Tech, Hyperspace & Psionics

Hyperspace Jump Theory: Gravity Manipulation
The "Three Graces", in Lareshian terminology, are the foundation for modern interplanetary travel and colonization, consisting of hyperspace jump theory, which enables faster-than-light travel; gravitational control technology; and inertial control technology.

In its essence hyperspace jump theory involves the advanced understanding of gravimetric physics and the generation and manipulation of gravitons. Even though hyperspace is its own dimension it is an observed fact that the gravitational mass of sufficiently large stellar objects, such as stars and black holes, can have their gravity bleed into hyperspace and create what is known as a "Phantom Stellar Mass". The key phenomenon that enables navigation inside hyperspace.

This understanding of gravimetric physics enables the opening of jump-points into hyperspace. It also enables the creation of artificial-gravity and inertia-dampeners that makes space travel at high speeds into a comfortable experience. Should an inertia-dampener fail while a vessel is traveling under speed all crew will most likely be crushed against the vessel’s walls due to suddenly being subjected to the intense forces of inertia.

The theory also enables the creation of Gravitic shields to defend against incoming fire. The manipulation of gravitational fields also enables for certain weapons systems, like certain lasers and particle beams, to reach further damage potential.

Tractor Beams:
A Tractor Beam, or Graviton Beam, is a linear projection of gravitons based on the same gravitational field technology that enables Gravitic Shields. By connecting two objects through the tractor beam’s gravitons it is possible to subject the two objects by an artificial gravitational force.
The artificial gravitational force affects both objects equally. If starship A is emitting a tractor beam towards starship B then both starships will be equally affected by the gravitational force and both would be pulled closer unless one or both ships use thrusters to maintain their position.

Tractor beams are mainly used to tow objects or to manipulate the position of objects or vessels. If Object A is being pulled closer to object B and the tractor beams shuts down, Object A will still travel towards Object B for as long as no other force affects Object A’s movement.

The projection of gravitons that make up the Tractor Beam gets weaker with range and requires more energy to affect objects with larger mass. It is generally impossible to capture, lock, or affect space vessels that are using their thrusters. Most normal thrusters can apply enough thrust to overcome the gravitational pull of a regular tractor beam. Vessels affected by a tractor beam will not be able to open a hyperspace jump-point without disengaging safety-protocols, and the beam's influence on the jump point may cause it to fail upon initiation.

Interdictors: Gravity Well Projector
Interdictors or Gravity Well Projectors are phased arrays of graviton emitters that produce intense graviton pulses directed at a specific area of space in order to mimic a gravity well. The faux well doesn’t project gravitational force out in space like a true gravity well. The gravitational influence of the faux well only exists within the area that is covered by the Interdictors phased array. While no one will be affected by anything outside of the Faux gravity well field, any vessel inside it will be unable to open a hyperspace jump-point due to the strong graviton interference with the jump-point process.

Weapons:
Weapon systems can be split up into four general groups: Electromagnetic weapons, Laser weapons, Plasma weapons & Particlea Beam Weapons.

Electromagnetic Weapons:
EM Weapons are a type of kinetic weapon that use electromagnetic force to launch physical projectiles at a high-velocity. Typical such weapons are Railguns, Coilguns, Gauss guns and Mass drivers. The physical projectile or slug is accelerated up to a fraction of the speed-of-light. While the projectile’s traveltime is slow compared to other weapon systems the EM weapons utilize the physical mass of its projectile at high speed to deliver devastating damage. In practical warfare EM weapons are considered short ranged, in terms of effective targeting solutions, but a launched projectile has effectively unlimited range in space. The heaviest type of EM projectiles have also been known to fully ignore defensive shields.

Laser Weapons:
A laser is a device that emits a concentrated beam of coherent light, called photons. Unlike ordinary light sources, which emit light in all directions and wavelengths, lasers produce a narrow beam of light with a specific wavelength and phase coherence that superheats its target. Upon reaching the target, the concentrated energy of the laser beam causes localized heating and thermal damage to the surface of the target. This can result in the melting, burning, or vaporization of materials, depending on the intensity and duration of the laser exposure.

Lasers travel at the speed of light and are the most accurate weapon types at any range but are limited in range due to thermal blooming. Over time the laser beam will widen and lose its cohesion, spreading its damage dealing energy out over a larger and larger area which greatly reduces its effectiveness. A laser that might evaporate a target within half a light second, may only be able to burn or heat the same target at 4 light seconds.

Unlike some weapon types lasers don’t require its laser generator to be in a direct line of contact with its laser emitter. This means that the energy going into the laser emitter before being fired can be rerouted and manipulated without lowering the efficiency of the laser. Vessels can therefore have many more laser emitters than they are capable of firing at the same time. Giving them backup emitters as well as always being able to use the optimally positioned emitter to fire any specific laser.

Plasma Weapons:
Plasma weapons fire a bolt or beam of ionized, superheated plasma sheathed in an electromagnetic field and propelled by an opposed magnetic field. Upon reaching the target, the superheated plasma inflicts damage through thermal and kinetic energy transfer. The intense heat of the plasma can melt through armor and vaporize biological tissue, while the kinetic energy of the rapidly moving particles delivers a powerful impact force upon impact.

Plasma bolt weapons as sidearms are commonly used onboard spaceborne vessels or stations. This is as the plasma bolt is effective against organic targets and thin metals but will dissipate quickly when striking denser surfaces. This means that while in a pressurized environment, a stray shot will not cause a hull breach, as is the risk with some other weapon types. Sustained fire will burn though some thick metals but require a more dedicated action.

Particle Beam Weapons [PBW]:
A PBW operates by accelerating particles, often electrons or protons, to near the speed of light. Beams of such accelerated particles slam into their target and transfer their energy into the target. This primarily causes kinetic damage, but also thermal damage and depending on the specific particles used it can even cause radiation damage and typically have minor localized EMP effects.

The general advantage of PBWs are their ability to deliver kinetic damage accurately at ranges that are usually considered far beyond normal electromagnetically accelerated weapons. Their effective range is generally limited by particle bloom which depends on the particle used and the specific system used to fire the beam. Particle bloom, like thermal bloom with lasers, causes the particle beam to widen and disperse as the firing distance increases. The general drawbacks of PBWs are that some models may cause their own vessel to become statically charged and most PBWs can be affected or even deflected by strong electromagnetic shields.

Shields:
Ship-based shields come in two variants. Electromagnetic (EM) shields and Gravitic shields. Electromagnetic shields are equipped on most spaceborne vessels and come in weaker Civilian variants and stronger Military variants.

Electromagnetic shields operate by creating a charged electromagnetic field around the vessel. On lower energy settings and on civilian variants the EM shield protects the ship from space radiation and diverts space dust around the vessel. EM shields are necessary to safely travel through space at high speeds without having the vessel's hull integrity become compromised by repeated pelting of space dust and micrometeoroids.

Military grade EM shields are stronger and can affect somewhat larger meteoroids and can deflect weaker Particle Weapons as long as the EM shield has a similar charge to the incoming Particle Weapon. Military EM shields are often constructed to cycle through different types of electromagnetic charge in order to adapt to incoming particle weapons. Weaker Plasma weapons can also be deflected by the same principle.

Gravitic shields are strictly military grade and immensely power hungry. Gravitic shields operate by manipulating artificial gravitational fields through the generation of gravitons Gravitic Shields form a 'Cohesive Graviton Field'. The influence of the Gravition field will cause objects, particles and photons to bend under its influence. With the appropriate strength it will deflect any incoming threat. The Graviton field itself is surrounded by a distortion field that helps hold the Gravitons in a stable position. The distortion field is also what negates the Gravitons from forming a collapsing mass that would injure the vessel that the shield is trying to protect. The intermingling of the Graviton field and its distortion field generally makes perfect deflections impossible. While they do happen, depending on the angle of attack and the strength of the shield. It is far more common that an attack gets redirected and simultaneously stuck between the Graviton field and the distortion field - forcing the attack to be absorbed by the shield system. This is the main acute drain of energy for the Gravitic Shield system as an attack is being absorbed by the shield.

The Gravitic Shield system is highly energy intensive and is used to defend against most known weapon types. Due to the intense power requirements these systems often run on a low output "idling" mode, which then increase in power automatically upon detection of weapon fire due to an automatic feedback system.

These shields can handle most incoming fire depending on the strength of the shield and the strength of the intercepted fire. Shields require equal energy to the incoming fire in order to disperse it. Energy required to feed the shield during contact is drained from the shield’s capacitors. If incoming fire transfers more energy to the shield then shield generators can handle the shield’s capacitors will drain and the shields will go down and let through enemy fire.

Should two vessels make contact with each other's active shields the results can be catastrophic. Shields making contact with one another will quickly overload its system, short circuit its generator and drain its capacitors within milliseconds. Shields shutting down in this manner will generally cause a discharge of energy at its contact point that will harm any nearby electronics and potentially cause thermal damage. In a worst case scenario this will also cause the vessel’s capacitors to explode.

Shielded Cities
It is possible to build Gravitic Shields that are capable of enveloping and protecting city-sized areas on planets. These planet based shields can also be far more powerful than spaceborne shields given their possible access to further power generation. Cities that are purpose built to be shielded are generally very simplistic in their geometric design, particularly their skyline, in order to effectively utilize shield emitters that can’t be spread out too far apart. Some cities, with diverse skylines, have been retrofitted to be protected by a shield. Such cities generally have raisable towers housing shield emitters that rise above the skyline.

Planet based shields, like all Gravitic Shields, can be disabled by being overpowered and having their capacitors drained empty. This can most easily be done using nuclear weapons thanks to their ability to deliver high amounts of energy within a miniscule fraction of time. Prolonged orbital bombardments can also drain the shield, if the bombardment is stronger than the Shield’s capacity to refill its capacitors. Crashing an asteroid into the shield is sufficient to disable it but also destroys the city under it. In order to break a shield that’s situated on a planet where the aggressor doesn’t want to damage the city, or the environment, aggressor usually land planetary invasion forces in order to tunnel under the shield and disable it from within the city.

Capacitors:
Weapon systems and shield systems rely on capacitors to function. Capacitors store energy that can be more rapidly expelled compared to how fast a ship's generators can produce energy. If a weapon system or shield system drains its capacitors completely the system can no longer operate and will have to wait until the capacitor is recharged. Ships can have both independent capacitors for each system using one or have a shared capacitor construction for multiple systems. Advantages of having a shared capacitor is that ships can effectively divert power between weapons and shields depending on the situational requirements. Drawbacks of shared capacitors is that they are larger and may cause more severe damages in case of a capacitor failure. Capacitors can explode and they are sensitive to spikes in voltages. Such spikes may occur if a ship is stressing its generators to prioritize the capacitors during intense combat. Onboard safety systems usually maintain capacitors within safety margins but critical failures can occur in the heat of combat. Losing or damaging one's capacitors will lead to the loss of weapon systems, shield systems or both of them. Leaving a ship without any defensive or offensive capabilities in a worst case scenario.

Tachyon Credit [T-Cred] (₮):
The T-Cred (₮), or Galactic Tachyon Exchange Credit, stands as the predominant virtual currency within the Commonwealth, its value is based on a fixed amount of Tachyon Guild service, transmission time, or delivery distance. Initially intended to operate as a stable exchange rate between different galactic currencies, the T-Cred quickly became the de facto currency of the Commonwealth. This unique currency system reflects the critical role of the Tachyon Guild in facilitating communication and information exchange across the galaxy, making it an indispensable asset for commerce, diplomacy, and governance.
The value of the T-Cred is derived from the efficiency and reliability of the Tachyon Guild's communications network, which enables near-instantaneous transmission of data and messages across vast distances of space. Access to this network is essential for conducting business, coordinating logistics, and maintaining social connections within the Commonwealth, giving the T-Cred inherent value as a medium of exchange.

As the backbone of the Commonwealth's economy, the T-Cred sets the basic exchange rate for other galactic currencies, serving as a universal benchmark against which the value of other currencies is measured. Governments, corporations, and individuals alike rely on the stability and liquidity of the T-Cred to conduct transactions and store wealth, making it the de facto standard for financial transactions within the Commonwealth.

The Banking Guild plays a crucial role in regulating the exchange rate of T-Creds and ensuring the integrity of the currency system. Through careful management of access to the communications network and enforcement of strict security protocols, the Tachyon Guild maintains confidence in the stability and reliability of the T-Cred, preventing inflationary pressures and safeguarding against attempts at counterfeiting or manipulation.

Overall, the T-Cred represents more than just a medium of exchange; it embodies the interconnectedness and interdependence of the Commonwealth, serving as a symbol of unity and cooperation among its diverse member states and civilizations. As long as the Tachyon Guild continues to provide essential communication services, the T-Cred will remain the cornerstone of the galactic economy and the primary unit of value for galactic trade and commerce.