Barghest ME Terrier SMG
Written by: Ripshot
So when we think of Barghest Precision Machining's foray into gats that aren't bolted to your skeleton, we usually think of the Stand-Alone Frame series, purpose-made cyberguns removed from their cybernetic housing and given the bare minimum needed to be carried and fired without the commitment of invasive surgery. It's to be expected from a corp that specialises in violent-ass cyberware for non-cyberware products to be made more as an afterthought than as a flagship-line. But the Terrier SMG, the first of the 'Metahuman Ergonomics' line of products from Barghest, takes its own approach to cyberware-derived guns. Instead of simply fitting a grip and trigger to the guts of a cybergun, the R&D folk used the company's cyberguns to conduct studies in firearm ergonomics, seeing how users aimed with the intuition of pointing a finger and seeing if they can apply it to a standalone firearms-platform.Like cyberware itself, the concept is older than the advertisement hype would have you believe. Designers figured out as far back as the 19th century that pistols are more intuitive to aim and fire when the grip and barrel angle mimic that of a pointing finger.Now I gotta say, this thing looks ugly. I mean form follows function, but it looks like someone took a bullpup and melted it a little. Thing is, beneath that chewed-up pig's ear of an outer-casing is a gun made to be as intuitive and natural to aim and fire as possible. On top of having one of the smallest dimensions for a fixed-stock SMG, the thing's got what the pamphlet's calling 'Memetic-Polymer Ergononomic Panels'. It took me a few tries to figure out what the hell that means, but it's like this: The stock, cheek-rest and grips are made from ultra-lightweight synthetic materials that can quickly change its shape to fit the user's body perfectly. It can also shrink the panels down until they're practically vacuum-packed over the innards to save space in transportation.
The vacuum-packing deal also acts as a secondary safety. Not because it stops the gun from firing, but because if you try to fire it you'll break the gun entirely. Barghest say they're looking to fix this in upconing iterations, but why should they?For the first few years of its production Barghest marketed this little guy exclusively to corpsec and law-enforcement as an HTR pointman's best friend, but poor sales have led to a few limited releases to the public, along with selling a semi-automatic 'civilian compliant' version', but that one can easily be converted into a select-fire gun with a cut-up soda can and some spot-welding, if you know how.
Item type
Weapon, Ranged
Manufacturer
Rarity
12R
Weight
2.65 KG unloaded
Dimensions
9" barrel, 16" total length
Base Price
1050¥
The Personalised Grip can be reconfigured for a new user with a Computer+Logic (Mental) (1) Test as a Complex Action, or a Simple Action if connected by a wireless or DNI interface.
A Civilian-Variant can be purchased for 800¥ with a rarity of 8R and SA fire only. The Civiilian-Variant can be modified for full-auto fire by making an Armorer+Logic (Mental) (12, Ten Minutes) Extended test.
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