Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)

Taeski are often issued a pair of deployable electromagnetic pulse generators (EMPs). These small, spherical devices measure six inches around and are fitted with twenty small emission ports - five in each hemisphere and another ten around the equator. The button to prime the device rests at the top and is calibrated to a timer. Every second the button is held will allow the device to fire continuously for five. (Ergo, depressing the button for ten seconds will produce a fifty second EMP).

Despite their small size, Taeski EMPs can produce a shockwave twenty feet in diameter. This condenses after the initial outset, retracting to a continuous EMP of ten feet. Any kind of computer-aided machinery caught in the field is immediately fried, and CI- or EI-based objects are destroyed (and the component intelligence is usually killed). Taeski EMPs make excellent anti-vehicle and anti-shielding equipment as well, as they are capable of frying the navigational controls within vehicles (even spacecraft, if deployed on the bridge). They are also extremely effective against the propulsion systems of many races' smaller vehicles as well. Modified EMP charges are often buried as 'landmines' to ward off scouting patrols.

Although EMPs are primarily used against vehicles and other technology, the initial blast from an EMP is capable of stunning organic lifeforms as well. If the unfortunate target is too close to the epicenter, this shockwave can disrupt nerves in the body and cause paralysis or even death. Despite this, EMP-related deaths usually result from weapon or vehicle malfunctions. It is rare for an EMP to kill someone directly.