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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

• Muzzle Flash: The barrel of the weapon emits a cyan light when discharged. The size of the light emitted covers nearly half the size of the armor firing the weapon.
• Retort: The weapon emits a high-pitched whine, that grows higher in pitch and frequency as the firing sequence progresses closer to the heat maximum.
• Projectile/Beam Appearance: The aetheric beam fired out of the weapon is cyan in color. The diameter of the beam is nearly three times as wide as the barrel of the rifle itself.
• Rate of Fire: The weapon can fire a continuous cyan-colored aether beam for 8 seconds every 8 seconds on the Anti-Armor/Mecha power setting and for 16 seconds every 8 seconds on the Anti-Personnel power setting. However, it is not recommended for the operator to continuously fire the weapon for until it reaches the designated heat maximum. Instead, the weapon is best fired in short and continuous bursts, so that the cooling system can cycle more efficiently.
• Recoil: The Ke- M2/12- W3903 has a moderate and vertical Recoil pattern.

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

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

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

• Energy Source: Aether
• Purpose: Tier 6 Heavy Anti-Armor, Tier 7 Light Anti-Mecha
• Capacity: The capacity is effectively Unlimited as long as weapon retains function and remains attached to the host Mindy, Kirie, or Keiko power armor. Since the weapon does not feature an internal capacitor, it cannot fire when unattached to a host armor.
• Thermal Capacity: The Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle can maintain 8 Seconds of continuous fire before reaching designated heat maximum at the Anti-Armor power setting. At the Anti-Personnel power setting, the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle can maintain 16 seconds of continuous fire before reaching designated heat maximum.
• Cooling Cycle: The Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle has an 8 Second Cooling Cycle after reaching the designated heat maximum for both power settings. Cooling is quicker and more efficient when fired in periodic bursts.

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

• Firing Mechanism: The Ke-M2/12-W3903 weapon system fires condensed energy from the aether in the form of a coherent and continuous beam.
• Loading Mechanism: The Ke-M2/12-W3903 weapon system draws power from the aether generator on the attached Mindy, Kirie, or Keiko power armor.
• Cooling System: The Ke-M2/12-W3903 weapon system utilizes a continuous cooling system, which is powered by the aether generator on the attached Mindy, Kirie, or Keiko power armor. Thermal output is managed after the firing sequence through a ventilation system. If the weapon overheats, the cooling system performs a severe heat discharge protocol.
• Firing Modes: The primary firing mode on the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle is the Anti-Armor power setting. The secondary firing mode on the Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle is the Anti-Personnel power setting.
• Mode Selection: The firing modes can be toggled via AIES.
• Safety Mechanism: The safety can be toggled via AIES and the manual switch at the top of the weapon.
• Weapon Sight: The Ke-M2/12-W3903 Coherent Aether Rifle has a standard-issue Ke-M2/12-W3903 30x Multi-spectrum Variable Zoom AIES-linking scope. The user can also interface with the scope without sighting the weapon itself, via AIES integration.
• Attachment Hardpoints: The top of the weapon has a mounting rail for the Ke-M2/12-W3903 30x Multi-spectrum Variable Zoom AIES-linking scope.

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