Starfleet Jedi: Star Trek Weapons

	Weapons of Star Trek Hand Weapons Torpedos Beam Weapons Other Weapons The standard single shot capacity of a hand weapon of the classes used in the 23rd-24th centuries is in the megajoule range; low settings draw megawatts of power, while high continuous settings may draw gigawatts of power. Hand weapons may be estimated as having 1-60 gigajoules of total energy reserves, or on the general order of 100-10,000 shots depending on setting used. Federation weapons in particular have a plethora of advanced features and broadly reprogrammable settings. Beam weapons may be supplemented with variable-setting photon grenades, which - much like photon torpedos - may have either very high or very low yields, and - like phasers - have a stun setting. An assortment of other less versatile lethal hand grenades exist, including plasma grenades and small ultritium charges. Torpedos In rough order of technological sophistication, torpedos are seen to have the following warheads: Conventional Fission Fusion Merculite Photonic or Photon Plasma Quantum Transphasic Photonic or Photon Photon and photonictorpedos were used by the Federation and Klingon Empire are variable-yield antimatter warhead devices with shields. Yield may be tightly controlled. In the 22nd century, maximum yield for the chassis was roughly 20 megatons; by the 24th century, this had increased to approximately to 1 gigaton. Torpedo range appears to have initially peaked at 5,000 kilometers; by mid 23rd century, this had increased to 90,000 kilometers, with effective combat ranges increasing to 300,000 kilometers by the late 24th century. Federation starships have always carried a limited supply of torpedos; this supply has not increased as quickly as starship size. As of 2300, the Constitution class carried 96 torpedos, while as of 2365 the far larger Galaxy class only carried 275, Photon torpedos are highly modular; the torpedo may be customized extensively for special missions and purposes. It is possible that the maximum rated yield cannot be achieved without stripping other systems to a minimum. Plasma Romulans, in the 23rd and 24th centuries, use plasma torpedos. These make use of trilithium, and tend to be more powerful than Federation or Cardassian equivalents. Quantum Quantum torpedos are deadlier, possibly involving unique penetration effects, but remain in rare deployment, either for cost reasons or as specialized weapons that cannot be fabricated on board a starship. "Galileo Seven" provides gigajoule range energy capacities for a phaser pistol; "The Mind's Eye" gives megawatt drains for some particular [test] settings. We might suggest a "test" setting designed to drain the discharge crystal evenly over four seconds for a standard kilogram of TNT per shot, which makes even more sense out of "holding at 1.05 megajoules per second." The slightly more powerful 4.7 megajoule capacity of the Cardassian rifle in "Return to Grace" with a 3 millisecond fire cycle gives a 1.57 gigawatt drain, which is required to drill through cubic meters of rock in seconds, or bring down buildings on high settings, as seen in various TNG episodes and movies, or hold of armies of primitives, as noted in several TOS episodes. After all, if a standard "hard kill" shot is 5 megajoules (high), and standard phaser pistol capacity 1-5 gigajoules, that leaves 200-1000 "hard kill" shots. A 3 millisecond fire cycle, incidentally, gives 20,000 rounds per minute, closely comparable with the GAU-8 rotary cannon used by the Warthog and visible essentially as a continuous beam by the naked eye as well as most cameras. The muzzle energy of the Cardassian phase disruptor rifle is no less impressive than that of the GAU-8; not bad for the 24th century version of the AK-47.