Combat Equipment - Starship

Antimatter Mines

These explosive charges used as proximity bombs in space. These mines can be equipped with magnetic targeting capabilities to seek out starships or other such targets.

Gravitic Mine

Free floating weapon used against space vehicles.

Heavy Graviton Based Plasma Driver

This weapon was originally Designed after the Wolf 359 incident and is specifically designed to do extreme amounts of damage to Borg vessels. Based around a plasma weapon it uses a Heavy Gravity field.

The basic theory is as follows. Shields use a subspace harmonic to create their cohesion. It has been found that a shield can be rendered useless in Heavy Graviton fields and Starfleet recognized this as a potential weakness. If the frequency is correct you can distort another ships shields without affecting your own. In essence this is how the Heavy Graviton Plasma driver works. The actual Plasma weapon is a very crude, high power phaser of sorts which, although not as highly tuned as the type X phaser array, can do awesome amounts of damage. If the ship it is firing at has shields, it does very little damage. However in conjunction with a Heavy Graviton distortion driver the result is very similar to a Quantum Torpedo. The tuned plasma goes straight through the outer shields of the ship and tears into the hull to do massive amounts of damage.

Starship Phasers

Starship Phasers are much like the regular hand-held Phasers, except bigger. Much bigger. For more information, see below.

Phaser Cannon

Starfleet has been playing with the idea of Phaser Cannons for well over 50 years. Numerous test prototypes have been produced and unfortunately failed. A Phaser Cannon, or most commonly known as the Disruptor Cannon takes a large amount of phased energy and bundles it in a cohesive shell. This shell is either magnetic or graviton based, however over distance it does dissipate, leaving the phased energy to escape into space, rendering it harmless. The Klingon, Romulan and Breen Empires all have developed disruptor technology and developed it to a point where it is a very effective weapon with an excellent range.

Phaser cannon

The Federation however took a different path in the design of its phased energy technology, opting for a more refined singular beam. This Type X array has severed Starfleet well, however it does have its downfalls. Helm to Tactical response times were highly unacceptable with a mobile, very powerful attack force. This factor, in combination with phaser array refocusing time forced Starfleet to develop the new Phaser Cannon. This development project was also pushed into being by the first Borg Encounter in system J-25. Previously all test projects had failed, however this time, with help from Malz, a renown Klingon scientist the highly unusual Federation style Phaser cannon came into being. The cannon uses a pulse modulated graviton shell to hold the phased energy together, the energy itself being fed directly from the Warp engines (instead of from batteries supplied by the warp core). Once fitted to the Defiant these cannon (four all together) proved to be excellent in simulated wargame exercises, the Helm to Tactical response time nearly flatlined. However problems arose with the amount of energy being channeled from the Defiant's oversized warpcore. There was massive recoil problems with the ships warp nacelles threatening to be torn off, the SIF not able to cope with the extra stress.

The problems were, over time, cured by designers, but not before Starfleet had officially closed the project after primary testing. When the ship came out of storage engineers already had a blueprint of how to modify the SIF so the Cannons were no longer a problem.

Photon Torpedoes

Photon Torpedoes are another offensive weapon of Federation Starships. They are considered to be Matter/Anti-Matter "missiles"..

The launch tube induces a warp field in receptor coils in the torpedo casing. A sustainer coil augments the induced field using warhead matter/antimatter components as propellant and provides for mid-flight course and speed corrections.

The warhead consists of a few kilograms of matter and antimatter. Before launch the reactants are stored in different areas of the casing. Approximately one second after successful launch, the warhead arms and the reactants are brought into proximity separated by force fields. At detonation, the fields drive the reactants quickly together.

Minimum safe target range is 15 kilometers. Maximum range for nominal warhead yield is 3.5 million kilometers.

Galaxy class starships carry 275 torpedo casings.

Up to 10 torpedoes can be launched as a single unit. After traveling for 150 meters, they separate into distinct delivery systems.

Starfleet tactics include simultaneous discharge of phasers and torpedoes. The phasers locally weaken the target's defensive shields allowing the torpedoes to penetrate and detonate within the shield perimeter, usually resulting in complete destruction of the target.

A "Photon" torpedo is a torpedo casing (with a *very* small warp engine which has enough fuel for a few seconds of "power-assisted" flight), fired from a huge rail-gun. The casing carries a warhead of a few hundred grams of antimatter in a magnetic "bottle". Upon impact, the magnetic bottle disintegrates, and the anti-matter impacts with the inside of the casing, providing a *very* powerful explosion, with a blast of mega doses of broad-spectrum radiation, with "extra" energy in the X-ray and Gamma ray range... *THAT* is what does all the damage.

Also included in the torpedo are target acquisition, guidance and detonation assemblies and a warp sustainer unit. The latter is charged by the launching vessels own drivefield at launch, boosting the torpedo speed up to Vmax = Vl + (0.75 Vl / c), where Vl is the velocity of the launching vessel. If launched at low impulse flight the torpedo will accelerate to a 75% higher sublight velocity; launch at high impulse speed will not push the torpedo into warp. If launched during warp flight the torpedo will continue at warp until the sustainer is exhausted. Torpedo range can be extended by utilizing the matter / antimatter warhead to power the sustainer, although this causes a corresponding loss of warhead yield. For a mid-range yield the torpedo can achieve ranges of some 3,500,000 kilometres at sublight speeds.

The photon torpedo can be set to fly a ballistic trajectory, be steered by the launch vessel, can home in via its own guidance systems, or use a combination of these methods in a single flight.

So why is it called a Photon torpedo? When electrons and antielectrons (positrons) collide and annihilate each other photons are emitted.

Plasma Torpedo

Weapon first employed by the Romulan bird of prey in 2266 against a string of Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone. The plasma torpedo consisted of a small but powerful forcefield generator which fired from a standard torpedo tube. The generator would then establish a small but very powerful forcefield around itself and a much larger concentric field with a radius of about one hundred metres. The parent vessel established a field bridge through this outer layer and vented its plasma conduit system into the empty shell between the two fields. The breach was then sealed, and the vessel would break away and let the torpedo continue on its way. A high power sensor on the central body was capable of locking onto the target, and by venting part of the plasma in a specific direction some degree of control could be established over the course of the plasma torpedo.

This was a very complex and cumbersome weapons system with many disadvantages - venting the plasma system of a starship causes an almost total loss of power while firing, which means that the ship must both decloak and drop to sublight speeds while firing. The guidance system is extremely limited by the difficulties inherent in operating any sensor system through a high energy plasma field, and any degree of manoeuvring causes a significant drop in eventual yield. Because of these difficulties the plasma torpedo has therefore not been very successful when used against mobile targets such as Starships.

Fixed installations, on the other hand, are a different matter. The plasma torpedo essentially focuses the entire energy output of a starship into one colossal discharge; when used against a Federation asteroid-based outpost a single plasma torpedo collapsed the shields and caused near-total destruction of the installation even through several kilometres of solid rock. This level of destructiveness was not available with any other weapons system of the time.

Today the plasma torpedo is still in service with the Romulan Warbird as a heavy weapon for use against fixed installations.

Pulse-wave torpedo

This is an explosive device used by the Vulcans. The Vulcans are pacifists, therefore, such a weapon is only used in defense.

Quantum Torpedo

Starfleet for some time now has been worried about the well established photon torpedo, which although highly effective in combat has been known to 'backfire', some times wrecking starships in the process.

The major difference between the quantum and photon torpedo has to do with the warhead.

Quantum torpedoes

Photon torpedoes use a mixed matter/anti-matter reaction as their warhead. This can create a powerful explosion, but is unsafe. Anti-matter is very unstable and must be kept in a magnetically-sealed container. You often hear in a battle situation, that before torpedoes are launched, the weapons officer has to arm them. Armed meaning that the torpedoes must be filled with anti-matter before they can be fired. This process is relatively fast, a matter of seconds, but seconds can be a bad thing when in battle. A malfunction in the arming mechanism can ignite the anti-matter and blow a hole in the hull of the starship. For this reason the Starfleet weapon designers came up with the quantum torpedo.

Designers had to find a power source for the warhead that was stable and powerful. Something that could be loaded into a torpedo when their made and remain stable throughout a mission. The designers found such a power source in the form of the Quantum Filament. You will recall that the Quantum Filament is a natural form of energy in space. It has no mass and if triggered just right can release almost astronomic amounts of energy. Using reading taken by science teams studying natural filaments, the designers created small artificial filaments. What makes a Quantum torpedo so powerful is that the warhead contains 50-100 small artificial filaments. These can be loaded into a torpedo before they are put on a starship, and remain stable. The filaments can then be made active by a cascade reaction activated when the torpedo is launched from a starship. Up on impact the filaments spread out and explode, ripping any starship hull apart.

Overall the Quantum Torpedo is one of the major advances in weapons technology for over 100 years and has aided in keeping both the Borg and Dominion at bay since its inception.

The Cardassians are known to have developed a version of the quantum torpedo which equips their Dreadnought class drone missile. It is also known that the design schematics of the quantum warhead developed by Starfleet were scanned by unauthorized personnel at least once during the development of that weapon, and it is now thought that an operative of the Obsidian Order was able to copy this data and escape with it. The Cardassian version of the quantum torpedo was apparently developed by replacing the matter / antimatter tanks of a standard photon torpedo with a ZPE warhead. Although this does confer the increase in warhead effectiveness on the weapon, it is at a cost; without the matter / antimatter tanks to fuel the sustainer engine, the flight performance of the Cardassian quantum torpedo falls well below even that of a Mark 6 photon. This makes the weapon unsuitable for use as the primary torpedo armament of a fleet vessel while still leaving it suitable for the short range defence system of a device like Dreadnought.

The Cardassians were working on creating a device similar to Starfleets quantum torpedo to equip their fleet units, but during the war with the Klingons many of the Cardassians main weapons research centres were destroyed and their personnel killed. Today the Cardassians lack the resources to mount a major weapons development project and are continuing to use standard photon torpedoes. It is not known if they have shared the ZPE technology with the Dominion, but so far the Dominion vessels have not been known to employ quantum torpedoes during their war with the Federation.

Shields

Deflector shields are focused spatial distortions resulting in a deflective graviton field. This field effect is generated by waveguides on the outer hull of the ship.

Deflector shields have a significant fratricidal effect on the warp fields. Neither system can be operated at optimal efficiency when both are in operation.

Like most forcefield devices, the deflector system creates a localized zone of highly focused spatial distortion within which an energetic graviton field is maintained. The deflector field itself is emitted and shaped by a series of conformal transmission grids on the spacecraft exterior, resulting in a field that closely follows the form of the vehicle itself. This field is highly resistive to impact due to mechanical incursions ranging from relativistic subatomic particles to more massive objects at lesser relative velocities. When such an intrusion occurs, field energy is concentrated at the point of impact, creating an intense, localized spatial distortion.

Basically all this says is that the shields are a set of reversed gravity screens. if anything 'hits' the screens, the shield system reverses the gravitational acceleration in that zone, counteracting the force of the photon torpedo or whatever. To the torpedo, it will seem like it hit something solid.

In combat, the shield frequency is modulated at random to prevent opponents from matching a weapon frequency to shield frequency. During the frequency change, sensor operations are performed. Such deflector "windows" can sometimes be used to transport to a ship whose shield are operating. Although normally the transporter requires more bandwidth than the window allows.

Tri-Cobalt Device

During the initial scare in System J-25 with the Borg one of Starfleet's many projects was the Tri-Cobalt Device. It was the predecessor of the Quantum Torpedo but in effect had ten times the destructive capability. Again, this project used three of the most powerful explosives know to Starfleet: Tri-Cobalt, Antimatter and Quantum Filaments. As mentioned above the Quantum Torpedo uses Quantum Filaments which arc out over the targets hull ripping it to shreds, however the principle with the Tri-Cobalt device differs from this. Tri- Cobalt is normally a reasonable stable compound unless it is broken down at the molecular level. In the past Starfleet had tried to use it as an explosive, but failed due to impractical methods. However with the discovery of Artificial Quantum filaments the situation changed drastically.

The design of the Tri-Cobalt device is highly unique in the Alpha Quadrant. It uses a three tier warhead. One compartment is loaded with Antimatter, one with around 200 Quantum filaments and an appropriate amount of Tri-Cobalt. Upon impact there is a number of things that happen inside the warhead. Firstly the Quantum filaments are released into the Tri-Cobalt chamber creating a cascade reaction, mixing the Tri-Cobalt into a highly volatile mixture. A millisecond later the magnetic containment field around the antimatter is released and the active Tri-Cobalt and Anti hydrogen mix together creating a lethal explosion. The weapon is capable of disabling starships with one blow, as Starfleet unfortunately found out.

Initial testing of the weapon took place just before Wolf 359. Designers were panicked and rushing the project through under Starfleet's hasty gaze. USS Keel, an Excelsior class ship was the test vessel. The first few barrages in the Asteroid field in the Terran system proved to be massively successful. However in the final day of testing an accident occurred. One of the devices lodged itself in its launching tube and the warhead went critical. The resultant explosion tore the saucer section clean off the Keel and the minutes later the warp core in the drive section went critical. A total of 40 lives were lost in the accident and only weeks later Wolf 359 Occurred.

Designers eventually figured out what had gone wrong. The Tri-Cobalt device was in theory much heavier than a standard photon torpedo, and although the designers had taken this into account when modifying the launching tubes on the Keel they had not been sufficient. After the disaster at Wolf 359 Starfleet was still interested in using the Tri-Cobalt device on Starships. Quantum Torpedoes were now in development, however the sheer destructive capability of the weapon was seen as a possible defense against the Borg, whose vessels were very large targets. The designers took the launching system back to the drawing board and eventually came up with a highly safe system. From that point on Starfleet orders all new ships to be fitted with this kind of launching system and a steady retrofitting of the defensive capabilities of the other ships in the fleet (Note the Lakota). The standard ship compliment is for four Tri-Cobalt devices. Any more would pose great danger to the ship. In addition, ships on diplomatic or internal missions have the warheads removed for safety reasons.

Combat Equipment - Phasers

Phasers are the standard defensive sidearm of Starfleet. They also serve as the defensive weapon for most Starships. Phaser is an acronym for PHASed Energy Rectification, a term which referred to the original process by which stored or supplied energy was converted to another form for release toward the target without any need for an intermediate energy transformation. Although this term is something of a holdover, it remains true in modern phaser systems.

Phaser energy is released by the rapid nadion effect. Rapid nadions are short-lived subatomic particles which can liberate and transfer strong nuclear forces within a class of crystals called fushigi-no-umi.

Phaser Types

Starfleet has used many models of phaser over the years, but all fall into distinct Types. Each of which represents a general classification of the energy the weapon is capable of releasing. The type of a phaser does NOT refer to or limit its rate of fire or other factors.

Type I

The type I phaser is a small hand-held Phaser, approximately the size of a pack of cards, that can be easily concealed. They can fire up to Setting 8, which causes total vaporization of humanoids as 50% of affected matter transitions out of the continuum.

Type II

This is a larger hand unit. Early models of the type II phaser used a type I phaser clipped into a pistol grip, but modern weapons seem to have little in common with the smaller model. The modern type II phaser can fire up to setting 16, which causes the destruction of some 3,900 metric tons of rock per 0.28 second discharge.

Type III

The type III is a rifle version of the type II phaser. It uses a nearly identical "business end" as the type II, and is also capable of firing to setting 16. The advantages of the type III are a 50% greater energy reserve, a multiple target acquisition system and a gyrostabilizer system. Recently the standard type III phaser rifle has apparently received the same advanced targeting system as the Heavy phaser rifle.

Type IV

The type IV phaser, also known as the Compressed Phaser Rifle, is similar to the Type III phaser but is capable of creating a concentrated burst of phaser energy. The power release for each setting is the same but the effect is much more destructive in nature. Up to 50% more damage is capable.

To aid in the compression of the beam, the design team built a small isolinear artificial intelligence unit into the rifle which has complete control of the energy discharge. This approach met with considerable success in a testing program that was surprisingly free of difficulties. The use of a computer control system also allows the beam characteristics to be modified much more easily than in previous phaser rifles, a measure clearly important when dealing with the Borg.

The type IV rifle also includes a much more effective and elaborate targeting system, a more powerful gyrostabilizer, and a larger energy reserve. The targeting unit is now being retro-fitted into earlier models of phaser rifle.

Phaser Settings

Phasers have three distinct effects on the target. At low power settings - setting 1 to 3 on a hand phaser - the impact of phaser energy is almost wholly limited to simple electromagnetic and mild thermal effects. These are concentrated on the nervous system of the target, causing pain and/or unconsciousness in most beings. At higher levels the thermal effect becomes prevalent, and the phaser will begin to cause physical damage to the target resulting in moderate or severe injuries. By the time the power level is at setting 7 the energy is distributed equally between thermal and nuclear disruption energy. Disruption effects become widespread, resulting in immediate death to most Humanoid lifeforms.

At levels higher than 7 the majority of phaser energy is in the form of nuclear disruption. A large portion of the target is simultaneously vapourised and transitioned out of the continuum, a process which is instantly fatal. The higher power settings available with Type 3 phasers (setting 9+) cause severe damage over a wide area. These settings are rarely used because of the relatively high power consumption; a single setting 10 discharge uses more than twenty five times as much energy as a setting 7 discharge, while a setting 16 discharge uses over three hundred and fifteen times as much.

Setting 1 - Light stun

Discharge energy index 15.75 for 0.25 seconds. This setting is calibrated for base humanoid physiology, and causes temporary central nervous system (CNS) impairment, and subjects remain unconscious for up to five minutes. Higher levels of reversible CNS damage results from repeated long exposures. The discharge energy index is related to RNE protonic charge levels. Standard median-density components structural material samples, are not permanently affected, although small vibrational warming will be detected. A standard composite sample consists of multiple layers of tritanium, duranium, cortenite, lignin, and lithium-silicon-carbon 372. A standardized damage index is derived for setting comparisons; each whole number represents the number of centimeters of material penetrated or molecularly damaged. The structural damage index for this setting is zero.

Setting 2 - Medium stun

Discharge energy index 45.30 for 0.75 seconds. This setting renders base-type humanoids unconscious for up to fifteen minutes, and resistant humanoids for up to five minutes. Long exposures produce low levels of irreversible CNS and epithelial damage. Structural materials are not affected, though higher levels of vibrational warming are evident. The structural damage index is zero.

Setting 3 - Heavy stun

Discharge energy index 160.65 for 1.025 seconds. Base humanoids will remain in a sleep-like state for approximately one hour, while resistant bio-forms is rendered unconscious for up to fifteen minutes. Single discharge raises 1 cc of liquid water by 100 °C. Structural samples experience significant levels of thermal radiation. The structural damage index is 1.

Setting 4 - Thermal Effects

Discharge energy index 515.75 for 1.5 seconds. Base humanoids experience extensive CNS damage and epidermal EM trauma, while structural materials exhibit visible thermal shock. Discharges of longer than five seconds produce deep heat storage effects within metal alloys. The structural damage index is 3.5.

Setting 5 - Thermal Effects

Discharge energy index 857.5 for 1.5 seconds. Humanoid tissue experiences severe burn effects, but due to water content in the body, deep layers will not char. Simple personnel force-fields are penetrated after five seconds exposure. Large Away Team Force Fields will not be affected. The structural damage index is 7.

Setting 6 - Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 2,700 for 1.75 seconds. Organic tissues and structural materials exhibit comparable penetration and molecular damage effects as higher energies cause matter to dissociate rapidly. Familiar thermal effects begin decreasing at this level. The structural damage index is 15.

Setting 7 - Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 4,900 for 1.75 seconds. Organic tissue damage causes immediate cessation of life processes, since disruption effects become widespread at this setting. The structural damage index is 50.

Setting 8 - Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 15,000 for 1.75 seconds. Cascading disruption forces cause humanoid organisms to vaporize, as 50 % of affected matter transitions out of the continuum. The structural damage index is 120. All unprotected matter is affected and penetrated according to depth and time of exposure.

Setting 9 - Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 65.000 for 1,5 seconds. The structural damage index is 300, and medium alloy or ceramic structural materials over 100 centimeters in thickness begin exhibiting energy rebound prior to vaporization.

Setting 10 - Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 125,000 for 1.3 seconds. The structural damage index is 450, and heavy alloy structural materials absorb or rebound energy, with a 0.55 seconds delay before material vaporizes.

Setting 11 - Explosive / Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 300,000 for 0.78 seconds. The structural damage index is 670, and ultra-dense alloy structural materials absorb and rebounds energy, with a 0.20 seconds delayed reaction before material vaporizes. Light geologic displacement occurs. Equal to or lesser than 10 m³ of rock or ore of 6.0 grams per cm³ is explosively uncoupled per discharge.

Setting 12 - Explosive / Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 540,000 for 0.82 seconds. The structural damage index is 940, and ultra-dense alloy structural materials absorb and rebound energy, with a 0.1 second delayed reaction before material vaporizes. Medium geologic displacement occurs. Equal to or lesser than 50 m³ of rock or ore of 6.0 grams per cm³ is explosively uncoupled per discharge.

Setting 13 - Explosive / Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 720,000 for 0.82 seconds. The structural damage index is 1,100, and shielded matter exhibits minor vibrational heating effects. Medium geologic displacement occurs. Equal to or lesser than 90 m³ of rock or ore of 6.0 grams per cm³ is explosively uncoupled per discharge.

Setting 14 - Explosive / Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 930,000 for 0.75 seconds. The structural damage index is 1,430, and shielded matter exhibits medium vibrational heating effects. Heavy geologic displacement occurs. Equal to or lesser than 160 m³ of rock or ore of 6.0 grams per cm³ is explosively uncoupled per discharge.

Setting 15 - Explosive / Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 1,700,000 for 0.32 seconds. The structural damage index is 1,850, and shielded matter exhibits major vibrational heating effects. Heavy geologic displacement occurs. Equal to or lesser than 370 m³ of rock or ore of 6.0 grams per cm³ is explosively uncoupled per discharge.

Setting 16 - Explosive / Disruption Effects

Discharge energy index 2,550,000 for 0.28 seconds. The structural damage index is 2,450, and shielded matter exhibits light mechanical fracturing damage. Heavy geologic displacement occurs. Equal to or lesser than 650 m³ of rock or ore of 6.0 grams per cm³ is explosively uncoupled per discharge.

Stats

You should be warned that Phasers set on very high settings cause an unusually high amount of damage - both disruptive and explosive. Phasers set on high settings not only mean bye-bye victim, but bye-bye nearby objects as well. At settings 11 - 16, Phaser fire causes an explosion of the same damage as the Phaser setting.

Phasers use Saurium Krellide power cells allowing for large amounts of energy storage. Fully charged energy storage rating for each Phaser type in MilliJoules is:

For example, a fully charged Phaser II could fire off 9,183 shots at setting 7, and 2,812,500 shots if set on setting 1. Under normal situations, it is doubtful that the power cell of a fully charged Phaser will be depleted. Of course, the higher settings, 11-16, take a lot more power and will deplete the power cell quickly. For example, a Type II phaser will have only 17 shots at setting 16.

Phasers can also be set for overload, a process where all the energy remaining within the power cell is released explosively. The safety interlocks must first be disabled. During the overload process, the Phaser will emit a high-pitched squeal which increases in pitch while overload is occurring. During the 30-second build-up, the overload can be deactivated by re-enabling the interlock. After 30 seconds, the Phaser will explode, causing SEVERE explosion damage.

Phaser Modifications

Beam Settings

All of the phasers are capable of the "wide beam" setting. This will generate a cone shaped beam capable of effecting a larger area, at the cost of increased charge output. The Type IV phaser is capable of the add-on option of a fan setting and a scatter setting. This would allow for a wide area of effect for the higher settings without the MUCH higher power usage and collateral damage.

Power Cell Belts

For Heavy Weapons combat, large power cell belts are used to increase the charge of a Phaser Type III and Phaser Type IV for up to five times the normal capacity. This is especially useful when using the wide, fan or scatter settings of the weapons.

Starship Phasers

Starship Phasers are much like the regular hand-held Phasers, except bigger. Much bigger. There are three types of ship Phasers that are used in current Starfleet ships.

Type Ten Phasers are the main Phaser bank aboard any Starship. They are extremely powerful. They have been connected directly to the Warp Drive engines for even more powerful discharges. Newer Type Ten Phasers are set up in a Phaser array on the underside of the saucer section of starships, and can fire in an almost 360 degree arc (with the exception of directly aft of the ship, which is covered by another array in the stern). This also gives the saucer section a defensive mechanism during times when it is separated from engineering. Note that during these times, the engineering section of the ship does not have to maintain the saucer section, giving it even more power to use in Phaser battles.

Most smaller phaser weapons are deployed in single emitters, also known as a 'phaser bank'. Larger and more modern weapons group many emitters into linear arrays. These use force coupling to allow the energy of one emitter to be transferred almost instantly to another - a process which can be repeated along arrays of almost limitless size. This confers many major advantages : it allows a large group of emitters to discharge their combined energy from any single emitter in the array. This allows longer sustained beams to be fired, and greatly reduces the recharge and cooling time since the energy is spread over many emitters. In addition, redundant feeds to small groups of emitters within the array increase the systems resistance to battle damage since destroying part of the array will not disable the remaining emitters. A long array can also bring the whole firepower of every emitter to bear within one single beam - a vessel equipped with many separate phaser banks must combine separate beams to accomplish this, something which the firing arcs of the weapons may not allow.

Previously designated as the 'Type 10+' for security reasons, the Type 12 phaser has been used in dedicated planetary defense arrays and as the main armament of heavy fortified starbases since 2263. It was considered that the Type 12 was unsuitable for use on a starship platform because the energy requirements of the array where too high and the supporting hardware too bulky. However, by 2268 the powerplant of the Sovereign class had grown large enough to support Type 12 arrays in place of the planned Type 10 models; technical improvements had also allowed for considerable shrinkage in the size of the equipment. The main phaser armament of the new Sovereign class starship therefore comprises Type 12 phaser arrays as does the armament of the Prometheus class currently under development. These are the most powerful phaser weapons currently in use by the Federation.

Type Ten Phasers are the main Phaser bank aboard most Starships. They are extremely powerful. They have been connected directly to the Warp Drive engines for even more powerful discharges. Newer Type Ten Phasers are set up in a Phaser array on the underside of the saucer section of starships, and can fire in an almost 360 degree arc (with the exception of directly aft of the ship, which is covered by another array in the stern). This also gives the saucer section a defensive mechanism during times when it is separated from engineering. Note that during these times, the engineering section of the ship does not have to maintain the saucer section, giving it even more power to use in Phaser battles.

Type Nine Phasers are the secondary Phasers used as backups to the main Phaser bank. They are not quite as powerful, nor are they attached to the Warp Drive engines. They receive their power from the Impulse engines. They are placed in Phaser arrays in strategic locations around the ship.

Type Eight Phasers are point defense Phasers, and are also the Phaser Cannons used in "Menagerie". They are generally set up at points where either the primary or secondary Phasers have "blind spots", as well as near entrances to the ship, in order to repel boarding parties. There are also portable Phaser Cannons that can be set up anywhere required.

Starship Phasers can be set on settings similar to hand-held Phasers, but with a much greater effect. The stun settings can even be used, but on a much wider area. The stun effect will affect everyone in the area of effect, friend or foe. The stun effect can be set on as small an area as one city block, or as large as an entire planet, although a sweep of the planet would be necessary to achieve this effect. The other use of Starship Phasers would be on attacking vessels.

Combat Equipment - Personal

Body armour.

Body Armour

Ablative armour specifically designed to take phaser fire and disrupt instead of the wearer. This can only be hit a few times until it is useless.

Emergency Transporter Beacons

These devices monitor the user's life signs and sends a beacon for teleport when the user's life is in danger. Two such devices are used. One is a small device that is worn about the wrist and the other is in the form of a chip which is inserted under the skin at the level of the wrist. These beacons have to be configured for each individual race in order to get the precise measurements and emergency category.

Grenades

All grenades weigh one pound and are made of plastic, but come with a removable metal sabot enabling them to be fired out of grenade launchers. They can be impact-fused or delay-fused (1 to 30 seconds)

The different types of grenades available to Starfleet personnel are:

• Photon
• Plasma
• Flash
• Chemical
• Sonic

Photon grenades are short range, variable yield energy weapons that create a powerful electromagnetic pulse. At lower settings, capable of stunning humanoid life forms in an enclosed area.

Flash grenades release a pillar of smoke and burn brightly, even underwater, providing light for combat purposes. The flare grenade puts off a bright flash once fused and anyone without anti-glare protection will be blinded for a short period of time.

Chemical grenades are capable of containing several types of chemicals for specific purposes. Some prime examples are Anesthezine, Kayolane, Melorazine, Morphazine, Nerve gas and smoke.

Sonic grenades are non-lethal weapon originally intended for riot dispersal. Once set off, it "screams" at a deafening pitch, oscillating up and down the audible scale and on nerve-shattering subsonic levels. It lasts for 30 seconds. Marine and security personnel implementing these devices need protection to keep from being effected as well.

Holographs, Portable

There are two forms of portable holographic devices that are used in the field. One is used for unit operation and the other is used for personal operation. The unit device is strapped to the back of the operator and can have several uses to help covert operations and other special operations. The device can provide cover for an entire unit but requires constant manipulation by the operator.

The personal device is light weight and worn as a vest. It is capable of giving the user a different appearance and requires no special operation.

Lasers

LASER was once an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation." Now the name has become generic for any coherent energy beam. There are several older models of laser weapons available but these unreliable devices have been replaced by the phaser.

Mush Boots

This low tech footwear gives the wearer quiet footfalls.

Shields, Portable

Similar to starship deflector shields, these portable shields provide focused spatial distortions resulting in a deflective graviton field. These devices are capable of providing shielding for a whole unit while being operated by an individual. The device is strapped to the back and resembles a large, heavy backpack. The frequency of the shield can be modulated by the operator to give the unit's phasers "windows" for attacks.

Sonic Disruptor

Handheld weapon used by civil authorities on the planet Eminiar VII. Similar weapons are used by Klingon warriors as well.

Sonic Slammer

Similar to the sonic disruptor, these weapons produce concentrated sound - a high-pitched, rasping squeal. They don't operate in a vacuum. A slammer literally tears the flesh from its victim's bones. These also have a stun setting.

Voice Impersonating Device

This is a device worn about the neck by the user which disguises their voice as anything previously sampled. Currently, these devices are not capable of interfacing to computers.

White Noise Generators

These devices generate white noise which masks noise and gives the illusion of silence. There is a large unit capable of providing cover for a whole combat unit and a smaller personal unit. These devices are mainly used for covert operations for stealth.