An educational handbook compiled by the IPC, distributed to fleet members to cover essential combat knowledge for space operations.

Internal use only, do not distribute.

Hey sailor, ever been to IPC's space military academy? No? Well, it makes no difference.

Considering we always get some illiterates (Editorial: those awaiting education) from frontier worlds on board, we should explain how modern space combat works and what sort of opponents we're up against.

The history of human warfare is a story of ever-growing toys: from armor and swords to vehicles and guns, then to warships and giant cannons… No matter how soldiers' equipment expanded, victory was always determined by humans. However, at cosmic scales, most battles are decided before they begin — just by calculating equipment standards, it's easy to predict which way victory will lean, with gaps sometimes greater than between humans and insects.

In space, range, accuracy, and speed form an impossible triangle — no entity can excel in all three (Editorial: except Emanators). Thus, warships follow two main attack strategies: close in for precision strikes, or overwhelm opponents with massive and indiscriminate area attacks. Space pirates often take a more direct approach: boarding and bringing the fight to familiar territory — hand-to-hand combat requires less brainpower than calculating trajectories and routes, plus they get a free ship if they win.

Interastral Peace Corporation
Without silver rails, Pathstriders still have some inefficient or dangerous travel methods. While these might connect several star sectors, they can't establish a vast and efficient cosmic market. Thus, the IPC fleet's main duty is protecting and maintaining existing silver rails, sometimes also undertaking planetary landings and securing key points. Most warships carry a complement of mechs and drop pods to support ground forces after securing orbit.

IPC warships favor energy weapons, with positron cannons, annihilation beams, and Imaginary fission cannons standard even on frigates. Our fleet also possesses the universe's strongest shield technology, colored like the Amber Lord's holy form. The Marketing Development Department's six fleets are each valued “worth a rank P46 employee.”

Recently, the Intelligentsia Guild completed modifications on a Genius Society invention, naming it the “#77 Puzzle Cannon.” It triggers explosions directly at target locations, requiring no flight time or accuracy concerns — a perfect weapon. However, still in testing, the device remains too large for all but the biggest ships to carry.

Antimatter Legion