The Heavy Array is a gas-powered rotary weapon system designed for sustained suppressive fire from fixed fortifications, airships, and large rovers. At 1,200 slugs per minute, the distinctive high-velocity trails and three-meter danger space make it as much a psychological deterrent as a practical weapon.
Vaelstrad Arrays engineers high-rate-of-fire weapons with exceptional cooling and elemental resilience. They operate independently but maintain exclusive supply agreements with Solarn Legacy Engineering, providing the cannons mounted on every armed Solarn airship. Unlike most products sold under the Solarn umbrella, Vaelstrad systems vary widely in price—from infantry-accessible repeaters to city-defense platforms valued in the billions.
Specifications
Type
Fortification-mounted rotary
Caliber
8 mm slugs
Rate of Fire
1,200 slugs/min
Muzzle Velocity
1,200 m/s
Weight (unloaded)
500 kg
Length
3,000 mm
Barrel Length
1,500 mm
Feed Device
Gas/crank rotary
Cost
500 ASH (500,000 VAR)
Operational History
Heavy Arrays made their reputation during the Warlord Eras when Destroyer-Class Engineered would deploy from airships carrying them in what can only be classified as super-massive armor. The shorter unmounted variant was developed specifically with Destroyers in mind. There have also been accounts of hybrid natural-borns carrying these into battle for limited periods, though such feats remain rare.
Their beaten zones of 10 to 20 meters proved decisive in holding relay hubs against opportunistic raids. When ground forces were insufficient to repel attackers, a properly positioned Heavy Array could deny approach corridors long enough for reinforcement or evacuation.
Discontinued Variant
Vaelstrad produced a slightly smaller variant with a higher rate of fire. It was discontinued due to concerns about barrels melting under sustained use.
About Vesselborn
Vesselborn is the story of Geba, a world that has carried an empire for six thousand years.
It begins with Vaer'karesh, who unites five nations into the first empire and fixes a common language and law. Across the ages, the empire fights and finally breaks Thazvaar, welcomes Jeyrha through engineering and diplomacy, and liberates Berinu by choice. In Ngorrhal, the greatest warriors of the mountain passes become the Frost Sentinels, whose strength helps secure imperial rule. The Haavu cannon systems cement that dominance.
At its height, the empire spans continents and raises relay towers that bind cities, coasts, and passes into one network. The last emperor is assassinated and the throne shatters. Civil wars consume the planet. But the answer is not collapse. The Shadow Rule forms from what the empire left behind, ends the warlord broadcasts, and holds the world together without a crown. They are the empire made quiet: continuity without ceremony.
Today, the Shadow Rulers still govern from the background while the Energy Wars decide who controls grids, relays, vehicles, and culture. Nine faiths compete for how the world understands itself. Tour racing draws audiences as large as the Yuvaar Hunting Games. Relaymen carry broadcast rigs into corridors and criminal networks to capture what the governed world is never meant to see. Contractors move through contested territory for manufactory interests. Syndicates operate trafficking networks through grey zones the empire tolerates rather than confronts. The Engineered, once created as instruments of war, now live as citizens, athletes, engineers, and parents.
Stories range from relay field defenses and inland recoveries to city governance and frontier resettlement; from airship crews racing through volcanic caverns to truth seekers embedding in syndicate operations; from arena fighters practicing an ancient faith through combat to families choosing the safety of hub clearings or the risk beyond the grid.
This is Geba. It began in silence. It has not yet ended.