Berserking Sword

XENOARTIFACT REPORT Evaluator: Tech-Sergeant Elliot Item: XA-1369


 * Description Summary: Item appears to be a standard steel long sword (see attached images). This Xenoartifact Report supersedes the report previously issued on this item.


 * Investigation Summary: After the initial visual examination Pvt. Gomes and I began a sparring match, him with the sword and I with a standard non-xenoartifact shield to avoid possible cross-contamination. The first few blows occurred as they usually have in the dozens of tests of similar xenoartifact melee weapons, with Pvt. Gomes maintaining a running verbal monologue of how the blade feels and reacts.


 * However, after several seconds Pvt. Gomes monologue degraded into a series of growls, screams and war yells as his blows became somewhat more powerful and faster. Using our "safe" codeword did not cause Pvt. Gomes to stop as we had agreed, and I was forced to call in the guards stationed outside the room. The two guards entered the room and attempted to restrain Pvt. Gomes but he turned his attacks toward them and they were forced to use their weapons to bludgeon Pvt. Gomes unconscious. Item XA-1369 was returned to xenoartifact storage and I filed my initial report.


 * Some time later, Pvt. Gomes and I were preparing to test a different long sword, this time with myself wielding the weapon and Pvt. Gomes holding the non-xenoartifact shield; it was the first weapons test Pvt. Gomes had participated in since the incident with item XA-1369. During the test of the second long sword item XA-1369 teleported into Pvt. Gomes hand and he began to attack me in the same non-intelligible manner as before. I was again required to call the guards into the room for assistance and during the attempt to disable Pvt. Gomes one of the guards broke his right arm, causing him to drop the sword. Almost immediately, the sword teleported into Pvt. Gomes left hand as the shield he had been wielding fell to the floor and he continued attacking, although at a decreased effectiveness. The guards were eventually able to render Pvt. Gomes unconscious again.


 * Item XA-1369 has been transferred to Dr Braham’s laboratory and Pvt. Gomes has been temporarily relieved of duty pending a further investigation into the effects of item XA-1369.