The Tsugumori fires a Heigus beam from it's Particle Cannon
The Heigus Particle Cannon is a energy weapon system mounted on Sidonia's Garde Mechs and on Sidonia's hull for removing a Gauna's outer skin, the ena.
History[]
Pre-Series[]
Before the series begins the HPC was a primary method for ena removal. It is not specified who or what company developed the Cannon or made use of the Particles as a weapon. All Gardes are armed with them.
Gauna 487[]
Nagate Tanikaze scores a direct Particle Beam hit on Gauna 487
After Gauna 487's appearance, most of the Gardes make use of the cannon. Akai squad makes several successful strikes before their destruction. Nagate Tanikaze finally kills Gauna 487 with the use of the cannon and a Kabizashi.
Benisuzume[]
In Benisuzume's appearances, the HPC is used often, but to no avail, as Benisuzume is far too fast and agile to be hit by the beams.
The massive Gauna structure[]
Sidonia fires a massive Heigus Particle Beam
While not applied much to the outer ena, the strike team made heavy use of their HPC's to clear their way to the host core on the LMU's interior. Sidonia used a massive version of the HPC to blast a massive hole in the LMU's front end, allowing the strike teams to enter.
Specs[]
Weapon/Ammunition[]
Sidonia's enormous Heigus Particle Cannon
The Heigus Particle Cannon utilizes Heigus Particle emitting crystals, a naturally occuring crystal used by Sidonia and the Gauna. The cannon sends electrical energy into the crystal causing it to emit a directional stream of high energy charged Heigus particles, which upon impact causes a Gauna's ena to evaporate away. The Garde's HPC is mounted on the mech's "head". A similar cannon is mounted on Sidonia's front end, so large and powerful that it blasted a massive hole in The massive Gauna structure's front.
Gauna Mimicry[]
The gauna are able to use their shapeshifting to recreate artificial Heigus Particle Cannons for use against the SIdonian Gardes. The effect on Gardes seems to vary, from light systems damage to overloading to complete destruction.
Gauna 487[]
Gauna 487 fires a devastating beam attack.
Gauna 487, after absorbing Eiko Yamano and defeating Akai squad, changed it's ena to make itself into an artifical Heigus Particle cannon. It's first shot was a close miss, but it was a enough miss to overload and shut down Norio Kunato's garde, as well as the rest of retrieval team. However, since the Tsugumori was less automated, it was able to overide this effect by rebooting.
Gauna 487's extra use of Heigus Particles also seemed to amplify Nagate's attack with his own cannon, causing 487's whole front end to be blown off, exposing it's ena.
Nobody knows how the Gauna can target the Gardes without technology. They may be able to follow the Heigus energy of the Gardes, or they may have some targeting method that no one has ever seen.
Benisuzume and the Garde-shaped Gaunas[]
Since these three specialized Gauna were mimicing Gardes, they also recreated the Garde's Heigus Particle Cannon. These beams seem to be able to either disable Gardes or destroy Gardes.
Benisuzume also seems to make an AOE (Area of Effect) version of this weapon, firing a ripple of energy around her like an disk.
The massive Gauna structure[]
The massive Gauna structure's point defense "turrets".
Once the strike teams began firing upon the surface of The massive Gauna structure, the whole Gauna pod suddenly created a deadly array of artificial cannons, blasting Gardes out of the sky. These "turrets" were each individual Gauna. How they too learned this method is unknown.
Pros & Cons[]
Pros[]
- The cannon's energy beam seems to be one of the most effective ways of blasting off a Gauna's ena.
- As it projects pure energy, the cannon has no recoil.
- Long range, although the cannon's maximum range is never made clear.
- High accuracy.
Cons[]
- Since the Gauna use Heigus Particles for energy, using this weapon may strip off ena, but it also seems to increase the rate of ena regeneration.
- The Gardes run on Heigus Particles, and firing the cannon drains the power reserves very quickly. When Sidonia fires it's Heigus Particle cannon, the whole ship experienced a blackout, as energy from every system was pumped into the cannon.
Trivia[]
- It is never specified why the energy beam strips off ena.
- Heigus Particles are in fact based on a real, theoretical energy particle, called Higgs Particles, subatomic particles predicted by a theory unifying the weak and electromagnetic forces.
- Human Gardes fire a blue beam, Gauna fire a red beam. Why this happens is never specifies, it seems to be mostly for distinction.
- The beams can be dodged by more experienced pilots.
- The cannon may not be able to be used at short range, as the Gauna Turrets never fire while the Gardes fly close overhead.
