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.
Attack on Gorasnaya
- "Courtesy of your big boom..."
- —Garron Paduk displaying his burns
During the Pendulum Wars, one of these missiles was launched against the Union of Independent Republics' forces in Gorasnaya, destroying most of a currently-unidentified city. A survivor of the strike was Garron Paduk, who was left with severe burns as a result.[1]
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.
The Museum of Military Glory destroyed by the Lightmass Missile.
Locust War
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.
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.
Behind the scenes
- The real-world equivalent of the Lightmass Missile is most likely a nuclear bomb. Both are incredibly deadly weapons of mass destruction that use high-energy processes to obtain their lethality.
Appearances
- Gears of War: Judgment (First appearance)