A relic of the Revolutionary Wars, the "Firecloud" steam cannon is an ingenious piece of Aboriginal engineering, devised as an alternative to traditional gunpowder artillery in the western realms. By harnessing the power of superheated steam, the Firecloud cannon can launch heavy projectiles with surprising range and force, rivalling or even surpassing pre-industrial gunpowder artillery. Instead of relying on explosive force, these weapons use boilers and reinforced pressure chambers to store steam at dangerously high temperatures. When the firing lever is pulled, a valve is released, allowing a massive rush of pressurized steam to propel a solid metal shot or specialized munitions down a long, reinforced barrel. Firecloud cannons normally come equipped with a small boiler which can be used in an emergency or in a prolonged field battle, but their true strength is revealed when connected to one or more static boilers, which transform this weapon into something closer to a pre-industrial autocannon. As such, these devices were particularly effective in the defence, especially so during sieges (as they did not consume any gunpowder, and water is renewable by means of rain). Despite their effectiveness, Firecloud steam cannons have notable weaknesses. They require significant time to prepare and reload, are vulnerable to water shortages, and can explode violently if overpressurized or damaged. Additionally, they are mechanically complex and cannot be mass-produced in the same way gunpowder cannons can.
Much like its cousin, the Automatic Crossbow, Firecloud cannons fascinated British colonists, who were well acquainted with steam-based industrial machinery. Out of the few hundred steam cannons that came into the British Empire's possession, a handful were sent to be studied at London, while the rest were converted into conventional machinery to aid with Australia's colonisation. Aboriginal craftsmen involved with the manufacturing of these machines later occupied important positions in the Australian colonies as engineers, often more experienced and respected than their British peers.