Tuesday, December 05, 2006
 

Saurian Tech--Karn Light Infantry Gear: Weaponry


Shnakvorum, Rikoyoch! (Greetings, friends!)

Book Update: Get your forks ready, this crazy thing is almost done! I can smell the end from here. Unless something crazy happens I only have about a chapter and a half left to go. That's only about 30 pages! Can you believe it? I know I can't. Seems like just yesterday when I was staring at that strange sketch on my cast--and now my first novel is nearly completed! Bailey's already started plans for a completion party. I just hope we don't scare away too many tourists. But then they're few and far between this time of year anyway (though there are some crazy ice fishermen who always show up, but I'm sure our own fishermen can fill you in on that).

Now for my Saurian weaponry.

Karnian Light Infantry use a wide assortment of weaponry, from simple blades to large assault cannons, determined by personal preference and their role within the spur. The vast majority use various blades as their weapon of choice. But since we're focusing on Rathe's gear, things are a bit more complex.

Rathe is unique in that he uses a sokae, a staff-like weapon with curving blades at each end, and which can be split into two halves. This weapon gives Rathe the flexibility of choosing broad sweeping strokes and keeping his enemies at a distance where their shorter weapons can't strike, or using quick swings for confined areas where maneuverability is limited. Rathe chose the sokae due to the unusual nature of its fighting style (giving him an edge over opponents unfamiliar with it) as well as the desire to prove his worth by taking on a challenging weapon.

But sometimes you don't want to get right in the face of your enemy, and Rathe has two other weapons for striking at a distance. The first is a simple brace of throwing spikes. These two-foot long metal spikes are perfectly balanced, and Rathe has become an expert at snapping off a short-range throw to wound or outright kill an opponent in the critical moments before they enter melee range.

The second is his kothas. This is a small mag-launcher affixed to his right gauntlet. It uses magnetic pulses to fire anti-personnel explosive quarrels. Each quarrel is tipped with a shaped charge in a fragmenting casing that is designed to throw the majority of the shrapnel away from the point of origin in order to let the kothas be used at relatively close range with some semblance of safety. The quarrels are loaded in clips of four, and are accurate up to a hundred and fifty feet (which isn't as far as it sounds when you have an angry Herian charging you).

Finally, Rathe also carries the basic loadout of grenades for the light infantry. Which is 2 smoke, 4 shock, and 6 explosive. Smoke grenades are basically what they sound like. Shock grenades emit an electric pulse that can kill an average sized Saurian within three feet, and incapacitate within ten. And explosive grenades are the basic anti-personnel grenades, with a kill radius of twenty to thirty yards, depending on the size of the Saurn.

In addition to his own weaponry, Rathe carries extra ammunition for the spur's Assault Cannon, carried by their heavy weapon's member. This is a massive gattling cannon and grenade launcher (on average around five feet long) that can lay down a withering spray of fire, covering the spurs retreat or halting an enemy charge in its tracks. Though it does this at the cost of longevity, as the average spur can only carry enough ammunition for 60 seconds worth of firing time. However, when a 3-second burst puts out over a thousand rounds, 60 seconds can go a long way.

All these weapons brought together within a tight night Light infantry spur, filled with Saurn who have trained with their weapons for at least 30 earth years, makes them a swift and deadly precision strike force.

-- S-man

Posted by ~ Bailey Truitt @ 7:00 AM
Comments:
Shnakvorum, Rikoyoch!

Congrats on the near completion of your book. May some savvy publisher snap it up, and it sell a million copies.
Posted by Blogger David Meigs : 12:45 PM
 
All right, with this kind of description, don't be surprised when I walk into Java Joint and stare with glazed-over eyes at you when you launch into this kind of detail. :) Good thing you don't have to understand this stuff to still 'get' the book.

Phew!

Congrats on coming to the home stretch. Hope I'm invited to the completion party!
Posted by Blogger Tiffany Amber Stockton : 4:30 PM
 
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