is present in most of the galaxy.

Most of the weapon designs were developed during the wars of around 3000bby when the warring households of the Aeschylian system were forced together under High Lord Besak Kizuka and began to expand out of the system. Technologies were adapted from their conquered territories, both human and alien, which has lead to an extremely varied collection of arms in use by various branches of the Military, Law enforcement and Bondsmen units. As Aeschylus was not, until fairly recently, heavily populated there was also a very strong drive to develop effective combat armour for its armed forces- indeed, the Bondsmen in particular make Imperial Stormtroopers look positively naked in terms of the protection they wear!

Personal Weaponry,

AX-70 Flechette Rifle

This is the standard shoulder weapon for the planetary defence forces, and is the culmination of thousands of years of development based upon captured technology during the expansion wars. Unlike most other galactic forces, the Aeschylian defence forces are not equipped with blasters but rather a weapon which combines the advantages of solid ammunition, rail gun technology and advanced toxins.

The weapon is usually found in a carbine model, about 36 inches in length with a short stubby barrel. In front of the pistol grip and trigger guard is a magazine housing which contains the material the flechettes are formed from. A power cell is contained in the pistol grip which is required to be recharged after every hundred magazines or so.

The weapon's ammunition is liquid based, stored in a suspension field inside the replaceable magazines. The material is a complex metallic compound, which is kept liquid until the moment of firing. Firing is conductied using magnetic and tractor induction to siphon off small amounts of the liquid ammunition and to accelarate it to speeds of around 4,500 feet per second. The material is drawn out into a thin needle or dart shape in the process of accelaration down the barrel, and hardens under the intense stress of firing. Effective range for each dart is around 250 metres- though the fitting of a longer barrel increases the range and muzzle velocity by about 175%, with a reduction in rate of fire. The barrels are 'hot-swappable' in the field, and a trained soldier can carry this out in around ten to fifteen seconds.

The AX-70 can only fire in fully automatic or limited burst mode. This is required in part because although each individual needle has excellent aerodynamic properties and travels at a high velocity, the kinetic energy imparted is fairly minimal- they tend to slice straight through soft targets without causing huge amounts of direct tissue damage. In fully automatic mode, the weapon fires between 70 and 100 needles per second. Burst limited function fires a controlled blast of fifty needles on each pull of the trigger.

A fairly recent developement (within the past 100 years) has attempted to improve this problem of low damage per round. For although most humanoid targets would be torn to shreds or suffer lethal lacerations to organs and blood vessels from a short burst, the lack of 'knockdown' power in comparison to a blaster left the Aeschylian troopers at a slight disadvantage on the galactic battlefield. The solution was found with an altered chemical composition of the ammunition fluid to one that sublimes (converts from a solid directly to a gas) instantaneously and explosively on contact with certain chemicals common to virtually all organic life forms. This extra punch greatly improved battlefield results with the flechette weapons, together with the quite unexpected additional psychological impact on enemy troops of seeing their comrades literally blown apart into a fine mist of blood and gore.

The AX-70 has been nicknamed 'Hell's sewing machine' due to the needles it fires and the horrific effects it has on its target, particularly unarmed foes. On firing, the weapon vents a plume of cold gas from the muzzle and produces a deafening report that has been likened to a giant sheet of cotton being violently ripped in two, caused by the multiple sonic booms of the hypersonically accelarated needles. The weapon is near recoilless and functions underwater (with vastly reduced range) and in hard vacuum. Subliming ammunition is generally only issued to military units, rather than police or other auxiliaries.

Damage code: 4D+1 (normal ammunition); 5D (Subliming ammunition).

AT-230 Anti-armour support weapon.

This is the standard support weapon of the Aeschylian military, fulfilling the combined role of a squad light machine gun and light anti-tank weapon. Normally one will be issued to every 8-10 man combat squad, together with another soldier as the designated ammo-carrier and assistant gunner.

This is a large, heavy weapon (around 55" and weighing approximately 19lbs). It has a long barrel, and is normally fitted with a bipod, though it is possible to fire from the hip. In every unit there's a legend of some incredible soldier who was able to shoulder-fire it from a standing position, but troopers are not trained in that manner of use. It functions in two discrete modes.

At its heart, this is a powerful pulse-laser weapon, similar in style and application to the E-webb support blaster used by the galactic empire. However, instead of using charged plasma bolts, it relies instead on a strobing high-intensity laser, pulsing around 20 times every second. Damage in this mode is inflicted though a combination of cutting penetration and combustion/explosion of materials (armour, ammunition, fuel or flesh) due to the incredible heat at the point of impact. When firing in pulsed mode, the weapon is recoilless and has an effective range out to around 700 meters or so under normal atmospheric and weather conditions- the long range is primarily thanks to the lengthy barrel and the focussing crystals and coolant lines it contains. In pulse mode it is primarily designed for use against enemy infantry and 'soft' vehicles- while a couple of pules is easily enough to kill or dismember a human, they lack the intensity to punch through hardened vehicle scale armour. The weapon is also utilised in this mode as a light anti-skimmer weapon, with some success.

When a harder target is located, the weapon's secondary function comes into play. A bolt-operated release on the right hand side of the weapon opens up a loading port for a single charge of gaseous metal aerosal, which is loaded in the form of a containment vessell approximated seven inches in length and one and a half in width. With a vessel loaded, the weapon can be switched from pulse-fire to anti-armour mode with the operation of a fire-selection switch mounted on the left side of the receiver. Once set to anti-armour mode, the top mounted computerised sight is used to locate and select a target. On the activation of the trigger, a continual beam of laser energy (invisible in daylight conditions, but showing up as a faint blue line in hazey, foggy or nighttime operations) is emitted from the muzzle of the weapon, ionising the air between it and the target with such ferocity that a temporary vacuum is formed. This process takes around .5 to .75 of a second in atmospheric conditions, and is instantaneous in a vacuum. Once the sight's telemetry shows that a vacuum has been created, the aerosalised metal is released into the firing chamber and bombarded with high-intensity lasers to form it into a plasma of incredible temperature. This is then released and propelled along the vacuum tunnel between the weapon and the target, crossing the space in between far faster than the eye can follow and slamming home with enough force to easily punch a hole through the front armour of an AT-ST. The actual hole produced is somewhat small- only around an inch or two in width, however the damage is then inflicted inside by the plasma bolt expanding explosively, causing horrific burns to flesh and igniting anything flammable inside the target- be it its occupants, electronics, engines or ammunition. In this mode, the AT-230 has an effetive range of comfortably over a mile, with little fallback in penetration (as it is the heat of the plasma that causes damage, rather than kinetic energy). However, the longer the range the longer it takes to establish the vacuum tube, and so accuracy falls off against fast-moving targets. Most troopers are trained not to engage a target at over a kilometer distant. In this mode, the weapon is also single shot- the aerosal canister must be replaced after each round is fired.

The weapon has a very distinctive report in both of its functions. In pulse mode, the beam itself is noiseless but the rapid charging and discharging of the capacitors causes an unearthly sounding wail. In anti-armour mode, this is replaced by a growing hissing noise as air is forced out of the vacuum tube, followed by a thunderous crack and flash of brilliant white light as the plasma bolt is discharged.

Damage code: Pulse mode: 5D (Laser) AT mode: 8D (Heat)

Powered Melee Weapons.

On Aeschylus, melee weapons are carried as a matter of course, and are generally enhanced in some way beyond their base materials. While vibroblades are common, they are considered very much a poor second choice- imported technology compared to the home-grown Aeschylian power-field tech. This uses a similar technology to that which generates defensive shields for starships and the like- however, in antiquity Aeschylian scientists developed a technique to produce a power-field with a disruptive 'edge', making it possible to give normal melee weapons similar cutting prowess to a lightsabre once upgraded with the (admittedly highly expensive and complex) technology. The process is best simplified as a way of surrounding a blade or crushing weapon with a very close-in high intensity shield. Thus, when a powered blade cuts into matter, instead of just the edge of the blade and the camber of its sides chopping apart the target, the power field disrupts and pushes apart whatever is being cut with vastly increased force, making a mockery of all but the densest armour and fields. The power fields of such weapons interact and repel against each other, meaning that they can be parried by other powered weapons or the magnetic field surrounding the blade of a lightsaber.

The weapons take different forms depending on the traditional weapons they are based off- For example, House Kizuka favours single-handed sabres of a fairly light construction for duelling, whereas the tribal populace of Aeschylus IV (a savannah world) incorporate the field technology into their short stabbing spears or Aasegais. The cost and complexity of the devices generally limit their use to those of the ruling caste or military officers- indeed, a powered weapon of some form is often given to a member of a noble house upon their reaching the age of majority in a formal ceremony. Many blades date back generations and are lovingly maintained by their owners so that their own children may bear them when the time is right.

Damage code: As weapon +2D

The Bondsman's Staff.

This polearm of archaic design is the ceremonial and practical weapon of the Bondsmen, the royal bodyguards of House Kizuka. In form, it resembles a glaive, vibro-axe or spear (there are several different forms of head fitted, but all function in a similar way). The cutting head is twinned with a crushing mace-head on the opposite (bottom) end of the shaft, both of which are equipped with power-fields. However, the top power-field is of a special modified design. Not only can it be used in close quarters combat, but the field can be used to fire small 'bubbles' of force up to a range of around 100 meters. The 'bubbles' can be focussed to various levels depending on the effect sought. On a wide focus, it produces a blast of near-invisible energy around three or four feet in diameter, with sufficient force to knock all but the strongest off their feet with a stunning but non-lethal blow. However, as the focus is tightened the effect strengthens- moving through power levels capable of knocking a man out cold or breaking his limbs like twigs. On its maximum focus setting, the bolts strike with all the force of a high-calibre bullet or blaster bolt, capable of buckling armour plate or pulping the ribs of an unarmoured target. As the Bondsmen are both bodyguards and a form of high-level police and justice administrator (along the lines of the Caspian Praetorians) this means that they need but one weapon to either subdue or instantly slay any opponent.

In melee, the staffs function as pole-axes or heavy bludgeons (depending on if the cutting edge or blunt end is used) with the added bonus of the power field.

Damage code: (ranged) Wide focus: 1D+2 (physical) and stamina roll to avoid knockdown (medium difficulty). Medium focus: 3D+2(physical) and hard stamina roll to avoid knockdown. Tight focus: 5D + very hard stamina roll to avoid knockdown.