Molly's - Chapter 18 [Tankiverse Fanfic]

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

Molly’s - Chapter 18

Fanfic in the Tankiverse by Hippin_in_Hawaii

 

We stayed at Ted’s Titans for four days. Elsie and Shock completed the engine tweaks and mounted it in the chassis. They integrated the drivetrain and tuned the suspension, which Ted had (unsurprisingly) customized in interesting ways.

 

 

Ted and I finished work on the turret. It was meticulous and exacting work; it required the highest degree of precision I’d ever had to work at by far. The weight distribution was so perfect and the bearings so fine that, at least in theory, a person would be able to rotate the turret by hand - i.e. disengage the gears from the traverse motor, put your hands on the barrel, and shove. It was engineering on par with things that get shot into space.

 

When we left, all that remained was to install the pilot's capsule and place the turret. I wanted to see that done, but installing the capsule requires a Tanki-certified inspector to be on site, and Ted’s appointment was still a few weeks distant. I did resolve to watch Ted fight and see how his lovely armor performed. He and I had gotten pretty close, and I really liked the way he looked for engineering solutions to enhance performance.

 

Elsie and Shock left me pretty much to my own devices as we drove to rejoin the caravan. Despite the nice accommodations, we had worked very intensely for four days and were mentally bushed. I watched the landscape scroll past my window in a sort of daze, when out of the blue, Elsie spoke.

 

“So the release valve for those momentum banks, how is that triggered?”

 

“It’s a mechanical release,” I heard myself responding. My brain still wasn’t engaged; it was almost like I was dreaming.

 

“What makes it trip?” she asked.

 

“Basically any angular motion,” I responded. “When the turret starts to move, the release valve trips, and the plunger shoots out, accelerating the turret. It’s really quite simple, and very bulletproof.”

 

She snorted. “Are you sure?”

 

Sigh. Ok, turn the brain back on. I’m supposed to be learning something.

 

“Ok, maybe not literally bulletproof. If one of the devices got hit by shrapnel or something, it would certainly stop working.”

 

“And?”

 

Dammit. I was missing something. This had to be a follow-up to what she’d said the first day we arrived at Ted’s.

 

“Can I have a hint?” I finally asked.

 

“That turret spins pretty easily, doesn’t it?” asked Shock.

 

“It should,” I answered. “I think he’s been working on that design for a couple of years. He claims you could turn it by hand.”

 

“Mmm-hmmm.” they chorused. Which meant I wasn’t getting anything else. Fine.

 

I let my eyes drift out of focus as pastures sped by. Where was there a flaw? The mechanical releases were reliable, and fast. Any movement outside of a very small tolerance would trip them, and help bring the turret up to speed. The incredible balance and bearings meant the turret would traverse easily, and quickly. How was this a problem? It’s not like anything else would be…

 

“Oh,” I said out loud, which started them both laughing.

 

Do you see it? It’s obvious, so obvious that it’s invisible. Any movement of the turret would cause the momentum bank to trip. Any movement. Such as, for example, being shot by an opposing tank. Imagine it, you’ve lined your sights up, are about to squeeze the trigger, the enemy shell hits your hull, and poof! Your gun suddenly twists several centimeters off target!

 

And just as bad, if not worse, what if you try to make a subtle correction? You just want to tap the joystick, nudge the barrel maybe a degree to the left, but those momentum banks kick in, spoiling the whole shot.

 

Oh! What about driving over rough terrain? For that matter, what about making rapid turns? Would that angular momentum be enough to trip the system?

 

“The more I think about this, the worse an idea it seems,” I said, which only made them laugh harder.

 

“I’ll bet you a week’s dirty dishes that we know how Ted loses his next fight,” said Shock, once his laughter had subsided.

 

That’s a bet I’m not silly enough to take.

 

 

Mahalo (thank you) for reading; I hope you enjoyed! This story is part of a series. Information on the series, and links to the other stories, can be found here.

 

[kaisdf 3,320]

Article approved.

 

Interesting continuation to the story. Less content than usual, though what you have is interesting to read.

 

Edits:

• "Not surprisingly" replaced with "unsurprisingly", the word was invented for a reason :P
• A lot of the second paragraph sounded somewhat clunky, so I reorganised a couple of the sentences, changed some words, etc.

[Lose 881]

and i thought i was good, wow GG

 

 

 

haha i didnt think i was good and still dont

 

 

Edited December 17, 2018 by Lose