Blackwatch: Green MEC Phased Plasma Charge

The Green MEC is a compact, throwable thermal-denial device that generates a short-duration omnidirectional plasma event around its point of activation.

Unlike a conventional explosive, it does not rely on fragmentation or blast pressure. Its destructive effect comes from an extremely intense but short-lived thermal bloom that expands outward in all directions before losing cohesion and burning itself out.

That lets it be used like a grenade. It can be thrown into a room, corridor, laboratory or defensive position without any particular landing orientation. Once armed, it works the same whether it comes to rest upright, on its side, or against a surface.

It is classified as a phased plasma charge because the release happens through a tightly timed series of ignition stages rather than as a single uncontrolled discharge. Multiple internal channels open almost simultaneously around the reaction chamber, producing an expanding thermal envelope centred on the device.

No forcefield contains or shapes the effect. Its duration and radius are set instead by the available reaction mass, the very short burn cycle, and how quickly the plume loses cohesion as it expands.

Peak output reaches approximately 6500 K. The highest temperatures exist only near the centre of the event and only briefly, with thermal intensity dropping rapidly as the front expands.

Nominal effective radius is approximately 8 metres in enclosed or semi-enclosed environments. That is not a hard boundary. Reflected heat, secondary fires, superheated gases, damaged equipment and local conditions can all create hazards beyond the primary zone.

Tactical Role

The Green MEC is primarily a thermal destruction, area-denial and emergency sterilisation device.

Blackwatch personnel may use it to destroy biological or hazardous material, deny access to a compartment, destroy sensitive equipment that cannot be recovered, clear heavily defended enclosed positions, or render a room or installation immediately unusable.

Because it can be thrown and its effect is omnidirectional, it can also be used against hostile personnel in extreme situations. That is among its most severe applications, not its routine purpose.

Unlike the Red MEC, it is not meant to create a controlled opening through a structure. It is meant to make the area around it temporarily unsurvivable and to inflict severe thermal damage on anything exposed.

Technical Specifications

• Designation: Green MEC — phased plasma charge
• Type: Throwable phased-plasma thermal charge
• Primary role: Thermal destruction, area denial, sterilisation, emergency neutralisation
• Secondary role: Anti-personnel use in extreme combat conditions
• Shape: Compact spherical, segmented body
• Diameter: Approximately 6.5 cm
• Mass: Approximately 220–300 g
• Peak plasma temperature: Approximately 6500 K
• Nominal effective radius: Approximately 8 metres
• Effect pattern: Omnidirectional
• Effect duration: Several seconds from initiation to complete burn-off
• Primary damage mechanism: Extreme thermal exposure
• Conventional blast: Limited
• Fragmentation: Minimal under normal operation
• Orientation requirement: None
• Activation: Timed or remotely initiated following arming

Operating Principle

The device holds a compact central plasma-reaction chamber surrounded by multiple phased release channels.

After activation the core rapidly generates a high-temperature plasma mass. The surrounding channels open in a synchronised sequence, letting the plasma expand around the entire circumference rather than being projected from a single emitter. The resulting front expands outward as a roughly spherical thermal bloom.

Because the charge carries only enough reaction material to sustain the plasma briefly, the event exhausts itself. As the plasma expands it loses temperature and cohesion until the reaction collapses entirely.

That self-limiting burn cycle replaces any need for a containment field, and it is why the Green MEC produces much the same effect however it lands.

Physical Effects

Within the primary thermal zone, exposed materials may ignite, ablate, deform, melt or fail rapidly under heat.

Electronic equipment can suffer extensive thermal damage, ruptured housings, damaged circuitry, failed power systems and secondary fires.

Biological material in the core region is subject to catastrophic thermal injury.

Conventional fragmentation is comparatively slight. Most secondary hazards come from the environment instead: rupturing conduits, exploding power cells, burning furnishings, structural deformation and other heat-induced failures.

Physical Description

The body is nearly spherical and approximately 6.5 centimetres across, comparable in handling to a conventional hand grenade.

The exterior is overlapping dark graphite composite armour segments separated by narrow thermal-release channels. The segmented shell gives it a rugged, faceted look while letting plasma escape evenly around the circumference.

A subdued green identification band and several narrow green indicators distinguish it from other MEC variants. It carries no Starfleet insignia, organisational markings or emblems.

There is no front, rear, top or bottom. The body is deliberately symmetrical so operation does not depend on how it lands.

A recessed arming control sits beneath a mechanical safety cover to reduce the chance of accidental activation. Small indicators show SAFE, ARMED and ACTIVE.

Internally the reaction chamber sits at the geometric centre, with thermal-release channels radiating outward through the casing so the reaction vents in every direction.

When triggered, green-white light shows through the seams between the armour segments immediately before release. The bloom then expands around the whole device rather than out of a single opening.

The shell and internal components are destroyed in the reaction. Nothing recoverable or reusable is left.

For carriage it fits a reinforced grenade-style belt pouch or a dedicated retention bracket. Its size lets specialists carry one or more without demolition packs or engineering storage.

Issue and Authorisation

The Green MEC is a restricted-use device and is not routinely issued to every operator.

Routine carriage is generally limited to engineering and breaching personnel, designated combat specialists, and team or squad leadership.

• Engineers may carry them on missions involving biological containment, facility destruction, equipment denial or hazardous-material response.
• Combat personnel may receive them where heavily defended enclosed spaces or emergency area denial are anticipated.
• Team and squad leaders may carry one where the mission justifies immediate access to a high-risk destructive option without relying on an engineering specialist.

General operators may be trained in emergency use but do not normally carry the device.

Operational Limitations

• Extremely hazardous in confined spaces.
• The 8-metre radius is a planning figure, not a guaranteed safety boundary. Compartment size, ventilation, reflective surfaces, atmosphere and nearby materials all change how heat propagates.
• It cannot distinguish hostile from friendly personnel once activated.
• It should not be used near hostages, recoverable sensitive equipment, unstable power systems, volatile materials or mission-critical infrastructure unless destroying those is acceptable.
• It is inappropriate for precision breaching. The thermal event can deform doors, damage bulkheads and destroy nearby controls without producing a usable entry point.
• Secondary fires and structural damage may persist long after the plasma has burned out.
• Because the effect is omnidirectional, the user must establish separation before activation regardless of where the device lands.

The Green MEC is therefore treated as a specialist destructive tool: small enough to be thrown and carried like a grenade, powerful enough that its use stays tightly controlled.