Unreviewed SKS-450 "Harridan" Crystallizer Pistol

[Helix]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a lethal sidearm for Dzara personnel.
• Image Source: ChatGPT-edited version of this
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Helix Privateers
• Affiliation: The Dzara
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: SKS-450 Harridan
• Modularity: Yes
• Production: Minor
• Material:
  • Receiver/General Construction: Helsteel
  • Electronics: Helglass
  • Exterior Finish: Shiftsteel
  • Ammunition: Tarnicite

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Rail
• Size: Average
• Weight: Average
• Ammunition Type: Tarnicite Crystal Shards
• Ammunition Capacity: Small (10 Shots)
• Effective Range: Long Range
• Rate of Fire: Low
• Damage Output:
  • Average (Initial Kinetic Impact)
  • Very High (Crystal Conversion Effect)
• Recoil: Low

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Fires self-replicating crystal ammunition

STRENGTHS

• Crystal Tumbler: The Harridan's Tarnicite projectiles can have a devastating effect on unarmored or lightly-armored foes. This pistol excels at killing infantry, organic and droid alike.
• Eye of a Needle: The Harridan enjoys excellent range and accuracy (for a handgun).

WEAKNESSES

• Cut-Down: The Harridan suffers from the weaknesses of its big brother to an even greater extent. It possesses an even smaller ammunition capacity, along with a similar sluggish rate of fire.

DESCRIPTION

A smaller variant utilizing the same technology as the larger Deviance rifle, the Harridan is designed to bring the same lethal effect into a smaller package.

In many ways, the Harridan enjoys the same advantages and suffers the same disadvantages of its larger cousin. It is a fairly bulky pistol, and is most comfortably used in a firm two-handed grip. A cluster of bright-orange, visible Tarnicite crystals run down each side of the weapon's receiver, and are (thankfully for the wielder) protected from accidental contact via a thin barrier of magnetic force.

Like the Deviance, the Harridan enjoys superb range and accuracy relative to its class, delivering small shards of corruptive crystalline matter with significant speed and force. These projectiles are smaller than those fired by the Deviance, and are launched with less velocity, leading to somewhat lessened immediate damaging potential. Nonetheless, they still pack more than enough punch to be deadly over short distances.

The Harridan's crystal darts can gracefully penetrate most light armors, where they usually embed themselves in flesh and begin their baleful work. Even a single shot, left untreated, can easily prove fatal, as the crystals extend razor-sharp protrusions into the surrounding meat and bone matter. A crystal shard can colonize a wide swathe of the surrounding tissue, given time, and repeated impacts can even crystallize a target entirely, rendering them a glistening, inert statue.

While it is officially discouraged, some troops have become fond of the practice of "crystal-whipping". This practice involves stabbing a victim with the weapon's exterior spines by swinging the pistol like a club. While the results can be spectacularly lethal, they result in the premature disruption of the magnetic fields protecting the exposed projectiles.

This most commonly results in the destruction of the weapon, as it becomes exposed to the effects of its own munitions. Willful destruction of Dzara property rarely comes without consequence...