Devlin, you have to be out of your mind if you think keeping these weapons is a good idea. We have more than enough tactical nuclear warheads to meet any conceivable threat, and all of them safer and more secure than these blakist terror weapons. These devices are designed specifically to be used as suicide devices to cause mass civilian casualties. They are everything we fought against. If you persist, I'll have no choice but to bring this matter to the Paladins. ~Victor
******
Exarch, per your orders, we've successfully relocated the existing stockpile of Slotin class warheads and associated assembly and delivery systems to Department 9's secure facilities, and prepared an appropriate number of dummy warheads for disposal. The Little Prince that Could will get his peace of mind, and if necessary we'll be able to start production of additional Slotin Warheads within a few week's notice. ~Director Kubota, Department 9
*******
The Slotin series of nuclear fusion weapons were developed by the Word of Blake in the last days of the Jihad as one of several strategies for prolonging the conflict after Terra's fall. Much like the Elias warhead, the Slotin is a light weight, highly compact weapon designed to be man portable. A so called "Pocket" or (more accurately) "Briefcase" weapon. The Slotin is marginally heavier than the Elias, but more compact due to the lack of the complicated security systems normally found on such weapons. A Slotin's only security measure is that the power cell for the laser initiator is removable, uses a proprietary plug design, and is usually stored separately from the rest of the warhead. Even an amateur electrical engineer can overcome this so called security feature with a micro power-pack, some wiring, and a roll of electrical tape. Once armed, it is only the matter of a simple timing circuit and a button push to detonate the weapon, with no way to disarm short of smashing the device with one solid blow.
The standard Slotin makes this all the more dangerous by packing the maximum possible yield into this same small, unsecured, concealable package. The two kiloton yield is sufficient to cause physical devastation out to approximately a kilometer away from the blast point, while the neutron flash is consistently fatal out to nearly two kilometers. This means that an agent need not even be particularly close to take out a given target.
The weapon has its own design limitations, however. The basic weapon is equipped only with immediate or timed detonation capability. Blakist engineers developed an additional attachment for the original design that granted remote detonation capability, but this attachment notably increased the bulk and reduced the concealability of the Slotin warhead, meaning in its original configuration the Slotin worked best as a suicide device.
Variants:
The Slotin Mark II was developed as a battlefield counterpart to the Mark I. The simple timing and detonation circuit was replaced with a universal interface that allowed the Mark II to be adapted to a wide variety of delivery methods, the most promising being a small thunderbolt class missile. Though visibly bulkier than the Slotin I (more a backpack rather than a briefcase nuke), the Slotin II has a vastly lower yield, rated at a single decaton. This low yield means the weapon is virtually incapable of causing significant physical damage, however the electromagnetic effects and neutron flash remain devastatingly effective out to three hundred meters. Battlefields affected by these weapons are haunting sights, with pristine machines and dead soldiers littering the detonation zone.
Deployment:
Both variants of the Slotin warhead were developed too late to affect either the Blakist defeat or its aftermath. A Slotin I warhead was successfully smuggled aboard the Coalition warship Invidious before the invasion of Terra, however the vessel survived the detonation and was able to continue to support combat operations (though she had to be scrapped after the war). Half a dozen Slotin II warheads, mated to class 5 Thunderbolt Missiles, also saw use in the North American theater towards the end of the fighting, where they inflicted significant casualties among Coalition forces, but failed to turn the tide.
Shortly after the war, a cache of some two hundred Slotin Warheads (in both Mark I and II varieties) were recovered from a Cassion Payload satellite hidden in Sol's Kuiper Belt. In addition to the warheads were several examples of an advanced unmanned drone unit, apparently designed to function as a delivery system. Manifest records indicate the cache was meant to go to Manei Domini units withdrawing from the Sol system, though it is not known what prevented the Manie Domini from recovering the cache. At the urging of Paladin Victor Steiner-Davion, Exarch Stone ordered the contents of the cache destroyed in 3083, hopefully erasing yet one more Blakist Terror weapon from the Inner Sphere.
Game Notes: The Slotin Mark I warhead is employed in the same manner as the Elias warhead detailed in Interstellar Operations (page 174), save that the Slotin may also be detonated immediately, or after a set number of rounds (which cannot be changed once set, tampering with the timing circuit once active detonates the weapon) in addition to being command detonated.
In role-playing scenarios, a Slotin Mark I (but not mark II) warhead is small enough to fit comfortably inside a standard briefcase, with the added weight being the only hint anything is amiss. However to do so requires not attaching the command detonation circuit to the device, limiting it to immediate or timed detonation.
In addition to being employed in the same manner as a Mark I warhead, the Slotin Mark II can be utilized as an alternate munition for the Thunderbolt 5 missile system. These missiles may be used in the same manner as standard Thunderbolt 5s (though they work best targeting hexes rather than individual units), with the following exceptions. If they miss their target, they scatter in the same manner as artillery cannons, and regardless of where they land they detonate according to the statistics for the Slotin II. Ground units may only launch the munitions as a ground burst, however airborne aerospace units may choose to fire the weapon as an airburst. Due to their tiny yield, Slotin II warheads have no affect on targets in space.
In addition a Slotin class weapon's only security system is its removable power cell. This can be bypassed in role-playing scenarios with an easy tech/electronics skill role as long as the character has some sort of power pack and basic toolkit handy.
Finally, in addition to the above delivery methods, the Word of Blake developed an ultralight drone vehicle (an offshoot of their "Killwasp" research) colloquially known as the Satan Fly. In addition to its on board weapons, the Satan Fly carries a six kilogram "Payload" suitable for carrying either a Mark I or II Slotin warhead. The Satan Fly may detonate this warhead during any weapons attack phase when it is not subject to ECM disruption. If it is subjected to ECM disruption, the warhead detonates immediately in lieu of any other possible effects. This detonation is resolved in the normal manner for a warhead detonating inside a vehicle. (Yes, this means the total damage of the Mark II will be absorbed by the Satan Fly, leaving only secondary effects. Try not to think too hard about it).
Slotin Mark I
Tech Level: E
Yield: 2 Kilotons
Base Damage: 400 standard (4 capital)
Critical Hit Chance: 11+
Crater Depth: 1
Blast Radius (Ground Burst): 31 hexes
Blast Radius (Air Burst): 41 hexes
Blast Effect Height: 1230 meters (Low Altitude Level 8 )
Damage Degradation (Ground Burst): 12
Damage Degradation (Air Burst): 9
Secondary Radius (Ground Burst): 62 hexes
Secondary Radius (Air Burst): 82 hexes
Secondary Effect Height: 2460 meters (Low Altitude Level 9)
Mass: 6 Kilograms
Slotin Mark II
Tech Level: E
Yield: 0.01 Kilotons
Base Damage: 2 standard (No capital)
Critical Hit Chance: NA
Crater Depth: 0
Blast Radius (Ground Burst): 5
Blast Radius (Air Burst): 6
Blast Effect Height: 150 meters (Low Altitude Level 3)
Damage Degradation (Ground Burst): 1
Damage Degradation (Air Burst): 1
Secondary Radius (Ground Burst): 10 hexes
Secondary Radius (Air Burst): 13 hexes
Secondary Effect Height: 390 meters (Low Altitude Level 5)
Mass: 5.005 Kilograms
Type: Ultralight Autonomous Weapon Platform Type 7 "Satan Fly"
Chassis Type: VTOL (small)
Mass: 100 Kg
Equipment Rating: E/X-X-F/E
Equipment
Chassis/Control(Tech Level E): 9 kg
Engine/Trans(Tech Level E): Electric (Battery) 66 kg
Cruise MP: 18
Flank MP: 27
Heatsinks: 0
Fuel: 200 kilometers, 7 kg
Armor (BAR 2): 0 points
Weapons and Ammo
Payload (body), 6 kg
2 Imperator AX-22 Rifles (front), 7 kg
300 rounds of ammunition, 5 kg
Crew: 0
Cargo: 0
Notes: Utilizes Ultralight chassis and control modification, equipped with Smart Robotic Control System
Cost: 6126 (Not including the cost of the warhead)
