A sizzle bug was a type of 23rd century tractored ground vehicle used for underground pergium mining.
Specifications[]
The model S3 sizzle bug was 3 meters long, 1.125 meters tall, and operated by one person. It had a maximum speed of 10 kilometers/hour. Forward phasers optimized to melt rock were used for tunneling. The melted rock was collected by a forward scoop and sent through a pre-processing unit. Unneeded rock was poured out to the side, while up to 125 kilograms of processed pergium could be stored in its hopper for transportation to a pergium refinery.
Optimized phasers had a maximum range of six meters, but usually only affected an area about 1.5 meters ahead of the vehicle. These were four times as strong as a phaser rifle and for safety reasons required both hands to operate. (FASA RPG module: Witness for the Defense)
The cockpit was open, but its transparent plastisteel windshield protected the operator from intense heat. The vehicle type was customizable, but only available in appropriate locations. Its power cells could be recharged by fusion reactors. (FASA RPG module: Star Fleet Intelligence Manual)
Service history[]
Sizzle bug at Janus VI.
In the 2260s, the Pergium Production Station on Janus VI employed about 20 sizzle bugs. Miners usually left the vehicles on-site, and traveled to and from the station using tunnel runners, which could travel up to four times faster than the sizzle bugs.
In 2270, a sizzle bug's phasers were used to murder Louis Handy and a Horta. The USS Enterprise was diverted to Janus VI to investigate the incidents. Doctor Leonard McCoy personally inspected the sizzle bug that killed the Horta. (FASA RPG module: Witness for the Defense)