Melee Weapons

It took a while before the NEB realized that war with Neo-Humanity wouldn't just end quickly in the void. Though the NEB dominated void battles, Neo-Humanity learned the best response was to board NEB ships and take them from the inside. NEB forces were more or less incapable of winning boarding conflicts with the physically superior GLAs except through massive levels of attrition.
Neo-Humanity never bothered to adjust for the changing face of boarding combat, as they simply countered uplift with uplift. The NEB had to adapt. The first tests of their new equipment occurred on Tempestus XI, where the near-constant bunker-to-bunker and trench combat were an excellent proving ground for new weaponry without putting expensive fleet assets at risk.
The new solution was a very old one. Uplifts followed ancient, instinctual combat methods. Humans had long ago learned how to combat this- they just needed to update the tools. As such the Ares-Nova Guild designed three new methods of dealing with uplifts: OxyCut, PneumaGear, and A&N TungstaKill. So far most NEB melee weapons are cutting or stabbing weapons; bludgeoning items have been found to have little effect on modified uplifts. Typhoon Initiative agents are especially well-known for equipping these kinds of weapons for stealthy attacks.
After the success of these three types, baseline NeoHumans started to adapt weapons as well, developing them for their own personal arsenal; uplifts and hybrids often just mount metallicized prosthetics over their current natural weapons. Despite this, they lag markedly behind the NEB in terms of melee combat doctrine.
The following stats include both melee weapons as well as Uplift natural weapon upgrades. Only hand-held melee weapons can contain melee modules. Some Uplifts have been known to outfit medium-sized "hand-held" melee weapons on a harness hard point for deadly hit-and-run attacks.
Small (1 step) Melee: These include weapons like daggers, small claws, flip-knives, and other supplemental weapons. They're typically weapons of the last resort, as they usually can't get leverage enough to penetrate armor. On the bright side, they are extremely concealable.

• +d4W
• Available modules: Tungstakill, Pneumagear
• Concealment bonus: +d4

Medium (2 step) Melee: These include one-handed weapons like swords, axes, fangs, and short spears, though swords are by far the most common weapon in this size category. These are especially favored by NEB officers and operatives, who use them to great effect in special operations.

• +d6W
• Available modules: Oxycut, Tungstakill, Pneumagear
• Handheld weapons can be equipped to a weapon harness hardpoint

Heavy (3 step) Melee: Technically 'heavy' melee weapons are a misnomer. The huge, lumbering weapon of the past haven't made it back onto the battlefield. These weapons are typically held in two hands, though someone of strength 10+ can easily hold them one-handed. Most 'heavy' melee weapons are actually long spears used to keep melee opponents at bay; though for natural weapons they may include the heavy stabbing teeth or massive claws of the largest uplifts.

• +d8W
• Available modules: Oxycut, Tungstakill, Pneumagear
• New Melee action: Brace
  Standard action. Opponents charging into a Braced weapon must make a defense against the character's Melee attack at a -2 step penalty. If the character successfully hits their opponent, their attack gets an additional step bonus to damage on the target, who has effectively impaled themselves on the melee weapon. The character also gets a +1 step bonus to Parry defenses against their opponent, even if their Brace attack misses.

Modules:
OxyCut
The OxyCut system uses a powerful fusion battery pack to power a series of micro-cutting tips along the cutting edge of the weapon. Extreme heat generated by the battery causes the cutting tips to flare up into a thermal torch. This will carve through most armor like butter.
There are three downsides to the OxyCut system. The first is that the weapons only function in oxygenated atmospheres. The second is the conversion module for medium-sized weapons requires a power pack that has to be worn on the owner's hip. Though this can function as a tether, it's also possible to cut and interrupt the power, leaving the user defenseless. Long spear models get around this limitation by housing the battery within the haft of the spear. The third problem is that small weapons can't dissipate energy fast enough, causing them to melt; they can't mount the module.

• Opposing armor suffers a -2 step penalty.
• Add an additional +d2 damage (not a step bonus).
• Medium Melee only: Any successful called shot at the power pack or tether will disable the bonus effects of this weapon. The difficulty is a -3 (Miniscule) for Ranged attacks or a -2 (Limb) for Melee attacks.

PneumaGear
The standard in quick-use, high-concealment melee weaponry. PneumaGear sacrifices durability and general utility for raw power and ease of use. PneumaGear swords, spears, and daggers fit into small rods about the size of a flashlight, or into thick points of environmental armor such as the wrists. the click of a button activates a CO2 cartridge that lets the weapon spring into killing action in an eyeblink. They're sharp enough to cut and stab, but won't survive in a full knock-down, drag-out fight... which is why the Ares-Nova Guild cheats. The points of all PneumaGear weapons contain a single-use small-scale explosive. Penetration past a certain point and with a half-twist trips the explosive, dealing ruinous damage to flesh or blowing off large chunks of armor. This inevitably wrecks the weapon, but makes them a fantastic (and lethal) panic-button.

• +d4 to Covert rolls made to hide the weapon
• Weapon may be readied as a free action
• A special stabbing attack may be made at a -1 step penalty. Success adds +d8 to damage which also destroys the weapon.

A&N TungstaKill
This highly advanced tungsten alloy creates well-balanced cutting and piercing blades. A&N TungstaKill weapons come in a gamut of forms, from small daggers to heavy boar spears. They're sharp, gratifyingly weighty, and are fairly cheap by Ares-Nova standards. Tungstakill weapons are also capable of mounting specialized cartridges that automatically coat the business end of the weapon in toxins such as soporifics, nerve agents, and anticoagulants- a popular option for the better-equipped NEB agent.

• +1W damage per step level of weapon
• Cartridges include 5 coatings of 1 poison