Well, it's been a funny old week.
This is one barracks I never thought I'd see the inside of, let alone a banner I'd be fighting under.
We've been fighting Deaths Collectors in Division 4 for so long, that if I had a credit for every time we'd faced them in a one sided gold medal fight, I'd... well... almost have enough credits to buy a McCoronary's Ecstatic Meal.
But aside from the new shoulder patch, some things don't change. Not only do I not get a break from the GG offices resident stench of Patrick's semi-sentient socks since he's in the bunk room down the corridor, but I now have a re-acquaintance with Sgt. Ron's lurking undies, the terror of dark secluded spaces the galaxy over.
I mean, the boss could have struck a deal with different allies... you know, something that consisted of picturesque curves that smelled nice. I fondly remember my down time with the Bouncing Blue Brotherhood. Instead I get Patrick, who lets face it, is about as picturesque as something that the cat brought in... then brought up.
One bright spot though, at least the mail still gets through. While I was still shocked by a mis-delivered package (addressee Joel Parras aka KilotoneRecoil, contents:- nipple tassels - 1 pair, stripper pole; portable - 1 unit) I at least recieved my subscription to the latest trade magazines, and this little beasty caught my eye, so I just had to order one to try it out.
I am of course talking about the new Zentron Thrusters engine pack.Lets get a few things out of the way straight off.
At 2112 Ferrite, 1567 Biobtics and 57 Niodes, it is the most expensive engine block currently on the market.
Being one of the big blocks, so large in fact that it can only physically fit into a 95 or 100 ton chassis, its not the best. That accolade still goes to the venerable Raw Alcohol Combustion Engine... or the R.A.C.E. as you would know it. The caveat of course is that the R.A.C.E. can only drive a 95 tonner on its highest power setting.
However for the 100 ton big boys, with a speed rating of 8 it's the fastest engine on the market currently.
It certainly seems as if the designers have taken some ideas from the triple exhaust system employed by the Gargon Engine, but instead of venting the triple exhaust to provide stability for a light chassis, a small portion had been bled back into turbo manifolds to give a speed increase.
Of course, all that power can't be fed directly back into the drive train as the torque needed would rip the engine block from its mounts. Instead, excess gas bleed is fed into an auxiliary alternator system to charge weapon capacitors, giving a sporadic double damage boost. Excess heat build up from the shielding on the triple exhaust manifolds and the turbo to provide pre heating to the vaporisation chambers of fire weapons.
It's a tad pricey, but it's a nice little package with no down side. Only the Gigabot Swarm or the crystal based kinetic converter can boast that as well.
The problem is that there's no logical place for it, unless it has been designed in anticipation of a 100 ton fire mech. The Yallan is the only chassis that this fits logically onto, but at 95 tons there's too much overlap with other engines that can give more.
At present, the Zentron Thrusters are only going to bring fire weapons into play on the biggest mechs as a secondary weapon, even though the rest of the package is a reasonable option if you have the budget.
Submitted by David McCallum #701548