Tech to Look Out For: Blastswords
In this age of blaster rifles and proton torpedoes, most cultures consider swordplay a dying art. Former New Republic General Han Solo once referred to the lightsaber as an ancient weapon, despite the fact that the Jedi Order was still intact in the year of Solo’s birth. However, a weapon has recently appeared on the galactic scene that gives serious fighters a reason to examine sword fighting. Centuries old on its native planet, the Wild Space world of Adumar, the blastsword has come to the attention of the galaxy as a whole following its negotiations to join the New Republic.
The blastsword is exactly what it sounds like. With a blade approximately one meter in length and a blaster tip on its end, weighting approximately 2.1 kg, the blastsword is a combination weapon that is gaining popularity amongst duelists and body guards.
The majority of the weapon functions as a blade, but the tip is where truly lethal damage come from. The energy outlet, upon coming into contact with something when turned on, emits a blaster shot capable of killing fully grown humans. The average capacity for the power cells which power the weapon is around 20 blasts. This energy outlet also produces a faint glow, which can make displays of the weapon particularly visually pleasing when blades fly in quick combat. The blastsword also features curved hand guard which, according to New Republic pilot Wes Janson, “protects your hand and makes a nice bludgeon.” Naturally, the implications of such a weapon for close combat situations are enormous.
Used in honor duels on Adumar, the art of combat with a blastsword has become highly stylized. That is not to say, however, that it can not be used in a deadly and precise manner. Already, assassins, bounty hunters, and body guards are finding effective ways to make use of the weapon.
Blastswords range from 600 to 1500 credits, based on their quality. Because of the relative newness the weapon has to the galactic weapons trade, blastswords may prove to be a valuable investment. Here at Coruscant Consumer Reports, we will be watching the prices of stocks in the metals used in the blades, as well as power cell manufacturing firms to see if blastsword production may be on the rise. If you’re interested in the industry, consider purchasing stock in Ghephaenne Deeper-Craters Weaponmakers, a producer of blastswords native to Adumar.
I love Blastswords because forever remind me of the great Wes Janson:
Hobbie (DK): So naturally you challenged him yourself. Tycho (TC): Despite knowing next to nothing about using that blastsword. Wes (WJ): I knew how the thing worked, at least, and had a reasonably good idea how the other guy would react. And if I didn’t do it, Wedge would have. Unacceptable. Besides, you missed the best part. TC: Because we were busy getting Cheriss to a doctor. WJ: I didn’t say you didn’t have good reason. And I didn’t go into a blastsword fight. I went into a fistfight with a blastsword acting as a decoy. It took a little fast-talking and Darpen’s bad advice on Adumari culture to get Thanaer to accept the challenge, but eventually I got him to agree to spare Cheriss until he killed me. It turns out you can’t just challenge someone and place conditions on it. He wouldn’t fight me unless I insulted him. Added that personal touch. DK: Your ability to talk people into wanting to kill you borders on some kind of Jedi thing, you know that? WJ: It’s a gift. So, there we were. Wedge standing by helpless, the honor of the New Republic at stake. We drew our blastswords — Hallis, is there going to be a graphic, or a — I’d better describe them. Hallis (HS): Just don’t look into the camera, it’s — WJ: Hello, viewers, I’m Wes Janson. Blastswords are exactly what they sound like: half sword, half blaster. You’ve got a hilt with a power cell and a curved blastguard that protects your hand and makes a nice bludgeon. The blade is about a meter long, sharp, but not at the tip. Instead, that’s a weird little blaster nozzle, which carries a built-up charge that explosively releases on contact. It can kill or maim pretty efficiently in the right hands. That is, not mine. Different blastswords have different colored charges, and you can draw in the air with the tracers. Which I used to my advantage at the start of the fight. It’s really too bad I don’t have one here to demonstrate. Hallis, you haven’t got — no, I suppose not. TC: The duel. That shook the halls of the perator. WJ: Which began with some blastsword art, thanks. Now this Adumari may have known his way around a blastsword and knife — forgot to mention that, they use knives in the off-hand, usually — but he fell for my bluff, and let himself get far too worked up by my insults. Which weren’t bad, I have to say. So I bet everything that this Theener guy wouldn’t put his best shot into the first hit, that he was a showoff. I know the type. So I used the unfamiliar weapon to draw his attention away to the left, which was enough to open him up for an old-fashioned sucker punch. And then another sucker punch, and a sucker kick or two. Maybe a sucker elbow. DK: You fight dirty. WJ: Indeed I do. Thank you.
28 March 2011 @ 17:00
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