It occurs to me that if the umiaks are using some kind of psionic detection equipment, they might not know that Alex is even there.
Good point.
But i guess Umiak (at least in the same Group/Team/Bataillon) are connected by some sort of real-time network.
So even if this Trooper couldn´t see Alex before he entered the room, he definitely is aware of him now, and so are his comrades.
I´m also pretty sure that the bionic enhancements "work" a certain time after the hosts death, like a flight data recorder.
Interesting also that the trooper went for Beryl to knock her out - as to make sure she cannot "send" anymore by sanzai.
And that´s now Alex Chance - big mistake, mr. Bug...
Not mentioned yet? Alex reaction: Drill kicking in, no flinching, determined expression. Go, man!!
It's a bit trope-y, but I would be highly amused if humans turned out to be stupid good at in dismounted combat at baseline just because they don't rely on cybernetics or psionics. Just hand them a gun and they go full Doom Guy. Gun becomes increasingly optional with increased anger levels.
(side note: Grr, just saw an error - "fliching" instead of "flinching", just corrected it...)
Yes.
We humans are not THAT inferior in combat. Ok, no chance against a psionic/telekinetic specialist like Tempo or (berserk) Fireblade. But what i got from the Insider those are quite rare.
"Normal" Loroi in combat against humans are not THAT superior, especially not against well drilled and armed troopers, or even Psychos with a strong desire to kill (the germans have a nice word for that: "Mordlust").
And add to that drugs like "Panzerschokolade" or Tilidin or whatever to make them go beserk for >80 hours in a row... Edit: I just found out by a short search in the forums that Loroi Society despises drugs - another plus for humanity; even it is a bit "amoral"!
After all Loroi have their sanzai, but other than that they are physically much weaker than us (remember: Alex is quite short for a man, and he is still almost the tallest among the space-elves).
Yes.
We humans are not THAT inferior in combat. Ok, no chance against a psionic/telekinetic specialist like Tempo or (berserk) Fireblade. But what i got from the Insider those are quite rare.
"Normal" Loroi in combat against humans are not THAT superior, especially not against well drilled and armed troopers, or even Psychos with a strong desire to kill (the germans have a nice word for that: "Mordlust").
And add to that drugs like "Panzerschokolade" or Tilidin or whatever to make them go beserk for >80 hours in a row... Edit: I just found out by a short search in the forums that Loroi Society despises drugs - another plus for humanity; even it is a bit "amoral"!
After all Loroi have their sanzai, but other than that they are physically much weaker than us (remember: Alex is quite short for a man, and he is still almost the tallest among the space-elves).
I'd say raw physical size/musculature is not really that relevant in like 99.9% of personal combat situation that occur in this setting (or our real world, for that matter). A bullet to the head will drop a 120 kg mountain of raw muscle just the same as a thin skinny guy weighing 60 kilos. Firearms and their equivalents are the great equaliser. The kind of "knife fight" combat situation where things like raw muscle strength are relevant are rare even today, usually you just get shot by an assault rifle in the face point blank (just look at the brutal trench clearing videos from Ukraine if you have the stomach for it).
You need some pretty heavy handwaving to craft a sci-fi setting where traditional masculine features like "body height", "muscles", "square jaw" make a lick of difference (I am looking at you, Dune).
"Normal" Loroi in combat against humans are not THAT superior, especially not against well drilled and armed troopers, or even Psychos with a strong desire to kill (the germans have a nice word for that: "Mordlust").
And add to that drugs like "Panzerschokolade" or Tilidin or whatever to make them go beserk for >80 hours in a row... Edit: I just found out by a short search in the forums that Loroi Society despises drugs - another plus for humanity; even it is a bit "amoral"!
I'd say raw physical size/musculature is not really that relevant in like 99.9% of personal combat situation that occur in this setting (or our real world, for that matter). A bullet to the head will drop a 120 kg mountain of raw muscle just the same as a thin skinny guy weighing 60 kilos. Firearms and their equivalents are the great equaliser.
That´s for sure.
But you convienently forgot to comment on enhancing drugs, also, a strong individual can carry heavier equipment. In my grandpa´s platoon was a "400 pound Gorilla" who was able to accurately fire the MG42 (!) from his bare hands (read: without the stand/tripod) like others fired a 98k or a MP 40 (! I´ve seen the pictures!).
Also gramps told me about the effect of "Panzerschokolade" - Meth, to honest.
That made a huge difference, a distinct psychological advantage.
And since Loroi despise drugs...
That´s why im positive that we´re not THAT lost compared to space-elves or bugs.
I doubt we are inferior to the Loroi at all in terms of one on one combat. We might even have the advantage. But in unit tactics and operations? The ability of the Loroi to network themselves psychically is a game breaker. We could, of course, try to make up for that with radio and head up displays and whatnot, but radio is susceptible to jamming and tracking, while so far as I know, Sanzai isn't. Plus, they are monitoring each other's thoughts, possibly gaining access to some sort of 3D X-ray style scanner. We don't have an answer to that.
Of course, none of that matters when it comes to ship to ship combat. Here, we are inferior for completely different reasons--our backward technology, and the Loroi's efficiency at population growth.
Back to 225: Beryl´s blaster rifle obviously did nil damage to the trooper.
Is Aley going to switch to "8", aka "full throttle"?
Or is Beryl just a lousy marksman, and "4" will do?
Which still seems strange - between Beryl and Alexander, she is presumably the more well-trained in marksmanship (having been trained during a time of total war, for a navy posting, versus 'you Scout Corps members are *technically* military, so here's some basic rifle training') *and* has the loroi wall-hacks running. Couple that with the fact that hardtroops are big lads, and one wonders just *how* she missed with two shots.
Admittedly, a still comic doesn't quite portray speed very well, so it's possible that the hardtroop is just moving *extremely* quickly. Still seems strange.
The thing is, if she did hit then its not even apparently marred by the impacts. If thats true, hopefully Alex immediately and reflexively dialed it up to 8, because otherwise he is screwed.
Which still seems strange - between Beryl and Alexander, she is presumably the more well-trained in marksmanship (having been trained during a time of total war, for a navy posting,
OTOH she as a Listel is in a mere "administrative" position.
The GURPS-sheet shows, too - compared to Fireblade her combat skills are next to nothing...
Let´s hope he is at least better than Beryl, although on a second glance his technique/style is not very convincing (at least he avoids the "chicken wing"...).
Plus, if the hardtrooper moved really fast, and Alex was standing/hiding aside, the hardtrooper´s momentum is now to his disadvantage.
Admittedly, a still comic doesn't quite portray speed very well, so it's possible that the hardtroop is just moving *extremely* quickly. Still seems strange.
i guess it is up to speed, too. At least i have no better explanation.
(BTW: Are most Loroi left-handed? Because Beryl referred to the dial as "...here at your thumb" - while Alex obviously shoots right-handed)
Yup, Arioch has said that most loroi are left-handed. It also occurs to me that Alex hasn't had cause to hold a 'handed' tool for most of the comic, so Beryl probably didn't know that he (& humans in general) aren't left-handed as well.
