Space travel technologies of various types exist.
Within a system sub-luminal drive systems ("SL drives") are used. These engines are capable of speeds of up to 0.5C, although most tend to operate at around 0.25C. Higher speeds tend to be the province of the military or criminals. This drive technology was used in the construction of the so-called "sleeperships".
Faster-than-light travel is accomplished through the creation of a 'wake' using spatial compression and expansion effects. The "jumpships" rely upon this technology to create compression/expansion fields that enable them to travel instanteneously, or near-instanteneously, between star systems. This requires an axial structure for maximum efficiency and a relatively large size, in order to accomodate onboard power-generation and storage capacity, to make construction economically viable. Jumpships are usually used as "motherships" for jump-incapable vessels. Smaller jumpships that lack onboard power-generation were used by the wealthy and the military as courier vessels - these ships required refuelling stations at their destination, since they lack the reactors to generate the energy for a second jump. Most jumpships also only have battery capacity for one jump, since the mass of additional storage would reduce the volume available for cargo, passengers, or weaponry; some military or exploration vessels were constructed with the capacity to store energy for consecutive jumps. Smaller courier and private ships were also constructed with which totally lack power generation capabilities and require energy to be transferred from larger ships or stations.
The current popular method of faster-than-light travel is the "jumpgate" which is a permanently emplaced compression/expansion field. This enables permanent, or near permanent, connections between systems and permits more mass and volume to be allocated to cargo and passengers as only standard SL drives are needed.
(Should the jumpgates be like big "catapults" or should they be paired to another gate, with traffic going one way, and then traffic going the other way? - I am tending to be in favour of paired gates) I believe paired makes more sense, also creates more of a route feel to it. Instead of it being able to select any gate. This also keeps compass ships from being completely useless, just expensive.
The majority of all communications and the transfer of energy was revolutionized after the development of a fiberoptic hybrid wire using a flexible transparent metal that allowed for both electrical transmission and luminal based information. This technology allowed for terrabyte transfer speeds to be added to existing energy infrastructure. Currently all on-planet electrical and communication systems have been merged since the inception of this technology. Personal computer, data systems, digital telephone and entertainment of all sorts run on this now basic wire. Within buildings, ships, and private networks are the few places data exclusive cabling is still used, often for communication speeds unmatched by more mundane cables.
Intersolar communication is primarily a system of luminal broadcasts through the gate systems relayed to the solar system core through the use of intanglement based long range communication. Using what was at the time cutting edge technology, the inter-planetary communication has “relativity-inert” connectivity through the dual use of light data transmission through the use of beacons on eitherside of the travelling space of gate routes and relay stations at the edges of the policed zone inward toward the planet(s). Transmission speeds while “relativity-inert” are hampered by the methods and are only a fraction of the speeds available on-planet or within any station.
Three networks are commonly found within space based stations as well as any modern planet:
The Planetary Network, the system of Small Networks that are connected to the primary grid of electricity, data and communication. Providing entertainment and connectivity between the Small Networks and connection to the Intersolar network.
Small Network, based within residences, companies and industries. A small branch of the Planterary Network privately owned by individuals or small companies. Connecting individual computers and onnecting to individual mobile devices through the Aerial Relay.
Aerial Relay, something similar to Earth’s cellular networks, using a frequency within the atmosphere to transmit data from individual subnetworks toward personal devices. Allowing one’s PDA, Phones, or other devices to be connected to one’s primary computer, server, or business network. This is also that which connected atmosphere based transit and orbiting systems to the Planetary Network.
The most common weaponry until the development of ranged cost effective means of stun and disabling, was kinetic. Guns firing high speed bullets. Reaching a peak of effectiveness long ago with magnetically accelerated rail cannons, the cost of production for individual bullets and slugs versus sonic and electric weaponry has brought about the decline of kinetic weaponry’s popularity. In addition, the ability for authorities to link bullets and slugs to barrels and individual weapons brought an instant advantage to the next generation weapons for the criminal and corporate sectors. While the development of sonic and electric weapon technology has made non-lethal weapons the most commonly used across the planets, lethal weapons still exist and there are four categories they are often broken into. Kinetic, Electric, Luminal and DE.
Across the planets there are both “Old Style” kinetic weapons using chemical explosives, as well as Modern weapons, using shieled magnetic rails and burst-hammers. With the only benefit of the older weapons being their minimal maintenance costs, they have long lost their place as the weapon of favor in human culture. Currently where there are kinetic weapons, they are more often slug firing, using either a superdense air compression chamber creating a loud acceleration of the projectile, alternatively a magnetic rail gun. With the magnetic rail more often found in the rifles and cannons due to size restraints, versus the air compression found commonly in handheld pistols and due to its speed of fire, automatic weapons.
Using an ionizing laser beam, an ionized conduit is created in the air. Allowing for a powerful bolt of electricity to be emitted down the path with exacting accuracy. Due to the degradation over long distances electric weapons are found more often as short range and medium range weapons instead of the weapons of choice for snipers or sharpshooters. Usage of this weapon lethally is more commonly found on board stations and ships instead of on planets due to its ineffectiveness in common atmospheric conditions such as rain and heavy fog.
The Laser beam, often found used for rifles, station defense, and artillery. Characterized by bursts of instanteous focused radiation
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Military-Spec three-jump and two-jump ships are often used for recon and covert-ops. Sometimes needing to be completely undetected by other vessels an enamel was developed known commonly as "shadow paint." With an asborption of 98.6% of the electro-magnetic spectrum from hard 250EHz to 300Hz. Objects covered in the enamel are nearly undetectable through radio and luminal scanning methods. It gets its name from soldiers watching the application process. Requiring multiple applications to reach the optimal coating of 8cm, it is sprayed onto the hull similar to how one would paint any large vehicle, except done many dozens of times to reach enough layers and depth. The largest drawback in this technology is the immense heat it collects while within a distance from any star. Due to this drawback all shadow painted vessels are equipped with redundant liquid helium cooling systems to keep from the enamel boiling off. Another drawback is that Shadow Paint effectively makes a ship radio silent unless specialized equipment is added to allow for the extension of a relay outside of the enamel covered surfaces to allow for communications to other ships and networks. However the largest military drawback is that it is highly suspetible to milspec beam weaponry, rarely are the cooling systems able to compensate for the sudden burst of absorbed energy. This usually results in the enamel boiling off, but within close proximity to a star it may even cause extreme hull damage as the helium cooling systems fail to cool the exterior and the enamel from the intense heats.
Shadow Paint was originally intended to be milspec exclusive. However, the general everyday usability of such a technology forced the enamel into the lives of citizens. Demoted from the status of milspec due to its usefulness in the construction of observatories, it is now used as a cheap way to heat water, warm houses and as all-purpose electro-magnetic shielding.
It tends not to be commonly used by civilian or trade organizations due to luminal and radio visibility being a very important part of not being hit by other ships. Not to mention the increase in vulnerability of the hull due to the absorption the paint is capable of.
Developed originally as a possible metal-glass in 740CT, a flexible transparent metal. It founds it place as a hybrid wire highly electrically conducive and able to transfer light better than glass. Currently used as the standard for all energy and communication transmission wiring. Piped throughout almost every building, ship, and planet, it is found anywhere there is a blinking light, or circuit.
A high endurance nanoweaved metal composite developed for late generation colony ships to hold out against high velocity particles and objects. Able to take intense physical punishment, standard grade solar steel makes up the outer hull of every modern spacefaring ship, station or satellite. Due to variable density possible through its construction, numerous grades of Solar Steel have developed since.
Extremely dense and even more enduring than Solar Steel, its weight limits its use to things that do not need to move much. Buildings, orbiting space stations, and gate transfer terminals are where this grade of solar steel is often used. Compass-Ships sometimes used heavy grade instead of standard for their hull, this due to the majority of their travel being instanteous subspace travel that the weight does not greatly effect the energy expenditure for movement. Often military ships have heavy grade solar steel crisscrossing and reinforcing their hull.
Though not as dense as Heavy Grade, it is stronger than Standard Grade. While not military-spec, it tends to be used exclusively as a replacement for standard grade in all ships designed to do battle. Sometimes made into a cable, it is used in the construction of cable bridge.
The second lightest of all solar steel grades, it has a weight similar to that of titanium. Found on the hulls of airplanes and suborbital space planes, as well as some automobiles. The occasional peice of jewelry or frame of spectacles are sometimes made of aeornautic grade. Due to the wider weave found in this grade, a faint crosshatch pattern is visible in the metal that some find aesthetically pleasing.
The lightest of all solar steel. It isn't technically a grade, it is infact a weave of aeronautic grade solar steel cable, allowing for flexibilty. Commonly found in personal armor to protect against kinetic weaponry. A lining of this is also found in most space suits to protect from high velocity impacts piercing the suit.
In an era where spacecraft, stations, and asteroid settlements have become major theatres of operations the use of kinetic projectile weapons has become unpopular. As a consequence of this beam weaponry has become the preferred way for people to kill or injure each other.
There now exists a variety of personal beam weapons that are legal for civilian use ("civspec" or "civtech") that can be safely used in areas where the danger of compromising the atmosphere is present. Most citizens can obtain the licensing to purchase and carry these weapons, although some regions may restrict their carrying and/or ownership. The problem with this class of beam weapons ("soft-beams") is that they are not especially useful against armour, especially sophisticated varieties.
Militaries, and well-equipped para-militaries or criminal syndicates, have access to more powerful beam weaponry. These beam weapons are illegal for civilian use ("milspec" or "miltech") and their production and sale tends to be fairly well regulated, requiring serious, and essentially impossible for private citizens to obtain, licensing. These powerful beam weapons ("hard-beams") are easily able to overpower civspec armours and are troubled only by milspec varieties.
Recent research has resulted in selective beam weaponry which permits the user to choose between the greater power, and greater risk of atmosphere compromisation, of a hard-beam and the relative safety of a soft-beam. These weapons are usually more expensive than standard hard-beams and are considered milspec equipment. They have been issued to some specialist counter-insurgency units, but are not currently in general usage by militaries. Iocus: Licensing is done through military grade encryption codes right? :D *Dreams about black market cryptologists*
Beam weaponry requires a slightly different variety of armour to protect against. Currently offensive technology is superior to defensive technology, although there are research efforts underway to miniaturise starship shield technology for personal use which may result in a shift in the current state of affairs.
Civspec defences are available for security minded private citizens, provided they have accquired the appropriate licensing. These are generally in the form of a range of armours, with flexibility and comfort being traded off against effective protection; the lighter and more comfortable armours offering the least actual protection. Armour tends to reduce the effect of beams from being effectively lethal, to being simply injuring. More expensive, heavier types may offer greater effectiveness. Civspec armour is basically useless against milspec hard-beam weapons.
Milspec armour involves technology that is restricted principally because of the preference for law enforcement units to use soft-beams rather than hard-beams, which are more unforgiving in terms of public relations disasters. As such advanced armour types are classed as milspec and are illegal for private citizens, having the same kind of stringent licensing conditions as milspec weaponry. Most milspec armour is full, or at least half body covering; it is rare that the military bothers to accquire anything less heavy than this, although there are more discrete milspec armour types available these tend to be reserved for important political or corporate figures. Milspec armour can defeat most soft-beams, but generally only functions to reduce absolute lethality from hard-beam impacts.
Personal shield generator units, as mentioned, are in development but it is not know if efforts have been successful yet. Most work has been based on the idea of a partial energy dump that reduces beam power, increasing the effectiveness of armour worn in conjunction with the shield unit. Maintaining shield integrity, and charge, for any length of time or for more than one or two impacts has been extremely difficult. The fact that almost all shield generators will burn out permanently under the stress of combat has made the technology prohibitively expensive, especially for wide-spread military usage. Iocus: I bet there are buildings on planets that are protected from beam weaponry. Perhaps government and corporate? The wealthy as well. Also! Do ships have multiple shield generators? Burn out one, switch to the second one before too many shots hit the ship.