J8Q-128 Finbat Missile/Legends

"The Finbat is one of the best ways of taking out an AT-AT ever invented."

―"Jorsk," in an annotation to Gundark's Gear Datalog

The Kessler J8Q-128 Finbat Missile was a portable concussion missile designed to be shoulder-fired by a lone individual. It was created to eliminate large, heavily-armored targets such as Imperial walkers. While effective in its role, the missile itself moved slowly, and a capable gunner could shoot down the missile mid-flight. Introduced prior to the Battle of Endor, the weapon was snapped up quickly by the black market, and was still in production within the borders of the Pentastar Alignment after the fragmentation of the Empire.

Description

"I bet the Imperials were shocked the day a lone Rebel waltzed over, set up the launcher and fired a missile into the neck of the nearest walker."

―"Mal'urc," in an annotation to Gundark's Gear Datalog

The J8Q-128 Finbat Missile was a portable, shoulder-fired, anti-walker concussion missile developed by Kessler. It was designed for use by a single person, from preparation to firing; after firing, the launch tube was discarded. Designed to destroy large, slow-moving targets such as AT-ATs and AT-STs, the missile itself moved slowly, and could potentially be shot down by a competent gunner mid-flight. The warhead was specifically designed to overcome the heavy plating of an AT-AT, and consisted of four separate segments to penetrate the armor of its targets; the final explosive within the body of the missile was designed to fragment and continue moving through the target, inflicting significant internal damage. Even a first-time Finbat user could decapitate an AT-AT with the weapon. However, the missile was limited to a range of approximately 500 meters, and was less effective when not delivered against a foe squarely in the weapon's sights, tending to bounce off the side of the target. The missile sold for four thousand credits.

History

"Leave it to Kessler to build something to swat a walker, right under the noses of the Alignment and the rest of the Empire."

―Sully Tigereye

Kessler developed the Finbat Missile prior to the Battle of Hoth. When first introduced to the black market, the units were purchased so quickly that the Empire did not notice them. Several months before the Battle of Hoth, the arms dealer Gundark acquired samples of the missiles and made them available through Gundark's Gear Datalog, his inventory scandoc. The missiles were used by both Rebel forces and mercenaries against Imperial walkers. Following the Battle of Endor, numerous warlord fiefdoms broke away from the Empire, among them Grand Moff Ardus Kaine's Pentastar Alignment in the Outer Rim Territories. Kessler continued to produce the Finbat within the Pentastar Alignment's jurisdiction, without the knowledge of the Alignment or other parts of the Empire. Finbat Missiles were among the weapons familiar to the Red Moons, a mercenary organization hostile to the Alignment.

Behind the scenes

The J8Q-128 Finbat Missile first appeared in "Blasters for Hire: A Mercenary's Guidebook," an in-universe New Republic article written by Anthony P. Russo for Star Wars Adventure Journal 3, released in 1994. In 1997, it was featured again in Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear, a compilation of personal equipment that had appeared in previous Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game materials. It was not mentioned again until the 2008 publication of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

• Maul: Lockdown
• Maul: Lockdown audiobook

Sources

• "Blasters for Hire" – Star Wars Adventure Journal 3 (First mentioned)
• Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia