Directorate Officer
- Intent: To provide a Chaos canon version of the intelligent toolbox / Hands Free Weapon System
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Personal Defense
- Affiliation: Silver Jedi, Directorate, Closed Market
- Model: Kinrath Intelligent Handless System
- Modularity: Different tools, weapons, or devices can be held or installed into the mechanical appendages; is backwards compatible with WED Treadwell Repair Droid appendages
Production: Mass-Produced.
- Material: Fusion battery, photoreceptors, various electronic/mechanical devices, Agrinium casing/mechanical appendages, Duranex fabric, polyweave fabric reinforcement and straps, polycarbonate frame, gription panel
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Can support up to 3 mechanical appendages or manipulator arms
- Modular: With a little work, Kinrath can support a variety of appendages or devices
- Can be controlled by either verbal commands or electronically via data uplink
- Extra Hands: Kinrath essentially provides its users with extra hands to hold or use different devices, making it ideal multi-taskers trying to accomplish several things at once.
- Versatile: Kinrath is easily modified to accept different devices or pistol-sized weapons, whether the user is repairing a starship or running in a gunfight.
- Fragile: Kinrath's mechanical appendages are rather fragile (like their WED Treadwell appendage predecessors) and are extremely easy to snap with even a moderate amount of force. Similarly, the base backpack unit is not combat-hardened in any meaningful sense: most weapon's fire will quickly damage and destroy the device.
- Inherent Clumsiness: Kinrath lacks computer processing power, which often means that the appendages lag when trying to make precise or quick movements. Generally an appendage can either make a quick movement, or a precise movement, but not both simultaneously.
Intelligent toolboxes and Hands Free Weapons systems have occupied a niche market in the galaxy for some time now. The Kinrath is fairly derivative piece of technology that combines aspects of both systems, using an open-ended design approach to both its software and hardware to allow it to dabble in both fields. At its core, Kinrath is a hard-cased backpack that contains a power source, a trio of servo-motors, and a limited computer processor. Various mechanical appendages or arms can be attached to the servo-motors, allowing them to be directed through the computer processor to perform various commands. When not in use, these arms retract in close to the frame in order to reduce size and to avoid snagging on nearby objects.
When used as an intelligent toolbox by mechanics and other similar technologically minded users, these arms often hold tools like macro fusers, arc welders, fusion cutters, and a variety of other power or electronic tools. Aside from allowing mechanics to perform multiple repair jobs simultaneously, it also allows multiple jobs to be completed simultaneously in tight spaces, such as in maintenance corridors of small starships. Compared to many other intelligent toolbox systems, Kinrath's base unit supports only basic, common tools. Specialized tools or appendages can still be afixed to Kinrath, but the process is one of end-user tinkering or buying from aftermarket supporters, making it more a hassle for many sophisticated users. Kinrath, however, is noticeably cheaper than many of the high-end models that offer such support though.
As a hands free weapon system, Kinrath's multi-function purpose is similarly limiting. While Kinrath can technically fire three different weapons systems at a time, it's accuracy is usually poorer and its weapons less powerful compared to actually dedicated hands free weapon systems such as the Merr-Sonn VX. This does not detract in any way from its ability to saturate areas with weapons fire, making it useful for providing covering fire or wide area destruction. Many users often use the device to watch their back or fire from behind cover/concealment.
As such, the Kinrath's jack of all trades nature makes it inferior in either role compared to its dedicated peers. However, it's ability to perform both functions not only means that cash-strapped users such as smugglers and spacers can use it in either role as needed, but it can actually function in both roles simultaneously. As an example, one appendage could hold blaster pistol while the others hold an arc welder (to weld metal plates) and soldering pen (to fix circuitry). This could allow the user to provide his own covering fire as he makes some hasty repairs on his ship during a running gunfight. Lucerne Personal Defense is betting on this last ability to better differentiate it from its erstwhile peers, especially among its fringer and combat-oriented clientele. Whether this gamble will pay off for the company's profit margin remains to be seen.
