Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
By the way can somebody explains to me what the pod from two strips ago is and what it does? Some kind of fuel for the reactor?
Quote Originally Posted by sihnfahl View Post
Fuel for the engines. Newton's Third. Consume mass to push the spaceship.
Specifically, it is reaction mass. Their ship got launched into orbit with the mag launcher, picked up cargo and reaction mass and left, and is now picking up additional reaction mass along the way. I'm not sure exactly where these fuel pods come from, or how they are moving at a convenient-to-grab speed and trajectory (I forget, has this all been explained?), but it makes sense for such a setup to exist. It isn't unlike modern commerce, where a semi truck picks up a trailer of goods and fuels up, then fuels up in places along the way. Obviously it makes you reliant upon said infrastructure, but it makes all the sense in the world: why bother accelerating you, your cargo and all your fuel/reaction mass if you can pick up more along the way?