Editing Andromeda: Battle Blade (section)

==='''Technical Details'''===

Battle blades help improve the AG deflection for objects (like missiles and asteroids) coming in from directions other than straight ahead. Their primary function is to reduce damage effects caused by the impact of enemy missile fire. There is a fine web of bucky wire between Battle Blades that are made of single monofilaments that are almost too small to see. When a missile hits a battle blade (or bucky wire strung between battle blades) it vaporizes. Then the plasma vapor can be deflected by the AG field so that it either misses the hull, or only strikes a glancing blow, missing critical systems and other areas of the ship such as crew quarters. Unfortunately the speed of the plasma and the short distance make deflection difficult, and if the momentum of the missile was directed towards the center of the ship then the missile will hit the central hull and very possibly do more damage than just a glancing blow. Also, it is worth noting that although the Blades might catch and destroy a missile, the missiles are still moving at 80-90 PSL and because of that the debris would be moving toward the ship extremely fast and the momentum might be enough to blow through the AG fields. But after the missile hits the blades the AG field is strong enough to divert the plasma stream from the vaporized missile so that it doesn't hit the ship. It isn't strong enough to stop it or overcome the missile’s momentum, but it can deflect fragments of the destroyed missile that are a certain size and the AG field does help to cushion the blow, as the AG deflection field gets stronger the closer you are to the ship.