A tragically belated reply, but I've been Internet-less for over a week. o_o;
Maybe there's some sorta, I dunno, schedule saying where the Island's supposed to be at any given time. In light of planetary orbits round the sun and all that, well, I figure that kinda thing wouldn't be unusual in Fenspace. Especially for stations and spacedocks that are regular destinations. Or is that overly fiddly?
The .07C figure for the Octopus' current configuration may need to be reduced, however. Good point. That number's...pretty fast. Too fast. Let me think on that. What would make sense for a, well, space tow truck?
Suffice to say, he's got physical boosts, but a net negative effect on his long-term health. Again, it's something I plan to touch on for a story, hence why the entry played cards a little close-to-chest.
Will Kao is a nod, homage, reference, or rough caricature of a friend. Who really does have a truly disturbing fascination with feline imagery - and an equally strong revulsion of furries. Honestly, I can't make this stuff up...
In light of that, catgirl/catboy attraction is a good idea - might use that anyway. I'm fond of slapstick, though I'm not sure how well I can write it. These days, anyway. Been a while since I tried. It doesn't quite fit the tone of the current short story I'm working on with the Island crew. But I might use that for future stuff...
As for having an armed ship - providing some assurance of security, even if that assurance is false. 's part of business. Place I worked for had, f'example, fake security cameras. There really was a closed-circuit TV system, but most of the cameras around the area weren't actually real. Likewise, the Shakespeare wasn't...that well-armed when it started out.
Part of the point is...the ship is evolutionary. It was launched for protection and patrol purposes, or generally playing shepherd to the various ships flocking round Island airspace. Initially, though, it was just pretty much a glorified airtight box with big engines and guns. Gradual modifications over the years, though...well. Again, story purposes.
That, and there are gunbunnies on staff. Thomas Zhu is vaguely based on a real cousin of mine. The actual guy's an engineering student who taught me how to make homemade sorta-napalm when we were kids. Yeah. Boom. He was terribly disappointed when he was forced to go non-combat in the military. Flat feet. He wanted Air Force or Commandos or something...
There's no real excuse for armaments on the Outrigger II, but that ship isn't always armed either; the entire craft is in a constant state of flux... even if it is armed, the weaponry isn't terribly significant. 's never really a big craft.
-- Acyl
Quote:I'm tempted to argue Space Opera logic here, but that'd cover the fact I simply hadn't considered that. There's reasons why I eventually dropped most of my science subjects in school...
It's worth noting that for any two given planets, there will be some point in their year-cycle where passing between them on direct point-to-point straight line involves going through the Sun or pretty close to. This would tend to have strange effects on any real attempt to be a halfway point.
Maybe there's some sorta, I dunno, schedule saying where the Island's supposed to be at any given time. In light of planetary orbits round the sun and all that, well, I figure that kinda thing wouldn't be unusual in Fenspace. Especially for stations and spacedocks that are regular destinations. Or is that overly fiddly?
Quote:*loooong thoughtful pause* Hmmmmmm. Let me get back to you on that one... once I go back, reread, and try to fully grok what the Friez(s) is...are...?
EDIT: also, would you like a Julian Friez?
Quote:Possibly. The Octopus is, in fact, built around the weirdly 'waved antigrav device they used to boost the Island out of atmosphere...and to where it currently is...in the first place. They made a tug out of it, because the station itself didn't have much use for that engine afterwards. So yeah, it can push the Island itself; that doesn't happen, but it was the original use for the Octopus' engine.
the Octopus's strangeness means that currently, the Island *itself* has a max top speed of .07C - using the Octopus as an engine. That's... a little much.
The .07C figure for the Octopus' current configuration may need to be reduced, however. Good point. That number's...pretty fast. Too fast. Let me think on that. What would make sense for a, well, space tow truck?
Quote:There's a downside quirk. A fairly serious one. Though it isn't mentioned there due to...well, minor plot point. Admittedly, given my rate of writing, I'll probably only reach that scene sometime in 2020.
- Kato's biomod seems to be "Make me a badass." He's got boosted physical stats, absolutely no change in appearance, and his only quirk is a minor neurosis about cats that may or may not have been there before he tasted the wave. This seems unbalanced, as biomods go.
Suffice to say, he's got physical boosts, but a net negative effect on his long-term health. Again, it's something I plan to touch on for a story, hence why the entry played cards a little close-to-chest.
Will Kao is a nod, homage, reference, or rough caricature of a friend. Who really does have a truly disturbing fascination with feline imagery - and an equally strong revulsion of furries. Honestly, I can't make this stuff up...
In light of that, catgirl/catboy attraction is a good idea - might use that anyway. I'm fond of slapstick, though I'm not sure how well I can write it. These days, anyway. Been a while since I tried. It doesn't quite fit the tone of the current short story I'm working on with the Island crew. But I might use that for future stuff...
Quote:It wasn't so much a raider attack, as it was a would-be raider attack; effectively a single nutjob with a gun trying to rob a bank on London's high street. You're not going to get very far.
- Having the Shakespeare beat off a raider attack in 2009? That's three years before the SOS Con, and the Con is the point at which people start seriously getting concerned about raider attacks...
Quote:Said nutjob is where they got the gun. It might be rather more clear if I ever manage to get round to writing the relevant story.
Once you've got *that*, why would you bother to arm the Delphinus? It's not like naval guns are all that easy to come by, let alone cheap.
As for having an armed ship - providing some assurance of security, even if that assurance is false. 's part of business. Place I worked for had, f'example, fake security cameras. There really was a closed-circuit TV system, but most of the cameras around the area weren't actually real. Likewise, the Shakespeare wasn't...that well-armed when it started out.
Part of the point is...the ship is evolutionary. It was launched for protection and patrol purposes, or generally playing shepherd to the various ships flocking round Island airspace. Initially, though, it was just pretty much a glorified airtight box with big engines and guns. Gradual modifications over the years, though...well. Again, story purposes.
That, and there are gunbunnies on staff. Thomas Zhu is vaguely based on a real cousin of mine. The actual guy's an engineering student who taught me how to make homemade sorta-napalm when we were kids. Yeah. Boom. He was terribly disappointed when he was forced to go non-combat in the military. Flat feet. He wanted Air Force or Commandos or something...
There's no real excuse for armaments on the Outrigger II, but that ship isn't always armed either; the entire craft is in a constant state of flux... even if it is armed, the weaponry isn't terribly significant. 's never really a big craft.
-- Acyl