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Description
During its ancient past, humanity has developed a variety of terrifying weapons whose principles have been lost to history. Found only on relic worlds, or in space junk from the War of the Cog Lords or earlier, these weapons are highly coveted. Those weapons found and captured by the great powers are quickly sent to secret research facilities, where they are taken apart in the hopes that they may be reverse engineered. So far, the galactic community has made little progress on rediscovering how to manufacture these weapons, as all data on them was either wiped by the Cog Lords or is hidden on a processor world somewhere in the galaxy. Those that find their way into the hands of pirates, mercenaries and other criminal organizations are often used for their intended purpose, as these groups are uninterested in replicating these weapons.

Dark Energy Weapons: Some of the most powerful energy weapons in existence, dark energy weapons were used a great deal by the Second Empire prior to the hedonic engine era and during the War of the Cog Lords. Dark energy weapons introduce dark energy into a region of space-time, which expands the space in that area more quickly than the natural expansion of the universe, before the dark energy dissipates from the area and the space collapses in. These weapons cause the target's atoms to violently fly apart, before being mashed back together, within several fractions of a millisecond. These atoms are not put back together in the same configuration that they were in prior to being exposed to the weapon, and so the target becomes a lump of organic and inorganic materials, often fused with the floor or surrounding objects. Dark energy weapons can be toned down to only attack portions of a target's body, in order to terrorize the opponent as their comrades are taken apart piece by piece, or scaled up to destroy entire planets and star systems with ease. A dark energy weapon that can fit on a battlestar can emit enough dark energy to cause a stellar reconfiguration, likely causing a nova event. As dark energy disrupts the space around it, it cannot be blocked by either physical or energy shielding. The Berzerkers were mostly armed with dark energy weapons, in order to destroy any possible space-based target while keeping the total amount of mass available for processing intact. Often, a Berzerker or an Imperial fleet will wipe out the space assets of an enemy civilization, and then broadcast the fleet's destruction to the civilization in all known forms of electronic communication. This was not issued as a warning, but rather to show the enemy the full extent of the Empire's might before they are inevitably destroyed.

Baryonic Disruptors: The "bigger brother" of dark energy weapons, baryonic disruptors operate by creating a local energy state which makes the existence of baryons - the building blocks of conventional matter - impossible. by attacking the strong nuclear force. This state is "infectious," and as each baryon decays into its constituent particles, it destabilizes the baryons next to it, and so on and so forth. This can reduce entire planets into a soup of quarks and other subatomic particles, which quickly decay into radiation. These weapons can easily destroy entire planets, and the starships and the larger Berzerkers of the Second Empire were armed primarily with baryonic disruptors. These weapons were only used against more threatening targets, or those that were deemed unnecessary for harvesting. During particularly long wars, the Second Empire declared a state of total war, in which every single habitat the enemy owned would be targeted by baryonic disruptors. Entire sectors of space have been scoured clean of stars by these wars, and the only evidence for these systems having ever existed are Imperial records and old starlight traveling through space. Both dark energy and baryonic weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction by the galactic community.

Hyperspace Weapons: While the modern galaxy knows how to use hyperspace to accelerate large kill vehicles for planetary destruction, the Second Empire mastered the art of using hyperspace energy as a form of energy and as a weapon. Hyperspace weapons function by opening a rift between hyperspace and real space and focusing a tremendous amount of energy from a parallel universe into a single target in realspace. There is no known material, and no known form of energy shielding, powerful enough to withstand this, as the target is reduced to its constituent string energy. A hyperspace weapon can be fired at any point in space-time, and can even be shaped in whatever form the user desires. Imperial captains often shaped hyperspace energy in such a way that it would spell out vulgar or insulting phrases, or particular symbols that Imperial culture considered offensive, as a final insult to their hated enemy. Some worlds still bear the scars of these battles, and those well-versed in Middle Standard Imperial would no doubt find the crude phrases etched into the very geography of the world amusing. Hyperspace weapons are both incredibly accurate and incredibly destructive, but they were used as weapons of last resort because it gave the Second Empire no chance to recover any matter or energy from the destroyed opponent.

Neuralyzers: Neuralyzers are a group of memetic weapons, weapons intended to disable cognitive function as opposed to causing biological death or the destruction of the target on an atomic or subatomic level. Neuralyzers display a variety of electromagnetic energies which attack the cognitive functions of living organisms, or the thinking processes of artificial intelligences. These normally prevent the target from resisting, allowing the target to be harvested for a variety of purposes, ranging from imprisonment to experimentation. Neuralyzers can have a variety of settings, which ranges from erasing the short-term memory of the target to permanently disabling the target's cognitive capabilities. Those beings whose minds have been wiped are known as blanks, and are valuable because they can have a new mind imprinted onto them. The most advanced and powerful neuralyzers can even imprint a target, and these weapons are often used to imprint hell simulations. An individual targeted with such a weapon becomes convinced that they are in their own personal hell, at least for the moment, and will often self-terminate or attack others in a fit of fear, rage and pain.

Weaponized Quantum Tunnelers: Quantum tunnelers are often found in the form of a "gun," small enough that a baseline human can wield it, but they also exist in a starship scale. The Second Empire used quantum tunnelers as a nonlethal weapon, so alien specimens can be captured intact and dissidents could be captured and placed in hell engines. Quantum tunnelers also bypass all forms of physical armor, which is useful for attacking technologically primitive societies. A favorite tactic of Imperial Marines during the Galactic Civil War was to place the entrance of a quantum tunnel within a Rebel's abdomen or head, and the exit on another Rebel, causing the former's internal organs to spill out in front of his horrified comrade. Quantum tunnelers were also used in anti-vehicular and anti-ship roles, as they allowed for explosives or boarders to be placed in a hostile vehicle. Other quantum tunnelers were used with psychological warfare in mind, as they could precisely remove body parts from one target and attach them to another living organism, creating horrifying monstrosities. These weapons are precise enough to remove layers of cells, and are often used to flay targets alive. Imperial riot police with a sadistic sense of humor were known to use these weapons against non-violent protesters, swapping and replacing the body parts of their opponents into various configurations for maximum comedic or horrific effect, and making a sport of the practice. The main disadvantage of quantum tunnelers is that even the weakest energy shields can block them.

Description
During its ancient past, humanity has developed a variety of terrifying weapons whose principles have been lost to history. Found only on relic worlds, or in space junk from the War of the Cog Lords or earlier, these weapons are highly coveted. Those weapons found and captured by the great powers are quickly sent to secret research facilities, where they are taken apart in the hopes that they may be reverse engineered. So far, the galactic community has made little progress on rediscovering how to manufacture these weapons, as all data on them was either wiped by the Cog Lords or is hidden on a processor world somewhere in the galaxy. Those that find their way into the hands of pirates, mercenaries and other criminal organizations are often used for their intended purpose, as these groups are uninterested in replicating these weapons.

Dark Energy Weapons: Some of the most powerful energy weapons in existence, dark energy weapons were used a great deal by the Second Empire prior to the hedonic engine era and during the War of the Cog Lords. Dark energy weapons introduce dark energy into a region of space-time, which expands the space in that area more quickly than the natural expansion of the universe, before the dark energy dissipates from the area and the space collapses in. These weapons cause the target's atoms to violently fly apart, before being mashed back together, within several fractions of a millisecond. These atoms are not put back together in the same configuration that they were in prior to being exposed to the weapon, and so the target becomes a lump of organic and inorganic materials, often fused with the floor or surrounding objects. Dark energy weapons can be toned down to only attack portions of a target's body, in order to terrorize the opponent as their comrades are taken apart piece by piece, or scaled up to destroy entire planets and star systems with ease. A dark energy weapon that can fit on a battlestar can emit enough dark energy to cause a stellar reconfiguration, likely causing a nova event. As dark energy disrupts the space around it, it cannot be blocked by either physical or energy shielding. The Berzerkers were mostly armed with dark energy weapons, in order to destroy any possible space-based target while keeping the total amount of mass available for processing intact. Often, a Berzerker or an Imperial fleet will wipe out the space assets of an enemy civilization, and then broadcast the fleet's destruction to the civilization in all known forms of electronic communication. This was not issued as a warning, but rather to show the enemy the full extent of the Empire's might before they are inevitably destroyed.

Baryonic Disruptors: The "bigger brother" of dark energy weapons, baryonic disruptors operate by creating a local energy state which makes the existence of baryons - the building blocks of conventional matter - impossible. by attacking the strong nuclear force. This state is "infectious," and as each baryon decays into its constituent particles, it destabilizes the baryons next to it, and so on and so forth. This can reduce entire planets into a soup of quarks and other subatomic particles, which quickly decay into radiation. These weapons can easily destroy entire planets, and the starships and the larger Berzerkers of the Second Empire were armed primarily with baryonic disruptors. These weapons were only used against more threatening targets, or those that were deemed unnecessary for harvesting. During particularly long wars, the Second Empire declared a state of total war, in which every single habitat the enemy owned would be targeted by baryonic disruptors. Entire sectors of space have been scoured clean of stars by these wars, and the only evidence for these systems having ever existed are Imperial records and old starlight traveling through space. Both dark energy and baryonic weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction by the galactic community.

Hyperspace Weapons: While the modern galaxy knows how to use hyperspace to accelerate large kill vehicles for planetary destruction, the Second Empire mastered the art of using hyperspace energy as a form of energy and as a weapon. Hyperspace weapons function by opening a rift between hyperspace and real space and focusing a tremendous amount of energy from a parallel universe into a single target in realspace. There is no known material, and no known form of energy shielding, powerful enough to withstand this, as the target is reduced to its constituent string energy. A hyperspace weapon can be fired at any point in space-time, and can even be shaped in whatever form the user desires. Imperial captains often shaped hyperspace energy in such a way that it would spell out vulgar or insulting phrases, or particular symbols that Imperial culture considered offensive, as a final insult to their hated enemy. Some worlds still bear the scars of these battles, and those well-versed in Middle Standard Imperial would no doubt find the crude phrases etched into the very geography of the world amusing. Hyperspace weapons are both incredibly accurate and incredibly destructive, but they were used as weapons of last resort because it gave the Second Empire no chance to recover any matter or energy from the destroyed opponent.

Neuralyzers: Neuralyzers are a group of memetic weapons, weapons intended to disable cognitive function as opposed to causing biological death or the destruction of the target on an atomic or subatomic level. Neuralyzers display a variety of electromagnetic energies which attack the cognitive functions of living organisms, or the thinking processes of artificial intelligences. These normally prevent the target from resisting, allowing the target to be harvested for a variety of purposes, ranging from imprisonment to experimentation. Neuralyzers can have a variety of settings, which ranges from erasing the short-term memory of the target to permanently disabling the target's cognitive capabilities. Those beings whose minds have been wiped are known as blanks, and are valuable because they can have a new mind imprinted onto them. The most advanced and powerful neuralyzers can even imprint a target, and these weapons are often used to imprint hell simulations. An individual targeted with such a weapon becomes convinced that they are in their own personal hell, at least for the moment, and will often self-terminate or attack others in a fit of fear, rage and pain.

Weaponized Quantum Tunnelers: Quantum tunnelers are often found in the form of a "gun," small enough that a baseline human can wield it, but they also exist in a starship scale. The Second Empire used quantum tunnelers as a nonlethal weapon, so alien specimens can be captured intact and dissidents could be captured and placed in hell engines. Quantum tunnelers also bypass all forms of physical armor, which is useful for attacking technologically primitive societies. A favorite tactic of Imperial Marines during the Galactic Civil War was to place the entrance of a quantum tunnel within a Rebel's abdomen or head, and the exit on another Rebel, causing the former's internal organs to spill out in front of his horrified comrade. Quantum tunnelers were also used in anti-vehicular and anti-ship roles, as they allowed for explosives or boarders to be placed in a hostile vehicle. Other quantum tunnelers were used with psychological warfare in mind, as they could precisely remove body parts from one target and attach them to another living organism, creating horrifying monstrosities. These weapons are precise enough to remove layers of cells, and are often used to flay targets alive. Imperial riot police with a sadistic sense of humor were known to use these weapons against non-violent protesters, swapping and replacing the body parts of their opponents into various configurations for maximum comedic or horrific effect, and making a sport of the practice. The main disadvantage of quantum tunnelers is that even the weakest energy shields can block them.