Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour by Mark E. Cooper Page A
Authors: Mark E. Cooper
Tags: Science-Fiction, Space Opera, Military, War, alien invasion, cyborg, space marines, merkiaari wars
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him. She had to tug it free of his hand, but he did release it no matter how reluctantly.
“It was nothing. I’ll escort you up—”
“No, that’s okay,” Kate said firmly and his face darkened. “Please Robert, don’t be like that. I really like you, but I’m so tired. I haven’t slept since I arrived insystem…” she checked her wristcomp. “That was almost thirty hours ago. No wonder I’m so testy! Can you forgive me? Maybe we could have dinner tomorrow… no, I’ll be asleep. What about lunch the following day?”
Robert’s face lightened. “There’s nothing to forgive, Cherry. I should have realised after what you’ve been through. Can you forgive me? ”
Kate smiled coyly and nodded.
“Lunch here on Wednesday then?” Robert said.
She nodded and smiled again. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said and headed for the elevators. She let Cherry’s smile drop from her features the instant the doors closed and blocked her view of Robert.
The first thing Kate did upon entering her room, was check for places she might be observed. The bedroom had its own balcony, but it was unlikely to provide anyone with access. Similarly, the sitting room had a balcony and was secure from intrusion, but unlike the bedroom, there was the other tower on this side that could be used as a platform to observe and listen in. Pulling the drapes closed would stop the one, and switching on the holocentre would limit the other. She did both in the sitting room before closing the drapes in the bedroom.
After taking a long awaited shower, Kate sat cross-legged on the floor in her skivvies listening to the news broadcast. Now that she had time, she took the opportunity to strip and clean her weapons, before turning her attention to her new toy.
Millard’s pulser was a nice little weapon, short ranged and compact with a sixteen round magazine. He had chosen well. Pulsers, or more properly pulsed plasma particle weapons, were the most commonly used hand held energy weapon in the Alliance. Although this one was more compact than most, they all work on the same principle. Whether you called your weapon a plasma rifle, a plasma pistol, a pulser, a PPG, or a PPC, they all worked the same way.
An energy cell is used to reduce a round of ammunition into positively charged ions called plasma, which is expelled as a bright flash of light using a solid-state laser with a ruby core. Pulsing the laser gives the best stimulus. They were often called pulser or plasma pistols for whichever part of the process the manufacturer felt to be the most important. The induction coil in the barrel was there to excite the charge as it passed thereby adding a little oomph .
The coil of such weapons was the component most responsible for the pyrotechnics accompanied by firing. Removing the coil to eliminate the display would turn a good pulser into a useless piece of junk that resembled a PPG or PPC. Construction is similar, but particle projection guns and particle projection cannons were almost worthless as hand held weapons. They were naval ordinance almost exclusively. On any scale less than ship to ship actions, pulsers had superiority over other energy weapons due to their physical size and the damage they could inflict. In space, where almost unlimited energy could be used to add destructive punch, particle projection cannons held sway, with grazers and lasers following a close second.
Kate studied her new toy turning it this way and that. It appeared well cared for, but she stripped it down and reassembled it for her own peace of mind. She left her hands to the task they knew so well, and watched the news on the holo.
“…Garnet. Shares in mining and steel industries received a major boost today, as President Dyachenko announced a new contract to increase production of the new Washington class heavy cruisers. President Dyachenko stated that the Fleet’s newest heavy cruiser had proven itself superior to the older Excalibur class in
“It was nothing. I’ll escort you up—”
“No, that’s okay,” Kate said firmly and his face darkened. “Please Robert, don’t be like that. I really like you, but I’m so tired. I haven’t slept since I arrived insystem…” she checked her wristcomp. “That was almost thirty hours ago. No wonder I’m so testy! Can you forgive me? Maybe we could have dinner tomorrow… no, I’ll be asleep. What about lunch the following day?”
Robert’s face lightened. “There’s nothing to forgive, Cherry. I should have realised after what you’ve been through. Can you forgive me? ”
Kate smiled coyly and nodded.
“Lunch here on Wednesday then?” Robert said.
She nodded and smiled again. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said and headed for the elevators. She let Cherry’s smile drop from her features the instant the doors closed and blocked her view of Robert.
The first thing Kate did upon entering her room, was check for places she might be observed. The bedroom had its own balcony, but it was unlikely to provide anyone with access. Similarly, the sitting room had a balcony and was secure from intrusion, but unlike the bedroom, there was the other tower on this side that could be used as a platform to observe and listen in. Pulling the drapes closed would stop the one, and switching on the holocentre would limit the other. She did both in the sitting room before closing the drapes in the bedroom.
After taking a long awaited shower, Kate sat cross-legged on the floor in her skivvies listening to the news broadcast. Now that she had time, she took the opportunity to strip and clean her weapons, before turning her attention to her new toy.
Millard’s pulser was a nice little weapon, short ranged and compact with a sixteen round magazine. He had chosen well. Pulsers, or more properly pulsed plasma particle weapons, were the most commonly used hand held energy weapon in the Alliance. Although this one was more compact than most, they all work on the same principle. Whether you called your weapon a plasma rifle, a plasma pistol, a pulser, a PPG, or a PPC, they all worked the same way.
An energy cell is used to reduce a round of ammunition into positively charged ions called plasma, which is expelled as a bright flash of light using a solid-state laser with a ruby core. Pulsing the laser gives the best stimulus. They were often called pulser or plasma pistols for whichever part of the process the manufacturer felt to be the most important. The induction coil in the barrel was there to excite the charge as it passed thereby adding a little oomph .
The coil of such weapons was the component most responsible for the pyrotechnics accompanied by firing. Removing the coil to eliminate the display would turn a good pulser into a useless piece of junk that resembled a PPG or PPC. Construction is similar, but particle projection guns and particle projection cannons were almost worthless as hand held weapons. They were naval ordinance almost exclusively. On any scale less than ship to ship actions, pulsers had superiority over other energy weapons due to their physical size and the damage they could inflict. In space, where almost unlimited energy could be used to add destructive punch, particle projection cannons held sway, with grazers and lasers following a close second.
Kate studied her new toy turning it this way and that. It appeared well cared for, but she stripped it down and reassembled it for her own peace of mind. She left her hands to the task they knew so well, and watched the news on the holo.
“…Garnet. Shares in mining and steel industries received a major boost today, as President Dyachenko announced a new contract to increase production of the new Washington class heavy cruisers. President Dyachenko stated that the Fleet’s newest heavy cruiser had proven itself superior to the older Excalibur class in
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