u/Fine_Ad_1918

Any comments or questions are most welcome about this vehicle from my Sci-fi setting
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The Year 12 Infantry Combat Car "Vaseni" is the pride and joy of the Aurumite Army for good reason. It serves as a tank when tanks are too heavy, as a scout vehicle when given some small modifications, and as an Infantry Carrier every other time.
It was designed by Anton Vaseni ( who was then given a Marquis title sans lands and a marriage into a powerful noble family for his service) during the 3rd decade of the Liberation War to simplfy the amount of infantry carriers in service with the Aurumite Princely State. It is debatable if he succeeded in that regard, but he did end up making a frankly impressive vehicle.

Firstly, it is very fast. It has a 188 km/s road speed, and a 100km/h off-road speed with its powerful gas turbine and 8 wheels.

Its armament is equally impressive. The turret has a quick firing and very high velocity 3.2-Inch gun for rapidly dispatching medium vehicles with Sabot and defensive positions with HE. These are backed up with a decent FCS, a sensor boom and nice thermal sights for the commander and gunner.

When things get hairy, it can use its RedBolt launchers to send either a pretty beefy conventional missile, or a real nasty kinetic energy missile that is sure to hurt even the most protected tanks. This, combined with the 150KW laser and the onboard ECM suites can allow it to fight against heavy vehicles like the Cataphract or Viscount which have quite effective defensive systems. For long range support, Peeker UAVs are onboard to guide in weapons or scout, and Obeyer loitering munitions for stand-off bombardment and search-destroy operations.

Its powerful countermeasures and decent APS suite allow it to shrug off enemy firepower that its pretty light hull would stand no chance against. Internal "quick-clot" mechanisms within the armor matrix can be used to patch damaged areas with amorphous metallic glass, and the automatic foam fire-extinguishers stop it from becoming an easy bake oven. The laser plays an important role here too, as it is good at swatting away missiles, UAVs, long range cannon fire and pesky forward observers.

The passenger section of the vehicle is decent, consisting of 2 benches facing inward and 2 backwards facing webbing "chairs" for any squad attachments. Above the benches and below them is storage space for extra kit, ammo, medicine, contraband, loot and whatever else a squad pleases.
The walls and door of this section are lined in boron doped HDPE sheeting, CNT aramids and sand packed fuel tanks to stop radiation and fragmentation. It isn't much, but it does statistically increase dismount survivability a bit.

Many times, squads flavor their sections to their own liking, often showing exactly how much command actually cares about the normal behavior of the "Serf" Soldier.
The insides are frequently plastered with propaganda, pinups, and religious messaging. Other entertainment is not uncommon, since remaining in positive pressure for extended periods is quite boring.

This vehicle will have to face that boredom head on, for it is painted in Model XXI Dust War Camouflage as a part of the Gal'Haidan Expeditionary Force. They will go straight into the worst of it, for the Rubble Belt's dust can kill a man in no time at all should it be kicked up heavily.

It is serving with the 25th Heavy Dragoons, a royal regiment known for their bravery and performance in the face of enemy fire. Their bravery led to their demise at the battle of the Marget Roads, where overeagerness to meet and destroy the enemy led to the leading elements getting cut off and destroyed by Marget Clique troops in concealed positions behind mines and obstacle belts directly in-front of them.
What stopped the situation from worsening was the concerted efforts to suppress and destroy these positions, something that high velocity 3.2 inch programable HE is certainly suited for.

The major issues, however, with the vehicles are that they have barely any armor for the weapons they face. Small shrapnel and small arms can be resisted, sometimes even light autocannon fire against the frontal arc at range. However any fire heavier than that against the sides and back rip it apart, for even infantry small arms at their highest power and with saboted rounds can do damage.
The other issue is that the Aurumites are kinda cheap, so their electronics aren't amazing compared to those of their rivals. They don't have the same camera networks that Imperial or Directorate vehicles have, reducing their situational awareness. They also don't have universal advanced brain-matter FCS, or the "Mastermind" tactical VIs.

The ammo in service with the 3.2 inch are:

APFSDS (HM)- Grey Paint: a 3.2 kg 20mm tungsten dart in a conductive sabot intended to put holes in the sides of heavy vehicles, and through smaller vehicles frontally. 3.45 Km/s max velocity

APFSDS (AA)- Light Blue Paint: a 2.18 kg 20mm sintered steel and magnesium dart in a conductive sabot fired at higher speeds to create a pretty horrific postpen effect on a soft skinned vehicle like a helicopter. It also is pretty nasty against powersuits and light ground units. 3.66 Km/s max velocity

Area Defense Shell- Green Paint: a 7.4 kg shell with 160 g of a Octaazacubane based explosive and 850 6g tungsten darts, plus silicon oxide dust and incendiary powder mix. It is built to punch though light vehicles, light cover, and infantry with ease in a giant cone of death. Fired at 1.75 Km/s.

HEMP- Red Paint: a 6.2 Kg shell with 1.2 kg of a Octaazacubane based explosive with multiple fuse options. It can be deployed with point detonation, airbursting, and time/distance/ command fuses. Fired at 1.5 Km/s as standard

STOP- Red and Blue Paint: a 8 kg rocket assisted IR guided airbursting shell with 810 g of an Octaazacubane based explosive. Its payload consists of a mess of tungsten rings, cubes, and "Grist" for making life hellish for ground targets that ain't in heavy cover, and sending heavy and fast shrapnel though tank roofs. Velocity dialed as needed, for it is either used lobbed as a precision artillery shell or fired directly as a sort of shrapnel missile.

The Missiles are

RedBolt-Red Paint: 33kg fire and forget 6.4-inch missile built to smash open tank armor or buildings with ease with its 6.2 kg duel mode charge. It is fitted with an IIR guidance system with target recognition, ideal aiming and LOBL/LOAL capabilities. It has a max speed of 1120 m/s with maneuver capabilities and a 12.6km max range. It uses its fuel in a Boost, Cruise, Sprint format, saving a decent amount of fuel for a final rush through the enemy defensive curtain

Balearic- Blue Paint: 36.2kg SACLOS 6.4-inch missile designed all around speed. It has no warhead, instead having a tungsten penetrator and relying on its 2985 m/s max velocity to crumple armor. It has a relatively simple beam-riding system for guidance, and a 11km max range. It is much cheaper than RedBolt, but isn't able to do the sheer amount of things as RedBolt.

Obeyer: 10kg 3-inch loitering missile. It has a sprint motor and a 1.85 Kg payload allowance for multiple different missions, from tank killing to blowing up a certain person. They can loiter for 3 hours and are able hit targets out to 35 km. It has swarm guidance, and can be controlled by data link or by optical sensors.

The Year 12 Infantry Combat Car "Vaseni" is the pride and joy of the Aurumite Army for good reason. It serves as a tank when tanks are too heavy, as a scout vehicle when given some small modifications, and as an Infantry Carrier every other time.
It was designed by Anton Vaseni ( who was then given a Marquis title sans lands and a marriage into a powerful noble family for his service) during the 3rd decade of the Liberation War to simplfy the amount of infantry carriers in service with the Aurumite Princely State. It is debatable if he succeeded in that regard, but he did end up making a frankly impressive vehicle.

Firstly, it is very fast. It has a 188 km/s road speed, and a 100km/h off-road speed with its powerful gas turbine and 8 wheels.

Its armament is equally impressive. The turret has a quick firing and very high velocity 3.2-Inch gun for rapidly dispatching medium vehicles with Sabot and defensive positions with HE. These are backed up with a decent FCS, a sensor boom and nice thermal sights for the commander and gunner.

When things get hairy, it can use its RedBolt launchers to send either a pretty beefy conventional missile, or a real nasty kinetic energy missile that is sure to hurt even the most protected tanks. This, combined with the 150KW laser and the onboard ECM suites can allow it to fight against heavy vehicles like the Cataphract or Viscount which have quite effective defensive systems. For long range support, Peeker UAVs are onboard to guide in weapons or scout, and Obeyer loitering munitions for stand-off bombardment and search-destroy operations.

Its powerful countermeasures and decent APS suite allow it to shrug off enemy firepower that its pretty light hull would stand no chance against. Internal "quick-clot" mechanisms within the armor matrix can be used to patch damaged areas with amorphous metallic glass, and the automatic foam fire-extinguishers stop it from becoming an easy bake oven. The laser plays an important role here too, as it is good at swatting away missiles, UAVs, long range cannon fire and pesky forward observers.

The passenger section of the vehicle is decent, consisting of 2 benches facing inward and 2 backwards facing webbing "chairs" for any squad attachments. Above the benches and below them is storage space for extra kit, ammo, medicine, contraband, loot and whatever else a squad pleases.
The walls and door of this section are lined in boron doped HDPE sheeting, CNT aramids and sand packed fuel tanks to stop radiation and fragmentation. It isn't much, but it does statistically increase dismount survivability a bit.

Many times, squads flavor their sections to their own liking, often showing exactly how much command actually cares about the normal behavior of the "Serf" Soldier.
The insides are frequently plastered with propaganda, pinups, and religious messaging. Other entertainment is not uncommon, since remaining in positive pressure for extended periods is quite boring.

This vehicle will have to face that boredom head on, for it is painted in Model XXI Dust War Camouflage as a part of the Gal'Haidan Expeditionary Force. They will go straight into the worst of it, for the Rubble Belt's dust can kill a man in no time at all should it be kicked up heavily.

It is serving with the 25th Heavy Dragoons, a royal regiment known for their bravery and performance in the face of enemy fire. Their bravery led to their demise at the battle of the Marget Roads, where overeagerness to meet and destroy the enemy led to the leading elements getting cut off and destroyed by Marget Clique troops in concealed positions behind mines and obstacle belts directly in-front of them.
What stopped the situation from worsening was the concerted efforts to suppress and destroy these positions, something that high velocity 3.2 inch programable HE is certainly suited for.

The major issues, however, with the vehicles are that they have barely any armor for the weapons they face. Small shrapnel and small arms can be resisted, sometimes even light autocannon fire against the frontal arc at range. However any fire heavier than that against the sides and back rip it apart, for even infantry small arms at their highest power and with saboted rounds can do damage.

The other issue is that the Aurumites are kinda cheap, so their electronics aren't amazing compared to those of their rivals. They don't have the same camera networks that Imperial or Directorate vehicles have, reducing their situational awareness. They also don't have universal advanced brain-matter FCS, or the "Mastermind" tactical VIs.

The ammo in service with the 3.2 inch are:

APFSDS (HM)- Grey Paint: a 3.2 kg 20mm tungsten dart in a conductive sabot intended to put holes in the sides of heavy vehicles, and through smaller vehicles frontally. 3.45 Km/s max velocity

APFSDS (AA)- Light Blue Paint: a 2.18 kg 20mm sintered steel and magnesium dart in a conductive sabot fired at higher speeds to create a pretty horrific postpen effect on a soft skinned vehicle like a helicopter. It also is pretty nasty against powersuits and light ground units. 3.66 Km/s max velocity

Area Defense Shell- Green Paint: a 7.4 kg shell with 160 g of a Octaazacubane based explosive and 850 6g tungsten darts, plus silicon oxide dust and incendiary powder mix. It is built to punch though light vehicles, light cover, and infantry with ease in a giant cone of death. Fired at 1.75 Km/s.

HEMP- Red Paint: a 6.2 Kg shell with 1.2 kg of a Octaazacubane based explosive with multiple fuse options. It can be deployed with point detonation, airbursting, and time/distance/ command fuses. Fired at 1.5 Km/s as standard

STOP- Red and Blue Paint: a 8 kg rocket assisted IR guided airbursting shell with 810 g of an Octaazacubane based explosive. Its payload consists of a mess of tungsten rings, cubes, and "Grist" for making life hellish for ground targets that ain't in heavy cover, and sending heavy and fast shrapnel though tank roofs. Velocity dialed as needed, for it is either used lobbed as a precision artillery shell or fired directly as a sort of shrapnel missile.

The Missiles are

RedBolt-Red Paint: 33kg fire and forget 6.4-inch missile built to smash open tank armor or buildings with ease with its 6.2 kg duel mode charge. It is fitted with an IIR guidance system with target recognition, ideal aiming and LOBL/LOAL capabilities. It has a max speed of 1120 m/s with maneuver capabilities and a 12.6km max range. It uses its fuel in a Boost, Cruise, Sprint format, saving a decent amount of fuel for a final rush through the enemy defensive curtain

Balearic- Blue Paint: 36.2kg SACLOS 6.4-inch missile designed all around speed. It has no warhead, instead having a tungsten penetrator and relying on its 2985 m/s max velocity to crumple armor. It has a relatively simple beam-riding system for guidance, and a 11km max range. It is much cheaper

Obeyer: 10kg 3-inch loitering missile. It has a sprint motor and a 1.85 Kg payload allowance for multiple different missions, from tank killing to blowing up a certain person. They can loiter for 3 hours and are able hit targets out to 31 km. It has swarm guidance, and can be controlled by data link or by optical sensors.

I am posting this mini-post becuase you guys have been giving me nice support, so have MORE posts.

As always, all questions or comments are welcome.
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If you asked any soldier in the Periphery about anti-armor weapons, no matter if they are Aurumites who do unspeakable things with their 1.85 inch railguns, Tronarians who practically marry their 140mm Plumbata missiles, or some trooper in a bandit state who has heard of tanks, but never seen them in his 12 years of life, they will all come back to the Bore.

It is a weapon that is both regarded with derision and respect in almost equal measure. It was made in such quantities that even though mass production of the weapon had ceased 3 years into the Liberation War, it took next 37 years of warfare to put a real dent in the numbers of weapons.
After the end of the war, production restarted among the Periphery states, as it was seen as a perfectly serviceable weapon for the sheer economic turmoil that they found themselves in.

However, most nations quickly did their best to relegate them to second line usage the moment they found it practical, for to say that it had problems is an understatement. Many of these problems stem from the fact that the Bore was made to be as preformant as possible and made at colonial standards. Seemingly, Imperials value dead enemies over alive (colonial) allies.

The missile's main issue is that it just unsafe to be around. The missile is propelled by some horrific hypergolic nightmare fuel that allows it to rapidly go from its measly 160m/s muzzle velocity to nearly a km/s to zip though APS and laser CRAM with a good chance of hitting. This is not good to be around, as the exhuast from the missile is enough to flash burn any exposed skin of the firer, plus gives everyone near the firer and along its flight path cancer from something in the fuel. Whatever that is, only the Three Heavenly Courts know.

The missile's rapid acceleration as it leaves the tube often leads to the aim of this weapon being thrown off, which isn't great for actually hitting anything, since the missile is laser guided.

The missile itself is carried in a cheap fiberglass tube that is thrown away after firing, with the trigger and CLU being ripped off and stuck on a new tube after the old one is expended. Funnily enough, the beloved Aurumite 1.85 inch recoiless railgun uses the same CLU as this missile system with only minimal modifications.

The warhead is a 1.4 kg HEAT charge able to dispatch most tanks from all but the front aspect. This certainly makes up for the other issues to many Periphery states, since they still use the missile. Due to its quirks, it is not used for what the Imperials intended it to be. Instead of being deployed in close quarters as a bitchslap, it is frequently used at the very edge of its range to allow its gunner time to correct their aim and hit the target.

The EMP44-1.85 is an unconventional tool. It lacks the versatility of conventional recoilless guns, and it is very small bore for payload carrying shells. However, It is pretty damn effective if used correctly.

In the first decade of the Liberation War, Union forces and their allies were on the backfoot. They were lacking in basically everything, but especially in AT weapons that could actually hurt modern Imperial AFVs. They had plenty of rocket launchers, but modern Imperial APS and laser CRAM would require massive salvos to overwhelm. This was not great for Union troops who had to stop enemy armor pushes or actually stand their ground.

Garage railguns started being used as a single use sensor breaker to open up for AT rockets, but they weren't great and were hard and dangerous to use.

Thus, in the 2nd year of the war ( and the 44th year of the reign of High Prince Orrin Atama), a team of engineers from the Aurumite Principalities helped develop a better option. This 1.85 inch gun is far more powerful and more effective than the weapons made before this one. It can strike out at enemy armor and helicopters with great effect with its incredibly fast Sabot rounds ( HM and AA respectively). Plus it also can fire HE and SAPHEI rounds for reducing enemy positions. To reduce recoil load from very fast projectiles, the railgun has a small gas generator that releases a cloud of metal confetti out the back, and sacrificial circuit connectors.

This was so great that the Aurumite Principality adopted and started ordering it barely weeks after the first successful test. It never was the heaviest AT weapon, but it is pretty impressive for a light squad weapon to supplement rifle grenades and disposable rockets. It is issued now at the Squad level, with heavy rocket launchers like the 4.5 inch Model XXC or the 22cm Demolition Projector being platoon issued.

It has a very good fire control system and optics, and has a side display of fire control information for the squad's benefit ( mostly for the Fire Leader, since "serf" conscripts who are often issued the weapon aren't really trusted to use it right unless overseen by a "real" soldier). It is suprisingly light for its capability, and has relatively small rounds allowing a lot of them to be rucked by even the least augmented infantryman.

Since that day, it has been in Aurumite service. It served well during the Liberation war, it brought the lords in line as the Principality reorganized itself into the Kingdom of Aurum, It was a trusty friend as the Kingdom expanded, and it now fights from Kader to Gal'Haidan in the Scrambles.

Other nations use it too, the Tronarian People's Republic have a few they ordered during the war, and a lot more captured during the Scrambles. The Kadarians have a bunch given to them as Lend-Lease by the Aurumites, and the Directorate's Periphery forces have a bunch they bought off the Tronarians.

This specific example is in the hands of an Aurumite Sanik ( Roughly equivelent to a PFC today) who has accrued a large amount of kills. 8 vehicles shown in the white tally marks, and 10 reduced positions shown in the red squares. she is due for a promotion with such good work, and even as a "serf", she is likely to get it due to the reforms after the loses on Gal'Haidan.

The ammo in service with this weapon are:

APFSDS (HM)- Grey Paint: a 2.125 kg 23mm tungsten dart in a conductive sabot intended to put holes in the sides of heavy vehicles, and through smaller vehicles frontally.

APFSDS (AA)- Light Blue Paint: a 0.880 kg 23mm sintered steel dart in a conductive sabot fired at higher speeds to create a pretty horrific postpen effect on a soft skinned vehicle like a helicopter. It also is pretty nasty against powersuits and light ground units. Has a green tracer.

SAPHEI- Red and Grey Paint: a 3.3 kg shell with 197 g of a Octaazacubane based explosive and incendiary material. It is built to punch through light vehicles and structures to blow them apart.

HE(F+)- Red Paint: a 2.2 Kg shell with 300 g of a Octaazacubane based explosive with multiple fuse options. It can be deployed with point detonation, bounding, and timed fuses.

HE(SPEC)++G- Red and Yellow Paint: a 2.35 kg laser fused airbursting shell with 170 g of an Octaazacubane based explosive. Its payload is a bunch of ball bearings, silicone oxide dust and most horifyingly Grist. It is horrific against basically anything that isn't behind hard cover.

HEAT(LG-RP)- Blue and Grey Paint: a 4.12 kg laser guided HEAT shell with a 500 g HEAT charge. Used to attack flyers, or as a sort of light AT stand-off artillery for attacking the roof of a vehicle. It can be guided from the gun itself, or from a forward designator.

All Questions and Comments Welcome
__________________________________________________________________________________

The EMP44-1.85 is an unconventional tool. It lacks the versatility of conventional recoilless guns, and it is very small bore for payload carrying shells. However, It is pretty damn effective if used correctly.

In the first decade of the Liberation War, Union forces and their allies were on the backfoot. They were lacking in basically everything, but especially in AT weapons that could actually hurt modern Imperial AFVs. They had plenty of rocket launchers, but modern Imperial APS and laser CRAM would require massive salvos to overwhelm. This was not great for Union troops who had to stop enemy armor pushes or actually stand their ground.
Garage railguns started being used as a single use sensor breaker to open up for AT rockets, but they weren't especially great and were hard and dangerous to use.

Thus, in the 2nd year of the war ( and the 44th year of the reign of High Prince Orrin Atama), a team of engineers from the Aurumite Principality helped develop a better option. This 1.85 inch gun is far more powerful and more effective than the weapons made before this one. It can strike out at enemy armor and helicopters with great effect with its incredibly fast Sabot rounds ( HM and AA respectively). Plus it also can fire HE and SAPHEI rounds for reducing enemy positions. This was so great that the Aurumite Principality adopted and started ordering it barely weeks after the first sucessful test. It never was the heaviest AT weapon, but it is pretty impressive for a light squad weapon to supplement rifle grenades and disposable rockets.

It has a very good fire control system and optics, and has a side display of fire control information for the squad's benefit ( mostly for the Fire Leader, since "serf" conscripts who are often issued the weapon aren't really trusted to use it right unless overseen by a "real" soldier). It is suprisingly light for its capability, and has relatively small rounds allowing a lot of them to be rucked by even the least augmented infantryman.

Since that day, it has been in Aurumite service. It served well during the Liberation war, it brought the lords in line as the Principality reorganized itself into the Kingdom of Aurum, It was a trusty friend as the Kingdom expanded, and it now fights from Kader to Gal'Haidan in the Scrambles. It was so good that all the engineers who made it were greatly rewarded, with one of the lead engineer's having his bond be transfered to the monarchy and then rendered null, making him finally a free man.

Other nations use it too, the Tronarian People's Republic have a few they ordered during the war, and a lot more captured during the Scrambles. The Kadarians have a bunch given to them as Lend-Lease by the Aurumites, and the Directorate's Periphery forces have a bunch they bought off the Tronarians.

This specific example is in the hands of an Aurumite Sanik ( Roughly equivelent to a PFC today) who has accrued a large amount of kills. 8 vehicles shown in the white tally marks, and 10 reduced positions shown in the red squares. she is due for a promotion with such good work, and even as a "serf", she is likely to get it due to the reforms after the loses on Gal'Haidan.

The ammo in service with this weapon are:

APFSDS (HM)- Grey Paint: a 2.125 kg 23mm tungsten dart in a conductive sabot intended to put holes in the sides of heavy vehicles, and through smaller vehicles frontally.

APFSDS (AA)- Light Blue Paint: a 0.880 kg 23mm sintered steel dart in a conductive sabot fired at higher speeds to create a pretty horrific postpen effect on a soft skinned vehicle like a helicopter. It also is pretty nasty against powersuits and light ground units. Has a green tracer.

SAPHEI- Red and Grey Paint: a 3.3 kg shell with 187 g of a Octaazacubane based explosive and incendiary material. It is built to punch through light vehicles and structures to blow them apart.

HE(F+)- Red Paint: a 2.2 Kg shell with 300 g of a Octaazacubane based explosive with multiple fuse options. It can be deployed with point detonation, bounding, and timed fuses.

HE(SPEC)++G- Red and Yellow Paint: a 2.35 kg laser fused airbursting shell with 170 g of an Octaazacubane based explosive. Its payload is a bunch of ball bearings, silicone oxide dust and most horifyingly Grist. It is horrific against basically anything that isn't behind hard cover.

HEAT(LG-RP)- Blue and Grey Paint: a 4.12 kg laser guided HEAT shell with a 500 g HEAT charge. Used to attack flyers, or as a sort of light AT stand-off artillery for attacking the roof of a vehicle. It can be guided from the gun itself, or from a forward designator.

I am looking for any and all feedback or suggestions on this section towards the start of my new short story.

I have tried something new with the speech in this section, and I am wondering how it looks. I am also wondering if I went too far with the meanness of my Protagonist.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eeOhfPqp0uo4zL-xGvjEq2n_5xHXzXpU1nbTf5R0V8I/edit?usp=drivesdk

>"All have their place within the Empire, and the Attendant's place is to die for its betters. To be the first and last form that any rebel or enemy sees ... "
- Book 1, chapter 72 " On the Soldiers of Empire" of The Most Holy Annals of Emperor of All That The Light Shines Upon, Gal'quin III Klarieon "The Merciful"

( thanks to Taumaturg on TSF discord for drawing this for me)

The Eternal Empire is a voracious beast that  stretches across countless worlds, and imposes its will upon masses of humans and transhuman subjects and citizens. It continually seeks to expand its borders to increase its prestige and power.

This endless conquest is fueled by the Attendants, a slave biomorph first made during the reign of Emperor Orrin Klarieon " Foeslayer" and greatly expanded into other forms during the reign of Gal'quin III Klarieon "The Merciful" at the suggestion of his sister Minster of Ceremonies Halina III Klarieon "the Scourge". 

The first and still most common version of the Attendant is that of the Koremi-Form Attendant, named after the Koremi Biotech Facility where they were first born. They are a creature that looks like the unholy hybrid of an Armadillo and a Grey Wolf. On average, they weigh about 89+ kg and are all at least 2 meters in height.  Other versions exist for different purposes, and there are newer varieties of combat attendants around, but Imperial Commanders really like the originals.

They are specially designed to be dispersed shock and infiltration infantry, for the modern battlefield is unsafe for undispersed large formations.  They use overwhelming firepower ( both their own and that provided by attached armor or other assets)  and their impressive physical capabilities to bypass the strongest enemy positions and easily overwhelm lighter ones, before doubling back with Imperial and Janissary support to smash the strong points to dust.

To this end, they are built with certain features in mind.

The first of these is that they can march for days without sleep while carrying multiple times their own body weight in gear.
This allows them to easily move heavy weapons like pack howitzers, toroidal plasma guns, crew served autocannons, and surface to orbit missiles or other gear without any additional logistical support, allowing for deep infiltration operations to always have heavy support with a minimal footprint.

Their next feature is that they have a sustained quadrupedal sprint that can reach 90 Km/h under standard encumbrance, allowing them to easily cover ground while staying low.  As they are facilitative quadrupeds, they are equally comfortable on 2 or 4 legs.

Their survivability is also quite impressive, with the carapace being made of 22mm of an advanced cerametal, with a 5mm under layer of CNT fiber to stop spall from hitting vital internals. To further increase survival against injuries, Koremi Attendants have redundant organs, and the ability to near-instantly clot blood vessels around injuries. Like humans, they do have adrenaline, but it is released in far more concentrated forms for attendants. Their eyes self filter out certain wavelengths to provide protection against laser flash, as well as being able to see in the IR spectrum.

The brain of an Attendant is a wonder of modern medical science, entire sections can be blown out and the Attendant would be still able to fight, though would likely not be able to remember their clan, cadre, or anything related to their identity should the damage be severe.   They have a greatly enlarged reward system in their brain that doses them heavily with dopamine and other pleasure chemicals should an Imperial release the reward pheromones to them for obeying orders.

They also have a really simple immune system, making modifications of the cybernetic or biological kind very easily added onto them. Additionally, they have a really simple genome, reducing their vulnerability to radiological or genomic attacks.

Koremi Attendants, despite being made in massive vats, have the ability to procreate. Around 22% of all Koremi Attendants in existence are born naturally, while the rest are vat born.
No matter how they are born, they are handed over to creches soon after birth. It is here where they will be raised and turned into the weapons of Empire.
The first year of a Koremi Attendant's life is probably the hardest year they will ever have. Koremi Attendants spend the first year of their lives always hungry, for they are growing at an insane rate to make them war-ready in a year.

Around one month into their life, they are divided into Cadres of 88 where they will be trained and indoctrinated. Food will be plentiful, though hunger will still drive each cadre to compete harder and harder against each other to get additional rations or other privileges. After a year of training ( both live training and information downloads while sleeping) and conditioning, the major clans of Attendants take turns drafting cadres in order of need, then battle honors. They will then get their final set of augments and the best guns before getting sent to the front lines as soldiers, or attached to Imperial dignitaries as bodyguards. Some Attendants who wish to really climb the status ladder augment themselves in very inadvised ways, though it isn’t too common unless alternate bodies are availabl.

After the Liberation War, a bunch of Attendants who were serving with the Imperial Periphery Command were left behind during the retreat. These Attendants had to find themselves a new life and job in the newly independent Periphery. Thankfully for them, the postwar peace was short lived, and all the new nations across the Periphery had a lot of need for very skilled soldiers who would assist them in the scramble for what is left after the war and the collapse of the Union.

>"All have their place within the Empire, and the Attendant's place is to die for its betters. To be the first and last form that any rebel or enemy sees ... "
- Book 1, chapter 72 " On the Soldiers of Empire" of The Most Holy Annals of Emperor of All That The Light Shines Upon, Gal'quin III Klarieon "The Merciful"

( thanks to Taumaturg on TSF discord for drawing this for me)

The Eternal Empire is a voracious beast that  stretches across countless worlds, and imposes its will upon masses of humans and transhuman subjects and citizens. It continually seeks to expand its borders to increase its prestige and power.

This endless conquest is fueled by the Attendants, a slave biomorph first made during the reign of Emperor Orrin Klarieon " Foeslayer" and greatly expanded into other forms during the reign of Gal'quin III Klarieon "The Merciful" at the suggestion of his sister Minster of Ceremonies Halina III Klarieon "the Scourge". 

The first and still most common version of the Attendant is that of the Koremi-Form Attendant, named after the Koremi Biotech Facility where they were first born. They are a creature that looks like the unholy hybrid of an Armadillo and a Grey Wolf. On average, they weigh about 89+ kg and are all at least 2 meters in height.  Other versions exist for different purposes, and there are newer varieties of combat attendants around, but Imperial Commanders really like the originals.

They are specially designed to be dispersed shock and infiltration infantry, for the modern battlefield is unsafe for undispersed large formations.  They use overwhelming firepower ( both their own and that provided by attached armor or other assets)  and their impressive physical capabilities to bypass the strongest enemy positions and easily overwhelm lighter ones, before doubling back with Imperial and Janissary support to smash the strong points to dust.

To this end, they are built with certain features in mind.

The first of these is that they can march for days without sleep while carrying multiple times their own body weight in gear.
This allows them to easily move heavy weapons like pack howitzers, toroidal plasma guns, crew served autocannons, and surface to orbit missiles or other gear without any additional logistical support, allowing for deep infiltration operations to always have heavy support with a minimal footprint.

Their next feature is that they have a sustained quadrupedal sprint that can reach 90 Km/h under standard encumbrance, allowing them to easily cover ground while staying low.  As they are facilitative quadrupeds, they are equally comfortable on 2 or 4 legs.

Their survivability is also quite impressive, with the carapace being made of 22mm of an advanced cerametal, with a 5mm under layer of CNT fiber to stop spall from hitting vital internals. To further increase survival against injuries, Koremi Attendants have redundant organs, and the ability to near-instantly clot blood vessels around injuries. Like humans, they do have adrenaline, but it is released in far more concentrated forms for attendants. Their eyes self filter out certain wavelengths to provide protection against laser flash, as well as being able to see in the IR spectrum.

The brain of an Attendant is a wonder of modern medical science, entire sections can be blown out and the Attendant would be still able to fight, though would likely not be able to remember their clan, cadre, or anything related to their identity should the damage be severe.   They have a greatly enlarged reward system in their brain that doses them heavily with dopamine and other pleasure chemicals should an Imperial release the reward pheromones to them for obeying orders.

They also have a really simple immune system, making modifications of the cybernetic or biological kind very easily added onto them. Additionally, they have a really simple genome, reducing their vulnerability to radiological or genomic attacks.

Koremi Attendants, despite being made in massive vats, have the ability to procreate. Around 22% of all Koremi Attendants in existence are born naturally, while the rest are vat born.
No matter how they are born, they are handed over to creches soon after birth. It is here where they will be raised and turned into the weapons of Empire.
The first year of a Koremi Attendant's life is probably the hardest year they will ever have. Koremi Attendants spend the first year of their lives always hungry, for they are growing at an insane rate to make them war-ready in a year.

Around one month into their life, they are divided into Cadres where they will be trained and indoctrinated. Food will be plentiful, though hunger will still drive each cadre to compete harder and harder against each other to get additional rations or other privileges. After a year of training ( both live training and information downloads while sleeping) and conditioning, the major clans of Attendants take turns drafting cadres in order of need, then battle honors. They will then get their final set of augments and the best guns before getting sent to the front lines as soldiers, or attached to Imperial dignitaries as bodyguards.

After the Liberation War, a bunch of Attendants who were serving with the Imperial Periphery Command were left behind during the retreat. These Attendants had to find themselves a new life and job in the newly independent Periphery. Thankfully for them, the postwar peace was short lived, and all the new nations across the Periphery had a lot of need for very skilled soldiers who would assist them in the scramble for what is left after the war and the collapse of the Union.

>"All have their place within the Empire, and the Attendant's place is to die for its betters. To be the first and last form that any rebel or enemy sees ... "
- Book 1, chapter 72 " On the Soldiers of Empire" of The Most Holy Annals of Emperor of All That The Light Shines Upon, Gal'quin III Klarieon "The Merciful"

( thanks to Taumaturg on TSF discord for drawing this for me)

The Eternal Empire is a voracious beast that  stretches across countless worlds, and imposes its will upon masses of humans and transhuman subjects and citizens. It continually seeks to expand its borders to increase its prestige and power.

This endless conquest is fueled by the Attendants, a slave biomorph first made during the reign of Emperor Orrin Klarieon " Foeslayer" and greatly expanded into other forms during the reign of Gal'quin III Klarieon "The Merciful" at the suggestion of his sister Minster of Ceremonies Halina III Klarieon "the Scourge". 

The first and still most common version of the Attendant is that of the Koremi-Form Attendant, named after the Koremi Biotech Facility where they were first born. They are a creature that looks like the unholy hybrid of an Armadillo and a Grey Wolf. On average, they weigh about 89+ kg and are all at least 2 meters in height.  Other versions exist for different purposes, and there are newer varieties of combat attendants around, but Imperial Commanders really like the originals.

They are specially designed to be dispersed shock and infiltration infantry, for the modern battlefield is unsafe for undispersed large formations.  They use overwhelming firepower ( both their own and that provided by attached armor or other assets)  and their impressive physical capabilities to bypass the strongest enemy positions and easily overwhelm lighter ones, before doubling back with Imperial and Janissary support to smash the strong points to dust.

To this end, they are built with certain features in mind.

The first of these is that they can march for days without sleep while carrying multiple times their own body weight in gear.
This allows them to easily move heavy weapons like pack howitzers, toroidal plasma guns, crew served autocannons, and surface to orbit missiles or other gear without any additional logistical support, allowing for deep infiltration operations to always have heavy support with a minimal footprint.

Their next feature is that they have a sustained quadrupedal sprint that can reach 90 Km/h under standard encumbrance, allowing them to easily cover ground while staying low.  As they are facilitative quadrupeds, they are equally comfortable on 2 or 4 legs.

Their survivability is also quite impressive, with the carapace being made of 22mm of an advanced cerametal, with a 5mm under layer of CNT fiber to stop spall from hitting vital internals. To further increase survival against injuries, Koremi Attendants have redundant organs, and the ability to near-instantly clot blood vessels around injuries. Like humans, they do have adrenaline, but it is released in far more concentrated forms for attendants. Their eyes self filter out certain wavelengths to provide protection against laser flash, as well as being able to see in the IR spectrum.

The brain of an Attendant is a wonder of modern medical science, entire sections can be blown out and the Attendant would be still able to fight, though would likely not be able to remember their clan, cadre, or anything related to their identity should the damage be severe.   They have a greatly enlarged reward system in their brain that doses them heavily with dopamine and other pleasure chemicals should an Imperial release the reward pheromones to them for obeying orders.

They also have a really simple immune system, making modifications of the cybernetic or biological kind very easily added onto them. Additionally, they have a really simple genome, reducing their vulnerability to radiological or genomic attacks.

Koremi Attendants, despite being made in massive vats, have the ability to procreate. Around 22% of all Koremi Attendants in existence are born naturally, while the rest are vat born.
No matter how they are born, they are handed over to creches soon after birth. It is here where they will be raised and turned into the weapons of Empire.
The first year of a Koremi Attendant's life is probably the hardest year they will ever have. Koremi Attendants spend the first year of their lives always hungry, for they are growing at an insane rate to make them war-ready in a year.

Around one month into their life, they are divided into Cadres where they will be trained and indoctrinated. Food will be plentiful, though hunger will still drive each cadre to compete harder and harder against each other to get additional rations or other privileges. After a year of training ( both live training and information downloads while sleeping) and conditioning, the major clans of Attendants take turns drafting cadres in order of need, then battle honors. They will then get their final set of augments and the best guns before getting sent to the front lines as soldiers, or attached to Imperial dignitaries as bodyguards.

After the Liberation War, a bunch of Attendants who were serving with the Imperial Periphery Command were left behind during the retreat. These Attendants had to find themselves a new life and job in the newly independent Periphery. Thankfully for them, the postwar peace was short lived, and all the new nations across the Periphery had a lot of need for very skilled soldiers who would assist them in the scramble for what is left after the war and the collapse of the Union.

All Questions Welcome
___________________________________________________________________

The Model XIX is an incredibly popular laser weapon among Imperial and Periphery states alike, being issued in large enough quantities that most troops in even the poorest warlord states would have some experience with the weapon.

When it was first developed, it was actually made for the open market and pitched to the various bureaus of the Imperial government, rather than being built by demand from the Imperial government.

This led to two separate versions being made, the original LR-23 which doesn't have a folding hand-guard/vertical grip, and the Model XIX which does have it. Later version add a top auxillary scope mount for extra capabilities that the look through reflex scope doesn't have. Additionally, some versions even have data links to send the reflex scope info to HUDs so that aiming in void kit is easier.

The first adopter was the Imperial Void Fleet, since they liked how compact it was, especially since the stock could be removed to make it even more portable. It was issued on a regular basis to Voidsmen as both a boarding and counter-boarding weapon. It is extremely light, making it almost akin to a really beefy pistol for them.

Soon, parts of the Imperial Armies showed interest, and started issuing the weapon as a powerful officer's sidearm. This practice started to permeate lower levels of command, and soon, these weapons found their way into the squad as an all in one laser designator, drone swatter, and stick of command for a squad leader.

While nowhere close to the pinnacle of laser technologies, it makes up for this with a very powerful pulse that easily shreds flesh and bone, and can even perforate the modern diamondoid and CNT armors in service. It maintains full power out to 330 meters, but is effective as a weapon out to the horizon. This makes it less effective as a battlefield weapon than its Electromagnetic peers, but in tight corners or as a suppressive tool, it is very hard to beat.

It can maintain a steady rate of 8 pulses per second with its pretty decent cooling , though lower rates are often recommended. At lower powers, it can maintain even faster rates.

This specific Model XIX is in service with the Aurumite Guard of the Limits, specifically a Qahrin ( regional title for Master of Eight, roughly equivelent to a Sergeant) in the Gal'Haidan Expedition, A note or perhaps a prayer scroll wrapped in blue ribbon adorns the gun, for few people set out from their homes during the Scrambles without their good luck charms.

All Questions Welcome
___________________________________________________________________

The Model XI-IV Electromagnetic "Rifle" is likely the most prolific infantry weapon in the Periphery besides the Klarksen Automatic Railgun, seeing service in every Periphery army from the smallest warlord to the great powers. It is a venerable design, being nearly 100 years old at this time, only kept in service by frequent upgrades and remodels, with the one pictured being the 4th iteration of the design.

It was originally made for the far less augmented colonial soldiers of the Eternal Empire, both to reduce costs, and because they didn't have the augments or the armor to use heavier arms from the shoulder.

Despite being made to cut costs, it still has a 1.25-8x magnification scope with low-light settings and a built in fire control system that allows it to compete with weapons like the Model XII Grenade Projecting Rifle or the M55/20 Infantry Combat System.

This allows the weapon to be effective out to the horizon and negate anything but the hardest cover.

Armor is also not much help, as light vehicles and heavy powered armor can quickly be swiss cheesed by this gun at high power settings.
This gun can maintain that power setting for a while with its large SMES mounted behind the magazine in an armored box.

Their are many different ammo types for this gun, with the most common being

1.Heavypoint: a tungsten carbide dart ( painted grey)
2.Lightpoint: a cemented steel dart ( painted green)
3.Ball: a round nosed steel round ( Painted blue)
4.Frag Ball: a round nosed sintered steel round ( Painted Red)

The rifle, in typical Imperial fashion can also shoot rifle grenades, with the most common ones being

Model XLV-G Laser guided multipurpose rocket assisted grenade
Model XLV Anti-Armor rocket assisted grenade
Model XXXIV loitering multipurpose rocket assisted grenade
Model XXII Smoke grenade
Model XXIII Multiple configuration high explosive grenade

This rifle is a model in service with the Gal'Haidan Provisional People's Defense Forces ( GHPPDF, try saying that 10 times fast).

It is carried by an Armsman, a rank from the old Imperial Jannisaries ( roughly a lance corporal in terms of seniority), marking the wielder as a member of the elite core of the Defense Forces.
Armsman Hanrick here has made a modification to her gun that is very common during the Scrambles. She has nailed a scroll bearing a prayer written out and blessed by a local Shrine Keeper to the stock as a good luck charm.

This prayer is a more general request from the heavens, rather than an appeal to a specific "sainted" individual or divinity. Icons or representations of Saints or Divinities are also common, with some people painting their guns in their entirety.

Soldiers across the social and political spectrum do this, as even some members of the militantly atheistic Tronarian Collectivist Party will allow their squadmates or locals to add prayers to their kit and guns to hopefully get that little bit of luck that will make sure that they don't get splattered by orbital gunfire.

All Questions Welcome
___________________________________________________________________

The Model XIX is an incredibly popular laser weapon among Imperial and Periphery states alike, being issued in large enough quantities that most troops in even the poorest warlord states would have some experience with the weapon.

When it was first developed, it was actually made for the open market and pitched to the various bureaus of the Imperial government, rather than being built by demand from the Imperial government.

This led to two separate versions being made, the original LR-23 which doesn't have a folding hand-guard/vertical grip, and the Model XIX which does have it. Later version add a top auxillary scope mount for extra capabilities that the look through reflex scope doesn't have. Additionally, some versions even have data links to send the reflex scope info to HUDs so that aiming in void kit is easier.

The first adopter was the Imperial Void Fleet, since they liked how compact it was, especially since the stock could be removed to make it even more portable. It was issued on a regular basis to Voidsmen as both a boarding and counter-boarding weapon. It is extremely light, making it almost akin to a really beefy pistol for them.

Soon, parts of the Imperial Armies showed interest, and started issuing the weapon as a powerful officer's sidearm. This practice started to permeate lower levels of command, and soon, these weapons found their way into the squad as an all in one laser designator, drone swatter, and stick of command for a squad leader.

While nowhere close to the pinnacle of laser technologies, it makes up for this with a very powerful pulse that could easily rend flesh and bone, and even perforate the modern diamondoid and CNT armors in service. It maintains full power out to 330 meters, but is effective as a weapon out to the horizon. This makes it less effective as a battlefield weapon than its Electromagnetic peers, but in tight corners or as a suppressive tool, it is very hard to beat.

It can maintain a steady rate of 8 pulses per second with its pretty decent cooling , though lower rates are often recommended. At lower powers, it can maintain even faster rates.

This specific Model XIX is in service with the Aurumite Guard of the Limits, specifically a Qahrin ( regional title for Master of Eight, roughly equivelent to a Sergeant) in the Gal'Haidan Expedition, A note or perhaps a prayer scroll wrapped in blue ribbon adorns the gun, for few people set out from their homes during the Scrambles without their good luck charms.

One of the main small arms in my hard(ish) Sci-fi setting.

any questions or comments welcome

All Questions Welcome
___________________________________________________________________

The Model XI-IV Electromagnetic "Rifle" is likely the most prolific infantry weapon in the Periphery besides the Klarksen Automatic Railgun, seeing service in every Periphery army from the smallest warlord to the great powers. It is a venerable design, being nearly 100 years old at this time, only kept in service by frequent upgrades and remodels, with the one pictured being the 4th iteration of the design.

It was originally made for the far less augmented colonial soldiers of the Eternal Empire, both to reduce costs, and because they didn't have the augments or the armor to use heavier arms from the shoulder.

Despite being made to cut costs, it still has a 1.25-8x magnification scope with low-light settings and a built in fire control system that allows it to compete with weapons like the Model XII Grenade Projecting Rifle or the M55/20 Infantry Combat System.

This allows the weapon to be effective out to the horizon and negate anything but the hardest cover.

Armor is also not much help, as light vehicles and heavy powered armor can quickly be swiss cheesed by this gun at high power settings.
This gun can maintain that power setting for a while with its large SMES mounted behind the magazine in an armored box.

Their are many different ammo types for this gun, with the most common being

1.Heavypoint: a tungsten carbide dart ( painted grey)
2.Lightpoint: a cemented steel dart ( painted green)
3.Ball: a round nosed steel round ( Painted blue)
4.Frag Ball: a round nosed sintered steel round ( Painted Red)

The rifle, in typical Imperial fashion can also shoot rifle grenades, with the most common ones being

Model XLV-G Laser guided multipurpose rocket assisted grenade
Model XLV Anti-Armor rocket assisted grenade
Model XXXIV loitering multipurpose rocket assisted grenade
Model XXII Smoke grenade
Model XXIII Multiple configuration high explosive grenade

This rifle is a model in service with the Gal'Haidan Provisional People's Defense Forces ( GHPPDF, try saying that 10 times fast).

It is carried by an Armsman, a rank from the old Imperial Jannisaries ( roughly a lance corporal in terms of seniority), marking the wielder as a member of the elite core of the Defense Forces.
Armsman Hanrick here has made a modification to her gun that is very common during the Scrambles. She has nailed a scroll bearing a prayer written out and blessed by a local Shrine Keeper to the stock as a good luck charm.

This prayer is a more general request from the heavens, rather than an appeal to a specific "sainted" individual or divinity. Icons or representations of Saints or Divinities are also common, with some people painting their guns in their entirety.

Soldiers across the social and political spectrum do this, as even some members of the militantly atheistic Tronarian Collectivist Party will allow their squadmates or locals to add prayers to their kit and guns to hopefully get that little bit of luck that will make sure that they don't get splattered by orbital gunfire.