Electron Countermeasure

Ke-S3-W2904 (Nomenclature may expand for other ship models)

With positron weaponry being able to pass through most forms of shielding, their ability to obliterate many forms of metal, and overload systems with positive energy; Star Army Officer Kage Yaichiro, the new Director of the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet's Starship Improvement Project, tried to find a way to eliminate or reduce the effectiveness of this devastating weapon. As a stop-gap measure until a better system could be found, he employed the base subatomic particle which was the positron's counterpart–the electron.

With its negative energy charge and its commonality, he realized that utilizing an electron countermeasure system may be possible, if integrated with WARMS. As such, the Ke-S3-2904 Electron Countermeasure came to be, until a more final solution could be found.

The Electron Countermeasure is extremely simple, and built around the design of the Ke-S3-W2901 Positron Accelerator Cannon, as the electron mass must be equal to or greater than the positron mass for a reaction to fully eliminate the positron shell. In normal combat, it is little more than a mass driver that can be fired to support Power Armor combat.

However, while it uses the launching mechanism of the Ke-S3-W2901, and is interchangeable with it, it is more defensive than offensive, not having the same effect on normal matter as its counterpart. It is solely defensive, fired to intercept positron shells and annihilate them before they can contact the ship. In addition, as electrons are far more simple to create than electrons, its refire rate is nearly double that of its counterpart, and it has a more wide firing arc, thanks to the simpler design allowing more room for movement.

It should be noted that an antimatter reaction WILL occur when these materials come in contact, so the vessel will need the shielding levels necessary to sustain the energy released, which changes with distance. Positrons, in spite of this technology, are still a very dangerous threat to starships.

The Electron Countermeasure has several modes of use…

• Shell Firing: This is the standard use of the countermeasure. Essentially, WARMS sends data to the Countermeasure's targeting system to tell it where to fire to hit incoming positron shells. It fires, and in the rare case a course correction is necessary, a Graviton Beam burst can assist, extending the firing arc.

• Shell Release: Rather than firing at near light speed, the countermeasure lazily releases an electron shell at a low speed, for the KFY Graviton Beam Projectors to manipulate. This can be kept outside the ship's CFS, just in case. Multiple such shells can be used to take hits for the ship, as long as the Graviton Beam projectors can manipulate the electron shell into the positron shell's path in time.

• Gas Release: A gas of electrons is vented out to fill the space immediately outside the CFS. This electron cloud reduces or eliminates the mass of incoming positrons just before the Combined Field System is penetrated. While not certain to prevent damage, this will reduce the mass of the positron shell before it hits the ship, and also drain the resultant positive energy surge. This is only effective if the ship isn't moving (so the gas isn't simply fired behind the ship) and should only be used if a lock cannot be established on an incoming positron shell.

• Primary Purpose: Countermeasure
• Secondary Purpose: Bombardment
• Damage: Rating of 2. Essentially a glorified Mass Driver.
• Area of Effect: Point of impact and splash area
• Range: About 804,672 km (500,000 miles)
• Rate of Fire: One burst every four seconds.
• Payload: Self regenerating.

25xDR at a DR=2 results in a very low 50 SRP.