Unreviewed ZZG-130 "Polar" Resonance-Shrapnel Shell

[Helix]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a sensor shell for the Dzara
• Image Source: N/A
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Helix Privateers
• Affiliation: Helix Privateers / The Dzara
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: ZZG-130 Polar
• Modularity: Yes
• Production: Minor
• Material:
  
  • General Construction: Helsteel
  • Tracker Electronics: Helglass
  • Internal Shell Wad: Formgel
  • Tracker Fusion Charge: Otherplasma

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Launches self-imbedding trackers
• Can be utilized for wide-ranging survey

STRENGTHS

• I See You: The Polar is primarily used to tag or track living targets, and its sensor dots can be detected by properly-equipped droids or instruments over significant distances.
• See You Later: The Polar's alternative survey mode can allow it to sense valuable materials for later collection, or mark locations of interest for future operations.

WEAKNESSES

• Man of Science: The Polar's purpose is primarily data collection and tracking. It can be used as a weapon in a pinch, but is very inefficient for this purpose.

DESCRIPTION

Initially designed as part of a mysterious droid-related black project, it was eventually decided that the Polar's virtues deserved to be enjoyed by the rank and file.

The Polar is a large, hefty shotshell designed for use in the Broadsides carried by Helix droids and Dzara pillagers alike.

While the Broadside is largely marketed on its sheer tactical flexibility, there are some specialized purposes which require equally specialized ammunition. One of these purposes is non-lethal tagging and tracking. The Polar serves this purpose admirably, allowing Dzara personnel to place small resonance-beacons in objects and living beings alike.

In its default setting, the Polar discharges a cloud of tracker-imbedded Helsteel shrapnel at a fairly low velocity. While these can be potentially lethal if the target is unlucky, they generally lack the mass or velocity to do serious harm on their own.

Instead, these tracker-dots are individual marvels of technology. Each is about the size of a humanoid fingernail, sharpened to a razor edge, and is designed to slice through flesh more than causing the devastating remote-wounding effects more commonly associated with the Broadside.

Should a tracker-dot imbed itself in a living thing, it will usually seek to burrow itself deeper into a wound to resist removal. Should it reach a vital organ or bone, it will activate a tiny Otherplasma charge, flash-fusing itself to the structure and ensuring that it cannot be easily pried off with most field-available tools.

If instead the dots strike a hardened surface (such as a droid or vehicle) then the aforementioned flash-fusing process is immediately triggered, welding the dots to the surface in question.

In either case, active tracker-dots register on Carrion systems as a priority energy signature, allowing equipped droids or personnel to detect tagged targets through obstructions and across vast distances.

Alternatively, the user may instead trigger the shell in a more powerful "survey" mode. In this configuration, the entire payload of trackers are instead fired as a single, slug-like conglomeration with enough power to smash through earth, rock, and metal alike.

This slug then emits a series of energy pulses through the substance around it, analyzing the resultant return signatures to detect substances or objects of interest.

This mode is most commonly used to leave point-of-interest markers in buildings, mark locations for deeper geological analysis, or otherwise indicate areas worth special attention and study.