The CJ-9 electrified bo-rifle, also known simply as the CJ-9 bo-rifle, was a model of bo-rifle, a unique combination of an electrostaff and a blaster rifle. Alongside its decent blaster fire output, the CJ-9 was capable of delivering lethal melee strikes when its shaft was extended to form an electrified staff. As the traditional weapon of the Lasan High Honor Guard, the bo-rifle was renowned as a weapon owned solely by the one who bested its wielder in combat.
Description[]
The CJ-9 electrified bo-rifle,[3] or simply the CJ-9 bo-rifle, was a model of bo-rifle, a unique two-handed weapon design that combined an electrostaff with a blaster rifle. The weapon was capable of discharging red-colored blaster bolts with a reliable fire output. Its signature feature, however, was its forward facing staff that could emit yellow electromagnetic pulses in order to deliver lethal melee strikes to opponents.[2]
The CJ-9 bo-rifle was capable of delivering lethal melee strikes.
Similar in design to[2] the J-19 bo-rifle, which was one of the later and less artfully designed versions of the bo-rifle,[4] the black-colored CJ-9 consisted of a long, rotund shaft with a smaller rifle barrel attached below it that was responsible for discharging blaster bolts. The weapon's shaft contained cooling vents, and it could be extended forward to be transformed into an electrified staff. The rifle also lacked a trigger guard.[2] Unlike the J-19,[4] however, the CJ-9 was fitted with a scope above the shaft[2] instead of a bayonet situated along the top edge.[4]
History[]
- "Only the Honor Guard of Lasan may carry a bo-rifle!"
- ―Garazeb Orrelios
The CJ-9 bo-rifle was a traditional Lasat weapon.
The CJ-9 was a model of bo-rifle,[2] a type of weapon manufactured by the Lasan-Malamut Firearms Corporation and traditionally used by the Lasan High Honor Guard, the defense forces who protected the Lasat homeworld of Lasan until the planet's pacification by the Galactic Empire.[6] The bo-rifle was renowned as a weapon that could only be obtained by defeating its wielder,[2] a custom that was known as the Boosahn Keeraw in Lasat culture.[7]
Sometime between 19 BBY and 10 BBY,[8] Masse Goskey, the proprietor of Masse Goskey's Arms Emporium and Explosives Mart[3] in Mos Eisley spaceport on the planet Tatooine,[9] and his associate Ephant Mon bought some weaponry on the moon of Nar Shaddaa, including a CJ-9 electrified bo-rifle that came at a price of 1,100 credits. A complete inventory of the merchandise was recorded in a book that would eventually be known as the Smuggler's Guide. According to Goskey's note in the book, all the weapons they picked up on Nar Shaddaa were illegal in sixty-six sectors, compelling them to sell the arms to crime syndicates such as the Crymorah Syndicate and the Black Sun.[3]
At some point, a mysterious explorer compiled a journal of stories and images, including a sketch that depicted a Lasat wielding a CJ-9 bo-rifle against an aggressive creature. This sketch, along with many others that resembled the work of the Ithorian artist Gammit Chond, was later restored, expanded, and displayed by the Graf Archive[10] on the moon Orchis 2[11] at some point no earlier than 34 ABY.[12]
Behind the scenes[]
Concept art of the CJ-9 bo-rifle by Erik Rading
The CJ-9 bo-rifle first appeared in a 2016 update for the video game Star Wars Battlefront,[13] after being teased in trailers for the game's previous expansion packs.[14][15] The weapon was designed by 3D artist Erik Rading.[16] The 2018 reference book Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide, written by Daniel Wallace, later identified it as CJ-9 electrified bo-rifle.[3]
In Star Wars Battlefront's multiplayer modes, the bo-rifle is a unique weapon, as it can only be unlocked by killing another player wielding one.[2] Originally introduced into the game by game developers who joined multiplayer matches while equipping the CJ-9, the bo-rifle has become a virally propagating weapon since then.[13] Once obtained, the CJ-9 can be used by troopers from all factions, including the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and the New Republic.[2]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Battlefront (First appearance) (DLC)
Sources[]
- Star Wars Battlefront Companion
Star Wars Battlefront - Bespin Launch Trailer on the official Electronic Arts Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (First pictured)- Star Wars Battlefront: Death Star Gameplay Trailer on the official Electronic Arts Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Star Wars: Alien Archive (Picture only)
- Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide (First identified as CJ-9 electrified bo-rifle)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide establishes that bo-rifles were exclusively used by the High Honor Guard of the planet Lasan and were manufactured by the Lasan-Malamut Firearms Corporation.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Star Wars Battlefront
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- ↑
Star Wars Rebels — "Droids in Distress"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "The Honorable Ones"
- ↑ According to Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide, Masse Goskey and Ephant Mon's weapons purchase took place some time after the formation of the Galactic Empire. Mon also mentioned Goskey's death in the in-universe Smuggler's Guide, which later came into possession of Dryden Vos, meaning Goskey died before Vos did. The weapons purchase must have therefore occurred between the Empire's formation and Vos's death, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 19 BBY and 10 BBY, respectively.
- ↑ Star Wars: Complete Locations
- ↑ Star Wars: Alien Archive
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ The restored in-universe journal, as represented by Star Wars: Alien Archive, discusses Poe Dameron's mutiny against Amilyn Holdo, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 34 ABY. The journal's restoration must have therefore been concluded in or after that year.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The CJ-9 Bo-Rifle has begun rolling out in Battlefront! by Jared on The Star Wars Game Outpost (December 20, 2016) (archived from the original on November 10, 2018)
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront - Bespin Launch Trailer on the official Electronic Arts Star Wars YouTube channel (June 16, 2016) (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront: Death Star Gameplay Trailer on the official Electronic Arts Star Wars YouTube channel (September 16, 2016) (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront - Bo Rifle on Erik Rading's profile on ArtStation: "One of the weapons I made while I was doing my internship at DICE. I was also responsible for the concept." (content now obsolete; backup link)
