Mr. Janus
Character
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a big gun that requires ships to be built around it
- Canon Link: Mass Driver
- Permissions: I own Treatech
- Primary Source: MACs teehee
- Manufacturer: Treatech
- Affiliation: Treatech Holdings
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: MAC-818 "Sunder" Super Mass Driver
- Modularity: No.
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material:
- Classification: Mass Driver
- Size: Very Large (Ground Emplacement) | 45% of equipped ship's length (Starship Hardpoint)
- Weight: Very Heavy
- Ammunition Type: Duranium Shells
- Variable internal cores (Elaborated on in Special Features)
- Ammunition Capacity: Extremely Small (Single Shot)
- Effective Range: Extreme
- Rate of Fire: Average
- Damage Output: Extreme
- Recoil: High
- Charged Rounds
- All Sunder rounds are charged with ionizing particles as they travel throughout the barrel, increasing damage to shields and causing a small chance for shots to pierce straight through already weakened shield systems
- Recoil Stabilizers
- For its huge size and extreme payload, the Sunder cannon has shockingly manageable recoil. Due to carefully managed interiors and lots of shock absorbers, the MAC-818 is felt when fired, but wont buck a ship like one might expect.
- Automated Loading
- The MAC-818 is outfitted with an automatic loader to reduce crew count and increase safety
- Ammo Types
- Heavy Core (APCBC)
- These most sold and most fired round according to Treatech surveys, these rounds have a dense neuranium core, enclosed in a desh cap with a tricopper ballistic cap that maintains the round's ballistic characteristics while aligning it to the surface it impacts. Heavy Core rounds will tear through hulls, leaving gaping holes of space where ships should be
- C-36 (HE)
- The second most popular round, C-36 shells use layered internals to keep components separate until the round reaches the target. Small amounts of Clouzon-36 are stored in the very center of the round, while the majority is filled with detonite. When these compounds are sparked by the impact of the round, they emit a massive explosion
- Shredder (Frag)
- A popular shot, but not always favored by starship captains, these are made with durite and plasteel cores, and a durasteel casing instead of the standard duranium. They contain a small detonite charge in the center and upon impact, explode into tiny fragments of metals and plastics that will rip apart anybody nearby. These kinds of rounds are typically used against light vessels or ships with damaged armor and shielding where the volume of shrapnel will cause massive damage. Additionally, these are the go to round for firing at ground forces.
- Hybrid (HEF-SAP)
- A more expensive round, these are less common due to the price, but they are especially nasty. Most ships reserve these rounds for particularly important targets. They combine the traits of all three previous ammo types. A standard duranium shell casing contains clouzon-36 in the center, encased in durite and plasteel, with a neuranium layer around these internals. These rounds are not as good at punching through armor as Heavy Core shots, but they're not meant to punch through ships. Hybrid rounds are meant to get through a layer of armor and stay inside, detonating a powerful explosive charge and sending high-velocity shrapnel tearing through a ships interior.
- Frenzy (Chemical)
- A rare round, Frenzy rounds use lighter casings made of desh and durasteel to ensure they stay inside the ship they impact. They leech out tear gas to drive out those in the vicinity. Though Treatech claims they are only sold with non-lethal compounds, they could be equipped with more nefarious compounds should one choose.
- Shatter (Canister)
- Another uncommon type of shot, these rounds deviate from the standard blueprint. They use brittle plasteel casings filled with durasteel and duraplast chunks. The plasteel casing does not survive the passage of the long Sunder barrel and breaks apart inside. Held together by the ion coat, these rounds scatter into a cloud of shrapnel the moment they exit the barrel. These rounds are not really meant for firing at other ships, but instead intended to obliterate every starfighter in a ship's viewport, as the little ships are forced to deal with high-velocity chunks of ionized shrapnel hurtling towards them
- MTO-99 "Thundercracker" Boarding Torpedo
- These torpedoes can launch a boarding party into a ship. They pair up well with Frenzy, Shredder, or Hybrid rounds, firing these after can help ensure the safety of the boarding party, as any defenders will likely be in shambles after being riddled with shrapnel or affected by tear gas. Launching a boarding torpedo takes more time than firing a standard round, as the ion chargers throughout the barrel must first be turned off to protect the launched ship.
- Small Craft
- The MAC-818's massive bore allows the launching of small enough ships through it. This is a very specialized and rare use for the gun, but it is a possibility. Launching a small craft takes more time than firing a standard round, as the ion chargers throughout the barrel must first be turned off to protect the launched ship.
- Heavy Core (APCBC)
- Ion Coat
- The introduction of ionized energy to rounds traveling through the barrel grant them special properties in addition to the kind of shot they are. The ionized particles react with shields of defending craft, increasing the damage dealt to them as opposed to standard ballistic weapons. Furthermore, if a shield system close to failing or being overloaded, the coat of particles has a chance to "tunnel through" and bypass the shield entirely.
- Treatech Secrets
- Treatech uses a classified combination of traditional combustion, magnetic fields, and hyperfuel to propel projectiles at incredible speeds. These rounds can travel vast distances to deliver devastating damage with little loss of ballistics, even in atmosphere. So great is the range that simulated batteries of planetary MAC-818 cannons have fired rounds that easily broke free of the atmosphere and destroyed ships before they had entered the orbit of the planet.
- Size Begets Strength
- The damage output of MAC-818s scale directly to the size of the ship they're installed on, as larger ships can house larger Sunder cannons, thus firing larger shells that cause more damage.
- Monstrous Size
- The Sunder cannon is so big that most companies and militaries prefer to just use it as a planetary cannon emplacement, rather than mounting it on a ship. The size demands that ships be built around its use. Starship designers would be hard pressed to find a way to fit these guns into a turret hardpoint.
- The limited design options also tend to limit the firing arcs of these guns. Most frequently mounted in the nose of ships, MAC-818s must be pointed at the target, putting these ship designs at odds with broadside-style ships that want to turn their bow parallel to a target.
- CDR
- While the auto-loader of the MAC-818 does a good job keeping the rate of fire generous considering the size of the cannon, the gun has no magazine and must be reloaded after every shot. Furthermore, removing rounds from the weapon is a lengthy process that would waste precious minutes in a fight. Once a round has been loaded, the best way to clear the barrel is to shoot it.
Out of a desire to create a capital ship grade weapon, Treatech decided to improve upon ancient mass driver technology to create the monstrous Sunder cannon. MAC-818s turn ships into mobile artillery platforms, as the vast weapons take up nearly half a ship's length when properly installed and functioning. Sunder cannons can be used at almost any range, as their muzzle velocity combined with the vacuum of space make distance almost irrelevant, as the shells move at speeds that are difficult for ships to dodge. Of course, this also means these cannons work well at closer ranges too, as a volley would land almost instantly over shorter distances.
While prototypes of the MAC-818 were being tested, Treatech engineers had the idea of sticking something other than cannon shells inside the gun, and thus the secondary function of launching small vessels and torpedoes came into being. Sunder cannons fire these unorthodox projectiles at much lower velocities to avoid tearing them apart.
(Post primary acceptance edits made solely for sentence structure and clarity, no altering of any stats or characteristics)
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