The Union had discovered something in Iran, something that even the Persians under Xerxes feared and locked away millennia ago. Ignorant to its origins and desperate to give their nanotech weapon a more lethal edge, the Union dug it up and applied the tar-like substance. Creating a smoke-esque effect when activated, it would seek out and destroy organic matter. For the majority of its victims it was a painful death and for some a fate worse than death...