“Mano Muerte” Sub-Orbital Ordnance and Target Designator Package
Pact Protocol weapons tend to be less prone to the idiosyncratic weapons designs often seen for more general armaments. A handful of specific types appear to be generally approved for use by a central authority (although no such body is known to exist), or at least by common consensus and convention.
Pact forces certainly appear less hesitant to deploy Protocol weapons, although that may simply indicate less investment in the future prospects of any given piece of territory. As Pact Protocol weapons go, the Mano Muerte, or “Hand of Death,” is perhaps one of the more notorious and certainly pushes deep into the realm of an indiscriminate or environmentally hazardous attack form.
The Mano Muerte comprises two mutually supporting elements. The first is a relatively conventional, if heavily protected and encrypted, target designator package. This employs multi-spectral ranging sensors and a low-energy pulsed designator stream to mark a point for the second element of the weapon to be deployed.
Interestingly, the designator stream is not reliant on line of sight to designate a target. It seems that the energy stream is modulated to allow it to penetrate intervening obstacles and only leave a “mark” at a designated point where it is concentrated. This is likely achieved via an offshoot of Pact meson weapon technology.
The second element of the Mano Muerte weapon system is the “hand” itself. This consists of sometimes hundreds of fist-sized projectiles previously scattered in very low orbit by passing ships or, more rarely, ground launches.
While they remain in their inactive configuration, these projectiles are almost completely undetectable with only a passive sensor in operation. However, when a correct marker signature is detected, projectiles enter their active mode: they briefly network together to form a collective assessment and reaction before assigning one or more of their number to strike the target.
An attacking projectile detonates an onboard antimatter charge to generate a brief but extremely intense directed energy pulse. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the energy pulse may arrive as a visible pillar of fire. Radiation damage is almost certain, and only heavy protection has a chance to resist the thermal shock. Nearby infrastructure in particular is likely to be damaged by an attack, so the potential for unintended collateral damage and long-term contamination is high.
One of the most respected analysts, known both for highly detailed breakdowns and post-engagement evaluation as well as more informal “pop” texts is “Drew Chambert” (a nom de plume). Little is known about this writer except it is evident they are or have been a zeo designer, possibly even a pilot at some point, and have some quite deep connections into both Pact and GuardCorps operations. Their writings and audiocasts are available across all one hundred heliospheres to a greater or lesser extent.
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