Page 224: Optimistic Way Of Looking At Things

[CrimsonFALKE]

SpoilerShow

All will be explained ... eventually... patron pages already address this. But now here comes some action ~ been waiting to see it in color! This will be Spectacular!!

What coloration scheme do you think the unknown ship will be?

[QuakeIV]

I was gonna say, if ever there was a situation to turn it up to 8, it would be now. Also, can someone decapitate spoiler guy (right above this post) in one swift blow?

[Demarquis]

"8" might be a setting one really shouldn't use indoors, unless one enjoys truly explosive surprises.

[Krulle]

And likely also not in Oxygen-filled environments.

[GeoModder]

And likely also not in Oxygen-filled environments.

If that's the case, would you consider a particle beam shot into a planetary atmosphere (with a large percentage of oxygen in it) a weapon of mass destruction?

[QuakeIV]

I feel like they would have had a requirement when procuring these handheld weapons that it not cause an explosion that kills the user when fired in a normal atmosphere.

[Arioch]

A small arms blaster would be designed to be fired in atmosphere, so I don't see that being a problem. Oxygen accelerates combustion but it doesn't itself burn. The most obvious danger in using higher power settings on a blaster is the risk of missing your intended target and having the shot go through a bulkhead and hit something that "doesn't react well to bullets."

[CrimsonFALKE]

I was gonna say, if ever there was a situation to turn it up to 8, it would be now. Also, can someone decapitate spoiler guy (right above this post) in one swift blow?

[CrimsonFALKE]

A small arms blaster would be designed to be fired in atmosphere, so I don't see that being a problem. Oxygen accelerates combustion but it doesn't itself burn. The most obvious danger in using higher power settings on a blaster is the risk of missing your intended target and having the shot go through a bulkhead and hit something that "doesn't react well to bullets."

Which is why boarding actions in space would be a very bad idea you can blow your bulk heads and get sucked into space.

[Arioch]

A small arms blaster would be designed to be fired in atmosphere, so I don't see that being a problem. Oxygen accelerates combustion but it doesn't itself burn. The most obvious danger in using higher power settings on a blaster is the risk of missing your intended target and having the shot go through a bulkhead and hit something that "doesn't react well to bullets."

Which is why boarding actions in space would be a very bad idea you can blow your bulk heads and get sucked into space.

Boarding troops will usually be prepared to operate in vacuum (the very act of entering an enemy ship will usually involve depressurizations), and I think it's unlikely that small arms would penetrate the external armor of a warship, but you might hit something volatile like a warhead or reactor.

[CrimsonFALKE]

A small arms blaster would be designed to be fired in atmosphere, so I don't see that being a problem. Oxygen accelerates combustion but it doesn't itself burn. The most obvious danger in using higher power settings on a blaster is the risk of missing your intended target and having the shot go through a bulkhead and hit something that "doesn't react well to bullets."

Which is why boarding actions in space would be a very bad idea you can blow your bulk heads and get sucked into space.

Boarding troops will usually be prepared to operate in vacuum (the very act of entering an enemy ship will usually involve depressurizations), and I think it's unlikely that small arms would penetrate the external armor of a warship, but you might hit something volatile like a warhead or reactor.

The umaki are wise to use melee in boarding actions over blasters and beam weapons clearly. Sure our current day bullets in a ship like this one will be harmless to the hull, but in some scifi entries there are 3 barrel rifles shooting depleted uranium nails at speeds of mach 8. I'd imagine at that rate armor would either be useless or space magic.

[Demarquis]

"If that's the case, would you consider a particle beam shot into a planetary atmosphere (with a large percentage of oxygen in it) a weapon of mass destruction?"

Well, a weapon of mass cliche, anyway.

"I feel like they would have had a requirement when procuring these handheld weapons that it not cause an explosion that kills the user when fired in a normal atmosphere."

and "A small arms blaster would be designed to be fired in atmosphere, so I don't see that being a problem. Oxygen accelerates combustion but it doesn't itself burn. The most obvious danger in using higher power settings on a blaster is the risk of missing your intended target and having the shot go through a bulkhead and hit something that "doesn't react well to bullets.""

Two words: Hand grenade. Or any explosive device really, where one has to be careful not to direct it at a target that is too close to friendly troops. For all we know, 8 is the "Clear out an entire large room" setting. Although as Arioch is the author, presumably he knows what the weapons can or can't do.

The necessity of avoiding hitting anything vital to the ship is going to put our heroes at a distinct tactical disadvantage.

"Which is why boarding actions in space would be a very bad idea you can blow your bulk heads and get sucked into space."

Depressurization typically isn't powerful enough, nor does it last long enough, to cause that to happen.

"The umaki are wise to use melee in boarding actions over blasters and beam weapons clearly."

Wait, what? You mean as in pikes and boarding axes? Are they going to appear in pirate clothing as well? "Arrrckkkkkkkk!"

[Arioch]

A blaster would be a beam emitter and some kind of power cell; I think ideally you'd want to have power cells that don't easily explode. I think you could rig a blaster so that it overloads and fails, but I doubt it would explode in an efficient or predictable manner that would make it useful as a "phaser overload" effect, to the point where you would design it in as a regular setting. So the "level 8" setting is just the maximum power setting for the beam. It's powerful enough that it could do significant collateral damage, so it shouldn't be used in a boarding situation unless you're sure that you hit what you're aiming at and that target is robust enough to absorb most of the damage, which Beryl simplified for Alex as "don't use it."

"The umaki are wise to use melee in boarding actions over blasters and beam weapons clearly."

Wait, what? You mean as in pikes and boarding axes? Are they going to appear in pirate clothing as well? "Arrrckkkkkkkk!"

I think he's referring to the bladed weapons that some of the hardtroops have. They also have some (rather large) ranged weapons, but even those without purpose-built bladed weapons have some inherent melee capability. サイボーグパンチ！！！

[QuakeIV]

I’d assume ‘oh shit a hardtrooper’ is also a good reason

[avatar576]

Always glad to get a new page!

Question, though: What makes the Loroi think that the Umiak wouldn't investigate anything about one of their ships in the formation suddenly ceasing to follow orders/keep formation? I could see if, say, Tempo was on the radio doing her best Han Solo "We're all good down here, how are you?" impression, but if as mentioned in #223 she didn't grab *all* of the Umiak codes then presumably the boarding team can't actually maneuver the ship. Wouldn't the Umiak send at least a gunboat or so over to investigate?

Also, if I'm not mistaken, by its silhouette the Umiak ship looks to be a 'Type-KTKh Fast Cruiser', which would mean that it was a fairly-significant fleet combatant that just fell out of formation.

Was there something explained about this that I missed?

Some of the rationale for this is explained in the essay on the Umiak on the Insider page, and some of this I have inferred from the story thus far, so parts of it may be inaccurate or just plain wrong.

The Umiak don't seem to expend resources repairing crippled ships. They just run what they have until the wheels fall off, so to speak, then abandon it or part it out. Cheaper for them to replace damaged or destroyed units than repair them.

The "gate crasher" attack of which they are a part appears to depend on speed and surprise as central elements of its overall strategy, in conjunction with their apparently newfound ability to evade detection by the Loroi Farseers. They have an objective to reach, and whatever or wherever it is, they must reach it as quickly as possible, before they can be intercepted by the Loroi fleet. They have an advantage which they intend to capitalize on, whatever the cost. As such, a damaged ship would probably be scuttled or left to fend for itself while the rest of the force continues towards its objective.

Remember also that the fleet that captured them was said to have made a "deep jump" into the system where they encountered the Highland-7. Talon speculates that they may have lost up to half of their ships in such a maneuver. While she might (or might not) be exaggerating, it nevertheless highlights the "...or die in the attempt" subtext of the Umiak battle plan. They're aware that they will suffer extremely heavy losses in this engagement. A ship experiencing an apparent catastrophic failure of multiple systems would be chalked up as just one more casualty within the fleet, possibly from battle damage, or possibly from the deep hyperspace jump. They did make a second jump after capturing the Highland-7 (which might have been another deep jump), possibly adding to their losses. "Don't know. Don't care. Must keep moving."

I would also surmise that among the systems Tempo sabotaged were the external comms arrays. Otherwise, they would certainly have notified the rest of their fleet that they possibly had Loroi saboteurs aboard. I think it's certain the fleet would have destroyed the compromised ship rather than let it fall into enemy hands, or waste time and resources trying to recapture it.

[QuakeIV]

To my understanding, they would ice the whole ship with her inside it not because its of little value to them, but because it would be a serious problem if a psyker of that power was present on an entire planet, let alone a ship. They likely couldn't take it back by force if they wanted to.

[sunphoenix]

And likely also not in Oxygen-filled environments.

If that's the case, would you consider a particle beam shot into a planetary atmosphere (with a large percentage of oxygen in it) a weapon of mass destruction?

I believe the 'Real' issue about hand-held, man-portable particle beam weaponry is first the power requirements... particle beam tech is an energy hog! But immediately second is the radiation cascade of particle beams... this is why particle accelerators require so much radiation shielding to protect the researchers at such research installations. The Researchers are well away from the actual accelerator... high energy particles in directed motion are a serious radiation hazard. Plus... when a coherent particle beam hits anything metal.. the radiation cascade given off by the point of impact is quite dangerous to organic life! You would not want to be ANYWHERE near the impact of a particle beam on something metallic!

Even the US military research into particle beams weaponry is only theorized to be employed on space satellites in vacuum.. away from anything organic. Also atmosphere really messes with the coherency of particle beams ~ electron beams, and proton beams get caught up in the normal charge of atmosphere and take a crapton of power to hammer through the normal atmospheric charges. Now a Neutron particle accelerator might be much more effective but THAT takes even more power to work effectively!

Many sci-fi writers have conjectured that effective 'blasters' will need a pilot-laser in conjunction with the particle beam to fire ionizing the interposing atmosphere to make a pulsed particle burst possible... but That would take a lot of power to do it repeatedly. So now were into pure conjecture and speculation...

[Urist]

For what it's worth, just operating in deep space (and especially at the sub-light speeds that Loroi/Umiak ships get up to) pretty much requires excellent radiation/particle shielding. In terms of 'radiation dangers' in Outsider, I've been generally treating it as having been handwaved much like the artificial gravity & inertial compensators: assume that it's not a danger *unless* the narrative specifies it as being a factor for a scene.

[QuakeIV]

I think it’s safe to say that not being able to figure it out today doesn’t really rule out a civilization that was traveling the stars for centuries being able to do it somehow. That it’s presumably not just a straightforward particle beam but has to follow some kind of complicated process to strike the target with a particle beam without killing the user or every other unprotected individual in the room is imo reasonable.

[Bamax]

And likely also not in Oxygen-filled environments.

If that's the case, would you consider a particle beam shot into a planetary atmosphere (with a large percentage of oxygen in it) a weapon of mass destruction?

I believe the 'Real' issue about hand-held, man-portable particle beam weaponry is first the power requirements... particle beam tech is an energy hog! But immediately second is the radiation cascade of particle beams... this is why particle accelerators require so much radiation shielding to protect the researchers at such research installations. The Researchers are well away from the actual accelerator... high energy particles in directed motion are a serious radiation hazard. Plus... when a coherent particle beam hits anything metal.. the radiation cascade given off by the point of impact is quite dangerous to organic life! You would not want to be ANYWHERE near the impact of a particle beam on something metallic!

Even the US military research into particle beams weaponry is only theorized to be employed on space satellites in vacuum.. away from anything organic. Also atmosphere really messes with the coherency of particle beams ~ electron beams, and proton beams get caught up in the normal charge of atmosphere and take a crapton of power to hammer through the normal atmospheric charges. Now a Neutron particle accelerator might be much more effective but THAT takes even more power to work effectively!

Many sci-fi writers have conjectured that effective 'blasters' will need a pilot-laser in conjunction with the particle beam to fire ionizing the interposing atmosphere to make a pulsed particle burst possible... but That would take a lot of power to do it repeatedly. So now were into pure conjecture and speculation...

I read up on the fiction of the Kryptonian blaster guns used in Zack Snyder's MOS and The Flash from James Gunn.

It's wild folks. It's not a particle beam! They are plasma blasters.

And they EVEN came up with a reason why the plasma does not immediately expand like a rocket plume but instead shoots out as fireballs.

Turns out the the guns secrete a sticky liquid (obvious highly resistant to heat) which encase each plasma fireball, which basically turns their guns into flamethrower bullet throwers, since once a fireball hits not only do you burn but you're hit by the scalding hot sticky casing.

Thus the guns showed vapor after each shot, no doubt from the casing fluid that evaporated from each shot.

Coincidentally... it makes an excellent heat sink too as you fire away without overheating your gun.