Pyre's blaster

Pyre's blaster was the personal F-11D blaster rifle of Commander Pyre of the First Order. Crafted by the Sonn-Blas Corporation, the blaster featured an electrum finish that gave it a golden shine. It featured a J20 electroscope and enlarged heat dispersal vents. Pyre used the blaster rifle throughout 34 ABY. Aboard the refueling station Colossus on the planet Castilon, he utilized the weapon's stun setting while hunting for the orphans Eila and Kel from the planet Tehar. When the Colossus Resistance cell submerged the station and disabled the communications jamming, the commander carried the rifle to investigate the device on Doza Tower. He entered a firefight with Resistance members Kazuda Xiono and Jarek Yeager, grazing Xiono with a shot and arresting Yeager. The gold-armored stormtrooper utilized the blaster in the Battle of Castilon, once again exchanging fire with Xiono and Yeager atop Doza Tower. Pyre then fled the Colossus with his rifle aboard a shuttle.
Later in 34 ABY, Pyre discovered mechanic Neeku Vozo and Xiono infiltrating the First Order refueling station Titan. He fired at the Resistance infiltrators with his rifle in section 1305 and later in the Titan main hangar, where the duo, along with the droid CB-23, escaped aboard a stolen AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transport. The commander re-encountered Xiono with his blaster in hand on the planet Varkana. Though Xiono quickly stunned him, he recovered and engaged Xiono and his cohorts again outside Vargo Spaceport. Pyre subsequently used the blaster during Team Colossus attempt to help former Colossus resident Tamara Ryvora defect from the First Order. He was knocked unconscious during the battle and then perished when the Thunderer was destroyed in the Barabesh system.
==Description==
Pyre's blaster was a slightly improved, customized version of a standard F-11D blaster rifle. The two-handed weapon featured an electrum finish to match Pyre's gold-colored armor that made the commander stand out among other stormtroopers. The blaster was equipped with an adjustable J20 electroscope for higher zoom and increased precision. Enlarged heat dispersal vents prevented the gun from overheating. Pyre's blaster was keyed to only function when paired with the gloves of his armor. The rifle fired blue-colored stun blasts and red-colored blaster bolts.
==History==
===Parading around the Colossus===
Manufactured by Sonn-Blas Corporation, Pyre's blaster was the personal weapon of Commander Pyre of the First Order. In 34 ABY, Pyre brought the blaster with him to the refueling station Colossus on the planet Castilon. He brandished the rifle while patrolling the marketplace to locate two orphan survivors of the attack on the planet Tehar, as the First Order sought to conceal their actions there. When Pyre and his companions spotted Kel, one of the orphans from Tehar, he chased the child into the Colossus Engineering Level and fired the blaster with the stun setting on during the pursuit. After breaching engineering, The commander used the blaster to threaten a gathering of the Chelidae engineers of the Colossus to reveal the location of Kel and his sister Eila. After the Chelidae dispersed to reveal the Tehar children, Pyre gave the latter an ultimatum of coming with him or destruction. The children then faked their deaths by pretending to jump into the ocean of Castilon, which satisfied Pyre, who believed their demises to have been confirmed.
Later that year, after the First Order intensified its occupation aboard the refueling station, Pyre carried his blaster while attempting to arrest Team Fireball—the mechanics Tamara Ryvora, Neeku Vozo, Kazuda Xiono, and Jarek Yeager—because the Fireball had entered off-limits First Order territory, Sector Epsilon 51-3. When the astromech droid R1-J5 created a diversion for Team Fireball to escape, Pyre opened fire on the mechanics as they fled into Yeager's office—save for Ryvora, who surrendered to the First Order. He fired a shot into R1-J5, causing the droid to spark and fall off the platform. Later, after the Colossus was sunken into Castilon's ocean and Pyre received a report that the communication jammer had gone out, the commander brought his blaster outside Doza Tower to investigate the disturbance, obtaining the weapon while en route. Pyre discovered the BB unit CB-23, Xiono, and Yeager attempting to communicate with the Resistance and exchanged fire with Yeager, eventually grazing a shot across Xiono's arm. While CB-23 and Xiono escaped, Pyre and his companions arrested Yeager at blaster-point.
===The Battle of Castilon===
When Imanuel Doza, the captain of the Colossus, confronted Pyre in Doza's office over the arrest of Yeager and the platform's occupation, the commander demanded the captain's arrest. On Doza's command, 4D-M1N, the captain's loyal droid, entered attack mode and engaged the First Order forces present. Although she eliminated a few troopers, Pyre proceeded to disable the droid with three blaster fires. He held Doza at blaster-point while reinforcements arrived to take the captain to the brig under his command.
Later, after Pyre agreed with Agent Tierny of the First Order Security Bureau in Doza's office to take Ryvora off-world, he wielded his blaster as the two escorted the captive to a shuttle outside Doza Tower. When Xiono revealed himself atop the tower to stop Ryvora from joining the First Order, Pyre aimed through his blaster's J20 electroscope, but Tierny discouraged him, allowing Ryvora and Xiono to speak. When Yeager appeared to assist Xiono, the commander trained his blaster on him. Stormtroopers then surrounded the Resistance cell, and Pyre demanded that Xiono and Yeager drop their weapons, which Xiono protested, mockingly encouraging Pyre to drop his blaster instead. On Xiono's command, Vozo initiated the Colossus thrusters, disrupting the First Order's perimeter around the Resistance cell. Pyre opened fire on Xiono and his cohorts atop the tower while waiting for the shuttle to return and then retreated onto the vessel.
===Time away from Castilon===
Pyre attended a meeting in the space station Titan tower briefing room later in 34 ABY. When an alarm interrupted the meeting, he was informed of a Code Three occurrence in Engineering. Pyre equipped his blaster and left the briefing room, flanked by General Armitage Hux and two stormtroopers. The commander and his companions found Vozo and Xiono posing as First Order technicians in section 1305 and opened fire upon the Resistance infiltrators. Though the Resistance agents escaped through a blast door, Pyre met the duo again in the Titan main hangar, firing at them as they fled into a stolen AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transport. Pyre shot the transport with multiple blasts, but the Resistance members were able to escape the Titan.
On the planet Varkana, Pyre was later carrying his blaster on patrol when he encountered Resistance spy Norath Kev and Xiono disguised as two stormtroopers. He was caught off guard as Xiono stun-blasted him, falling unconscious and dropping his blaster. Pyre regained consciousness and caught up with the Resistance agents outside Vargo Spaceport, firing at their Star Commuter 2000 with his rifle as they fled off-world.
Pyre had his blaster holstered while meeting with Tierny in her office, with Hux joining via hologram. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren replaced Hux in the forum and expressed his displeasure at Pyre and Tierny's failure to capture the Colossus. Ren then used the Force to compel Pyre and Tierny to aim their blasters at each other, stressing he would not tolerate failure again. Ren lifted his grasp of the two, and the commander soon departed the office, blaster once again holstered. Pyre kept the weapon on his person as he stood on the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer ThundererStar Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy bridge, where he learned of Ryvora's attempt to defect.
===Pyre goes out in a flame===
When Ryvora was captured in a stolen transport, Pyre accompanied Tierny to the hangar to oversee the arrest. As the traitor was escorted away, a stormtrooper discovered the vehicle was set to self-destruct, but Pyre could not escape the blast's radius. The commander was knocked prone, losing his blaster in the process. In the aftermath of the explosion, CB-23, Xiono, and Yeager were discovered within the hangar, and a firefight broke out. The commander recovered his blaster and joined the fight, chasing Xiono and Yeager into the Thunderer corridors. While the destroyer went into lockdown, Pyre returned with his blaster to the bridge, where he remained until receiving word of Ryvora's escape. At that point, Pyre joined the search with his weapon in hand, leading a group of troopers back to the hangar and setting up an ambush for the Resistance members. Eventually, Pyre successfully captured the entire group save for CB-23.
Pyre escorted the group to the destroyer's bridge, where he and Tierny invited the captives to observe the Colossus destruction after the former vessel traveled through hyperspace to encounter it. The commander then departed for the hangar with his blaster to organize a boarding party. While directing troopers in the hangar, however, Pyre received word of the prisoners' escape. He discovered Yeager attempting to rappel from the rafters and exchanged fire with the mechanic. Yeager caused a crane nearby to explode as the firefight progressed, resulting in the stormtrooper losing his footing and dropping his blaster. After recovering himself, Pyre blew up a canister with a blaster bolt, causing the Resistance group to be thrown apart. He holstered his blaster and wielded a BL-155 Laser ax as he approached Xiono, who was pinned under cargo, with murderous intent. Through intervention by CB-23, Xiono knocked the gold-armored stormtrooper unconscious with a blow from another laser ax. Pyre then perished aboard the ThundererStar Wars: Timelines when the destroyer exploded in the Barabesh system.
==Behind the scenes==
Pyre's blaster first appeared in "The Children from Tehar," the sixth episode of the first season of the Star Wars Resistance animated television series, which premiered on November 4, 2018. The weapon was first previewed earlier in the year on August 17 in the series's first trailer, which was posted on StarWars.com and the official Disney YouTube channel.
In the episode guide that accompanied "The Children from Tehar" and was posted on StarWars.com, the blaster was first identified as "Pyre's blaster." The guide also featured concept art by Amy Beth Christenson, art director for Star Wars Resistance, which had been completed on February 28, 2017. The blaster's model was sourced from Phasma's blaster, with the only change being the blaster's color to a dull gold. The gold finish of the blaster and Pyre's armor was intended to make the commander unique among the First Order's stormtroopers, be interesting, and feel like someone that belonged in the sequel trilogy. Dave Filoni, creator of the series, chose the specific color scheme, which Brandon Auman, executive producer for the series, felt was a reference to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the football team for Filoni's hometown.
On April 13, 2019, the StarWars.com article "SWCC 2019: 7 Things We Learned from the Hasbro Star Wars Panel" previewed new additions to Hasbro's The Black Series line of action figures, which included Pyre. In the preview, the blaster Pyre is equipped with is an entirely black F-11D blaster rifle, though the final product, which was released the following month, featured his blaster in the appropriate colors. In part two of "The Escape," the finale of the second season that premiered on January 26, 2020, when Kazuda Xiono knocks Pyre out with a laser ax, the blaster's model disappears from the latter's hip.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Resistance: Le Nouvel Espion 
*Star Wars Resistance: Meet the Pilots
*Star Wars Resistance: Triples Ténèbres 
*Star Wars Resistance: Le Secret de Yeager 
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*Star Wars Resistance: La Rescapée 
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==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:F-11D blaster rifles
Category:First Order weapons
Category:Personal weapons
Category:Sonn-Blas Corporation products