Codex Transportica

In the latter stages of the Great War, huge listening stations were positioned along the coastlines overlooking the enemy continent. Radar, and the improved Rad-DAR, provided ample means of detection against conventional aircraft; so much so that new technologies were necessary to circumvent this impenetrable barrier.

Implausible and arcane areas of research gave rise to many advances and devices we now accept as commonplace. At that time, the culmination of all this invention was the Deus Pugnus, an enormous explosive device carried, deployed, and even detonated, by specially trained birds.

The bomb itself was carefully sculpted to hinder any reflection that radar could detect. Rad-DAR was no better, due to the ‘hyper nano oscillations’ that the objects framework continuously produced. Such a design ensured silent running as the birds carried the bomb deep into enemy territory. (Novel means of detection eventually overcame the stealth technology: citation required for Malleus Project.)

While whimsically named, the Pugnus certainly packed a catastrophic punch. Utilising the newest lightweight plastic fibre explosives, the destructive capabilities of the complete package out bombed all conventional weapons of similar size (gravitational crunch/pump devices were not devised until the time of the Least War).

Utilisation was an interesting process, involving three types of specially trained bird, code-named the Worker, the Piper and the Hammer.

The Worker was one of the thousand or more birds used to lift the device (via lightweight filament attached to its feet) and fly it to its target. Each of these birds were trained to follow the Piper – a single trained homing pigeon used to guide the flock to the destination, whereupon the Hammer (a woodpecker) would activate the detonator.

In practice, once the Piper had reached its target, it would attempt to land. At this point it would provide a strong downward pull on its connecting cord. This cord was connected to a trap door which released the woodpecker from its cage beneath the device. A few sharp blows from a woodpecker’s beak on the wooden detonator were sufficient to set off the chain reaction leading to the main explosive payload – all before the Worker birds were able to land.

A gratifying side-effect of this method (to the attackers at least) was that the bomb was detonated well above ground level, assuring increased destruction over a larger area.

Over a short period of time this particular weapon went from laughable to greatly feared, but finally to out thwarted. The solution eventually found was almost as bizarre as the original design. Allies obtained and trained pigeons of their own, but in this case female pigeons, trained to return to enemy territory and soaked with pigeon pheromones. The Piper pigeons were unable to resist this lure and would usually follow the females.

The allies’ so-called “Mata Hari” pigeons ensured a speedy cessation of the Deus Pugnus attacks when it was seen that as many bombs were blowing up their own bases as were exploding over their intended targets

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