The S.P.a.C.E. Armoury
Weapons are very important to a patrolman. After all they are what stand between a patrolman and death in some situations. As a result of the three unique military backgrounds from each of the three human planets the S.P.A.C.E. Armoury is varied and continually expanding.
A brief History of the Raygun
The first raygun was invented by a man called Roby Bertson. As with many discoveries the raygun started with an accident. Laser beam technology was originally (and still) used to etch into silicon chips which were then installed in some of the first humanoid Robots, Bertson was commissioned to find a way to make this process faster and more efficient.
Bertson wondered if he could turn up the power, widen the laser beam and create a laser ‘stamp’ thus only requiring one shot of the beam to imprint the silicon chip. This didn’t work the way he intended, instead overloading and backfiring on the scientist instead. After being discharged from the hospital sector, with severe localised burning to the chest Bertson realised by controlling the burst and focusing it, it could be used to create severe damage to the human body. No further research was done on the issue and Berson went on to successfully create a laser stamp for silicon chips.
It was not until S.P.A.C.E. Patrol encountered a scavenger patrol in the void of space they realised regular projectile weapons such as machine guns could no longer effectively be used as they required oxygen in order to fire. It was at this point the accident which took place to Roby Bertson was unearthed from the archive and a new set of scientists began to tackle the problem.
They combined the laser beam with a maser beam (which similar to a laser works using ammonia gas and microwave radiation) and then applied Bertson’s original overloading technique. using a single controlled power source to produce a single high intensity pulse which could burn its way through solid rock. The First Ray cannon was fitted to a Patrol Ship and successfully used to destroy a small scavenger outpost on one of the asteroids in the belt.
Bertson wondered if he could turn up the power, widen the laser beam and create a laser ‘stamp’ thus only requiring one shot of the beam to imprint the silicon chip. This didn’t work the way he intended, instead overloading and backfiring on the scientist instead. After being discharged from the hospital sector, with severe localised burning to the chest Bertson realised by controlling the burst and focusing it, it could be used to create severe damage to the human body. No further research was done on the issue and Berson went on to successfully create a laser stamp for silicon chips.
It was not until S.P.A.C.E. Patrol encountered a scavenger patrol in the void of space they realised regular projectile weapons such as machine guns could no longer effectively be used as they required oxygen in order to fire. It was at this point the accident which took place to Roby Bertson was unearthed from the archive and a new set of scientists began to tackle the problem.
They combined the laser beam with a maser beam (which similar to a laser works using ammonia gas and microwave radiation) and then applied Bertson’s original overloading technique. using a single controlled power source to produce a single high intensity pulse which could burn its way through solid rock. The First Ray cannon was fitted to a Patrol Ship and successfully used to destroy a small scavenger outpost on one of the asteroids in the belt.
Sones could not work out how to refine her raygun design further, and sought advice from the Venetian Scientist Kalae Takal who was known for her theoretical science abilities, between them, they effectively reduced the size and bulk of the raygun, together they developed the Hand raygun mk1. this was still about the size of a large projectile weapon, but weighed much less at 3lbs, the power pack which produced the one charge was removed from inside the gun and connected by a cable. This allowed the power pack to be carried on the person, and the owner to carry three or four in a belt which they could switch between to create multiple charges for the gun. However the power packs weighed approximately 0.5lbs each and were the same size as a large box of cigarettes.
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It wasn’t until a Terran lady by the name of Mara Sones that the Ray cannon was adapted for hand held technology. This raygun, had one charge in it and could be fired once. However it weighed 12lbs and was the same size as a large house cat. Large it may have been, but the portable raygun was born.
The Raygun stayed in this format for some time until a martian scientist by the name Lenk Tumaltz took it one step further. He managed to reduce the size of the gun again by extending the length of the coil used inside the gun, by lengthening the coil the diameter could be shrunk. He also discovered a red martian gem which is often found near the red martian metal ore used in red martial steel could be substituted for the ruby originally used and refracted the beam to a twice as powerful level. As a result only half the charge was needed in order to produce the same result as the mk1 Hand raygun. Tumaltz patented the mk2 Raygun and sold his design to S.P.A.C.E. Patrol. These only weighed 2lbs, and were around the same size as a medium sized projectile weapon. The mk2 Raygun boasted 4 shots, this was split between two power packs, both of which were mounted on the top of the gun for easy access. These became the older brother to the rayguns we know and use today.
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