Grease Gun

A grease gun is a type of submachine gun designed for light infantry use. While the term 'grease gun' has become a vernacular term for any inexpensive submachine gun, the name originated from the resemblance of many models to the mechanic's tool of the same name; in fact, the cheapest grease guns are literally made from salvaged grease guns, caulking guns, and industrial sprayers. For every brand-name grease gun produced, a dozen others exist in the world as off-brand knockoffs or personal defense weapons milled in someone's basement workshop.
Despite the grease gun's reputation for cheap construction, the weapon has seen widespread adoption in the armed forces of the Manifold, as its inexpensiveness and ubiquity means that parts and ammunition are always close at hand. The near-universality of the grease gun's chamber and magazine well designs has led to the creation of specialist magazines for use with specialist ammunition (such as high-explosive or incendiary rounds).

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The vast majority of grease guns in the Manifold Sky setting are chambered for League Dieseltech Armory 10mm JHP ammunition, a round so chosen for its ubiquity, reduced risk of over-penetration and, by extension, lower risk of collateral damage. The weapon is sometimes scaled up for crew-served or auto-armor equipment purpose, with the bore size roughly doubling for each doubling in the effective "size" of the user - for example, a grease gun meant to be carried by a man in a suit of PBA-5 "Pioneer" Main Battle Auto-Armor would be be chambered for the LDA 18mm JHP or 20mm AP cartridge.

Significance

Civilian ownership varies based on region, depending on local laws, prominence of black markets, and local wealth levels. For example, Voxelian civilians are generally barred from carrying automatic variants, while, conversely, citizens of the Free Faces League would look down on someone who owns a grease gun and hasn't customized it. Pirate crews and other criminal enterprises often arm their heavies with surplus grease guns, with decorative plating or paints used to denote affiliation and increase the intimidation factor of the weapon; this decoration is frequently to the detriment of the weapon's overall reliability.

Item type

Weapon, Ranged

Rarity

Grease guns are ubiquitous in the Manifold, with most in the possession of professional military units.

Weight

3-5 lbs

Dimensions

Varies

Base Price

Varies (typically ~200 NGC)

Raw materials & Components

Grease guns are typically constructed of cheap metals and salvaged components, including actual grease guns (as found in a mechanic's workshop).

Tools

Grease guns are somewhat unique amongst firearms within the Manifold in that they require no specialized tools to create, with blueprints readily available to the public (especially in Free Faces League territory) and components craftable with common metalworking tools. At the same time, shops with better tools are more capable of producing quality weapons than home tinkerers, commanding a better price in the open market.