Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Create a standard line of vibroblades for Lucerne Personal Defense
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Primary Source: Vibroblade
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Personal Defense
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed Market
- Model: LPD-28 Silver Talon series Vibroblades
- Modularity: Aesthetics (minor blade shape deviations, hilt, engravings, other ornamentation, etc)
- Production: Mass-Produced.
- Material: Beskar blade, various hilt components and materials, other vibroblade components.
- Classification: Vibroblade
- Size: Average
- Weight: Heavy
- Tuned Ultrasonic Generator: The Silver Talon series uses a tuned ultrasonic generator that operates in a higher frequency than most other vibroblades making it effectively a silent weapon, much like the Talon Vibrodagger.
- Dense: Vibroblades in the Silver Talon series are abnormally dense not only because of their beskar blades, but also because of their unusual manufacturing technique which uses ion fusers and pressor fields to make these blades dense than their size suggests.
- Cultural Variants: The basic Silver Talon series isn't a single vibroblade design, but rather a common construction and size of a series of short, slashing vibroblades. The Silver Talon series has a variety of different factory available aesthetic choices that allow some deviation in blade shape, guards, and hilt materials. Aside from the base model, Silver Talon variants that closely emulate the traditional wookiee Ryyk Blade and the Mandalorian Beskad are quite popular.
- Silent: Unlike many Vibro weapons, the Silver Talon is typically quiet enough that it is effectively silent to most species' hearing.
- Durable: The Silver Talon's material composition and dense construction makes it exceptionally durable, capable of withstanding lightsaber strikes for some period of time before breaking down.
- Short Reach: The Silver Talon is shorter than many other vibroblades and most lightsabers, meaning that foes using those weapons have the potential to be able to hit the Talon's wielder first.
- Heavy: The Silver Talon is a heavy weapon for its size, making its use in extended fights better suited for exceptionally fit inidividuals or species like wookiees.
While melee weapons have largely given way on the battlefield to blasters and slugthrowers, there are instances where melee weapons still have some importance, such as in close quarters fighting or a need to silently dispose of an opponent. The Silver Talon is designed to meet these ancient needs with a modern take on the old vibroblade. While most private Silver Talon purchases vary somewhat aesthetically from each other, their commonalities far outweigh their differences.
Each Silver Talon starts out as a lump of beskar that is then heated and formed by ion fusers into rough shape. While still in this molten state, pressor fields finely shape the blade into its final form via the purchaser's blade shape preference. This process also makes the Silver Talon exceptionally dense for its size. Once properly tempered and cooled, this blade then passes down an assembly line where it is joined to an ultrasonic generator and related components to make it a true vibroblade. This functional weapon then passes down to specialty workshops which specialize in the finalizing the aesthetics of the weapon. A Silver Talon ordered by a wookiee may closely emulate a Ryyk blade through the use of a carved Wroshyr-wood hilt covered in leather. Another might closely follow the lines of a mandalorian Beskad or another military martial tradition. Some Silver Talons are even shipped at this stage to small workshops and artists who transform them into extravagant if highly functional dress swords for military officers and government officials. But despite these ornamental differences, their practical performance in the field is indistinguishable.
The short, curved blade shape of the Silver Talon is optimized for slashing and especially hacking attacks, particularly in close confines. Because of that design choice, it is particularly effective in close quarters combat or when hacking way through foliage and other obstacles. Unfortunately, it also makes it a poor thrusting weapon, which in practical terms means that other sword users frequently can outrange their Silver Talon wielding opponents. Like other vibroweapons, the Silver Talon is exceptionally sharp with the ultrasonic generator on,and it can easily tear through most common clothing and many light armor materials in a single stroke. Because of the weapon's dense durability, some users have been used it to hack down small trees in several strokes or through hull plating and doors by 'grinding it' against those objects, though frequently doing this will cause the blade to lose its edge much more quickly than normal. Some owners also like to use it as a 'stealth' weapon because it is inaudible to most species' hearing ranges.
Most Silver Talon purchases so far have been relatively small orders on their own, with most being individual, customized purchases. But a number of militaries have made small orders, typically as dress swords for officers or ceremonial weapons for guards. Despite this purchase trend though, there have been consistent purchases by military units based on Kashyyyk and other wookiee colony worlds for plain weapons with no finished hilt. It is currently thought that wookiee warriors on these worlds prefer to put the final finishing touches on these weapons themselves. Aside from these purchases, a large number of these weapons have been placed in package deals with Arrichit series Synthetic Soldiers, where these blades are often used in place of Ryyk blades as back-up weapons to bowcasters and other heavy ranged weaponry.