Fields Of Iron -- Standards And Assumptions

[WarMachine]

NOTE: What follows applies only to the "Fields of Iron" interpretation of BSG and other stories absed on it, and should not at present be considered "official" in any way.

Battlestar Galactica is variously copyrighted to Glen Larson Productions, and Universal Studios. All rights reserved.

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Blasters/Lasers - The main weapons of the BSG universe, these energy weapons fire a slug of magnetically-accelerated plasma along a laser-ionized pathway, striking the target with around 10,000 joules of energy in small hand-held weapons, and 1,000 times that figure in Vipers.


Battlestar - A massive vessel, Battlestars are the frontline combat vessel of the Colonies of Man. They carry a wide array of offensive weapons to fight other capitol warships, and a large defensive array of heavy lasers cannons.

The "Columbia"-class Battlestars were laid down six hundred yahren ago, and have remained the standard design ever since. The Columbia class carries a total of one hundred one-man Viper strike fighters, and twelve "Dromon"-class shuttlecraft(q.v.); there are typically a Detachment of 40 Colonial Infantry aboard for use as ceremonial troops and the occasional landing party.


Attack Transport - One of the Colonies' biggest handicaps at the beginning of the Thousand Yahren War was their lack of a combat transport. Colonial infantry were previously packed randomly onto Battlestars, or were ferried to battle by leased commercial vessels, which, in addition to being prohibitively expensive, destabilised the Colonial economy. Designed three hundred yahren ago, the "Hoplon"-class was the answer to the problem.

While the Hoplon is dimensionally similar to the Columbia class, it is almost three time as massive. The Hoplon, however, is capable of actually landing on a planet.

The Hoplon is fitted with a pair of landing bays that are somewhat larger than those of a Battlestar; while it carries only thirty-two Vipers, it carries a total of thirty-six "Falcon"-class Assault Shuttles.

The Hoplon classes main reason for existance is its massive troop bay. The Hoplon can carry and support up to 3,000 troops for up to ninety days of combat; it also carries and supports a total of six Landrams, six Battlerams, twelve Assaultrams, and seventy-two Chimerarams(q.v.).

Finally, there is one system unique to the Hoplon vessles. Running down the centerline of the ship is a one-meter diameter mass driver. This terrifying weapon(terrifying to humans, at least) accelerates roughly-shaped boulders to very high speeds, which are directed at targets planetside.


Destroyer - When the Hoplon-class was first deployed in action, it was found that it often required fire-support from Battlestars to suppress Cylon defenses. Seeing how wasteful of resources this was - since the Battlestars were better-employed defending against Cylon Basestars - the concept of lighter, capital-grade ships was revived.

The "Blade"-class, named for ancient Colonial bladed weapons, is a sleek design, with a heavy armor jacket and a powerful weapons suite of bombardment missiles and point-defence laser mounts.


Corvette - Small and fast, there is no one standard Colonial Corvette design. All ships classed as 'Corvettes' share similar characteristics: they are typically small, carrying a 40-person crew; they usually have a very high thrust-to-weight ratio; they are capable of landing on a planet; they do not carry weapons to fight capitol ships; and they have a heavy(for their size) suite of defensive laser turrets.

Corvettes are typically used for reconnaisence of uncharted system by the Colonial military.


Basestar - The main Cylon battlcruiser, these massive engines of war began to appear three-hundred yahren ago. They appear as two cone-shaped hulls, joined at the smallest point. They carry thousands of Cylon Centurion troops, and at least three hundred Raider fighter craft.

They are known to be armed with a wide array of offensive missiles and possess a large suite of defensive lasers, but it's main armament consists of four powerful "mega-pulsar cannons"(q.v.), which are capable of pummeling Battlestar into junk. We know very little of their operation.

Additionally, we know very little about the internal arrangements of a Basestar; none have been captured, and we have only the most cursory of penetrating scans.


Mining Ship - Rather ungainly in appearance, the "Diggers" have been the lifeblood of interstellar travel for Humanity for over 700 yahren.

When their scanners detect a vein of Tylium, the ship either lands or attaches itself to an asteroid, and work crews(sometimes in pressure suits) set to work, scooping Tylium-laced ore from surface deposits. Once inside, the raw ore is processed into Tylium fuel pellets.

The crews of mining ships are a rough, lonely group, accustomed to long periods away from civilization; however, they are typically the most capable individuals you will meet.


Landram - A mid-sized al-terrain vehicle, th Landram is used for administrative tasks and reconnaisence on undeveloped worlds. It can carry up to eight humans inside the vehicle, and up to twenty, if they perch precariously to the runner boards.

While they are typically unarmed, Landrams can be equipped with a pair of laser cannons that are functionally identical to the cannons carried aboard Viper craft.


Battleram - The Battleram is one of a trio of vehicles that make up the core fighting strength of the Colonial Infantry.

The Battleram, Assaultram and Chimeraram all share a common chassis and drive train, greatly simplifying spare parts and other supplies.

The Battleram mounts a massive laser cannon, with a power output nearly eight times greater than a Vipers battery; it also has a remote pod(called a "blaster pod") mounted atop the hull with a 360° rotation. This pod fires a battery of infantry-support laser weapons, to protect the vehicle against Cylon infantry. It also mounts smoke grenade dispensors all around the vehicle for camouflage and screening.

The Assaultram mounts a blaster pod as its only armament; it is intended to deliver twelve infantrymen close to the battle. Its boat-shaped hull and auxiliary waterjet drive allow it to cross rivers and lakes with ease. It is not intended to see direct combat on its own.

The Chimeraram lives up to its name. Basically a flatbed platform on a chassis, the Chimeraram is used for anything from cargo transport to air defense(mating four Viper cannon to a fast-cycling laser generator) to an artillery vehicle(firing magnetically-accelerate explosive projectiles), the Chimeraram is a do-all vehicle.


Assaultram - See Battleram


Chimeraram - See Battleram

[WarMachine]

Cylon Raider - The primary Cylon fighter craft, and the main danger to Vipers. Disc-shaped, fast and agile, the Raider carries a crew of three Cylon "Centurions". In addition to engaging Vipers and smaller caplitol ships, Raiders are used to attack Battlestars directly, often resorting "piloted"-missile type attacks, with craft loaded with a Solenite-class explosive. They are also used to land small raiding parties planetside.

There does not seem to be any firm squadron-type organization like what the Colonies use, although Baseships carry upwards of three-hundred Raiders in their bays.


Cylon Tanker - These rather conventional-looking ships are the main non-Baseship Cylon vessel we have encountered. Roughly the size and shape of a Gemini-class freight-hauler, the Tankers first appeared two-hundred yahren ago. Since that time, they have appeared with different internal arrangments, and now appear to be cargo vessels, as well.

Typically, they are only very lightly-armed, if at all.


Viper - The main one-man fighter craft of the Colonies of Man. It is very fast and maneuverable in space, although not so much so in atmospheres. In space, it is capable of acheiving a very large fraction of the speed of light.


Metron - The standard Colonial unit of measure, based on a specific frequency of light. [On Earth, a metron is equal to one meter.]


Lanthanite - A soft metal, whitish in color in its refined state, Lanthanite is the metal used in making the jump coils of a Tylium Conversion Drive. [On Earth, Lanthanite is termed "lanthanium".]


Solium - An extremely corrosive, yet energetic, substance used in many propulsion drives, including the Tylium Conversion Drive. [On Earth, Solium would be defined as Hydrogendisulphoxide.]


Solenite - Derived from Solium, Solenite is a plasticized explosive of considerable power. It is used in both missile warheads, and as individual demolition charges(roughly the size of a hand-comp). [Earth note: Solenite is roughly equal in explosive power to five times that of TNT.]


Tylium - A somewhat rare substance in Colonial space, at least in quantity, Tylium is the fuel that opens the pathways to the stars. It is used in two main forms by the Colonies: as solid pellets in the Tylium Conversion Drive and as "lacing" in a slurry of Solium in normal-space engines.

The Tylium pellets used in the Conversion Drive must be polished mirror-smooth; any surface imperfections on the pellet can cause damage to the jump coils. [Earth note: Tylium is identical to Rhenium.]


Tylium Conversion Drive - The TCD is the secret of travel between the stars. Most stars are connected to each other via a "tramline" or pathway, where the nucleonic bonds of space-time-reality are weaker than elsewhere in a solar system.

When a vessel enters such a region(called a "Jump Point" in Colonial parlance), the TCD is activated. In a very short span of time(no more than a few millicentons) several things happen: a pellet of Tylium is released into a spherical chamber that has been 'primed' with atomized Solium gas; this chamber is ringed on its interior with bands (or 'coils') of Lanthanite; as the pellet drops in, it is held in place in the center of the sphere by a powerful electro-gravitic field; both the gas and the pellet are then subjected to a precise series of rapid and extremely powerful graviton fluctuations; this causes the Tylium pellet to break down in a specific manner, and the remains of the pellet react with the Solium gas to generate a "space-time displacement wave", which is channelled through the Lanthanite coils. This maniests as a spherical "jump bubble" that encompasses the ship, ripping a localized opening in space-time, and pulling the ship through to the opposite end of the tramline -- the destination star. All of the material within the reaction chamber "disappears" during this process; it is not known what happens to the waste material - if any indeed exists.

The size of a functional displacement wave is a function of both the size of the Tylium pellet, the density of Solium gas in the reaction chamber, and the total mass of matter being moved. Aboard a large ship like a Columbia-class Battlestar or a Garden-class Agroship, Tylium pellets are typically one-third of a metron in diameter(equal in size to a standard, Team Grade Triad ball); on smaller vessels, such as the Gemini freighter or the Solar-class maintenance ship(the Celestra), it is a pellet about the size of a pommie-fruit(basically the size of an apple); the pellets used in shuttlecraft like the Dromon- and Falcon-classes are the size of large marbles.

By adjusting the amount and density of Solium in the drive, and the speed of fluctuations in the graviton waves, a vessel can move an amount of mass up to three times its own; this is call "jump-towing", and requires the other masses to be completely englobed by the displacement field.

Jump failure only occurs for two reasons: a) If the drive is activated away from a jump-point, it does, in fact, displace the ship -- but the ship immediately reappears at its start-point, less its jump fuel, and b) If the Lanthanite coils have become brittle from using cracked fuel pellets, they will not be able to effeciently direct the displacement wave; the result is a massive explosion, destroying the ship - and anything within its displacement field - utterly.


Artificial Gravity -


Inertial Compensator -


Shuttlecraft -


Assault Shuttle -


Mega-Pulsar Cannon -