Hi,
In Fires Over Omac an ore called “coltane” is referenced as fuel for Hammer ships. In Bloodstained Stars the author mentions refuelling at gas giants and tankers. Does anybody know what’s “canon” for this? Doesn’t matter to me either way, I just want to understand it.
If coltane’s the real deal, does anybody know what it is? Apparently there’s a real ore called coltan (tantalum ore or some such) but I don’t find anything called coltane. Is it just handwavium or is it based on a real substance? What are its properties? Is it volatile? Inert? Stuff like that.
Hammer is fueled from the pure eminations of the Logistics skill. If it was mentioned in the comics (it isn’t) that would be canon. As it stands, BSS is closer to canon but there isn’t anything hard and fast written as far as I know. Coltane was mostly created so that you couldn’t use furors or planetary bombardment. If you’re going with the standard SF route, He3 is the thing they mine from gas giants and that hammer probably has a sophisticated M/AM reaction chamber (plus, you know, some way to make anti-Helium 3, also probably at a gas giant).
I searched in the PDF but didn’t find coltane. This is on p42, “Only at worlds with liquid water or gaseous hydrogen can a ship refill its tanks…”
If they’ve got matter/anti-matter reactors (not likely I guess since they don’t even seem to know the secret of fusion reactors anymore) they use coltant to control the reaction…like Star Trek’s dilithium crystals. I’d be okay with that idea.
M
The liquid water or gaseous hydrogen sounds like a hold over from when Chris Moeller played traveller. I sya this because that is exactly how ships refuel in traveller.
I’d be okay with that idea.