Unreviewed ZTZ-901 "Statuesque" Superheavy Gauss-Crystallizer

[Helix]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a primary shipboard weapon for the Dzara's fleets
• Image Source: ChatGPT-edited version of this
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: The Dzara
• Affiliation: The Dzara
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: ZTZ-901 Statuesque
• Modularity: Yes
• Production: Minor
• Material:
  • General Construction: Helsteel
  • Projectile Outer Layer: Blightsteel/Kensium
  • Primary Damaging Payload: Tarnicite
  • Primary Detonation Charge: Otherplasma

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Rail/Tarnicite
• Size: Large
• Weight: Heavy
• Ammunition Type: Explosive Tarnicite Shells
• Ammunition Capacity: Large
• Effective Range: Battlefield
• Rate of Fire: Low
• Damage Output:
  • Immediate Impact: High
  • Crystallization Aftereffect: Very High
• Recoil: High

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Crystallizing Munitions
• Aftershock-Integrated

STRENGTHS

• Accurate: The Statuesque possesses exceptionally fine shot placement (at least within its limited firing arc), and is able to precision-strike vulnerable areas where it may do the most damage.
• Mineralize: The Statuesque introduces self-replicating Tarnicite crystals onto the surface or interior of vessels it manages to directly strike, inflicting significant harm the longer the infestation goes unchecked.

WEAKNESSES

• Spinal: The Statuesque is usually mounted in a fixed position on a hull, owing to its significant size and weight. It is far too slow to track or threaten strike craft in any meaningful way.

DESCRIPTION

An enormously upscaled version of the technology used in the Deviance Crystallizer Rifle, the Statuesque is designed for ship-to-ship combat, orbital bombardment, and of course, to terrify.

In most cases, this weapon will form part of the primary armament of the vessel that bears it. This is due to its excellent support-damaging capabilities against virtually any sort of solid obstruction, be it ship, station, or planetary surface.

The Statuesque uses magnetic acceleration to launch semi-solid Blightsteel-Kensium alloy shells at a significant fraction of lightspeed, inflicting considerable kinetic stress against shields or armored hulls alike. Still, this is not the primary danger the weapon poses. Instead, this conventional devastation is merely the garnish for the terror to come.

The weapon's rail-projected munitions each carry a small Otherplasma charge, designed to detonate it a fraction of an instant past the point of impact. This releases the shells' true payload: several metric tons of active Tarnicite crystal.

Should the weapon fail to penetrate an enemy hull, the shell simply detonates, scattering the corruptive minerals across a wide area of the ship's exterior with enormous force. From there, they proceed to attempt to colonize any portion of the hull they touch, gradually weakening its structural integrity.

This would already be bad enough, but a Statuesque shell that manages to pierce a hull is worse. Under ideal circumstances, the brief delay between impact and explosion results in the shell bursting within the hostile vessel, infesting a wide area with rapidly-growing crystals.

It need hardly be said that this poses a significant threat to the survival of the ship and all aboard it, and response teams had best act quickly to destroy the crystals before they can become too widespread. Critical systems, engines, or reactors that become crystallized will, needless to say, usually not function as intended.

True to form, Dzara raiders have been known to deploy this weapon against ground targets, reducing vast swathes of land to inert crystal wasteland, dotted here and there by the silently-screaming figures of victims. Of course, this should be avoided if one actually desires to use the land afterwards, as mass-scale Tarnicite infestation can be prohibitively difficult and expensive (if not impossible) to remove.

Against standing shields, the weapon's corruptive properties do not function as they do against solid objects, simply functioning as standard (if still devastatingly powerful) kinetic impact weapons. As such, Statuesque gunners should pick their shots carefully, attempting to strike the hull where possible rather than wasting ammunition on shields.