The Lightmass Missile was a weapon of mass destruction developed by the Coalition of Ordered Governments that predated the Hammer of Dawn network. Through the Lightmass Process, these missiles drew on the near-limitless power of Imulsion, and were considered one of the COG's most powerful weapons.
History[]
Pendulum Wars[]
The missile was developed sometime during the Pendulum Wars by the Coalition of Ordered Governments. It was considered top-secret, and only a handful of people knew about its existence even after the armistice.
Post-Operation: Leveler[]
After the Hammer of Dawn network was brought online, the development of the missile stopped, although it had certain advantages over the Hammer, such as easier maintainability and ease of deployment no matter the weather. One particular low-yield missile was kept in Halvo Bay at Onyx Point.
Mutiny at OZP-11[]
- Main article: Mutiny at OZP-11
- "Wow. Guys, check out this crater. What the heck happened here?"
"The COG happened. They fired a Lightmass Missile on us when we were moments from seizing control of that entire facility." - —Kait Diaz and Garron Paduk discussing the missile strike
Due to the implementation of the Hammer of Dawn technology, the UIR politicians chose to sign an armistice with the COG and end the Pendulum Wars. However, Commander Miran Trescu ordered Major Garron Paduk to deploy the UIR's own Hammer of Dawn satellite program, leading to a mutiny at OZP-11. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Paduk's rebels made surprising headway over the course of a three day battle. To keep them from succeeding, Major Toly deployed a semi-sentient computer virus to brick the facility's systems and the UIR gave the COG consent to fire a Lightmass Missile at OZP-11 to end the mutiny.[1]
General Bardry Salaman ordered the Lightmass Missile fired from the Abandoned Research Facility on Azura.[2] The Lightmass Missile struck the parking lot of the Cosmonaut Training Facility, killing many of the rebels and severely burning Paduk's right side, bringing the mutiny to an end.[3][4]
The Museum of Military Glory destroyed by the Lightmass Missile.
Locust War[]
Destruction of Halvo Bay[]
- Main article: Destruction of Halvo Bay
- "So... how's that missile work?"
"It's classified, but there's one here in Halvo." - —Pvt. Augustus Cole and Cdt. Sofia Hendrik, discussing the missile after the former mentioned it
After watching Locust General Karn spearhead the assault on the Museum of Military Glory, Kilo Squad decided to use Halvo Bay's Lightmass Missile, as mentioned by their very own Sofia Hendrik, in order to kill Karn. After learning of its location at Onyx Point, Kilo infiltrated the island and fought past the Locust.
Once they reached the missile silo at the island's interior, Kilo picked up a transmission from Sgt. Marcus Fenix, whose squad was pinned down just outside the Museum of Military Glory. Deciding to abandon their orders of staying on the island as issued by Col. Ezra P. Loomis, they readied the missile for launch and left Onyx Point, sealing the entrances to the silo on their way out.
Later, on the rooftops near the Museum Square, Kilo Squad's leader, Damon S. Baird, sent out the missile's targeting beacon, a JACK-bot named Troy. Once the bot was in place, Baird launched the missile, which struck the museum and destroyed it, killing hundreds of Locust and creating a massive crater. This crater was later named "Kilo" after the squad who made it.
Kilo Squad was then put on trial in a Halvo Bay courtroom for using the missile and was found guilty. According to Baird, the missile was meant to save millions of lives and they only saved around a thousand, but states that if Halvo fell to Karn, there would be no one to save at all. The courtroom is then attacked, and as Kilo and Loomis made their way to the evac point, they discovered that General Karn survived the missile, forcing them to confront him in personal combat. After killing General Karn, Loomis chose to drop the charges against Kilo for illegally using the Lightmass Missile, but demoted Baird from Lieutenant to Private for his actions.[4]
Swarm War[]
Mission to Azura Research Facility[]
In 42 A.E., during the Mission to Azura Research Facility, Delta Squad recovered a copy of General Salaman's classified orders regarding the Lightmass Missile launch on Vasgar.[2]
Mission to OZP-11[]
Later, during the Mission to OZP-11, Garron Paduk, now the leader of the Nomads explained to Delta Squad much of the events of the Mutiny at OZP-11. Outside of the Cosmonaut Training Facility, Delta found the Lightmass Missile's crater and a fragment of the missile itself. Paduk explained how the COG had used the Lightmass Missile to end his mutiny as Paduk was moments away from taking control of the training facility.[3]
Functionality[]
Another view of the missile.
- "The missile draws power from refined Imulsion. The more Imulsion, the bigger the boom."
- —Damon Baird, explaining the design of the missile
Drawing power from refined Imulsion, each missile was highly-explosive and released an incredible amount of heat upon detonation; Garron Paduk, a former UIR soldier, was permanently scarred from being too close to one's blast radius. Paduk stated that a high-yield missile could easily destroy Halvo Bay though a low-yield one's damage was limited to the place it struck and the area around it which was left a flaming crater for hours afterwards. Physically, the missile was accompanied by a cluster of smaller missiles that broke off before detonation for maximum impact.
The missile required a targeting beacon, sometimes in the form of a mobile JACK-bot, and a remote control in order to launch. However, with satellite coverage, the missile has true global range as it is mounted on a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The missile is powered by liquid fuel; owing to the presence of coolant cables. This greatly inhibited it from being mounted on transporter-erector launchers which made the missile vulnerable to UIR counterattack.
Appearances[]
- Gears of War: Judgment (First appearance)
- Gears 5 (Mentioned only)
See Also[]
- Nuclear Missile - The UIR's equivalent.