Y22A-1 Temblor Bomb

The Y22A-1 Temblor Bomb is a superweapon produced and fielded by the Terran Confederation. It is a warhead that serves as a planet-killer.

Technical Overview

The Y22A-1 Temblor Bomb was designed as a high tectonic-frequency weapon with a 267.5 megaton yield. Its projected aim was to destroy planets by means of triggering earthquakes. It was designed so that if fired with absolute precision at an active faultline, the resulting sonic waves would be powerful enough to destabilize the tectonic makeup of the planet's surface. The resulting earthquake would spread across the planet and rip the planet apart as its surface was ravaged by the extreme seismic activity. The Temblor Bomb could be deployed on virtually any planet, but it was most effective on worlds with an unusually high level of tectonic instability. It could fired like a torpedo from heavy starfighters whose payload allowed for such valuable cargo, and thus was an unsuitable cargo for most light or medium starfighters.

Development

The Temblor Bomb was first conceived during the middle stages of the ongoing Terran-Kilrathi War. During the 2660s, the Terran Confederation actively pursued the research and development of weapons capable of destroying entire planets for use against the Kilrathi Empire. Having seen the massive bloodshed that was occurring throughout the course of the conflict, the Confederation sought a means by which to end the war swiftly, and deduced that the only means by which this could be accomplished was by destroying the Kilrathi homeworld, Kilrah. As the seat of the Imperial family and the major industrial and military center for the entire Empire, the destruction of Kilrah was hoped to be the killing blow that would ultimate cripple the Empire into submission.

Over the course of the decade, the Confederation invested its finance and resources towards the creation of such weapons. Among them was the Temblor Bomb, developed by the Special Operations Division and designed by Dr. Philip Severin. The weapon was initially tested from 2659 to 2660, and by 2667 Severin's final design was being realized.

Unfortunately, Dr. Severin was captured by the Kilrathi and subsequently imprisoned for interrogation on his scientific knowledge within Confed. His capture stalled the Temblor Bomb project, as the Covert Operations Division was unable to complete the weapon without his expertise. After the loss of the TCS Behemoth in 2669, Brigadier General James Taggart commissioned the TCS Victory to extract Dr. Severin from a Kilrathi prison planet, Alcor V. Colonel Christopher Blair led the assault on the planet and enabled a squad of Terran Space Marines to land and rescue Dr. Severin, allowing the project to resume.

Soon afterwards, a fully-functional prototype of the Temblor Bomb was sent to the Victory for testing. A suitable test site was then found in the Hyperion System, where a barren and lifeless planet with a high level of tectonic instability was found to reside. On 2669.262, Colonel Blair deployed to the planet's surface in a F-103 Excalibur Heavy Fighter that had been specially configured to carry its payload. After dodging the Kilrathi patrols, Blair deployed the T-Bomb into the target faultline. The resulting explosion detonated a cataclysmic shockwave that destabilized the planet's tectonic makeup, destroying it completely.

Deployment

With the success of the T-Bomb test at Hyperion, the Terran Confederation immediately coordinated plans for a full-fledged strike on Kilrah, with the Vega Sector Headquarters giving full approval to General Taggart to carry out the strike. Covert Ops secreted two Temblor Bombs into the Kilrah System, where they had previously established hidden refueling outposts in the nearby asteroid belts. The TCS Eagle carried out the initial strike against Kilrah with General Taggart coordinating the attack, only to be driven back after meeting heavy resistance.

Some time later, a wing of Excaliburs were delivered to the Victory Gold Squadron and Colonel Blair's wing was charged with delivering the T-Bomb to the Kilrathi surface. Their timing was ideal as it was found that a huge portion of the Kilrathi fleet was amassing in Kilrathi orbit, preparing for a strike against Earth.

A flight of four Excaliburs were deployed to deliver the Temblor Bomb to Kilrah's surface in an effort to destroy the planet. This flight was led by Colonel Blair, his wingmen being Winston "Vagabond" Chang, Robin "Flint" Peters, and Todd "Maniac" Marshall. The flight launched from the Victory in the Freya System and jumped into Kilrah, where they fought their way through the enemy defenses. After refueling at the first depot, the Terrans acquired the Temblor Bomb at the second depot, where it was loaded onto Blair's specially-modified craft. Only Blair himself reached Kilrah orbit as his entire wing fell to enemy fire. Blair descended to the planet's surface where he skimmed along the planet's vast trenches until he finally delivered the T-Bomb to the targeted faultline, sealing the fate of Kilrah.

In the chaos that followed, the T-Bomb detonated, destabilizing Kilrah's volatile tectonic structure. The planet was rocked by a massive earthquake that completely destroyed the planet's surface, killing untold billions of Kilrathi and their Emperor. In orbit, massive shockwaves of energy emitted by the blast swept through the Kilrathi fleet, destroying dozens of warships and forcing the survivors to flee. Finally, Kilrah was destroyed in a massive explosion that consumed itself, its two moons, and all Kilrathi within the planet's vicinity. Blair managed to survive the carnage by clearing the planet before its final destruction. With the destruction of Kilrah, the Terran-Kilrathi War finally came to an end.