Deflective Force Fields

Deflector force fields, or -- as they are more commonly called -- deflector shields, are used by many factions, mainly to shield their warships.

How it works
A volumetric field effect is extended out from the surface of the shield projector in order to reduce the coherency of beam attacks and to divert physical objects. The shield behaves similar to a thermally conductive material. Any energy applied to the shield is quickly diffused and then re-radiated back into the enviornment. Large capital ships, which were usually subject to more punishment than troop transports and fighters, had shields that could also absorb some of the energy. Older capital ships had the absorbed energy sent to heat sinks where they were re-radiated out as tau neutrinos.

Advancements
As ships began to advance, the Merol began using absorbed energy to help power their ship, sending the energy to their weapons systems rather than heat sinks. This also allowed for them to retain their stealth capabilities even while under fire from an enemy ship. The Pleiadians also saw how useful this idea was, and instead of storing the energy in heat sinks and re-radiating it as neutrinos, they added additional heat sinks to their ships, where they would hold the energy. When it was needed, they would use the neutrinos as a sort of afterburner, providing their ships with extra speed. The Te'an later capitalized on this idea, building ships which used absorbtion shielding rather than deflective shields.