Unreviewed Black Tarnicite

[Helix]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To submit a rare and dangerous crystal for a future project
• Image Source: Generated via ChatGPT
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Helix Privateers
• Affiliation: Helix Privateers
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: N/A
• Modularity: Yes
• Production: Unique
• Material:
  
  • Primary Essence: Red Tarnicite / Blue Tarnicite
  • Secondary Essence: Shard Matter

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Highly corruptive
• Capable of rapidly changing shape and state
• Force-reactive

STRENGTHS

• Creeping Growth: As with its forbears, Black Tarnicite is capable of corrupting other substances it comes into contact with, converting them into more of itself.
• Force-Focus: Black Tarnicite is a Force-reactive substance similar to Kyber, but most closely resembles the living mineral Shard species.
• Fluid Form: Black Tarnicite possesses deep transformative capabilities at the molecular level, and is able to alter its form or essence in response to stimulus.

WEAKNESSES

• A Mirror Cracked: Black Tarnicite is no more durable than other examples of its line. It can be broken or shattered with sufficient physical force.
• Force-Blocked: Black Tarnicite cannot be used to affect the Force when within a Force-suppressing area.

DESCRIPTION

Extremely rare and extremely dangerous, Black Tarnicite is an ultra-classified, Force-sensitive crystalline substance.

Unlike the more common red and blue varieties, Black Tarnicite is not widely used in military applications. Only one sample currently exists. Its ultimate purpose remains mysterious, but one thing is for certain; it bodes no good for the galaxy or its people.

As mentioned, Black Tarnicite was developed under particularly confidential circumstances. Unusually, even the wider Dzara was not informed of its manufacture in any sense. Knowledge of its development was therefore constrained to the handful of scientists who aided in its development, and many of these individuals met strange and mysterious ends shortly after the project was completed. One by one, almost everyone who knew of the project was eliminated.

Black Tarnicite bears some similarities in its nature to Helixium, in that it can take on the properties of other substances. As its name suggests, its default form is of a black, non-reflective crystal or gemstone-like substance. This "normal" configuration has the odd property of absorbing nearby ambient light rather than reflecting or refracting it as more typical crystals might. The substance therefore has a constant smoky nebulosity around itself even in a well-lit room, making it difficult to fully focus on. Nonetheless, it can shift into a liquid or gaseous state under the proper stimulus, and back to solid again.

Likewise, even this solid state is remarkably protean in nature. A Black Tarnicite crystal can assume virtually any color, shape, or size imaginable, from round spheroids to razor-sharp blades to cubes and other geometric figures.

Most notably however, Black Tarnicite is naturally Force-sensitive and quasi-alive, not dissimilar to the Shard species in overall makeup. Hypothetically, Black Tarnicite can channel the Force exactly as a living being might, though it lacks will and intent of its own. Thus, it would be ideally suited for the creation of a single, very specialized weapon.

As with its forbears, Black Tarnicite is capable of aggressively colonizing objects or lifeforms. Unprotected contact with the substance is therefore ill-advised, as the Black variety inherits the indiscriminate corruptive properties of the Red variety alongside the sheer speed of the Blue. Even a brief touch can easily be lethal, transforming flesh or metal into more Tarnicite.

Interestingly, Black Tarnicite appears able to "discriminate" in its predations. Initial testing indicates that the substance can elect whether or not to corrupt and convert what it touches, and that this reaction is controllable with the proper means. If nothing else, this means that the single extant specimen can be much more easily and safely transported than related minerals of this sort.

Black Tarnicite can even retract itself from corrupted areas, reversing some of the effect, though anything it has irreversibly damaged must of course remain that way.

Finally, and perhaps most ominously, Black Tarnicite appears to be an ideal medium for the physical transmission and storage of data. Its growth functions not unlike a fungus, with tiny crystalline threads transmitting sensation, thought, and intent. Different portions of the substance can communicate and coordinate with one another, provided that they are in physical contact in some manner.