Archive for August, 2008

Chapter 13

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Chapter 13

Things Keep Sliding Downward

The ride under the stars was refreshing. Hell, getting out of the Manor was refreshing. It wasn’t the carnage that bothered me. It was trying to get a grasp of something completely new to me. The more I looked back on the few interactions between Elizabeth – I couldn’t believe how natural it was to call her by her packname instead of the Lady-Apparent – the more I saw, or hoped to see, the early flickers of infatuation between the two of us. At the same time, my mind was also busily slapping down those lofty aspirations with reality. Completely out of character, I reached out to another lycanthrope in need and probably got what was a normal response that I was blowing completely out of proportion. To make matters worse, the two lycanthropes I normally went to for these sort of things weren’t available. The Guildmaster was far too busy helping Elizabeth – the Lady-Apparent, dammit – gather the packs and restore some order to the chaos that the witch-hunters’ attacked wreaked upon our society. Nick, on the other hand, was being far too amused by my blubbering to do anything but give me an almost malicious smile. So, when Sneller asked us to check on the Guildmaster’s wife, I jumped at the job. Almost literally. (more…)

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Small Arms of the Human Empire Part 1

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

The Human Empire uses a series of weapons based on propellant-accelerated projectiles, essentially the same type of bullets used in the early 21st century reality. The propellant is a fictional compound, called Cordite III, which allows for more velocity of large rounds which generates more kinetic dump (hitting power) and range. Following the Red Lake Campaign, the Ministry of Defense conducted an exhaustive study to improve the overall effectiveness of the weaponry of the military. The result new rifle and pistol cartridges, as well as changes to doctrine involving the use of heavy arms. One big difference between Human Empire weapons and those used in contemporary Earth is the use of wood in the weapon stocks. Wood is used for two reasons. First, the wood used by the Human Empire is a native wood called “Lightwood,” that is remarkable resilient and durable during close-quarters combat with Dark Towers’ weaponry. Secondly, the use of wood instead of polymers adds heft to the weapons when they need to be wielded as melee weapons. The discussion of small arms will be broken into two categories: 1) the primary small arms used by the military, and 2) common weapons used by civilians, including local law enforcement. (more…)

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HK G36

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

The HK G36 was produced to fulfill the German Army’s need for a new rifle to replace the aging G3. The new weapon had to be lightweight and fire the NATO standard 5.56 mm cartridge. HK responded with the G36 weapon system. The G36 is a line of weapons that all use the same basic frame and short-stroke gas piston action. This action, borrowed from Eugene Stoner’s AR-18, is a radical departure from the roller-delayed locking action that had dominated HK’s military rifle line for the past forty years. Another departure is the use of a new magazine (incompatible with the standard M16 magazine) that is transparent to allow the shooter to easily see the rounds remaining. The G36K is a compact carbine version, similar in role to the M4 in the U.S. Army. It uses a 30-round magazine.

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Chapter 12

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Chapter 12

There Are Worse Things Than Being on Trial For My Life

The blackness faded as I opened my eyes slowly. The world slowly came into focus. I looked around the cell I was confined in. Something was wrong. Something was out of place. Then, it came to me. Everything was black and white. I had shifted to wolf form in my sleep. I shed my wolf form for true form, feeling my body extend as I emotionally triggered the transformation. My senses became sharper and integrated themselves, making the environment around me more complete. A scent floated into the cell. I looked at the door, where the Guildmaster stood with one of the marshals that had been standing guard. The Guildmaster was in human form, strange for the Manor, and was dressed in a business suit, carrying a briefcase. (more…)

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KAC Master-Key

Friday, August 8th, 2008

The KAC Master-Key is basically a Colt M4 carbine with a Remington 870 pump-action 12-guage shotgun slung under the barrel. The concept isn’t new, but what KAC brought to the weapon was the use of the Rail Interface System which allows the user to quickly detach the shotgun if necessary. The shotgun is slightly modified in that a Picatinny rail is mounted on the dorsal side, along with a shortened barrel. It holds five shells in a tubular magazine.

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Chapter 11

Friday, August 8th, 2008

Chapter 11

There’s A Dark Cloud For Every Silver Lining

“It’s nice to see that you managed to almost get yourself killed,” the Guildmaster growled as I walked into his office. I had been rushed into emergency surgery as soon as Nick had returned us to the Guild. A lot of that had been hunters scrubbing out the remains of silver that contaminated my wounds and then letting my body take over before it shut down. From what Nick had told me when I woke up, it had been a close thing. I could feel that my body was still putting itself back together, but I was more or less operational. The Guildmaster’s expression told me he wasn’t happy that I had gone out with Nick, and even less pleased that I had managed to almost get myself killed. I kept my face neutral and sat down in my normal chair.

“What the hell were the witch-hunters doing in West Tampa?” I asked, completely ignoring the Guildmaster’s chiding remark. He growled a bit, but picked up a manila folder off of his increasingly crowded desk. The anger drained from his face to be replaced by an almost worried expression. The expression disturbed me. I knew that as the Guildmaster’s personal hitter, I was one of the few hunters that the Guildmaster could be totally honest and open with. It was one of the reasons that the personal hitter was usually a close friend of the Guildmaster. Still, it was disconcerting to see my leader look like he didn’t know what to do. (more…)

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HK MP7

Friday, August 1st, 2008

Heckler and Koch is known for its line of submachine guns, so it wasn’t surprising when the company delved into the growing Personal Defense Weapon niche. Although it already had a PDW version of its venerable MP5, the 9 mm cartridge was considered a drawback in light of the availibility of personal body armor. HK’s parent company at the time, British Ordnance, developed a new 4.6 mm cartridge that could penetrate basic body armor. Essentially, the bullet was a micronized rifle round rather than a similar pistol cartridge. The MP7 is designed to be fired single-handed (preferably in semi-auto mode) or two-handed using the retractable stock and folding front handle. The MP7 has a long accessory rail along the top for mounting of combat optics or other packages. It can use conformal fifteen round magazines or extended thirty round magazines.

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