Name: Laser Grenades Slang/Street Names: Cancer balls, 'stupid waste of money', 'a terrible idea and R&D mistake', Disco ball from hell Description: A black ball with removable panels, a priming button, and a timer dial. Beneath the panels are many, many smaller glass lenses. When the priming button is pressed, the light on the timer dial turns off. After the set time, all of the panels eject from the ball, sending it upward and revealing all the optical ends. Generally optimized for the gravity of the intended arena of use to trigger at the top of the arc, the weapon then fires a high-powered laser pistol shot in all directions. Abilities: -Fire a high-power laser pistol at everyone in a room all at once -'Jump' of panel ejection reduces the effectiveness of cover -Almost completely silent, with exception of the sound of panels ejecting and optics melting, which is a quiet hiss -Fits nicely in the hand Conditional Abilities: -Can cause flammable clothing and objects to ignite, like any other laser weapon -Can cause DNA damage instead of shooting if not properly maintained before use Limitations: -Very expensive, one-time use -Must be rolled, not thrown. If it is thrown, this qualifies as 'not proper maintenance' and can shatter optics, resulting in a misfire that gives people DNA damage instead of shooting them -Must be carefully cared for before use, as this 'improper maintenance', such as banging around in a box too harshly or bumping into a wall too hard can lead to the aforementioned device failure -Lasers fire out in many directions, but there are only 50 lasers being fired -At point blank, expect ~6 laser hits on a given individual. At 5 feet, the number drops to ~3 times. At 10 feet, it is roughly a 50% that one laser will connect. Ranges at 15 feet and beyond make it unlikely that any lasers will hit, but it remains a possibility. Conditional Limitations: -If rolled under something, the ejection of the panels causes enough force to damage the device, leading to the aforementioned DNA damage. -Will hit the roller just as much as the intended targets if the roller doesn't get behind suitable cover How does it work: A small specially-manufactured solarium battery acts as the power source. When primed, the timer sets when the panels fire off, both revealing the optics and propelling the device up. If the device is not used in the correct environment (IE too weak of gravity), this 'jump' can lead to various device failures, such as slamming into the ceiling. Some Fringe knock-offs are intentionally made without the 'jump' feature by reducing the force of the panel removal to increase device success rates. Timed to fire at the top of the arc, or very shortly after panels release, the trigger activates, firing a green laser in many directions. There are also small gaps caused by the layering of the optics. The energy of this firing, which drains the small solarium battery, causes the complete destruction of the device. By the time the device lands, all of the optics are irreversibly damaged by the energy output. If the optics are damaged, the laser doesn't fire but the solarium cell still dumps all of its energy into the surrounding environment- hence, 'cancer balls.' This can cause serious health issues, but not as serious as a proper firing. Flavor Text: "I told you this was stupid." -Dr. Mori Shunsuke, shortly before firing the project lead Developed in hylotl space, the unreliability, expense, and lack of tactical utility caused discontinuation of production before laser grenades ever saw any real use. As with many technologies rejected by Civspace, it ended up in the Fringe, where it continues to be expensive and niche enough to not be widespread. Still, there's always a mercenary who thinks that it might give them an edge, and so there is a small market for this over-priced and over-engineered weapon. Improper maintenance results in a void warranty. Attainability: Open Tags: [Military] Category: Ranged Armaments Update: Adjusted to match new laser lore.
