Armour, Shields and Fields

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NoXion
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Armour, Shields and Fields

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Armour, Shields and Fields

Defensive Measures all round


Armour

Spaced Armour

By suspending relatively thin plates of armour-grade steel and similar materials a small distance away from the primary hull surface, a simple but effective defence against micrometeors, shrapnel, kinetic projectiles and other such hazards can be formed. An impactor's energy will absorbed by the suspended plate, and the fine dust that was the former projectile that does manage to get through is easily absorbed by the primary hull with no significant damage incurred. Some use plates of diamond alloy, monomolecular material or ultra-strong material capable of absorbing more energy than steel for increased protection. Some particularly vulnerable or sensitive surfaces may be protected by multiple layers of spaced armour.


Ice Shield

Before the invention of electromagnetism based defences, thick caps of ice were placed on the forward-facing surfaces of starships that travelled at significant fractions of the speed of light in order to protect them from dust and particles. Ice shields are also effective defences against micrometeors and shrapnel, acting as "crumple zones" taking the hit instead of the primary hull surface. They also defend against lasers and similar energy weapons by releasing a cloud of steam when hit, significantly attenuating following shots. Ice shields provide only limited protection against particle-based weaponry.


Reactive Armour

This type of armour is designed to send a shaped explosion away from the primary hull surface in the event of an impact, significantly reducing if not completely dissipating the kinetic energy of an incoming projectile. Reactive armour plates are a common armour on ground-based vehicles, but larger plates can be found on starships as well. Another form of reactive armour is in the form of tightly clustered gel packs. When a laser hits one of these packs, the heat from the laser instantly boils away the gel, the explosive reaction almost instantly absorbing, dispersing and redirecting the most of the attack's energy away from the target.


Pusher Plate

A ship with a External Pulse drive can use it's pusher plate, normally used to absorb the shockwaves from a series of shaped nuclear charges in order to propel the vessel, as a defence against attack by the simple expedient of turning the plate to face towards the incoming attack. This is especially effective against explosive attacks, which as well as protecting the ship also enables it to use enemy fire as a source of thrust. The effectiveness of the pusher plate as a means of defence is dependant on how fast the ship can maneuver it's plate to face the oncoming attack, how strong the pusher plate itself is (IE it's generally a bad idea to try and use the pusher plate to deflect attacks that are significantly stronger than the shaped nuclear charges used for propulsion) and just how close the enemy projectile is when it explodes - too close and the pusher plate could be damaged or even destroyed as the shock absorbers are busted by the strain.


Plastic Armour

Layers of high-grade plastics and advanced polymers are used as a lightweight form of armour used on small aircraft, missiles, airborne combat robots and other instances where weight is at a significant premium. Plastic armour is often supplemented by a thin shell of aluminium or another lightweight metal with a relatively high melting point, as while plastic armour has very good performance against kinetic attacks, it has a low melting point compared to most metals and as such is vulnerable to directed energy weapons.


Polyarmour

Polyarmour is a generic name for a wide variety of physical armour types that use many different kinds of materials to combine strengths and cancel out weaknesses. It is very popular with the more pragmatic approaches to technology, as practically all polyarmour types require no power source. For this reason also it is widely used in ground combat applications.


Dissipation Grid

A fine grid of superconducting material is inlaid into the surface of a hull. Incoming directed energy weapons fire is absorbed by the grid and dispersed evenly over it's entire surface area. Any incoming energy weapons fire has to pump enough energy to completely destroy the entire grid all at once in order to damage the true target. A dissipation grid's effectiveness can be greatly increased by supercooling it and/or hooking it up to an energy sink.


Diamond Alloys

As well as being used in spaced armour as noted above, diamond alloys by themselves lend themselves very well to use in defensive applications, the hardness of diamond combining with the material properties of metals to make a very effective armour plate. Hulls with diamond alloy armour tend to have it in sections, as although it is very hard to damage, it is also very hard to repair in the field - it is much quicker and simpler just to replace a damaged plate than attempt to repair it.


Biomimetic Alloys

Biomimetic alloys are femto-engineered carbon-metal polymerised alloys that are self-repairing and capable of shape-shifting. A wide variety of metals are used for their useful properties, and advanced microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are commonly incorporated into the alloy's fabric.


Monomolecular Armour

Higher on the scale of toughness than diamond alloys and biomimetic alloys is monomolecular armour, where a hull or armour plate is consisted of a single molecule, typically carbon but other elements are used as well. Only attacks strong enough to destroy the bonds within molecules has any chance of damaging a hull with monomolecular armour, making this a very common form of starship hull. For similar reasons to diamond alloy armour plating, hulls made of monomolecular armour tend to take the form of interlocking sections that can be individually replaced if one or two of them become too damaged.


Smart Armour

Armour made out of sections of specialised Smart Matter. Smart armour is capable of converting incoming energy into more matter (regenerative armour), producing a perfectly reflective surface to deflect lasers, and a whole range of other capabilities depending on how advanced it is. It is one of the most advanced kind of physical armours in common use.


Degenerate Matter

Degenerate matter such as neutronium, strange (quark) matter and preon matter can be stabilised to form very tough and durable solids. Due to degenerate matter's extremely high density, most hulls and armour plating made of such material is extraordinarily thin, often only as thick as a single atom or less. Degenerate matter armour gets progressively stronger the more fundamental the particle it is composed of - strange matter-based armour is stronger than neutronium, and preon-based degenerate matter armour is stronger than strange matter.


Adaptive Degenerate Matter

This form of armour is highly advanced and very rare indeed, usually the product of a super-intelligent AI or the very few factories in the Human Sphere that make it. While standard degenerate matter used as armour is inert and unchanging, adaptive degenerate matter armour flexes and reacts to incoming attacks, and is considered an extremely advanced form of smart matter. Incoming energy-based attacks are either reflected away or dealt with in a similar way to a Dissipation Grid, while kinetic attacks are "cushioned" in some as yet unknown manner.


Cosmic String Weave

Woven from a single unbroken length of cosmic string, this form of "armour" is incredibly rare, and usually megastructure sized due to the length of cosmic strings. A weaving of cosmic string is impenetrable by normal matter and energy - anything that attempts to go through it, even if aimed through the gaps in the weave, is instantly dragged into the string and becomes a part of it, with no appreciable effect on the string itself.


Superstring Weave

While strictly speaking a form of Degenerate Matter as detailed above, Superstring Weave represents a crossover between that and Spacetime Armour. Whereas Cosmic String Weave is superheavy and fairly loose, Superstring Weave is no heavier than most metals, and is so tightly woven that not even the smallest elementary particles can get through. Because of the absurdly high level (even by Transhumanity's standards) of scientific knowledge required to manufacture it, this kind of armour is rarer than the proverbial cockerel's egg. There are rumours (unsubstiated of course) of the existance of Smart Superstring Weave.


Spacetime Armour

It is known that spacetime itself can be manipulated to form a protective shroud around an object, with the spacetime armour in question appearing either completely and utterly black, absorbing every photon that hits it, or perfectly reflecting all electromagnetic energy giving it a mirror-surface appearance. Kinetic impacts are either swallowed up by the armour never to be seen again (black surface) or the impactors shatter into their constituent particles in a brilliant flash (mirrored surface). Spacetime armour has only been made in minute experimental quantities by Transhumanity, but more advanced civilisations are known to make proper use of it.


Active Defences

Autorepair Systems

Autorepair systems are one of the most common damage control technologies in the known universe, ubiquitous in civilian as well as military applications. Autorepair systems are usually comprehensive in scale, from nanoscale and below all the way up to automated repair vessels. Such systems tend to be closely interlocked with automated construction systems, and if controlled by an expert system or AI entirely original designs and improvisations can be made up on the fly to fit a given situation. Autorepair systems are also closely networked with active matter enhancers if present.


Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS)

These defence systems intercept incoming projectiles with a barrage of weapons fire. The weapons used by CIWS include Vulkan Cannons, high-response laser cannons, particle beam arrays, and a large variety of rapid-fire weapons. CIWS on ground vehicles and starships can also be used as anti-aircraft and anti-starfighter weapons respectively.


Sandcasters

Sandcasters throw out large clouds of particulate matter of one kind or another around a starship or in the direction of an incoming threat. Due to the huge velocity differences in space combat, even small grains of sand (hence the name, although other materials are used such as small ball bearings, mercury droplets and tungsten dust) would impact incoming threats like shrapnel and missiles with the force of hypervelocity rounds. Sandcasters are also useful against lasers and particle beams as they create an obscuring cloud that can weaken or even deflect an incoming beam. A sandcaster's cloud of particles can also confound targeting computers, preventing precise lock-ons.
Sandcasters mounted on vessels capable of entering an atmosphere can also be used in an offensive role, blasting away at infantry and armoured vehicles like a gigantic shotgun-like version of a macroparticle beam.


Defence Bots

These are automated defence mechanisms that surround a vehicle or vessel in a protective screen, and have rapid-reaction weapon systems, CIWS, Sandcasters, armour plating and shield generators to intercept incoming weapons fire before it reaches the intended target, adding another layer of protection in addition to defence systems on the primary vehicle/vessel. Sometimes a Defence Bot's weaponry, CIWS and Sandcasters may not be enough to dissipate incoming fire, and in this case the Defence Bot is programmed to sacrifice itself by taking the hit instead of the targeted object.


Smogscreens

A thick cloud of specialised utility fog optimised for defensive purposes. Consisting of a varying mixture of microscale, mesoscale and nanoscale foglets, Smogscreens provide an effective defence against lasers and particle beams through their mass and high reflectivity in various wavelengths. The foglets can consolidate into a liquid or goo in order to attack assaulting infantry/fighter craft or to multiply and acquire the material resources and energy to do so. Smogscreens can also provide protection against physical attacks by consolidating their foglets into a stiffened aerogel, hardened foam or some other solid (this process is usually assisted by a dedicated Matter Enhancer). For this reason they are also known as Smoke Shields. Smogscreens in their "loose" configuration (IE not in it's liquid or solid form) are vulnerable to thermal attacks such as flamethrowers, thermoplasma warheads, incendiary weapons and plasmathrowers due to the collective high surface area of the foglets.


Matter Enhancement

Hulls and armour plating can be reinforced through the application of matter enhancement, a process which strengthens the bonds between molecules, atoms and subatomic particles. Doing so continuously consumes energy, making this an active defence system. How much stronger the hull or armour plating is made is dependant on how much power is fed to the matter enhancer device. An important thing to remember is that no matter how powerful the matter enhancement is, it will still be vulnerable to contact with antimatter!


Energy Sink

This device protects against damage to internal structures by bleeding off excess energy into Hyperspace. This device was invented as a consequence to the power of modern weaponry, which may still have enough energy after being intercepted by external defences to cause damage internally. It also provides a form of defence against Hyperspace and teleporation-based attacks, which may bypass external defences entirely.


Shields and Fields

Electrostatic Shield

Large capacitors build up and store a tremendous amount of electrical charge, which can be routed to superconductive grids on the outer surface (these grids can also double as Dissipation Grids, which can also shunt energy absorbed by the grid into the shield capacitors). The shielded object projects a weak electromagnetic field around itself. Any physical object entering this field becomes instantly charged, allowing an open circuit to be formed with the shield's capacitors. From an observer outside, it would look very much as if a bolt of lightning lanced outward from the target to incinerate the incoming threat.
The system is set up so that it activates automatically to intercept anything of significant size entering the triggering field. The shield has multiple high power capacitors to handle multiple incoming threats, each being activated in quick succession as needed. Incoming objects are either vapourised or deflected upon being hit by the immense electrical discharge, although dense high-velocity armour piercing impactors sometimes get through. Plasma-based attacks are also repelled, but electrostatic shields are useless against lasers and particle beams move too fast to be intercepted by the electrical discharges.


Electromagnetic Shield

Superconducting loops project a powerful electromagnetic field around the shielded object which easily deflects conductive projectiles and which at sufficient levels of power can also deflect non-conductive projectiles which, upon encountering the outer portion of the electromagnetic field, will become ionised (if it is not already) as the electrons in it's outermost layers are repelled away by the field. Upon encountering the inner, stronger portions of the field the now-charged object is pushed away, it's trajectory curving away from the target. Low-power lasers are sometimes used to ionise incoming threats in order to aid in the deflection process.
As well as physical projectiles, electromagnetic shields can also deflect charged particle beams and plasma-based weapons. Even the strongest shields of this type have negligable effects upon lasers and neutral particle beams.


Plasma Shield

Plasma shields generate an electromagnetic field about the shielded object, much as in the case of electromagnetic shields. In this case, however, cold plasmas are ejected around the protected object and held in place by the magnetic fields. As the plasma is itself electrically charged, it adds to the field's strength, allowing it to obtain much greater resilience at lower power levels than magnetic fields alone. Physical projectiles become ionised on encountering the outer edges of the field and are deflected by the like-charged and much stronger inner portions of the field, the ionised plasma particles greatly aiding this effect by knocking off the surface electrons via impacts on the incoming objects and by setting up swirling electrical eddies throughout the field. The denser the plasma in the field, the better the field is at deflection. Dense plasma shields also offer protection against beam weapons such as lasers by creating an obscuring cloud that dissipates the beam's energy. The plasma cloud also helps stymie neutral particle beams.
In order to generate the field, meshes or loops of superconductors are affixed to the outer surface of the shielded object. There are two designs: one, an 'open' shield design, would relies on the magnetic fields generated directly from the outer surface. These work similarly to the Van Allen radiation belts that naturally trap ionized particles in an Earthlike planet's magnetic field. The second option, a 'closed' shield, uses the electromagnetic field of a wire mesh suspended some distance from the outer surface.
Both designs have their advantages and disadvantages. An open shield design slowly but constantly bleeds away plasma just from normal entropy, and any hit on the shield depletes it that much more. Therefore open plasma shields require constant replenishing of the plasma, which requires a greater supply of fuel, which in turn can add to the weight, bulk, and expense of the shielded object. However, open shields can be deployed and dissipated rather quickly.
A closed shield prevents most plasma loss by literally forming an enclosed magnetic bottle around the hull, and allows the object thus shielded to carry much less fuel for the shield. However, the shield takes more time and effort to deploy and take down each time than the open version, and is much more vulnerable to physical damage. Closed shields also tend to be more complicated in their construction and use. Therefore closed shields are used in situations where mass allowances and fuel consumption are at a premium, such as fighter craft and scout vehicles, while open shields are simpler and can be deployed faster making them popular on warships and armoured vehicles.


Reflector Shield

This is a technological relative to the Hyperion Shield, being able to protect against powerful energy-based attacks by absorbing and re-emitting up to 99% of the energy over a greater surface area. This ability also allows Reflector Shields to greatly enhance any reaction drives the shielded object has, doubling or even tripling performance. If a Reflector Shield takes a hit exceeding it's loadbearing capacity then the excess energy will make it through to strike the hull or secondary defences.


Grav Field

Greatly strengthens pre-existing gravity fields or creates gravity fields in the absence of significant mass. Normally used to produce artificial gravity or to create substellar-mass black holes, Grav Fields can also be used as a defensive technology in the form of Grav Bombs - these are devices which are shot towards incoming firepower, which activate after achieving a safe distance from the launching vessel and any friendlies, temporarily producing an intense gravity field that sucks in matter and energy or pulls it off course. The Grav Bomb then either burns out or implodes, which produces a powerful secondary explosion as the remains of the Grav Bomb and any captured material rebound outwards.


Anti-Gravity Deflector

This projects a powerful field of anti-gravity that deflects incoming fire. Material objects are the most easily deflected, but a sufficiently powerful AG deflector can even divert lasers and particle beams. However, if the incoming projectile outmasses the shielded object and/or is travelling at significant fractions of the speed of light, it will be the shielded object that moves out of the way!


Nukefield

This is used to strengthen or weaken nuclear forces within its area of effect. Strengthening fields are typically used in the storage of normally unstable isotopes, while dampening fields are used to enforce "No Nuke Zones" and in extreme cases disintegrate matter. Nukefields are essential precursors to both disintegration weaponry and matter enhancers.


Hyperion Shield

Provides protection against high-energy electromagnetic radiation and physical impactors. Shields can be Solid State, absorbing a certain amount of electromagnetic and kinetic energy before requiring replacement, or Regenerative - able to recharge itself after being depleted. Shield geometries can either be spheroidal (the most common and efficient configuration, being found around spaceships, aircraft and other objects not in constant contact with other solid objects), dome/umbrella-like (found around surface installations and ground vehicles) or contour-conforming (found around infantry, ground-based robots and other complex shapes in more or less constant contact with other solid objects). Hyperion Shields are a surprisingly common piece of Transhuman military equipment despite being based on technology and physical principles incomprehensible to most Transhumans.


Forcefield

Another example of technology that is in common use among Transhumanity despite being based on science and technology an entire Tech Level above standard, the Forcefield projects the fields of force that give matter solidity, and is capable of simulating the mechanics of every state of matter, from plasmas to supersolids. Forcefields can be so transparent as to be invisible, completely opaque to all forms of electromagnetic radiation or anywhere in between. They can form any shape, which can be constant or subject to change (a good example are the shrinking hollow forcefields used in advanced Pulsed Compression Fusion instead of magnetic fields). Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic supersolid forcefields can be used by vehicles travelling within a medium to minimise or eliminate friction.


Spacetime Stabiliser

This device stiffens the fabric of spacetime, making it extremely resistant to warping and distortion. Uses include (but are not necessarily limited to) protection from spatial distortion weaponry, disabling or greatly weakening gravity and distortion-based drives and devices within it's area of effect and stabilising, "locking" into place or dissipating wormholes. Spacetime Stabilisers can be configured to either stabilise gravitational and distortion-based devices and phenomenon that are already active, or to force spacetime to become flat, eliminating any warps and distortions present, both natural and artificial.


Power Armour

Power Armour comes in a variety of types and sizes, but have a number of things in common, foremost among them being strength enhancement, hence the name. Other features common to power armour include emergency medical systems, self-repair systems, shields and deflectors, mobility enhancers such as jump jets and jetpacks/rocketpacks/reactionless drives, comprehensive sensor suites (including but not limited to radar, lidar, IR/heat sensors, full-spectrum visors, motion trackers and more exotic sensors such as neutrino detectors and tachyonic sensors), built-in weaponry, a plethora of comms devices (including but not limited to laser comms, encrypted multi-band tachyonic radios, Aetheric signallers, Hyperspace beacons and quantum entanglement communicators), electronic warfare suites, active camoflage and a sapient-level battle computer that can take over in case the user is killed or incapacitated. All Power Armour types can be completely environmentally sealed and come with their own life support and biological recycling systems.


Gentlebeing's Suit

This resembles civilian clothing or an ordinary E-suit, but is in fact highly disguised combat-grade power armour. Advanced examples can give surprising amounts of personal protection, incorporating laser-scattering ablative blisters, laser deflective flourescent strips, superconductive materials interwoven into the fabric to dissipate electrical and other forms of energy-based attack, and reactive fibres designed to turn rigid when suddenly struck by physical objects. A framework of smart matter also lies underneath the fabric, which at rest is designed to look and feel nothing more like ordinary straps and suspenders, but in combat mode becomes harder and tougher than steel, providing strength enhancement comparable to a Muscle Suit. The collar contains a collapsible helmet and the whole suit is designed be environmentally sealed in combat mode. E-suit variants of this type of Power Armour can approach Warsuits in performance levels.


Muscle Suit

The primary component of this Power Armour types is a framework of ultra-strong material overlaid with an artificial carbon nanofibre musculature, hence the name. This lightweight suit is generally worn by vehicle crews, light infantry, covert battlefield ops and other situations where nimbleness and agility are a must or where heavier suits would be a liability.


Warsuit

The infantryman's best friend, this is the suit most commonly worn on the battlefield. Designed to be as rugged and reliable as possible, the Warsuit has a top of the range autorepair system and multiple redundant systems. The primary components of the Warsuit include an internal framework and nanofibre musculature as with the Muscle Suit, but with the addition of all-over armour plating and a bigger powerplant, enabling shields, deflectors, built-in weaponry and other features to be more powerful. Because Warsuits are designed to be used by a wide variety of users, they are fully adjustable, able to to conform to most body plans and sizes with as little re-tooling as possible, and have a variety of user modes depending on the level of training and combat enhancement to prevent accidental injury to the user. Warsuits can also provide a wide range of military training to their users and lay the groundwork for further combat enhancement.


Heavy Suit

The Heavy Suit is a larger, more powerful version of the Warsuit, able to handle bigger weaponry, take more damage, and generally kick more ass. They are typically used by heavy infantry, assault troopers, and to spearhead infantry advances. Heavy Suits can be twice the height of Warsuits. They are also worn by soldiers carrying support weapons such as heavy machineguns, mortars, anti-tank weapons and missile launchers.


Stomper

The Stomper is the largest, toughest and heaviest kind of Power Armour, consisting of a freely-rotating armoured crew compartment above a chassis with two sturdy legs. Unlike other types of Power Armour, the user's body does not extend beyond the crew compartment - the user is in a sitting position within it. Due to this, Stompers can be up to three times taller than the average Warsuited individual. On the left and right sides of the crew compartment are two weapon mounts that can each carry either two heavy infantry weapons (anti-tank rifle, infantry cannon, heavy machinegun, autocannon, automatic grenade launcher, ATM launcher, and so on) or one vehicle-class weapon (speargun, small-calibre battle cannon, vulkan cannon, storm pod, hypervelocity cannon etc), with enough ammo to spare. These weapon mounts can be quickly swapped out on the battlefield, enabling speedy ammunition replenishment and rapid changes of weaponry. Sometimes one of the weapon mounts is replaced with a powered assault attachment such as a spike, fist, claw or tentacle cluster, or something even more exotic such as a massive chainsaw, circular saw, memory-metal blade, auger, borer, or hammer drill.
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