Zilda Marn's Plasma Pistol

The Tegano Plasma Pistol is a very old Vusinor weapon design. It uses a process known as Induction heating to vaporize a ball of metal, then forcing it through several magnetic coils to accelerate it down range at hypersonic speeds. The only reason this particular piece still survives is because it has for a long time been the favored weapon of Zilda Marn, who carried this weapon for thousands of years. She maintained it herself and custom built several parts to keep it in working condition.

The Weapon's Battery is rechargeable, and is recharged by plugging it into an external energy source by use of an adaptor designed by Zilda Marn herself, as ten thousand year old Vusinor Technology is not compatible with Regalti tech in the slightest. She also built several replacement batteries if/when the old one goes bad.

There is a detachable magazine in the grip that holds roughly four hundred 3mm copper spheres. Zilda only has two magazines for the weapon and it is unlike that anymore will ever be found, but as it holds so many rounds of ammunition, she never had a need for more.

Operation

The way the weapon works is that first a copper ball is moved into a small chamber, where it is introduced to magnets to start the process of induction heating. As the copper gets hotter, it melts into a glowing ball, then at roughly 2600 degrees celsius, it vaporizes. The copper is continuously heated until it reaches a temperature of roughly 12,000 degrees celsius. At this temperature the copper has turned into an energetic plasma. There are other gasses present in the chamber as well, usualyl oxygen and nitrogen, or whatever the atmosphere is made of. At this point the weapon is ready to fire.

When the trigger is squeezed, the copper exits the chamber due to the intense pressure of the heat. Several magnetic coils in the barrel force the rapidly cooling copper into a long thin projectile. When it leaves the barrel, the copper partially condenses into a liquid, surrounded by an envelope of super heated gasses. It fires at speeds of 5600 meters per second.

This bolt of plasma and metal has such a high energy value that EM shields can't protect against it. The energy of the plasma is abosrbed by the shield while the copper projectile sails straight through. Armor has trouble protecting against it as the super heated projectile will just punch through nearly anything. Even if the armor is thick enough to stop it, a deep hole will be left where the armor was melted, and subsequent shots will eventually break the armor.

Disadvantages

All that said, the weapon does have several major disadvantages. First, it can't fire in an airless enivronment. The copper gasses isn't enough to force the projectile down range at the necessary speeds on its own. It relies on atmospheric gasses to be super heated as well. Fortunately for this disadvantage, Zilda Marn has fashioned a bottle of compressed air that can be attached to the side of the weapon, but it makes the weapon quite heavy and lopsided.

The weapon also has significant recoil, making followup shots difficult to make. The force of the plasma leaving the barrel puts out an opposite pressure that has been known to injure those not respecting the weapon's power. Most modern Vusinor weapons have little noticeable recoil. The same is true for many Regalti weapons.

The weapon is also quite loud. When the projectile leaves the barrel, it cracks in the air around it, generating 120 decibels of sound, which is enough to cause permanent hearing loss.

Info

Type:
Place of Origin:
Year Designed:
Time in Production:
Number Made:
Manufacturer:

Plasma Pistol
Unknown
10,000 years ago
100 years
Unknown
Essali Corporation

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Service History:


Wars:

VRC

Weapon is too old to know which wars it was involved in.

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Length:
Barrel Length:
Width:
Height:
Weight (unloaded):

212 mm
153 mm
28 mm
150 mm
1100 g

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Cartridge:
Action:
Muzzle Velocity:
Energy Output:
Effective Range:
Fire Rate:
Magazine Size(s):

3 mm copper ball
Charged Plasma
4800 m/s
2787 J per shot
1500 m
250 rpm
400

AA832

AA832.1

AA832.2

Research Log: AAA832

People have been telling me since my 300th clone body to get a new gun, and I still refuse. Sure I've broken my arm...uh, wait...how many times have I broken my arm firing this thing? I've had it so long through so many different bodies I kind of lost count...

I actually knocked myself out firing this gun for the very first time. Hit myself right in the face! Sarxis Noron spent the next ten years just laughing at me every time he saw me.

Research Log: AA832.1

I've also lost count of the number of times it got me out of a bad situation. This weapon is the only one I've ever owned that can break through a Maorian's rocky armor with a single shot. The EM shields that so many alien races are so proud of are humbled very quickly when I fire this at them.

There was also an incident on Gaia when my research team wandered a little to close to these creatures known as a Tswana (Elephant). One shot of my baby broke one of its tusks and scared the entire herd away! You can't do that with our modern Vusinor weaponry!

Research Log: AAA832.2

Still though, maybe I should find a replacement soon? The weapon's original metal finish is so worn away and I've been modifying it for so long I don't even remember what it originally looked like.

Until I can find a replacement with this kind of stopping power (unlikely unless I use one of the Maorian's Volcano guns...bleh, no thanks), I guess I'll just keep using this one!

- Zilda Marn, Class Y Research Agent

Research Log

((Click the Above Tabs to View Zilda's thoughts on this weapon))

extras

"This weapon is by far one of the most powerful and most difficult to use of any that I handled."

- Ryan

"How so?"

- Dr. Gaille

"Think of firing a Desert Eagle, now, instead of those .50 action express catridges, load it with, 12...eh, we'll say 20 gauge shotgun slugs...in a handgun. I felt like my arm was about to break after firing each shot....

Okay, I'm exaggerating. I did bruise my hands after firing just five shots though!"

- Ryan