Thanks to a suggestion by one of the writers I've decided to attempt a compilation of the various features of the Yydryl (pronounced Eye-Drill). The Yydryl is one of the two ships featured in a ongoing collaborative story thread located here. A number of the other writers will of course contribute to this thread with descriptions of areas of the ship that are their domain (personal rooms, etc.) My thanks for Masqua for starting this on going project and the various contributors involved. I would also like to point out that we are by all means looking for others to contribute as well. While I myself do not contribute to the writing of the story itself, I have from time to time contributed artwork and designs for the story.

Thank you for reading this and I hope that it becomes a repository of information concerning the Yydryl.

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First some of the basics about this vessel:

(Quoted from the opening post by Masqua)





(OP's note: If you notice a resemblance between the Yydryl and a Romulan Vessel it's because it's what was available and the color scheme seems to match a number of it's capabilities)

(Further Notes)

The Rigellians technology is a combination of both conventional and organic technology. The usage of organic technology is a relatively widespread and mature technology among them and is used whenever possible. Among the technology shown are not only genetically engineered plants and animals but also a combination of both at times when suitable. Please also note that the Rigellians come in a variety of shapes and types. Everything from Human (U-man is what they call us) to multi-tentacled forms and everything in between. Therefore unlike Human technology, the Rigellian technology has had to evolve to accommodate a wide variety of forms.



( A Brief note on Rigellian society)

They do possess a sense of art like we Humans as this post by Whisper67 shows.

Whisper boards the Yddryl. Curiously, she ‘pets’ the interior wall of the ship with her short tentacles. The ship is eerily quiet, as she likes it. Slithering through the ships corridor, she picks out the most reclusive quarters. Cold, cramped, and devoid of any Rigellian art. Throughout the known universe, Rigellian art is viewed as superior, as least as far as Whisper is concerned. Even her empathic friend Antar, has contributed greatly to the quality of Rigellian art forms combining her gift of empathy fused with superior intellect, its result being some of the most thought provoking, provocative sculptures. Some even claim to receive a sense of peace and enlightenment from just viewing these works of art. Not Whisper. She can appreciate it greatly, but not feel it.

Another good example of a part of Rigellian society can be found found in this post by Silo13.

Very early on I was taken from the S.I.L.O Containment Area to an Accumulation facility to integrate with a variety of other young life forms, though not encouraged to interact too closely with Bios.
My accumulation years were documented extensively as Lab had no template to compare and define my progress.
It seemed I was one of a kind.

My early behavior set far too many negative precedents to bode well for further S.I.L.O(s) research.
Lab made it clear they didn’t intend to scheduled any new lots for Animation so I’d probably remain, if not only a failure, a unique one.

I wasn’t blamed for my natural curiosity, one thing I had in abundance.
Honesty be said, if anything my curiosity was encouraged.
Until it abruptly came to an end when I made an attempt to morph into a situation I’d no business being a part of.
I was caught trying to accompany a young Bios who was scheduled to leave Accumulation on a lovely-trip to the private quarters of her Bio-Donators who would there further the social rearing of their Bio-Offspring.
It seemed by only my stretch of imagination a young S.I.LO would be welcome in such a setting.

The Creator Comity stepped in to rule it was against Nature to allow me to interact with Bio’s unsupervised and undocumented.
I’d been created to morph Bio’s (and others) not to be reared in their social habits and privacy-dwellings.

The S.S (S.I.L.O Scientists) deemed it far more important I learn the social workings of the Human’s (as they still insisted calling Bios) and in their collective opinion I should be encouraged to do so.
That is if a Gene-Set and a Bio-Donor pair could be found that would accept me.
None to date had been found.

So as those two factions spent eons debating, the ensuing period between conflict and decision succeeded in only one thing.

Time I spent maturing on my own.

For long periods they even forgot I existed.

(Further notes)

Due to the rather wide variety of being types of beings the growers/builders of the Yydryl had to make SOME standards of size/ type etc. Otherwise designing a vessel to accommodate all shapes would have been unworkable thus:

(From me in the working thread)

1) That the vast majority of the crew are going to be upright, bi-pedal (or tripedal if using tentacles for moving) beings.

2) At least 2 manipulative (and no more than 3) limbs.

3) Height will vary between 5 foot and 6.5 feet in size.

4) Dietary needs will run anything from Vegetarian to Omnivorous and carnivorous.

5) Items like chairs and beds will be able to conform themselves to whomever sits in them (within limits). Chairs are likely to be a flat padded seat with a back that can conform to the sitter for example.

6) Backs on said chairs will have a hole located near the bottom of the seat back allowing for such things as either a tail or in the case of a Tripedal legged being for one leg to stick out the back.

7) Control systems for such things as fighters, In ship transports, and other control systems would be of two types.

a) Standard buttons, switches, steering yokes etc. For usage by the vast majority.

b) A set of 3 holes in which beings who have such things as tentacles would use. To use them you insert your manipulative limbs and sensors read the position of your "hands" and thus do the equivalent of flipping switches, rotating dials, etc. by your moving of your "hands". It would be assumed that a standard "limb language" would be used.

8) Both ships would have the equivalent of Elevators for usage by crew. Note that since the Yydryl is an organic ship the elevators would be modified "Seed pods" that would travel inside of the ship walls.

Thanks to Scurvy for the following information on the Yydryl weapons systems.

reply to post by Deson

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Awesome work Deson...the story has been so enhanced by your efforts. Thank you for all your creative work!

S&F

Edit: silly girl used effort twice.

[edit on 29-5-2009 by cindymars]

Part 2 on specifications for the Yydryl
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(Thanks to Nenothtu for the size calculations based on his renderings in Celestia)

Size (in meters)

2500 meters Long
1880 meters Wide
696 meters Height

Size in Yards

2734.03 Yards Long
2055.99 Yards Wide
761.55 Yards Height


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Crew numbers to be determined but it can be presumed that there are a large number of them.

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An example of some of the engineering principals that the designers used to accommodate various shapes of life forms can ironically be found in of all things Chairs.

Since the Rigellians come in a variety of forms the designers of the Yydryl were presented with a quandary. How to make a chair that will fit a number of different forms comfortably? A Biped form will need arm rests and a back to rest on. Whereas a tentacled life form would find arm rests and a back not only useless but might get on it's way.

Here is the solution that was come up with. A convertible chair that can adjust for either extreme at the push of a button. Note that the renderings show only the basic chair itself. Specialized chairs (like those found on the bridge for example) will have additional equipment suited for the task at hand mounted on it.

Here it is in Biped Form. You'll note that the Green cushions are soft, and form fitting also there are a number of vents. Due to varying degrees of body temperature a chair of this design can either blow out some cooling air or mildly heated air to suit the being sitting in the chair.




Here it is in Mid conversion. You'll note that the Back rest is swinging out of the way and the arm rests are swinging down.



Now here it is in final conversion mode leaving a cushioned cylinder suitable for tentacled life forms to use easily and comfortably.



These type of chairs are used rather extensively throughout the Yydryl where mobility of the chair isn't a problem. Private quarters will have chairs suitable for whomever stays there. It's possible that if the being staying in a private quarters entertains company on a regular basis they may or may not have a converti (My personal name for the chair design) chair. It's their choice.

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Getting around the Yydryl

There are several ways of travel around the interior of the Yydryl. Walking (or Slithering), Bio Conveyors, and Travel Pods.

Typically in a larger hallway you'll find a pair (or more) of pathways that are cushioned and help direct traffic for those who travel on foot (Or Tentacle). Nothing new here.

Bio Conveyors.

Bio Conveyors would be best be described as Elevators. Earth Tech they are not however. They are a combination of both Organic tech and some Inorganic tech.

This shows the basic layout.



The main body is composed of a modified and hollow seed pod harvested from a Gaskar Tree from Dotar IV (Local name). In addition to their very large size they are very unusual in how they attach to the parent tree. The seed pods use a number on tendrils located on the back of each pod to attach themselves to the parent tree. When the Seed pod is mature the tendrils retract and the pod falls onto the ground. The Genetic engineers found this ideal for grafting and attaching purposes. The Pinkish area is from a modified Sahn Worm (also from Dotar IV). To build the Bio Conveyor the Seed Pod with it's tendrils was attached to the modified Sahn worm. The whitish (with Black speckles) is a bio track that the Bio Conveyor travels on. The Grey is Inorganic structural bracing.

To operate you go onto the platform. If there isn't a Bio Conveyor there, you simply press a button (or speak into) the control panel on the end of the platform. Wait until the round hatch opens. Enter and then either press a button or speak your floor that you want. The pod then sends a signal to the Muscle telling the Muscle that there is "Food" located on a particular floor. The Muscle climbs either up or down to the desired floor and you get out. The Capacity of one of these pods is typically 8 beings although more can be crammed in if need be. Security personnel, and command staff have a "override" command that they can give to take them to a specific floor bypassing any in floors in between.

Travel Pods

Travel Pods are the Horizontal versions of the Bio Conveyors but with less Organics and more inorganic engineering. The basic principals are however the same.

This particular model shown is a 8 passenger model. There are various models that exist. Typical models are the 8 passenger (shown), Cargo, Troop Transport among others. Also if needed several of these can be linked together to form a train for mass transport situations. You'll note that the rendering only shows the track and not the platform. I'll try to get to that later on. Chairs can be rotated in either direction since the travel pods can travel swiftly in either direction. The "Glass" isn't really glass at all. It's a transparent form of Chitin that can be found on insects.



Here it is shown with both the upper hatchway and lower boarding doors open. You'll note that the inside of the lower hatch forms a boarding ramp for beings to board or exit. You'll also note a pair of control panels inside either end of the travel pod. These are for security personnel and command staff to issue a "Override" command like the Bio Conveyors.




Further notes on the transport described. The Bio Conveyors and the Travel pods can be found throughout the ship in large numbers and in some cases travel literally inside of parts of the hull itself. Thus there is rarely any form of "Traffic Jam".

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Landing craft

The Yydryl has a number of Fighters (designed for space combat) and landing craft. This section deals with the landing craft.

The Landing craft serve a multi purpose role. They are designed for travel between ships and from orbit to a planetary surface. The landing craft themselves are not armed but do carry a weapons locker (Small arms) for crew use. Due to their shape not only are they capable of travel in a atmosphere but submerged as well. Due to restrictions on Organic technology they are (for the vast majority) Inorganic in nature. SOME systems might be organic (For example a medical bay that can hold 2 beings) but mostly inorganic in composition. With appropriate preparation and only a couple of beings for crew life support can be extended enough to allow travel inside of a system. They are NOT capable of faster than light travel. Typical crew for an exploration team consists of pilot, co-pilot and 6 crew. The shuttles can be flown by a single being if need be. Typical equipment for say a planetary exploration expedition can consist of a MINIMUM of a weapons locker holding 6 Bio rifles, 4 Bio Pistols, several sets of reloads, 2 skimmers (for short range exploration), Vac suits (For hazardous atmospheres), 3 sets of Medical bags, rations and water. Other equipment can be added as needed depending on conditions.

Angle view of the landing craft.



Side View.



Top View


Other capabilities worth noting:

There is a scoop on the underside. It is capable (in a oxygen bearing atmosphere) of scooping up air, injecting fuel and burning it. In either a non-oxygen atmosphere or underwater it scoops up either air or water and compresses it using the ships internal power systems and shoots it out the back. Sort of like how a squid travels.

Small hover jets on the underside allow for vertical take off and landing and short hops (say over a hill but not a mountain).

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End Part 2.

From time to time there will also be entries of various aspects of the Orion Alliance. In this case, here is a entry about one of the races that is a member.
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Species name: Kaylenian



Physical looks:

Digitred (walks on toes) with two arms, eyes, 6 legs.

Height: 6 foot at the head

Weight: about 365 lbs.

Almost like a scaly centaur with a bit of Horse and Dragon tossed in. Capable of swiveling the waist almost a full 360 degrees.

Warm Blooded live bearing.(Typically a litter of 2)

Lifespan: Typically 120 years.

Body covering, small shiny scales that gleam (he uses scale wax at times). No claws or nails though. 3 fingers and a thumb with longish fingers capable of delicate finger movement. Feet (6) have hoofs. For noise control he wears a set of padded shoes while aboard ship. Head is like a cross between a Dragon and a Horse in shape with a narrow muzzle. Small silvery (Pearl colored and sheen) plates cover the top of the muzzle. Shiny black belly plates run down the front of the neck and down under the torso and down ending at the rear legs. Has a horse like tail roughly 2 1/2 feet long. Ears on top of the head are horse like and can swivel independently. Has a horse like mane that is between the ears on top of the head and running down the neck and back. The mane is shimmery black in color. The remainder of his body is a dark brown.
Eyes are a mottled reddish in color without visible pupils. They are there but match the coloration and are difficult to see.

Evolved from a Herbivorous plains dwelling stock. The armor plating evolved to deal with predators. That and the capability to run for long periods of time enabled the Kaylenians to survive until they could develop a tool using culture. Not the worlds most graceful beings they are hard however to stop once they get running. Since they have a herd mentality they operate best in groups of either fellow Kaylenians or small to medium size unit tactics.

By the time that the Kaylenians had been discovered and first contact had been made they had developed firearm and prop aircraft technology. Roughly similar to WW2 technology. Early semiconductors had been a theoretical construct at the time and mostly vacuum tube tech were in common usage.

Kaylenians have a tendency on their home world to form units that they simply call "The herd" with a dominate male. While there is a dominate male most decisions that don't require immediate usage are through a voting system. larger herds have been known to form a council for day to day things.

They Come from slightly heavy gravity world so they are generally heavy in build and their skeletal structure is unusually strong. Fast moving in a charge when need be. Not exactly the worlds most graceful when cornering at high speeds but they are very hard to stop. One of their favorite hand to hand weapon is a lance. Think of a Knight that can't be dismounted and having perfect control of his steed in this regard. For close range the equivalent of either a Long sword or what Humans would call a 2 handed sword are used.

Certain well trained individuals are known to use what is called a "Double" sword. Think of a long sword but with 2 blades mounted on one hilt. Nicely balanced with a hilt that can either be used one or two handed it's surprisingly easy to wield for a Kaylenian.

Note that while they enjoy hand to hand weaponry they are not adverse to using range weaponry as well (pistols, rifles, etc.)

Wonderful OP.

Thanks for that information, it's going to make my integration much simpler.

Kudos to you :d.

~Keeper

reply to post by Deson

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S & F

Excellent work! That really fleshes out the Yydryl for the opera.
I'm glad you decided to join up. You have been a great asset to the effort.
I'm looking forward to more of your creations. Let me know if you need any help.

Thanks again that's awesome.

Slay

Another example of the fusion between the Organic technology and Inorganic Technology used in the Orion Alliance can be found in a typical pistol design used by the crew aboard the Yydryl.

Note that Hand carried ranged weapons come in a few basic varieties. Pistol (discussed here), Carbine (think short rifle suitable for close range like say aboard a ship for example), Rifle (longer range and accuracy), and two types of Semi-Portables.

Semi Portables come under 2 classifications. Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1's are single person operated with multiple firing rates. They may or may not have the equivalent of a grenade launcher mounted under the muzzle. They also have a folding Bi-pod to help stabilize it. Also this one is capable (for someone strong enough) to be fired from the hip. Accuracy suffers massively and this is used only in close quarters where you want a lot of firepower. A round from one of either a type 1 or a type 2 is capable of penetrating a engine block bringing a vehicle to a halt.

Type 2's consist of a larger version of a type 1 with a pair of Hand grips and is mounted on a Tripod with swivel mount. There are also protective plates to help protect the gunner. One person CAN operate it but it's best if there are 2 of them. One gunner and one loader.

Further information about these weapons will be forthcoming.

The Pistol. It's theory and operation.

Here is a side view of it.


A rear view looking down the sights so that you can see how they work.


Another side view with the parts labeled. I'll have the explanation of what's what underneath.




ok, the parts and theory of operation:

This weapon uses the same basic principals as a bombardier beetle as far as how to send the round on it's way. It mixes 2 chemicals together that react explosively in a separate chamber and the explosion sends the round on it's way.

Chemical Tanks: There are 2 of them. For safety sake they are on opposite sides of the pistol (left and right). These store the chemicals that react with each other explosively separate from each other.

Feeder Tubes: For redundancy there are 2 from each tank. These carry the chemicals from the chemical tanks into the mixing chamber when the trigger is pulled.

Mixing chamber: This is where the dangerous stuff happens. The chemicals mix explosively and send gases down the barrel sending the round on it's way.

Organic Latex Grip: These are soft covering over a harder shell allowing the grip to conform to either a Bipedal hand or a tentacle that has been wrapped around it a couple of times.

Ammo reload: You can insert preloaded magazines containing rounds if you don't have time to let it rebuild it's own ammo supply. Like during a fire fight for example. The magazines slipped into the pistol grip itself. To eject a clip just slap the fill port with your hand/ tentacle and it'll eject the magazine. How many rounds does it hold? Well, that's up to you. Personally I wouldn't worry about running out of ammo until it's "Dramatically appropriate". I figure that the rounds do about the same amount of damage as a .45 Earth pistol. If you decide to have a LOT of rounds (thus being small sized ones) then you'll need a very high muzzle velocity.

Fill Port: This serves 2 functions. This allows you to put in a sugar water mix to allow it to rebuild ammo and the chemicals. Just open and pour it in. The second function is to eject the spent magazine by slapping it.

Front sight: This can be adjusted up and down in small amounts for accuracy. The rear sights (a notch) cannot be adjusted.

Barrel and Muzzle: Well, I don't think I need to explain those.

Trigger Guard: This prevents the trigger from going off accidentally.

You'll note that other than the trigger guard there is no safety. I figure since everyone on the ship has a chip identifying them as being authorized on the Yydryl that the guns would can be only operated by someone who has the proper chip. Thus no U-mans (unauthorized ones that is) can operate this pistol. The same will be done to the other ranged weapons. For story purposes, let's presume that someone from the Penelope managed to get one of these pistols. How to use it is pretty obvious. How it works can also be figured out. How to bypass the security is going to be rather difficult. It CAN be done but not only would you require a pistol (maybe several) but also some extracted chips from prisoners. Or corpses. That's if things go really, really bad.

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Edit to add: Thanks to everyone for the comments. I really appreciate it.

[edit on 2-6-2009 by Deson]

Q'uekzarz Race--A Brief Overview

The origins of the Q'uekzarz is mostly shrouded in mystery. Being one the most ancient species (according to the Confederate Archives) to have traveled and colonized the known Universe, much of it's history spans billions of years. Most of which has been forgotten even by the oldest remaining members.

What is known however is quite telling.

Physical Appearance

Details Unknown

There are no recorded photographs, digital imprints and DNA samples available to reconstruct what a Q'uekzarz would have looked like during their prime light cycles and as dominant species in the Universe.

It is speculated that they may have looked somewhat like present day Humans, since their home planets were very alike in composition and atmosphere.

A recorded interview with a Q'uekzarian historian reveals the following:



Belief And Societal Structure

Q'uekzarian society was discussed with the highest of respects among most prominant scholars during their peak. It was seem almost as a Utopia. The entire society was founded on governed by a sense of responsibility to help further progress.

All research and development was centered around improving quality of life and creating advance technologies to terra-form and sustain life on otherwise un-inhabitable planets.

There was no prevelant religious belief system. They did not pretend to know where everything came from, but they were very self aware and spiritual. Upon reaching what we would call "Ascension" a Q'eukzar was able to free himself from his material body and operate entirely as a being of light.

This could not be done all the time, as it required great mental focus and sustained levels of energy. The ability was used mostly to understand the inner workings of the universe in order to better formulate theories and technologies for space/time travel.

Influence of Galactic Civlization

Q'uekzarz's were very intrigued by other races and enjoyed studying them greatly. Being one of the first to develop space travel, they were also some of the first to document and chart maps of star sytems, races and entire Galaxies.

The was only two rules. Never to dominate another species. Never interfere with it's natural evolution. The primary government system was Republic with laws made by society. The specifics are not all clear but it seems they allowed only "Ascended" members in places of advanced leardership.

After the galactic alignment that devasted most of their culture and planets, the remaining members went into hiding, fearing a take over by rival civilizations who longed for their "watchers" technology and comprehensive archives.

Current Status

At the present time the archives have only one recorded member listed as active. A "Ascended" member known only as Adilaris who is currently on assignment with the SS Yydryl.

Further information has been removed from the Archives and placed at Level 0 Classified status.

Carbine (or short rifle)

Rather similar in shape but of a larger size is the Carbine (or short rifle).



This weapon uses a slightly larger round than the pistol however it has a larger ammo capacity. Designed for usage in close quarters combat it can be particularly effective in on-board ship defense Particularly in Hallways and rooms. Upon testing of the prototypes it was determined by the Military Weapons group to keep the same sighting mechanism and firing mechanism as the Pistol to keep training down to a minimum. If you can fire the Carbine then you can fire the Pistol effectively and vice versa. Reloading and regenerating ammunition is unchanged between the Pistol and the Carbine. Ammo capacity as far as the story goes is "Unlimited until it's dramatically appropriate". Also mounted on the Carbine is a forward grip stock to allowing being with tentacles to use it effectively.

Long Rifle

Another example of the fusion of organic tech and the inorganic tech can be found in one of the rifle types used in the Orion Alliance. When you want accuracy this is the baby for you. Want to really reach out and touch someone? This will do it. While similar in operation and usage as the Pistol and Carbine the Rifle is different in a couple of ways which will be explained shortly.

First a overview of it's looks:



Link to full sized pic of the rifle with the fore grip extended.

You'll note that in the above pictures there is a fore grip that is shown in the extended position. This to allow those who use tentacles full usage of the rifle. The Fore grip can be swung back as you can see in the next picture allowing Bipeds full use as well. Please note that Bipeds will have more accurate usage of the rifle because of the Fore grip situation and ease of using the top mounted scope arrangement.



Link to full sized pic with retracted Fore grip.

A couple of changes from the Carbine design becomes evident at this point. You'll note that the fill port has been moved from the rear to a side mount on the main reaction chamber area. There is also an oval plate that can be seen on the rear stock. This is a container for seeds that will be explained shortly.



The above closeup pic shows the seed container. This brings up an important difference between the Rifle and the other weapons.

Due to it's larger size and complexity the Rifle is capable of self reproducing itself given time. Here is how it works. Keep the Rifle well fed with either sugar water or regular water with some minerals (River water works well for this) and sunlight. After 3 weeks anywhere from 8 to 12 seeds will grow in the chamber. Remove the seeds and plant them in fertile ground, water, add sunlight and a Plant resembling a Pumpkin plant will grow. On vines running from the parent plant 3 new rifles will grow and can be harvested. Growth time from seed to completed rifle will take roughly 3 Earth Months. The Parent plant can yield (assuming year round growing conditions) 4 crops before needing to be replaced. Note that the completed rifles will be lacking 2 things. The scope (which can be transferred from a damaged or destroyed rifle), and the swinging fore grip. The Gray mount will still be there. The Galchip reader (Present in all 3 models) will be present due to the fact that in all 3 cases it's a organic weave that's built into the main reaction chamber. A being with Tentacles would still be able to use the rifle just not as efficiently as a creature with arms and hands. There is a rear notch in the main reaction chamber and a front site that comes automatically with the rifle if the scope is unavailable (like in afresh grown Rifle for example).

You may presume that any rifles used aboard the Yydryl will come preloaded with 12 seeds. The armory would ensure this. Ammo situation is like the others models of firearm.

Firing rate is semi automatic like the pistol.

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Additional info concerning the Carbine: The Carbine is capable of fully automatic firing unlike the pistol or Rifle.
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In summation:

Increased accuracy. Self Reproduction. Same principals of operation as the Pistol and the Carbine. Semi automatic firing rate. Damage can be compared to a .308 Full Metal Jacket Round. Think Long range sniper rifle ammunition for this that can take down anything Moose sized or smaller in a single shot. More if the target is larger. Accurate out to 1000 yards plus.

Deson, didn't you have a pic of the bridge once?
Or a demo?
Maybe I'm only dreaming, lol.

If so could you shoot me a U2U and send me the url?

Thanks tons...

I had a couple of general layout configurations and needed input from the fellow writers (as far as how many stations etc.) but there was virtually no reply so it was left undecided. Check the working thread for new links to the layout proposals. Once selected than I can do the rendering and construction an dpost them here.

reply to post by Deson

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Ah yes, now I remember - and we never really came to any conclusions.
Ok great thanks.

I've been working on a pic of the Yydryl in hologram form but needed the bridge as a back drop.

Thanks!

May I suggest, since "Ship" is sentient you don't need a "control room" so much as and information display, imagine a circular room with a raised circular table divided into four sections, each section has it's own hologram screen along with a central "display" hologram for such things as ship-to-ship comms, external view etc.

Ps. the harder than diamonds hull has been breached by the humans rather easily, perhaps that can be addressed somewhere along the story line.