Characters will be allowed one of two types of weapons, though there will be more types than these in the game itself, both by humans and by the aliens.
Allowed Weapons
Laser Pistol/Rifle Using a special gas mixture that reacts violently when excited, the laser pistol/rifle fires a concentrated laser beam capable of penetrating steel at a rate of 10cm/sec, though can only penetrate tritanium armor at a rate of 5cm/sec. The weapons do not overheat and can be fired in continuous or pulsed mode with a wide or narrow beam setting. There are no stun settings with this weapon. If the forward lens is scratched or deformed, the rifle cannot function and may destroy its own focusing lens when fired, rendering the rifle useless. As a result, a thick cover slides into place over the end of the barrel until just prior to being fired. The rifle is able to be used up to 72 hours without need for recharging, though the pistol is limited to a 24 hour charge.
Mass Drivers While considered primitive in regards to the laser pistol, the mass drivers available to military personnel are much greater in both firepower and ability than civilian versions. Using a block of lightweight aluminum rods compacted together, the pistol sheers each round off the block and loads it into the magnetic chamber, ready to fire. When the operator pulls the trigger, the projectile is launched at 2000m/s at the target. Due to the high speed, light weight and aerodynamic profile, the projectile suffers little from gravity and wind, allowing some operators to hit targets up to 700m away with a pistol. The rounds are designed to shatter upon hitting metal walls, making them safe for use aboard ships in space, though limiting its use on armored targets, unless special armor penetrating rounds are used instead.
Human Weapons
Lattice Pistol Developed around the same time as the military's mass drivers, the Lattice Pistol is a different beast entirely. Using a compressed wire spring that expands inside the chamber prior to being fired, the round is designed to slice rather than impact the target. When encountering metal, the round bounces harmlessly off, but when the round passes through flesh, it cuts perfect holes in the victim all the way through. The rounds were made illegal because even minor wounds to non-vital areas were cut so cleanly, many victims bled out before they could be treated. This weapon is a favorite among criminal groups because of its ability to inflict fatal injuries from minor wounds.
Stun Pistols While stun pistols have been around for years, few make their way into the hands of the military because of their inability to penetrate armor. Using a contained plasma envelope, the pistol fires a dart of highly magnetized metal at the target. The plasma follows, and upon hitting the target, immediately tries to ground itself. The effects on humans, when not armored, is enough to stun a man unconscious for up to six hours. However, because plasma weapons are still in their infancy, the rifle only carries three shots before needing to be reloaded, rendering the weapon almost useless for anything other than police operations.
Human Ship Weapons
Torpedoes While lasers are common aboard starships and on the ground, heavier weapons are needed for puncturing the armor of many rogue ships. Torpedoes used by modern warships are designed to be mostly fire and forget, though many operators remain in contact with the torpedoes until the last possible second. Each torpedo comes with a replacement charge, enabling the warhead to be swapped for High Explosive, Bomb-Pumped Lasers or Nuclear warheads. While nuclear warheads are commonly used in space, bomb pumped lasers are often used inside a planet's atmosphere. When detonated, the bomb pumped lasers use a device to generate intensely powerful x-rays that lace the target randomly, slicing through armor and flesh up to 10 meters. Beyond that range, the x-rays become harmless, except for slight radiation burns.
Armor
Ceramic Armor Using advancements made in the 21st century, armor designers have made lightweight, flexible armor that maintains the properties of ceramics when hit by projectiles, but remains flexible like cloth otherwise. The material is common enough that many civilians can purchase it for private protection, though the ceramic does nothing when hit by a lattice round or laser. Only the availability of the armor makes it practical for most operations.
Tritanium Using advanced metallurgy technology, tritanium is used in the production of warship armor because of its ability to withstand enormous amounts of damage. While unavailable in personal armor, tritanium is often set in thick sheets with self-sealing membranes between each sheet, for a maximum of three sheets. Never has a ship been punctured while using tritanium armor beyond combat situations. The self-sealing membrane ensures that lasers that penetrate the hull are immediately sealed.
Colony Nautica
The Nautica colony follows the progression of most colony worlds in that the original colony ships were the focus of the colony during its early development. Spreading radially out from the four points that originally encompassed the colony, the older regions of the cities tend to have curved streets that radiate out, with streets pointing inwards. Along the outer edges, as the streets meet, they eventually become a grid with rounded corners. Due to the abundance of land further in, most civilians live in suburbs and commute via transit tubes to their work, either in the glittering spires of financial institutions or to manufacturing centers. Most raw materials are mined elsewhere and shipped to the manufacturing planets.
The city enjoys clean streets, with bright white pavement. Most cars are Opposed Gravity cars, letting them hover five to ten meters above the surface. Embedded in the concrete are sensors to let the driverless vehicles maneuver without causing collisions to the few vehicles driven by people. Because there is no ground traffic, pedestrians use the streets to walk on, and thus sidewalks are eliminated. Strips of luminescent material absorb light and re-emit it at night, replacing the need for streetlamps. As far as most are concerned, the majority of people transit via underground trains that float on a cushion of opposed gravity pads, letting them travel up to 300km/hr.
Civilians enjoy many of the technologies of Earth, such as food and beverage synthesizers. While the majority enjoy fresh foods, synthesizers enable cheap food production that almost matches the real article. Opposed gravity pads mounted under beds let users adjust the amount of gravity that affects them, letting them enjoy reduced or non-gravity when sleeping. The pads only affect an area up to one meter above themselves, keeping users from floating away during the night. Advancements in medicine have eliminated almost all cases of disabilities, and most are caught and corrected at birth.
