Weaponry

The Pick Axe and the Helmet

The thing about the Dort is that they do, in fact, look intimidating. They are large and stocky, silent and deadly. They are constantly updated and bred to be literal mining machines. Once they are viably cloned, they are given their helmet and it never comes off. Before they see their first mine, they are shown how to properly and nearly effortlessly use their signature pickaxe. Their bodies, stocky and muscular, are also a part of their weaponry. They couldn’t properly or effectively use their helmets if their bodies weren’t conditioned to do so. And, boy, are they ever conditioned.

Let’s start with the pickaxe. Pretty expected and respectable tool for a miner. It is efficient and practically for the type of work they are forced to do. Now, on its own, a pickaxe can be dangerous. They are heavy and sharp. But what makes it a weapon for the Dort is their physiology and instinct. Their bodies and lift and swing the pickaxe over and over again for days on end. They absorb the impact, and it dissipates throughout their whole bodies. They feel no shock from the strikes. They are never fatigued.

Though thought itself and aggression have been bred out of the Dort Clan, Dort 13 tightens his grip on his axe handle the moment he becomes sentient. It could be out of comfort or habit, but it is more likely that he realized he could swing it at the incoming Murk if he can shake his fright.

The Murk themselves do not approach him, they call for him and make threats, but they do not rush him. They have seen the Dort swing those axes into hard rocks of different planets for centuries. They know they could be seriously harmed. The muscular and terrified Dort standing at attention with a pickaxe is a pretty terrifying image.

Aside from the pickaxe and the body to swing it with maximum effort, the Dort are all given a battle helmet once formed and before they are sent to a mine. The helmets are protective, as the mines can be perilous, but they are also practical. They emit a percussive blast that can rip apart stone like tissue paper. Again, the helmets are viable because the Dort are physically very powerful. The blasts rip through the mines while the Dort absorb the shock and don’t even recoil from the blasts. The blasts are highly focused thanks to their helmets. One cannon on each side of the helmet cross at an axis and rip the target to shreds, evaporating them entirely. The Corporation sees no downside to equipping their slaves with such a powerful weapon because the Dort cannot think for themselves to form a plan to use them for their own advancement. It literally never crosses their minds to point them at the overbearing Murk Clansmen that whip them into shape. That is until Dort 13 is freed from the mind hold the Corporation has on him. Though he does not blast at the Murk on his initial escape, the Murk are again weary of the powerful Dort. A single blast can wipe them off the planet completely. Once Dort 13 starts to settle into his own mind and the adventures before him, he taps more into his helmet for protection. The helmet also serves to keep his new thoughts in order. It records his every thought and interaction. 13 is able to access his memory banks. This helps advise his next moves as well as keeping him from losing his newly developed mind. The advanced and complex help he is given by his newfound friends and mentors stays neatly stored in his banks. This makes his a tactical being now. Not just a roaming automaton that works off of instinct and direction alone. His personal advancement can be attributed to the number of new characters he is able to interact with freely, but the helmet adds a safety net layer. Not only can it be utilized to blast an enemy to bits, but it also aids in his tactical and maneuvering abilities.

Watching Dort 13 advance and evolve thanks to his armaments is a true testament as to why the Corporation sought to enslave and tame the Clan.

They are truly formidable as they are, but given the ability to think on their own, well, they can be a force of unstoppable nature. Their weapons are fierce, sure, but it is their ability to wield them instinctually and seamlessly that makes them a force to be reckoned with. It is no wonder the Corporation came for them and had to spend decades updating their abilities and consciousness to grow their work force. No other Clan on any planet is able to handle the battle helmet as it exists on the Dort.

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