- Intent: To make a massive artillery cannon capable of being fitted onto dreadnoughts and the largest of forts
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- Manufacturer: Ne-Cal Military Engineering
- Affiliation: Galactic Alliance/AiE, SJO, closed buyers
- Model: Cerrus-class Demolisher Cannon
- Modularity: No
Production: Semi-Unique (Can only be used on ships above 1800m)
- Material: Titanium-reinforced durasteel barrel, duraplast-reinforced titanium base
- Classification: Heavy Railgun
- Size: Very Large (400m long, 25m wide)
- Weight: Extreme
- Ammunition Type: 700mm XXL+ Power Cells
- Ammunition Capacity: 15
- Reload Speed: Very Slow
- Effective Range: Battlefield
- Rate of Fire: Very Low
- Stopping Power: Extreme
- Recoil: Very High
- Cooling Cells - On the underside of the Cerrus cannon are two exposed coolant pipes. Their purpose is to allow heat built up from the immense amount of energy put into a shot to exit the cannon, preventing internal decay. The cooling system does so by automatically opening up as soon as the cannon fires. Air directly from the surrounding space is stored inside the system, and mixes with the heated air as the cooling system opens up.
- Targeting System - A sophisticated system of scopes and navigational computers allows the Cerrus artillery cannon to pick off enemies from dozens of kilometers away, with pinpoint accuracy. Underside and overside long scopes close distance between the cannon and its target quickly, with computers making the split-second calculations necessary to predict the trajectory of a moving target.
- Boom - There are very few ships in the galaxy that can withstand even a single blast of a Cerrus Demolisher cannon. Its massive 800mm power cells can easily slice through all but the thickest of armor, and any shielding shares a worse fate.
- Boom (12382m) - Thanks to modern, cutting-edge engineering, the Cerrus Demolisher can demolish its enemies before their radar even detects it. It can accurately hit the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer from over fifty kilometers away, and still be at nearly full power. Better yet, the Demolisher's falloff is extremely low until around eighty kilometers, and even then, it continues to have stopping power in it until the shot is one hundred twenty kilometers away from its origin.
- Wait for it... As a compromise for the firepower of the Cerrus, it takes two minutes to reload. Between cooldown, automatically loading in the new cell, and gathering the energy to fire the new shell, reloading can be a serious pain.
- I'm on fire! - The cooling cells in the Cerrus Demolisher can only work properly if it is in an environment where the surrounding air or space is 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius) or under. Otherwise, there is a risk that the cannon barrel will overheat and either fail to function or explode dramatically, causing massive damage to the host vessel.
- One shot, one kill - Only fifteen cells can be fitted into the Cerrus Demolisher, significantly decreasing its effectiveness in long, drawn out battles.
- Special Delivery - Weighing thousands of tons and requiring a massive quantity of energy to fire, Cerrus cannons can only be fitted to battlecruisers or larger vessels.
- Mooooooooving around - It takes an entire minute for the Cerrus Demolisher to turn 180 degrees. Additionally, Cerrus Demolishers are incapable of engaging swift corvettes and frigates, with starfighters being out of the question entirely.
- It's a mountain! - A massive barrel and slow turn speed combined makes Cerrus Demolishers extremely vulnerable to bomber and turbolaser assault should the host vessel's shielding be diminished.
As NCME's ships grew, so did its weapon systems.
Expecting to be servicing and even producing battlecruiser/dreadnought sized vessels in the future, Ne-Cal decided to step their weapons up to fit them. The Cerrus-class Demolisher was designed to rival in sheer firepower the most infamous turbolasers of the time, from the Pit Horrors of the Sith and Mandalorians to the Onager plasma railguns of the SJO. Functioning as a frigate-sized artillery cannon, its singular purpose is to smash anything in its path, no matter what its composition is.
The design for the Cerrus-class comes from a failed Flyswatter AA prototype that used a flak cannon to disperse starfighters at medium range. Upon realizing its potential of being upscaled, the cannon was significantly expanded and altered from a flak cannon to a railgun. However, the frame and targeting system remained, albeit expanded and reinforced. After the first prototypes using 400mm shells overheated rapidly and exploded after their first shot, a coolant system was added in an attempt to counteract the intense heat produced by a round firing. After the cooling vents were perfected, overheating was never an issue again in the testing grounds.
As the prototypes succeeded in their tasks, they were slowly expanded, 600mm shells replacing the previous 400mm shells, followed by the 800mm shells used in the final model. More issues arose in a lengthy reload time, limited ammunition, and slow movement of the barrel on the base, but Ne-Cal was still happy with their product. After the 800mm model was perfected, it began production in the Ne-Cal factories.
NCME quickly realized that only battlecruisers and dreadnoughts could fit their new cannons, but were undeterred. It was exactly the purpose of the cannon to support such large vessels in their operations, and there would surely be customers for their product.
Crew - 2 gunners, 2 navigators, 1 operator/loader
