Making a laser pointer into a laser rifle

So I take the laser off the robot once more and begin to work on it. Since I was hungry and exhausted yesterday I apparently missed quite a few obvious things that could have been wrong with it so I started with those tests. They lasted a few hours or so and after they were all done it was now officially a laser gun.

It's not a lethal weapon yet and could at best singe someone's skin on contact but that's better than the laser pointer it was a few hours ago. Now I just have to focus on the more difficult issues to tackle and it'll be ready for use.

First of which is that light condenser. As it turns out the setting is constantly on low because of safety issues with the weapon and this has caused me no end of headaches. For example the coating of metal I put on the inside of the laser is actually fairly well-known and should be in the safety protocols as a metal that can be an exception.

Yet because the coating is so thin and there's a line of less safe metals between the sensors and the new coating, the safety protocols are kicking in and dulling the laser. The annoying thing about modern safety protocols is no one is capable of turning them off. Not even the manufacturer.

Partially because safety protocols are implemented by third party organisations assigned to individual companies and there's also the fact that these third parties are sticklers for the rules. So they make sure that you can't just remove them.

A good thing for the most part given that it means someone can't just make a defective laser gun into an impromptu explosive without some serious effort. But for my purposes it's just annoying and since the one I found in the junkyard exploded any way it's nothing but an annoyance for me.

I channel my annoyance into my work as I try to fix up the laser and hopefully appease the safety controls. Removing some parts here and there to hopefully make those requirements less strict. Since I know there's a degree of leniency in these safety conditions and I don't need reliability for a weapon that I can fix and maintain after each use.

Well it's more like I have to fix and maintain it after each use but when you're in a junkyard even that's pretty impressive. So I keep working on my laser for a good few hours until eventually my test firing proves to actually get results.

The firepower is significantly diminished from what it once was and just that one shot was enough to melt the metal behind the coating slightly. Meaning shooting in succession is a bad enough idea that I could break it for good but at least I can fire the laser once and that's usually all you really need.

So I grab some sort of metal target from the floor and set it up on what looks to be an incomplete chassis for something. I put one hand around the gun and one finger on the trigger while pointing it at the target. The other supports the weapon from below.

Despite laser weapons having essentially no recoil it's a holdover from the old days. It's not like I need multiple hands with a gun in my hand anyway. I mean you'd be too far away to do anything else with your other hand anyway. Even if you were coordinated enough to actually manage two different things at once.

Then with a huge smile on my face for some reason I imagine the target being that hateful man. He's staggering with the loss of his personal shield and completely open. Not even moving. I can see the despair in his eyes. The knowledge that I hold his life in my hands.

The thought makes me almost jump in glee until I remember I'm holding a firearm with my finger on the trigger and realise that might not be such a good idea. So instead I channel my excitement into that finger and let it slip.

The shot goes straight through the metal target and even part of the chassis before going to the junk that makes up the walls of my home and continuing for enough distance I can barely see it before stopping. A rather loud sound follows.

Not a gunshot sound or anything of the sort. One of the greatest strengths of laser weaponry is it's lack of a sound that's made when it's fired. The sound I hear is more of a clattering. Like swords clashing with each other, or in this case, a pile of scrap metal falling over.

The part of the wall that my laser shot collapsed and some of the junk shifted around me. Luckily thanks to the construction of my home it isn't affected by the surrounding collapses but seeing something emulate the posture I was imagining the old man taking increases the happiness in my smile.

Filled with a sense of satisfaction for my work I sit down on a part of the floor that doesn't contain any weapons and give myself a little pat on the back plus a victory break. My self-gratification lasts for a few minutes. Just sitting there stewing in the knowledge that I finally have something like this to my name.

Now I can defend myself. Is the thought I force into my mind as the other possibilities overwhelm me with emotions I can't even describe. The idea of using this to take out the old man comes to mind and won't leave but the thought that I'm just using this to defend myself keeps it and the ghastly smile that comes with the thought, at bay.

"Now all that's left is the processing chip." I murmur to myself still with a huge smile on my face. For some reason after firing that laser I feel immensely satisfied not only with the feeling of a job well done but also with the idea that I've finally achieved a life-long dream of mine.

The smile however, disappears from my face and is replaced by a look of concentration when I remember the problem with getting the processing chip. Despite getting access to the laser fairly easily by these standards the chip is going to be harder.

The laser almost got me caught on it's own because of unexpected circumstance and this is going to be far more difficult than that. So when I think of plans to get the chip and get out, the only things I can think of are the bamboo pole idea I thought of and dismissed before or the idea of everything going horribly wrong when I pick up the wrong chip and it explodes in a shower of shrapnel.

Because of the very real anxiety of having everything just go to hell as soon as I try and plan out an escape plan. I opt instead to go for a different approach. A dash and grab I believe people in the criminal industry call it.

It doesn't matter if I'm spotted by the guards when I was already spotted at the start. Just run at the security and distract them in some manner before going in and grabbing the processing chip then using a bamboo pole or something similar to just leapfrog their defences.

This time however there will be aerial defences as well so leapfrogging wouldn't actually get me out on it's own if I just flew away after the deed is done. So instead I use the bamboo pole to skip over and then hide out in the junk for a while as things calm down.

Once they've given up searching for me I can just run off and pretend nothing happened. Not a great plan but the best one I can come up with given the circumstances. So that's exactly what I decide on.

Next is the equipment. What do I want to bring with me? Obviously something used to vault the walls and increase my speed is paramount to this plan. I don't want to be shot at for very long and the more time I'm shot at the more likely it is that they stop having trooper aim and start to panic less.

So I'll take a pair of hover boots I repaired earlier. They won't work as well as they were intended to and can likely only take me a few dozen feet off the ground and not even for that long. But that's enough in this case to get over the defences. They won't expect me to hover either because they're boots and are easily concealed.

Now for speed I'm thinking just taking an engine or something and strapping it to my back. I remember people wanted to experiment with using gravity as a propulsion device and they threw the prototype here. While it worked with pods and such it didn't work on people or bicycles so they just threw the prototype here.

It works though. It's just incredibly expensive to build and maintain. You have to rebuild it every time after use and no lazy, rich consumer is going to buy that so they just chucked it in the junkyard. I grabbed it and managed to rebuild it though it took me a while.

This is perfect for this job. It won't take long to get through the base with this and it'll be perfect for helping the hover boots fly faster too. That sorts speed out I guess which means the only thing left is to plan for contingencies.

I guess the biggest issue will be if I get trapped or caught. With speed being my biggest contributor here, if someone was to catch me mid-air or if the engine gets shot or something then I'm going to have to fight my way out.

The thought brings a smile to my face which I repress before thinking about what I should bring in that case. I guess the best thing would be something used for self-defence. My immediate thought is my robot but I know that won't work because it's too bulky and can't move on it's own yet. Rather it can't move at all yet.

In which case I'll have to bring something that doesn't hamper my speed and can be used at multiple ranges. Perhaps my knife would work as a close-quarters option but it can't do anything if I get trapped and they have guns. So perhaps I need something else as well.

Thinking about it I just decide to bring my laser along. It can only be fired a few times every so often but at least it's something and frankly if it comes to the point that I'm engaging in a firefight then I've lost already so it doesn't really matter.

With my thoughts on the plan settled I write down the important notes on my tablet and refine the details until it's time to go home. I don't really want to see the old man again but it's fine because usually after a session like yesterday he'll stop for a while so everything will be fine.

With that somewhat comforting thought in mind, I start the long trek to my house. Despite the security being higher than before by the way it's interesting to note that the junklads seem to be in a bit of a rush for some reason. It's almost like they're putting antsy guards on duty. Perhaps something happened that made them so excited or maybe something important's going on.

Either way it was far easier than yesterday to just slip past the jerky guards because all I needed to do was create a big enough distraction for them to notice and just slip by in the chaos. Though I'm sure if I got caught it would've been far worse than if I got caught before my raid on the weapons storage area.

Regardless I escaped their clutches and made it all the way home unhindered. The uneventful journey was somewhat of a surprise really and it made me forget what I will likely have to endure as I get home.

Looking at the door to my house in front of me, it looks far more imposing than usual and opening it will take some serious courage. Unfortunately I don't have the option to ignore it so with minimal hesitation I open the door and enter the house.