Wanted to get some folks thoughts on this tidbit here. It's a blurb about a weapon Garrick is about to put to use in a later snippet.
Laser weaponry in the galaxy by and large was what revolver pistols
were to the American Frontier – readily available and the great
equalizer. The science behind them was considered elementary, and
many shops of varying degrees of workmanship made them. There were
even quite a few one-offs out there, some of which were considered
highly valuable and were watched for eagerly in collection shows and
exhibitions.
Raiden's Toothpick might be one of them, someday.
It resembled a long-rifle. The reason for this was two-fold. For
one, it acted as a visual aid to help aim the weapon – it was
certainly powerful enough to be considered a sniper rifle. For
another, it was potent enough for you to want to make damn sure there
was nothing obstructing the beam so close to you. The flashback
would be fatal for me at such distances as I'd wind up being
flash-cooked. With the 'safe distance' provided by the barrel, an
accident like that would only severely maim me.
Indeed, lesson one of handling Raiden's Toothpick was making damn
sure that my firing line was clear.
Directly behind the barrel was, of course, the emitter assembly...
which was enshrouded by a bank of capacitors. Having them so close
to the emitter was for the best. The circuits for that connection
had to be made of some seriously dense metal, and it was heavy enough
with just the components. Best to keep the circuit path as short as
possible, regardless.
The power cell itself was mounted in the butt stock to make it easier
to handle, and had enough power for about sixty discharges.
Each pull of the trigger discharged one of the seven capacitors. It
took five seconds for a capacitor to charge, and that time grew with
the number of capacitors charging. If I discharged all seven in
rapid succession then the entire bank would take about forty seconds
to recharge.
In a fire fight, forty seconds is almost an eternity. This was
definitely not a weapon you would use lightly, but then the power
rating should have been indication enough if you know what a one
terawatt laser can do. The kicker was the length of the pulses.
Most high-power pulse lasers back on Earth only fire for a few
picoseconds.
Raiden's Toothpick fired for a full tenth of a second with every
pulse.
I figure 1/10th second terawatt laser pulses would get just about anyone's attention (in the same way a Hellfire Missile does).
Laser weaponry in the galaxy by and large was what revolver pistols
were to the American Frontier – readily available and the great
equalizer. The science behind them was considered elementary, and
many shops of varying degrees of workmanship made them. There were
even quite a few one-offs out there, some of which were considered
highly valuable and were watched for eagerly in collection shows and
exhibitions.
Raiden's Toothpick might be one of them, someday.
It resembled a long-rifle. The reason for this was two-fold. For
one, it acted as a visual aid to help aim the weapon – it was
certainly powerful enough to be considered a sniper rifle. For
another, it was potent enough for you to want to make damn sure there
was nothing obstructing the beam so close to you. The flashback
would be fatal for me at such distances as I'd wind up being
flash-cooked. With the 'safe distance' provided by the barrel, an
accident like that would only severely maim me.
Indeed, lesson one of handling Raiden's Toothpick was making damn
sure that my firing line was clear.
Directly behind the barrel was, of course, the emitter assembly...
which was enshrouded by a bank of capacitors. Having them so close
to the emitter was for the best. The circuits for that connection
had to be made of some seriously dense metal, and it was heavy enough
with just the components. Best to keep the circuit path as short as
possible, regardless.
The power cell itself was mounted in the butt stock to make it easier
to handle, and had enough power for about sixty discharges.
Each pull of the trigger discharged one of the seven capacitors. It
took five seconds for a capacitor to charge, and that time grew with
the number of capacitors charging. If I discharged all seven in
rapid succession then the entire bank would take about forty seconds
to recharge.
In a fire fight, forty seconds is almost an eternity. This was
definitely not a weapon you would use lightly, but then the power
rating should have been indication enough if you know what a one
terawatt laser can do. The kicker was the length of the pulses.
Most high-power pulse lasers back on Earth only fire for a few
picoseconds.
Raiden's Toothpick fired for a full tenth of a second with every
pulse.
I figure 1/10th second terawatt laser pulses would get just about anyone's attention (in the same way a Hellfire Missile does).