CREW WEAPONS TRAINING MANUAL

While there are not a lot of crew served weapons in the Starfleet Command Marine Corps, the ones that we do have must be able to operate using a well trained weapons crew. This training manual (TM) will discuss the various crew served weapons available in the SCMC arsenal.

Heavy Polaron Gattling Cannon

The Heavy Polaron Gattling Cannon was developed for use by SSS Squad Heavy weapon specialists when the need for stealth was abandoned and just plain brute force is required instead. The cannon is the perfect weapon of choice due to it's immense destructive power. The weapon is large and bulky and difficult to wield, however it makes up for this by shear rate of fire. There are various modes on the gun ranging from a single burst of 10 shots all the way up to 2000 rounds a minute. The ammunition/power is stored in a backpack worn by the person firing the weapon. However more than one pack can be connected to the gun allowing a lot of ammunition to be used, giving a great defensive capability.

The Tactical Hopper with Photon Torpedo tube

This weapon is utilized as a ground artillery unit and can be used to fire upon both ground and air targets by the crew. Since it is a Hopper, it can be moved from location to location. The photon torpedoes are loaded into the tubes manually, thus the need for a crew.

Photon Torpedoes used on the Tactical Hopper

The tactical value of phaser energy at warp velocities, and indeed high relativistic velocities, is close to none. As greater numbers of sentient races were encountered in the local stellar neighborhood, some of which were classified as definite Threats, the need for a warp-capable defensive weapons delivery method was recognized as an eventual necessity. Rudimentary nuclear projectiles were the first to be developed in the mid-2000s, partly as an outgrowth of debris-clearing devices, independent sensor probes, and defensive countermeasures technology. Fusion explosives continued to be deployed throughout the latter half of the twenty-second century, as work progressed on lighter and faster ordnance. Late in the development of the first true photon torpedoes, a reliable technique for detonating variable amounts of matter and antimatter had continued to elude Starfleet engineers, while the casing and propulsion system were virtually complete. On the surface, the problem seemed simple enough to solve, especially since some early matter/antimatter reaction engines suffered regular catastrophic detonations. The exact nature of the problem lay in the rapid total annihilation of the torpedo's warhead. While most warp engine destructions due to failure of antimatter containment appeared relatively violent, visually, the actual rate of particle annihilation was quite low. Two torpedo types were being developed simultaneously, beginning in 2215. The first was a simple 1:1 matter/antimatter collision device consisting of six slugs of frozen deuterium which were backed up by carbon-carbon disks and driven by microfusion initiators into six corresponding magnetic cavities, each holding antideuterium in suspension. As the slugs drove into the cavities, the annihilation energies were trapped briefly by the magnetic fields, and then suddenly released. The annihilation rate was deemed adequate to serve as a defensive weapon and was deployed to all deep interstellar Starfleet vessels. While a torpedo could coast indefinitely after firing, the maximum effective tactical range was 750,000 kilometers because of stability limits inherent to the containment field design. The device Starfleet was waiting for was the second type, made operational in 2271. The basic configuration is still in use and deployed on the Starships with a maximum effective tactical range of 3,500,000 kilometers for midrange detonation yield. Variable amounts of matter and antimatter are broken into many thousand minute packets, effectively increasing the annihilation surface area by three orders of magnitude. The two components are both held in suspension by powerful magnetic field sustainers within the casing at the time of torpedo warhead loading. They are held in two separate regions of the casing, however, until just after torpedo launch, as a safety measure. The suspended component packets are mixed, though they still do not come into direct contact with one another because of the fields surrounding each packet. At a signal from the onboard detonation circuitry, the fields collapse and drive the materials together, resulting in the characteristic release of energy. While the maximum payload of antimatter in a standard photon torpedo is only about 1.5 kilograms, the released energy per unit time is actually greater than that calculated for a Starships antimatter pod rupture.

Photon Torpedo Operations used on the Tactical Hopper

The uses of photon torpedoes against natural and constructed targets are as varied as those devised for the shipboard phaser arrays. A complete examination of defensive and productive applications would require additional volumes dealing with specific celestial objects and Spacecraft Combat Maneuvers (SCMs), though the fundamentals are included here. Photon torpedoes are directed against Threat force targets at distances from 15 to nearly 3,500,000 kilometers from the Hopper. Targeting data is gathered from the Hopper's various sensor systems and processed in the main computers, then relayed through the Tactical Hopper station to the torpedo launchers. This dedicated section of the computer maintains regularly updated files of actual and simulated Threat tracking algorithms, firings, and battle damage reports, plus adaptive algorithms for new Threat targets. Tactical inputs determine the desired results from a list of basic menu choices, including nonstandard instructions, such as the option of computer-assisted manual torpedo flight control.

The MicroNuke

The MicroNuke is a new weapon designed by the SCMC Weapons Development Division. To use the MicroNuke you need a key bound to "micronuke" and the software for it. After you drop a MicroNuke, you have 10 seconds to get out of range. The MicroNuke kills anything within a blast radius of 750 meters and a line of sight radius of 2000 meters. A range indicator has been added to the HUD (Heads-Up Display) as well as a danger icon which only appears when you are within the 750 meter blast radius. One of the main uses of the MicroNuke is to kill people, and to get people out of their base when they get dug in like an Alabama tick. All lasermines within 750 meters of the nuke are detonated.

The MicroNuke is delivered to the drop site by a SCMC shuttle craft. The MicroNuke is then dropped in the area of the enemy forces and is set for detonation by the SCMC weapons crew as they depart the area. All SCMC ground forces are notified by SCMC ground command by a secure line of the deployment of the MicroNuke to insure no SCMC ground forces are within the radius of mass destruction.

LASER MINE

Laser Mine - Just a slightly modified version of the Trip Mine. Laser Mines project an extremely powerful laser beam that cuts anything that passes through it. Like the Trip Mine, it creates a powerful explosion when shot. Employment requires two marines.