Okay, here’s a challenge for you tech-heads. Build me LASH (Laser Shield) for the Wiki. If you have Faith Conquers, it’s the stuff that jets out of Sarge’s Iron when he’s hit by a ChoT laser. Also, it’s the grenade that Gopher’s throwing in the wrap-around cover (don’t know where that’s been published, other than on the post-card). Here’s the idea:
LASH is a mercury-vapor dispenser that can be found on vehicles, in grenades, as an artillery-delivered munition and (optionally) in Iron. All should have the same general effect. When they trigger, they throw up a cloud of vaporized mercury that disrupts laser fire for a brief time.
Disadvantages: mercury is poisonous and breathing it in vapor form is a bad thing. When struck by a vehicle-grade laser, the energy from the laser disperses as an area effect (saving the tank, but torching all unprotected infantry in the immediate vicinity). It also gets everywhere and kills the peasents’ kids when they return home after the battle.
LASH LASH is a mercury-vapor dispenser that can be found on vehicles, in grenades, as an artillery-delivered munition and (optionally) in Iron. All should have the same general effect. When they trigger, they throw up a cloud of vaporized mercury that disrupts laser fire for a brief time.
A character may throw a LASH grenade (or fire a dispenser) as either his shot opportunity or as a specialist action in Firefight. On the following volley, the LASH grenade increases the obstacles for laser weapon shot opportunities by +3 Ob. The cloud dissipates after one volley. So if you throw it in volley 1, it protects you in volley 2 and is gone by volley 3.
Technology traits: Obstacle, +3 (4 pts). Enhancement, effects everyone on the opposing side (+ 6 pts). Categorical Limitations: One use (-1 pt), lasts one volley in Firefight (-1 pt), only effects laser weapons (-1 pt) Trait limitation: Poisonous (-3 pts). Final cost: 4 tech trait points.
Excellent, Mr. Crane! Now for your next job: a laser sensor (vehicle or iron mounted), that triggers the shield automatically when the vehicle/iron is struck. A mercury version of reactive armor. It degrades the hit that triggered the shield then protects the vehicle for the same duration as a normal LASH cloud unless the vehicle advances out of it.
Reactive LASH Ejector
This is a modified LASH dispenser installed on assault vehicles and iron. It utilizes a quantum field which is painted onto the armored surface of the vehicle or iron. This field can predict the incoming wavelengths from high band coherent light energy. If it detects a certain strength of band, it sprays the LASH mercury vapor to protect the target. The dispenser has a limited number of charges.
All incoming laser fire suffers a +1 Ob penalty to hit, as the LASH is ejected a femptosecond before the laser is fired. On the following volley, the unit is covered by the full LASH vapor field – so long as it did not maneuver with an Advance, Flank or Withdraw. This vapor field increases the obstacles for all incoming laser shot opportunities by +3 Ob.
Technology traits for full LASH vapor field: Obstacle, +3 (4 pts). Enhancement, effects everyone on the opposing side (+ 6 pts). Categorical Limitations: One use (-1 pt), lasts one volley in Firefight (-1 pt), only effects laser weapons (-1 pt) Trait limitation: Poisonous (-3 pts). Final cost: 4 tech trait points.
Total device cost: 8 tech trait points. (That means it’s an Ob 8 test in-game, or 4 rps to purchase on a sub index world, 2.6 rps to purchase on a zero index world, 2 rps to purchase during character burning on a low index world and 1.6 rps to purchase on a high index world.)
This field can predict the incoming wavelengths from high band coherent light energy. If it detects a certain strength of band, it sprays the LASH mercury vapor to protect the target.
It reacts to incoming light waves before they arrive? That’s… fast.
It reacts to incoming light waves before they arrive? That’s… fast.
Smartass. No, the laser hits the tank, begins doing damage. The LASH triggers, degrading the laser’s remaining time-on-target (even if that’s only a second or two). Any follow-on shots are blocked entirely.
What is this OLD THINK I am reading? Speed of light fast? No. LASH triggered post-hit? Too late, baby! This is modern warfare – you get tagged and you’re out! No ablative reactive trigger is going to be fast enough to deflect a femtpo-second, 20-gigawatt laser. We need the real deal! We need high technology – my stuff works faster than the speed of light, you beardy old grognards. Quantum mechanics, waves ahread of the waves. You feel me?
Oh, we’re talking about the index 5 version of LASH? Sorry, I was referring to the index 4 version. Luke, you’re right of course. And you know, if there were any true high-index worlds left, you could have it trigger when the shooter THOUGHT about firing.
It’s like, one big infomercial of Color, with 'splosions!
And they claim there’s only a 1% chance the nearby friendly infantry won’t get fragged. Yeah, right! Screw your “statistics”, your “science.” This is war; shit happens!
The key to making a laser do bullet levels of damage is pulsing
the laser. The first pulse creates a steam explosion and a shallow
crater in the skin of the hapless [target]. By careful timing, the second
pulse arrives after the steam from the first pulse has dissipated and
creates a second crater at the bottom of the first. If you don’t delay
the pulses, the cloud of steam interferes with laser beam, protecting
the target…
Remember that the temporary cavity caused by the
explosions only lasts a few milliseconds, so the beam has to have
completed its work of piercing the target at this time. The individual
explosions will be too closely spaced (microseconds apart) to be
individually audible…
In practice, a series of small pulses might be more efficient,
causing a shattering effect and driving chips of armor out of the hole,
which of course requires less energy than actually vaporizing the
armor.
If I’m reading this right, an efficiently designed energy weapon is going to fire in ultra-rapid pulses, separated by a few thousandths of a second – but that’s still enough time to allow a reactive system to trigger without any resort to faster-than-light handwavium. What’s more, the reason energy weapons need to fire in pulses, instead of continuous beams, is that you want to vaporize/pulverize the first layer of your target, give the droplets/dust particles a microsecond to get out of the way, and then fire again. So there’s not only an opening for a reactive system, there’s a logical means to do it: put more droplets/dust particles in the way and make sure they linger long enough to interfere with subsequent pulses.
LASH is the logical way to do this for an area defense. But if you want “a mercury version of reactive armor,” Chris, what you actually want is, well, a mercury version of reactive armor: Cover your Iron or vehicle with small tiles, each tough enough to resist low-calibre fire, but filled with mercury (or some other substance) that gets vaporized when an energy weapon hits them. You don’t need a dispenser, you don’t need a triggering system – the energy of the incoming round vaporizes the mercury for you!
