Antimatter
Desperate Measures
The problem with antimatter
On the surface, antimatter seems like a perfect weapon. You could wipe a fleet off the field with little effort. Point defense turrets used to destroy incoming missiles won't even work. Breaking the trap doesnt disable the bomb. The missile is merely a delivery system. Breaking it just frees the beast. You'll probably just get hit anyway.
The problem with antimatter is twofold: it's extremely expensive to make, sure, but most of all, it's overkill. Why would you even want a weapon like this? It could win you a war but the economic depression that follows will do you in anyway. It's not efficient, especially when you have so many other options.
Then you have the problem of storage and transportation. I would never haul this cargo. It could fail at any given moment. If something happened, there's no if, and, or but about it. You're gone. Existing is no longer a thing you do. There won't even be ashes to scatter. You just disappear.
Other uses
Antimatter isn't just a way to wage war. You could theoretically use it to power your ship. It would be exponentially more powerful and fuel efficient compared to fusion technology. That being said, it's still a bad idea.
Again you have the costs and potential hazards associated with storing large quantities of antimatter on your ship, but your access to fuel would be limited as well. You're not going to find antimatter somewhere to harvest or a fuel ship ready to fill your tank.
Fusion engines run on deuterium and tritium, both being isotopes of hydrogen. Just so we're clear, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. You can't help but run into the stuff. Everywhere you go, you have fuel, it's practically a law of the universe. Antimatter doesn't have that luxury. It's why fusion is so widely used across all species.
The trade war
No one even tried to use antimatter weapons until the trade war. Dhitol somehow managed to make it work. Their ground troops even use it. Granted, small arms would be much cheaper compared to arming ships.
Still… It's an act of desperation. Imagine the mentality your soldiers would need to have to be willing to carry antimatter rounds. These rounds could fracture or shatter in the heat of combat and they're literally attached to you.
The Dhitol are fighting for survival. The Eden would wipe out their species if they fail. I get it. Their soldiers are sacrificing themselves for their cause. I wish I believed in something that much.
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FRAEIAAAAAAAAAAAA... Amber no, don't feel sad, you are amazing ;-;
Cool reads: Reaching the Meeraz | University of Delavar | Meeraz Morrow | Catoblepon's rambles