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Shields are a staple of the Daireem galaxy and most science fiction
works. In this instance, scientists have found that running an
electric current through a certain naturally-occurring crystal
called Robulus would generate some kind of bubble around it that
would completely disable anything electric or magnetic that passes
through it. The most common use for these shields is the dissipation
of blaster shots and disabling the warheads of a missile. It, of
course, does not repel the missile, still allowing it to physically
impact the contents of the bubble, given it has enough inertia left
to reach it, and "dumb" objects such as bullets are completely
unaffected. Nobody really knows how the bubble actually works, but their best guess is some sort of electrical or magnetic thing. The size of the bubble depends on several factors, but mostly size of the Robulus crystal and voltage running through it. Obviously, on a long, thin object like an EE1 capital ship, there would be a lot of dead space on the top and bottom, since the bubble is spherical. This is a waste of electricity and crystal life, so devices have been developed allowing the bubble to be roughly skewed and shaped, allowing for a smaller bubble that will still envelope everything for which it is intended. The drawbacks of shields are that it will disable any electrical circuit that passes through it, unless it is also enveloped in a shield, as a Robulus shield can safely pass through another Robulus shield. This means, using the EE1 capital ship example again, one of its own fighters cannot simply exit and enter the shield. They would be disabled and rendered useless. Fortunately, it does not take extra electricity or time to turn on a shield; as soon as a current enters the crystal, it generates; thus, the shield can be instantly toggled while, for example, fighters are deployed. This does create a short period of vulnerability, but there is, unfortunately, no other workaround. After prolonged use, the Robulus crystals will become inert and simply cease working. Performance does not ramp down over time, it simply stops without warning. Robulus crystals cannot be recharged, and must be discarded and replaced. |