Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide a small, wrist-mounted personal shielding device in Lucerne Labs product line
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: inspired by Magnaforce Security Shield
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Personal Defense
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi Concord, Closed-Market
- Model: Arqet-class Personal Security Shield
- Modularity: No
- Production: Mass-Produced.
- Material: plasteel casing, miniaturized thermal shield components, power pack, scomp-link port, spun-plast straps
- Classification: Personal Shield Generator
- Weight: Light
- Resistances:
- Energy: Very High
- Kinetic: Very High
- Lightsabers: High
- EMP/Ion: None
- Radiation: Average
- Sonic: Very Low
- Elemental: High
- Environmental: Very Low
- Compact Design: Arquet is designed to be a slightly larger and updated version of the Magnaforce Security Shield, making it still relatively compact and easy to strap onto an arm to be worn like a traditional bracer. When the energy shield itself is activated, it expands and can provide as cover like an ancient metal shield. This makes it fairly unobstrusive for most users.
- Miniaturized Thermal Shield Generator: Somewhat unusually for a personal energy shield, Arqet uses miniaturized thermal shielding technology, providing its users with excellent protection from most threats. Unfortunately, its high power requirements mean it frequently needs new powerpacks inserted.
- Dataport: Arqet features a scomp-link accessible dataport on its side. This allows its settings and data to be accessed and changed through a datapad, droid, or armor suit HUD.
- Variable Shielding Coverage: Arquet projects a rectangular-shaped shield, but its surface area can be modified via a simple dial on its side or via dataport to rapidly expand or contract. As it does so, its shield density changes with it, with smaller shields being more dense and difficult to penetrate, and more expansive shields being less dense and easier to penetrate. A shield’s surface area might be as small as a datapad or large enough to completely cover a large person or being.
- Compact: Arqet is a small, relatively compact shield generator designed to be worn on a forearm, making it relatively portable and unobstrusive compared to many other shield generators and other protective devices.
- Formidable (Energy): Arqet uses thermal shielding technology to protect it from traditional energy weapons like blasters and disruptors.
- Formidable (Kinetic) : Arqet uses thermal shielding technology to protect it from traditional physical attacks, whether it’s from a simple closed fist to a high-powered slug from a Verpine shatter gun.
- Formidable (Lightsabers): Arqet’s thermal shielding is strong enough that it can temporarily halt or absorb most lightsaber attacks.
- Formidable (Elemental): The Arqet’s thermal shielding is strong enough that it absorb excess thermal energy or provide a buffer against the lack thereof. It is also an effective barrier against liquids and air particles.
- Short Duration: Being such as a relatively small and compact device means that the Arqet’s powerpack is similarly quite small, leading to a very short operating duration. Arqet can typically sustain a couple dozen hits from a blaster pistol before its powerpack needs to be replaced or about 15 minutes of continuous operation in low-level combat situations.
- Single Facet: Arqet only projects its shielding in a single plane or facet, meaning that a user is completely unprotected by the shield from anything coming from a different angle
- Vulnerable (Ion/EMP): Arqet does not provide any protection at all to Ion or EMP weapons, making the generator itself vulnerable to being disabled by such weapons.
- Vulnerable (Sonic Weapons): Arqet has only incidental protection against light richocets of sonic weapons, and by itself provides very little protection against such weapons.
- Vulnerable (Environment): In large part because it only projects in a single plane, Arqet is not very capable of protecting users from hostile environments.
After experience with the 1st Directorate Jump Troopers using the old Magnaforce Personal Security Shields, Admiral Quee requested that an updated, more powerful version of the shielding be made in order to better equip his troops. To that end, Tresk Ek’ala directed LPD’s Shielding Tech team to meet this request, noting specifically that the new shield should be made for military field use rather than the original Magnaforce’s concealed defense.
The team ended up taking the basic concept of a wrist-mounted shielding device and rebuilt it on the basis of using thermal shielding technology. This shielding tech is noticeably more durable and stronger for its size than most deflector shields, though it noticeably drains power faster as well. Still, the resulting Arqet itself is significantly more ruggerized with a much more durable shield, meeting the admiral’s requirements admirably.
While originally intended for Directorate troops, the Arqet itself is broadly available to Lucerne Personal Defense’s traditional customer base. Small numbers of Silver Jedi Concord personnel have bought the device, along with many local defense force servicemen as an auxiliary means of protection. It seems that the Arqet will likely remain in quiet use throughout the galaxy for some time to come.
