Maegwyn
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Swords and Guns and Lasers (Oh My!) Part I
The innards of weapons!
By Stormfyre
This is probably what you've all been waiting for. I mean, talking about how your mecha walks and moves around is great and all, but let's face it, the firepower is really why you're here. So let's talk weapons. Of course, as I'm writing this I'm also hiding out from the Soluna Police, so please forgive me for any data loss. The hard drive on my data pad has shock protection, but running around so much might have worn it out.
Let's talk about the arms first. The arms are the most important weapon part of your mecha. In fact, if we really want to get basic, the Newbatron V1 is equipped with ... erm ... it's hard to think back so much, but I believe it came with a non-combat front arm and a refurbished machine gun for a back arm. No shoulder weapons. This, of course, was a major setback, and most sensible pilots immediately bought shoulder weapons for it, but still, the fact remains that for basic combat, at least one arm must have a functional weapon. Because arms are interchangeable, there is a set standard for the manufacture of arms. That's why all human mecha are able to equip most arm parts. The only exception arises when an arm is designed specifically for its default weapon and cannot be replaced. Mostly, though, arms are built for maximum compa*Zzsht*ity with any mecha. As such, the servos and moving parts are mostly inside the mecha itself, and the arm simply handles the shooting, or stabbing, or slicing, or whatever the weapon is supposed to do. Electronic metal plates, standard on every arm component and shoulder socket on a mecha, establish the final link to the mecha. Normally, the arm will have a very large (Note: humongous) nub that will fit into the shoulder socket of the mecha.
Shoulder slots on a mecha work very much the same way, with attachment nubs on the weapon and socket on the mecha. However, shoulder weapons carry a bit more computing power than arm weapons, as they are in charge of aiming themselves. It would be pretty ridiculous for a mecha to have to move its entire body just to aim a shoulder weapon, so the targeting systems on most shoulder weapons include their own servos so the weapons can swivel at will.
The body weapons are very specialized, and pretty much only come with the mechas for which they are designed. They are tied deeply into the central circuitry of mecha, and require tons of wiring to actually install. As such, most pilots never bother to upgrade their body weapons, on the account of the massive time and money consumption involved. Some body weapons are not even actual weapons at all, but commands to the mecha to perform a certain action, such as the Mystraven mecha kick attacks. Those attacks put a huge power strain on the mecha's central processor and moving parts, which is why they have such a long cooldown time.
Finally, the head. The head is the nervous system of the mecha, where all commands are sent to the central processor and where all systems diagnostics and alerts are sent. It's also the place where the pilot is, most of the time. As such, it is quite heavily shielded, although some elegant appearances of heads might disguise that fact. The pilot achieves vision through the head in one of two ways: he can either look through the bulletproof glass front panel of the mecha's face, or, when the shielding is down over the glass panel, the cameras located on various points of the mecha's body. Some mecha models even have the option for pilots to perform neuro-synch with their mecha, integrating their minds into the mecha's circuitry so they can directly monitor all systems. That is the case with the telepathic head weapons the Runehawk house has developed.
But now, onwards to the actual weapons!
The first and most primitive *Fsssht*pons for mecha are the blade weapons. Don't get me wrong: primitive does not necessarily mean ineffective. When facing an opponent that is shielded against lasers, has explosion diffusion, and is too heavily armored for blunt ballistic weapons to penetrate, a heavy blade made of a dense alloy sharpened to a molecular point might be all that's needed to slice clean through the opposition's defenses and cut apart the circuitry within. So old-fashioned blades have their uses. They may also be enhanced with an electronic charge for more damage to the circuitry. Today, we have developed the use of energy *Brzzt*-ades. Although these weapons have more power and punch than a regular metal blade, they classify more as laser weapons. As such, their projections of energy are easily dispelled by the shielding technology that protects mecha against lasers.
Hold on, my signal seems to be break*zzt* up. Just a moment ... I really have to run again, although it's been really great having all you readers. I'll talk about guns, missiles, and orbital bombardment weapons on the next installment. For now, Stormfyre is signing out, and if you want to read the next article I suggest you keep my broadcasting location a secret from the police!
Until next time!
~Stormfyre; you're breaking up!
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