Deadly Weapons - 09/Jun/2012
Eastercon, 2008, UK.
He'd survived his encounter with Maureen and Dave.  After Dave talked to him for a while the 'wheelchair invisibility' didn't seem to affect him any more.  He wasn't sure why Maureen immediately saw him - maybe it was because she was sort of an AI?  Uran and Brainless had no trouble, after all.
The talk by the "British Interplanetary Society"[1] had been revealing.  He'd expected more talk of handwavium, here at the con.  There'd been some minor chat, and he'd heard some discussion of it being mass hysteria, or a minor blip in the laws of reality that would soon correct itself.  Or, just the world's biggest hoax.  The enthusiasts seemed to be keeping their heads down.  Con security had made it quite clear that carrying functional non-peace-bonded weapons, of any sort, outside the Masquerade, would result in them being safety tested on the carrier.
So, they were now the "British Interstellar Society"[2].  The slide show of the planets, zooming-in from orbit to ground level, had been quite fun.  The gas giants obviously didn't have a 'ground level', so various moons had been substituted.  And, Pluto was included.  Showing Earth all the way from orbit down to the North Pole, then the South Pole had been a bit novel.
"Look out, she's got a ray gun!"  Not the normal sort of shout he'd expect in the hotel car park.  He'd been out getting Brainless some more supplies for their table.  People had been buying pre-painted figures and taken all the leaflets, and it looked like he'd some really nice orders.
There was a flash of light, and a "Ka-zap!", as he wheeled out from behind the van.  As he looked around he realised something was different.  He hadn't been a lightly-built female before, in a white plug suit.  Yes, that was blue hair.  But, he was still sitting in his wheelchair.  Ah!  That must have been a "Rei Gun".
A woman in a tight silver costume, showing a lot of skin, lumbered up to him.  "Sorry, sorry!  I didn't see you there!"  'It would be Kei', he thought, 'I expect Yuri is around somewhere'.  He noticed she was wearing a fluorescent green headband, which clashed with her red hair.  The voice sounded pretty accurate.  'Classic Dirty Pair', he thought.
Another woman popped-up from behind a car, further down the car park.  "In The Name Of The Moon..."  She stopped, and looked at Brains.  "What's a Rei doing in a wheelchair?  She's not wearing bandages."  Sailor Moon was wearing a florescent red headband over her blonde hair, tucked underneath her pigtails.  'Odongos I think I'm supposed to call them', he thought.
'Hmm', thought Brains, 'she moves a bit better'.  "Time out!" called a third woman, and they were joined by a number of more-or-less magical girls.  Including more than one plug-suited Rei.  Brains recognised the Leona costume, he was pretty sure he'd made it for someone to cos-play.  All were wearing either red or green headbands (except for Rei).  The shock was beginning to wear-off, now, and Brains found it interesting that they could all obviously see him (he didn't care if he looked like a Rei, he was still 'him'!).
"We caught a bystander in the cross-fire."  Brains didn't recognise the speaker, probably one of the more recent manga or anime.  While they all looked and sounded pretty authentic, some moved in ways that suggested they weighed quite a bit more than their character.  'I wonder if we have any Sailor Bubba here?', he thought.
The older woman, presumably one of the organisers, turned and looked at him. "We're sorry.  The con security implied they'd have no problems with our game of 'Killer'[3] as long as we stayed out of the con buildings.  And no one complained."  She tried puppy-dog eyes on him, "You aren't going to complain, are you?"
Something had been nagging at Brains for a while.  A buzzing sound.  Just on the limits of his hearing.  He looked down, and plucked something previously invisible off his now reappeared clothes.  Holding it close he saw a small bee-like machine, one wing crushed, with stylised crosses over where eyes might be expected.
Several of the women looked away from him, and seemed puzzled.  Some kept on looking but frowned, and only the ones that'd spoken to him seemed unaffected. "Where did the Rei go?", asked one at the back.  'I guess that was a light-bee'[4], thought Brains.
"If you don't mind me holding on to this", and he held up the faux insect, "I won't be making any complaints".  "Those aren't cheap!", someone called, but was subdued by a glare.  "Maybe if you keep an eye on the various entrances you won't 'ka-girl'[5] anyone else", he continued.  "OK?"
"Leona?" and the woman in that costume turned to him, obviously only now recognising him.  "I see you liked the costume I made for you."
And, she blushed.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

Planetary science, that is. And you (or at least your shoes) have to be in Boulder today.

http://www.dailycamera.com/science-envi ... ght-budget]Boulder planetary scientists to shine shoes Saturday to highlight budget cuts

Elsewhere, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/08 ... undrisers/]PhDs are holding bake sales for the same reason.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

That all the ships in the Sutter TF are biased off real ships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mason_(DDG-87)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Donald_Cook_(DDG-75)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Stout_(DDG-55)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mitscher_(DDG-57)

How cool is that?

*points go to Ran for actually confirming my theory*

Been researching getting Flash and/or full-mode Photoshop, and I discovered a new service Adobe's doing:
Adobe Creative Suite Cloud
Instead of a couple thousand dollars for the full schmear, one can subscribe to the cloud service and have full access to the latest from Adobe for like 50 bucks a month.
And Since Adobe wants folks to upgrade yearly anyway...
Any thoughts?
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

There is a presidence with FF.net giving people issues.  So is anyone else getting odd issues where your browser keeps declaring it can't load the page for reasons my browser can't determine.

Apparently the artist Eduard Khil passed away on June 4 after a stroke in May.
He is best known for the Soviet-era pop song "I am very glad, because I'm finally back home" better known as the Trololololo Song, or the Russian Rickroll.

''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

...I've been playing with logos.


-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.956
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Regnar Rats 0.4: Level 50 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Robotics
Secondary Power Set: Traps
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Medicine
Ancillary Pool: Mu Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Battle Drones -- BriL'shp-Dmg:33(A), Empty(3), Empty(3)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc-I:50(A), EndRdx(5), RechRdx-I:50(5), Immob-I:50(7)
Level 2: Pulse Rifle Blast -- Dmg-I:50(A), EndRdx(7), RechRdx(9), Acc-I:50(9), Range(11)
Level 4: Triage Beacon -- EndRdx-I:50(A), Heal-I:50(11), RechRdx-I:50(13), RechRdx-I:50(13)
Level 6: Maneuvers -- Krma-Def/EndRdx:29(A), DefBuff-I:50(15), EndRdx(15), EndRdx(17)
Level 8: Equip Robot -- EndRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(17)
Level 10: Assault -- EndRdx(A), RechRdx-I:30(19), EndRdx(19)
Level 12: Protector Bots -- Acc-I:50(A), DefBuff-I:50(21), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx:49(21), Heal-I:50(23), ToHitDeb-I:50(23), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(25)
Level 14: Acid Mortar -- DefDeb-I:50(A), Acc(25), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng:24(27), RechRdx-I:50(27), EndRdx(29), RechRdx-I:50(29)
Level 16: Force Field Generator -- DefBuff-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:45(31), RechRdx(31), DefBuff-I:50(31)
Level 18: Pulse Rifle Burst -- Acc-I:50(A), Dmg-I:50(33), EndRdx-I:50(33), RechRdx(33), Range-I:50(34)
Level 20: Repair -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:45(34), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 22: Photon Grenade -- Rope-Acc/EndRdx:44(A), Dmg-I:50(36), EndRdx-I:50(36), Rope-Acc/Rchg:26(36), Dsrnt-I:50(37), Range-I:50(37)
Level 24: Tactics -- AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:33(A), RechRdx-I:40(37), EndRdx(39), EndRdx(39)
Level 26: Assault Bot -- Empty(A), Empty(39), Empty(40), Empty(40)
Level 28: Seeker Drones -- RechRdx-I:50(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb:41(40), Dmg-I:50(42), EndRdx(42), Dsrnt(42), Acc-I:50(43)
Level 30: Air Superiority -- Dmg-I:35(A), EndRdx(43), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:42(43), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(45)
Level 32: Upgrade Robot -- EndRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(45)
Level 35: Fly -- EndRdx(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:27(45)
Level 38: Aid Other -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:44(A)
Level 41: Charged Armor -- ResDam-I:50(A), ImpSkn-Status:23(46), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg:50(46), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:44(46)
Level 44: Electrifying Fences -- EndMod(A), Immob(48)
Level 47: Electric Shackles -- EndMod(A), RechRdx-I:50(48), Hold-I:50(48), EndRdx-I:50(50)
Level 49: Static Discharge -- RechRdx(A), Acc-I:50(50), EndMod-I:50(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 4: Ninja Run
------------
the 'empty' slots are actually where the mm ato bits are
I am rather used to the powers I've got here, I'd prefer to keep them. Most definatly I need better sets (sets, WHAT SETS)
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

As it says, I'm new to fenspace. I first came across it in CitD on the
spacebattles forums, read through the wiki and decided that I should at
least attempt to write a story in this setting. First character has been
mostly fleshed out, comments and advice are encouraged.

Ganti:

An unfocused collage student when the 'wave hit. Panicked he found out
that the grey thing that made his truck run without gas was illegal, so
he finished 'waving it, grabbed his stuff, including his pet cat, and
left. Thankfully, he wasn't quite panicked enough to leave without food,
but it was a close thing. He currently answers to a handle he used on
various forums and IRCs.

Appearance:

 6'0" tall

Brown hair

Blue eyes,

180ish pounds.

Notable Mundane Attributes:

Jack of Many trades: Talented in a number of fields, including
electrical engineering, welding, ceramics, writing, engine maintenance,
electrical maintenance, and general tinkering. Is by no means an expert
at any of these, but with effort, he could be. He seems to be allergic
to effort, however...

Random Trivia: He's got lots of it. This often includes quotes applicable for the situation or odd facts that might help.

Handwavium Abilities:

None yet.

Quirks:

Scottish, by way of America: Self-Identifies as a Scot, despite being
born in the US. Listens to bagpipe music. Eats haggis occasionally. Even
speaks a little Gaelic.

Not without my Cat!: Rarely goes anywhere without his cat. Gets more
then a little twitchy when separated from her, who he took with him when
he went into space, for extended periods of time. Oddly, his cat seems
to react the same way.

Give me that Old Time Rock and Roll: Fan of classic rock. Can identify a
large number of classic rock songs from just their opening bars. Is
almost guaranteed to end up at a Kansas concert one of these days, never
mind the legal difficulties.

Faction:

Pirates, with Gearhead and Warsie leanings.

Hera: Ganti's cat. Pretty typical Main Coon Silver Tabby, except for the
fact she got into his 'Wavium. She's now about twice the size of a
standard one, and has received a large intelligence boost. Ganti hopes
for an extended lifespan also being part of her mod.

Handwavium Abilities:

Big Cat: Pretty much what it says on the tin. She's now a very big cat.
She was already larger then some (Very Small) Dogs before the biomod.

The Cat who walks through Walls: She can get to where she wants to be
despite the intervening distance, locked doors or walls. About the only
thing that actually stops her is vacuum. This only functions when people
aren't watching her or the destination.

Quirks:

My Human!: Doesn't respond well to the presence of other pets near Ganti.

Where are you?: The counterpart to 'Not without my cat!'. She gets twitchy if separated from Ganti for long periods of time.

Bully: A bit of an extension to 'My Human!'. She doesn't like dogs. At
all. More then that, she will go out of her way to make life hard for them. As there are very few dogs in Fenspace, this probably won't be showing up much.

While writing the last chapter on Marduk, I got the inspiration for this ship. I meant to stay away form the war, because I did not want to turn my characters into military powers, but I realized than Genesis will be a mayor company in the Belt, so staying safe in Luna was not an option. And then I realized than with the new plot of Belter refugees in Marduk, I had all the crews I could need. The design is (hopefully) a good compromise between creating a battle fleet with no visible resources and doing nothing while your neighbour families are dieing.
I would specially like comments in ship size, tonnage and crew, because I chose the numbers more or less at random. I did not want it to be too big, so it is 30 m, about the same size of the Adler class transport, but twice the weight (700 tons) due to the massive armor. the crew is ten people (pilots, gunners, damage control, and medical) and the marines are the part were I have more trouble. I have settled in a platoon of 50, but I have no idea it it will be too many or too few.

 

Ariete class APC ship.

Originally meant to be a weaponized version of Genesis C&D construction ships, the end design mutated to the Ariete ("Battering Ram") class of armoured personnel carriers.

The Ariete ships take advantage of Genesis' expertise in building very though ships, and breaking big rocks. Their function is simple, as shown in the class designation: They ram enemy ships, and then unload a Marine boarding party inside .

The ships design is simple. It is about 30 m, long, and the front armour narrows until it ends in a sharpened ram, designed to open once it has broken the enemy hull to allow the marines to board. It weights 700 tons, and so it is the slower ship of its size.

Most of its weight consists in thick, and super dense, armour plating: The ship is designed for one purpose: To brush off massive amounts of damage, and protect its crew until they have taken the enemy ship. While it has artificial gravity, it has to be turned off in combat; then all the gravity generators and kinetic shields are used to maintain structural integrity and keep the interior (with the crew and engines) safe from the kinetic energy caused by the crash.

It has a crew of 10, plus a detachment of 50 marines. The interior is sparse, but it has a tiny emergency surgery.

While it would outright destroy any small ship, the lack of speed and manoeuvrability compared with small craft means they seldom get the chance; it is meant to attack space vessels, stations and habitats. The ship will usually need refitting after a successful boarding.

Weapons:

Weapons are a problem with this design, as they will either hang outside the hull, and be destroyed when the ship rams an enemy, or need weapon ports, which will weaken the armour.

The Aries only have three weapon ports, all in the back; in the top they have the kinetic cannon, and on both flanks they have one weapon port, which can be used for several weapons.

The Marduk shipyards do not have hard tech weapon production capacity: They will only install the Kinetic cannon, a purely 'waved “weapon” Originally a Federation design, it is yet another attempt to create a tractor bean. The cannon will stop any vehicle on its tracks (with a spectacular show of light, so the theory is than it changes kinetic energy into electromagnetic radiation) for several seconds, but neither it nor its crew will be damaged; after a short time it will move again (it varies, with the quality of the ship drive. Moving objects with no drives, like small asteroids or cannonballs, will not start moving again until more force is applied; but it never has been longer than 20 seconds so far). It is not very useful in combat, but it will grant a few seconds of advantage for the ramming.

The flank weapon ports leave the shipyards empty; Great Justice will install weapons there after the ship is on their hands. The eventual standard weapon will be a point defence system once the computer tracking tech gets good enough for it; but for the moment the usual weapon is a heavy machine gun (a missile launcher can be fitted, but hold space for ammo inside the ship is too small for a long engagement).

History:

By 2012, Genesis main market was the Belt. With the Boskonian War raging there, a good percentage of its production capacities in Luna stood idle.

He offered Great Justice the use of Marduk shipyards as a repair facility, and began to design a combat vessel.

An initial lack of manpower soon disappeared once he opened Plinius crater to Belter refugees; he found himself with literal thousand of workers -enthusiastic, pro-war workers.

While he began the design of a few fancy (and, with his military experience, probably useless on the real world) capital ships, he decided to focus in his strengths, resistant materials and very, very tough ships.

The Aries launched in January 2013, with a crew of Belter marines. Over the course of the war, a total of twelve Ariete ships were built, all of then crewed by Belter refugees in Luna. They were very useful in breaching Boskonian fortified positions, and all twelve were part of the Fall of Boskone Prime

After the end of the war, Oscar Vykos gave ten of the ships to Great Justice; the other two returned to Marduk and were “decommissioned” (the message he sent back the GJ did have the quotes), but he also returned the last two ships' hardtech weapons, so GJ did not protest). As far as anyone knows, no new Arietes have been built, either for Genesis or for Great Justice.

The Besieger:

This design was a huge super-carrier craft. Several hundred meters long, it holds launch bays for a dozen Arietes, thirty fighter craft, weapons depots, a small repair drydock, medical station, and living quarters for the crew and marines.

It is the only of the initial “fancy designs” than Oscar finished; but at the end of the War, only the structure was finished. Instead of recycling the materials (which GJ had paid for, anyway) he sent the whole unfinished thing to Great Justice, whom carted it to float somewhere in the Belt, ready to pick up the construction back sometime should it even be necessary (there are rumours than not only the structure, but the engines, were finished by the end of the war. Vykos will only answer with “no comment”, while GJ speakers will say then information about battleship construction rates is classified.