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FIGHTING PIKE
Minbari "Fighting Pike" is one of the most ancient of weapons, which has been in use, one way or another for the past 12,000 years. Originally nothing more than a wooden stick, similar to the Earth fighting staff, or "Bo", the Pike has evolved to become a the weapon of choice in hand-to-hand combat. This was not always the case however. Originally, the Pike was only used in training and was never considered an effective weapon in military combat, following the onset of gunpowder. The primary reason for this was size. The Minbari Pike, while an effective weapon, was not very portable given its length of nearly two meters and diameter of some 2.5 centimeters. It is only in the past 1,000 years that the Pike has truly become an effective weapon. Original proble with using the Pike in combat was size, at two meters in length the Pike was a rather conspicuous weapon. True, anyone using a Pike, with even the most basic of training, could best an expert swordsman but carrying a large stick into a battlefield was not neither discreet nor efficient. However, about 1,000 years ago during the time of Valen the Minbari discovered a way to make their Pikes effective on the battle field - they learned to shrink the Pike so warriors could carry is easily. Minbari Fighting Pikes, using collapsible tubing based on the Tak'cha's Barkken staff design, could be compressed into a small package and carried into combat easily. Using a button and a miniature air compressor, these Pikes were very effective in combat. Later, as Minbari technology advanced, so did the Pike. Modern Pikes now employ what is called "Molecular Compression" technology. Put simply, the Minbari have learned to compress the molecules of an object, making an object of a given mass take up a smaller volume of space, while not altering the objects mass. This form of Pike is much more efficient than the older Pikes using collapsible tubing. It is sturdier, stronger and lighter.
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