Omni-tool

The omni-tool was a multipurpose handheld device that served at once as a computer, a diagnostic and manufacturing tool, and a portable workshop, used across the galaxy for civilian and battlefield tasks alike. When activated it appeared as an orange hologram wrapped over one or both of the user's forearms and hands. Soldiers, engineers, and specialists relied on it for hacking, decryption, and repair, while its miniature fabricator could turn raw salvage into finished objects on the spot. Like the kinetic barriers and weapons it often modified, the omni-tool was a routine part of life and combat throughout Citadel space.

Functions#

In ordinary use the omni-tool packed an enormous range of capabilities into a single device. It could serve as a flashlight, a scanner, a camera, and a full communication suite handling video, audio, and holographic calls. It repaired damaged equipment, dispensed the medicinal salve medi-gel, and handled programming and hacking. It could even project holographic images and play recorded entertainment.

Its most distinctive feature was the built-in mini-fabricator, which manufactured small objects in real time from raw materials. Because omni-tools were designed to draw on common battlefield salvage such as plastics, ceramics, and light metals, that material could be rendered down into a semi-molten substance called omni-gel for quick reuse. This same fabricator allowed a soldier to install field modification kits, or upgrades, onto weapons, armor, biotic amps, and other gear. A typical upgrade kit was little more than a handful of parts and an optical storage disc that supplied the technical specifications, letting a trained user customize equipment to the tactical situation in under a minute.

The omni-blade and combat applications#

Although melee uses for the omni-tool were nearly as old as the device itself, they were largely neglected until the Reaper invasion forced the issue. The need to fight husks and other enemies in close quarters drove the Alliance to enhance the tool's offensive capability, producing a family of improvised weapons built on the fly.

The most common of these was the omni-blade, a disposable weapon of silicon-carbide flash-forged by the tool's mini-fabricator. The blade was transparent and nearly diamond-hard, created and held in a mass effect field safely clear of the user's own skin, with warning lights illuminating the field so the searing-hot blade burned only its target. More technically adept soldiers modified their omni-tools further, channelling electrical, kinetic, or thermal energy, integrating the device with their kinetic barriers to form a wrist-mounted bludgeon, or fabricating flammable gas held in a mass effect field and ignited on impact. Different fighting traditions produced their own variants, from forked and curved blades to omni-shields and energy pulses.

Models and use#

A range of omni-tool models existed, varying in sophistication. Standard or "garden variety" tools handled basic functions such as administering first aid, while higher-end models supported more advanced technical work and were sought out by engineers and other specialists. Such tools could be purchased from merchants, recovered from storage, or taken in battle, and they could be tuned to reduce the recharge time of technical abilities or to strengthen a user's kinetic barriers. Some users even developed brand preferences, favoring particular manufacturers for the feel and reliability of their tools.