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That's actually a version I wasn't familiar with, but it's a far more interesting one... for some reason comparing them to the Spectres went completely over my head. ^-^;;

(I suppose blood is often considered a life force, to be fair, but that's more in warlike/medieval cultures, I think.)

I like this. I shall use it. Much thanks.

No, I can't recall anyone mentioning any vampire myths in His Dark Materials. I think the closest thing would be the Spectres, since in some real-world mythologies vampires, or rather the regional equivalents, steal life-force/chi/souls instead of blood.

...but is there any evidence of vampires being used in stories or mythology in the His Dark Materials -verse?

I'm claiming this (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3871625/1/HarryPotterandaVampires_Fight) off the Wiki for that grassroots mission challenge of hS's, and set it before Teek's partner change to avoid any underlying plot-threads.

Am just unsure of whether she's going to have to explain vampires to Crebaina or not, or whether it can be taken for granted that Lyra's world is similar enough to ours that such things are shared.

Of all the things you thought you'd never have to question of Philip Pullman...

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4713903/1/TheZasikChroniclesITheCloneWars

Screenplay format, super force powers, implausible stats, and a poor grasp of anything other than uber l33t clone wars. Oh, and screwing up continuity despite how difficult that is for this series...

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4713903/1/TheZasikChroniclesITheCloneWars

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4718197/2/TheDarkKnight

It's Ninja-Zombie-Pirate-Robot INSPACE! Now with subflavors of canon Sue and the Worf effect!

Of course, Grievous vs Obi Wan has certain differences from the situation I had in mind:
1.The target was a fairly powerful force sensitive, and they seem to be considerably tougher than the average individual. (Energy resistance, blunt force etc.)

2.Grievous was mostly droid, making losing the limb unlikely.

Still, Grievous did manage to break a Neimoidian's skull with a punch in the ROTS novel, showing that limbs are capable of that feat against at least some species...

Point taken on the other factors though.

So the two options for Sue containment are
a)send in an assassin or two
b)destroy the star system?

What, no fleets? I've seen agents use Trek ships in their missions...

Those are the closest to capital ships we have at the moment, though.

Bao-Dur's custom repulsor arm had the ability to break shields and emit electrical energy. It also amplified his strength significantly. That was a different kind of repulsor-powered arm though, and it was probably unique. Prosthetic arms can also carry weapons such as blasters, I think.

That's... *calculates* about 11am on Friday for me. Not that the details matter one little bit - I'm in no rush to write this mission; I have two other stories going at the moment, and all the real-life gift-giving. So take your time. :)

I'll be done... Thursday, 5pm EST. *Tired sigh* leetrynace at gmail.

*Goes back to the land of sleep and hosage*

That the makers of these arms would know what they're doing, and almost certainly would custom-make each limb for each user. Thus for Anakin, being a Jedi, they would have probably leaned towards something that is fast and flexible, rather than the brutishly strong, since that's how Jedi fight. Of course, from what I've seen in the movie, it's pretty strong anyway.

There's a couple factors involved...

Firstly, how much speed can the arm build up in the swing? Grevious-esque prosthetics would be at least human speed, and possibly a bit more (depending on how much he was using the Force), while Darth Vader-esque ones would probably be slower. We never really see Darth Vader move quickly... Initial speed translates into kinetic energy on the impact. Obviously, the harder the hit, the more impact damage (breaking bones, etc) is going to happen. Based on the movies (the only SW canon I'm familiar with), I'd guess it to be similar to a conventional human.

Second is follow-through. A large portion of the initial impact's energy dissipates as damage. Actually throwing people around happens in the follow-through, which is effectively a very short, fast shove. There's two things that affect the amount of energy that can be transfered - the weight of the cybernetic arm (a heavier arm will have more momentum, and deliver more shove at the cost of hitting power), and the strength and speed of the actuators (which can deliver something of a push during the contact time). Once again, guestimating from Episode 2 (where we see Grevious unable to overpower Obi-Wan), I would guess that Star Wars prosthetics aren't that much more powerful than regular humanity.

Finally, fist shape and strength. A blade will penetrate a skull deeply, while a brick-shaped fist with the same force could just crack it. Durability under impact loading is also important - if the fist deforms, it can enlarge the contact area, lessening the point load.

Fortunately for us, the human skull is very well designed. The average human, or even the average martial artist, really doesn't stand much of a chance to break it. Most martial art strikes to the head aim for softer targets - the nose, which is cartilage, and can be broken from the skull. Eyes. The temple is an interesting target because it's where a fairly major blood vessel enters the brain - a hard stroke to the temple can disrupt blood flow, without much risk of penetrating the skull itself. By far the easiest way to penetrate the skull is with a long, sharp object, delivering the maximum amount of impact energy to the smallest point possible. That much can be managed by a human with a good swing and a stiletto. A brute-force punch... For the vast majority of martial artists, there's no way a flat-fisted punch could really break a skull. Fractures would be the worst assumable injury.

As discussed above, I estimate Star Wars prosthetics to be similar to human strength and weight - the only real hope for a skull-breaking punch would be with a very non-human fist shape, or a swiss-army-knife stiletto attachment. Obviously, as they're mechanical things, one could build a massively powerful prosthetic arm, but see hS's comments concerning balance and leverage. There's also a weight problem - having a two hundred pound arm can be a real drag. (pun intended)

Right...that's helpful. Thanks. How about a punch against say...a human skull?

If you rest the elbow on something and lift from there, you're relying on the strength of that something. If you're trying to lift a broken landspeeder freehand or something, you'd better hope that arm's firmly attached to your body -- and that your bones are strong enough. Unless there are repulsors built into the arm (which is possible), of course.

hS, not very clearly

Of course there are side effects; prone to electocution and short-circuiting, but it's not made of tinfoil.

It's simply a case for Despatch. Probably in conjunction with the DMS.

hS

I've created a few mini capital ship-rancors, haven't I? "Star Destroyerrs" indeed. Face, meet palm.

Hmm...does the PPC have any true capital ships (Star Destroyerrs) and crews under its control?

Anyway, it's open to whoever wants it. My short-term planned list is full...

Mitth'raw'nuruodo a crinking TEACHER!? MODERN DAY ON EARTH instead of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far way? Sithspawn, this could go to the DoWTF!

I knew you'd make a good mission out of this one. I'll be able to read more thoroughly when I'm back from school and practice, but it was a fun read from what I did see. Nice work.

Sorry about failing to reply for the beta...

The Joker's Twu Wuv™ bites it.

One thing this isn't for me is surprising. While America has its (quite large, mind you) share of good people, among which I can count the American Boarders (Thank whatever God may exist for that), there are also ignorant bigots (fools that they are) in the country; the government officials who are proposing a ban on gay marriage and the people who Didn't Do the Research regarding videogames and Real World violence (just so you know, surges in the popularity of violent videogames coincided with the drastic lowering of crime rates in the country, especially in the case of Grand Theft Auto) are just two examples. With these types of people in the country, not to mention the Just Plain Stupid people who obtained power *coughGeorgeBushagaincough*, something like this was practically bound to happen. Sad, but true. Just my two cents.

Now, it's 1 in the morning here as I post this... Just needed to get that in.