Commodore Helix
Disintegrations done dirt cheap.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: to codify the powerful incendiary substance used in the E-5H, Cumulus Rocket , Beacon Flamethrower , and other Helix weaponry
- 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: Chemical X16
- Modularity: Yes
- Production: Limited
- Material: Radioactive cobalt isotopes, phosphorus compounds, adhesive liquid
- Classification: Liquid, Gas
- Weight: Light
- Color: Typically vibrant blue-white when burning
- Resistances: None
- Highly Toxic
- Highly Radioactive
- Extreme burning temperature
- Resistant to water and vacuum
STRENGTHS
- Life-Destroying: Putting aside the blast-furnace temperature, Blue Phosphorus is both highly toxic and highly radioactive, and significant concentrations will not only eradicate life, but make areas unsuitable for it.
- Volatile: It need hardly be said that improper storage of this substance is profoundly dangerous, and it is not unheard-of for Helix vessels transporting canisters of it to experience fires.
Referred to in internal Helix Solutions documentation only as "Chemical X16" or simply "X16", most who have seen it used on living targets have come to describe it more fancifully (though somewhat inaccurately) as "blue phosphorus".
While it is true that phosphorus compounds are a part of this substance, and partly to blame for its metal-liquefying temperature (between 1700 and 2400 degrees Celsius, depending on exact mix and concentration) when ignited, other ingredients are responsible for the substance's other pernicious traits, such as extreme adhesiveness, bright blue color, and the ability to burn in oxygen-free atmospheres, underwater, or in hard vacuum. Typically, a patch of ignited X16 can burn for between ten and fifteen standard minutes under its own power, far longer if it is atop a flammable substance.
Typically used in the "Beacon" or "Cumulus" for deployment (though other methods are underway) this substance is almost incredibly inimical to organic life and environments, and almost seems to take on a fiendish life of its own in large concentrations. Those who have faced Helix forces on the field tell of entire cities blazing in a nightmarish blue firestorm, buildings crumbling and melting like wax, and unfortunate victims desperately trying to extinguish seemingly undying flames.
Anything organic that is exposed to a Blue Phosphorus weapon is unlikely to survive (unless well-protected against thermal and chemical harm), as the substance can cause significant third or fourth degree burn injuries to those directly contacting the flames. Additionally, the phosphorus and cobalt compounds render the area powerfully chemically toxic and radioactive both, respectively. As such, even those unfortunate enough to survive close contact with this substance are likely to suffer severe health complications even after the battle has concluded.
The fumes from the flames, too, are lethal, and tend to cling low to the ground, forming a secondary aerosol killer that is toxic both to inhale or to absorb through skin, and in large enough concentrations can eradicate the local biosphere, belching dark blue streams of toxic chemicals into the air and water table.
Finally, such are the temperatures at which this substance burns that even vehicles may not be safe, as the fires chew through through vehicle hulls not made to resist heat damage with nearly as much eagerness as flesh and armor. Crews are typically left with the choice of whether to cook alive in their own tanks, or flee outside for a (hopefully) swifter end.
Multiple humanitarian groups and galactic governments have condemned Helix Solutions for the use of this horrific substance, being as it promises a slow and agonizing death on the field, or a lifetime of painful health complications afterward. These are complaints that typically fall on deaf audioreceptors. Nonetheless, the telltale sapphire blaze of this substance has become one of their most dreaded hallmarks. Thankfully, despite its infamy, the chemical is in fact fairly uncommonly used in enough profusion to ruin the nearby environment, as most clients wish to actually be able to use the ground Helix mercs take.
However, the substance is finicky, and ignites immediately upon being breached, making it often nearly as dangerous to the user as to the enemy if proper storage and transport precautions are not followed. Helix doctrine greatly stresses following these procedures, though those who get lax with doing so typically won't live long enough to face disciplinary action in any case.
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