Name: Merr-Sonn Striker Light Lightning Cannon
Model: Merr-Sonn Striker-5 Lightning Cannon
Type: Light assault weapon
Scale: Character
Skill: Energy weapons: lightning cannon
Ammo: 20 (1 heavy power pack); 100 (belt power unit); unlimited (backpack generator)
Cost: 2,300 credits
Availability: 3, R or X
Range: 3-25/50/250 meters
Damage: 5D (+2D versus droids and vehicles)

Description: Relegated to a secondary role in most mercenary companies’ heavy weapons teams and never considered for many Sector Defense militias, the Merr-Sonn Light Lightning Cannon was on a path to small arms obscurity as the years wore on after its release to the open market. That all changed with the onset of the Clone Wars. Eager to have a weapon effective against the droid armies the CIS deployed across the galaxy (and the lightning cannon was very successful at frying all the circuits in a battle droid), Republic military strategists immediately requisitioned the Striker-5 for ARC troopers, Clone Commandos, and Clone trooper heavy fire teams.
The lightning cannon served admirably during the Clone Wars and has since been a common secondary assault weapon of Imperial, Rebel, and mercenary commandos. The Striker-5 is often used as a light anti-vehicle weapon, as the cannon’s electrical bursts are especially effective against the computer circuits used in so many speeder and walker components.
The lightning cannon has two main drawbacks. First, creating the electrical bursts is energy-intensive, and because of this the standard heavy power pack allows for a limited number of shots (although this can be greatly increased with portable power sources). The second problem most commonly reported in the field is the vulnerability of the lightning cannon’s delicate serial capacitors and emitter array, which are frequently damaged when dropped or hit.