The “Magic Missile”, also known as the “Straight Spike”, is a combat weapon designed by Iemochi Innovations & Sales. Its names identify it as part of the IIS product line and serves as a nod to the “Straight Silver” respectively. It was designed as a reusable, robust and reliable backup weapon to firearms. While firearms can run out of ammo or jam, blades do not. However, throwing weapons have a conventional downside of needing to be collected before reuse, which the “Magic Missile” mitigates.

Visually, the “Magic Missile” resembles a double-edged, tapered and uncurved throwing knife. It is also usable as a melee weapon, with a focus required on using the point as opposed to the sharpened edges. (Similar to a Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife)

The “Magic Missile” was designed in YE 44 by Iemochi Innovations & Sales. After the success of the Ke-M2-W3703 Special Operations-Derived Combat Knife in the Star Army of Yamatai, Iemochi Feyani realised that the design could be improved upon for her special operations personnel. Technology could be added to make a kind of 'advanced knife', as opposed to having no onboard tech as had been the case. The “Magic Missile” was designed by Iemochi Innovations & Sales for Star Army Special Operations to be version 1 of this upgrade path, and to allow their operators to better utilise their knives in combat scenarios. Due to the expense and how little standard soldiers use their knives, Magic Missiles are not standard issue in the Star Army of Yamatai and are considered overkill for most non-SF soldiers.

“Magic Missile”s are made of Yama-Dura, Kuvexian equivalent, or ADNR. The edges are made out of Zesuaium shards from scrapped starships, systematically inlaid and fused into the main metal of the knife. For non-SAOY personnel, a similar substitute metal is used, usually the Kuvexian equivalent. The crossguard has several micro-thrusters embedded into it at various angles. These are powered by a small embedded computer, battery (charges for 100 uses) and kinetic energy generator which are situated inside the rubberised handle. The pommel can be unscrewed to reveal a universal power/data port. The battery also wirelessly charges in most buildings and bases. When combined with onboard cameras that it features, or external guidance, can allow the knife to return to its user.

Here is the data regarding the entity which created and manufactures this item.

• Designer: Iemochi Innovations & Sales
• Manufacturer: Iemochi Innovations & Sales
• Name: IIS “Magic Missile” Homing Knife
• Nomenclature: IIS-W1-44
• Type: Knife
• Role: Close combat and ranged weapon
• Length: 19cm blade, 5cm crossguard, 11cm handle
• Mass: 0.3kg

The Magic Missile resembles a standard throwing knife or stabbing fighting knife. It has a steeply tapering blade which finishes in a monomolecular point. Both sides are sharpened but the implement is clearly designed for thrusting or throwing. The handle has bumps and grooves to assist grip. The blade has katana-like appearance at its straight edges, due to the two different metals used in its construction. Zesuaium (or substitute) silver edges, with usually black or gunmetal interior of a different metal. It has a rectangular block crossguard and a pointed pommel.

Here is the information regarding the Magic Missile's marketing values and fees for purchasable replacement parts.

• IIS “Magic Missile” Homing Knife: 500 KS
• Power Cell: 10 KS
• Grip: 10 KS
• Generator: 50 KS
• Computer: 30 KS
• Thrusters: 5 KS each
• Cameras: 20 KS each

The “Magic Missle” is relatively easy to use. One simply palms the knife, then throws it straight towards the target. For best results, do not spin the dagger in the throw. Once the dagger impacts the target, the camera feed from the throw is processed by the onboard computer. A return solution is programmed based on the flight path and current approximated location of the user's hand. The dagger then fires its thrusters and comes back to the user, such that its grip lands in their hand. It will adjust its velocity and trajectory once its cameras reacquire the user.

See Damage Rating (Version 3) for an explanation of the damage system.

• Thrown: Tier 1, Light Anti-Personnel
• Thruster-Accelerated: Tier 2, Medium Anti-Personnel

Below are sections with more in-depth information about the “Magic Missile”.

A small onboard computer is located inside the grip of the knife. It processes positional information relative to itself and its user's hand. It is open source and easy to feed data for it to run off from a variety of sources. It natively supports positional data from its onboard cameras. Upon impacting, the computer uses AI to try and backtrack its path with thrusters to where it started.

There are a number of well known software versions which can do such things as:

• Allow the knife to be guided to a target by gesture control using IIS "Shocking Grasp" Gloves, in addition to the standard 'return to sender' functionality.
• Allows the thrusters to fire to give the knife additional velocity to the target, if external guidance allows.
• Other functionalities, as available.

A number of micro-thrusters are embedded into the crossguard in all axis. Given the low weight of the weapon and state of current thruster technology, they are very small in size and use little energy. Instructions are communicated to the thrusters by the wired onboard computer, which guides the device into the hand of its user once thrown.

The weapon’s blade has been sharpened down to a single atom at its thinnest point, as is standard.

Two micro cameras are installed in the crossguard, one pointing in each direction. As the knife will not be travelling sideways, this is all that is required. Utilising real-time input and feeding that to the computer, it is possible for the knife to recognise where to go.

A standard generic commercial battery is installed in the handle.

By the motion of the weapon jostling when carried in someone's hand or in a sheath, the battery is recharged.

ethereal created this article on 2022/10/21 21:20.

Someone mentioned that old ship's Zesu is ground up into shards and that's about the best it can be reused, so it inspired me to do what the Aztecs did with obsidian shards in their weapons.

• This was approved by Andrew on 2022/11/10.¹⁾