Commodore Helix
Disintegrations done dirt cheap.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Excerpt from "Mercs and Marauders: What you need to know!" An article in the Taleucama Gazette, a third-rate Holonet news series published in Saleucami's capital city. The article was an interview with a Dr. [REDACTED] a supposed "expert" on mercenary groups, in which he demystifies some of the more exotic weapons utilized by sellswords. Dr. [REDACTED] disappeared shortly after conducting the interview, and has not been seen since. Likewise, the Gazette's upper management has also fallen victim to a series of disappearances, and the company is thus largely defunct.
"The supposed 'Horror Matrix' is commonly dismissed as a myth, a dark legend. Speculation about a certain shadowy mercenary group has run rampant after they held our planetary government hostage some time ago, ascribing them a variety of nonsensical powers and capabilities. I am here today to set the record straight: the Horror Matrix is real, but there is nothing supernatural about it. I will lay out the capabilities of this weapon, and how you, the people, may evade it."
"The Matrix is usually small, enough so to fit comfortably in the palm of a human hand, though I've known larger versions to exist. For unknown reasons, the weapon's appearance varies widely between individual examples. Some resemble smooth crystal orbs, others a boxy arrangement of lenses and cables. Despite this, they all function more or less the same."
"The weapon operates by emitting specific psychoactive light wavelengths, that in most forms of humanoid life trigger the portions of the brain responsible for fear and the flight response. This is coupled with emission of infrasonic sound frequencies that do essentially the same thing, and the results mostly speak for themselves. I've interviewed several survivors of exposure to the weapon, and from that I've gleaned a few basic facts."
"The weapon is strictly nonlethal in nature. I've found a few who suffer still with mental problems, some even quite severe, but no deaths. Still, long-term or very close exposure can lead to insanity or lifelong recurring hallucinations, and there are rumors to suggest the weapon is occasionally used in interrogations for just this reason. What the victims felt upon immediate exposure varies. Some reported visual and auditory hallucinations, terrifying monsters or the reanimated remains of dead family members, things of that nature that compelled them to flee. Others simply said they couldn't point to what frightened them, only that the fear took over."
"Whatever the case, the result is the same: if anyone was nearby enough to see or hear the weapon discharge, they ran screaming. The military applications of this are fairly obvious. It's hard to defend a location when your most hardened soldiers are fleeing like schoolgirls."
"The good news is it doesn't appear to be perfect. I've spoken to others who saw the weapon discharge and were unaffected. The common element of most of these people is that they were of species whose minds bear little, if anything, in the way of resemblance to human brain structure. Hutts, Verpine, and Trandoshans are notably highly resistant, among others. Also, there is some evidence that the effects can be overcome through sheer will alone, though I encountered few in my studies who were strong-minded enough to do this. As for the rest of us, shut your eyes, cover your ears, and steel yourself if you think you're being exposed to the Horror Matrix. It might just save your life."
- Intent: To create an experimental psychoactive weapon for Helix Solutions
- Image Source: N/A
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Helix Solutions
- Affiliation: Helix Solutions
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: JPX Horror Matrix
- Modularity: No
- Production: Limited
- Material: Durasteel, quartz, light generator components, sound speakers
- Classification: Light, Sonic
- Size: Very Small
- Weight: Very Light
- Ammunition Type: Power Cell
- Ammunition Capacity: Very Small
- Effective Range: Battlefield
- Rate of Fire: Very Low
- Damage Output: None
- Recoil: None
- Dangerous to anything that can draw direct line of sight, or hear the sound emanations.
- Disabling: Producing a dizzying visual and auditory spectacle, the Horror Matrix is capable of routing or crippling large forces if deployed correctly, in a very large effective radius from the user.
- Blinding: Given as it affects anything capable of simply looking at it or hearing it, the weapon's effect bypasses most armor and shielding, and can usually only be truly prevented by not looking at it or listening to it.
- Extremely Rare: Seldom seen and still in the prototypical stages, and typically wielded only by high-ranking personnel.
- Unreliable: The weapon's effect usually takes hold successfully on humans or closely humanoid species, but species with less humanoid mindsets or physiology (or simply those who navigate without physical sight) are unlikely to be as affected. Likewise, those with sufficient self-control to have mastered their fear utterly can shrug the effect off, as can droids or other non-organic life. Lastly, as the weapon works best when it can directly be seen or heard, headgear capable of filtering or scrambling sights or sounds renders the Matrix largely ineffective.
Excerpt from "Mercs and Marauders: What you need to know!" An article in the Taleucama Gazette, a third-rate Holonet news series published in Saleucami's capital city. The article was an interview with a Dr. [REDACTED] a supposed "expert" on mercenary groups, in which he demystifies some of the more exotic weapons utilized by sellswords. Dr. [REDACTED] disappeared shortly after conducting the interview, and has not been seen since. Likewise, the Gazette's upper management has also fallen victim to a series of disappearances, and the company is thus largely defunct.
"The supposed 'Horror Matrix' is commonly dismissed as a myth, a dark legend. Speculation about a certain shadowy mercenary group has run rampant after they held our planetary government hostage some time ago, ascribing them a variety of nonsensical powers and capabilities. I am here today to set the record straight: the Horror Matrix is real, but there is nothing supernatural about it. I will lay out the capabilities of this weapon, and how you, the people, may evade it."
"The Matrix is usually small, enough so to fit comfortably in the palm of a human hand, though I've known larger versions to exist. For unknown reasons, the weapon's appearance varies widely between individual examples. Some resemble smooth crystal orbs, others a boxy arrangement of lenses and cables. Despite this, they all function more or less the same."
"The weapon operates by emitting specific psychoactive light wavelengths, that in most forms of humanoid life trigger the portions of the brain responsible for fear and the flight response. This is coupled with emission of infrasonic sound frequencies that do essentially the same thing, and the results mostly speak for themselves. I've interviewed several survivors of exposure to the weapon, and from that I've gleaned a few basic facts."
"The weapon is strictly nonlethal in nature. I've found a few who suffer still with mental problems, some even quite severe, but no deaths. Still, long-term or very close exposure can lead to insanity or lifelong recurring hallucinations, and there are rumors to suggest the weapon is occasionally used in interrogations for just this reason. What the victims felt upon immediate exposure varies. Some reported visual and auditory hallucinations, terrifying monsters or the reanimated remains of dead family members, things of that nature that compelled them to flee. Others simply said they couldn't point to what frightened them, only that the fear took over."
"Whatever the case, the result is the same: if anyone was nearby enough to see or hear the weapon discharge, they ran screaming. The military applications of this are fairly obvious. It's hard to defend a location when your most hardened soldiers are fleeing like schoolgirls."
"The good news is it doesn't appear to be perfect. I've spoken to others who saw the weapon discharge and were unaffected. The common element of most of these people is that they were of species whose minds bear little, if anything, in the way of resemblance to human brain structure. Hutts, Verpine, and Trandoshans are notably highly resistant, among others. Also, there is some evidence that the effects can be overcome through sheer will alone, though I encountered few in my studies who were strong-minded enough to do this. As for the rest of us, shut your eyes, cover your ears, and steel yourself if you think you're being exposed to the Horror Matrix. It might just save your life."
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