Radiation Testing

[Onrai]

"What's the readout sensor-wise from the continual beam?" Vanessa spoke to another scientist during the test-firing of the rad-rifle within the agrinium radiation-proof chamber. Development of new rad-weapons for use by the Republic was proceeding along smoothly - in due time, the Republic would have weapons capable of dealing with most any foe.

Perhaps she would finally get the assistance she required.

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic was not really sure what he was doing here. Some sort of testing? Rumor was that it was a weapon, but all he knew was that the order had gotten a request to send a jedi to assist.

And here he was.

The door to the reception opened up and he stepped inside. The interior was very white. Clean and white.

He stepped up to the reception desk.

"Good morning, could you please inform a professor Vanessa that Mantic Dorn from the jedi order has arrived."


[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

"Ah yes... We have an agrinium exoskeleton for you to put on. Considering there's a high risk of lethal radiation poisoning down in the hazardous storage lab, you need to wear protective gear in the event of an accident." She motioned to the elevator, a changing booth folding out from the side wall in preparation for him to put new stuff on.

"Miss Kuhn will be downstairs waiting for you."

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic wet his lips. Exoskeleton..? lethals radiation..?

"Hold on now." he raised a hand. "Please forward to the professor that even though I would very much like to help. I would require some sort of briefing before I throw myself headless into such a situation.."

Mantic was surprised by the direct approach but he also felt that there was a sense of urgency to whatever it was they were doing down here. Regardless, he would not step into a situation without knowing some more fact.s

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

As the secretary sighed, typing in a message to Vanessa herself, she looked over at the suit in order to ensure it was the correct one. Vanessa's head, or at least part of it, would appear on a localized hologram emitter, her voice a bit garbled but still fully decipherable. "Put on the exoskeleton. Every bit of it is made out of solid agrinium. That metal reflects any and all radiation that could be emitted in the event of an accident, keeping you from suffering lethal levels of radiation poisoning. Once it's on, take the elevator down to the bottom floor and we can get to work.

As her visage dissipated, the crude holographic image of the room vanishing from before her eyes, she examined the radiation meter's recollection of her new rad-rifle's potency.

"10.6 kilorads... Impressive. Seriously impressive."

 

[Mantic Dorn]

"But..." Mantic tried but turned his next word into a prolonged exhale instead as the image of the professor disappeared .

"Right... very well," he continued to the secretary. "Make sure this thing is sealed shut then. I have no experience from operating anything resembling this thing." he asked and then started to step inside the suit and carefully making sure he did what he thought would ensure him safety from whatever he was about to face in the laboratory on the bottom level.

Once the suit was in place Mantic walked to the elevator as instructed and with an uncertain smile to the secretary he pressed the bottom floor. The elevator sped down the deep tunnel and within a minute the doors opened up and Mantic peered out.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

When the doors opened, Mantic would find himself in a hallway with glass doors that showcased a wide variety of crates. Many of these contained markings that identified what they were - but only in the Emeritus systems. At the far end of the room was the lab, within which Vanessa stood, wearing an exoskeleton identical to the one Mantic was wearing himself. A weapon was fixed with durasteel mountings inside an agrinium chamber as she opened the sealed door for him.

"Welcome to the lab. I'm testing the rad-rifle prototype right now."

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic looked around with wide eyes. He had never really been in a fascility like this before. There was something here that triggered a warning in him though.

Despite the clean and bright surface he sensed that the overall purpose here was very dark.

But, he had been sent her to answer a call for help and he trusted in the order. He started to move forward with the hydralics in the exoskeleton giving off a low humming sound.

"Could you tell me what this weapon is about professor?" he asked as he walked forward.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

"Death." She stated. "But then again, all weapons are designed for such a purpose. This one is designed to eliminate anything that the One Sith can bring forth." Slowly she stepped over to examine the readings of her latest test-firing. "10.4 kilorads. Impressive. Very impressive... though I might as well explain. See, a burst of three kilorads of radiation received at one moment will ensure the death of almost any living target - Sith and Yuuzhan Vong included - within forty-eight hours. This rifle we're testing will fire a burst of ten kilorads or greater - enough to ensure instant death as the radiation completely decomposes the target's nervous system."

There were other weapons, but she couldn't test them. Not here.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic listened intently and as she explained the purpose his eyes widened. It was an awful weapon, but he also knew that the Vong technology was a big issue in the war. They needed to come up with ideas on how to counter it.

"Do you mean that anything living will die instantly if hit by this weapons beam?" he asked with dread in his voice.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

"Essentially. I mean, that's sort of how these things are supposed to work. Everything has nervous tissue in it, and ten kilorads is more than enough to completely break such a system down. Not to mention anyone attempting to recover the dead will likely suffer from heavy radiation poisoning. As such, it can function as an area denial weapon. Perfect for use against the Vong, where the contamination can easily be spread throughout their fleet, causing numerous bioweapons to die. And the best part is, no one will know until it's far too late. Rad-weapons have been considered out of date for millennia, after all."

How delightfully convenient.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic was not that enthustiastic about this as the professor but he did see how this could be a very effective weapon ahainst the vong ships.

In wrong hands though...

"How will we ensure that if we mass produce this weapon that it does not end up with the enemy?"

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

"Any attempt to reverse-engineer this without following specific protocols we've outlined will result in radiation damaging the internals of the weapon. Not to mention the radiation will more than likely kill someone who attempts to work with it. Engineers in the Republic will of course be trained in order to maintain the weapons - though the only part truly requiring maintenance will be the particle beam assembly."

After all, radiation wasn't something to toy around with.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic nodded and listened. If a weapon of this power had no back fire plan it would be bad. But the republic weapon system development department seemed to have it covered.

"I see." he murmured. "So, what exactly is it that you want me to do here?" he asked trying to refocus from his darker thoughts.
He was not exactly looking forward to this and he did feel nervous about whatever it was that was his task in this project.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

"Fire the weapon." She motioned to the gun still fixed in its position. "I need a good two or three more test firings to get the gun's general power rating. So far it's well within the ten-plus kilorads range it needs to be in, though I want to make sure it can still function for longer than that. The weapon is supposed to kill through proper purging of any and all biological systems in the target's body, after all. We have other lines of products, but this is what I expect will really become big."

After all, the bigger the boom, the better.

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic walked forward and positioned himself behind the weapon. He hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath. It looked like any normal gun but for some reason, perhaps the science lab environmnent gave a him a dreary feeling.

Regardless, he leaned forward and put his shoulder to the rifle stock and peered down the scope.

"Right.." he mumbled "... I guess I can handle pulling a trigger."

His hands found the position and slowly he squeezed the trigger.

FRAK

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

Smiling, she examined the information being received by the specialized sensors within the test chamber. "10.1 kilorads in that last shot. Barely above what I'm aiming for, but good on the course, all things considered. It put out 10.8 kilorads a while back." She smiled. "Now was it really that painful to shoot the rad-rifle?" She smirked.

He couldn't see it, of course, but she smirked.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic narrowed his eyes trying to see what this thing actually had caused. But he could not really understand any of the values that were popping up.

"uh... well no professor. I am more concerned about the effects it would have in the open. we are after all dressed for the occasion. Civilians will not have that luxuary."

He turned his head with a stern fatherly look at his face. "Shall I fire it again?"


[member="Vitor Imperieuse"]

 

[Onrai]

"Please do." She nodded, awaiting the imminent firing of the weapon. There was little else that Vanessa could really do in the interim - the testing so far had showcased the weapon was more than capable of doing what it needed to. Ten kilorads per shot, even assuming that the individual wore armor, would cause massive destruction of neurons in the individual's spinal cord. Radiation protection, of course, wasn't included in what could normally be utilized.

A perfect target.

[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Right, he leaned in again and aimed. The cold metal against his cheek and a slight shake on his finger. HE was not comfortable with fire arms but this was easy enough. With his left hand he adjusted the power of the weapon slightly and then tapped the scope for better aim.

"Firing second round." he spoke back.
Then he squeezed the trigger and ZAM!

The weapons gave of high pitch sound and Mantic looked up again.

"Hows that?"

[member="Circe Savan"]