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MASSIVE INCOMING INFO-DUMP! I recently was able to access the Palladium Board again. I got weirdly blocked by the system a few years ago due to what I saw was a glitch, that wasn't fixable apparently. Because I logged onto the forums with 2 different computers from the same IP address, I somehow got a block for 'shadow-duping' or something like that. However, I was able to log in today. Now, I wrote up a SHITLOAD of history on weapons and armor. So, I'm going to repost it all in this thread. BE WARNED! THERE WILL BE LIKE 50 POSTS!
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Sep 28, 2014 02:38
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Hauler, Armored Transport, Cargo, Heavy-CSTV-119 (HATCH) Most opponents of the CS only focus on frontline vehicles. However, not everything is moved by Death's Head Transport. The HATCH is a all terrain wheeled vehicle with an impressive amount of cargo space an a vehicle power-train capable of moving astounding weight. Unlike the combat vehicles, the HATCH does not possess the "death's head" look, but rather contents itself with the standard flat forward face with a sensor strip just below the windshield. It is moderately armored (although light and "up-armored" versions do exist) to survive passing through hazard or combat zones. The vehicle uses the aging but still applicable engine and parts from the Mark-V APC line, lowering production cost by having an already built in large supply of parts and manufactured pieces. The cab is simply a square box with a trailer attachment over the last 8 wheels. The forward part of the tractor is the cab, possessing light ablative neo-alloy armor and a neo-tungsten unibody frame. There are indented "steps" beneath the two doors (one on each side) allowing the crew to easily and quickly enter the cab (one attack action) and shut the door. The trailer has forward stabilization jacks which automatically lower whenever the cab is detached, however this is extremely rare and usually only for maintenance. For the most part the vehicle is treated as a single unified body. The "trailer" section has removable side and rear panels, to allow access to the "trailer", which has holes 2" wide, 4" long, 6" deep to correspond with every square meter of space in the trailer, to utilize standard CS "self-locking pallets". Inside the vehicle possesses the following: Ground radar system: Track up to 12 targets. However, the system does keep track of over 300 other objects, and this data can be relayed to nearby command vehicles to take part in the "missile defense network" of the CS version of BATNI. Low Light (Passive) Imaging: Displays on the windshield Low Light (Active) Imaging: By using the IR capabilities of the headlights the vehicle can display active low-light on the windshield Frequency Agile Burst Communication Radio: The HATCH possesses the FRAGBuC Radio system Standard CS First Aid Kit Armor Integration Cables: Allowing CS armor to be hooked into the vehicle for battery charging, increased communication, and atmosphere replenishment Auto-Pilot: The HATCH uses Auto-Driver 14.5xe2, which at the current time is only capable of point to point navigation, but does not have the problems of the 14.5xd1 software. Inertia Mapper: This, combined with the Ground-Tac system, allows the driver to know where they are down to the meter. With over 600 pre-loaded maps and the ability to have hundreds more created or uploaded, this system allows the driver to not only know where they are, but their surroundings, calculate routes, and avoid hot zones. Crane: The crane is built into the trailer, as well as one at the rear of the cab. Both cranes are capable of lifting up to 15,000 kilograms. Hauler, Armored Transport, Cargo, Heavy-CSTV-119B2 (HATCH) Weight:7 tons unloaded, 257 tons fully loaded Height: 20 feet Width: 15 feet Length: 75 feet (Cab is only 10 feet, tractor is 15 feet, trailer is 60 feet) Cargo Capacity: 14,625 cubic feet, 250 tons Crew: 2, driver and shotgun Weapons: optional ring mounted weapon such as CR-40 MDC by Location Cab body: 250 Bed body: 500 Wheels: 50 Windshield: 25 Doors: 75 Bed side-panels (12 per side, 3 in rear): 75 each. Headlights (4): 15 each Crane (2): 15 Standard Armor Version: Adds another layer of plates, effectively adding 15 MDC to each section.* "Up Armored" Version effectively adds 50 MDC to each location.* *(Tires, headlights, crane, and windshield are NOT effected) DESCRIPTION For those of you who have seen them, simply picture a large Hemmit with ring mount, or perhaps one of the the vehicles off of the old movie Damnation Alley. In essence, a large, blocky vehicle with a box-like cab, two wheels in front, twelve in the back (3 sets of rear dualies) and a long, oblong cargo area that possesses a total of 4 sets of dual rear wheels and a middle set of 2 dual wheels. HISTORY The HATCH vehicle came directly out of NEMA stockpiles, although at that time it was called the HEMMIT-VII. While the HEMMIT-VII used standard non-hyper-alloy chassis and frame, this simply would not due for the CS once manufacturing began to get underway. General Ross Underhill spear-headed the "Fit to Fight '75" program, where the hodge-podge of vehicles used by the CS Logistics Command were intended to be replaced. Lansing Motors showcased the HATCH, which, while fairly bare-bones, impressed General Underhill enough to be awarded a contract to build hundreds of them over a period of 10 years. The initial "prototype" model had it's own proprietary power train, wheel hubs, but when a strike a Chow-Rameriz Machine Industries stopped production on the power trains only six months before the first HATCH's were to be delivered to the CS Army, Lansing Motors frantically scrambled to lay their hands on over 75 power trains and engines. Luckily for Lansing Motors the CS Army was holding a semi-public auction for 125 Mark-I APC's, and Lansing Motors bought them all in one lot batch through a cut-out corporation. They retooled and modernized the engines, most notably replacing the piston sleeves and rings with more modern and expensive materials, then adapted the entire HATCH vehicle to run off of them. The gearing was changed for more power, sacrificing speed for power, and the tires went from spun carbon filament to neo-vulcan synthetic rubber with "Run-Flat(TM)" technology to keep the vehicle up and running even if the tire was nearly shredded. Commanders who recieved the HATCH had nothing but praise for them, although troops using them noticed that the trailer stabilization outriggers had a tendency to hang up or not fully lock into position, risking tipping the trailer while it was being loaded. In 82 PA the 119A came out, fixing the outrigger problem, but the bed manufacturing process neglected to add in the embedded hook points for the loading straps. This led to local commanders fitting wood panels in the bottom until 84PA when the 119A1 came out with the anchor points restored. Sadly, the 119A1 had a problem with substandard ballistic glass from the Hrylex Advanced Materials Lab LLC (which was already in deep trouble for the Macroplast-Gate Scandal of 83 PA). The windshield would often turn completely opaque and white upon a hit from even an SDC laser system, the protective properties completely vanishing as the polyresin matrix completely scrambled. (Windshield would sudden drop to 15 SDC) The windshield problem was fixed by local commanders ordering from local suppliers until 85 PA, when the 119A2 came out. This one caused a total freak out by the command structure as the electrical system often caught fire, burning the entire vehicle to the ground. This was found to be a fault with the grounding system in the cab chassis at branch 17A3-4, and the trailer chassis at ground point 18b-B, which was quickly fixed at unit level. That caused an additional fault, which was electrifying the entire chassis so that anyone not wearing insulated boots who touched the vehicle while it was running received a 150 amp, 824 MEGAWATT shock. This was enough to even damage combat armor, or kill the wearer of light combat armor. The 119A2 vehicles showed an amazing ability to be destroyed in "terrorist strikes" while sitting in the motorpool. Investigation by CS CID showed that there was a coherent plot, obviously by the Federation of Magic, against the HATCH vehicles, because of... um.... FREEDOM! That's it. In 90PA the 119A4 was released. (The A3 version forgot the crane, and the CS military simply refused to accept delivery) to correspond with the all new "self-locking pallet" which the CS had moved to. Wood was getting more and more difficult to harvest cheaply, so the CS military had moved to advanced polymer resin pallets with "locking feet" and standardized sizes. The vehicle at first performed admirably, however a fault in the inertial mapping system caused a resonating buffer overflow cascade inside the autopilot with a wide variety of effect, from the vehicle starting up on its own and driving in erratic patterns, to the vehicle verbally mocking the driver, to in one case, over the period of 4 days, a HATCH hunting down and running over ever member of FOB Churchmouse. The software was replaced, but mysteriously all of the 119A4's had somehow been destroyed in "combat", and the CS military sighed and ordered another batch in 91PA. This proved to be the 119B1 series, which used all new software. This proved a workable vehicle, up until the time that a Boomgun was fired near it, or another loud explosive detonation. At which time the armor would shatter and fall off the vehicle in small (palm sized) pieces, leaving a bare frame, the wiring harness, the engine, and fuel system. Lansing Motors was fined 125 MILLION credits, and had to replace the vehicle at their own expense. Failure to do so would have lost Lansing Motors several other lucrative contracts, and the 119B2 hit the CS Army in Fall Quarter, 94PA. This time the vehicle has proven to be a solid and dependable workhorse, and CS troops have largely forgotten the vehicles struggling past.
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Sep 28, 2014 02:42
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Coalition States "Burb-Sec" CS-4221 "Dogpound" Burb-Sec is responsible for the police effort of the burbs and small CS towns, which means that in many places they are policing an area of hundreds of thousands or even (in the case of the Chi-Town Burbs) 2.5 million.people, with a rough violent crime rate of 2.6% per capita. That doesn't sound like much, until you realize that over 70% of the offenders are repeat or serial offenders. This means dozens or hundreds arrests a day, including "sweeps" that can pick up a few or up to two dozen law-breakers at the same time. When more than what can fit in the standard 'Burb patrol car or dangerous criminals are arrested, they call in a "Dogpound" vehicle. The Dogpound has been in service since 57 PA, and was one of the feared vehicles during the Federation of Magic War, as it was often used to transport EPOW's, as well as transporting arrested mages in the years up to the war. Because of this there are multiple versions of this vehicle. The newer ones are closer to the Chi-Town Burbs, but there's multiple versions within Chi-Town Burbs themselves. For everything from arresting normal people, to mutants, to psions, to practictioners of magic. The initial design of the Dogpound was brainstormed by the Urban Pacification Research Projects Agency (established in 54 PA) and took almost three years of design and testing as well as awarding the contracts for the manufacture of the vehicle. The designer examined detailed records of prisoner transport vehicles, everything from Pre-Cataclysm movies to detailed vehicle manufacturing specifications. The Great Library of Chi-Town was part recovered books, micro-films, video recordings, and computer files, the rest was from what is suspected to be a "Continuity of Government Deep Storage Locker", containing everything from every book ever written (The Google Project) to building and vehicle schematics as well as detailed manufacturing plans and every scrap of knowledge that a recovering civilization would need. This added a lot of technical details to the project, like Pre-Cataclysm police vehicles from all over the world. Unfortunately for the research, one of the popular items for Role Playing and Computer games were technical schematics of fictional vehicles. This set the project back months as they tried to find hard research on anti-gravity and vectored thrust units used in those schematics. In 57 PA the CS-4221 rolled off the assembly line in one of the fabrication plants in Sub-Level 3 of Chi-Town. By Summer Quarter 57 the first hundred were delivered to Net-Sec and Burb-Sec. Thirty of each design (low, medium, high security) as well as ten "Law Enforcement Coordination" vehicles. Problems immediately cropped up that had not come up during field trials the previous year. First of all the light security vehicle had a problem with the door hinges being made from substandard materials. A hit that did more than a light impact would shatter the door hinges, causing the doors to fall off. Additionally the normal vibration of the vehicle's engine would cause metal fatigue in the vehicle's hinges, meaning it was not uncommon for the doors to just plain fall off by Fall Quarter 57. This was usually fixed at unit level. The medium security version had a small problem with the radio mounting, which caused electrical shock to anyone who touched the antenna while the vehicle was transmitting. This wasn't noticed at first, until it became a game with Burb kids to hang small gang or school flags on the antenna. After a series of electrical deaths, and additional grounding post was added and while the original antenna was left in place, the actual antenna was moved to the roof of the vehicle. This caused problems with the Net-Sec uplink disrupting, causing problems with high-bandwidth transmissions. This problem was not fixed until 62PA. The Heavy Security model proved to have multiple problems. Starting with the sheer weight. While in testing this proved no problem, the sheer inertia became a problem in the tight streets of the more dense burbs, as those streets were often covered in trash, debris, and fluids that prevented the front wheel from gaining traction. This resulted in repeated crashes until Burb-Sec rated that the vehicle travel no more than 10 miles an hour within certain areas. After all, it was not a pursuit vehicle, but a prisoner transport vehicle. This problem was finally repaired in 68 PA when the vehicle moved from synthetic rubber to spun carbon "mesh" wheels that actually had superior gripping. In 70 PA the new CS-4221A rolled off the manufacturing line, and were slowly distributed out in a rolling deployment with Chi-Town at the center and receiving the first units. Problems again cropped up, despite the heavy field testing done from 68-70 PA. This was the fault of several different companies. First fault was with the software the vehicle used to help track the vehicle, bring up facial recognition software, as well as countermeasures against various threats. This software was supposed to be legacy compatible, but turned out to use the wrong file headers for requests, resulting in hundreds of false arrests as well as bad call ins. This resulted in the vehicles maintenance sections loading up the old software, however this disabled the inertia mapping system as well as no longer interfacing with the Net-Sec and Burb-Sec officer's armor. The second fault was in the manufacture of the power exchange module for the rear axle, simply put the ring gear in the automatic transmission suffered failures due to substandard parts being used. Unfortunately, nobody also realized that the wear on the ring gear had also contaminated the transmission fluid by creating crystallization in the fluid, destroying the fluid transfer system and the filters. Since the company that made the transmission had gone bankrupt due to embezzlement (That person also arranged for substandard parts) a new transmission had to be designed. This one turned out to have a problem with the transmission cooling system, which was necessary for the medium and heavy transports. Another problem that cropped up was engine overheating, which most mechanics fixed by cutting out two of the filters from the system, which moved the fluid flush and replacement from every 600 hours of use to only every 200 hours of use, but most mechanics flushed and replaced the coolant every week. Failure to do this caused the system to suffer crystallization as well as "fluid fatigue" where the fluid dissipated less and less heat. It was discovered that about the 400-500 hour mark the engine and transmission would heat up enough to cause them to catch fire. Compounding this were a poorly designed set of temperature sensors which were located in the transmission in a place where the fluid would "pool" next to once of the heat exchangers. This problem was rectified in 72 PA by Net-Sec and Burb-Sec gaining permission from the military to utilize SAMAS organic super-lubricant. This organic super-lubricant required not only feeding every six days, but also required "draining" by luring a section of it away before the transmission became over-full and the superlubricant attempted to escape. It was not able to survive outside of high precision, high pressure, high heat environments for long. The Light Security Vehicle was discovered to have a rather terrible problem in 74 PA that led to most units dismantling the vehicle and having it destroyed via high intensity plasma ovens normally used to destroy old Pre-Cataclysm chemical weaponry. The memory metal used in the frame construction to allow the vehicle to be somewhat flexible, as well as the memory metal in the spun wire tires, had been bought from a third party in Nebraska, who had procured the metal and the manufacturing technique from a Pre-Rifts "metallurgical study laboratory" without quite understanding what they actually dealing with. The metal was part of the NEMA Space Program, designed for Mars missions, where resupply would be extremely rare and far between. The company did not quite understand that the "vats of molten metal" were actually advanced nano-forges, that simply required some basic materials (carbon, silicon, iron, and other metals) in order to produce the memory metal. The metal was perfect for the "flexible unibody" that the vehicle was built around, and it took several years for the first major problems to be noticed. The first warning signs were not recognized as such, when mechanics reported what appeared to be "sweating" along frame components, as well as "beading" along major welds in the internal structure. Later "jagged spurs" were noticed along the major structural elements, most of the extremely thick ones. Mechanics began discovering what appeared to be "alloy migration" onto other parts, with an anomaly noticed that on hinges or other moving parts the alloy seemed to adhere to the design. In 72 PA a curious mechanic unbolted a hinge, then cut into the hinge and bolts with first a plasma cutter, then a laser cutter, and finally resorting to a physical "band-saw" precision cutting instrument. This showed the following things: The metal was far above specs for temperature resistance and transmission. It acted as a thermal non-conducting material until a certain threshold was reached, and then within 0.004 seconds became the same temperature across the entire object, usually dropping the temperature of the material significantly. Once the material reached approximately 4,000 C instead of melting the metal began subliming, turning into vapor. This cooled it again through "perspiration". The metal remained in vapor form until it cooled at roughly 88 F, where it became a fibrous metal of micro-hair thin strands. The metal had replaced the material it had at first appearance "coated", leaving no trace of the original material behind in the case of smaller components or components closer to the frame. To thicker components or components farther from the frame, it appeared to have made inroads among the material's natural lattice. The inner "edges" were "Fuzzy looking, almost like felt or tiny strings" which was where the metal was infiltrating the other material. The metal had taken on the "properties" of the material it had infiltrated or replaced, replicating it's flexibility, hardness, tensile strength, and other qualities. Bolts did not show thread wear, apparently the metallic substance replicated the physical function. Later investigation proved that "bolts" had been "loaded" into the metals "memory". More might have happened, but an hour after the investigation happened the mechanic suffered a sudden "heart attack" and died. Autopsy showed metallic "fibers" in his heart, pancreas, liver, brain-stem, spinal cord, kidneys, and lungs. It was later determined that the metal had entered his bloodstream and then located specific organs. The metal then attempted to "replicate" the function, replacing nearly 8% of the tissue mass. However, the way the material attempted to replace the cellular structure was not discovered until it was far too late for many other. The "metal" used was actually the nanite components of a sophisticated "task specific nano-forge" that was originally designed for space station and spacecraft structural and primary components. The metal would be used for the "core" of the component, and that way the "nano-forge core" would then replace the material and replicate the material's properties. As it had to be injected as a liquid into the hollow core, it was then "vibrated" to encourage "growth" in order to replace the part and keep it in top condition. This would help avoid wear, metal fatigue, and crystallization in highly complex or important parts. The metal was also supposed to "grow" into the other parts, allowing a replacement part to be made of the standard material, fitting into worn or broken parts, and the metal replace the part. It was the vibration that caused the metal to begin propagating, along with exposure to ionizing radiation in the form of vehicle reactors. The radiation was the final factor, as many of the civilian and military vehicles in the CS at the time had low grade shielding. That combined with the damage to the Van Allen Belts resulted in higher radiation exposure, much like it was theorized that the surface of Mars would have (based on instrument readings, as well as base readings) at "solar storm" times. The metal infiltrated everywhere, replacing everything from struts to filters to seals. Only the organic super-lubricant was not replicated (both of them were originally designed for the same program), but even then a lot of units kept quiet, assuming that the replication was part of the design of the vehicle. It was only when both prisoners and drivers/guards both began dying from the same thing as the mechanic had, as well as the metal migrating to armor filters, weaponry, and other parts. The frightening thing to the CS authorities was the fact that several individuals who were long term drivers or mechanics had organs replicated. Most of them died, but two were taken to Lone Star Labs for examination. This caused the entire line to be scrapped, all of the light, medium, and heavy security vehicles. The program went back to the drawing board, while the CS military performed a surgical strike on the facility that "manufactured" the metal frame, completely destroying the factory and capturing the workers to be shipped back to Lone Star. The executives of the company were executed after a very showy trial, and the CS used the funds seized from the company in a PR move to pay off those who were killed or damaged by the metal. In 80 PA the next line of vehicles came out, which have largely been unchanged, only minor changes to software, firmware, and armor. Type: Police Prisoner Transport Class: Medium Wheeled Vehicle Crew: 1 driver, 1 gunner, up to 4 "support" officers Prisoner Capacity: 12 MDC/Armor by Location: Main Prisoner Hold: 240 Rear Doors: 20 Cab: 100 Side Doors: 40 Windshield: 20 Headlights: 5 Wheels: 30 Manacles: 30 Height: 8 feet Width: 8 feet Length: 22 feet Weight: 12,500 lbs Cargo: Rear area can hold 12 prisoners in a 24 cubic meter area. In an emergency, without manacles, up to 30 can be shoved inside. Powerplant: Electric Speed: 70 MPH Systems of Note: Standard Automobile Systems Air Filtration and Conditioning Roll Cage Manacles in rear half Net-Sec/Burb-Sec linked computer Radio Tear gas dispenser "Hornet's Nest" strips. (These fire heavy rubber pellets designed to stun) Weapons Systems: Usually a SAMAS railgun on the top, as well as a water-cannon with enough water for 2.5 minutes of spray Options: The medium security version has increased armor on the cab and prisoner area, uses canned air inside, as well as has a gas dispenser. There is also ultra/infra-sonic systems designed to stun and disorient passengers if needed. The heavy security version has heavily upgraded armor on the cab and prisoner area, the same features as the medium version, and strobing lights in a wide variety of frequencies designed to disorient nearly every type of creature. The system has also been specially designed to cause seizures in captive Ley Line Walker and Psions. Any prisoners put in the vehicle are usually fully secured before being put inside.
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Sep 28, 2014 02:51
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NG 309 'Fastjack' Aircar Developed in 100 PA, the Fastjack was the 100PA year sports aircar released by Northern Gun for the CS Market. Using "Innovated vectored air thrust technology" which was made a big deal out of, considering it was a very careful purchase from both Triax and the CS involving older military vectored air thrust. The Fastjack bragged about it's micro-fission plant that used "low level fuel pellet injection" that used depleted fuel rods reconditioned from the pulled reactor rods acquired from Northern Gun repair and refit facilities. The Fastjack was capable of up to 340 mph, with a sustained flight time of up to 6 hours before needing to land and let the jets cool or drop to below 120 mph. During factory test the vehicle could operate for literal months at 120 mph or less. The vehicle also offered the "wilderness model" as the "Fastjack Explorer" which the advertisement stressed the speed as it's primary survivability bonus. The wilderness model was highly popular, although the release of the Simmons Motors "Outland Explorer" later that year cornered the market with it's modular design making maintenance and modification easier. However, the Fastjack Explorer was discovered to have a problem with the capacitance gel, which had a tendency to overheat. This overheating caused the gel to rapidly drop in energy storage and transfer ability in a logarithmic dropoff rate. This was easily fixed by Northern Gun or outside mechanics (which were refunded by either store credit or credit upon proof of work) by adding a thin layer of standard 1/8 inch polycermic insulator plating. The second problem came about with the onboard electronics. Factory straight there was no problem, but a lot of people did after factory modification. The vectored air thrust, which created a lot of static electricity, had special grounding that was proprietary to the thrust system. The static was caused by the rear thrust fan bearing assembly and ring gear on the number five and six thrusters, both system had to use cassylinium alloy parts with Twarlex(TM) minimum friction coating. While the friction was as close as the system could get without organic superlubricant, it did create a lot of static electricity, which the proprietary grounding system handled. Sadly, third party mechanics didn't understand that the grounding system was designed to handle massive surges in current that occurred every 15-45 seconds when the engine had been running longer than two hours. Since the mechanics simply powered up the system to check the grounds, they found what they thought was a safety ground included "just in case", and attached electronics to it. This caused power surges to not only hit the third party products, but also rip through the entire system. This caused multiple crashes that it took investigators almost 10 wrecks to determine the cause of. For a brief period of time (5 weeks) sales dropped until it became common knowledge that the problem was having it serviced by non "NG Certified" mechanics. A third problem was with the autopilot system. The maps loaded up were fine, the waypoint system worked great, and the autopilot meshed well with the standard CS burb and CS citystate traffic control. The problem occurred when some people attempted to override the alcohol/drug sensors do they could drive intoxicated. (This system was not present in the wilderness version) In order to overcome a problem with drivers being able to override emergency systems commands from the traffic control computers or the autopilot system (such as a forced landing due to equipment failure) the intoxication system was directly wired into the override system on the control yokes. Bypassing this disabled the overrides, which caused more than a few sudden crashes in emergency situations, most notably the November 100PA aircrash wreck when an overridden system, driven by an intoxicated CS official, slammed into an ambulance carrying Brigadeer General Rolanda Moseby, killing the entire crew of the ambulance, the CS official, and the General. However, the wreckage was then struck by the two SAMAS flying anti-terrorist cover (who were unable to react in time to the oncoming aircar moving at speeds in excess of 375 MPH) and then the armor's spiraled out of the control when the flight stabilization wings were damaged. SAMAS CS-130974 spiraled vertically and struck Glory Road Towers at the 62nd story, impacting the embedded elementary school. The pilot, who was dazed and concussed, managed to pull all sixteen children out of the blaze, but died of his injuries before he could be removed from the armor. The pilot was a relative of the Prosek family, a triple Ace, and the video of SAMAS 130974 going down on one knee and the red highlighting on the edging activating to show the pilot was critically injured is still shown on Tri-HD shows that showcase CS military heroes. SAMAS CS-25112 spun in a controlled dive down to approximately 20 feet elevation when the right vectored thrust engine exploded, the suit spinning out of control, gaining altitude and slamming into the Circuit-7 mag-lev public transportation train, derailing it and killing 348 passengers. As the wreckage was examined by both Northern Gun inspectors and military Criminal Investigation Division and it was discovered that the system had been illegally modified. This resulted in all aircars being modified in such a way that any and all modification of the alcohol/drug perspiration detection system resulted in the vehicle "fusing" the molycircs. Type: Fastjack Aircar Class: Hovercar Crew: 1 driver, 1 forward passenger bucket seats, rear bench seat MDC/Armor by Location: (Second number is for the Wilderness Model) Main Body: 45 / 125 Macroplast "bubble" Canopy: 5 / 25 Side Doors: 10 / 50 Headlights: 5 / 15 Hover Thrusters: 10 / 45 Height: 5 feet Width: 6 feet Length: 11 feet Weight: 6,500 lbs Cargo: Rear area can hold up to 2 cubic meters and 1.5 metric tons of equipment Powerplant: Electric, the capacitor gel is fed by the nuclear reactor Speed: 340 MPH (Mechanics have been able to bypass the governor [mechanical and firmware] and overcharge it to 410 mph) Systems of Note: Standard Automobile Systems Radio Autopilot Inertial Mapping System Alcohol/Drug Detector, perspiration based Optional Leather Seats Optional brass/gold trim Air conditioner/filtration system The Wilderness model comes packed with a "hardpoint" able to hold SAMS railguns or NG railguns. Also chemical/radiation detection system.
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Sep 28, 2014 02:56
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TMV-3382 "Skyjammer" Tolkeen knew war was coming for nearly 20 years. Attempts to negotiate with the CS were fruitless, both sides had ideological differences that made them completely incompatible at coexisting, military advisers were making the serious mistake of guaranteeing the civilian leaders that a diplomatic resolution could be forced through military action. The biggest problem with a lot of advisers is they look at the narrow picture, and many assume that everyone is rational actors. War has many different causes, and few wars can be pointed at and said "This caused it" with any reality. The Tolkeen CS conflict was such a war. From resources, to ideology, to decades of propaganda, to military actions to force diplomatic solutions, to just plain overestimating themselves and under-estimating the enemy, war was unavoidable without one side or the other surrendering unconditionally. During the build-up to the war, Tolkeen needed vehicles that could take on the CS with a hope of winning. Most people looking at the CS consider the CS military a moving junkpile, since products from such vendors as Naurani and Atlantis can match them, but they fail to appreciate that there is a huge difference between a 10 year mercenary and a career CS soldier. With that in mind, the Tolkeen R&D began attempting to produce a suit of magical armor that could match the SAMAS for air superiority. For the most part air elementals, dragons, and other flight capable supernatural creatures were going to be the backbone of the Tolkeen Air Superiority plan, and that plan had a multitude of supporters, while the idea to produce technowizardry vehicles was scoffed at as "trying to beat Mr. CS Junkman at his own game" with proponents of the idea of technowizardry air superiority often publicly humiliated. So the Skyjammer project was started in 83 PA, without much funding, without much access to resources, and basically back-burned so that the few influential people who supported TW forces would be placated. The designers wrote a simple spec-sheet on what they would need, based on 1 to 1 dogfights with SAMAS. Ground Speed: 60 mph minimum Leaping: 15 feet high, jet assisted 100 feet high and 200 feet long Flying: 300 mph, 150 mph combat speed Altitude: 500 feet Flight Time: 10 hours of combat flight time Height: <10 feet Width: 6 feet or less Length: 6 feet or less Weapon Systems: Equal to the C-40R, 2 shot minimissile pack Armor Rating: Class III Maneuverability: Class II (Should be able to accurately and smoothly maneuver in urban combat conditions during flight) It looked simple. The project was mocked even during the "brainstorm" phase by mages claiming that Armor of Ithan, Impervious to Energy, and a simple flight spell, packing a Wilks Laser Rifle, was equal to a SAMAS. (This mistake was in part due to the majority of the 'military command' of Tolkeen having little to no actual formalized military training or experience, as well as not understanding the difference between Standard Operational Procedure and Maximum Performance) Dragons mocked it, considered Armor Rating Class IX creatures with magic, breath weapons, claws, and the like. Videos available were either CS propaganda or where a CS patrol of 2-4 SAMAS were jumped by overwhelming odds, meaning that out of the gate researchers had a low opinion of the SAMAS. The first design was little more than a crystal harness with a lightning bolt spell rod and Armor of Ithan spells. The volunteer pilots (many deserters from the CS who claimed much more experience than they had, if they even had any combat experience) found these agile opponents difficult. The TW "Flight Combat Harness" was produced in low numbers, volunteers (all creatures who claimed hundreds of hours of combat against the CS) were outfitted with it, and they left to intercept known patrol routes of the CS and engage them in combat while observers watched the field trial. Right here military weaponry enthusiasts will notice that the Tolkeen R&D system had already failed. They were making the data fit their assumptions, which is something that happened even to trained professionals, as well as not looking at the data dispassionately. Those of you familiar with vehicle data sheets from more professional militaries, including Pre-Cataclysm military databases, probably see where this is going to go. All 22 were engaged and destroyed by SAMAS operators in less than 3 minutes. Three minutes were all that the "Flight Combat System" lasted, including the 61 seconds that the SAMAS pilots pursued fleeing members. Worse, the local commander broadcast the "fight" from the suit data recorders, where the initial sighting was met with "What the hell is that?" to the laughter of the CS pilots in between their constant combat chatter. This was in 83 PA, when many spell using creatures didn't understand exactly what they were hearing. While the Tolkeen R&D program recorded the initial battle as well as received copies of the CS data, they really didn't understand everything that went wrong was less about the equipment and more about the fact that the users had not trained together, did not know how to use the system, did not operate as a team, and underestimated their foes. Back to the drawing board. In 84 PA the "Freeflight Mark II" (Freeflight being the name of the project) was created. This 'armor' used light MDC non-environmental armor, added Armor of Ithan, a lightning bolt thrower, and spell enhanced strength to handle the NG-101 railgun and the ammunition pack. It looked like a suit of Huntsman Armor with crystals glued to it, some hotglue smeared on it, a medallion on the chest, and a carved stick on the shoulder, along with the NG-101. Flight trials showed it could reach up to 350 MPH, and the Freeflight Team took the armor out and held speed trials. One thing a military and technological designer can tell you is that just because something can go real fast doesn't necessarily mean it should, and the Freeflight Team and its volunteers found out why. At 350 mph the wind both dropped the operators into hypothermia as well as began suffocating them. Eight grew disorientated and were lost in the distance. 2 suits were recovered months later, found up in trees with skeletons still inside the armor. The six remaining were ordered to make a hard left turn. Where the cross currents ripped the NG-101 out of their arms. But that wasn't the worst, the high speed, high-G turn made them black out. Eight suits entered. All of them crashed and burned. It took four more trials before they added a magical pressure sleeve (which crushed the initial users to death upon activation) to compensate. It could fly nap of earth, perform high G turns, and the designers figured it was ready to try "high altitude flight" and added in magical lift to the system. The first six suits equipped and field tested immediately shot upwards and vanished, never to be seen again. The spell was carefully redesigned to have a maximum 'ceiling' of 650 feet, and the next trail was performed. Where the operators hit the 650 foot mark and slammed into an invisible 'barrier' and were crushed to death. It took mages going up and retrieving the armor to get it back, where it was stuck to mid-air like flypaper. So the spell was reworked, and tried again, but a mistake in the mystical calculations accelerated them to MACH 6.5 and then came to an instant stop, reducing the occupants to jelly. The spell was reworked again, but the spell then just slowly floated them upward to 650 feet where they just bobbed around like bubbles. The next set allowed the 'pilots' to move up and down as well as make turns and do 'normal' power armor-esque flight. During a test of 20 of these 'armor systems' a passing CS patrol of 4 SAMAS suits saw it and tore into the 20 suits, suffering no casualties while destroying all 20 suits and killing the operators, some of the observers, and two of the technowizard researchers. The worst part was one of the SAMAS pilots laughed the entire thing over his loudspeaker, even as he disappeared into the distance after popping off his flares. Things were not going well for Project Freeflight. By this time Project Freeflight was being ridiculed. CS and Triax developers could have told them that this was pretty much par for the course with new technologies, and would have understood that they were making good progress. Not so the Tolkeen R&D establishment, which was mostly just taking existing technowizardry and magical 'technologies' and 'improving' them with advice from Atlantis and other long standing R&D programs. The Freeflight Program took everything back to the drawing board. (Hint for future researchers: Always back up your data.) They discarded the off the shelf Huntsman Armor and built their own suit, added 'ablative layers' of Armor of Ithan (A massive innovation that nobody actually realized was a long standing goal for many magical R&D programs), Breathe Without Air, Impervious to Energy, Superior Invisibility, strength enhancement, two lightning projectors, a 250 PPE battery (that would power armor and weaponry for supposedly 4 hours of combat), Eyes of the Eagle, and Temporal Magic for faster reflexes. The armor was capable of taking 2 direct hits from a Glitterboy main gun, three if there was enough time for the operator to reactivate the armor spells, the lightning projectors were capable of disabling or killing the operator of standard heavy CS body armor in two direct hits, and the enhanced reflexes allowed for operators to deal with the fast and furious pace of combat. It was projected that the armor could stand up to the SAMAS suit in combat. Irritated with the delays the head of the R&D program was replaced, and a new head researcher took over, who immediately discarded all the previously recorded data as his now-disgraced rival had overseen it and he had 'no interest in details of failure', and the newest suit was pushed through with almost no testing. This also included the "Ablative Armor of Ithan" data, meaning the spell could have been lost forever. The project built fifty suits for testing in 88 PA and immediately gave operators a 3 day crash course training program and sent them out to engage CS forces who were performing field exercises in the area to 'prove that the project was a success under [his] leadership.' The 20 suits of 'advanced technowizard armor' engaged a force of 10 SAMAS apparently just cruising around in circles. This immediately turning into a high-G dogfight where 2 SAMAS were forced to land and fight on foot. Only two Freeflight Operators survived, although one was captured and field executed by the CS forces. The head of R&D blamed the current researchers for the failures (meanwhile the CS was going over every scrap of combat footage and seeing a very real and very capable suit of TW flying armor that was just used ineffectively and couldn't face armors using Flight Combat Control Systems) and completely discarded everything but the armor itself. Redesigns of the spells resulted in casualties, explosions, and deaths, but eventually new armor spells were designed, the flight spells were adjusted properly, and the armor was ready for another field trial. The armor could withstand 3 direct hits from a Glitterboy Railgun, 5 if the Armor spells were activated in the correct sequence, it had strength comparable with a Glitterboy, had a fireball launcher on the right shoulder that hit harder that a CS standard plasma rifle, and a lightning thrower on the right arm that could match the firepower of a a particle projection cannon. Field testing took place, along with computer simulation, and the armor was declared a success. Six thousand of them were crafted over a period of 3 years, and once they were all finished, training of pilots began. Most technowizards and ley-line walkers were not interested in the armor, many of them seeing the armor melt or become covered in blood just looking at them, but there are always volunteers to fight no matter how bad the weapon is. The datasheet showed a suit of TW power armor that was superior to the SAMAS in every way. Tolkeen Datasheet for TMV 3382 Head: 100 MDC Main Body: 350 MDC LEgs: 200 MDC Arms: 125 MDC Wings: 125 MDC Force Field: 100 MDC (3 activations) PPE Storage: 600 Ground Speed: 90 mph Leaping: 75 feet high, magical assisted 250 feet high and 500 feet long Flying: 450 mph, 250 mph combat speed Altitude: 750 feet Flight Time: 20 hours of cruising speed, 12 hours of combat flight time Height: 8 feet Width: 4.5 feet (8 feet with wings deployed) Length: 3 feet Weapon Systems: Fireball Launcher
That was the official datasheet presented to the Tolkeen military. By this time the CS had just unveiled their new war machine, but the R&D team was convinced that the Freeflight Project was a success. However the R&D director was of the opinion that one SAMAS was the same as the other, and scoffed at all reports of the CS making significant upgrades to the venerable old US Army SAMAS as rumors, as he saw it merely sporting cosmetic changes that probably weakened the system all around. He insisted that properly deployed that the Skyjammer (the name he insisted the armor be saddled with) could take on even the new SAMAS suits in a 1:2 ratio and still be capable of combat while mission killing the two CS armors. The test pilots were replaced after their complaints about the armor, and the new pilots were trained for only a few months before the Tolkeen War began. The Skyjammer Power Armor was deployed against the CS SAMAS teams. Broken into 20 man teams the Skyjammer Corps quickly sped in to attack the CS forces advancing on Tolkeen, setting up forward logistics bases and forward operation bases, and fire bases. The pilots were confident in their TW armor and the spells woven into it, and sped quickly into combat against the CS troops. Out of 1,200 deployed in the first 24 hours of combat, not one returned. However Air Command insisted that the Skyjammer Armor had achieved up to 1:10 casaulty ratios against the CS air support and insisted that the armor had proven itself in combat. A second wave was ordered on the third day, with orders to engage SAMAS troops wherever found. This was had only 500 troops, divided into teams of 5, and spread out across the front, with orders to attempt to attack rear areas, supply depots, ammunition dumps, and the like. Forty pilots returned, another 328 returned over the next several days on foot, most of which had no armor. The recriminations started pouring in. First of all, the PPE system drained rapidly under high speed flight, as the testing rarely had the armor up for longer than an hour, or doing low speed flight for distance near ley-lines so that observers on TW wing boards could follow along and observe the armor. Under high speed flight with nap of earth maneuvering, the PPE batteries drained in under two hours. The crystal that was supposed to change color as power dropped in the PPE reserve was little more than colored glass (it was added to shut the pilots up, and then the actual crystals and the layered spells were decided to be too expensive and too big of a pain in the rear end to install, so the glass was left in the suits) Without warning the suit would suddenly completely and totally lose power, which would kick in the emergency systems, which would eject the pilot, destroy the armor, and the pilot would float gently to earth. Being shot at by CS troops. Secondly, the CS doctrine appeared to have radically changed. Rather than close in combat that the CS seemed to engage in prior to the war, SAMAS pilots acted more like jet pilots of old, keeping a distance from their opponents and often attacking at maximum range of their weaponry. By the time Skyjammer armors could engage they were heavily damaged and often were suffering a total shield depletion. Third, the armor apparently had a MASSIVE radar signature that was easily detectable from miles out. While the standard approaching under the invisibility spell was followed, apparently the invisibility didn't count toward radar or the seeking peniads of the missiles that tore so many apart a mile out or further from CS troops. Some of the surviving pilots reporting running face first into CS AA systems and seeing their entire team obliterated in a matter of seconds. Fourth, the Impervious to Energy seemed to intermix with the lightning spells after a few firings under high stress combat conditions, causing one, the other, or sometimes both to fail. Worst of all, many of the pilots asked "What the HELL were you thinking" as the SAMAS suits used KINETIC weapons, not lasers, meaning that the only thing it seemed to protect from was CS troop ground fire. That is, until they started using their grenade launchers to shoot them down. Fifth, the fireball launcher was all well and good, but at attack speeds in excess of 200 MPH if the operator fired the fireball launcher the pilot would end up slamming into the fireball himself. Sixth: All weapons were forward facing, and outstretching one's arm at high speed to fire at an opponent on the left or right invariably dislocated the pilot's shoulder, which caused the armor to eject the operator in roughly 50% of the occurrences. Seventh: For an air combat armor, it seemed to lack the most basic anti-missile systems. While the standard doctrine of "Shoot them down" sounded good, missiles fired by the CS seemed to like to go for a rear impact, a top down hit, or explode to the right or left and hit the armor with multiple penetrators. There were no flares, no chaff, no spoofing, no nothing. Those were bad enough, but pilots reported that they had to rely on their eyes, and there was no targeting system in the armor. While that was perfectly fine for one on one or even two on one battles, the lack of sensor systems and targeting systems the pilots kept losing sight of their opponents, couldn't see incoming missiles, got disoriented during combat manuevers and sometimes crashed into the ground, and worse, the CS pilots seemed to figure out quickly and would let the Skyjammer pilots get behind them, pop smoke or magnesium flares, and let one Skyjammer pilot slam into the other. Some of the survivors were very vocal in the protections, speed, maneuverability, and capability of the armor was vastly overstated, accusing the R&D group of flat out lying about their results. Regardless of the pilots fears and accusations, the rest of the armors were committed against the CS a few weeks later, with orders to mass attack one of the larger CS air bases. It resulted in a total loss of all pilots and less than 20 SAMAS suits shot down. Less than a dozen pilots got close enough to even see the air base. Only 12 returned on foot. Examination of the Skyjammer revealed the followed real specifications. Tolkeen Datasheet for TMV 3382 Head: 35 MDC Main Body: 150 MDC LEgs: 50 MDC Arms: 35 MDC Wings: 15 MDC Force Field: 50 MDC (3 activations) PPE Storage: 100 PPE Ground Speed: 5 mph Leaping: 25 feet high, magical assisted [DO NOT DO!] Flying: 450 mph, 50 mph max combat speed Altitude: 600 feet Flight Time: 20 hours of cruising speed, 2 hours of combat flight time Height: 8 feet Width: 4.5 feet (8 feet with wings deployed) Length: 3 feet Weapon Systems: Fireball Launcher
Any Skyjammer armors are either hidden somewhere near the battlefields, abandoned in the woods, or in CS custody. The armor suffered from nepotism, shoddy magical research, forcing fact and exercises to fit expected results, over-estimating the armor's effect, under-estimating the enemy equipment and tacticcs, not involving people who understood military hardware, and ignoring tester feedback. Had Tolkeen survived the war, they would have discovered that every single problem with the armor had been reported by testers and test-pilots during the development and trainup of the forces. SAMAS armors that faced off against the Skyjammer during testing had their software, firmware, and hardware artificially inhibited, and exercises were designed in such a way that the Skyjammer had the advantage, no matter how unrealistic the scenario was, and only the scenarios where the Skyjammer was victorious were used as baselines. Additionally the head of R&D was a major opponent of Technowizardry trying to breach the gap between the CS's high tech advantages and a fierce proponent of magic superiority. The head of R&D envisioned the war not breaking out for nearly 10 more years, and often publicly discounted the idea of the CS ever actually attacking Tolkeen, feeling that Tolkeen's magic might and obvious proficiency would deter the CS from attacking, due to "magic's superiority over technology" that he saw as obvious to anyone who cared to look. Additionally when the head of R&D took over he immediately fired anyone who didn't have the same belief, including the only members with experience in military operations, discounting the former CS Major who had defected due to falling in love with a DB woman. The Major had 15 years of experience with SAMAS and air operations, and had been at immediate loggerheads with the new head of R&D. The entire Skyjammer and Freeflight Project was nothing more than an expensive boondoggle that failed to produce anything worthwhile for combat operations, and is a lost footnote of the CS/Tolkeen War.
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Sep 28, 2014 03:10
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Neural Mace The M-2 Neural Mace is the standard issued riot control device of the NEMA forces, although special forces and Silver Eagle pilots often carry it. The M-2 Neural Mace is manufactured by the Fallin Armaments Corporation, and was awarded the NEMA manufacturing contract in 2085, following a 10 year competition program to develop an effective non-lethal weapon that could be used in hand to hand against crowds. Despite multiple lawsuits claiming neurological damage by over several hundred claimants following the 2087 Mexico City WTO riots, medical evidence has proven solidly that the neural mace does not cause neurological damage when used properly. The neural mace is somewhat misnamed, as it is a 2 foot long, 2 inches thick rod with a wider section (4 inches thick) on the last 3 inches of the rod. The rod and sphere is made of duraplastic, and has a porous grip allowing even armored soldiers or sweaty hands to comfortably and safely grip the weapon. The staff of the rod contains the self-charging power supply, that recharges at a steady rate based on movement by the wielder. It will recharge at such a rate that it will be fully charged within one hour of common carrying. The ball contains the electro-shock circuitry, including a variable sine wave modulation circuit, keeping "smart suits" from being developed to overcome the paralyzing sine wave. The weapon works off of striking a target with the same frequency and sine wave as the individual's bio-electricity, causing an overloading effect on the nervous system, and the charge following the nerve cords into the spinal column, and ultimately, the motor control center. This degrades the subjects motor control skills, making them suffer from muscle tremors, numbness, tingling, and phantom pains/sensations. When those unconscious are struck, there have been reports of brain damage, nervous system damage, and damage to the nerve endings, but as of this writing there are no medical documentation to support these reports. The neural mace is often shown in vid and holo as being swung like a baton, used to smash heads in addition to doing neuralogical damage, however this is all footage for the Cuba/Mexico Unification riots. In standard practice a light touch can be used, as well as the jab/thrust with the weapon. The neural rod can also be used to block and parry vibro-weapons (As the Mexico City WTO riots showed). A hard impact is not necessary, and many officers only attempt to tap a criminal, or use a restrained swing, in order for the weapon to be effective. There have been reports of the circuitry being tampered with to increase the amount of energy released to double normal energy, this often causes convulsions and worse, and has been known to kill people who have been struck multiple times. In addition, some have been modified to accept short eclips, these version can often do lethal damage, or damage to supernatural beings, but have only roughly 12 successful strikes per e-clip (weapon discharges) until the clip is depleted. Neural Maces from the NEMA Era recovered are often thought to be completely unservicable, however knowledgeable scavengers know that allowing the weapon to swing freely from the belt will recharge the weapon in less than 2 hours. Still, some weaponsmiths remove the charger and the capacitance gel and replace it with an eclip power conduit. Weight: 4 lbs Length: 0.75m Magazine Capacity: 4 hours Recharge Time (internal): 1 hour Recharge Time (Charger): 0.5 hour Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 10 minutes
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Sep 28, 2014 03:14
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Vibro Weapons Designed in 2096 by Stratcorp Medical Systems, the vibro-system was originally to be marketed as the next generation surgical tool, following the sonic scalpel and laser scalpels, for poorer nations unable to afford the infrastructure needed for laser scalpels and sonic surgical systems. However, tests involving the maximum density of material that the field encased blade could cut through showed that it could slice through molecularly bonded military grade armor. Further tests showed that the "penetration field" could be bonded to virtually any sized blade given enough power, and prototype vibro-knives, vibro-sabers, and even vibro-axes and "vibro-saws" could be created. The knowledge that the United States government would immediately restrict the technology, citing it's ease in use by insurgent forces and terrorist organizations, Stratcorp immediately sold the research and development done thus far to the US government, who turned it over to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) for military applications. The vibroblade technology was also sold to QwikFire Rescue Technologies, who was also developing environmental body armor for fire departments, rescue operations, and emergency service personnel, for use in rescue operations involving the newly constructed (and the many renovated) buildings that contained hardened material. This was estimated to be especially lucrative in California and Tornado Alley, as there was often building damage due to earthquakes and tornadoes. DARPA applied the vibroblade technology not only to fighting knives, but to sabers (bringing sabers and sword fighting back to Officer's Training), bayonets, and medical applications. When the field is on low power, it surrounds the blade in a silvery field that prevents the blade from cutting into anything, making it perfect for practicing with the actual weapon. Sword fighting classes became mandatory in Officers Training, and many Kendo classes were found on military bases. Knife fighting was taught in Basic Training, and knife fighting became a sport in the same class as Combatives Training. After the coming of the Rifts, nearly every NEMA volunteer was issued vibroweapons, and these were often handed down from generation to generation, as they allowed someone with any type of protective gear to engage demonic entities with a chance of success. During the Dark Ages, the Black Market and a few other groups offered new vibroblades to purchasers, although they were never very popular. Vibroblades were usually manufactured by the city of Iron Heart, and sold in enough numbers to make it profitable. The Coalition States ignored vibro-blade technology for literally decades, until the unvieling of the Canine Soldier program, where hand weapons that would not endanger civilians. The generation circuitry is only the size of a C-battery in width (3/4") and only 1/4" of an inch thick, no matter what the size of the field. The power conduit circuitry expands with the size of the blade, and the current known limit of the field is roughly 12 feet. Despite attempting to make the generation circuitry larger, it has been discovered that it makes no difference in the size of the field. Vibro-Axe: Used primarily in rescue operations, most of these have been lost or destroyed over the years, and currently very few organizations possess them. The energy field generation equipment is located in the central section of the handle, which is made of lightweight but military grade material. The lower section contains the capacitance gel and the kinetic charging system, allowing the axe to be recharged with a steady swinging motion (typically on the belt, or when worn across the back) in as little as 2 hours. The head is a solid wedge, with the field covering the edge of the axe. Roughly 40% of all vibro-axes are double-bitted axes, the rest having a pounding flat surface. Weight: 9 lbs Length: 1m Charge Length: 4 hours. Recharge Time (internal): 8 hours. Recharge Time (Charger): 2 hours Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 15 minutes Vibro-Knife A common fall back weapon, the vibro-knife contains the field generation circuitry, as well as the energy and capacitance gel compartment. The weapon is often used as a close in weapon by Juicers, MOM amplified soldiers, and as a weapon of silence or desperation by ground troops. Weight: 2.4 lbs Length: Blade: 6" Hilt: 4" Charge Length: 20 minutes. Recharge Time (internal): 4 hours. Recharge Time (Charger): 2 hours Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 30 min Vibro-Swords A useful weapon up close and personal, the vibro-saber has a side-effect of creating a gleaming silver blade, even on low power (which safely encases the blade in a field that does not cut or slash), which has made carrying a saber once again fashionable in officer circles. The blade's of NEMA military personnel are often engraved, usually with decorations referring to the branch of service or the Division, but some lifer officers had personal engravings on the blade. The hilt contains the self-charging system, the capacitance gel, as well as the field generation system. Saber: Weight: 7 lbs Length, Blade: 2 feet Length, hilt: 6 inches Charge Length: 1 hour. Recharge Time (internal): 4 hours. Recharge Time (Charger): 2 hours Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 1 hour Sword: Weight: 9 lbs Length, Blade: 3 feet Hilt: 9 inches Charge Length: 2 hours. Recharge Time (internal): 8 hours. Recharge Time (Charger): 4 hours Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 2 hours Giant Sword: Weight: 15 lbs Length, Blade: 7 feet Hilt: 2 feet Charge Length: 4 hours. Recharge Time (internal): 12 hours. Recharge Time (Charger): 6 hours Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 3 hours Vibro-Forearm Claws Designed by DARPA for Force XXII, and field tested by USSOCOM, vibro-forearm claws have seen use in many a covert operation. The field generated wraps around two extendable hooked claws, allowed the operative to quickly cut down trees, sabotage military equipment, and block vibro-weapon swipes. After the Rifts, these were largely unheard of, until the creation of the Psi-Hounds, which were rapidly armed with them. Length: 9 inches, 6 inches past fist. 8 inches long housing chamber Weight: 2.5 lbs. Charge Length: 4 hours. Recharge Time (internal): 4 hours. Recharge Time (Charger): 2 hours Recharge Time (Fast Charge): 15 minutes Charging Cradles Charging cradles are found in police/fire stations during the time of NEMA, and in military armories. These are designed to use the studs (thought by many to be merely decorative) on the end of the hilt to charge the capacitance gel. While normally a "trickle charge" is using to avoid ionizing the gel, they can be fast charged during an emergency. However, this has an 8% chance of ionizing the capacitance gel and rendering totally unable to hold a charge, or partially ionized so that power delivery is intermittent, or it only holds a partial charged, despite the fact it reads as ful
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Sep 28, 2014 03:16
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NEMA M-12 Automag (AMT) Pistol Designed by Colt Firearms Industry in 2068 to replace the aging light pistol currently in use by NEMA forces and the United States Military, the M-12 AMT is a masterful combination of third-generation plastics and lightweight but superstrong metals. This weapon has an active firing life of over a half-million rounds, thanks to high-tensile materials used in it's construction. In addition, barrel wear is limited, resulting in near perfect accuracy even years down the line. The weapon uses caseless rounds, and has built in recoil compensators, allowing for rapid and accurate firing, even if the weapon is submerged. In addition the ability to fire three round bursts is added on the military version and the NEMA version of this pistol, allowing for rapid firepower for a soldier or peacekeeper who is only left with his sidearm for defense. Soldiers and peacekeepers are trained to fire the weapon out to 80 meters unassisted (240 feet) and most police agencies train to fire to 65 meters unassisted. The high tensile materials allow for greater chamber compression, while the intregal recoil compensators allow for precision shooting at those ranges even when using the rapid fire mode. During field trials, this weapon performed admirably, the 10mm shell feeling "heavier" to users, and providing more knockback than the 9mm round, with only slightly less penetration, without the weight of the .45 round. The weapon itself is jet black, with a white mark on the rear of the front sight and two white dots on the two rear posts, allowing for increased precision. In addition the dots can be lit up for night use by rubbing them briefly with the thumb. The trigger is usually set to 5 lbs and the trigger guard is large enough to allow soldiers wearing military grade body armor the ability to fire the pistol without removing the bottom of the trigger guard. The bottom of the trigger guard can be removed to allow this pistol to be used by heavy cyborgs. The safety is usable from either side, making the pistol functional for both right and left handed soldiers In addition there is a grip safety that keeps the weapon from being fired unless someone is gripping it firmly, preventing the weapon from discharging when dropped or loosely held. The M-12 can also be modified depending upon the mission, including:
In addition to this, NEMA and the US Military have recently fielded APDS rounds, APDSFS rounds, and Solid Fuel Ring Penetrators for the M-12 combat pistol. Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot This allows the pistol to fire a hyper-velocity dart, mainly aimed at penetrating military grade body armor, as well as civilian knockoffs in the hands of insurgents, terrorists, or high tech criminals. These rounds do increased damage due to the hardened ammunition (usually a neo-tungsten dart) and the collected kinetic energy striking on such a small surface, allowing it to overcome next-generation ballistic weaves, nano-fluidic compensating armors, and limited thickness ballistic plates. However, they do less soft tissue damage due to lack of round fragmentation upon entering the body, as well as a more frequent "through and through" strike. In addition an APDS round does not have the same hydrostatic shock properties upon the human body as normal bullets. Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot Fin Stabalized This is essentially as above, except the "dart" has three micro-fins that cause the round to spin to stabalize its flight and allow for greater accuracy at a distance. Solid Fuel Ring Penetrators Misnomered as "Ramjet Rounds" this rounds area circular ring, the forward leading edge made of high tensile neo-carbide material, while the rear part of the shell is a "flight shell" that contains solid rocket fuel. This fuel is ignited by the high speed of the round, propelling the round further and faster, allowing it to penetrate armor better, as well as giving it increased range. Weight: 1.6 lbs Length: 7.5 inches Caliber: 10mm Maximum Range: 500m (1500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 200m (600 ft) Typical Combat Range: <50m (<150 ft) Magazine Capacity: 18 rounds, however 30 round extended clips exist
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Sep 28, 2014 03:16
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NEMA M-18 5.56mm Assault Rifle Based off the venerable M-16/M-4 series of rifles that appeared in use during the Mid-20th Century, this weapon was designed for NEMA forces by Heckler and Koch of Germany and manufactured in Harrisburg IL for use by NEMA exclusively. While the military had moved primarily to heavy grade weaponry, the need for small arms that could still be used in a modern urban setting without destroying the surrounding structures was still needed. Due to that need, NEMA began field trials in 2078, with the HK-104 winning out over Colt Industries by a narrow margin. The loss of this contract forced Colt to switch over to rail gun production, leaving behind the chemical small arms. The M-18 carried on the M-4's tradition of SOPMOD capability (Standard Operation Procedure MODification) of switchable parts, allowing units to tailor the weapon for squad operations, as well as deep strikes. H&K Also supplied the M-62 Magnetic Accelerator Supplmental System, allowing the weapon to fire hyper-velocity rounds that could penetrate light military grade body armor, along with the power pack. This allowed the M-12 to be used for nearly all duties, and allowed it to be fielded by NEMA in many different roles. With the addition of a 40mm grenade launcher, or a 12 gauge shotgun system, the hyper-kinetic system, as well as the bipod, the weapon was easy for NEMA forces in remote undeveloped areas to field. The M-18 is made of lightweight materials, much like the M-12 Automag, and benefits from this by having a longer service life, being lighter, more resiliant, and able to withstand shoddy or no maintenance. In addition H&K moved to the bullpup rotating bolt system to reduce recoil, even when using fully automatic, as well as caseless ammunition. The high cyclic rate of fire, low heat expansion difficulties, and lack of signifigant recoil has often led to this weapon, mounted on a bipod, being used as a light machinegun by desperate NEMA forces. M-62 Hyper Kinetic System This add-on is two parts, the first being laid over the barrel, like a heat shroud, and the second mounted on the buttstock. This uses accelleration U's to accellerate the fired round to massive speeds, enabling it to be used at a far distance (some US Army snipers reported that it was accurate at up to a mile) as well as giving it an addition punch necessary to overcome the protective properties of modern body armor. While this sleeve may seem as if it would be a cheap and easy fix for old weapons, it required special ammunition (iron or steel jacketed rounds) as well as having a limited power supply. Good for only roughly 50 shots/bursts before running out of energy. In addition the M-62 system, while it passed field trials, failed in practice during one of the UN peacekeeping missions.
While this weapon seems to be highly effective during field trials, soldiers in the field reported that the bullpup system was prone to misfiring, that the three round burst often jammed and caused the weapon to fire off an entire magazine, and that the caseless ammunition used left "significant residue" in the weapons interior. However, NEMA and the DoD, as well as H&K, claimed it was improper maintenance. During the Fall, the weapon often jammed due to volcanic ash getting into the work, the M-62 HKS would instantly be coated by microfine iron particles, and the bullpup system would often fail during firing, as more than 10,000 rounds were fired through the weapon. In addition, the weapon often suffered damage when handled roughly, making the weapon unusable when the trigger assembly broke, the buttstock broke, or the pistol grip snapped off. Most of these weapons vanished during the Apocalypse, although they occassionally turn up over mantepieces, in town halls, or in the possession of Squiddies. Weight: 6 lbs Length: 31 inches Caliber: 5.56mm Maximum Range: 2100m (6300 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 400m (1200 ft) (although the Marines train to 400m, the Army and NEMA train to 300m (900 ft)) Typical Combat Range: 100m (300 ft) Magazine Capacity: 32/48 round magazine, 144 round drum Cyclic Rate of Fire: 950 rounds per minute
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Sep 28, 2014 03:17
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I know I'm copying these off another board, and only doing minor formatting/spelling corrections, but this stuff is all stuff I did there, and I thought since the thread is largely dead anyway, I could post this stuff in here to either breathe life into it, or just share it with SA Rifts enthusiasts. Gotta run to the store for some stuff, but when I get back, I'll finish posting the rest of the stuff. Either way, I hope you enjoy it all.
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Sep 28, 2014 03:18
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PLP-20 Laser Pistol With the introduction of lightwieght armor that could be cheaply made, and the appearance of nearly military grade body armor in the hands of insurgents, terrorists, and organized crime syndicates, NEMA was in need of a standardized military grade weapons line. With the US and Canadian Military having already conducted field trials for heavy weaponry, NEMA was easily able to choose a manufacturer for their line of military grade hardware. The PLP-20 had been fielded for trial testing in 2058 by Litton Laser Research, a subsidiary of Litton/Intel Industries, but was not selected due to the weapon missing the ability to engage soft targets without vaporization of the target. However, it was a weapon able to handle the rigors of combat and easily met the needs of NEMA. The LLR made pistol was manufactured in Grass Valley CA, at the Litton/Intel plant, and Litton quickly built satellite plants in Mexico and Canada, to easily arm those militaries, bolster the local economy, and in accordance with the 2062 NAFTA protocols. Two changes were made in the standard PLP-20 for use by NEMA, this was the addition of a set of rails to the top and bottom of the pistol to allow various pistol modifications to be added to the weapon in accordance to mission need. The casing is made of lightweight molecularly bonded synthetic plastic, as developed by Dow Chemical, as well as molecularly bonded neo-tungsten for the casing. The fire selector lever is available on both the right and left side of the weapon, allowing ease of use for right and left handed firers, but the discovery that the trigger guard did not allow ease of use for troops wearing body armor resulted in the trigger guard being moved forward slightly to compensate, and the addition of a "pivot pin" set being integrated into the trigger guard to allow the trigger guard to be dropped to hang free so that it could be used by those in heavy body armor or heavy cyborgs. The crystal matrix used for laser focusing to provide a tight beam are 8-sided quartz crystals that have been factory laser cleaned to remove impurities. This provided free flow for the beam, as well as a non-degradable lasing matrix. Quartz crystal was chosen for its durability and resistance to damage when knocked around. The weapon has a 1.5cm aperture, giving it high damage capability with a tight wavelength allowing for excellent range without significant atmospheric degradation. The handgrip uses the time proven deformable plastic grips, which have proved reliable even when the wielder is wearing body armor, bare handed with a wet grip, or the weapon is heated due to extensive use. However, the grip pads are non-removable, which lowers the service life of this pistol. An after design mistake in the factory processing on the case resulted in the Auto-CAD program mistaking the front and rear sights as mold injection points and the sights being trimmed from the pistol during final finishing. The pistol is a dark-blue, non reflective finish that is heat bonded to the casing materials to ensure that the pistol does not reflect light during a covert operation. Common additions to the weapon are as follows:
The inclusion of a burst setting on this weapon has given it the punch needed to penetrate light security body armor with a pair of well placed shots, and as it has no recoil, each shot is more accurate than it would be in the case of chemical firearms. However field use has shown that on occasion the second or third laser "bolt" will be lower power than the other two, and extended us of the burst setting can cause microfractures in the crystal lasing matrix. After the Cataclysm, the use of this pistol increased geometrically, and was found to be useful against the smaller demons. However, the ash and the microfinecrystallines in the atmosphere seriously degraded the weapons range. In Rifts, possession of this pistol has resorted to hand me down status, but even so, there are many who purchase this pistol, as the casing is functionally identical to the Coalition States knock off version, while the pistol is more powerful than the Coalition States. Some pistols seem to have the ability to overcome laser resistant armor, although documentation on this being an official modification is lacking, the presence of variable frequency molycircs cannot be denied. One of the most well documented complaints regarding this pistol is the interface socket, allowing the weapon to be connected to power armor or portable power packs, has a tendency to come loose, the material used for conduction easily corrodes, or the socket breaks completely. Sometimes this results in plug insertion problems, intermittent power feeding, or damage to the internal power leads. Weight: 2.6 lbs Length: 7.25 inches Caliber: 1.25cm Maximum Range: 1500m (4500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 350m (1050 ft) Typical Combat Range: <50m (< 150 ft) Magazine Capacity: 21 shots/7 bursts for standard energy magazine, 168 shots/56 bursts with power pack.
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Sep 28, 2014 04:45
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MIP-21 "Crime Stopper" Ion Pistol Acknowledging that NEMA officers might find themselves in serious trouble when engaging crime cartels or weapons smuggling groups, NEMA officials decided that the agents would need a heavier pistol even before the equipment tables were decided upon. The US Army was fielding primarily laser weapons, with the same base damage capability as most laser weapons, as was the Canadian and Mexican militaries. However, the United States Marine Corps seemed to disdain lasers, and had moved to ion weaponry, as had US SOCOM and JSOC. The MIP-21 had been in use with US SOCOM since 2071, and was the "preferred" pistol of operators within the covert community. NEMA planners looked over hundreds of after action reports and found only three cases where the MIP-21 had failed under combat conditions, and all three could not have been reasonably expected to hold up under such grueling punishment as being run over by tank, struck by a rail gun round, and in one freak case, holed by a micro-meteorite. Produced by Shayden Energy LLC, the MIP-21 fired a packet of positively charged ions by stripping electrons from air molecules injected into the chamber and using a magnetic directional pulse to "fire" the packet of ions toward a target. The impact of this ion "bolt" would cause the electrons in the outer shells of the targeted materials to violently strip away as the ions within the charge tried to balance their electron valence bands. This caused the struck material to slough off with a loud, explosive noise as the molecular stabilization failed. This proved particularly useful against molecularly bonded armor as the molecular bonds failed when the atomic structure became unstable. Shayden Energy LLC built a total of eight factories for these weapons, each factory producing certain parts, with the primary assembly plant being in southern Mexico. This prevented shipment hijackings from making off with several thousand of these pistols. Used against a soft target, this ion "bolt" had devestating effects as the energy transfer from the target to the ions in the bolt resulted in superheating of cells, causing them to explode. This effect was often called "disruption" when used on soft targets, and the damage profile was easily recognizable. The pistol's chamber is fed by two small air injectors, which pressurize the chamber with air in order to give the ionization circuitry something to ionize without resulting in a 2-magazine system. At first a combination energy/ammunition clip was discussed, with copper molecules suspended in a plastic matrix being suggested, as copper easily gave up its electrons in the outer valence bands, but this was discarded as requiring the weapon to utilize special ammunition, something the NEMA equipment planners and Marine Corps wanted to avoid. The grip is hard plastic overlaid with soft plastic handsgrips that deform slightly to allow use by personnel wearing body armor, or when the naked hand is slick due to blood, water, oil, or other environmental hazards. The body itself is made up of synthetic plastics and neo-tungsten, and flash-colored a dark gray color. The handgrip is a light gray, and the sighting rail has a white dot on the rear. The trigger assembly was modified from a micro-switch to a pressure sensitive switch assembly, allowing an agent used to mechanical trigger assemblies to put pressure on the trigger without accidentally triggering the firearm. The trigger guard can be removed completely so the pistol can be used by troops in power armor as well as cyborgs, and is often bored out by NEMA armorers to allow personnel wearing body armor to have an easier time getting their finger into the trigger guard. The weapon was weighted under the grips in order to make it more balanced and improved accuracy, in addition the weapon contains recoil compensator as the weapon's magnetic compression/firing system causes a noticeable recoil. In low noise environments the hiss of the chamber injectors can be heard, as can the charging of the magnetic system's capacitors. This weapon can be used underwater, but the damage capacity of the weapon is highly variable, as water often contains more than just hydrogen and oxygen atoms. In addition, there have been reports of this weapon exploding as the electron stripping action encounters an unstable atom suspended in the water. Often, during underwater use, the weapon is fitted with a compressed air cylinder on the left side to provide air to the weapon without the worry of water getting into the injectors. The weapon was modified for burst fire for both the US Marine Corps, NEMA, and the Mexican Army. The burst setting does suffer from reduced accuracy due to the recoil inherent in the magnetic system During the Cataclysm, there was some concern that the weapon would misfire or jam due to the microfine ash, however the pistol operated just fine, with the slight exception of requiring cleaning more often. No increase in wear on the injectors was noticed. During Rifts these weapons are often found in a hand me down state, often well care for. The injectors are simple to remanufacture/clean, and late model combustion engine fuel injectors can be used to replace damaged or old injectors. The Coalition States considers this pistol to be a "legacy weapon" of those families who never sunk so low as to lose their heritage, and so the possession of this firearm, while technically a Class A Felony, is often ignored as long as the weapon has not been used in a crime.
The common illustration used for this weapon was misprinted, showing a weapon using a laser sight. Weight: 3 lbs Length: 7.9 inches Caliber: 2.5 cm Maximum Range: 1500m (4500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 250m (750 ft) Typical Combat Range: <50m (<150 ft) Magazine Capacity: 21 shots/7 bursts per magazine, 45 shots/15 bursts from an extended magazine, 147 shots/29 bursts from a power pack
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Sep 28, 2014 04:49
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LSR-250 Laser Rifle The US Military had made the change to Laser Weapons in 2032, however the laser rifle they used was restricted even to NEMA forces, due to the modular design, high damage capacity, state of the art systems, and sheer expense, forcing NEMA to look over the 2027 field trials for energy weapons. One weapon stood out in regards to accuracy and penetration factor, and that was the Litton/Intel LSR-250, which failed in field testing due to its inability to modified according to military mission needs. However, it was lightweight, energy conservative, accurate, and reliable. NEMA planners immediately contacted Litton/Intel about this weapon only to find out that the production run for field testing had been discontinued and the factory retooled to put out laser guidance systems for suborbital shuttles. However, due to an agreement that NEMA would offset the restart costs, including building factories, with the understanding that weapons produced at that plant would come at a reduced cost until NEMA recouped their investment +15%, Litton/Intel built manufacturing facilities in the Mexico Protectorate of Cuba in order to bring in more jobs and raise the standard of living in that nation. In addition the crystals were manufactured in a plant on the Yucatan Peninsula, and the synthetic plastic parts were manufactured in Canada. In 2081 the rifle began being mass-produced, and went through 3 years of field testing in order to make it serviceable and acceptable for deployment. Among the problems were poor laser cleaning of the focusing crystals, shoddily built power conduits (which were manufactured in Litton/Intel's Portland, OR facility), and faulty circuitry for fire control. It took nearly three years, instead of the typical 6 months, until the weapon was finally released to NEMA. However, the weapon they received was far superior to the design specifications they had originally delivered to Litton/Intel. The LRS-250 comes with an integral energy canister, giving the weapon improved battlefield endurance, as well as a built in multi-function scope, a standard energy clip insertion point, a built in sidecar laser targeting scope with variable frequency, a buttstock cleaning/emergency kit, and could handle heavy g-shocks, electro-magnetic pulses up to the 750W range, handle water submersion, and was usable in wildly varying climates, from -45 degrees F to 145 degrees F, as well as showing limited component heat wear after extended use under those conditions. The weapon uses 6 sided crystal matrix for laser focusing, with a 2.5 cm lens aperture. The crystal can be replaced by a trained operator in under 12 seconds under field conditions if it should be damaged, and the weapon can often compensate for a damaged crystal and put out a decreased energy bolt, but fire all the same. The casing is a flat gray, with light gray pistol grips. The pistol grip has a plasticized compression grip, allowing the weapon to be used by those in armor or cyborgs, and includes a magnetic sub-plate, allowing ease of use and tight grip by power armor soldiers or agents in armor that have magnetic grip capability. The pistol grip can be easily detached and in case of emergency can be replaced with the grip from the MIP-21 or the PLP-20 when emergency field repairs are needed. The energy canister contains heavy impact shielding, as well as a significant amount of capacitance gel. However, the gel is susceptible to ionization, much like vibro-weapons, so the ability to quick charge the canister has been disabled by inline current governors. The forward grip is a light, deformable synthetic plastic, that allows the weapon to be tightly held to increase accuracy, The grip can have a bipod locked onto the front of it in order to increase weapon stability for long range shots or laser target designation. The fire selection lever can be operated from either side, allowing ease of use by right and left handed firers. In addition, due to a data sheet printing error, the rifle has the capability to engage soft targets and non-hardened targets without the massive damage that the two primary settings inflict. However, there is no annotation on the weapon itself, rather there is a slight click between safe and low power, so the weapon can be fired to cause only minor damage. The pulse setting was repeatedly attempted to be implemented, but due to the 6 sided crystal matrix of synthetic ruby, the weapon was unable to benefit from rapid bursts as the ionization of the crystal did not dissipate fast enough. The sight, mounted on the upper rear, is built into the weapon. It provides UV/IR/Nightvision, and magnification up to 10X normal vision. In addition, use of the IR2 setting allows the laser designator to be seen only by the user of the scope, the modulating frequency of the laser targeter automatically matched by the scope, preventing flickering or just plain not being seen. The laser targeting scope, mounted on the side of the barrel, has three selections: IR1/IR2/LD. IR1 is a standard visible spectrum laser that places a dot where the bolt will hit. IR2 is a modulating frequency IR beam that will rapidly disappear and flicker to viewers using IR, but remains in sight via the scope on the rifle. LD is the laser designator, providing a beam that laser guided munitions can easily follow. The "slave ports" that allow the weapon to be attached to a belt carried power pack or power armor exist on both sides of the weapon, allowing for ease of use by right or left handed shooters, but cannot be put in to use together, as the computer control circuitry overrides and locks out one port until the other is no longer receiving a charge. However, many long range operatives will hook each port to separate belt packs, allowing the weapon to be fired without reloading times when the first pack runs out of energy. The buttpack contains two space focusing crystals, tools needed to disassemble the weapon, disposable wipes for wiping down circuitry, a wire saw, the bipod (folded up), and is where extra lens caps for both the barrel and the scope are stored. During the Cataclysm, this weapon was often shelved in order for soldiers to carry weapons providing more firepower, however this weapon often remained in service with snipers and recon patrols, as its high accuracy and durability (It was actually designed to work in areas suffering volcanic activity!) made it a reliable and powerful weapon. In Rifts Earth, this weapon is seen as another "legacy weapon" that the CS turns a blind eye toward. This weapon can often be found in rural farms, in an abandoned building, or found in an arms cache from the Cataclysm days. Squiddies are very fond of this rifle, as they were armed with it when they joined the NEMA cause. Some units replace the 6-sided synthetic ruby with a 6 sided synthetic emerald for underwater work, and still others replace the ruby with 8 sided synthetic ruby crystal lattices, giving it comparable firepower to the LGR-360 and only increasing the weight by 2 ounces. Weight: 5 lbs Length: 39.6" Caliber: 2.5 cm Maximum Range: 2500m (7500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 1000m (3000 ft) Typical Combat Range: 450m (1350 ft) Magazine Capacity: 21 shots light/10 heavy shots via standard magazine, 36 light shots/15 heavy shots via extended magazine, internal canister provides 120 light shots or 75 heavy shots, belt power pack provides 168 light shots or 84 heavy shots.
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Sep 28, 2014 04:55
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LGR-360 Laser Grenade Rifle While the US and Canadian military used modular designs for their combat rifles, NEMA chose to simply add in a heavy rifle with indirect fire capabilities built into the weapon rather than field the modular system. Many members of NEMA were not in fact military, but instead police officers, SWAT specialists, intelligence agents, and firemen, despite the name "Northern Eagle Military Alliance". The organization was tasked with fighting terrorists, responding to hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions (including the famed Mexico City Eruption of 2041). Modular weapon systems take extensive training and practice, and NEMA chose to forgo that in favor of a heavy weapon that only select members of a fire team would need to be trained on. The initial choice of NEMA was the Dow/Chrysler Laser Fusion Systems Rifle, but field tests showed that a sharp impact on the fusion containment system would cause the magnetic bottle to fail, often with catastrophic results (six NEMA Future Warfighter Program testers were killed in less than 30 days from fusion bottle ruptures) and so the weapon was dropped from the program, despite the heavy damage output from the weapon and it's extended battlefield endurance. The LFS was sold to Peruvian military forces, who added in a failsafe feature to the micro-fusion plant, but the weapon still had the disconcerting habit of detonating at times for reasons unknown. Out of the field tests, a 2 year exercise in which hundreds of NEMA Future Warfighter Program testers used the weapons in every environment imaginable and under extreme conditions that were often accused of only existing in the minds of the testing directors (Which later would become the defacto battlefield of Chaos Earth), resulted in the Litton/Gerber LGR-360 Laser Rifle/Grenade Launcher combination being chosen for use. The forward frame is manufactured at the Gerber Canada Ontario plant, the lower receiver is manufactured in central Mexico, with the laser crystals being manufactured in the Dominican Republic, and the circuitry manufactured at the Litton Grass Valley plant as well as the Gerber Corpus Christi plant. The weapon is assembled at the Litton/Gerber manufacturing plant on the Baja California Peninsula. The LGR-360 is a sturdy and reliable weapon, able to function after repeated abuse and with minimal maintenance, even under the harshest conditions. (Including the famed subarctic volcanic eruption test that washed out roughly 80% of the contenders) The frame and moving parts are made up of synthetic plastics and lightweight molecularly bonded alloys, with all moving parts surfaces coated with Nu-Teflon alloy in order to lower wear on the grenade launcher parts. The frame is a dark gray, with light gray grips. The buttstock contains the standard maintenance compartment containing the buttkit that allows the user to maintain it under field conditions without needing the services of a unit armorer for minor repairs. The sight lenses have non-reflecting coating to avoid "lens flash" during covert situations, and the sight is much more studier than it looks, capable of withstanding up to a 9G shock, or a direct impact by small arms fire without failing. (In one instance a counter-sniper using a chemical firearm shot at the teams sniper, hitting the lens, and not even scratching it) The underslung grenade launcher has an internal magazine capable of holding 7 30mm micro-grenades, and although NEMA doctrine frowns on it, many operatives carry the weapon with a grenade loaded into the chamber, bringing to total rounds carried by the weapon to eight. However, the grenade launcher is known to misfire upon receiving a hard jolt, and more than report of the weapon going off when dropped, or when an operative dove to the prone position and the weapon struck the ground sharply. NEMA Directive 97564-A specifically forbids the weapon to be carried with a grenade loaded into the chamber. The buttstock is the common collapsible version, able to adjust within a six inch space, extending it as far as 3 inches beyond normal setting to three inches shorter. When stored in a weapons rack, the buttstock is always compressed to its shortest length. Behind the sight, on the top of the weapon, is an access panel that allows the weapon to be hooked into a smart frame firing system, as well as be linked to a power pack or power armor power port. In addition a unit armorer can change the frequency of the laser rifle manually via this access panel. In addition the weapon can have the variable frequency circuitry added into the weapon via this access port, of course the manual adjustment circuitry and the smartframe interface chipsets have to be removed. In addition to this a cable can be run from the panel to a soldier's HUD interface socket in order to use a suit of armor's HUD to assist in targeting. The scope itself provides passive nightvision, IR, UV, telescopic sighting, indirect firing angle assistance, rangefinder, and variable IR vision. In addition the scope selector function can be used via button on top of the scope, trigger tap, eyelid blinking selection, or armor HUD interlink. The indirect fire assistance is used by setting the crosshairs over a target and selecting it, then selecting 30mm grenade launcher. The onboard computer will compute the firing angle, and show the angle in the scope. Once the weapon is lifted to the correct angle, a tone will sound within the user's helmet, or the sight picture will flash a "LOCKED" LED in the upper right corner. The Variable IR is for use with the laser target designator, where the IR beam rapidly cycles through frequencies to avoid being seen by enemy soldiers equipped with IR vision enhancement. The scope is automatically synched to the variable IR targeter, allowing the user to use the beam without any difficulty. When attached to a helmet HUD, the firer may use any fire support systems in the armor to assist targeting with the weapon. In addition, the sight picture can either be placed in front of the eyes, or in the upper corner of the HUD, allowing the user to extend the weapon over/around cover and get an accurate sight view of what the terrain is, or the actions of enemy personnel without exposing themselves. The grenade launcher is a 30mm grenade launcher, with an integral magazine that can contain up to seven grenades. The grenades are loaded into the clip from the bottom of the launcher, with the cocking mechanism in the forward position. The weapon reloads with a manual cocking mechanism much like 20th Century shotguns. This system has shown to be easily fouled by volcanic ash if care is not taken to clean the system regularly. One design flaw allows the grenades to be loaded backwards by inattentive operators, and this flaw was corrected in the A1 series released in 2087, in addition to an after-factory modification kit allowing the problem to be fixed at a unit armorer level. The grenade launcher uses the same safety mechanism and trigger as the laser rifle portion. The 30mm grenades are electrically fired rounds containing chemical propellant in solid form, negating the existence of spent shell casings. However, if the weapon is loaded improperly, the grenade fires into the rifle itself, often detonating the energy clip as well as destroying the weapon in a hail of shrapnel. However, in 2089 the grenades were modified for a heavier payload, the removal of the propellant, and are fired via magnetic acceleration, this A2 version had only replaced 60% of the in use stock by the time of the Cataclysm. However, not all units went to the A2, as the grenade launcher could not be used without an energy source, and each grenade launch used up a single shot worth the energy. The laser focusing matrix is synthetic diamond, "grown" in an 8-sided crystal and laser "cleaned" of doping elements within the crystal. Use does degrade due to firing, and has an estimated life of 125,000 shots before degradation of the focusing crystal begins to affect the weapon's performance. However, the scope does signal that the crystal is starting to decay by flashing a yellow LED in the lower right of the scope picture. The crystal can be replaced in under 15 seconds by a trained operator under battlefield conditions. The weapon can be set to burst setting, however the burst setting puts additional wear on the crystal focusing matrix. The burst setting allows time for ionized air in front of the weapon from degrading the following laser "bolts" by allowing a split second for ionization to dissipate. The LGR-360 also has a flange on the bottom of the handgrip that was overlooked in standard datasheets. This flange allows the weapon to be hooked into power armor or smartframe equipped mounts and the combat computer of either one to use the scope for additional data. Additionally, the trigger assembly can be slid forward to lock onto the "clip" just to the rear of the magazine well so that the weapon can be used by heavy cyborgs or power armor troopers. The buttkit contains a cleaning kit, 1 extra focusing crystal, tools to disassemble the weapon, a small camouflage net to camouflage the weapon, as well as a plastic sheeting to protect the weapon's optics during sand storms. One of the noted problems with this weapon, in addition to the problems with the grenade launcher, is that the fire selector is only on the left side of the weapon, making it more difficult to use for left handed firers. Additionally the weapon often becomes stuck in one firing mode or the other after approximately 6 months of service, and often after 12 months of service (without proper maintenance and service) the weapon has a tendency to "stick", with burst fire mode producing fully automatic fire until the energy source is depleted. In very rare cases it fires a solid lasing "beam" until either the focusing crystal shatters or the energy source is depleted. Variants: LGR-360A3 This weapon possesses a canister energy cell like the one mounted on the LSR-250, however it was contracted for production in 2097 and less than 15% of NEMA forces have been equipped with these upgraded variants. The addition of the canister cell adds 1.25 lbs to the weapon's weight. During Chaos Earth and the Second Dark Ages, this weapon was a mainstay of combat forces. Regular maintenance kept down the "lasing problem" and grenades were easily manufactured. In Rifts Earth this is considered a legacy weapon, however the Coalition States demands that the grenade launcher and the burst fire mode of the weapon be deactivated and registered as such with the databases. This weapon is often found in ruins, in caches, and in the New West, and is considered a steady and reliable weapon, although often the variable frequency circuitry is missing, as well as the mounting data-flange being missing. Weight: 7 lbs (unloaded) 7.3 lbs (loaded) 8.1 lbs (with grenades) Length: 40.14" Caliber: 2.75cm/30mm Maximum Range: 2000m/500m (6000/1500 ft)(grenade launcher-propellant rounds) or 750m (2250 ft)(grenade launcher-magnetic launching) Maximum Effective Range: 750m/300m (2250 ft/900 ft) (grenade launcher-propellant) or 500m (1500 ft)(grenade launcher-magnetic launching) Typical Combat Range: 450m (1350 ft) Magazine Capacity: 420 low power/21 single blasts/6 bursts from eclip, 630 low power shots/ 31 single shots/9 bursts from an extended e-clip, internal canister provides 2000 low power shots/100 single blasts/33 bursts, belt power pack provides 3000 low power shots/147 single shots/49 bursts. The grenade launcher holds 7 in the magazine (9 for the A2)
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Sep 28, 2014 05:00
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PR-470 Plasma Rifle After the 2054 "Panama Canal Incident" NEMA realized it was going to have go against public opinion and politicians promises and start to field heavy weaponry that could take down armored vehicles and power armor. The Ugandan Liberation Front had nearly overwhelmed the NEMA peacekeeping task force stationed at the Panama Canal with two "Hyena" power armors (Nigerian knock-off's of the NEMA Bulldog) despite the fact that the Ugandan terrorists were outnumbered 250 to 1. A call was put out to manufacturers to showcase various weapons, and the NEMA Future Warfighter Program was reopened. After testing ended in 2057, three weapons had been chosen to expand the NEMA arsenal despite public outcry against the NEMA "anti-terrorist/peacekeepers" possession military grade heavy weaponry. The three weapons performed admirably until the late 2070's, when again the Future Warfighter Program began field testing replacement weapons. The PR-470 is joint manufactured by Pontiac and Regal Arms. The compression and magnetic components are produced by Regal Arms at three factories, one in northern Mexico, one in Alberta, Canada, and one in South Carolina, America. The frame and electronic components are produced by Pontiac at their factory in Detroit. The weapon is assembled in Florida and Ciduad Juarez. In 2081 the PR-470A2 was chosen to be the next generation plasma weapon, with an upgrade available for the venerable PR-470 plasma rifle, allowing NEMA to cheaply and effectively upgrade and keep NEMA armories containing a standard weapon. As an additional bonus, troops and agents trained on the PR-470 system would not need to be retrained, doctrine would not need to be altered, and the support systems for the twenty year old weapon would not need to be replaced. The PR-470 functions by ionizing the air within the chamber, and then magnetically compressing the ionized gas (ie: plasma) until compression massively heats up the ionized gas, usually to temperatures in excess of 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the gas is ionized, heated, and compressed, electrons are added to the gas, positively charging the atoms, which are already in a state of flux, and making the plasma more effectively effected by magnetic fluxes. Once that occurs, the magnetic bottle "ruptures" and the plasma is jettisoned in the direction of the "rupture". Once the ball of superheated ionized charged matter (commonly referred to as plasma) strikes an object, the massive transfer of heat and electrons results in most solid matter turning to liquid, liquids vaporizing, and gas being torn into its component atoms. The PR-470 has a lightweight and sturdy frame made out of advanced polymers and alloys that can resist heat transfer from the plasma creation process, as well as not be effected by magnetics. The frame has a built in bipod system at the bottom front of the weapon. Despite the complexity of the weapon, the PR-470 proved to be more reliable than initial estimates thought. However, the forward magnetic guidance rings had a tendency to lose superconductivity after more than 20 plasma blasts, resulting in the assistant operator having to replace the rings, often under fire and in bad conditions, or risk the plasma liberating into the end of the barrel. However, this problem was fixed in 2059 with the A1 series, and the upgrade quickly applied to existing PRC-470's. The scope provides laser targeting (necessary for the correct computations regarding the plasma blast), telescopic vision, passive night vision, IR, VIR, UV, and active night vision. However, the first runs of the PR-470 did not provide flare compensation, so that a shot from the weapon overloaded the optics for critical seconds (3-12 seconds). This was quickly fixed in 2058, and the scope was replaced. The Variable IR targeting laser is often used by another soldier to "laze" a target for the PR-470 operator to shoot. Typically a forward scout will identify hardened targets or military grade vehicles/armor, and laze the target. In order to confirm the target, the designator will be rapidly turned off and on (or "flickered") with the VIR targeting laser, and the PR-470 operator locks onto the end of the beam and fires. In teams with multiple PR-470's, often only the team leader will laze a target, with the rest of the team using the team leaders VIR beam to lock onto. The energy canister is usually utilized by all PR-470 operators, with spares carried in a hip satchel, as the weapon is a known voracious energy consumer. The A2 addressed the energy consumption problem and actually managed to decrease the energy usage by 25%. Use of the bipod is suggested whenever it is possible, as the weapon has a forcible kick (often referred to as the equivalent of being kicked in the chest), to reduce recoil and improve accuracy. The weapon is often mounted on vehicle ring mounts, used in static defenses, carried by power armor troops or cyborgs, or used in a gryo-stabalization harness. The PR-470 has seen limited deployment by NEMA, however most NEMA armories contain at least 1 of these weapons per combat squad, and one per three power armors. While this weapon can be hooked into power armor power supplies, the fact that it produces a sudden loss of power for moment (.25 seconds) is enough to discourage all but the most confident pilots from using the power interlink. During Chaos Earth and Second Dark Ages, this heavy weapon saw a lot of use. However, not many survived longer than 3 years of operation, the problem with loss of superconductivity in the magnetic acceleration rings rearing its ugly head and rendering the weapon useless at best, dangerous to the operators at worst. (Reports have been confirmed of the plasma blast liberating the barrel, or backflowing into the chamber) Rifts Earth this weapon is considered highly illegal in CS territory, but is occasionally found on the Black Market. Once in a great while one will be found in a cache, or in the ruins of a city. Possession of this weapon in CS Territory is a Class A Felony. On Rifts Earth the weapon is often repaired by local weaponsmiths and returned to service for some town militias, put in use by mercenary units, or carried by cyborgs. Most of the time the CS claims that the weapon is NOT a NEMA weapon, but rather a black market knockoff of their own plasma rifle. Weight: 8lbs Length: 48" Caliber: 4.5cm Maximum Range: 550m (1650 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 500m (1500 ft) Typical Combat Range: 400m (1200 ft) Magazine Capacity: A1-5 shots with e-clip, 7 shots with an extended e-clip, 15 with e-canister, 85 with power pack; A2 7 shots per e-clip, 19 shots with extended e-clip, 21 shots with canister, 47 shots with power pack (the 147 is a datasheet misprint). All three power sources may be combined.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:05
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PR-476 Plasma Cannon In 2095 Pontiac and Regal Arms put forth a design to NEMA Future Warfighter Program officials, showcasing a new plasma "cannon" that had been turned down by the US military, which was using the GM version. The new design has several advancements in compression, including the ability to rapidfire and carry missiles without concern of heat migration along the frame. For the next year, NEMA Future Warfighter field tested the weapon, and was delighted with its performance. While front heavy and somewhat unwieldy, the weapon performed stellarly when used by armor pilots, as well as making an excellent vehicle mounted weapon or static defense weapon. In addition to improvements in power usage, compression times (brought down from 1 second per compression to less than 1/10th of a second), range, and the inclusion of a "minimum range" for the use of the weapon, the weapon also featured less moving parts, lack of "compression/launching" rings (a major improvement), and more accurate targeting. To top it off, the weapon was cheaper than the PR-470 by 15%, a savings that would allow more of these weapons to be placed into the NEMA table of organization and equipment. The weapon was approved for distribution for fiscal year 2098, with the first weapons being delivered November 2097 with the intention of retiring the venerable but problematic PR-470 plasma rifle, or at least supplementing units firepower with the new weapon. The PR-476 is manufactured by Regal Arms and Pontiac Security Technologies (Best known to NEMA and the public for the MX-366 and MX-422 combat vehicles). Factories that previously produced the PR-470 were retooled in less than 30 days by Pontiac and Regal Arms after running off several million batches of space parts for the old PR-470 and delivering them to NEMA for stockpiling. The compression and magnetic components are produced by Regal Arms at three factories, one in northern Mexico, one in Alberta, Canada, and one in South Carolina, America. The frame and electronic components are produced by Pontiac at their factory in Detroit, while the missile launching and targeting system was produced by Pontiac in their eastern Washington facility. The weapon is assembled in Florida and Ciduad Juarez. The weapon creates plasma as per the PR-470, but creates lighter "plasma packets" that are compressed further. While this lowers the damage capacity of the weapon, this process allows faster plasma "bolt" generation, as well as reducing wear on the electromagnetic systems of the weapon. Next generation synthetic plastics and neo-carbide construction minimizes heat migration, something that the PR-470 suffered from, as well as decreasing launcher cool down times by eliminating the barrel. The electronic components are well insulated and do not suffer from errors due to excessive heat transfer. This allowed the range to be increased beyond that of the PR-470, both the maximum range and the maximum effective range. The casing consists of three pieces. The left half of the weapon, the right half of the weapon, and the boxy scope that extends from the side. The sight can be locked into position on either side, or above the weapon, as chosen by the wielder. This minimizes the amount of debris or dust that can enter the weapon (another problem with the old PR-470) and affect the components are reduce accuracy. The mini-missile launcher incorporates the MISTLETOE guidance system, allowing the user of the weapon to lock onto a vehicle and track it, guiding the weapon into the vehicle. With the inclusion of the laser targeting system, the operator can make pinpoint strikes with the missile or the plasma bolt to enemy vehicles, structures, and armors. The lower shoulder brace can be swung to either side, allowing the user to shoot from the hip, often looking down onto the targeting screen. The sensors for the targeting system are located at the front of the weapon, allowing the user to move the targeting system output screen to any needed angle without losing sight of the target. In addition the system can be remote fired, the missile homing in on a secondary beam locked into the targeting system by the controller, and the plasma "bolts" firing by a simple order, allowing the system to be used as a remote ambush weapon, or hooked into a smartframe to provide automated ambushes. The scope utilizes IR/VIR/UV/Passive nightvision, as well as telescopic, a thermo imager, and a rangerfinder. The "scope" is a boxy looking attachment that actually contains advanced computer support. A vehicle or area can be "locked on" via profile, thermal signature, or "lazed" to provide a missile lock. In addition, the scope can sight other variable laser targeters in order to allow the operator to fire over an obstacle with the missiles launcher, and the missile will lock onto the designated beam and follow it to the target. In addition the combat programs will pinpoint known weaknesses in identified power armors and robot power armors, so that the operator can lock in that section, or a gunner's assistant can "laze" and the weapon will strike at that area. Additionally, the weapon will not fire plasma bursts or missiles at targets below the minimum range. The read section has both a data flange, as well as the ammunition port (top) and the power lead (bottom). However, there have been reports that copper was substituted for gold on the power connector leads, resulting in corrosion that may prevent the weapon from behind connected to an outside power source due to corrosion debris or pitting on the connecting ring. Most units have replaced the copper or gold rings with superconductor rings, and Regal Arms is looking into where the "error" is occurring. (Rumor states that Regal Arms intends on prosecuting whoever is replacing the rings with substandard parts) The weapon can handle heavy G shocks, surviving repeated 8.5G shocks, as well as being unaffected by weather or airborne debris. Additionally the wielder can add in a energy canister by removing either side (there are 2 energy canister cradles, one per side) and placing the canister inside. If the weapon contains one or more energy canisters, it can be hooked to an external power supply and the canisters charged at the rate of 4 hours per canister. While the missile launcher can handle any type of missile, manufacturer recommendation is for Regal Arms smart missiles only, and plasma missiles at that. Weight: 12 lbs Length: 38" Caliber: 4.5 cm/5" (rockets) Minimum Range: 25m/50m (75 ft/150 ft) Maximum Range: 625 m/2 miles (1875 ft/2 miles) Maximum Effective Range: 550m/1mile (1650 ft/1 mile) Typical Combat Range: 400m/1 mile (1200 ft/1 mile) Magazine Capacity: 10 shots/3 bursts per e-clip, 13 shots/4 bursts per extended e-clip, 21 single shots/7 bursts per canister, 65 single shots/21 bursts per power pack. (The original datasheet was in error)
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Sep 28, 2014 05:08
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GLR-540 When the North American Alliance Pact of 2035 was signed into reality and NEMA was created on paperwork, the fledgling NEMA began looking for weapons and armor to field. Stockton Weapons Development fielded an unusual entry to the Future Warfighter Program in 2037 (When NEMA was still deciding on what weapons/armor/etc to use alliance-wide) for the heavy weapons entry. While other companies were offering prototype railguns, laser rifles, ion blasters, and particle beam projectors, SWD offered a modification on the old Ripple Effect LLC XRGL-40, this time reducing the grenade size to 30mm from the old 40mm, using synthetic plastics and hyper-alloys to reduce weight and increase frame strength. The move to 12mm grenades allowed the weapon to carry 60 in the revolving magazine rather than the old 6 round cylinder. In addition, SWD made the magazine removable, rather than the old magazine, which required an operator to hand load the shells one at a time, moving the cylinder for each chamber. The new version could be reloaded by removing the magazine, opening up the back of the magazine, and placing the grenades in nose first. The weapon was showcased using a variety of munitions, mostly 30mm remakes of the old 40mm cartridges still in use by the US Army and the US Marine Corps. The weapon proved capable of taking on light armored vehicles, hardened enemy structures, and disrupting troop formations. Despite the snickers of manufacturers showcasing high tech still in prototype phase weaponry, SWD (owned by two brothers from Stockton CA and their college friend who was interning at NASA, who built the prototype weapon in their garage and ordered the prototype ammunition from a Russian munitions producer, and had the prototype weapon manufactured by a friend in NASA) won the contract within 3 months, while the other weapons were still in controlled environment testing. SWD immediately purchased an abandoned cannery in San Francisco, an old steel mill in South Dakota, a shoe factory in Chicago, and an old foundry in Maine, as well as two old Mexican canneries, an old whaling station in Canada, and an empty tract of land in the outback of Canada. They quickly leveraged their military contract into several hundred million in cash loans, and retooled the factories to produce the weapons, and build 2 factories that produced nothing but 30mm grenades. Within 6 months of receiving the contract, NEMA received their first shipment of 250,000 grenades and 12,500 grenade launchers. When it was discovered that NASA advanced material labs were used to produce the six GLR-540's that were entered into the Future Warfighter contest, a litigation against the three owners of SWD by NASA. However, NEMA stepped in and shut down the lawsuit, citing NASA's failure to launch a NEMA specific GPS system into orbit as breech of their contract that would be overlooked if the lawsuit was dropped, sweetening the deal by offering NASA a 5.5% cut of the payments. Seeing the possibility for millions of dollars a year to be added into the anemic NASA budget, when the brothers admitted fault and upped the percentage to 12.5% NASA signed onto the deal. The GRL-540 is a sturdy weapon, which somewhat takes the brute force "if ain't broke don't fix it" attitude toward the weapon. It is virtually indistinguishable from earlier magazine fed grenade launchers, with the exception of the smaller caliber. The shroud around the 30mm barrel is an advanced polymer heat shroud, enabling the user to balance/steady the weapon by holding onto the barrel. The topside handle can be detached, and is also used as the tool to open the magazine for loading. The weapon is often carried on a sling by operators, and despite the weight is often issued in remote rural areas. The pistol grip is easily interchangeable with the grip on a laser rifle, the fire selector switch is operable from either side of the weapon, and the mechanical sight performs well even under the worst conditions. Some versions were mounted on vehicles and converted to fully automatic to give rural NEMA forces an additional punch without having to resort to military grade heavy weaponry. The GLR-540A1 was submitted in 2055, which now included a laser rangefinder and computer assisted targeting angle software. The weapon still used caseless solid chemical fuel launching, despite many companies moving the magnetic acceleration. This prevented the weapon from showing up as an energy source or source of peaking EM radiation. During the test a squad of gyroharness wearing soldiers armed with the GLR-540A1 were able to hide behind a hill and blow a Chromium Guardsman apart before it could engage them, solidifying the contract for SWD. In 2084 the company submitted the munition it took them 30 years to finally get working right. A 30mm rocket capable of trajectory adjustment and limited gliding. This revolutionary rocket was capable of performing top down attacks, perform terminal guidance, and be lazed in by forward spotters. NEMA leaped on the munition like starving wolves, but before more than a few thousand could be manufactured the Free Canada Separatists terrorist organization blew up the Canadian plant, destroying the technical specifications of the munition, the three owners (who were the company's driving force), and 12 NEMA officials visiting the plant. Sadly, most of the 12mm rockets were used in the early days of the Cataclysm, and none remain. The GLR-540A4, which contains only minor changes, which include official automatic fire selection, a vehicle mounting point, and a scope that could be used unpowered, or powered to provide VIR sighting. During the Cataclysm and the Second Dark Ages, a couple of the factories were brought online and restarted, producing this weapon enmasse. Ammunition was hardly a problem, as there were literally billions of rounds in storage. Post Rifts, this weapon disappeared for ages, until being brought back by Iron Heart Industries, who claim that they researched and developed it, when in reality that unearthed one of SWD's old plants. Weight: 7 lbs (empty), 10 lbs (6-round drum), 36 lbs (loaded-60 round mag) Length: 30.3" Caliber: 30mm Maximum Range: 1200m (3600 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 800m (2400 ft) Typical Combat Range: 400m (1200 ft) Magazine Capacity: 6 for a mini-drum, 60 for a heavy support drum. I upgraded the stats to reflect real world weaponry. See M-32 MGL and check the ranges, weight, and other data. 30mm Rounds Sadly, the 30mm rocket is lost, but the following are standard rounds still in production. LE-Low Explosive:This grenade uses low explosive, mostly to use it against non-hardened vehicles and structures. HE-High Explosive: This is the standard thought of round, a simple high explosive round that produces almost no shrapnel, but instead kills and injures and causes damage via direct contact with a high explosive. HEDP-High Explosive Dual Purpose: This round is a high explosive core surrounded by notched wire wound around the core, and an engraved steel jacket. This round provides high explosive damage as well as massive shrapnel to a 30 foot radius. HEAT-High Explosive Anti-Tank, this one contains a micro-explosively forged penetrator and can penetrate up to 1.5 inches of modern hyperalloy armor. APERS-Antipersonell: This is basically a 12mm shotgun shell Stun: A common riot control round, this is a beanbag round intended on stunning rather than killing. Initial tests with rubber bullets showed they had a 15% chance of killing at target, with an 80% chance of killing those struck in the head or small children. Flare Cluster: This fires 2-5 parachute flares that burn for 60 seconds. Usually used to illuminate a battlefield. IR and UV flares are available. WP Smoke-White Phosphorous smoke is still under debate on whether or not it is a chemical weapon, but NEMA could care less. White phosphorous burns at a high temperature to produce thick clouds of noxious smoke, the WP continuing to produce smoke for as long as 10 minutes. Smoke- Normal smoke rounds come in green, red, white, yellow, purple, blue, and orange. They produce smoke for 5 minutes. HC Smoke-High Concentrate Smoke: This High Concentrate smoke is capable of defeating thermovision systems, as well as being nearly impossible to penetrate with radar due to high vaporized metal content. However, this round is suspected of causing lung damage. Microcrystal Suspension Mist: A revolutionary idea from SWD, the micro-crystal grenades erupts in a spray of fine mist, each droplet containing two of more small micro-prism that scatter and defuse laser beams, drastically reducing their effectiveness. Lawsuits from the Mexico City WTO riots claim that the microcrystals cause extensive lung damage, and even death from lung hemorrhages/heart damage. Microcrystals will stay in the air for up to 4-5 minutes. Chaff: Useful for modern warfare, the chaff grenade detonates and scatters ultra-fine mylar fibers cut to specific wavelengths to cause a solid mass to appear on radar, as well as scatter the radar beams. Chaff clouds stay in place, slowly drifting downwards, for up to 30 minutes, however breeze, wind, or an explosion can scatter it into uselessness. Illum- A standard illumination grenade, it drifts slowly downward and burns quite brightly. It will illuminate a 500m radius for 15 minutes.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:11
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ML-557 Mini-Missile Rifle With the addition of combat cyborgs to the NEMA forces in the years following the Congo/Sudanese War of 2058 (One of NEMA's toughest challenges as world peacekeepers in the early years) NEMA once again opened the Future Warfighter Program in order to develop heavy weapons for the powered armor soldiers, cyborgs, and other amplified humans. Field testing on weapons was done for over 3 years before the Program authorized three total weapon systems to be fielded for cyborgs and power armor soldiers. The ML-557 Mini-Missile "Rifle" (Known as the ML-557 Magazine Fed Light Rocket System in military circles) was submitted to the 2060 Future Warfighter Program by Madson-Lenski Missile Armament LLC, which normally produced the missile systems and munitions for NEMA, and alliance militaries. MLMA LLC had also won the contracts to supply micro and mini-missiles to the US, Canadian, and Mexican military, which gave them an influx of cash to expand their R&D projects, in addition to already having mini-missile designs to submit to NEMA. By utilizing prototype synthetic plastics, ultralight composites, and alloys that possessed extremely low heat transfer properties, as well as a "cold" blowback system and a tight ECCM package built into the weapon. The weapon also came standard with a bipod, vehicle mounting point, laser designator, optical guidance system, and a multi-function sight. Surprisingly the entire package was wrapped up with a 65 KCr price tag, making it highly affordable. (MLMA-LLC planned on making the money on their line of miniaturized smart missiles that their R&D was designing, not the weapon itself) Surprisingly enough, this weapon proved rugged, durable, and not prone to damage when used in high stress environments by power armor clad soldiers or cyborgs (which often showed a tendency to break handgrips due to the sheer force, usually measured in the tons, that their hands could put out. On top of the weapon is a detachable laser designator, that enables the user to either laze in a target while holding the weapon, give the targeting device to a forward scout, or set it down, position it manually, and fire from a distance. The laser used the extreme upper ranges of "IR visible" light, dancing across frequencies with such speed that it was nearly impossible to lock onto the beam unless the proper algorithm was shared. While the detachable sight shared the algorithm with the launcher itself, for multiple launchers to home in on the same same sight (usually when in use by a forward observer or set in a static position) the users of the weapon had to engage the battlefield network. The screen/keyboard system contained an internal firmware smarthframe allowing the weapon to be set up and fire autonomously at pre-identified targets or targets painted with the detachable lazing mount and the "fire" control activated. Additionally, it can be used to set up the battlefield network, remote view through different weapons or detachable sights, as well as download satellite maps, area maps, or used to designate targets to the missiles inertial mapping software for precision strikes at a distance. The rear sight is only engaged when the weapon is in direct fire use, with the forward screen folded safely against the top of the weapon. It uses thermographic, passive night-vision, IR, VIR, and UV sightings, as well as electronic telescopic enhancements. It can also be removed and given to a forward scout or placed at a specific point to allow the user of the weapon watch what the sight sees on the battlescreen. The battlefield network interface also shows what the missile is seeing during flight in either a small window in the upper corner, or taking up 80% of the center of the screen. A retractable joystick can be used to provide terminal guidance on the missiles. The weapon bipod swings down, and while still collapsed can be used as a forward handgrip, and provides the weapon with excellent recoil compensation, as it acts in concert with the internal recoil compensation hardware. A secondary battle screen, deployed and put in use when the main battlefield network interface is missing or destroyed, displays only what the weapon's sights are seeing. The weapon is loaded by inserting the missile through the feeding port on the right side, and using the cocking lever (located just above the lower center handgrip) to pull the missile back into the magazine and rotate the magazine down. The missiles are highly complex weapons with both flight and terminal guidance performance, internal inertial mapping hardware, visual profile recognition, and usually programmed for top-down attacks (making this weapon very effective against foes with a head, as the missile detonates above the head and fires an explosively forged penetrator straight through the top of the skull), and able to be controlled by the launcher for minimal flight adjustments. The missile contains a new, multi-effect warhead which can penetrate 1,000mm Explosive Reactive Armour or Rolled Homogenous Armour, up to 75mm of neo-tungsten carbide polyceramic hyper-alloy, or more than 3m of reinforced ferrocrete. A direct attack mode has been added as well as improved anti-jamming capability. The missile uses super-pressurized nitrogen to expel itself from the launcher, and engages its primary rocket thruster approximately 50m from the launcher, leaving no heat signature for the enemy to follow back to the launcher. During the Cataclysm and the Second Dark Ages, this weapon was issued at least one to a squad, and was popular for it's ability to provide perimeter surveillance and battlefield network capability. Even after the majority of the smart missiles were gone for the system, many squads carried the empty launcher just for the utility. During the Dark Ages once in awhile an explorer would trip an automated smartframe ambush, rockets ripping out of the ruins to target those unfortunate enough to have tripped its attack protocols. This led to stories of ghosts using weapons of the Neeman's to attack those who dared enter the cities. On Rifts Earth this weapon is highly illegal in the CS territory (who look more to capture intact ones for examination), as well as rarely found with any of the battlefield network accessories. Usually it is found as a stripped down, fire and forget, sightless "rifle" when in the hands of those who inherited it from generation to generation or those who find one in the ruins. However, in 92PA, Iron Heart Weapons Manufacturing Research Division managed to get their hands on 22 of these weapons, complete with datasheets and instructions and immediately began reverse engineering the whole system. Weight: 27 lbs (empty) 40 lbs (fully loaded) Length: 40" Caliber: 68mm Maximum Range: 2100m (6300 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 1600m (4800 ft) Typical Combat Range: 300m (900 ft) Magazine Capacity: 6 (This launcher was made comparable to recent advances in the field of anti-tank systems)
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Sep 28, 2014 05:16
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R-660 Light Rail Gun With the addition of combat cyborgs to the NEMA forces in the years following the Congo/Sudanese War of 2058 NEMA once again opened the Future Warfighter Program in order to develop heavy weapons for the powered armor soldiers, cyborgs, and other amplified humans. Field testing on weapons was done for over 3 years before the Program authorized three total weapon systems to be fielded for cyborgs and power armor soldiers. The R-660 Light Rail Gun System was submitted by Pontiac, which had made a name for itself in magnetic propulsion systems, as well as its Naval Armaments and Vehicle Development and Deployment Division (NAVD3) (including highly secret work on the Submersible Carrier Project) programs and of course, the feather in its cap, the Chromium Guardsman Primary Rail Gun System. The system passed with flying colors, leaving the other manufacturers in the dust, and the weapon was built in five stages, with factories in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The lower framework was made in Darango, Mexico; the upper framework was made in Regina Canada, the rail systems were made in Merida Mexico (on the Yucatan Peninsula), the electronics were made in Portland, Oregon; and the weapon was assembled in Detriot. The system requires either a two man team utilizing the front bipod, a static emplacement using a tripod, mounted on a vehicle, as a supplementary weapon for power armors, or packed by cybernetic infantry soldiers. The system uses a pair of electromagnetic superconductive rails to accelerate a ferrous coated projectile at "significant" velocity, mostly limited by the applied current and the length of the rails. It is these rails that suffer the most degradation of the material as heat transfer and the collapse of air into the railgun's path cause minor stress fractures in the material. However, the life expectancy of the rails usually measure into the millions of rounds, and the onboard computer systems of modern railguns contain a rail diagnostic feature, as well as alerting the user whenever a rail gun rail falls below 60% integrity. The R-660 rail gun uses heavy duty polyceramic casings, as well as a modified Faraday Cage in order to keep the electromagnetic energy from effecting the surrounding area outside the weapon. Circuitry is precision made to be unaffected by the strong magnetic fields generated by the rails. In field testing, this light weapon was discovered to be an excellent squad automatic weapon, and as a light machinegun class weapon, it performed outstandingly. Shot groups were tightly grouped at ranges up to 4000m with computer targeting assistance and the new gyrostabalized tripod or with the built in targeting assistance computer and a vehicle mount. While targets were hit at ranges exceeding 4000m by all users (power armor, vehicle mounted, gyrostabalized, bipod fixed, cyborg infantry) the shot grouping was too dispersed for the weapon to be considered effective when firing a burst at such a range. However the "line of sight" problem became immediately obvious, as the round usually continued past the "horizon" to land as far as 12km away (7km past the horizon line of sight) and were found via transmitter impregnated rounds. Unlike those rail gun systems that were attempting to copy the "Boom Gun" Pontiac chose to use the multiple round armor ablation technique, allowing the magnetic rails to be charged once and multiple rounds be fired down the rails, thus significantly reducing energy use. The rapid striking of the target's armor resulted in microstress fractures caused by the initial rounds to be expanded on and widened by successive rounds, causing a large, irregular divot to appear in the armor. In tests against mothballed M1A4D main battle tanks, the rail gun was able to damage and eventually penetrate the tank armor by repeated precision hits to the same impact area. When tested with APDS rounds, the R-660 was found to have superior armor breaching capability, tearing through previous generation armor much more rapidly than standard "fracture rounds" (as the solid slugs fired in rapid succession were classified as). However, when compared to modern armor, the weapon was classified as a light anti-vehicle/armor weapon, used primarily for anti-personnel duties. The weapon has the ability to fire 1 round, 10 round bursts, or fully automatic. Single shot has proven useful in defeating unarmored vehicles, killing unarmored enemy personnel, and causing extensive damage to non-military watercraft. The weapon produces a loud tearing noise as the round accelerate past Mach One, and those who the round(s) travel near can hear the supersonic cracking of the round, however, it was not deemed as loud as the old US Army M2A2 .50 Caliber machinegun. In a revolutionary move, rather than use a separate power source, the R-660 system used Pontiac's new "energized" rail gun rounds. These weapons had a base of capacitance gel wrapped in superconductor foil. When the foil made contact with the rings, the capacitance gel released its energy, consuming both the gel and the foil, and powering the rail gun. However, the rail gun has shown that after several extended hours of combat use, the rails may become fouled with resolidified foil and gel material that was turned gaseous during the energy transfer. In addition to being able to use drums and magazine of rail gun munitions, NEMA requested that the weapon be able to handle belt fed ammunition, for use in fixed positions or in vehicle mounts. This was handled by having what's known as an "open drum" locked into place, with the rounds held together by light magnetism. This gives the R-660 potentially unlimited firepower when in a fixed position. One problem that the R-660 does suffer is rail overheating, which increases the resistance of the rails, and thus lowers the amount of thrust generated by the rails. Due to this, a temperature gauge is built into the internal computer targeting system, and the weapon will automatically shut down for 30-60 seconds after approximately 10 minutes of sustained fire. However, a trained assistant gunner in environmental armor can replace the rails in roughly 15 seconds. The targeting sight was deliberately kept simple, with only passive nightvision, IR, UV and telescopic systems. However, the scope can magnify up to 50X, and the crosshairs are accurate at distances up to line of sight, bringing about the cyborg infantry motto: "If it can be seen, it dies." The range and damage capability of this and its sister weapon (the R-670) led to ECM/ECCM crash programs designed to spoof targeting systems better, as line of sight was now a real engagement distance. Theories set forth on the VirtualNet claim that a misfired railgun burst was responsible for the Tangees Orbital being destroyed as it orbited earth, however the math physics support that a rail gun round does not possess significant enough velocity to break free of Earth's gravitational field (11.2 km/s). During the Apacolypse the most common problem with this weapon, as well as all rail guns, was micro-fine ferrous particles "fouling" the rails, as well as ash coating the rails being turned into a thin layer of volcanic glass on the rails, thus reducing the rails to a life expectancy of only a few hours of use before replacement. During the Second Dark Ages, this weapon was a primary defender of settlements, trader convoys, and also used by cyborg defenders/mercs/explorers. However, since the electromagnetic rails were never upgraded with modern materials before the fall, virtually all of these weapons were eventually discarded or scavenged for parts. Occasionally one shows up in caches or is found in the ruins. Additionally loss of "energized rounds" led to the rail gun having to be rewired to accept an outside energy source, often e-clips or direct link to power armor/city power grid, an expensive and time consuming modification. Weight: 40 lbs Length: 49" Caliber: 6.25mm Muzzle Velocity: 2455m/s Maximum Range: 4700m (14100 ft/2.8 miles)(est) Maximum Effective Range: 4000+m (12000+ ft/2 miles)(computer assisted), 1000m (3000 ft) (non-assisted) Typical Combat Range: 1500m (4500 ft) Magazine Capacity: 200 round short mag, 600 round drum, 200 round drum, and belt fed
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Sep 28, 2014 05:20
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R-670 With the addition of combat cyborgs to the NEMA forces in the years following the Congo/Sudanese War of 2058 NEMA once again opened the Future Warfighter Program in order to develop heavy weapons for the powered armor soldiers, cyborgs, and other amplified humans. Field testing on weapons was done for over 3 years before the Program authorized three total weapon systems to be fielded for cyborgs and power armor soldiers. The R-670 heavy Rail Gun System was submitted by Pontiac. Manufactured in the same factories as the R-660 Light Rail Gun, the R-670 was actually assembled at the Deerborn, MI Gerber plant. In the cases of both weapons, the energized rounds were built in an isolated factory south of Boise, ID. The system requires either a two man team utilizing the front bipod, a static emplacement using a tripod, mounted on a vehicle, as a supplementary weapon for power armors, or packed by cybernetic heavy infantry soldiers. This weapon was intended to be a platoon level weapon, assigned on per platoon, to provide additional heavy fire support above what the R-660 would provide. The system uses a pair of electromagnetic superconductive rails to accelerate a ferrous coated projectile at "significant" velocity, mostly limited by the applied current and the length of the rails. It is these rails that suffer the most degradation of the material as heat transfer and the collapse of air into the railgun's path cause minor stress fractures in the material. However, the life expectancy of the rails usually measure into the millions of rounds, and the onboard computer systems of modern railguns contain a rail diagnostic feature, as well as alerting the user whenever a rail gun rail falls below 60% integrity. The R-670 rail gun uses heavy duty polyceramic casings, as well as a modified Farraday Cage in order to keep the electromagnetic energy from effecting the surrounding area outside the weapon. Circuitry is precision made to be unaffected by the strong magnetic fields generated by the rails. During field testing, the weapon was virtually line of sight, only beginning to drop past 12km and usually hitting the ground roughly 17 kilometers from the firing point, in tests with transmitter impregnated test rounds. Like the R-660, the R-670 used the "energized round" system, but had power conduit hardware that allowed the weapon to be hooked into a second energy source. This allowed APDS rounds, plasma-gel rounds, and Slammer(TM) stun rounds to be used. The plasma-gel rounds were an incendiary gel surrounded by a thin layer of ferrous metal. Approximately 60 meters after leaving the barrel, the ablative layer was breached, the gel ignited, and a small plasma round emerged as air friction turned the gel into free-flowing plasma. While this round had a range of only 500m, it was mass produced but outlawed by the Tripoli Warfare Conventions before they were ever used. However, in direct violation of UN orders, NEMA maintained a stockpile of these controversial rounds. These rounds were manufactured by the Dow Munitions plant in South Dakota, but so far the factories whereabouts post-Rifts remains unknown. Slammer(TM) rounds were developed by LifeRight Industries as a non-lethal munition to be used in rail guns, in accordance to their charter to make warfare "less life cost intensive". The round only has an effective range of 200m, but less than 5 feet from the barrel, the round itself is turned into a compact "packet" of air that hits hard enough to stun, but not injure. Specifically children, with smaller bodies, seemed more resistant to this round. While it was offered at extremely low prices, NEMA only bought enough to keep up public appearances. Very few of these rounds were used during the Cataclysm. These rounds were manufactured in Silicon Valley, CA, but the company went bankrupt in 2092 and sold its patents and factories off by 2097, after the two founders committed suicide. In 2097 an upgrade kit to the R-670 was issued, using breakthrough polyceramic magnetic superconductor alloys that were almost entirely resistant to heat cracking, as well as resisted "environmental conversion damage" to the rails from sand or other debris being melted to the rails. However, not all R-670's were upgraded to R-670A1's before the coming of the Cataclysm. The weapon is primarily used by power armors, heavy infantry cyborgs, fixed defenses, and vehicle weapon mounts. During the Second Dark Ages, this weapon was found to be able to powered without the "energized rounds" via the power conduit circuitry, which was merely disabled rather than removed (a 10 minute fix that required no parts, just microswitch settings changed, the majority of the time taken to remove the housing) meaning this weapon could be used to fire machine lathed "home-made" rounds, as well as rounds scavenged from ruins. In Rifts Earth, possession of this weapon in CS territory is a Class A Felony, as well as "Conspiracy to commit murder/mayhem" charges. However, outside CS territory this weapon can be found in fixed positions, attached to old vehicles, and located in old ruins. The illustration shows the weapon with the built-in tripod retracted, folded, and put in the storage position. The sight is simple IR/VIR/UV/Passive nightvision/Thermographic/50X vision, is hardy, and powered via a motion generator similar to that found in vibroweapons. In 56 PA the Colorado Baronies discovered a stockpile of more than 2000 of these weapons, along with over 20 million"energized rounds" for them in a "Cold Storage Locker" discovered in the Rocky Mountains, and sold them to Free Quebec in 62 PA. Despite their best efforts, Free Quebec was unable to duplicate the energized rounds technology, expending every shell in their efforts. For the massive trade, the Colorado Baronies received a massive influx of medical, communications, repair, and vehicle components and equipment. While nobody is talking, unofficial estimates put the trade in the hundreds of millions of credits, paid over a 10 year term. It is known that Free Quebec offered up 125 Glitter Boys for the weapons and mostly, the ammunition. (Which only added up to 10,000 rounds per weapon, a typical war stock and not that unheard of as far as quantity goes) Weight: 82 lbs Length: 65 in Caliber: 14.5mm Muzzle Velocity: 3793 m/s Maximum Range: 17km (10 miles) Maximum Effective Range: 4700m (14100 ft) Typical Combat Range: 2300m (6900 ft) Magazine Capacity: Drum or belt fed Note: The energized round is much more than just normal capacitance gel, ala the famed energy clip, as it seems to produce more than 27X the normal amount of energy when it vaporizes, and without the superconductor coating the gel evaporates at room temperature rather quickly. Free Quebec researchers tried coring out a rail gun round made out of conductive materiel and filling it with capacitance gel, but this proved unable to carry the charge needed to activate the rails. As of this writing, Free Quebec is willing to pay good money, or excellent trades, for stockpiles of this ammunition.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:24
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One of the reasons I started following this thread was because of your fluff posts that made Chi-Town not bullshit. I'm a huge sucker for detailed stuff like this, and it makes me want to play RIFTS in something that isn't the Palladium system. You've made my night, at the very least. 
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Sep 28, 2014 05:45
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Thanks. There's a SHITLOAD more, along with armor. I hit a snag a few years back, but I think I've got most of it still at the Palladium Megaverse site. The US Marine Corps Shipboard Action Equipment M-2011 Ion Pistol The US Marine Corps has long been the United States' shock infantry troops. Trained to engage the enemy and destroy them on any battlefield, under any enemy fire, to adapt and win under all circumstances, the USMC was one of the first services to move entirely to next generation weaponry. In 2035 the Objective Force Land Warrior project by DARPA had many sidearms and assault rifles to go through testing. They were being tested for extreme climates, battlefield endurance, structural robustness, energy consumption, and usefulness on the "digital battlefield." The Marine Corps disdained lasers as too weak, despite their exemplary ranges. However Litton/Gerber Weapons Consortium had fielded a set of ion weapons that the Marines began testing. By 3037 the Litton/Gerber M-2011 Energy Pistol and the M-160 Assault Rifle System found it's way into the Marine Corps Table of Equipment and Organization. The ion weapons did not suffer from spectrum scatter when striking chromium armor foes, nor did they suffer from spectrum scatter when a microcrystal mist grenade or high concentrate smoke was deployed. The weapons frame was built in Nacelle, CA, with the electronics being built in Toluca, Mexico, and the final product assembled in Toronto, Canada. However, in an unprecedented move, the USMC and the US Navy demanded that Litton/Gerber supply them with twelve automatic assembly lines, micronized as much a possible, and able to be run at the push of the button providing that the raw materials were fed into the hoppers. Despite worries by Litton/Gerber that these micro-factories would be used to produce the weapons without paying Litton/Gerber, after the micro-factories delivery in 2071, they disappeared without a trace, and the slight green tint that the casing of the weapon would possess from one of these factories never appeared on any weapon. The M-2011 Pistol, Energy, Ion Packet Discharge; is more resembles a submachine pistol of the late 20th Century, is heavier and bulkier than the sleek energy weapons that the Air Force and Navy and NEMA were fielding. That was part of the weapon's charm, as USMC psychologists deemed that the M-2011 looked threatening enough to actually give the enemy pause upon sighting one of these. The weapon was deliberately left in its prototype design for this exact reason. The M-2011 was designated a "Shipboard Action Weapon" in 3037, issued to ground troops as well as those aboard ships, and the weapon proved itself during many boarding raids as able to handle a sudden armored threat as well as being able to be adjusted to a lower power setting that didn't run the risk of destroying the ship. The pistol proved its merit in 2058, where NEMA forces had a difficulty establishing landing zones and the USMC established a beachhead on the Sudanese coast, allowing NEMA to land peacekeeping forces and establish a noteworthy presence in the brutal genocidal war. The grip is hard plastic overlaid with soft plastic handgrips that deform slightly to allow use by personnel wearing body armor, or when the naked hand is slick due to blood, water, oil, or other environmental hazards. The body itself is made up of synthetic plastics and neo-tungsten, and flash-colored a dark gray color. The handgrip is a light gray, and the sighting rail has a white dot on the rear. The "submachine gun" look was kept in order to capitalize on the fear of such submachineguns like the Uzi and the Skorpian. In addition the pistol frame has 4 picatinny rails mounted on it, allowing up to 4 pieces of supplemental hardware to be added to the weapon. The front sight has a white dot on the rear to assist in nighttime or high glare sighting, as well as the rear sight bracket being retractable to allow modifications to be used on the top side picatinny rail. The M-2011 fires a packet of positively charged ions by stripping electrons from air molecules injected into the chamber and using a magnetic directional pulse to "fire" the packet of ions toward a target. The impact of this ion "bolt" would cause the electrons in the outer shells of the targeted materials to violently strip away as the ions within the charge tried to balance their electron valence bands. This caused the struck material to slough off with a loud, explosive noise as the molecular stabilization failed. This proved particularly useful against molecularly bonded armor as the molecular bonds failed when the atomic structure became unstable. The pistol's chamber is fed by two small air injectors, which pressurize the chamber with air in order to give the ionization circuitry something to ionize without resulting in a 2-magazine system. The air injectors are easily replaced or cleaned when fouled, and a trained operator can swap out the injectors in less than 10 seconds even under combat. The M-2011 is often fielded with a collapsible stock, furthering the appearance of an SMG, as well as a scope, laser desingators or illuminators, a computerized data-node, or one or two air cylinders.
During the Cataclysm this weapon saw heavy use by Marine Corps troops who were on the the ground, and by Marine Corps troops who were tasked with defending the ships from extra-dimensional boarders. During the Second Dark Ages, those that had this weapon kept it in prime shape, as the injectors were easy to repair or clean, and the weapon was highly durable. In one legendary example a Juicer pistol-whipped a demon from the rifts to death with it when it ran out of ammunition. The Picatinny rails were often removed or lost, and eventually the pistol became a stripped down version of itself. In addition this weapon was rarely sold or traded, but rather handed down through the generations, as the USMC seal on each side of the weapon marked something special to those who inherited the weapon. By Rifts Earth, this is considered a legacy weapon and the mark of someone who is descended from the legendary Neeman Marines. Anyone found with it in CS Territory will usually be offered a vast sum of money for it, or offered to trade for it, but corrupt CS officers/NCO's will just take it. Surprisingly there are many of these weapons in the hands of the California Native American Tribes than anywhere else. Weight: 3.5 lbs Length: 8.1 inches Caliber: 2cm Maximum Range: 500m (1500 feet) Maximum Effective Range: 300m (900 feet) Typical Combat Range: <10m (less than 30 feet) Magazine Capacity: 20 shots with standard eclip, 30 shots with extended eclip. Note: The New Navy is in possession of three of these "micro-fabricators" for the ion pistol, where the other 9 went is a cause of mystery. However, nobody in Rifts Earth even knows they were ever built, so nobody has ever searched them out.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:55
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M-160 Assault Rifle System Added to the Marine Shipboard Action lists in 2037, the M-160 Assault Rifle System had been fielded for testing by Litton/Gerber. Research by Litton/Gerber market analysts showed that Marines disliked laser weapons, and looked at the sleek and slick designs of most weaponry as "wussified" and not something a real Marine would carry into combat. With that in mind, the M-160 was designed to replicate the look of the old M-4/16 series of assault rifles, as well as being made of rougher and tougher materials and a bayonet lug added. The USMC loved the weapon, it's brutal look, its devastating effect, and its sturdiness. The M-160 is manufactured in many different areas scattered throughout NAA, some estimates put it at over 25 different factories were producing components for the weapon. The weapons were assembled in Greensborough, SC; Peshington Ontario; and Meztixa Mexico. However, the NEMA command demanded that 15 "micro-fabricators" be built in 2082, and just like the micro-fabricators for the M-2011, when they were delivered to NEMA and the US Government in 2085, they vanished completely. No footage of the slightly green tint that these micro-fabricators would produce was ever seen. Two investigators hired by Litton/Gerber to discover where the micro-fabricators went disappeared, and the third was found the victim of a tragic auto-erotic asphyxiation accident. Gerber/Litton dropped the line of inquiry. The grip is hard plastic overlaid with soft plastic handgrips that deform slightly to allow use by personnel wearing body armor, or when the naked hand is slick due to blood, water, oil, or other environmental hazards. The body itself is made up of synthetic plastics and neo-tungsten, and flash-colored a dark gray color. The forward sighting post is black, while the rear sighting post has 2 white dots that can be made luminous by rubbing them with a thumb. The body has picatinny rails to allow the addition of modifications to the weapon. There is also a sidecar bayonet lug, to allow the attachment of bayonets (In 2092 the vibro-bayonet was added to the USMC TO&E) for use in close combat. The M-160 fires a packet of positively charged ions by stripping electrons from air molecules injected into the chamber and using a magnetic directional pulse to "fire" the packet of ions toward a target. The impact of this ion "bolt" would cause the electrons in the outer shells of the targeted materials to violently strip away as the ions within the charge tried to balance their electron valence bands. This caused the struck material to slough off with a loud, explosive noise as the molecular stabilization failed. This proved particularly useful against molecularly bonded armor as the molecular bonds failed when the atomic structure became unstable. The rifle's chamber is fed by four small air injectors, which pressurize the chamber with air in order to give the ionization circuitry something to ionize without resulting in a 2-magazine system. The air injectors are easily replaced or cleaned when fouled, and a trained operator can swap out an injector (singular) in less than 15 seconds even under combat. In addition the scope will alert the operator not only when one of the injectors begins to suffer degradation, but also which one.
Behind the "pad" on the stock of the weapon is a small storage area used to store: Tools to open up the weapon and replace the injectors, 12 spare injectors, a barrel brush to clear the barrel of debris as well as the chamber, a sighting post/bracket adjustment tool, and a folding/collapsible bipod. The primarily reported problem with the weapon is during up close fighting, a buttstroke can cause the weapon to snap off across the thinner part of the stock. In 2045 the weapon returned to the thicker stock. In 2062 a fully automatic variants was delivered to the USMC, but after problems, the weapon returned to burst fire in 2071. In 2084 the SOCOM edition was put out, with a shorter barrel length and stock, allowing the weapon to be used more easily in tight areas. In 2097 the weapon was upgraded to have a retractable vibroblade, the housing on the right side of the weapon under the handgrips. This weapon, including all of its variants, saw heavy action during the Cataclysm, and was often one of the first weapons retrieved from a battlefield and reissued. During the Second Dark ages this weapon was handed down and guarded jealously. The injectors proved easy to reproduce, and even the air compressor seals were easy to make with something as simple as a piece of flexible plastic and a pair of scissors. There are several small, isolated communities in the Rocky Mountains and on the West Coast that are entirely armed with this rifle. However, recently, a Native American Tribe in western Washington State has begun using a green tinged version of this weapon. On Rifts Earth, this is a highly coveted weapon by the officers and NCO's of the CS, particularly if it still has the old USMC logo visible. They will bargain for it, in one case a UAR-1 was traded to a mercenary for the weapon (which was then confiscated by the post commander and the officer who traded for it hung). This is another legacy weapon that the CS doesn't worry much about. Weight: 8.1 lbs Length: 31 in (24 inches for the SOCOM version) Caliber: 2.75cm Maximum Range: 1200m (3600 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 400m (1200 ft) Typical Combat Range: 150m (450 ft) Magazine Capacity: 30 shots for a small e-clip, 55 shots with an extended clip, 175 shots with a beltpack.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:58
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LAWS-3 Missile System, Rapid Fire The USMC are shock troops, trained to break enemy strongholds and crush the enemy on the battlefield. With the arrival of hardened body armor, robotic vehicles, and power armor, the USMC wanted to upgrade the old missile systems to something lightweight and easy for Marines to carry into battle to give them an edge over their opponents. The LAWS system (66m Magazine Fed Light Anti-Armor Weapon System) had been a shelved project during the late 20th Century as too bulky and fragile to see combat use, and the USMC contacted Madson-Lenski Missile Armament LLC and asked them to reverse engineer the system, bring it up to modern standards, and make it into a feasible weapon in 2024. In 2026 the LAWS system was unveiled and the USMC and US Army ordered thousands of them. The entire weapon system was manufactured at the Black Hills Munitions Center in South Dakota, with the missiles being manufactured at the Denton OH facility. When told by the US Department of Defense that the grant for the weapon was contingent on Madson-Lenski producing not only eight micro-fabricators for the weapon itself, but twenty missile fabrication units, Madson-Lenski (Who had produced weaponry and equipment for the US Military since the Civil War) provided them without any concern. The LAWS fires a 66mm rocket, capable of terminal guidance, top down attack profile, anti-armor capability, and the ability to be used against hardened enemy structures. The missiles are highly complex weapons with both flight and terminal guidance performance, internal inertial mapping hardware, visual profile recognition, and usually programmed for top-down attacks (making this weapon very effective against foes with a head, as the missile detonates above the head and fires an explosively forged penetrator straight through the top of the skull), and able to be controlled by the launcher for minimal flight adjustments. The missile contains a new, multi-effect warhead which can penetrate 1,000mm Explosive Reactive Armour or Rolled Homogeneous Armour, up to 75mm of neo-tungsten carbide polyceramic hyper-alloy, or more than 3m of reinforced ferrocrete. A direct attack mode has been added as well as improved anti-jamming capability. The LAWS possessed excellent ECCM, as well as offering the user the ability to control the missile via "optical sighting tracking" offered by the scope, or being able to lock onto the target with the laser designator. The weapon could also access the battlefield data network and utilize another launcher's laser designator to home in on the target with. This enabled a firer even out of sight of the target to be able to take part in the assault on a critical armor unit or structure. In 2033 the weapon was upgraded to the LAWS-I system. This enhancement contained better ECCM hardware, lightened the weapon by 2.5 lbs, gave it increased structural capability, and fixed the problem with the original series of magazines failing to lock into the weapon if the weapon had fired more than 8 missiles in a row by adding in additional heat shielding. In 2065 the weapon was upgraded to the LAWS-II system. This enhanced the scope, as well as the endurance of the rocket (extended range), as well as making the missiles an order of magnitude smaller and lighter. (From 66mm to 52mm, 1 lb each to .75 lbs each) however the smaller missiles proved not to have desired penetration or terminal guidance performance, as well as missing the intertial mapping system, and so the LAWS-IIA upgrade moved the missiles back up to 66mm in 2067. In addition the detachable "spider-scope" was added to the weapon as well as a battlefield tactical net interface was added. (This is not shown in the illustration) The spider scope was a small, robotized scope with 6 legs that the user could guide with the BaTNI (Battlefield Tactical Network Interface) to the disired position and watch for or search out targets. The spider-scope (M-81 mobile scope) had a range of 900m, possessed a VIR laser designator, thermographic, IR, VIR, and UV sighting, as well as up to 5X magnification. The BaTNI screen/keyboard system contained an internal firmware smarthframe allowing the weapon to be set up and fire autonomously at pre-identified targets or targets painted by the spider scope or a designated lazing beam (Marines would often set the weapon up and use the laser designator on their rifle to guide in the missiles from a distance) and the "fire" control activated. Additionally, it can be used to set up the battlefield network, remote view through different weapons or detachable sights, as well as download satellite maps, area maps, or used to designate targets to the missiles inertial mapping software for precision strikes at a distance. In 2084 the LAWS-III was unvieled. This system was much the same as the LAWS-IIA system, however the user could patch into the system via his armor's datacord, the weight was reduced by another half pound, and the problem with the power contacts for both the spider scope and the BaTNI were fixed. The spider scope and the missile launcher had both recieved stealth materials in their construction, the launcher possessed a powerful ECM system to spoof enemy targeting computers, and the spider possessed not only light ECM systems, but was able to jump and attack unarmored soldiers, chase vehicles, and it's range was extended to 14 hours/5 miles. The spider was able to tear a normal man apart in less than 3 seconds, or tear through a non-hardened vehicle in under a minute to get at the occupants. However, the spider's size remained that of a golf-ball when curled up. (The spider-scope has two vibro-scaples for it's front legs, allowing it to cut through jungle, wire, light structures, which probed totally devestating to an unarmored enemy. It also posseses only a single lens. It is, in effect, a remote controlled micro-bot and cannot operate on its own) In 2087 the LAWS-IIIA upgrade was put into effect, which put another spider charging bay on the side of the weapon, as well as 4 additional spiders attached to the length of the barrel. The BaTNI was hardened against enemy EMP bursts, as well as advances in encryption and directional burst communication included. In 2091 the burst fire feature was added, although it soon became apparent that it had been initially built into the LAWS and never activated. Bringing the legacy versions up to burst fire mode capability required about 20 minutes of work. In every upgrade, Madson-Lenski provided the required micro-fabricators to the DoD, and although they were curious as to where the fabricators went, they chose (wisely) not to investigate it. During the Cataclysm the spider scopes were primarily used up, but this weapon helped carry the day more than once. However there weren't very many of them out there for NEMA forces to use. During the Second Dark Ages, most of the bells and whistles were forgotten or discarded when they were no longer useful. The BaTNI was the first to go, since there was no battlefield network to link into, and most of the spider-scopes were long gone. Eventually these systems appeared much like the illustration. During Rifts Earth, these weapons are extremely rare. However, the USMC logo causes this to be a acknowledged artifact, and are usually just confiscated from those in burbs. Travellers are usually allowed to keep it, but it must remain unloaded. However, a fully functional one of these, with all the bells and whistles, will have every CS officer and soldier trying to bargain for it. In 75 PA an explorer group found 30 of these launchers, with holographic image projection above the BaNTI for total 3D battlefield planning, along with several thousand missiles. However, the Native Americans whose land it was took a dim view of the explorer's testing the weapon by firing at a herd of mustangs, killed all the explorers, and left the weapons sitting there. In 99 PA a group of explorers sold the CS military a damaged missile micro-fabricator for the paltry price of 25,000 credits, unaware of what they really possessed. CS survey teams found that the underground facility that the micro-fabrication unit was in was totally flooded/destroyed, and the other micro-fabrication unit was complete junk. Weight: 9 lbs Length: 41" Caliber: 66mm Maximum Range: 2000m (6000 ft) Beyond this range, the missile crashes into the ground, as its fuel is depleted. Maximum Effective Range: 1500m (4500 ft) Beyond this range, the weapon has no terminal or in flight guidance Typical Combat Range: 1000m (3000 ft) Magazine Capacity: 6. Many soldiers remove the e-clip that is built into the bottom of the magazine to power the clip and recharge the spider-scope, rather than risk enemy insurgents doing the same thing. After that, the magazine is usually stomped on to break it. Only during large scale engagements is the magazine left intact, however a lot of soldiers stomp on it out of habit.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:00
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(Unlike the above, none of this post is in the Rifts or the Pre-Rifts books) Gyro-stabilization Rigs, Enhanced Tripods, Smartframes NEMA and the old NAA militaries possessed support equipment that is rarely seen on Rifts North America, and because of this, this equipment must be addressed. Gyro-stabilization Rig Heavy weapons can make all the difference in a fight, and the US Military had prided itself on its ability to manuever and fire for decades. In order to allow soldiers to easily use heavy weapons, the gyro-stabilization rig was designed in order to allow soldiers to carry these heavy weapons, as well as fire them without the heavy recoil throwing them off target. A gyro-stabilization harness provides not only massive increase in the maximum weight of the weapon able to be carried by soldiers, but the gyroscopic stabilization allowed a soldier to control the weapon much more easily. In addition the stabilization harness was often equipped with a BaTNI system, ECM system to prevent missile lock on, and ECCM systems to overcome the enemies defense. In 2092 the "Gyro-Stabalized Individual Heavy Weapons System" was fitting with a charging cradle for spider scopes and a dozen spider scopes. A soldier wearing a servo rig can carry and use weapons up to twice their body weight when in the rig. The weapon is either extended out from either the right or left hip, so that the wielder fires from the hip, or the weapon is laid across the shoulder and the wielder controls the weapon via the forward grip. The gyro-system negates most of the effects of recoil by counteracting the motion generated by the weapon. In addition, extra ammunition drums are often carried on the rig. One thing users must note is the inherent problem in the gyro-stabilization process is this. The harness attempts to negate ALL movement. That means it takes a precious few seconds to begin moving forward from a standstill, and jinking to the right or left is automatically negated. This prompted the 2062 change that allowed the operator to shut off the gyro-stabilization system at will. Weight: 10 lbs Smartframes Smartframes are simply dog-brained AI's that are only capable of responding to certain inputs with certain outputs. Military smartframes are usually displayed on the screen as a box with two halves. The right is the input, the left is the action taken. The soldier uses a drop down context menu to place such things as "enemy vehicle" or "structure with this outline" or "enemy soldier" or "enemy IFF" and then uses the opposite drop down menu to tell the smartframe what to do. While smartframes aren't as versatile as a soldier, or capable of decision making processes, they can be used to set up automatic ambushes or cause the weapon to orient on and fire at an enemy when they first appear much faster than a human can. In addition, smartframes allow one soldier to control many weapons from a BaTNI, which has led to the appearance of several dozen manned weapons points, when in reality it is a single soldier in a bunker or foxhole behind the line of weapons who is directing them via smartframes. The smartframe system proved its worth during the Congo/Sudanese Peacekeeping operation by allowing a few soldiers to control the weapons on the entire perimeter, lower casualties and acting as a massive force multiplier for the peacekeepers. (Sensor systems, computer use skills must be possessed to use smartframes) Enhanced Tripods A normal tripod is just a heavy metal gunmount with three stabilization arms that keep the weapon's recoil within manageable levels and enable the gunner to rapidly pivot the weapon in order to engage targets. However, with the introduction of the Digital Battlefield Initiative in the early 21st Century, smartframes, and gyro-stabilization, tripods got their first upgrade in over two centuries. An enhanced tripod has a small energy cylinder capable of powering the weapon (treat as 5 belt-packs), three (and four sometimes, even though it is still called a tripod out of habit) legs, a BaNTI, gyroscopic recoil compensation, a weapon mount, and some contain a miniaturized version of the Chromium Guardsmen pylon system. In 2085 the "Remote Adjustable Firing Position" became available to NEMA. Formerly in use by the US Army, this allowed the tripod to scuttle along under its own power to change position. NEMA only fielded a few of these, as they required direct supervision since smartframes usually became confused and ran into things, off ledges, or ran in circles firing the weapon wildly. The US Army and USCM used "Tripod Battle Shielding", a foldable screen made of hardened polyceramic material that was see-through. Many of the high end enhanced tripods had a micro-drone launcher by 2097, which used a separate piece to launch a ninth-generation Predator Drone and allowed the user of the weapon to control it on the BaNTI. These drones were made of memory plastic, used high powered electrical turbines entirely made out of plastic that were nearly silent, and a "top-down" camera in addition to the nose camera. This was only fielded by large military units, usually at the Regiment or Battalion level, for battlefield control and surveillance. Most of the stuff above was entirely consumed in the fighting after the Cataclysm, and by the Cataclysm itself. However the odd tripod has been found, as well as servo rig. However, most explorers simply tear the attachments off of the tripods and servo-rigs and use the bare-bone systems, unaware that they are forgoing advanced combat systems. By 20 PA, there are no enhanced tripods in use or being manufactured, servo rigs are rare, and smartframes are a thing of the past. However, in 102 PA the NRG brought back smartframes again on thier newest Glitter Boy variant.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:01
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(Yay, time for Coalition Stuff!!!) C-18 Laser Pistol Produced by the Coalition States before it was even a unified country, the C-18 laser pistol is one of the most common military grade energy pistols available and found on the North American continent. The C-18 pistol has been around for so long that the CS Patrols of the disputed areas or wilderness don't even bother confiscating the weapon. Manufactured in Iron Heart, Free Quebec, Chi-Town, and even Lone Star, this weapon is produced by the thousands annually and all of them look the same to the naked eye. However, there are two specific differences in the pistol which are not noticeable to the naked eye: C-18 Laser Pistols manufactured by Lone Star and Free Quebec weigh only 2.6 lbs and are more accurate than their Iron Heart or Chi-Town counterparts. Pistols manufactured in Lone Star contain the three round burst option, pistols manufactured in Free Quebec carry the standard payload of the old PLP-20, officially labeling these two variants C-18A and C-18B respectively. Although "common" knowledge has it that the Chi-Town developed these weapons and shared the technology with Iron Heart, Free Quebec, and Lone Star, these weapons are products of the Golden Age. Some officers and long time military families still possess their original NEMA issued pistols, which are visually indistinguishable from the C-18. The Coalition States claims that the weapon was developed by reverse engineering the old weapons of the Golden Age. The weapon is made of heavier, inferior grades of polyceramic, as well as having inferior laser focusing matrixes compared to the old PLP-20, making it heavier and pack less of a punch. The power conduit leads are more ineffecient and the less advanced lazing matrix makes the weapon consume more power than the old model. Freelance weaponsmiths have been known to replace the lazing matrix, power conduits, and focusing arrays with better material, bringing the pistol up to PLP-20 damage and power consumption, reducing the weight, and improving the balance and accuracy. However these modifications alone can cost more than triple the price of the original C-18. During the time span of 38 PA and 52 PA, the CS, under the leadership of Joseph Prosek I, sold literally thousands of these pistols on the open market. The standard model does not accept attachments, but many CS soldiers mount a scope on it, Burbs officers usually mount a scope on top, and illumination device on the bottom, and a laser targeter on the side, making the weapon somewhat barrel heavy, but highly useful in the urban warzone known as the Burbs. Many Burbs officers, Dog Pack officers, and power armor soldiers or special forces have the weapon modified to provide the burst fire mode, although this unauthorized modification is technically illegal. Typical Cost: 1,200 Cr
Weight: 4 lbs Length: 9" Caliber: 1.25 cm Maximum Range: 600m (1800 feet) Maximum Effective Range: 300m (900 ft) Typical Combat Range: <50m (<100 ft) Magazine Capacity: 10 shots from a standard e-clip, 15 from an extended e-clip, 100 from a hip pack. Manufacturer Cost: 2,200 Cr Wholesale Cost: 7,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 12,000 Cr Black Market Price: 15,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 500 Cr Note: OK, a little explanation: The Manufacturer Cost is how much it costs, including plant employee wages, overhead costs, and raw material, to produce one of the items. Wholesale Price is how much they sell the product for to the end supplier. Manufacturer's Recommended Price is how much they estimate the weapon should cost for resale. Black Market Price is the cost for one in someplace like Fort El Dorado, NOT the Chi-Town Burbs. The Wilderness price is how much the PC's can sell one of these items for out in the badlands. The MOST they will ever get for the weapon is the Wholesale cost when they try to sell to the Black Market.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:03
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C-10 Laser Rifle The C-10 Laser Rifle is an older laser rifle, one of the first fielded by the CS Army, even back during the Second Dark Ages when the CS consisted of the fledgling Chi-Town. Currently no C-10 Laser Rifles are being manufactured in the Coalition States (as of 101 PA), nor are there plans to remanufacture the weapon. Till 12 PA this weapon was only manufactured in Chi-Town, with Iron Heart producing the weapon in 25 PA, Free Quebec in 43 PA, and Lone Star in 72 PA. However, Free Quebec and Iron Heart still manufacture spare parts and the civilian versions of this weapon. Built off of the old LS-250 design specifications, the CS was not able to put into production an exact copy of the weapon due to material limitations. Design problems plagued the C-10 from its inception to when it was eventually pulled from the infantry and military and issued to ISS troops and Dog Pack recon teams. However, most Dog Pack and ISS soldiers will get rid of this weapon as soon as possible, often confiscating a more reliable weapon from an "undesirable" and tossing the C-10 in an alley and reporting it stolen. To be honest, nobody really cared if the C-10 was stolen, had vanished into thin air, or was captured by D-bees, since the weapon was considered the worst boondoggle of CS R&D. The C-10's initial run in -25 PA suffered from corrosion problems on the power leads that mated with the eclips, resulting in sporadic firing and eventually failure as the corrosion ate into the internal power leads. However, the C-10A fixed this problem in 9 PA, and another problem surfaced. The C-10A versions of the rifle had a problem with alignment and the scope was often off target, resulting in a 3 micron error in the scope, which made it useless at ranges over 600m. Despite this problem being corrected in 19 PA, the maximum effective range of 600m was erroneously left in the doctrine even to this day. In 4 PA the C-10B made its appearance. The energy canister was removed, as was the power conduit allowing an external power pack to be used with the weapon, despite the protest of troops in the field. (Many unit level armorers replace the power conduit feeds, as could Black Market armorers. Typical Cost: 2,000 Cr) The C-10B suffered from serious production flaws in the crystal lazing matrix, resulting in the crystal shattering after less than 2000 shots fired, and frequently as early as 100 shots. This problem was found to be inherent in the focusing device, not the matrix as thought, in 32 PA. However, the weapon would often discharge at random times, even if unloaded. Capacitance gel saturation was blamed for this, but many soldiers believed the C-10 series was cursed. 28 PA saw the introduction of the C-10C, which had no built in scope, no picatinny rail systems, and a solid buttstock, along with a bayonet lug, which made no apparent sense as vibro-blades were a thing of legend, and no standard material could penetrate supernatural skin or military grade armor. The weapon's weight increased to 16 pounds without any noticeable change in the weapons performance. 42 PA saw the C-10D arrive. This weapon was lighter than the C-10C, had a built in scope, a collapsible buttstock, a built in illumination light, a laser targeter, and the ability to use energy canisters. However, in the next 2 years, over 200 soldiers were injured when the weapon would mysteriously detonate, sometimes while in the storage racks. 43 PA saw the introduction of the C-10E, which no longer blew up, but no longer contained the illumination light, the laser sight, or the energy canister. However, the range was extended to a remarkable 4000m (12000 feet), but the payload dropped by half and did not increase in damage. To top it off, occasionally a freshly inserted eclip would discharge all of it's energy into the weapon at once, slagging the electronics. 45 PA saw the introduction of the C-10F, which had decent range, decent payload, good damage, a built in targeting system, and had the return of the solid stock. However, the built in targeting system was prone to failure under combat condition (some are reported as failing during shipping to the receiving unit) and occasionally exploded when given power. 59 PA was when the C-10G was introduced, and is considered the standard C-10 Light Assault Laser Rifle. It featured a standard passive nightvision scope with 1X/2X/3X/5X/10X magnification, and everything else left the same. Most of the old weapons were sold to trusted corporations, given to authorized mercenaries, and in the case of the C-10D, destroyed enmasse before they killed everyone in sight. In 73 PA the decision to phase out the C-10 series of light laser rifles was made, citing too many problems with the design, as well as the dislike of the series by troops familiar with the problems. With the introduction of the C-12 laser rifle, the CS military couldn't get rid of the C-10's fast enough, often stacking all of the C-10's available on post in a pit and firing missiles into the pit while everyone stood around cheering. In 73 PA, when the C-12 was made available, terrorist bombings on CS armories rose by an astounding 1250%, forcing the CS to replace the C-10 Laser Rifles quickly. Even with all the problems, analysis of the weapon's schematic, or even of a faulty weapon itself revealed no problem. According to the paperwork and diagnostics and design specifications, the weapon should have worked, and worked wonderfully. But it didn't, leading some people muttering that the design itself was cursed. Between -14 PA and 45 PA this weapon was often sold on the open market to licensed civilians, however the multitude of unexplained detonations and the ensuing lawsuits pulled this weapon off the shelves. The damage had been done to the weapons reputation, and when it was reoffered to the civilian market in 65 PA, less than 1000 were sold in 5 years. Most Black Market and civilian armorers absolutely refuse to work on the weapon what so ever, often threatening the owner with lethal force if they don't "get that hunk of crap out of here." Even if caught with it in the Burb's, many ISS officers leave with a chuckle, letting the confused visitor carrying the weapon. Weight: 5 Lbs Length: 39.6" Caliber: 2.25 cm Maximum Range: 2000m (6000 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 700m (2100 ft) Typical Combat Range: 350m (1050 ft) Magazine Capacity: 20 shots from a standard eclip, 30 for a long clip; 150 from a hip-pack Manufacturer's Cost: 4,200 Cr Wholesale Cost: 9,000 Cr. Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 16,000 Cr Black Market Price: Will try to get 20,000, but will sometimes give it away with other purchases and mark the purchaser as a sucker. Wilderness Price: "Get that thing away from me before it blows up me house!"
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Sep 28, 2014 06:04
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C-12 Laser Rifle In 72 PA Emperor Karl Prosek was traveling from Chi-Town to Lone Star, when a weapons malfunction damaged the interior of the Death Head Transport he was riding in and forced it to land in hostile territory. During an assault on the grounded forces by bandits, the Emperor witnessed first hand just how dangerous the C-10 laser rifle was, and he barely managed to avoid getting killed when one of the C-10's carried by the rescuing forces detonated in the soldier's hands less than 15 feet from the Emperor, killing the soldiers and damaging the emperor's body armor. For the Emperor, that was the last straw. When he arrived at Lone Star, he ordered Doctor Desmond Bradford, PhD, MD, to put a team working on building a new laser rifle, that he was sick of the bad reputation of the C-10, the damage it did to troop moral, and what it did to the Coalition State's image. He gave them six month to do it, or promised dire consequences. In fall of 72 the C-12 Laser Rifle was put into test production and when the fiscal year 99 budget was approved, it contained a multi-million credit rider to ensure mass production of the C-12 Laser Rifle. While the C-12 was based on the old LSR-250 and the system was rebuilt from the ground up and completely redesigned. The look had to be changed to move it away from the old C-10 laser rifle, so the designers returned to the original LSR-250 body design and completely reworked the inside. This rifle is manufactured in Free Quebec, Chi-Town, Lone Star, and Iron Heart. The original C-10 factories were destroyed and parks built over them, and completely new factories were designed to build the C-12. Karl Prosek came up with the plan to completely revamp the weapon's image by destroying the old C-10 image. Those in the know realize this was also some kind of petty vengeance against the C-10 series, as Karl was nearly killed by a misfiring C-10 and had developed an instant hatred for the weapon. The lasing matrix is built off of an artificially grown 6 sided quartz crystal that had impurities removed with laser cleaning. The crystal is capable of several thousand shots, and can be removed and replaced in less than 30 seconds by a trained operator. The circuitry is heavier and more durable than the C-10, hardened to survive EMP pulses, and protected by multiple shock dampening systems. In addition the circuitry is of a modular design and the weapon can be rapidly repaired by a trained armorer with the correct spare parts. (Less than 2 minutes for even heavy damage) The addition of the e-clip canister from the old NEMA schematics and the C-10D. Unlike the C-10D, which had the canister forward of the magazine feed, the designers of the C-12 moved it back behind the pistol grip. In addition they added a port on either side of the weapon to allow the weapon to be plugged into an outside power source. Special attention was paid not only to the materials used in the power leads, but where the power leads were situated inside the weapon. For additional durability the canister, e-clip, and outside power source energy leads had two redundant systems to ensure that damage to the primary power leads would not cause the weapon to stop functioning. The laser targeting system mounted on the right side of the weapon uses what the designers called "flicker laser targeting" which had the beam switch between over two dozen frequencies rapidly, and use an infra-red beam the moved up into the edge of the ultra-violet range. Completely unaware that they'd simply replicated the old NEMA VIR system, they linked the laser targeting system into the scope, making it so only the operator of the weapon, looking through the scope, could see the beam. The scope itself is a sturdy device, wrapped in additional shock dampeners in order to protect it. The scope is capable of passive nightvision, and infra-red, as well as 2X/5X magnification. The weapon's frame was designed in such a way that the carrying handle itself was used to protect the scope. Just above the trigger guard is the illumination light, which can be used in the normal visible light range, or in infra-red mode (which allows the user to use illumination that cannot be seen by others), and provides a fairly decent cone of lighting out to 50 meters. (1.5m wide at 5m, 2m wide at 10m, 2.25m wide at 15m, 2.5m at 20m, 2.6m at 25m, 3m at 30m, 3.3m at 35m, 3.5m at 40m 3.6m at 45m, 3.75m at 50m) This illuminator has proved endlessly valuable to ISS soldiers as well as special forces troops. Dog Boys often wear IR goggles to allow them to see the human officer's illumination beam. The stock contains a small storage compartment that contains two spare lasing matrix crystals, tools needed to replace it, a bore cleaning brush, a bipod, and a small hand-held weapon diagnostic tool (the size of a matchbook) to allow an operator to know whether or not it can be fixed in the field, or must be returned to the unit armorer. At the front of the weapon is a small vehicle weapon's mount mating stud, just at the end of the forward handgrip. Just forward of that, on the end of the lower tubular section (a heat venting tube), is a bipod mounting slot, allowing the weapon to be used with a bipod for greater stability. The fire selector switch is usable from either side, making it easier for both right and left handed people to use the weapon. The weapon has light, medium, and heavy settings, in addition to safety. The trigger guard can be removed completely in order to allow power armor soldiers to use the weapon easily. In addition the trigger, when pressure is applied, activates the laser targeting beam, and there is a definite "hang" at that pound that requires 3 lbs of pressure to pull the trigger back, rather than the 1.5 lbs of pressure that it takes to activate the laser targeting system. The C-12S is the sniper version of the weapon, which has greater laser focusing capabilities, doubling the range of the C-12, but reducing the shots available by 1/4. In 74 PA, the CS was able to have every C-10 laser rifle in it's armories replaced by the C-12 rifle. Weight: 7 lbs Length: 41" Caliber: 2.5 cm Maximum Range: 1,000m (3000 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 672m (2025 ft) Typical Combat Range: 250m (750 ft) Magazine Capacity: 20 standard shots from per eclip, 30 shots from an extended eclip, 30 from the canister, and 65 from a belt power pack. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,500 Cr (The factories are still being paid off) Wholesale Cost: 7,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 20,000 Cr Black Market Price: 25,000 Cr Wilderness Price: Not Available, but 8,000 Cr if made available.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:05
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C-14 Fire Breather The team that designed the C-12 Laser Rifle decided that since they had the additional funding and time, they should start work on a weapon to increase the force multiplier of individual squads. Research into old US Army doctrine showed that grenade launchers were often issued to soldiers in order to give a squad more punch. As modular systems were nearly unheard of, and the research and development team felt it would needlessly complicate the system, the first built a man-portable grenade launcher and then wrapped the rifle system around it. The rifle was initially manufactured in Lone Star, but assembly lines and manufacturing sights are being prepped in Chi-Town, Iron Heart, and Free Quebec, which will go online in 100 PA, 102 PA, and 101 PA respectfully. The grenade launcher is a simple 20mm chemical launcher, pump action, with the magazine built into the weapon on the right hand side. (See illustration for the grenade magazine, which is just forward the trigger guard) with decent range and packing a good enough punch to damage hardened military vehicles and body armor. The launcher is fed from a feed port on the right side of the weapon, just above the magazine. Grenades can be set for timed explosion, impact, airburst, or proximity by the simple touch of the stud right in front of the magazine. Airburst mode requires the firer to bracket the target with the scope's targeting system, the raise the weapon to a point above the target and selecting the altitude. The weapon will then display the correct firing arc, and the 20mm grenade will detonate at the preset altitude. The laser assembly is somewhat crammed into the weapon, using a synthetic eight sided crystal matrix to provide focus. The lasing equipment itself is not only more powerful than the emitter in the C-12, but is also made more studier and shock dampened to prevent damage when the weapon is dropped or struck. The scope is normally a passive nightvision scope with 2X/5X magnification, but the one shown in the illustration also contains rangefinder circuitry, and provides the user with a firing arc computer. The heavy duty cover behind the scope contains the unit's diagnostic hardware. Removing the cover reveals digital monitors on the weapons heat status, number of grenades, lasing matrix status in percentage, laser emitter status, energy conduit status, and power connect efficiency. Most soldiers never open the panel outside of training, but unit armorers use it to diagnose problems with the weapon. The stock does not contain a butt-kit in the C-14 version, but in 99 PA the C-14A series was released, with an upgrade kit to move to a C-12 style stock. The C-14A series contains a two replacement laser crystals, tools to replace the crystals, tools to remove a jammed grenade, as well as a conduit cord that allows the user to patch their helmet HUD directly into the scope, allowing the soldier to "see" around corners, and over and under obstacles without exposing themselves to fire. The C-14A1 version, available only in limited quantities in 101 PA (less than 10% of the units possess it) has an energy canister receptor built into the butt of the weapon, just behind the pistol group. However there have been reports of the capacitance gel in the canister becoming ionized if the canister is quick-charged. Directly behind the grenade magazine and in front of the trigger guard is a release system (shown pulled outward so that it can be twisted. The lever is normally inset to the mechanism and lies flush against the grenade magazine) that allows an armorer to completely detach the grenade launcher for both repair and replacement. At the base of the pistol grip is a power conduit adapter (shown in the deployed position) that allows the weapon to be attached to an outside power source. The trigger guard can either be removed, or slid forward to nestle up against the grenade launcher removal point, to allow power armor soldiers to use the weapon in case of emergency or based on mission need. At the forward is a drop-down bipod stud (shown deployed, rather than in the upright position flush against the launcher bracket) that also acts as a retaining screw for the forward grenade launcher housing. This screw must be removed to remove the grenade launcher from the barrel. The stud also allows a bipod to be locked to it to increase accuracy. The C-14 ALGL System is being rapidly disseminated to the infantry units under the CS Army, usually on a 4 per platoon or 1 per squad ratio. In combat this weapon has shown excellent endurance and fortitude, being highly resistant to damage and withstanding abuse under grueling combat condition. The scope is the most easily damaged part of the weapon, and CS soldiers often take the scope off unless they are setting up an ambush, or they quickly attach it when coming under attack at a distance. In August of 100PA, a light infantry squad armed with two C-14A ALGL systems came under attack by enemy forces that had possession of a Titan Combat Robot (see file footage) and the weapon's grenade launcher's airburst mode allowed them to intercept and destroy all missiles launched at the squad. This procedure is rapidly becoming the M-12 ALGL gunner's secondary mission. Weight: 10 lbs Length: 42" Caliber: 2.5 cm/20mm Maximum Range: 800m (2400 ft)/1000m (3000 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 675m (2025 ft)/800m (2400 ft) Minimum Arming Distance: NA/25m (75 ft) Typical Combat Range: 250m/100m (750 ft/300 ft) Magazine Capacity: 12 grenades, 20 shots from standard e-clips, 30 shots from an extended e-clip, 45 from the canister or hip-pack. Manufacturer's Cost: 6,000 Cr Wholesale Cost: 18,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 30,000 Cr Black Market Price: 45,000 Cr Wilderness Price: Not Available, however the weapon will garner sellers 8,000 Cr.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:06
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C-27 Heavy Plasma Cannon After the Federation of Magic War, the CS knew it needed a heavy support weapon, since too many times the mages of the Federation of Magic had outgunned CS troops armed with only C-18 pistols, C-10 Laser Rifles, and hand grenades. The researchers at Chi-Town knew that the NEMA forces had possessed heavy weapons, they had plenty of battlefield data showing two separate plasma cannons in action, but only had the schematics for one of them. Much of the minaturization involved in the NEMA plasma weapons proved far beyond the limited capabilities of the Chi-Town manufacturing facilities that remained after the Second Dark Ages and the Federation of Magic terrorist attack, meaning the researchers had to start basically from scratch in order to recreate the weapon with the materials and technology available. After nearly 15 years of research, development, and testing, the C-27 Heavy Plasma Cannon was unveiled and added to the CS military's heavy weapons equipment. Initially the C-27 was manufactured only in Chi-Town, however after the acquisition of Iron Heart, another factory there was opened up. Not to be outdone, Free Quebec began producing the C-27A1 in order to show how superior their manufacturing techniques were to Iron Heart. By 101 PA, Chi-Town, Iron Heart, and Free Quebec manufacture the C-27. Lone Star has never manufactured the weapon. The plasma cannon functions by ionizing the air within the chamber, and then magnetically compressing the ionized gas (ie: plasma) until compression massively heats up the ionized gas, usually to temperatures in excess of 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the gas is ionized, heated, and compressed, electrons are added to the gas, positively charging the atoms, which are already in a state of flux, and making the plasma more effectively effected by magnetic fluxes. Once that occurs, the magnetic bottle "ruptures" and the plasma is jettisoned in the direction of the "rupture". Once the ball of superheated ionized charged matter (commonly referred to as plasma) strikes an object, the massive transfer of heat and electrons results in most solid matter turning to liquid, liquids vaporizing, and gas being torn into its component atoms. The CR-27 has a sturdy frame made out of advanced polymers and alloys that can resist heat transfer from the plasma creation process, as well as not be effected by magnetics. The frame has a built in bipod system at the bottom front of the weapon that allows the firer to lay prone, have the bipod deployed, and be able to fire the weapon accurately and precisely, with the soldier able to absorb the recoil easily while keeping the target sighted in. The scope on the C-27 provides passive nightvision, IR, and UV, as well as a laser rangefinder. It also provides 1X/3X/5X magnification, as well as flare compensation to keep the firer from being blinded by the plasma round firing or liberating its energy upon a target. The largest problem with the C-27 Heavy Plasma Rifle is the fact that plasma packets have been known to detonate early on tree branches, bushes, and other light cover. Although the plasma round usually destroys the inadvertent target, it still consumes ammunition. Another set of problems was the fact that the e-clip canister suffered from ionization if the weapon was quick-charged, there was no e-clip port to provide emergency power, the weapon was short-ranged (100m/300 f t with a standoff distance of 10m/30 ft) and consumed the entire canister after 5 shots. The C-27A was unveiled in 54 PA, and the weapon featured extended range due to the magnetic bottle pressurization system being reworked and significantly advanced. The weapon was able to directly affect targets up to 300m (900 ft) away. However the weight increased from 15 lbs to 17 lbs. However, the e-canister still suffered some problems and while the circuitry for an e-clip magazine well was in place, a factory oversight did not place a magazine well on the frame. For the most part this was corrected at unit armories, but some commanders refused to allow the "unauthorized modification" to the weapon that would allow 2 shots from a standard e-clip or 3 shots from an extended magazine. In 72 PA the C-27A1 was unveiled, with better ranging (350m/1050 ft), a 100% increase in damage capability, extended range, and an emergency e-clip magazine well built into the weapon's grip. However, the C-27A1 suffered from 2 problems: The ionization problem had still not been corrected, and a hard impact could rupture the e-canister, causing it to leak capacitance gel. In 74 PA new canisters were issued and the problem fixed with the leaking, but there was a greater chance of ionization even if the weapon was trickle-charged. In 85 PA the C-27A2 was released, which featured much improved targeting and range, as well as the ecanister finally fixed. The e-clip port was moved from the handgrip to the left side of the weapon above the e-canister. In addition the weapon featured a power conduit adapter on both the right and left sides just above the trigger. However, the bipod system proved faulty, as after roughly 100 shots, the bipod locking nut (where the bipod is affixed to the frame) suffered heat fatigue and the bolt failed, causing the bipod to break off. In 86 PA a fix was sent out, allowing armorers to fix the weapon. However, due to a framework mistake, a forward iron sight was added to the weapon, which left a 5 degree blind spot in the center of the scopes window of sight. Another problem cropped up with the fact that the power conduit socket suffered corrosion and had to be constantly maintained, or it would result in intermittent energy transfer. In 98 PA, the C-27A3 forward sight was removed, the power conduit socket was refurbished, and an additional power conduit was added to the ecanister, allowing the canister to be charged by an outside source. 10 minutes for a quick-charge, 3 hours for a trickle charge. (The picture in the manual shows the wrong version, or a field repaired cannon, as the forward barrel heat shroud sports an iron sight, but the canister has a power conduit adapter on it) In addition, the cannon's range was significantly improved, although it was erroneously listed as 488 kilometers, rather than 500 meters. Soldiers assigned the weapon were also relieved to see that the weapon had been lightened significantly, making it easy to carry. However, the years of combat use had shown that the barrel was prone to heat exhaustion and the accuracy of the weapon could degrade over time. The barrel shroud was difficult to remove, usually done at an unit level. In 100PA an upgrade kit was delivered to all units for the C-27 series of plasma cannons that allowed the ecanister to be removed and swapped out in the field, resulting in an assistant gunner being assigned to the C-27 gunner, whose job was to carry extra barrels, as well as extra energy canisters, and the toolkit to remove it. (A trained operator can swap out the ecanister in less than 5 seconds) In addition the forward heat shroud was redesigned, simplifying its removal and allowing the gunner or assistance gunner to swap out an overheated or degraded barrel. A trained operator can swap out the barrel in under 10 seconds. Weight: 12 lbs Length: 50" Caliber: 4.25cm Maximum Range: 650m (1950 feet) Maximum Effective Range: 600m (1800 ft) Typical Combat Range: 200m (600 ft) Magazine Capacity: 10 shots for the canister. 4 shots from a standard e-clip, 6 shots from an extended clip, 14 shots from a hip pack. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,400 Cr Wholesale Cost: 9.000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 32,000 Cr Black Market Price: 45,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 5,000 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:07
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CR-1 84mm Rocket Launcher During the Federation of Magic Invasion of 12 PA General Thaddeus Talbot broke his shattered lines into teams of hunter killer teams armed with missile launchers and sent them out to wage guerrilla warfare. Post-Battle analysis showed that Talbot's H&K teams wreaked havoc on the invading FoM forces, despite the fact that Talbot and his headquarters company fought to the death. The original launcher was little more than a throwaway launcher with a fire and forget rocket. This required the Hunter Killer squads to carry up to 5 of the 14 pound rocket launchers for a total of 90 pounds, rather than a single launcher and multiple rockets. The launcher itself is built in Chi-Town, Iron Heart, and Free Quebec. However, the scope itself is only built in Chi-Town and Lone Star. The launcher and scope are shipped to and assembled in Chi-Town. In 18 PA the Coalition States unveiled the CR-1 Rocket Launcher, which was simply a reloadable bare bones launching system with open air iron sights. The rocket was loaded from the rear as the weapon was tilted forward. The rocket would slide in and lock into place with a click that would push the trigger, which was mounted on the top, into the firing position. After extensive combat use, the CR-1A was released in 32 PA, which now featured an unpowered plastic "scope" that was only a piece of clear plastic with distance estimators built onto it. However, the caliber was upgraded to 84mm, and the missiles had fin stabilization added. When the missile was fired, the thick plastic "storage" ring would be ejected from the rear, so that the fins could deploy when the weapon left the launcher. In 54 PA the system was entirely overhauled, based on soldier recommendations, resulting in the CR-1A1. The system was now front loading, with an electronic sight that was powered from an internal power cell that was good for up to 4 hours. However, the system produced serious backblast, was front heavy, and the scope only provided 1X/3X magnification. In 65 PA the CR-1A2 was released. This version added a counter-weight and backblast baffle onto the rear of the launcher, added thermographic sight to scope, reduced launcher weight from 21 lbs to 16 pounds, and added a shoulder pad and forward pistol grip, although it was still launched by a top mounted press down trigger. The scope included, however, suffered from severe overloading when the missile was fired, ruining the scope 42% of the time, and overloading the scope for 10-16 seconds. In 82 PA the CR-1A3 was released. This version moved the trigger from the top to a pistol grip in the center of the weapon, moved the scope backwards (the illustration shows a cross between a CR-1A1 for the scope position and the a CR-1A3 launcher) for ease of use, and added flare compensation into the scope. However, roughly 15% of the missiles would not properly and lock into the firing position. In 98 PA the CR-1A4 upgrade came out, which reduced the weight, changed the scope to 1X/3X/5X/10X/15X/20X magnification, passive nightvision, infrared, removed the problematic thermographic system, added in a laser rangerfinger, and a laser targeting system. The laser targeting system was in hopes that a laser guided mini-missile would be developed. In addition the locking threads were modified, dropping the missile lock failure rate from 15% to 1.3%. However, the system was heavy, the scope expensive, and the doctrine insisted that any CR-1A4 system had to be brought back, regardless is the firer had ran out of ammunition or not. Although most commanders were just satisfied if the soldier brought back the 5,000 Cr scope. Weight: 14 lbs Length: 44" Caliber: 84mm Muzzle Velocity: 950 fps Minimum Range: 25m (75 ft) Maximum Range: 2500m (7500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 1760 (5280 ft) Typical Combat Range: 500m (1500 ft) Magazine Capacity: 1 Manufacturer's Cost: 450 Cr for launcher, 1,800 for the scope Wholesale Cost: 600 Cr for launcher, 5,000 Cr Scope (5500 Cr for both) Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 18,000 Cr (5,000 Cr launcher, 13,000 Scope) Black Market Price: 24,000 Cr (2,000 Cr launcher, 22,000 Scope) Wilderness Price: 150 launcher, 3,000 scope Note: The heavy, impact shielded and shock dampened scope weighs 6 lbs by itself. However, the internal components are often used to fix/upgrade vehicle and robot power armor and power armor sensor systems)
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Sep 28, 2014 06:08
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Wilk's 420 Laser Pistol In 25 PA a company named "Wilk's Laser Industries" applied to the CS for manufacturing license, and was granted permission to create an office building and a manufacturing in the Chi-Town Burbs, close to the city itself. To make room for the four factories, two office buildings, a secure living facility, and a set of showrooms, the CS Army in conjunction with the ISS bulldozed over 500 "shanty-villages" as well as stores and other buildings in order to make room for Wilk's Laser Industries. How Wilk's acquired this kind of pull with the CS is unknown, but somehow they did. In 27 PA the construction of the manufacturing buildings, designated WFF-1 through WFF-4, the two office buildings, the secure living facility, and the six showrooms were finished. These were massive buildings, using advanced materials in their construction. In 28 PA the Wilk's 320 Laser Pistol was released by Wilk's as part of their initial offering of laser weapons. The weapon was made from advanced materials, had impressive miniaturization, were well balanced, and had an appreciable payload. However, the downside of the weapon was that the body did not accept any add-ons, and forced the user to rely on the open air sights. A C-18 laser pistol caused more damage to a target, nearly 100% more, but the Wilk's 320 had such a "cool" look, and an aggressive advertising campaign, that the pistol soon became more popular the C-18 laser pistols. In 33 PA the "Unification Collector's Edition" of the Wilk's 320 pistol was placed on the market, a limited run available for purchase, and one pistol provided for a mere 5,000 credits (payable in installments!) to every member of the military and government, but civilians paid 25,000 per pistol, and non-citizens were charged 50,000 credits per pistol. The pistol had the date of the "official" recognition that the Coalition States was a reality on one side of the barrel, "Loyalty & Duty" on the other side of the barrel, and a serial number. Only 25,000 of these pistols were produced, and came with a lockable case that had the newly established flag of the CS on the top. They were all sold out within 3 weeks, and despite public requests, no more were manufactured. In 41 PA, the "Iron Heart" model was released. This one had a casing that looked to be made of solid brushed stainless steel, but was otherwise the same as the regular pistol. However, these were numbered, with the date of Iron Heart's acceptance into the CS stamped on the barrel. Only 45,000 of these were produced, they cost 25,000 credits each, and were sold out in 2 weeks. In 48 PA, for the anniversary of the weapon, the Wilks-320A was released. This weapon featured a chrome look, almost appearing to be chromium armor, as well as a scope. The weapon was highly accurate, the scope laser enhanced passive nightvision with the capability for 1X/3X/5X magnification, and most interesting, the pistol was capable of burst fire mode. Wilk's only produced 1500 of these pistols, with serial numbers. These weapons were bought up almost exclusively by Coalition State officers who wanted a "signature piece" that would be as highly respected as those officers carrying an old NEMA or US military pistol. Less than 100 were bought by civilians. In 51 PA the "Free Quebec" pistol was released. The frame was covered with a thin layer of glitter boy chromium, with a glitter boy profile on the right handgrip and the CS Free Quebec symbol on the other. The words "Victory Through Strength" were written in French on the left side of the barrel, and the words "Humanity Shall Triumph" were written on the right side, also in French. The words were engraved and "colored" with the addition of silver. Only 25,000 of these pistols were produced, and they were all bought up within 2 month. In addition a special "Pilot's Edition" was sold, only to Glitter Boy Pilots, was heavier than the other edition, because the entire case was made of chromium armor. These cost 4,500 credits, and were payable installments. In 53 PA the Wilk's-320B was released, which merely added a molded set of picatinny rails on the top, bottom, and right side of the pistol's frame. These rails were not removable, being actually part of the injection mold frame. Wilk's offered a laser targeting system, an IR illumination lamp, and a high end scope capable of laser enhanced passive nightvision, IR, and UV. However, only 10,000 of these weapons were produced, the bulk of them bought up by CS SOCOM for issue to special forces officers. In 68 PA the "Lone Star" version was released. This looked more like a 6-shooter, with the "cylinder" in front of the trigger guard. The "cylinder" had no real function, but did rotate every time the trigger was pulled, and the weapon produced a loud explosive noise. On the handgrip was an outline of the state of Texas on the right side, and the date of Lone Star's statehood on the other. 50,000 of these were made, and all of them sold within 3 months. In 70 PA, following the death of Chairman Joseph Prosek, the "Chairman Prosek Memorial Edition" was released. This featured a jet black frame, with full color roses engraved and precious gem inlaid (Wilk's coated the engraving with ruby and emerald dust, then laser fused it into a smooth single gem bonded to the lightweight plastic), and had the date of Chairman Prosek's birth and death on one side of the handgrip with his picture above it, and "Unity Through Strength" on the other side with the date of his election to Chairman of the Coalition States. Only 100,000 of these were produced, and they were all purchased via pre-order 2 months before it was released. Karl Prosek was given one, with the serial number 000-001. Rather than "Unity Through Strength", this pistol had "In Memorandum" written on the grip, and was the 320B variant. In 71 PA, following the election of Karl Prosek to the position of Chairman, a commemorative pistol was again produced. This one had the face of Karl Prosek on the right handgrip, with the date of his election underneath, and the lightning bolt skull on the left side. Once again these were serial numbered, but Wilks only produced 2000 of these weapons. In 78 PA Wilk's once again released a commemorative version of the 320, called the "Emperor's Edition", this one featuring a "blue steel" frame finish, picatinny rails, burst fire mode, and was more accurate without sacrificing range or power. Included with the weapon was a compact but impressive scope that provided laser enhanced passive and active nightvision, IR, UV, 1X/3X/5X/10X magnification, flare compensation, and thermographic imaging. Also sold was an illuminator that projected UV or IR in a cone out to 50m, where it was 10m wide. The weapon also came with a "green" laser targeter, that only worked with the scope provided, that rapidly flickered across the spectrum. This prevented enemies from using the laser targeting beam from backtracking and locating the pistol's wielder. The most "amazing" thing was that the buyer of the pistol could have a name or phrase etched into the barrel on both sides, for no additional cost, and the "registered user" had his palms "chipped" with an ID chip. Without the proper chip, the pistol would not function. They produced 15,000 of these pistols, and all were sold within a month. Karl Prosek was given one with the date on right hand handgrip, and the serial number: 00-001, on the other. In 102 PA, the "Lady Prosek Memorial Edition" is released. This one is identical to the "Chariman Prosek Memorial Edition" version, with the face of Lady Prosek replacing Joseph Prosek's and her birthdate replacing his. The right handgrip had "Remember Beauty" on one side, and the date of her "death" on the other. Functionally, the pistol has remained unchanged since its first release, and the "Limited Editions" seem to spur a renewed interest in the already popular pistol. The pistol uses an advanced miniaturized emitter, a narrow lasing matrix, and advanced polymers to create the body of the pistol. While it doesn't cause as much damage as the C-18 Laser Pistol, the sleek black look and the limited editions have caused this weapon to be wildly popular. For its appearance, the weapon is incredibly durable, it is lightweight, and well balanced. The trigger guard can be slid forward to allow the weapon to be fired by troops in power armor or environmental armor. Weight: 2 lbs Length: 7" Caliber: 1.5 cm Maximum Range: 500m (1500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 334m (1000 ft) Typical Combat Range: <25m (75 ft) Magazine Capacity: 20 shots from a standard e-clip, 35 from an extended eclip. This weapon comes with a special "adapter clip" that allows a belt power pack to be plugged into the fake clip that then transfers the energy to the pistol as if it was normal magazine. The belt-pack supplies 165 shots. Manufacturer's Cost: 2,500 Cr Wholesale Cost: 6,500 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 11,000 Cr Black Market Price: 13,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 4,200 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:10
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Wilk's 447 Laser Rifle The Wilk's 447 has a case made out of advanced synthetic neo-plastics, a non-reflective flat black color, is incredibly durable, and highly accurate. It is a precision weapon, often sought after by sharpshooters, as it has an impressive range. The weapon possesses advanced shock dampening systems, as well as highly durable microtronics, an efficient laser emitter, and a tubular crystal lazing matrix that lasts for literally hundreds of thousands of shots. While the weapon normally comes with only open air sights, there are holes in the case (filled by countersunk hex-driver screws) that allows a picatinny rail to be added to the top to mount a scope on. The weapon is precisely balanced, and is durable enough to use in close combat as a bludgeoning weapon without damaging the rifle. The case is easily openable for repair, and the buttkit contains 2 extra lazing crystals, an extra emitter lens, tools for opening the casing and to replace damaged equipment, and a matchbook sized diagnostic tool that can help realign the crystal and restore accuracy. Initially offered in 33 PA, the first 1,000 of these weapons were serial number listed. Since then, no other serial numbered editions have been made. However, third parties often copy whatever new "Limited Edition Pistol" is available onto a rifle, add their own serial numbers, and sell them, but none of them were "authorized" editions produced by Wilks, and do not sell anywhere near what the pistols sell for. Many snipers increase the power supplied to the emitter, focus the emitter properly, and align the crystals after having them laser-cleaned to remove residual impurities. This extends to the Wilk's 447 laser rifle's range to near unheard of level, and many armorer's think that Wilk's themselves could have done that, but for some reason chose not to. While an extended clip normally refuses to lock, 20 minutes of work with the tools contained in the buttkit allow extended magazines to lock (mainly removing the retaining pin that keeps the extended magazine locking rockers from engaging). Until the release of the Wilk's 457 rifle, the design of the rifle remained unchanged. Weight: 5 lbs Length: 38" Caliber: 2.0 cm Maximum Range: 800m (2,400 ft) for normal. However, work with the daignostic scanner, zeroing shots, and the adjustment tools can extend the range to 2500m (7,500 ft) by snipers. Maximum Effective Range: 700m (2100 ft), or 2000m (6000 ft) if the weapon is properly calibrated. (This process takes about 4 hours, and requires multiple "test shots" to ensure the weapon is properly focused and aligned. Typical Combat Range: 250m (750 ft) Magazine Capacity: 20 shots from an normal clip, 30 shots for an extended clip. The Wilk's 320 laser pistol "adapter magazine" can be used in the Wilk's 447 to allow the use of a belt pack, which will allow 120 shots. If the weapon has been configured for sniper work, the weapon's payload is reduced to 18, 25, 98, respectively. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,750 Cr Wholesale Cost: 12,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 18,000 Cr Black Market Price: 22,000 Cr for unmodified, 25,000 Cr for a sniper modified version, and +3,000 if the locking pins have been enabled. Wilderness Price: 5,750 Cr.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:12
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NG-57 Ion Blaster Built by Northern Gun Weapons Consortium of Michigan, the NG-57 is a heavy pistol that has sold literally hundreds of thousands of units. This pistol can be found from the Colorado Baronies to the Shermarrian Kingdom, and has even been found in the hands of vampires. The frame is made of sturdy hyper-alloy and features a magazine well within the pistol grip, fire selectors on both sides, and a removable trigger guard. While the pistol has no picatinny rail systems, an adapter can be used to mount a scope or illuminator on the top of the weapon. The weapon fires a packet of positively charged ions by stripping electrons from air molecules injected into the chamber and using magnetic chamber pressure to "fire" the packet of ions toward a target. The impact of this ion "bolt" would cause the electrons in the outer shells of the targeted materials to violently strip away as the ions within the charge tried to balance their electron valence bands. This caused the struck material to slough off with a loud, explosive noise as the molecular stabilization failed. This proved particularly useful against molecularly bonded armor as the molecular bonds failed when the atomic structure became unstable. Used against a soft target, this ion "bolt" has devastating effects as the energy transfer from the target to the ions in the bolt resulted in superheating of cells, causing them to explode. This effect was often called "disruption" when used on soft targets, and the damage profile was easily recognizable. The pistol's chamber is fed by a small air injectors, which pressurizes the chamber with air in order to give the ionization circuitry something to ionize without resulting in a 2-magazine system. Early versions of the weapon used a combination energy/ammunition clip, with copper molecules suspended in a plastic matrix, as copper easily gave up its electrons in the outer valence bands, but this was replaced by the air injection system in 58 PA. The grip is hard plastic overlaid with soft plastic handgrips that deform slightly to allow use by personnel wearing body armor, or when the naked hand is slick due to blood, water, oil, or other environmental hazards. The pistol itself is a grayish/blue color, although many models are sold with chrome plating on it. The handgrips are black, and are fitted on the pistol grip like a sleeve, which must be removed in order to disassemble the pistol. The ion pistol is incredibly rugged, and the weight is often seen as a tradeoff for a weapon that can survive a lack of maintenance, being submerged, being battered around, or whatever combat might throw at it. Northern Gun has three factories that produce these weapons. One in Michigan, one at Fort El Dorado, AK, and one in the Colorado Barony of Harmony. When the pistol was unveiled in 19 PA, there was talk of making it the standard issue pistol of the Coalition States, however the company refused to move the factory to the Burbs of Chi-Town (for "protection") and the deal eventually fell through. The 19 PA version of the pistol has only a right handed fire selector switch and uses the two magazine insertion system, with the ammunition for the pistol costing 2,500 for 25 shots. However, the magazines were prone to heat expansion if the pistol had fired more than 2 dozen shots, which made them difficult at best to remove, or heat welded the clips to the magazine well in worst case. In 31 PA the heat problem was beaten and the NG-57A was released. At this time "extended" magazines capable of 40 shots were released. The ionization circuitry was prone to failure after a few years of heavy release. In 58 PA the weapon dropped the extra clip and moved to an air injection system. The initial run of injector system pistols had the problem of the injector misalignment and allowing a slight seepage of pressured air. If not repaired and realigned, the pistol would leak ionized gas and the shots fired from the weapon would be reduced in power. Fixing or repairing the injector took up to 20 minutes for trained personnel with the correct equipment, and could not be done otherwise. The weapon's payload dropped to 8 shots. In 81 PA the pistol's injector failure problem was beaten, the payload raised to 10 shots, and the weapon was made easier to disassemble in the field. additionally a section below the front of the barrel was designed to hold the tools needed to recalibrate the air injector, 4 extra injectors, and a micro-diagnostic tool (the size of a thumbnail) that can be used to diagnose whether or not the air injector was properly aligned. Users found that the weapon's reliability had been increased by a massive factor. The biggest problem with the weapons was still weight, as the weapon is front heavy. In 92 PA Northern Gun released the "Ladies Fifty-Seven", which is a stripped down NG-57, made with lighter alloys, with half the range and damage, but carefully balanced with an experimental recoil compensator system. Unfortunately, this weapon didn't sell at all. The weapon cannot accept standard extended eclips as built, but reputable gunsmiths can add in locking pins so that the pistol can accept one (2,300 Cr/ 2 hours, +1 oz) as well as add in a conduit for hip-packs. (5,600 Cr/8 hours, +4 oz) Weight: 5 lbs Length: 8" Caliber: 2.4 cm Maximum Range: 250m (750 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 175m (525 ft) Typical Combat Range: <10m (<30 ft) Magazine Capacity: 10 shots from a standard e-clip, 15 shots from an extended magazine, 122 shots from a belt pack. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,300 Wholesale Cost: 6,200 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 8,000 Cr Black Market Price: 7,500 used, 9,000 Cr new Wilderness Price: 5,500
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Sep 28, 2014 06:13
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NG-Super Northern Gun released the "NG-Super" combination laser pistol/microgrenade launcher in 82 PA in hopes of increasing their market-share among juicers, crazies, and cyborgs. Triax had been slowly edging out their market share since their arrival in 67 PA, and the fact that Northern Gun no longer had a monopoly on weaponry had finally sunk in 73 PA after Triax took more than 500 million credits of the market, and Northern Gun profits dropped by the same amount. The NG-57 had been a hot seller, and still sold well, so the researchers at Northern Gun abandoned the program to make their weapons have the sleek "futuristic" look that seemed to be the main selling point of Wilk's and Triax weapon, and the designers were told to "go brutal and menacing" according to an inter-company memo by the board of directors. Looking for something to pack a serious punch, the researchers checked the databases for anything that could be of any help and discovered a discontinued "micro-grenade" program that had developed marble-sized grenades. The program had been abandoned after the grenades proved too small and lightweight for distance throwing, which put the user in danger. However, these munitions promised to be the solution to the problem. A weapon frame was built out of hyper-alloys and polyceramics, with the grenade launcher magazine at the rear of the weapon and the eclip inserted into the pistol grip. To extend the range of the grenades a pair of magnetic rings were used to cause the barrel to act as a coil gun (or Gauss Gun), to improve muzzle velocity. The laser section of the pistol was added after the grenade launcher section was perfected, and a laser targeter/rangefinder was added into the front top carrying handle. The laser featured a high powered emitter and artificially grown hexagonal quartz crystals as a focusing matrix. The fire selector to switch between laser and pistol is located on the left side of the weapon above the trigger, but is too far up to be easily switched by the thumb. The weapon has no safety or fire selector, but it is often added in by third party after manufacturer armorers (500 Cr). The grenade magazine connector (shown on the illustration) is prone to snapping off as substandard plastics were used for it. Without the connector, the grenade magazine cannot lock into place. Replacing it is fairly cheap (50 Cr, can be done by firer) and is often done at the gunshop were the pistol is purchased, or by the seller. (If it's done by the seller, increase price by 500 Cr) While the forward sight contains a ranger-finder, it was never connected to any type of display, a strange oversight, as the range-finder is actually advertised. However, sellers usually use a small LED system to display the numbers, attaching it to the back of the carrying handle. (Add 1,500 Cr to price; or can be done with 15 Cr worth the parts and 45 minutes) Occasionally the recoil of the grenade launcher will cause the energy clip to eject, another problem easily fixed by increasing the strength of the rocker pins. (500 Cr if done by seller, 250 Cr. by a 3rd party, 25 Cr worth the parts and 1 hour if done by user) The grenade launcher is reloaded by shotgun pumping the front handgrip, as this not only moves a grenade from the magazine to the firing chamber, but the action charges the capacitors that power the two coils and the magnetic chamber pressure system via dual magnetic rails that generate a significant amount of energy. However, this makes it so either the person must possess significant strength or the weapon will have to draw from the power pack. In addition, this magnetic rail generation system often fails after several months, and requires the entire pistol to be disassembled and the parts replaced. (450 Cr in parts and 2 hours OR 1,500 Cr for a professional 3rd party) Most used pistols have defunct rail systems, and many people don't even know the pump energizing action exists. If the "energizing rails" are not functioning, the weapon's coil-gun feature as well as the magnetic chamber pressure can be disengaged by opening the case and flipping a pair of micro-switches (10 minutes of work or 125 credits) or the weapon consumes a single shot from the energy clip. In a fully functional system, the grenades are fired from the chamber by a combination magnetic chamber pressure and the grenade's chemical charge, and then accelerated even further by a pair of coils wrapped around the barrel. Without this system the grenade launcher range drops to 50m (150 ft). Without the "charging rails" the system uses a single shot from the eclip to launch the grenades. The laser, while fairly sturdy and one of the more high powered lasers on the market, is still obviously added as an afterthought. The power-conduits to the laser emitter are occasionally magnetized, resulting in intermittent firing, the entire weapon has to be disassembled to repair or service the weapon's laser equipment. In addition the laser emitter often is pulled out of tune by the charging rails, requiring the weapon to be opened and the laser emitter re-tuned. To top it off, there is no storage compartment containing tools, and the tools are sold separately to open the weapon's casing, run diagnostics, and repair the system. (1,200 credits for the tools and diagnostic computer, usually added by more high end sellers for +2,000 Cr to the price) The weapon is not built for an extended e-clip, but the proper locking pins can be added for an additional 1,250 Cr (+2,000 if added by seller) or a belt-pack. Belt pack conduit cable mating plugs can be added for 3,500 Cr (+5,000 Cr for one modified before sale) Another problem with the pistol involves the internal magazine. A sharp blow can cause the grenades to move out of alignment, either jamming inside the internal magazine or when loaded into the chamber. (Loading the internal magazine requires the removal of the magazine and hand loading them into the pistol through that port), the only way to unjam them is to open the casing (a 5 minute job) and remove the grenades. Another problem is with the grenades stored in the internal magazine becoming magnetized and suffering a 50% degradation in the range. An after factory modification of magnetic "grounding" circuitry to protect the magazine can be made for 1,500 Cr (if done by seller, increase price by 2,000 Cr), as well as the addition of a removable plate on the frame to allow quicker and easier access to the grenade storage area. (3,500 Cr by after-factory armorers, 4,000 Cr by seller, or 5 hours of work and 25 Cr worth the parts) Weight: 13 lbs Length: 11 inches unloaded, 14 inches with grenade magazine added Caliber: 2 cm/15mm (grenades) Maximum Range: 400m (1200 ft) for the laser, 350m (950 ft) for the grenade launcher with magnetics engaged, 150m (450 ft) for uncharged grenades Maximum Effective Range: 300m (900 ft) for the laser, 300m (900 ft) for grenade launcher with magnetics engaged, 50m (150 ft) for uncharged grenades Typical Combat Range: 100m (300 ft) for both Magazine Capacity: 20 laser shots for standard eclip, 35 for extended clips, 110 for belt pack, 6 grenades inside internal magazine and an additional 8 grenades within the clip. Firing a grenade with the magnetic charge if the charging rails are inoperative requires the equivalent energy of a laser shot. Manufacturer's Cost: 5,750 Cr Wholesale Cost: 15,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 21,000 Cr Black Market Price: 23,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 7,500 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:15
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NG-33 Laser Pistol One of the first weapons manufactured by Northern Gun, this weapon first made its appearance roughly -125 PA, selling primarily to settlements to arm their militias. Initially the weapon was sold with 5 standard e-clips, and a batch of 100 of the pistols would come with an eclip charger. The Northern Gun armed caravans sold tens of thousands of these weapons over the years, often trading them to settlements in return for mined metals, scavenged materials, and items of high technology. In -53 PA Northern Gun opened up a laser weapon manufacturing plant in the Colorado Baronies to provide Northern Gun laser weaponry cheaply and easily to the Colorado Baronies and several Native American tribes. While this weapon isn't as powerful as the standard Coalition sidearm, its durability, endurance, and long life makes this one of the more coveted weapons out in the frontier areas and badlands. While a Wilk's laser pistol looks good, the NG-33 looks tough. In -65 PA the weapon had the picatinny rail system removed, although the mounting screws did not vanish until 57 PA. In 15 PA the weapons price nearly tripled, due to Northern Gun running out of pre-existing part stocks and the agreements with several of the larger mining settlements ending. The weapon is made from molecularly bonded neo-tungsten, has a grip safety in addition to the fire selector lever. In 43 PA the fire selector lever was adjusted to be present on both sides of the weapon, allowing ease of firing for both left and right handed firers. The laser emitter is a larger, rougher, and more forgiving emitter than commonly on pistols. The emitter is normally mounted inside a laser rifle, but in the NG-33 pistol, the emitter is simply fed less power by the power regulatory circuitry. Some buyers modify the power regulation circuitry to use the emitter at full power, making the pistol do 50% more damage than the standard Coalition States sidearm. While some have tried programming the molycircs to allow a burst fire, the emitter simply is not designed correctly and stutters more than fires a burst. The lasing crystal is a hexagonal quartz crystal, laser purified, and cut to precision. It is 50% again the diameter of other laser weapons, but is good for decades of service before needing to be replaced. Contained in the forward storage compartment is an extra emitter and the tools to open the case, service the pistol, and a diagnostic scanner the size of a thumbnail. The only problem this weapon really shows is when the laser emitter power is increased. Cracks and flaws begin showing up in the lasing matrix within a few months, resulting in the crystal having to be replaced every three month or so. In addition, the weapon needs additional locking rockers added to it to allow the use of an extended eclip. (150 Cr, 25 Cr in parts and 1 hour) There is space inside the casing for power conduit hardware and circuitry to hook up a hip pack. (1,250 Cr or +2,000 Cr for pre-selling modification, or 350 Cr/45 minutes for modification) The conduit circuitry was removed in 13 PA, and the space just left open. In 88 PA the "King's Memorial Edition" was released, much to the displeasure of the Coalition States. This version had a brushed steel look, a scope mounted (laser enhanced nightvision, 1X/3X/5X magnification, IR and UV) on the top, and an illuminator on the bottom. On the barrel was engraved "King Gravander Henchu" on the right side and "Tolkeen Mourns-88 PA" on the other. On the right side of the handgrip was a picture of King Henchu with his birth and death date underneath, and on the other was Tolkeen's coat of arms. In 89 PA the "King Creed Edition" was released, which had "Long Live King Creed!" on the left side, and "Vigilance and Strength!" on the right side of the barrel. The handgrip had a picture of King Creed and his coronation date on the right side of the handgrip and the Tolkeen coat of arms on the other side. Possession of the Tolkeen limited editions of this weapon usually marks the wielder for abuse, detainment, or even execution by CS forces. Weight: 4 lbs Length: 7.5" Caliber: 2.5 cm Maximum Range: 400m (1200 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 280m (840 ft) Typical Combat Range: <10m (<30 ft) Magazine Capacity: 20 shots from a standard eclip, 35 shots from an extended clip, 135 shots from a hippack Manufacturer's Cost: 1,250 Cr Wholesale Cost: 4,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 6,500 Cr Black Market Price: 7,500 Cr Wilderness Price: 3,500 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:15
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NG-L5 Laser Rifle Another one of Northern Gun's more venerable weapons, this rifle was first offered for mass sale about -112 PA, selling very cheaply and offered in massive quantities by the Northern Gun armed convoys that plied the Mid-West. Often sold in lots of 100, they were usually sold to militias who also purchased the NG-33 laser pistol. Not only was an eclip charger offered as part of the deal for 100 rifles, but a "settlement perimeter weapons power system" was offered if 250 or more rifles were purchased. (See notes at bottom) The weapon is fairly large and bulky, somewhat unwieldy, and is is short ranged compared to other laser rifles. However, the weapon is built almost entirely out of molecularly bonded hyper-alloys for the frame, contains redundant molycircs, has a shock dampened laser emitter and heavy duty shock dampening on the crystal focusing matrix. The weapon features multiple picatinny rails (1 on top, 1 per side, and 1 underneath), as well as power conduit power leads to allow connection to a hip-pack. The weapon easily fits a 40mm M-203 grenade launcher, a fairly easy weapon to find. Northern Gun also sells it as an accessory (+1,500 Cr) for the purchaser to add on easily. The trigger guard can be moved forward to allow the weapon to be used by those in environmental armor or power armor, or completely removed. It has an additional grip safety built into the pistol grip, and the fire selector is easily adjustable by both right and left handed firers. The eclip ejection port is spring loaded, which makes it a favorite among juicers, as it cuts down reloading time by half. If the weapon is not well maintained, the clip may "hang" or refuse to eject all the way, but this is a minor problem overall. The weapon is never sold with a scope or anything else, add-ons are entirely up to the purchaser. The biggest problem the weapon faces is that it has an inferior range to most weapons, something that many purchasers fix by having the crystal focusing matrix re-lased to remove impurities, giving the weapon a 50% increase in range. In the buttkit are 2 focusing crystals, 4 emitters, tools, a bore brush, a crystal polishing cloth, a diagnostic scanner the size of a matchbook, a bipod, and a cleaning kit for the magazine well and power conduit plug. These weapons are manufactured in Minnesota, the Colorado Baronies, Fort El Dorado, and Texas, and sold at literally every weapons shop outside of Coalition States territory. Though the weapon has been manufactured for over 200 years, it is still exactly the same rifle as was first offered. Weight: 14 lbs Length: 41" Caliber: 2.5 cm Maximum Range: 600m (1800 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 550m (1650 ft) Typical Combat Range: 250m (750 ft) Magazine Capacity: 10 shots with a standard eclip, 20 shots with an extended eclip, 110 shots with a power pack. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,500 Cr Wholesale Cost: 9,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 16,000 Cr Black Market Price: 17,500 Cr Wilderness Price: 6,500 Cr Note: The "Settlement Perimeter Weapon Power System" is a 2,500 foot heavy cable that fits into a nuclear generator. Every 10 feet is a thick knot that a weapon power conduit cable can be plugged into. In addition to the connector joint is a group of shielded capacitors that allow the equivalent of 2 hip-packs worth the energy to be stored. These capacitors are quick-charge, requiring only 10 minutes to fully charge, and charge roughly the equivalent of an extended eclip to charge per minute. However, the system best works when hooked up to it's own reactor.
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Sep 28, 2014 06:16
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NG-P7 Particle Beam Rifle Another weapon offered by Northern Gun as far back as -62 PA. This weapon was sold as a fixed emplacement weapon or a squad heavy weapons add on to increase a squad's firepower by a large magnitude normally only found in rail guns. The weapon is often called a "Lightning Bolt Thrower" or even a "Thor's Hammer" by some settlements, sellers, and mercenaries/adventurers. The weapon literally fires a man-made lightning bolt, pushing literally gigawatts of power through the target. The weapon uses a linear accelerator and a hot cathode system to create a negative charge of massed electrons, and the aiming tube acts as a Faraday cage to keep the electrons or magnetics from affecting anything before the charge leaves the barrel. The negative charge binds to the positive spot placed onto the target by the laser scope, and the 4.5 GW charge causes armor or tissue damage by the massive transfer of electricity that overcomes the target's natural resistance and channels hundreds of amps into the target. Many armors shatter under the sudden influx of heat and the atomic and molecular disruption. Living tissue is heated up massively, and the cells themselves often explosively rupture as the liquid within the cell walls turns to superheated steam. The NG-P7 is very sturdy weapon, sacrificing light weight for endurance and physical toughness. The frame is made of neo-tungsten and monocularly bonded polyceramics. Rather than use a standard stainless steel barrel for the linear accellerator, density collapsed neo-tungsten was used until 5 PA, when suddenly Northern Gun switched to ion bonded neo-tungsten. The weapon appears to be a bulky, over-sized laser rifle, very crude looking, with two forward prongs in place of a laser, ion, or kinetic round aperture. It has a built in scope on the top, a laser designator built in right above the prongs, a heavy duty stock capable of absorbing the recoil of the massive bolt of electrons, a power conduit port, a removable energy canister (45 shots), a bipod, and a servo-rig stud. However, in 22 PA the canister port, the servo rig interface, and the power conduit port were removed from the weapon. This lightened the weapon by 5 pounds total. The weapons manufactured between 22 and 41 PA suffered from faulty bipods, which had difficulty remaining the lock-down mode, often causing the weapon to suddenly list to one side or the other, or completely drop down as both bipod legs suddenly collapsed into storage mode. The versions from 52 PA to 79 PA suffered from bad Faraday Barrel manufacture, resulting in less firepower and less range than previous models. However, Northern Gun sold a replacement barrel for 1,500 Cr, despite accusations that the barrel was deliberately mis-manufactured. Several thousand of a "mismanufactured" version were sold in 86 PA that had "US ARMY" stamped on them, as well as "XM-429" above the handgrip. This has led to much speculation on the true origin of the weapon. The 2,500 of these weapons were primarily sold in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Northern Gun traded for these weapons by offering a Samson power armor and a year free repairs and ammunition in return for the weapon, and Northern Gun managed to reacquire 2,400 of the 2,500 weapons. (The US Army weapons featured double the normal range, double the damage capability, twice as many shots per energy canister, advanced scope optics, a dataplug for integration of the scope into the HUD, and a Battlefield Tactical Network Interface, in addition to advanced recoil compensation. However, these weapons are EXTREMELY rare, have no spare parts, and Northern Gun will definitely try to reacquire it.) Weight: 21 lbs Length: 44" Caliber: 4.1 GW Maximum Range: 500m (1,500 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 400m (1,200 ft) Typical Combat Range: 200m (600 ft) Magazine Capacity: 8 shots from a standard eclip, 12 shots from a long eclip, 25 shots from a canister, 52 shots from a belt pack Manufacturer's Cost: 5,000 Cr Wholesale Cost: 16,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 22,000 Cr Black Market Price: 25,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 7,500 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:17
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L-20 Pulse Rifle This laser weapon made its debut in 37 PA, mainly being found with Black Marketeers or Bandito Arms (Most people have no idea that the Black Market and Bandito Arms are one and the same. The Black Market sells everything from fake ID's, to meat, vegetables, and liquor without asking for a ration card, while Bandito Arms just sells weaponry and armor.) The weapon quickly became popular, as the Black Market would take payment in fruit, vegetables, meat, livestock, etc, for the weapon. Some local Black Market dealers would even allow payments, with interest (up to 400%) for the weapon. The weapon is well built and known for its battlefield endurance and sturdy mechanisms. The frame is made of light polyceramics and lightweight hyperalloys, primarily neo-tungsten. The casing itself is made out of polyceramic and third generation synthetic plastics. It uses a 6 sided laser cut and purified synthetically "grown" ruby for the lasing matrix. It contains a 2.25 cm firing aperture, a vibro-bayonet lug, picatinny rails on the top and sides and beneath the barrel, as well as a rail in the center of the top for a scope. The laser emitter is well built, and has a long use life. The average life of a laser emitter is well over 30 years, and only cost 1,200 Cr to replace a damaged or degraded one. In addition, it rarely needs recalibration. The forward lasing matrix, made entirely out of synthetic ruby, rarely needs replaced, and produces a laser beam in the visible red range. The ruby suffers less ablation than other materials, allowing the 3-round burst setting to avoid the "ablation fog" that affects other pulse weapons. The crystal needs replacing roughly once every 25 years. The fire selector can be set to safe, semi, and burst, and is easily accessed by both right and left handed firers. The clip ejection button is placed on both sides of the frame, and allows right and left handed firers to easily eject the energy clip. In addition, there is a "grip safety" built into the pistol grip. Some models, designed for cyborgs, juicers, and crazies, have forward handgrips, stock, and pistol grips made out of heavier than normal material, replacing the plastics with neo-tungsten, so that super-strength users don't have to be as careful with the weapon as they might otherwise have to be. The forward handgrips are easily removable, giving quick and easy access to the barrel and the lasing matrix. The top and bottom of the weapon are easily separated, again allowing ease of maintenance, by simply pressing two metal inwards and then pulling them out to the maintenance position. The stock contains a buttkit, which contains a bipod, 1 extra lasing matrix ruby, tools to open and maintain the weapon, including calibration of the laser emitter and lasing matrix, and a matchbook sized calibration and diagnostics scanner. An old Pre-Rifts M-203 40mm grenade launcher is often added to the underside of the weapon, as is a laser designator or a heavy duty illuminator. Occasionally a vibro-bayonet will also be added to one side or the other, with a laser targeting emitter on the other side. The top usually has a scope added to it. With the picatinny rail system, virtually any accessory that can have a matching rail added to it can be added to this rifle, and picatinny rails usually cost 10 Cr each. The most well documented problem with the weapon is the fact that some crystals seem to sympathetic to glitter boy boom gun detonations, and the laser develops significant cracks and microfractures after extensive use due to the sonic boom of the boom gun. Another problem that rarely crops up is bent magazine locking rockers, however, this can be easily fixed by the user, taking only 10 minutes and just flattening the rocking rockers back out. Lastly, the weapon is such a compact design that a power conduit interface and connector can't be added into the weapon. Weight: 7 lbs Length: 31" Caliber: 2.5 cm Maximum Range: 700m (2100 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 550m (1650 ft) Typical Combat Range: 250m (750 ft) Magazine Capacity: 40 shots with a standard e-clip, 50 shots with an extended magazine. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,500 Cr Wholesale Cost: 15,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 25,000 Cr Black Market Price: 25,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 8,000 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:18
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| # ? May 17, 2024 00:19 |
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JA-9 Variable Laser Rifle Called the "Juicer Assassin Rifle" by many, the weapon is reputably a German design, although how a specialized German weapon came to be found on the North American continent when there had been no real trade between Germany and the North American continent until 62 PA. Video footage of the Cataclysm has shown this rifle in the hands of NEMA soldiers in fairly decent numbers. In 2075 it became apparent that more and more nations were attempting to replicate the chromium armor used in the famed Chromium Guardsman AKA "Glitter Boy", as well as develop countermeasures for its famed laser resistant armor. In 2075 Congolese soldiers, armed with JA-9 rifles and having gone through the Juicer Process, attacked a UN Peacekeeping force, in hopes of drawing out the NEMA GB's attached for heavy support. At the end of the long battle, the Congolese forces, which were part of the Congo Democratic People's Army, had been completely routed and devastated, but the damage to the GB's reputation of invulnerability was done. Five hundred Juicers and three hundred "Crazies" had attacked twelve hundred UN peacekeepers, fifty Chromium Guardsmen, and 25 Silver Eagles. When the rubble finally settled, most of the city of Bunia was leveled, 850,000 civilians had been killed, over a million had been dispossessed and/or wounded, the UN Peacekeepers had only two hundred thirty-seven men left, 11 Chromium Guardsmen had been destroyed and the rest damaged, 17 Silver Eagles were destroyed and the rest heavily damaged. Then, to add insult to injury, a force of "Republic of Congo" insurgents, armed with Ugandan Hyena power armor, moved across the border and attacked what was left of the UN Peacekeeping force. Despite being outnumbered 3 to one, the UN/NEMA force managed to destroy the Ugandan power armor, mostly thanks to massed boom gun fire. Uganda itself saved the day by attacking the "Republic of Congo" insurgents from behind with a larger force of Hyena and Rhino power armor and robot vehicles. In the end, UN investigators went over the scene, tracking exactly how the battle had gone, and examining the equipment and corpses left behind. The first discovery is that the Juicers and Crazies were all recent subjects, despite the UN Mandate #5463 that outlawed those man-amplification process. In addition, the armor worn by the terrorists were manufactured in Poland, and the weapons they were carrying had been specifically designed to overcome laser resistant armor and act as sniping weapons. Luckily, the terrorists had charged the UN lines rather than disable the power armor at long range. The Hyena armor in the hands of the "insurgents" turned out to actually be of Romanian manufacture. Of particular interest to NEMA forces was the weapon identified as the J-9, which had been used to great effect against the Chromium Guardsmen. Rather than having superior energy qualities, the weapon cycled through the exact frequencies that the armors could be vulnerable to. As two of the frequencies had not been used, that meant that the weapon wasn't designed based on battlefield salvage and observation, but instead had been designed based on leaked specifications. As the NAA kept the Chromium Guardsmen frequencies a matter of National Security for all three countries, this meant that spies had been at work. To the UN and NEMA, this meant that someone out there was producing rifles to deliberately strike at NEMA itself, and the UN forces that NEMA often joined. To quote one investigator: "This bodes ill." The captured JA-9's showed no manufacturer's markings, and the electronics inside the weapon had been bought from a multitude of corporations, usually shipped to fake address or hijacked in transit. In 2086 the biotech firm of "Extendalife", which focused on increasing lifespans and genetically modified crops, came under attack by terrorists, which quickly seized one of the facilities and began executing the scientists working there. When police intervention went to retake the compound, SWAT remote camera footage showed the officers being slaughtered by Juicers, and NEMA was called in. The local NEMA commander believed that the "Congo Incident" had been overblown by the media and brought in Chromium Guardsmen and Silver Eagles to cow the terrorists. As soon as the armors arrived, they came under highly accurate fire at extended range, and all three of the Silver Eagles were disabled before they could close on the factory complex, four of the five Chromium Guardsmen were disabled, and one severely damaged. The local NEMA commander called in cyborgs for the assault, and when it was over, 12 NEMA combat cyborgs and 7 Juicers were dead. Once again, the JA-9 was found in possession of the juicers. The JA-9 is a sleek weapon, well balanced, made out of advanced polymers and polyceramics. The weapon contains no metallic components outside the scope, which is easily removed. In addition the weapon can be easily broken down and put back together. (A trained operator can break the weapon down into the size of suitcase compartment in less than a minute, and can reassemble it in under 30 seconds, a Juicer can reassemble the weapon in less than ten seconds with practice) The weapon has a built in bipod, as well as laser targeting, allowing the user to sight in on targets as far as three thousand meters away with the ability to engage them. The scope itself contains no metallic parts, entirely built out of polymers and polyceramics, and is connected to the weapons innovative fire control computer. The weilder of the weapon can adjust the frequency of the laser beam through ten preset frequencies in order to overcome chromium armor. The laser emitter is somewhat larger than normal, allowing the frequency shift via small lenses inside the housing. It is well built, and has one of the most comprehensive shock dampening housings built. In addition it can be quickly and easily replaced by a trained user. (15 seconds for a trained user, 3 seconds for a trained Juicer) The crystal lasing matrix contains multiple ruby crystals. These crystals can shift to replicate frequencies, becoming ion bonded once the shifting has occurred and the electrically induced ion bonding being released when the weapon goes to shift frequencies. The frame itself is lightweight, sleek, and bears no manufacturer's marks. (Rifts "data" says it is from Germany, but that was never proven) It can be broken down into several parts (forward barrel, lasing matrix, laser emitter, lower reciever, upper reciever, stock, recoil padding, bipod, pistol grip) for ease of storage. The scope contains passive and laser assisted nightvision, UV, IR, VIR, thermographic, and 1X/3X/5X/10X/15X/20X magnification. When used with conjunction with the laser targeter, the weapon actually analyzes what frequency will have the best air penetration, allowing for amazing distances. The targeting laser serves three purposes: One: It can be used to guide missiles in. As the laser targeter is a "variable" system, it can be locked into by missiles when nobody else can see it. Two: Used properly, the laser targeter can actually be used to "figure out" the frequency to best use against a Glitter Boy without actually firing. (15 seconds per frequency. There are only 10 frequencies, so sooner or later, the firer will get the correct one) Three: Atmospheric adjustment. The combat computer built into the rifle, by using the laser targeter, can adjust for the water and fine particle count of the atmosphere. This allows the computer to select the best frequency to get the most range out of. The weapon is designed to be used with standard or extended capacity eclips, as well as having a power conduit feed for use with a belt-pack. During the Cataclysm, many of these weapons were removed from evidence rooms and contraband lockers, as well as seemingly to pop up everywhere in the hands of people on the NEMA watchlists. However, this weapon helped carry the day more than once against creatures that seemed to be resistant to energy. In 67 PA a group of explorers checking out the Dallas/Fort Worth ruins, paying particular attention to the basements, discovered a micro-fabrication unit to produce the JA-9. How it got there, along with two as of yet unidentified power armors is a mystery. Weight: 6 lbs Length: 38" Caliber: 3cm Maximum Range: 4000m (12,000 ft) Maximum Effective Range: 3500m (10,500 ft), normally used at 1200m (3600 ft) as most users don't know how to use the "atmospheric attenuation compensation" system Typical Combat Range: 1000m (3000 ft) Magazine Capacity: 10 shots with a standard eclip, 30 shots with a long eclip, 105 shots with a belt pack. Manufacturer's Cost: 3,500 Cr Wholesale Cost: 11,000 Cr Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 20,000 Cr Black Market Price: 25,000 Cr Wilderness Price: 10,000 Cr
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Sep 28, 2014 06:21
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