“As you pass a nearby asteroid, something about it seems off. It is almost perfectly round. You don’t realize what it is until a red light appears on it, blinking. Spikes large enough to spear a galleon erupt from the turret’s sides in all directions, missing your hull by a gnat’s wing.”
Click here to get all 3 Astermine stat blocks!
An Astermine is a mechanical turret, meant to deter ships from entering an area. They have roots in pirate tradition, and in the Skerran navy. They are an iconic technology from the Saturian Wars: a set of conflicts between the Skerries and the colonies of Jupiter and Mars, which happened about two centuries ago. Even at the time, however, they were considered relatively "low tech."
Several types of Astermines exist, but they are all proximity mines, which react to tiny changes in gravitational mass as ships pass near them. They may release spikes, EMP charges, or even projectiles. Spike Asters are the ones that tend to last the longest, because they are made from simple mechanics, and can be re-used over and over again.
Video Credits
Narration: Shylee Phoenix
Music: 'Goliath' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
Art is original work of my own.