Staff weapon

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Energy Staff Weapon
Energy Staff Weapon

The staff weapon is a fictional weapon in the Stargate universe.

Contents

[edit] Features

Within the Stargate universe, the staff weapon is a common weapon for Jaffa soldiers, both serving in the armies of the Goa'uld and under their own government. The weapon is powered by liquid naqahdah, as is most Goa'uld technology. There is a switch along the staff that opens an almond-like head at the tip; the same switch then delivers a strong energy blast from the opened end. The energy bolts from a staff weapon penetrate armor very easily and the blast is powerful enough to punch a hole the size of a man's head through the target. A single clean hit to the chest is usually sufficient to kill, although a hit to the thigh or shoulder areas may be survived if the target is lucky. The heavy, rounded ends of the weapon and its sturdy length allow it to be used in melee combat for striking and knocking down an opponent when the enemy is too close to safely or effectively use the energy assault.

Teal'c holding his staff weapon straight up. Note its extreme length.
Teal'c holding his staff weapon straight up. Note its extreme length.

In highly skilled hands it can be quite effective, but its design is not optimized for military use. In the episode "The Warrior", the staff weapon was demonstrated to be significantly less accurate at long range than the FN P90, even in the hands of an exceptionally skilled Jaffa warrior. With no means of rapid-fire for engaging multiple opponents, and equipped with no means of increasing accuracy for combat over anything beyond point-blank range, it is revealed that the Goa'uld supplied the Jaffa with weaponry that would be both awe inspiring and destructive, with no thought to its effectiveness. Jack O'Neill, comparing the staff weapon to his P90 explained, "[The staff weapon] is a weapon of terror: it's made to intimidate the enemy. This [A P90] is a weapon of war: it's made to kill the enemy."[1]

Sodan troops use a variant of the staff weapon in which the back meter or so of the weapon has been removed; it eliminates the quarterstaff function of standard staff weapons, but it makes it lighter and easier to carry; among other things, it has allowed the Sodan to strap their weapons to their backs. [2]

Kull Warriors use a wrist-mounted version of the staff weapon, but with smaller blasts and a higher rate of fire. [3]

[edit] Staff cannon

A staff cannon
A staff cannon

The staff cannon is a variant of the Goa'uld staff weapon. It is heavier and more powerful, and is typically placed on a mount and used to defend a Stargate on a Goa'uld- or Jaffa-controlled planet; much as the gateroom defense teams do on Earth.[4] In addition to Gate-defense, they are the Death Glider offensive weapon, with two forward-mounted staff cannons on their wings. A strong Jaffa warrior, such as Teal'c, can carry a staff cannon around by pointing it forward with the back resting on the hip, supported by and secured with a shoulder strap.[5][6] An Al'kesh is equipped with an enlarged version of the staff cannon that deploys from its belly; the weapon is carried retracted into the ship when not in use.

The weapons of a Ha'tak mothership have the same visual effect as staff cannons but on a larger scale. A single Ha'tak cannon blast is mentioned to be equal to a 200-megaton nuclear warhead.[7]

[edit] Ori Staff Weapon

Warriors of the Ori carry a similar weapon. It is more silver-colored and has two prongs in place of the almond-head. It fires a blue sphere rather than a yellow bolt, but is otherwise remarkably similar to the Goa'uld version.

The Ori staff weapon is powered by a crystal which is compatible with other Ancient technology. [8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Warrior". Stargate SG-1. 2002-04-12. No. 18, season 5.
  2. ^ "Babylon"
  3. ^ "Evolution"
  4. ^ "Into the Fire". Writ. Brad Wright. Stargate SG-1. 2000-10-02. No. 1, season 3.
  5. ^ "The Fifth Man". Writ. Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. Stargate SG-1. 2001-07-20. No. 4, season 5.
  6. ^ "48 Hours". Writ. Robert C. Cooper. Stargate SG-1. 2002-03-15. No. 14, season 5.
  7. ^ "There But For the Grace of God". Writ. Robert C. Cooper. Stargate SG-1. 2000-02-20. No. 19, season 1.
  8. ^ "Line in the Sand". Stargate SG-1.
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