Concordia

Wedge009: If you rate a capship & you see 'Connie' point her big stick at you - its TOO LATE to run away [insert evil maniacal laugh].

TC: Well its a battle I'd pay alot to see.
 
When the Conie was destroyed? That battle isn't described anywhere unfortunetly.

And Concordia would have to be carefull not to blow herself up with the PTC.:)
 
Yeah, I guess so. From Angel's quote in SO2, I take it. Plus the energy discharge and recharge must be huge.

I read the Confed-class line was discontinued cos of probs with the PTC, is that the reason for it?
 
Yeah, being alien technology, the PTC was never fully incomporated with Confed tech. So it had a tendency to blow up your ship if you fired it.:) It's similar to what we see with the Midway and the Fleet Plasma.
 
But then, you have to question the placement of that plasma cannon. the poor Midway would have to remain completely still while the cannon fires, or else it would completely and totally nuke the decks in front of it. Also, the eggheads working on the Midway must be geniuses to be able to fire a large plasma blast out of a giant crystal, rather than a huge gun.

But hey, the novels cover that, right? :) hehe, j/k.
 
Capital ships, and especially the Midway class, aren't to fast or nible.:) Before the Plasma fired the Midway wouldn't even have the time to move.

And that crystal is a huge gun.:) Remember, it's all alien tech.
 
Originally posted by Earthworm
Yeah, being alien technology, the PTC was never fully incomporated with Confed tech.
Click to expand...

I had the impression that the PTC was based on the gun found in the Sivar wreckage, it wasn't ripped from the ship as they did with the Kraken in Prophecy. So it wouldn't really be correct to say the PTC was 'incorporated,' rather I think it was built by Confed.
 
It would still be based on Kilrathi technology though. Every part, and conection between each system would be based on what was retrived from the Sivar vreckage, and since we don't know what goes on in the little furry Kilrathi minds...

maybe that's what the original PTC would be doing, blowing up in your face that is, but the Kilrathi were willing to accept that risk because of the power the Sivar carried.:)
 
Actually, I'm just wondering where we get the impression that a capship cannon would blow up. Did it really happen with anyof the PTC's? Or is it a known risk that they mention in one of the novels? The only "blow-up-in-the-face" scenario I know is the second firing of the Midway Plasma gun. Hey, isn't that cheesy, how Rachel has to only press a single button on the board to blow up the Midway? And I'm sure it's the same board which the pilots use to check in after a mission.

Maestro: Hey Casey, have you seen that button before?
Casey: No, wasn't there before they put in the alien plasma thing.
Maestro: Hmmm, wonder what it does... [presses button]...
 
Actually, they didn't mention the PTC at all in the novels... kinda funny, because I think they could have used it during a certain little Fleet Action :).
Anyway, we base the PTC-blow-up-in-your-face concept on two things.
1. Angel's warning about the PTC blowing up in one of the last scenes of WC2 SO2.
2. "Continual problems with the PTC led to its retirement in '65." - KSaga manual. Or something like that, anyway. I'm too lazy to look up the exact words :).
 
The fact that we don't hear about the PTC in ER or FA could be because the one from the Concordia could also have been retired. If they would stop puting the thing on new capships because of the risk, I see no point to leave them on the older capships. Maybe as a weapon of last resort, when the situation is hopeless. Besides, during most of the battles in those novels, Concordia wouldn't even have the time to get in range with the PTC.
 
Well, they used the PTC in SO2, two years after its expiry date :).
You're probably right about the range, though I daresay the Batte of Terra was a hopeless situation, and they didn't even try to close in and use the PTC on the new carriers.
 
True, but ER is set some time after WC2, and FA even later. So there would be plenty of time to get that oversized water pistol of the Concordia.

And if they would want to use the PTC during the BoT they would basicly have to sacrafice the Concordia. Before she would get in range of any carriers, fighters and lighter capital ships would swarm all around her, and if she did somehow survive long enough to close in and fire the PTC (not to likelly) she wouldn't be coming back. She was much more usefull as a fighter launching platform during that battle.

By hopeless situation, I meant something more like being surounded by couple dozen fighters, with 2 or 3 heavy capital ships closing on you.

[Edited by Earthworm on 11-15-2000 at 21:40]
 
Hehehe... get the PTC off the Concordia? :) How exactly would you go about doing that? Rip 'er up into shreds and put her back together with a big chunk of durasteel to replace the missing half of the keel?
 
Originally posted by Quarto
Angel's warning about the PTC blowing up in one of the last scenes of WC2 SO2.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but that was when the capacitor was only at about 60%, wasn't it? Presumably if they had more time, they could charge it up more, couldn't they? Just to be 'safe'.
 
Presumably, yes. But the point is, that Angel's comment indicates that the PTC has an unfortunate tendency to blow up when it encounters problems... and the KSaga manual quote says that the PTC has continual problems. A nasty combination, methinks :).
 
I've noted that special weapons like the PTC don't work until right up to the last possible moment, when everything is depending on it to work. Such being the case when Angel made her remark.
Of coarse there also usually is a screwball who ends up kicking the damn thing in sheer frustration, causing it too work :)
 
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