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Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle

The Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle is an anti-armor weapon system intended for usage by power armor. The weapon was conceived, developed, and, trial-tested in YE 39 by Ketsurui Zaibatsu as a primary handheld weapon system for the Mindy, Kirie, and, Keiko power armors. It is slated to enter mass production at the beginning of YE 40.

About the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle

Built on a simplified and reliable platform, the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle is a primary armor, aether-powered rifle intended to fulfill a general purpose role. The weapon performs well in short, medium, and long ranges, however, caution is advised when used in sensitive, ship-based environments. Although the weapon excels in maintaining sustained damage, it is near useless in a stealth role, on account of the distinctive and continuous cyan-colored beam discharge.

The weapon fires a continuous cyan-colored beam 1) and is powered by the host armor's aether generator. It utilizes a continuously operating cooling system, which cools the weapon inbetween firing sequences, regardless of whether or not the hard-coded heat maximum was reached by the operator.

Heating and Cooling Information

To illustrate a hypothetical field operation of the weapon at the primary anti-armor power setting, if the operator fires the weapon for 2 seconds, the cooling cycle will need 2 seconds to 'reset' the temperature back to the default. During this period, the operator may resume firing the weapon at any time. If the operator fires the weapon for 4 seconds, the cooling cycle will need 4 seconds to 'reset' the temperature back to the default temperature. Again, during this period, the operator may resume firing the weapon at any time. However, if the operator fires the weapon for the entire 8 seconds that it takes to reach the hard-coded heat maximum, the system will go into overheat protocol and the cooling cycle will need 8 seconds to completely 'reset' the temperature back to the default. During this period, the operator may not resume firing until the 8 second overheat protocol is complete.

To assist the operator in heat management, AIES features a visual heat indication bar that changes color as the weapon heats and cools. Quite simply, if the operator fires the weapon for the entire 8 seconds it takes to reach the hard-coded heat maximum, the bar will change color from blue to green after 2 seconds, green to yellow after 4 seconds, yellow to orange after 6 seconds, and orange to red after 8 seconds. For the entirety of the 8-second duration that it takes for the weapon to perform the overheat protocol, the bar will be black to signify that the weapon will not fire regardless of input.

However, if the operator fires the weapon for 6 seconds and waits 4 seconds before firing again, the heat indication bar will change color from blue to green after 2 seconds of firing, green to yellow after 4 seconds of firing, yellow to orange after 6 seconds of firing, and, orange to blue after 4 seconds of holding. With this context in mind, after holding for 4 seconds, the operator may continue to fire the weapon for 6 more seconds until the weapon reaches the hard-coded heat maximum.

To provide a similar example of responsible and efficient usage, if the operator fires the weapon for 3 seconds, holds for 2 seconds, and, fires for 2 more seconds, the heat indication bar will change color from blue to green after 2 seconds of firing, remain green after 1 second of firing, change color from green to blue after 2 seconds of holding, and change color from blue to green after 2 seconds of firing. Again, with this context in mind, the operator may continue to fire the weapon for 5 more seconds until the weapon reaches the hard-coded heat maximum.

When set to the secondary anti-personnel power setting, the weapon follows the same scale, however, it takes 16 seconds of continuous fire for the weapon to reach the designated maximum instead of 8. To summarize, at the anti-personnel power setting, the heat indication bar will change color from blue to green after 4 seconds of firing, green to yellow after 8 seconds of firing, yellow to orange after 12 seconds of firing, and, orange to red after 16 seconds of firing. Again, for the entirety of the 8-second duration that it takes for the weapon to perform the overheat protocol, the bar will be black to signify that the weapon will not fire regardless of input.

Heating and Cooling Quantification

To further quantify, the heating and cooling process of the Ke-M2/12-W3903 weapon system follows addition and subtraction. Utilizing the examples above, one can determine how much longer the operator may fire the weapon until they reach the designated heat maximum.

In the second example, the operator fired the weapon for 6 seconds and waited 4 seconds. The abbreviated quantification is as follows:

0+6-4=2

8-2=6

The operator can fire the weapon for 6 seconds before reaching the designated heat maximum.

In the third example, the operator fired the weapon for 3 seconds, waited for 2 seconds, and fired for 2 more seconds. The abbreviated quantification is as follows:

0+3-2+2=3

8-3=5

The operator can fire the weapon for 5 seconds before reaching the designated heat maximum.

Nomenclature Information

The following section contains general information about the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle, such as its designer, its nomenclature, its intended role, and its dimensions.

Nomenclature Information
Designer Ketsurui Fleet Yards
Manufacturer Ketsurui Zaibatsu
Fielded By Star Army of Yamatai
Name Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle
Nomenclature Ke-M2/12-W3903.
Type Aether
Role Coherent Aether Rifle
Length (Ke-M2-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle) 48 inches 2)
Weight (Ke-M2-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle) 72 Lbs. 3)
Length (Ke-M12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle) 75 inches 4)
Weight (Ke-M12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle) 90 Lbs. 5)

Appearance

The appearance of the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle is dominated primarily by shades of blue and light blue. The weapon has a “tuning-fork” style barrel, which externally directs and projects the coherent aether beam during the firing sequence. The top of the weapon has a mounting hardpoint for the standard-issue Ke-W1-1A 30x Multi-spectrum Variable Zoom AIES-linking scope, which has a boxy shape and a predominately blue color profile. The manual trigger is located just below the director.

The back of the weapon has a rectangular charge port, which connects to the forearm of the attached power armor.

The appearance of the M2 and M12 variants are identical. However, the M12 is a scaled up for usage with the Kirie and Keiko Thought Armors.

6)

Discharge Information

The following section contains information about the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle's firing characteristics, such as its rate of fire and its degree of recoil.

Atmosphere

The following section contains information about the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle's performance in a standard atmospheric environment.

Atmospheric Performance
Beam Velocity 671,000,000 MPH
Effective Range Up to 294,000 miles 7)

Space

The following section contains information about the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle's performance in a standard space-based environment.

Space Performance
Beam Velocity 671,000,000 MPH
Effective Range Up to 294,000 miles 8)

Energy Source

The following section contains information about the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle's energy source.

Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle Purpose Quickchart
Variant Purpose Area of Effect Rate of Fire
Ke-M2-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle, Anti-Armor Power Tier 6, Inflicts Heavy Anti-Armor damage for every .45 seconds of accurate fire upon designated target .65 feet9) 8 Seconds of Continuous Fire every 8 Seconds
Ke-M2-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle, Anti-Personnel Power Tier 3, Inflicts Heavy Anti-Personnel damage for every .45 seconds of accurate fire upon designated target .65 feet10) 16 Seconds of Continuous Fire every 8 Seconds
Ke-M12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle, Anti-Armor/Mecha Power Tier 7, Inflicts Light Anti-Mecha damage for every .45 seconds of accurate fire upon designated target .7 feet11) 8 Seconds of Continuous Fire every 8 Seconds
Ke-M12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle, Anti-Personnel Power Tier 3, Inflicts Heavy Anti-Personnel damage for every .45 seconds of accurate fire upon designated target .7 feet12) 16 Seconds of Continuous Fire every 8 Seconds

Weapon Mechanisms

The following section contains information about the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle's aiming systems, attachments, and internal/external mechanisms.

OOC Notes

Immortal Cyan created this article on 2017/11/05 20:41.

Approved by Wes and Ametheliana on November 28, 2017.

Approval Thread: https://stararmy.com/roleplay-forum/index.php?threads/yamatai-ke-m2-12-w3903-coherent-aether-rifle.60410/#post-367111

1)
For reference on the operation and firing style of the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle, check out the Type-52 focus rifle from Halo: Reach, which served as the principal inspiration for this weapon.
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121.92 cm
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32.6587 kg
4)
190.5 cm
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40.82 kg
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Art by Arieg
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473,177 km
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