Fandom High School

"So, we've been covering a lot of ballistics-related technology," Kaidan said once everyone had filed into the Danger Shop. "But there's much more we can take a look at. Physics has got a lot to offer to anyone who might have to see combat."

He gestured at a large glowing tube standing in the corner of the room. "There are four states of matter," he said. "Liquid, solid, gas-- and plasma. Now, plasma is an interesting one. It's an ionized gas-- ions are particles with an electric charge, which means they have an uneven amount of protons and electrons. Ionization can occur when an atom gains or loses electrons to become uneven. So an ionized gas is a gas that responds to currents and electromagnetic fields, giving it vastly different properties."

He nodded towards the tube again.

"One of those different properties is that it can form structures," he said. "And it can run hot. That makes it perfect for weaponization." He activated his omni-tool. "This is a manufacturing tool as well as a communications hub," he said, holding it up. "On the battlefield, I can create ionized materials, superheat them, and fire them straight at an opponent. I can also use it to supercool subatomic particles for a similar effect."

He deactivated it.

"Now," he said, "I've got a bunch of grapes, a bunch of microwaves, and some other stuff. I want you to team up and make some plasma happen - then discuss what's making the reaction happen, and how to best weaponize it."

"It's the Danger Shop and the safeties are on, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch yourself while you do it. Just FYI."

Kaidan wasn't there this Tuesday morning, because he was elsewhere taking care of much more important business - getting shot at on a vessel thought derelict some three days before.

There was just a neat, printed note on the door of the Danger Shop:

Can't make it today. Something came up. I'm sorry.
Please write down your name on the attendance sheet.
Practice your aim today.
-- Staff Commander Alenko.

Well. That was that.

The Danger Shop had been set up as a gun range of sorts, though there weren't any walls between them and the targets up ahead. In turn, the targets looked a lot more like... well, not targets, precisely, more like--

"Shields," Kaidan said. "Personal armor has been a part of combat for as long as our species has been around. They've come in a lot of different flavors, but they're all meant for the same purpose: to deflect projectiles or melee weapons away from the wearer."

He walked along the range, pointing at each target in turn. "In the Stone Age, shields were made of wood or animal hide. It worked against the weapons they knew back then. Nowadays-- not so much, as you're going to find out. As time went on, we added more parts to the concept, like combining leather and wood or adding metal reinforcement. Of course..."

He stopped by one of the targets. "Then guns happened. A projectile propelled by a gunpowder combustion or a mass accelerator is going to punch right through a wooden shield. It generates a lot of force. We've been trying to figure out how to deal with that ever since. In this particular day and age, that means armored shields and ballistic body armor. That's using a combination of strong fibers weaved together to deform the shape of the bullet and spread the force around. Sometimes they come equipped with metal or ceramic plates to keep the worst of the force off certain body parts."

Kaidan still sounded like he thought this was all really old stuff.

"Finally," he said, pointing at the last target - which was really just a stick surrounded by a nearly invisible field that occasionally flashed with a hint of orange. "Kinetic barriers. An invention of my time. Using trace amounts of element zero, they emit small mass effect fields. These fields are calibrated so they invert the force of a small projectile, causing it to bounce off in the direction it originally came from."

There was a brief spark in front of him. Another kinetic barrier, running the entire length of the range.

"On that table, you can find a series of projectile weapons ranging through several eras," he said. "You're welcome to try them out on the shields I've set up. You're also welcome to play around with the duplicates I've got sitting over here." He nodded at those. "Feel free to tinker."