HK-36
The Iron Lord Protector (Neutral Good)
Image: Images of a metal telescopic hiking stick taken by myself (With my hand in there and a door for length comparison).
Intent: To create a weapon designed to pierce phrik and beskar armor in melee combat.
Development Thread: Pay Day- Moross Crusade agrees to begin selling phrik to HK in smaller quantities (Enough to make the spear-heads) but at regular intervals, they have not used the mined phrik before.
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: Spears of Rae
Affiliation: Barony of Abregado-Rae, partially Omega Protectorate (see Production)
Modularity: Comes in two models, Spear and Pike, Spear's length can be adjusted into three settings, Short, Medium, and Long due to telescopic structure.
Production: Minor production (Enough to supply the Iron Company and Militia of Abregado-Rae, any additional production would require two additional development thread with backing from another manufacturing company and acquiring more phrik, i.e. Omega Corps buying off the design to manufacture the weapon for Protectorate forces and trading for more phrik with Moross Crusade for example)
Material: Graphite and durasteel main structure (As with original Force Pikes) Along with some bronzium details for aesthetics.
Description: The increase in usage of Crab, phrik, or beskar-based armor, as well as increasing quality of durasteel personal armor fielded by troops, brought an important concern to HK's mind, a way of dealing with opponents armored in such. If there was two things that the droid's long life of experience in warfare made him know for sure was that if he wanted to get through an armor the best way of doing so would be by piercing it, and that if there is one thing as strong as phrik, it's phrik. The answer was obvious, a bastard child of a Verpine shattergun and Wookiee bowcaster firing solid phrik quarrels. However, phrik was by no way cheap and with the War nipping at the droid's mind, and new Sith threat rising in the Galaxy, especially right at the droid's doorsteps, HK did not had enough time to gather resources to fund creating enough phrik ammunition and research creating such a weapon.
Instead, the droid settled on a design based on the Force Pikes fielded since before the Galactic Empire of Palpatine. Their use proved efficient and very effective during their time, and HK encountered enough of them to be able to replicate their design from his memory file. The weapon would also be an improvement over the vibro-swords Iron Company has equipped its troops with as primary melee weapon while they were easier to retrieve after battle than phrik projectiles, cutting down on the costs HK would have to pay to replace the phrik ammunition he would use.
The biggest difference between these weapon and the original Force Pikes are the phrik spear-heads at their tips. The spear-heads have a kite-shape rather than a triangular one like with traditional spears. This sacrifices the additional damage the spears would do by ripping out flesh but makes them easier to pull out of armored enemies the spear would strike, it was one of the concerns HK had when the weapon would be used against enemies clad in armor made from dense metals.
The weapon came in two models, telescopic spears with maximum length of 1.60 meters and solid pikes with length of 2 meters. Both models had graphite shafts, as did original Force Pikes on which the weapons are heavily based, material strong enough to withstand blows from vibroweaponry and lighsabers, meaning the polearms would not break or shatter during combat, at least not when facing a lightsaber or common vibro-weaponry. They also contained vibro-systems in order to provide a boost in piercing capacity due to high-speed vibrations and electro-shocking systems, although the power of those differed between models.
The Spears had three length settings, which could be changed via a button on the spear's handle at the base. The Short setting has length of 50 cm and it allows the soldiers to carry the weapon at their belts with ease, allowing them to arm themselves with it rather quickly or use it in tighter quarters where the Spear's full length would be an inconvenience. The Medium setting has length of a meter, it's the setting that balances the length of the weapon while keeping most of its weight relatively close to the hilt, making it still rather easy to use the weapon with just one hand, in case the soldiers would want to wield a pistol or a shield of sorts while using the weapon at the same time. The Long setting has 1.60 meters in length, the increased length allows the troops to strike with greater force and at longer range, letting them deal with heavier armored troops before they would close in on them, but it is recommended that the troops would use both of their hands when using the weapon in such a setting.
The telescopic structure of the weapon required for the power output of the electro-shocking systems in it to be decreased, as it was moved from being located at the tip of the weapon to the shaft of the spear. This allowed the shocks to be delivered by swinging the weapon and striking the enemies with its blunt shaft, however, the electro shocks delivered can be compared to those of a stun bolt, only disorienting and incapacitating its targets unlike the original Force pikes which were able to sever limbs with a good strike.
However, the telescopic mechanisms require for the electro-shocking and vibrating mechanisms to deactivate when changing the length of the spear. This is done automatically, but it requires for the user to wait 2 seconds after changing the length of the spear to allow for electric charge to build up in the shaft and vibro-weapon systems to activate once more. However, the mechanism used to lengthen the spear could, in theory, be used to provide additional piercing force to the weapon to make up for the lack of hyper-vibrating effect. For example, when the spear is in its short state, the user could bring it up the enemy's torso and push the button twice to change its length to long state. The spear would then shot out with mechanical strength to prolong, piercing through enemy's torso. Due to the tests conducted on this system, the Gados scientists came to the conclusion that just by itself it can pierce through lighter armor, specifically those of ratings between 1 and 3.
The Pikes have only one length setting, 2 meters, and they are a solid piece of graphite, however, this allowed for stronger electro-shocking mechanisms to be used in this larger, heavier weapon. These electro-shocking systems are located only around the 30 cm segment just below the phrik tip of the weapon, but in turn have the same strength as the original Force Pikes, cutting through limbs and thin durasteel plates. In that regard the weapon can be used much like a halberd, using the phrik tip to stab through foes with durable or thick armor and swinging the electric segment to cut through lesser-armored enemies. The rest of the weapon's shaft has electro-shocking systems of much lower power, only shocking anybody who comes in contact with them.
It is recommended for troops to wield these pikes with two hands due to their length, weight, and the vibrations of the vibro-weapon systems of the weapon. The pikes come with two handles located nearby the middle of the weapon to provide stable grip on it without having the soldiers shocking themselves by accident and losing a hand.
Due to the price of the phrik spear-heads these weapons contain and the cost of process in which the Echani Graphite and the weapon systems that make up these polearms, the Spears of Rae, at least currently, are restricted to more veteran troops of the Iron Company, those who know how to handle a weapon like that properly and will not loose it in combat. Most often it is given to the Iron Knights, the heavily armored front heavy assault troops of the Iron Company, a veterans of many battles since the Bando-Gora campaigns.
Overall, these weapons should be able to pierce through phrik and beskar armor, although that strongly depends on the thickness of the metal and with how much strength the user strikes, and any personal durasteel armor. In theory, they could also be thrown at foes as a javelin, however, that is strongly discouraged as the weapon could be lost or captured by enemy, and the cost of replacement of phrik spear-tip would be taken from the paycheck of the soldier who lost the weapon.
Classification: Polearms
Size: One or Two handed
Length: Spear-Short Setting 50 cm, Spear-Medium Setting 1 meter, Spear-Long Setting 1.60 meters, Pike 2 meters.
Weight: Spear 10 kg, Pike 12 kg (Based on the weight referenced in Force Pikes article, 2-7 kilograms)
Other Features: As with the original Force Pikes, the shafts of these weapons are made from graphite, allowing them to be very sturdy in combat and resist strikes from lightsaber, making them a valid melee weapon on a battlefield. Vibro-systems increase the piercing of the weapon and, unlike the original Force Pikes, these weapons have their electric shocking systems in the shafts. In Spears the shock is just enough to be used for additional stunning electric damage, while the Pikes are capable of generating charges equal to those of original Force Pikes, in terms of being able to slice through limbs with touch, however that is limited to the area nearby the weapon's tip, allowing them to be used as Pikes and sort-of Halberds.
