Plasma torpedo (Earth-5875)

"Just another item in the Covenant's bottomless arsenal. Not a plasma torpedo, or we'd already be free-floating molecules."

- -Jacob Keyes

Plasma torpedoes are a type of plasma weapon used by the capital ships of the Covenant and its splinter factions, being one of the hegemony's main ship-to-ship weapons. They are fired by "silos" located in the ship's hull, which can strike its target at both long and closed range, causing catastrophic damage to the target. If utilized alongside pulse laser turrets, plasma torpedoes can quickly decimate an entire UNSC fleet.

Design
Plasma torpedoes are fired through a system known to the Covenant as "plasma silos", located through the hull of every of the hegemony's ships - in most of the cases, the silos are located in the ship's lateral sides. They are red or purple in color.

The torpedoes themselves are not actually plasma in the real sense of the word, but rather, cylindrical cones fueled by plasma energy that range between 3-5 meters. Thousands of the cones are packaged in munition racks across CCS-class battlecruisers.

Operation
The cylindrical cones are ignited in pinch magnetic fields that are guided by magnetic coils supplied by the Covenant's pinch fusion reactors. As soon as the weapon is charged, super heated plasma is formed at the exterior of the conduit adjoined in the plasma silos. When the plasma torpedo is charged, it fires outward towards its targets, and these torpedoes are guided by magnetic fields that are projected on its emitter. The torpedo is deadly, and as soon as it impacts, it burns through an unshielded ship, commonly leading to imminent destruction.

Incredibly accurate, the UNSC can rarely avoid their attacks, only doing so by the use of emergency thrusters. They are not without their weaknesses, and strong magnetospheres, like those of gas giants, can disrupt the magnetic field necessary to guide the torpedo and null the effects of the torpedo. For ships to fire their torpedoes, they need to lower a small section of their own shields, as a countermeasure for the torpedoes to not detonate inside the protection.

Guidance
Plasma torpedoes can also be guided manually by a vessel's Shipmaster from their bridge through the use of holographic "steering spheres", which are superimposed over holographic animations of the space that surrounds the vessel, including enemy ships. The Covenant developed a form of countering guiding signals, in fact a form of electric countermeasure, that is able to disrupt the control of the torpedo against an enemy ship.

In the case the firing ship is destroyed before a torpedo can hit its target, the torpedoes are destroyed duo to the premature loss of the magnetic field.

Tactics
Plasma torpedoes are, generally, the first weapon used by Covenant fleets upon the engagement with enemies, at least in long range cases, annihilating many enemies and targets upon its initial impact. The torpedoes emit strong colors, a result of radiation, which can often lure or confuse enemies, making their loss quicker and more effective.