HK-36
The Iron Lord Protector (Neutral Good)
Image Source: HK's art slot
Intent: Utilize new supply of Cortosis HK got his hands on as well as provide new hand-to-hand weapon for the Iron Company and Abregado-Rae.
Development Thread: Setting Up An Outpost- Mining Outpost is created and the extraction of Cortosis begins.
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: Electro-Cestus Combat Gauntlets
Affiliation: Barony of Abregado-Rae
Modularity: Comes in four variants, standard Electro-Glove available to civilians for self-defense methods, Cestus with Talons, Electro-Gauntlet with smaller retractable scalpel-like blades on the fingertips, Cestus with Claws, while lacking the smaller blades on fingertips this Electro-Gauntlet, it has three long retractable blades housed in its vambrace covering the forearm of the user. And finally, the Full Cestus, with both retractable talons at fingertips and forearm-mounted claws.
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel structure and Bronzium details, armormesh straps, Durasteel and Cortosis Weave Blades, Purified Cortosis on certain segments of the blades.
Classification: Gauntlet With Blades
Size: One-handed
Length: Depends on the dimensions of the user's arm
Weight: Between 1 and 2 kilograms standard
Special Features: Resistance to lightsabers in the claws and talons, certain parts of these retractable blades can deactivate lightsabers vulnerable to cortosis.
Description: While electro-gauntlets and wristblades are by no means an original idea to give to infantry as equipment, it is an effective one, and so HK has devised a new synthesis of armor and weaponry based on the designs of hand-to-hand weaponry he has used himself before. This new weapon he called the Electro-Cestus, while being a higher quality piece of armor (Armor Rating 8) its greatest strength came from the advantages to hand-to-hand combat it brought.
The weight and the metal plating of the gauntlet was enough to use it as a weapon, the wearer's hand was protected from the blows while the metal surface and built-in knuckle duster allowed harder punches to be dealt out.
Along with that the weapon usually features at least one kind of blade, depending on the version of it. While, of course, the civilian version has weaker armor plating and lacks the blades, military versions feature smaller retractable scalpel blades at finger tips and/or longer claw blades, still retractable, housed in the vambrace piece of the gauntlet covering the forearm. While the smaller scalpel blades can give out quick and precise scratches and cuts, they are often worthless against bigger weapons like swords and lightsabers, as they do not generate enough push behind them for proper parries and blocks, due to lesser weight. The claw blades, on the other hand, can be used as weapons on their own, due to greater weight and length.
To make the weapon even more deadly the claws and talons have been forged out of Durasteel with Cortosis-Weave making it resistant to blows of the lightsaber and other energy-based weapons of similar caliber, like some blasters. About 4/5 portion of the blades' length along the edge have been lined with purified Cortosis, the benefit of that is greater energy dispersion, along with temporary deactivation of lightsabers vulnerable to Cortosis upon the contact with the purified Cortosis. However, the purified Cortosis is much more fragile than Durasteel, as such when it comes upon blows with solid surface it has tendency to chip or break away, making it necessary to often replace the purified Cortosis coating after battle. As such purified Cortosis is most often issued to higher ranking members of the Iron Company like Captains or other squad leaders, if a normal soldier wishes to equip it they have to be able to afford it and its maintenance, otherwise they would be given the version of this weapon without purified Cortosis coating.
Another important feature of this weapon is the electric padding on the palm of the gauntlet. This padding, as the name suggests, is able to deliver sustained electric shocks which can stun or even kill the target with prolonged contact, they are also able to be synchronized with the armor HUD, therefore activating the electronic shocks without the use of additional buttons. However, the electric padding can be easily damaged through ionic weaponry or electric shocks from similar weaponry being delivered directly into the padding, therefore making disabling such weaponry a rather easy endeavor if one has the resources and knows what they're doing.
To summarize, the most dangerous feature of this weapon is the purified Cortosis, but due to its price and the fact it often needs to be replaced after battle, weapons with coats of purified Cortosis are limited to higher ranking members of the Iron Company, and even then they are advised to use them only against enemies wielding lightsabers. Other than that it still has built-in retractable talons and claws to add slashing damage to attacks done with this weapon and the electric padding, available to civilians, which can be used to stun or electrocute opponents.
