Dylithanium Artillery Round

Dylithanium Artillery Rounds, also known as Dylithanium Shells or DARs, are a superweapon within Planetary Strife, renowned for their incredible destructive power. Created and employed by the Aldarians, there's rumored to be somewhere between 20 to 50 shells in existence.

Weapon Properties

Dylithanium Shells are basically a large nuclear artillery round with a Dylithanium core. Dylithanium, an extremely toxic and radioactive heavy metal, emits Delta-wave radiation, capable of penetrating a foot-thick sheet of AMT 100 Ametium alloy armor, and typically requires energy shields to keep safe. Specialized artillery cannons with shielded barrels are required to use the shell.

Manufacture of Dylithanium rounds is fraught with difficulties and is extremely dangerous. An average of eight people die for every shell manufactured. The Aldarians guard the exact process of creating a shell very carefully, so as to avoid other nations making their own. So far, all shells in existence were manufactured by the Aldarians.

Damage Potential

A single detonation in space is capable of instantly irradiating anything within a five Sn radius, and can expand into 110 Sn dead-zones over time. Unshielded ships caught nearby will be subjected to an incredible dose of heavy radiation, likely killing their crew or pilots within a matter of minutes, assuming they survive the blast itself. Furthermore, the initial impact and blast of the shell will cause instant, momentary shield failure, resulting in even heavily-shielded ships getting a fatal dose of radiation if shot. The delta-wave radiation released by the blast also is extremely taxing on energy shields.

A terrestrial detonation has highly variable effects, solely dependent on how far the radioactive Dylithanium particles are carried. A land-based hit is guaranteed to sterilize and irradiate 7 Sn of land, and increases drastically depending on ground water supplies, nearby bodies of water, and wind. An ocean impact could potentially destroy all life on a planet, depending on planet size and how much of the planet is covered in water.

Uses and Restrictions

During the Aldari-Contra war, Dylithanium shells were credited with Aldari's sudden and total victory over Contra. Two shells were fired against Contra. The first was against the Contran Armada near the Ryos N54 Station. The Armada was almost completely destroyed, losing over 80% of its fighters. The station was completely irradiated and considered a total loss.

The second, and by far more controversial, was aimed at the Contran capital on Ryos. As a pure show of force, Aldari fired a single round to get Contra to surrender. Aldari Scientists estimated that, at worst, 4% of the planet surface would be destroyed. As later discovered, the figure was inaccurate; a little over 46% of the planet wound up severely irradiated and uninhabitable, gaining a death toll of over one billion humans. Contra, afraid of more shells being used, quickly surrendered, and heavy terraforming efforts began to repair the damage. As of now, 36% of Ryos is still inhabitable.

Immediately, other nations sought to put a leash on Aldari and their new weapon. Legislation was quickly brought forward to try and stop any further use of the weapon. Aldari, horrified at how much damage was done to Ryos, quickly consented to a complete ban on the use of Dylithanium shells against planets. However, they refused to give them up entirely, and managed to keep unrestricted use of the shells in empty space. Since, only one more shell has been fired, with great success, against a Veros battle fleet. Two Dylithanium Shells are routinely carried as standard armament aboard Aldari Armageddon-class Battlecruisers.

Shell in Existence

Because of their destructive power, the various nations of Evoron, particularly Aldari, tend to keep quiet about any Dylithanium shells they may have. What is known is that, despite Aldari's efforts, Dylithanium Shells have made their way into the hands of other nations. As such, it's difficult to get an exact number of how many shells even exist, let alone who owns them. Current reports put the number of Dylithanium shells somewhere between 22 to 46.

• Aldari has 20 confirmed shells, and may have as many as 38. 14 of those are loaded aboard Aldarian battlecruisers.
• The Derilict Republic confirmed having 1 shell, and may have as many as 3.
• Borea claimed to be in possession of a shell. However, it comes as war looms between themselves and Derilict, and may be nothing more than a bluff.
• The United Fenaran Empire is rumored to have 2.
• There are claims the IceStar Alliance is in possession of one shell. This claim was enforced by a sudden inspection of the Alliance's BC-608 Battlecruiser by the Aldarians.
• The Aeon Republic has 1 confirmed shell in their possession, and possibly a second.

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