Ewok Launcher

Owner: Moose and Granite, though occasionally loaned to others.

Designation: Multi-role combat weapon.

Manufacturer: Kaboom Inc.

Description: 0.75 metre long tube, closed at one end. A trigger assembly is attached underneath and large loading lever mounted on one side. To fire the launcher, first if all the ewok is loaded in to the open end of the launcher. Then the lever on the side is pulled down. This pulls the pressure pad back in to the firing position, leaving only half a centimetre between the pressure plate and the back of the launcher. As a result, the Ewok also slides back in to the launcher. The sound of the pressure pad moving back and locking it in place creates the distinctive "chink-CHUNG!" sound. Once this has been done, all that is required to fire the launcher is to pull the trigger. Pulling the trigger causes the pressuriser built in to the back of the launcher to force compressed air into the space between the back of the launcher and the pressure plate at thousands of atmospheres. The resulting explosive force sends the pressure plate forward at extremely high speed. The Ewok is pushed out of the launcher by the pressure plate and flies towards its target.

History: The genesis of the Ewok Launcher can be traced back to one single event, a statement by Lt. Commander Avery "Foxfire" Schroder. Finishing a visit to the Calamari Cruiser Liberty, she returned to the hangar to find her personal A-Wing being swarmed over by some of the Alliances fuzzier members. After removing them with her crowbar, she exclaimed aloud: "I wish somebody would figure out a way to make use of these little hairballs!"

By chance, then Buccaneer CO Lewis "Moose" Gregory overheard this comment. Seizing this chance he secretly began work on a project to find a use for an Ewok. It was while he was practising with his Mortar Gun in the Liberty's target range that the solution struck him: The best use an Ewok could be put to was as ammunition.

Appropriating (It would normally be "stealing", but Moose was a CO) materials, Moose began to build a weapon capable of firing Ewoks over large distances. Completing the prototype, Moose arranged to demonstrate it in front of both Foxfire and several Alliance commanders. Whilst Foxfire was interested in the weapon and requisitioned one in pink, the Alliance refused to push credits in to development of the new weapon, claiming it was too much money to risk when the Alliance was struggling to stay alive financially.

The history of the Ewok Launcher would have ended there, a slight side-track to Moose's career and perhaps a new stress-relieving toy for Foxfire, if it weren't for the fact that the demonstration was held aboard the Frigate Regis. Then Red TO Owen "Granite" Stone saw in the Ewok Launcher the potential for an extremely useful weapon. After the demonstration, Granite approached Moose and suggested a partnership. Moose accepted.

With Moose's appropriating and electronics skills and Granite's wide knowledge of engineering and weapons systems, the next version of the launcher was ready within a month, just after the two pilots had transferred to the new Wolfshead Squadron. This demonstration was a resounding success, with both The Royal Alderaanian Fusiliers and the Alliance Commando Regiment placing substantial orders for the Ewok launcher. The two pilots ploughed the profits in to starting their company, Kaboom Inc. and have been producing and modifying the weapon ever since.

The first recorded combat use of the Ewok Launcher had was in the hands of it's developers. Just a week after receiving the contract for production of the launcher, the Frigate Wolf's Den was the subject of a surprise Imperial attack. Caught unawares, a transport managed to break through the fighter screen and dock to unload a boarding party of stormtroopers. Unfortunately for the Imperials, the hatch they docked with led into the cargo bay used by Moose and Granite as a research and production facility. Armed only with their launchers and whatever ammunition they could find, the two pilots held off their opponents, until finally, demoralised by the horrible screaming projectiles their opponents were using, the remaining stormtroopers retreated back to their transport and fled. The transport exploded shortly after it left the ship, the source of it's destruction a mystery, but some attribute it to a SND (Sneaky Delayed Ewok), being designed specifically for use by Wolfshead XO.

Use: The Ewok Launcher is generally used as a terror weapon against ground troops, where the sight and noise made by the flying creatures demoralises the opposition, often to the point where they break and run. As a result, it is often the first weapon used in ground assaults, where commanders use it's "softening up" effect to the full. One of the Ewok Launcher's main points is it's flexibility. In addition to the standard Ewok, the launcher also fires High Explosive Ewoks (Ewok is persuaded to hold a thermal detonator before being loaded), Armour Piercing Ewoks (Ewok wears a spiked helmet), Sabot Ewok (Fur flies off in flight to improve ballistic capabilities. Fur also provides useful cover) Cluster Ewoks (Several small ewoks are jammed in to the launcher, spreading themselves over a large area on impact.). High Explosive Squash Head Ewok (The Ewok, well, squashes on impact. Not of any practical use, but great to watch), and quite possibly several others. The standard ammunition has also been adapted for use in many other areas, such as the Torpedo Ewok, where the Ewok sits on top of a torpedo with a set if handlebars. The Ewoks natural attraction for shiny items means the torpedo heads straight for the nearest ship. A similar setup is being developed for concussion missiles using ysalmari. The mortar Ewok is a larger but less portable modification of the launcher. The most powerful version devised so far by Kaboom Inc. is the FAE (Fuel-Air Ewok), though there are rumours that Kaboom Inc. was commissioned to design a TNE (Tactical Nuclear Ewok) as a "black" project for Alliance Command. Kaboom Inc. have, however announced that they are working on the next generation of launcher, which, they claim, will have Jawa capability.