Page 138-139: Brace for Impact

[Arioch]

"figures" - is it an idiom or just a short request for torpedo count?

It's an English idiom, short for "That figures." It means, "That makes sense," or "That's what I expected."

[SVlad]

Thanks. I thought Loroi usually don't use idioms.

[Arioch]

Thanks. I thought Loroi usually don't use idioms.

It's not really an idiom. The meaning of "That figures" is quite literal.

The Loroi aren't actually speaking English, they're speaking Trade; the English translations are technically coming from the narrator (Alex). I have deliberately added some variations in the way different characters' words are translated to help distinguish them, even when these characteristics have nothing to do with the original Trade speech (for example, Alex's words are translated with contractions but the speech of the Loroi isn't, to make the Loroi sound more formal, but in reality Alex isn't using contractions either, because Trade doesn't have contractions).

Talon's original line in the script was "That was predictable," but I changed it to "Figures," because that is more brief and suits Talon's style of speaking.

This nuance probably makes it more complicated when trying to translate again to a third language, but that's not really something I can afford to worry about. Writing well is hard enough when all one has to worry about is one's own language.

[orion1836]

Do you actually write the original script in a literal Trade translation?

Bravo for such effort towards consistency.

[Arioch]

Do you actually write the original script in a literal Trade translation?

No, but the script draft often has simpler dialogue, which gets more crafted as I fit it to panels.

[icekatze]

hi hi

I feel a little bit bad for the station defenders, if they were having to take sub-optimal firing solutions in order to avoid hitting the Highland-7. Still, I'm pretty sure they all knew that they were making their last stand. I imagine there probably wasn't enough point defense to go around even if they had ideal shots.

I'll be curious to see if there's anything left of the station in the next panel or two.

On the plus side for the Highland-7, since they're almost out of propellant, they're probably getting close to their optimal acceleration. (Not counting the possibility of tossing dead weight out the back, since they probably want to keep it out of Umiak hands/graspers.)

[Sweforce]

hi hi

I feel a little bit bad for the station defenders, if they were having to take sub-optimal firing solutions in order to avoid hitting the Highland-7. Still, I'm pretty sure they all knew that they were making their last stand. I imagine there probably wasn't enough point defense to go around even if they had ideal shots.

I'll be curious to see if there's anything left of the station in the next panel or two.

On the plus side for the Highland-7, since they're almost out of propellant, they're probably getting close to their optimal acceleration. (Not counting the possibility of tossing dead weight out the back, since they probably want to keep it out of Umiak hands/graspers.)

Throwing stuff out will do nothing for their speed right now. They could have tried that earlier to get rid of some mass for the engines to deal with but since they are out of fuel there is nothing they can do.

[Werra]

Fireblade could use her powers to push the shuttle onwards from the inside. Theoretically, she could also decelerate. Might take a while with a mass this large and fast.

[Zarya]

If Fireblade is abord, isn’t that something similar as pulling yourself up by your bootstraps?
Despite the novelty factor of psychokinesis, I suspect Newton will still be spinning in his grave.

[Werra]

Fblade isn't taking the opposite force of her abilities. They're quite literally supernatural. So yeah.

[SVlad]

If Fireblade is abord, isn’t that something similar as pulling yourself up by your bootstraps?
Despite the novelty factor of psychokinesis, I suspect Newton will still be spinning in his grave.

The manual said that force applied from outside of our reality.
Fireblade can produce a force of 6600 N. At 400 ton vessel it produce acceleration of 0.017 m/s.

[SVlad]

What are "in-universe" reasons for Talon and Spiral to speak aloud to each other? For flight recorder logging?

[icekatze]

hi hi

Throwing stuff out will do nothing for their speed right now. They could have tried that earlier to get rid of some mass for the engines to deal with but since they are out of fuel there is nothing they can do.

Okay, three things here.

• First: I said "optimal acceleration," not "optimal speed."
• Second: They are not yet out of fuel. (Or propellant which may or may not be the same thing in their case, seeing as how they have atmospheric engines too.) Do you see the drive plumes? Do you see Alex wondering why they are still accelerating toward the station on page 138?
• Third: The Umiak are still there. Evading beam weapons is something they can potentially do, up until they do actually run out of propellant.

At the risk of having to repeat myself. As I stated, since they are "almost out of propellant," is true based on their conversations and the visuals on the most recent page. Due to the nature of mass to thrust ratios, their acceleration ability will increase right up until the moment they run dry. That is a feature of their situation.

[Arioch]

What are "in-universe" reasons for Talon and Spiral to speak aloud to each other? For flight recorder logging?

Yes.

[CF2]

Where did Spiral and Talon pull their helmets out from in all this? I know they put them on a few pages back, but I can't spot their storage location.

[Arioch]

Where did Spiral and Talon pull their helmets out from in all this? I know they put them on a few pages back, but I can't spot their storage location.

There are storage bins in a number of locations in the cockpit.

[twowolves7niner]

THAT was just Epic. JUST EPIC. rock star solution. THANK YOU ARIOCH!!!!!

[orion1836]

Were this a movie, there would either be dead silence at the moment of impact, or a rising guitar riff. Either way, epic.

[Michael]

TWO PAGES?! ::Squee::

[novius]

At the risk of having to repeat myself. As I stated, since they are "almost out of propellant," is true based on their conversations and the visuals on the most recent page. Due to the nature of mass to thrust ratios, their acceleration ability will increase right up until the moment they run dry. That is a feature of their situation.

It's not rocket science. Oh, wait....

In addition, they would need fuel to decelerate as well to speeds suitable for docking. So Spiral's words when they discussed docking means that while they might have enough fuel to get to the station, Alex pretty much hit the nail on the head with the question that they won't have enough fuel to slow down to safely dock.

Now they got rid of the incoming missiles but face the prospect of drifting towards interstellar space, especially since the Relay seems to have taken quite a battering, too, and may be in no shape to catch up to them.