The Helstrom plasma rifle is a man-portable rifle variant of the Helstrom family of plasma weapons used by the Iron Company, having first been created in Pre-YE 25, with production restarting in YE 44.

As the Iron Company's mission scope increased, going from solely hunting alien monstrosities to dealing with local warlords getting a bit on the uppity side. The Thunderer, while effective the new at the time battle-rifle variant at the time was still sorting out teething problems; mainly that the thing when it was set to full auto had a habit of seriously injuring its users. So, at some point in Pre-YE 25 after waking with a hangover and a request from the grandmaster to “Get his drunken arse in gear and build us something till we get the rifle sorted out.” Alexi Durnov set to work trying to create something that could punch through armor reliably.

However, much to the chagrin of many future yeomen the Forgemaster, either still suffering from his love affair with liquor, or possibly just because he didn't feel like having to build something from the ground up took the Helstrom Plasma Cannon, managed to scale down the weapon into a(barely) usable weapon system, with a high rate of fire. Despite the weapon's power, it was so heavily flawed; mainly stemming from the fact that the cooling system was wholly inadequate and resulted in several problems ranging from the heat damaging the magnetic containment system to the lasing system being melted after the first firing, turning the gun into a fancy paperweight, to the fact the plasma gas used as ammunition was carried in a tank on the back, to outright detonation. Needless to say, after numerous complaints; likely followed by threats of bodily harm or even worse, his booze ration being cut, the Alexi managed to rework the system just enough that the risk of a malfunction was reduced from 'guaranteed' to 'somewhat likely', though carrying a canister full of plasma gas on ones' back was still a bit of a risk.

Needless to say, this weapon was so unpopular among the Yeoman that the ones assigned these weapons were the closest to penal troops that you would ever see among the company. In its modern iteration, while most of the weapon's kinks have been worked out-the rate of fire was reduced and the cooling system was reworked to the point that it can actually handle the heat generated during firing. While malfunctions still happen, normally from heat damage or containment failure, they are not nearly as prevalent as the earliest model. The gun is considerably less advanced than most common models found throughout the sector but is able to hit just as hard due to the company philosophy of “Brute Force It” when it comes to technology. It should be noted that some of these weapons are salvaged relics from the Company's old home of Hephaestus, with many of them being restored to working order-though their effectiveness is debatable compared to the newer models.

The weapon first saw action again on Sandraker in YE 44 during an engagement with the Mishu¹⁾, with several yeomen accompanying the Grandmaster using them to somewhat debatable effect.

A bulky, and surprisingly compact if crude, though stockless, rifle, having an almost industrial look about it typical of most Iron Company equipment. The gun has several venting ports along the weapon to shunt waste heat and excess plasma gas; these are not always effective.

• Muzzle Flash: A blue-white flash that generates a 1.5-meter diameter cone of ionized air producing a slight pressure wave.
• Retort: A sound akin to a thunderclap
• Projectile/Beam Appearance: A blue-white beam similar to the Cannon, though the plasma arcs aren't as prevalent.
• Effective Range: 1 KM-though the weapon's lack of a stock makes effective targeting difficult.
• Rate of Fire: 15 to 25 bolts a minute.
• Recoil: A jolt that kicks the weapon back-the weapon is usually pinpoint in accuracy but the lack of a stock increases the issue with weapon sway.

• Ammunition: Fusion Gas Canister
• Purpose: Light Anti-Mecha
• Round Capacity: The standard gas canister has 60 shots, but this can be increased to 120 and accepts the same canisters as the Helstrom Plasma Cannon.
• Fusion Gas Canister Price: 500ks (37.85L, 60 shots), or 800 ks (75.71L, High-Pressure Canister, 120 shots), the canister can be reused and refilled.

While nowhere near as destructive as its larger cousin, the rifle still uses the same devastating mixture of deuterium and helium-3 and uses a similar firing mechanism; hyper-compressing the gas before kick-starting the reaction process and sending the shot down range with similar results as its larger cousin; a combination of thermal and kinetic damage buckling and vaporizing armor, damaging electronics, causing third and fourth degree burns against soft tissue and melting bone in organic targets along with radiation poisoning due to being shot with a miniature sun. The secondary plasma arcs while not as prevalent, still represent a danger and can inflict collateral damage. It is advised the weapon not be used by unprotected personnel, as the heat and radiation generated by the beam represent a serious hazard. It is also ill-advised to fire this indoors as you may possibly start a fire, causing yet another hazard to the already considerable dangers of the battlefield.

• Firing Mechanism: To fire the weapon, the weapon must be 'primed' by releasing gas into the chamber-this is done by depressing the trigger part way, one adequately pressurized, the trigger is fully depressed activating the lasing process and kickstarting the fusion reaction and sending the beam down range.
• Loading: The hose for the plasma gas tank is attached to the back of the weapon.
• Mode Selector: The weapon has a simple button safety located just above the trigger.
• Firing Modes: Semi-Auto Only
• Weapon Sight: The weapon has the same sights as the Thunderer Heavy Rifle.
• Attachment Hard Points: The weapon cannot accept additional attachments as the heat from the weapon often damages them-this of course does not keep enterprising soldiers from trying to improvise attachments. These usually don't last long and result in additional damage to the weapon.

In addition to the numerous flaws in the weapon, ranging from simply melting the lasing mechanism to outright detonation, there have been numerous reports of the gun's barrel “catching fire”-flames often sprouting from the top of the barrel due to the sheer heat generated by the gun. This is usually a good indication that maybe you want to stop firing, detach the fuel source, and pick up a different gun as it's a pretty good indication its either going melt or explode in your hands-or possibly detonate the fuel source you have strapped to your back.

• Helstrom Plasma Rifle: 1000ks

• Barrel: 100 KS
• Coolant Unit: 150 KS
• Lasing Mechanism: 7KS
• Gas Valve: 2 KS

• This weapon has no attachments, but one can always try to attach something to it.

Commissar Farzi created this article on 2023/04/01 05:49. Art Midjourny AI

This article was approved by Wes on January 4, 2024. ³⁾