WMD (solo)

The abandoned building was slowing getting cleaner. Arawn took the time to clear the rooms and make it more like a personal lab. Already he had five rooms to utilize. One room he slept in. It had a small cot with a small desk and dresser, it used to be an office. Then he converted a safety wash into a shower and the eye watch into a sink in the room next to it. The door two down from his was now a makeshift library. He kept his notes and the some of the books found in the various boxed filed through the building there. He had made a couch for himself out of boxes covered several fire blankets. It was comfortable to sit upon and read items on. The last two rooms were used for his experiments. So far he only had two items he was working on. The first room was only to make more stun grenades. This was unsuccessful, he still needed several parts and the programmed chips for the science wing. At best he could make the wiring and the casings himself. The other room was an attempt to create a gun based on the same technology. After finding out that the grenade worked he now wanted to create a projection device. Rather than rely on his arm strength and abysmal aim, he wanted to make an all purpose weapon for subduing hollows. Unfortunately this idea was running in several hiccups, and that was putting it nicely. The cascade effect that made his grenade effective was nearly impossible to control. Due to the nature of the electromagnetic flux there was little chance to making a directional blast.

The room had three desks. On the far side of the room sat his computer and some books. There were shelves filled with vials and powders. It felt like a mad scientist's lab. The other two desks held his latest attempt. Rather than make the device smaller he had tried to make it bigger so he could isolate the mechanism better. This was a minor success. Since it was bigger he could control the discharge slightly. Rather than burning out the complete circuit and chip, he was able to activate the machine several times with only minimal replacement of parts. He had to be careful, if the reaction got too big it could destroy his computer and his files. Thus, why it was at the far end of the room. The bigger device also allowed him to modulate the frequencies. His theory was that by changing frequencies he could increase power if not the duration of the field. Even if he wasn't close to making a gun from the circuit he could at least further the advancement of his first weapon. Two days prior he had attempted a low frequency discharge. The feedback prevented a full release of electric displacement. The functionality had a threshold he had yet to figure out. Moving from the computer he consulted his notes. The last frequency had been 3.3. The next would be 3.5. Arawn sat next to the second table. This one had the device proper, he took his screwdriver to adjust the connections and leads. Setting the tool down he picked up the small torch and fused sealing gel to the edges. The larger device was as big as a small cereal box and as wide as a basketball. A gray box with circuit boards, wires, and fuses. He then traced the wires from the box, to the floor, and then to the other table. On this table was the control unit. Here he could adjust the flow of power, and observe the effect of the discharge. The with a sigh he tapped the bridge of his nose. His glasses turned to shades to protect his eyes from the light.

"Beginning test run 218." There was no one there, but he spoke aloud from time to time to remind himself what he was doing. "Setting frequency to 3.5." He twisted the small dial to the until the display read 3.5. "Starting pulse in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Pulse started." Arawn flipped the lever and the box gave a hum. He could hear the power crackling as the charge built up. Then the box went quiet. Nothing had happened. Arawn flipped the power lever back off and moved to examine the leads a gain. Everything seemed in place. He then checked the fuses. There were two dead cells. With a sigh he went into a drawer for some replacements. In seconds the task was done and
he took a seat back at the control. "Beginning test run 218. Fuses fixed." The switch flipped the machine hummed and then stopped again. "UGH!" he grunted flipping the switch off and checking the device again. Everything checked out. What was the problem. The power was running but no reaction. Arawn turned the power on and off repeatedly. There was a blinding flash, even the shades didn't help protect him from the bight light. When his eyes adjusted the device was gone. No only that the table was missing a chunk from it's surface. It looked like someone had scooped the device and table leaving a clean cut in the floor. Arawn didn't budge from his seat. "What the hell!?" He examined the spot on the table. Nothing was left. And the cut in the table was clean and smooth. Almost like the table had been that way all along. Running his fingers through his hair he tapped his bridge and the glasses returned to normal. How could this have happened? He checked his instruments, there wasn't anything wrong with the leads. After checking the control several times he gave up with a sigh. His eyes fell on the frequency dial which read E.5. He tapped the small screen and the other half of the number appeared; 8.5. Arawn's head slammed into the desk. He was lucky, his own device worked on a modulation range of 2.2-3.1. At 5 it would be strong enough to blanket two rooms. Instead it disintegrated the whole table.

This breakthrough was as amazing as it was terrifying. The higher frequency had transcended electricity to destroy matter. But several problems arose. He was the only one to see it, and it was possible that it was a fluke. He would need to recreate the accident. An accident on purpose? As he wondered the philosophical aspect of that statement he took a quick inventory of his supplies. He had half the needed supplies; plenty of wiring, but he was short on the chip circuits. Getting more build could take weeks. He sighed and paced the floor.
"Wait!" he said aloud, nearly scaring himself. "The unused stun grenades." He ran into the other room and retrieved several of the completed shock weapons. If he used the parts from them, he wouldn't have to wait for new chips. Problem was it would cut into his supply. If he was successful, it was well worth the cost. Unfortunately using the smaller chip build would give a less profound result, but that might be for the best. He looked at the damaged table. If he had given it too much power it could have taken the rest of the room with it. Still he needed some kind of safety precaution. Even on a small scale there was no telling now volatile the reaction might get. The more he thought about the more he knew how dangerous this truly was. How was he going to shield himself from something that destroyed matter? The very thought boggled the mind.
"How can I stop something that destroys anything?" he muttered. He continued to pace the floor.

It had been hours since he started planning and now he sat in the chair rubbing his temples. Nothing he could think of would work. There was little chance of any know substance could withstand molecular decay. He looked out the murky window as the sun began to sunk in the sky. Contained matter destruction? He might as well be try to keep the sun from setting. He squinted his eyes at the reddish light. Light? He shot up out of his chair. That was it! Something that could possibly withstand the explosion. A light field. Along the same lines as his glasses the field would filter the energy preventing further destruction. Calibrating such a field would be might not be alot of work. For the most part he knew what frequency the reaction took place. Using that as a base he could get the computer to adjust the field density and strength based on initial input. That proved a simple point to Arawn. This technology wouldn't be useful for a grenade. If he could contain the reaction he could in turn direct it. In essence a controlled discharge of destructive force; a gun. He grinned. His eyes shined in the fading light. He would need to make a call to Simone and Bryce. He needed a larger version of the light field unit used to make his glasses. He ran from his quarters to the main lab. There was much work to be done.

In the week the followed Simone and Bryce helped him in the small lab in their free time. They didn't ask what he needed the light field generator for, even though he was more than willing to tell them. They just enjoyed working on something new. There were afew hiccups, but they were resolved with time. It wasn't just a simple field, it had to be configured in a cascading oscillation. The field shifted both literally and in frequency. As it stood he had them first work to create a complete shielding module, and then a barrel like configuration. After completion of the full shield module Arawn began testing the units. Using the stun mines as a base he rewired the smaller unit to the control device. The first one couldn't handle the energy load and simply exploded. Happily the shielding module worked. The small blast flared violently withing the shimmering sphere. Arawn sat perfectly safe. With a grin he began work on the next unit. Just to be safe he placed an order for more parts days earlier. He had only four small units he could modify before then. The second unit's adjustments included extra protection to prevent a short. With a deep breath, he connected it to the control panel and then turned on the shielding module. His hand shook as he twisted the dial and switched on the power. There was a bright flash of light. The shield flickered and yet it held. The secondary devices he had set up gave him read outs on the field and the reaction. The reaction sensors were off the scale,while couldn't pinpoint the exact reason for the reaction, he only knew the starting point of the electricity to matter destruction began after the 8.5 frequency. Despite the unknown he had succeed in recreating the effect. Three more spheres to go. One more test of the shielding then he would need adjust the barrel configuration.

Arawn took his time on the next test. The new parts arrived way before he began calibrating the barrel. Using the data obtained from the first test he began to work on a new chip. Simone and Byrce showed up when they could. Their other official project had them very busy. Fine tuning of the field's structure while in the barrel was their main objective. Arawn merely adjusted the circuit and wiring. He needed to make the starter and control panel smaller. Not only that, but stabilize the shield with a smaller energy supply.
"So the energy supply does have to be enough to sustain the field and initiate the reaction." Bryce spoke as he tinkered on the casing. Instead of a single barrel he decided to create a triple barreling mechanism to reduce strain. This also allowed for a wide dispersal. Arawn wondered why neither of them had reported him to the captain or Central 46. The power of such a weapon was startling. Full matter destruction. Well if it didn't bother the, perhaps he shouldn't let it bother him either. By the week's end they were ready to perform the first barrel discharge. They took the device with several tables to the kido range late at night. He set up cameras along the wall of the target area and a sensor on the target dummy. The hard part was getting the generator in place for the power supply. He still hadn't created suitable portable energy. Once everything was setup, the turned on generator and began adjusting the panel. The tension could be cut with a knife as the stared at the small device that set aimed at the target. When the switched turned on, there was a small hum of energy. With a loud crackle light exploded from the device and shot down the target range. The light engulfed the target and the wall behind it, Arawn quickly turned the switch off. Everything touched by the light was gone. Like it hadn't been there to begin with. All three stood wide eyed looking at the destruction caused by the small weapon. Then they all let out shouts of joy as they hugged and laughed at their accomplishment. Quickly the retrieved the cameras and gear.

Finally one month later Arawn completed the unit. With much effort he was able to compact the control unit to the bare essentials, and a more than adequate power supply. While there was more than enough energy to fire the unit multiple times, the cell circuit had to be replaced after each firing. But this wasn't something one could quickly do. He needed to create a quick method of connection the chip, but failed. Using coils and wiring he could only make side access port, and new containment cylinder to for each circuit. He marveled at the completed project.



It wasn't pretty, but from the many late night tests, it worked. Now the only thing left was to try it in actual combat. He shuddered to think what the weapon could do to a hollow.