Sacellum Briefing 3: Technology and Weaponry
Added 2020-10-11 19:10:30 +0000 UTCWelcome back, Commander. Today we're covering the Sacellum's technological capabilities. Generally speaking, the Sacellum's technology bears resemblance to our own, with some critical changes. They use the same basic triangle of ballistic/energy/missile weaponry as the Inner Sphere or even the Clans, but they share few to no weapons with the Inner Sphere. We have only generalized details on their weaponry and how it functions, but rest assured, it is all dangerous and even devastating in the Sacellum's hands.
The Sacellum's ballistic weaponry is perhaps the most mundane out of all their arsenal. They do not use standard autocannons, having apparently discarded the technology centuries ago. Instead, they use a pair of specialized autocannon replacements called the Doublebarrel and Scattergun. The Doublebarrel appears to essentially be an Inner Sphere ultra autocannon but with no single-fire mode. Additionally, the Scattergun appears to be a mech-scale shotgun weapon. They come in four "calibers" roughly equivalent to our 5/10/20 class autocannons, as well as what analysts are calling a 15-class autocannon. The Sacellum also uses machine gun technology, apparently essentially unchanged from Inner Sphere versions. They also have a scaled-up machine gun called the Gatling Gun that seems roughly equivalent to the Inner Sphere's Heavy Machine Gun. More interestingly the Sacellum also seems to field a strange indirect-capable weapon called a Bombard Cannon, similar to old terran infantry mortars but scaled up heavily. Details are light as to its function or capabilities.
The Sacellum's missile hardware is unusual. They consist of two core systems, the APM and VRM. The APM, which stands for Alternative Payload Missile, seems designed purely to apply variant munitions to targets and is not intended for direct damage applications. The VRM, or Variable-Range Missile, is a very strange missile system. Consisting of a payload strapped to a revolutionary compounding propulsion system, the VRM gains potency the further it moves, until it eventually reaches terminal distance and sputters out. Finally, the Sacellum also seems to field a system called the Sirocco, though nothing is known about this system at this time.
Where the Sacellum truly has made leaps in technology though comes from their energy weaponry. The basic Sacellum energy weapon is called an electro-laser which comes in four sizes (similar to our own laser systems): Small, Medium, Large, and Twin-Linked. Electro-lasers seem to use a weak laser targeting system to momentarily link the shooter and target together, then funnels a large electric charge through the targeting laser, causing extreme damage to the target. Precise mechanics are unclear at present. They also field three other energy weapons: the NPC, GC, and DXR. The NPC, or Neutrino Particle Cannon, appears to somehow weaponize neutrinos to tear at enemy armor and components. The GC, or Gamma Cannon, directs a focused blast of gamma radiation at targets to cause extreme damage at similarly extreme range. The NPC and GC both have additional deleterious effects on their targets as well, though the details are hard to determine due to conflicting information. Finally, the DXR or Directed X-Ray Cannon seems to use focused x-rays to somehow heavily overload the target's heating systems, causing high internal damage and possibly even shutdown effects.
Finally, the Sacellum does seem to use Anti-Missile Systems, though they seem essentially unchanged from Inner Sphere versions except that the Sacellum can use their AMS as a weapon in dire circumstances. Further details on these weapons, as well as anything new that the Sacellum develops, will be communicated to you as we learn more, Commander. Good luck out there.