Flash-Pak
The Flash-Pak is a superweapon designed for anti-capital ship combat. It was illegally developed and fielded by the Black Lance, an illegitimate faction of the Terran Confederation.
Overview
The Flash-Pak is an oddity among anti-capship combat in that it is an incendiary device. Designed as a spiraling disk that attaches itself to the hull of its target, the Flash-Pak is capable of igniting the internal atmosphere of any warship, causing a catastrophic combustion that sets the vessel's entire interior aflame and consuming everything and everyone on board. All that remained from such an attack was the vessel's hull which, while relatively intact structurally, was completed burned and rendered inoperable. The Flash-Pak was capable of carrying out such attacks within a matter of moments, and could work on virtually any vessel if properly deployed.
The Flash-Pak also had a separate detonator, as it did not explode by conventional means, allowing for relatively safe transport.
History
The Flash-Pak was developed for use by the Black Lance, and was used numerous times during the Border Worlds Conflict. The Flash-Pak was often deployed by pilots flying the F-107 Lance, and was primarily used in the Black Lance's effort to instigate warfare between the Terran Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds. Using the unmarked Lance starfighters, the Black Lance deployed the Flash-Pak against numerous civilian and military vessels, resulting in thousands of casualties all across the frontier. The Black Lance then framed the opposite party of the victims for the attacks. The Flash-Pak established a reputation for never leaving any survivors, further deepening the mystery surrounding the means of these unwarranted attacks.
The Flash-Pak was also used to a limited extent on Kilrathi craft, as the Black Lance had also harassed the weakened remnants of the Kilrathi Empire during the conflict.
During combat operations against the Black Lance in the Peleus System, the BWS Intrepid was successful in capturing a transport carrying a full supply of Lances, of which one was carrying a Flash-Pak, a technology unknown to the Border Worlders. The device was kept on-hand for future use, and after the Black Lance were identified as the enemy, the Flash-Pak's eventual usage was inevitable. During the Intrepid's pursuit of Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn, the vessel detoured through the Ella System where it ran into the Ella Superbase, and it was suggested the Flash-Pak be deployed against it to ensure a quick transit through the system. This plan was rejected by Colonel Christopher Blair in favor of bypassing the superbase altogether to avoid civilian loss of life.
When Tolwyn's flagship the TCS Vesuvius proved too great an obstacle to avoid en route to Earth, Blair elected to deploy the Flash-Pak against the carrier in an attempt to stop Tolwyn from securing a war declaration against the Border Worlds. However, the only way to destroy the vessel was to deploy the Flash-Pak inside the Vesuvius, due to the ship's reinforced alloy armour. Despite substantial odds, Colonel Blair was successful in reaching the Vesuvius and deployed the Flash-Pak in the vessel's hangar bay, utterly destroying the Vesuvius and leaving nothing left but its burnt-out hull.
