Centuries before the cataclysmic event known as the Sundering, the Vanir Syndicate, a weapon manufacturer formidable enough to rival the Terran Empire's own armories, developed the Model 9-V Boarding Charge. Colloquially dubbed the "Plasma Grenade," this explosive was meticulously designed for precise ship-to-ship boarding actions. Its innovative mechanism involved a micro-fusion pulse, superheating its core milliseconds before detonation.
This pulse was engineered not to rupture a hull or create unstable plasma, but to propel a jacket of super-dense tungsten flechettes at hypersonic speeds. The Vanir solution thus created a devastating hybrid, ensuring attackers weren't vented into the void while still delivering immense destructive force in close quarters. Following the Sundering, however, the blueprints for these advanced charges were irrevocably lost to history.
In more recent times, the forgotten legacy of the Vanir Syndicate began to re-emerge. The Mortal Veil, an independent exploratory group, made a significant discovery: "The Grave of Vanir," a vast, drifting debris field comprised of ancient factory modules. Within these derelict structures, intact Model 9-V Boarding Charges were found, offering a new, albeit finite, supply of this rare tech.
Today, the Red Sun Dominion is the primary purchaser of these recovered units, paying a premium to equip their elite breach teams. Despite the inherent dangers of degrading magnetic containment fields, which pose a significant risk of premature failure, the grenades are highly valued for their unique destructive capabilities. Spacer superstition further claims that a grenade's core resonates with ancient star mapping gyros, leading to rumors of lost Vanir caches being revealed if one detonates near a navigational computer; however, this is largely attributed to the device's radiation interference.
The current status of the Plasma Grenade remains in storage, a potent relic of a bygone era waiting for deployment. Though its exact creation and ultimate destruction dates remain unknown, its story continues to unfold in the turbulent sectors of the galaxy.
