Database and Lore

Firearms of 24th Century Page 2

Spoilers if you haven’t read Gabatrix: The First Peace Itrean Firearms With the discovery of the Itreans, humanity is learning rather quickly about the history of their firearms. While some can easily surmise that their history is similar to humanity, the Itreans are somewhat staggered in gun development for much of their evolution. Much mystery remains as to why, although this same mystery extends to just about any technological progression on their part. Regardless, despite their prolonged progression, Itrean firearms do have some unique qualities that often reflect on the personality and culture of the race as a whole. Each clan species had various types of weapons that ranged to billions of different styles and shapes. Many of these artifacts are used to help prove how long the Itreans have existed while showing other qualities and improvements. One of the first guns that have survived the tests of time includes a Yutilian flintlock that is over a million years old. It is believed that guns such as these were commonplace, even for people that had achieved basic space travel. It’s thought that Itrean technology was slightly more basic than 1960s Earth technology, being just viable enough for gate probes to be fully utilized. While mostly speculation, the Itrean brain caused technological progression to be insanely slower. However, even with such setbacks, the Itreans have still managed to create their own types of firearms. The Aksren carry museum pieces, such as their rolling block rifles that are over 900,000 years old. Eventually, the semi- automatic rifle would see service as far back as 450,000 years. Stories persist that even with spaceships, the Itreans would still engage in ground warfare with primitive basic rifles and slug throwers. Further speculation points to the fact that the Itreans simply placed more resources towards spaceships and bioengineering. Ground warfare was not a common occurrence. At the same time, each clan species was drastically different than the other. The Shal’rein fought with tridents and harpoon guns most of the time, 500,000 years ago before they eventually started to fight on land. The Alara’jal clan had enormous personal sidearms due to their much greater sizes. Even the basic rolling block guns to muskets could become small cannons that would blast the smaller Itrean species with ease. The Gesh’Ot clan, on the other hand, used high-powered dart guns. This, coupled with their most potent diseases and poisons, made the tiny people a significant threat to the other Itrean clans.     It’s believed that the more current modern sidearms would see their usage by around 180,000 years ago. The Shal’rein clan had been fighting in both land and water with weapons that easily fit into both roles. Both Yutilian and Aksren clans have their own bioengineered shell casing rifles. These guns were the pinnacle of their engineering skills. While comparable in stopping power to the 20^th-century human guns, these firearms utilized certain qualities. These would often use regenerative metal alloys. The firearms carried semi-organic components that could cycle cooling but carry a high rate of fire. If these guns were damaged, the organic resin and alloy could heal themselves in time. Stories persist that museum pieces would be accidentally dropped on a few occasions in their long history of preservation. Any form of damage to the guns would require little repair because they would simply fix themselves. These guns would also be the first recorded full automatic rifles. It was even possible for Itrean clan species to create diseases that could specifically target the weapons and render them inoperable with counter efforts to introduce immunities to those diseases.  The last 70,000 years would see the most significant improvements to Itrean firearms. Among one of these was the advent of the Shal’rein railguns. Where humanity suffered from developing, the Shal’rein clan began to place more and more resources towards gun development. Their rifles were on par with the Aksren and Yutilian counterparts and easily considered better. The personal railgun thrower could be easily established on turret emplacements. The people are strong enough to haul them into the field, with the strongest that can even fire them on hand. In reality, the railguns are operating at a reduced setting. This is to make up for the sheer recoil generated by a hypervelocity round. Only a few soldiers of contingents were used as “Anti- Vehicle/Mech units” since the railguns are not purposely used to shoot at soldiers. Their fire rate was simply too poor, and the power needed to fire them was enormous. The rear compartment is designed similarly to recoilless rifles, where the backwash of the blast is vented backward. Great care is needed when these powerful guns are used. During the time of the Empire of Jalgren, firearms were a complex issue. Imperial Aksren soldiers could possess and operate the guns that were made for them, but other immigrating clan species would have to adapt to strict rules. Jalgren was a person that believed in unity, but not when it came to the right to bear arms for those species. This was felt most heavily by the Shal’rein clan that had much of their firearms stripped away. Although, even then, many of the clan species made their own and kept them hidden during the imperial age. Despite the laws that forbade non Aksren from having firearms, it didn’t stop the other clans from adopting new guns. By the time of the Rototrein Rebellion, many of the various species used ex-imperial firearms or introduced their own secretly made weapons. The irony was that Jalgren’s legacy had left a lingering impact on how all the Itreans had used firearms. Even the Shal’rein, which had held many positive views towards them, had adopted a regular use of laser weaponry, basic equipment parts, and ammunition sizes, thanks to the former empire. The general consensus towards personal firearms in the post-Jalgren Empire years generally falls into a similar pattern by each of the surviving clan species. The Yutilians and Aksren clans and their respected empires and kingdoms all practice basic freedom of the right to bear arms. Most of this argument basically stems down to the fact of the concept of “Total Warfare Defense.” The threat of invasion and outright genocide is a real prospect. If a ground invasion were to happen, the invaders would likely kill everything that is on the ground. Men, women, and children are no exception to this rule. Therefore, it is important that everyone can operate a gun. Upon reaching the equivalent age of ten, any child that hasn’t been given basic firearms training by their cultures, societies, or parents are to be given basic courses. Upon reaching the age of adulthood, Itreans are then given basic combat and self- defense training. Conscription is quite common, and it’s important that all people know how to protect themselves. However, with the Shal’rein, their love of the gun is more paramount than the other species. Unlike the Yutilians and Aksren, the Shal’rein have more appreciation towards firearms. Entire religions and literature often reflect it quite substantially. There are practically no laws on gun control in Shal’rein space. This is further pressed by the fact that Shal’rein children know how to make their own guns and ammunition, capable of taking apart and easily assembling anything that they can get ahold of. A saying by the Shal’rein is, “The gun is a part of us as it is the soul. We make the gun, we die from it, and it is buried with us. There is nothing wasted as everyone knows how to make their own.” It isn’t just a sport, but one that has formed a part of their culture. The best marksmen and sharpshooters are often the Shal’rein. Does this mean that every Shal’rein is a gun-totting fanatic? The answer is no, far from it. Many various individuals have their own perspectives on it. However, those that have no interest in them have no opinion against it. The Alara’jal, much like their original views on society, also had no laws on firearms. However, the people were generally more polarized on the concept. They had no form of government except what was pushed forward by conquering warlords. Remote villages had personal firearms that they used for self-defense and hunting, or the warlord used them against them for personal gain. Their guns were easily the most powerful of all Itrean guns. However, they lacked the finesse that many of the Shal’rein guns had. In some perspectives, Alara’jal firearms were generally more primitive by design but still packed a devastating punch to them. The Palierans, however, were very aggressive towards guns and having them. In their culture, it was said that they simply felt the need not to have them, except for hunting purposes. Even then, Palieran species often had to go to much larger lengths to be able to have their own personal firearms. With the advent of the Emphra War, the Itrean species had learned the hard way that their firearms were almost all but useless. The Emphra weren’t even solid and generally operated in an indomitable liquid state. Projectile-based weaponry failed to hurt them and only destroyed the assimilated husk bodies that the Emphra used. Contrary to some historians, laser weapons were tried and also were unable to hurt them in the early years of the war. Only a nuclear explosion would hurt the Emphra bodies. What made matters worse was that the Emphra could take over an Itrean and use their own weapons against other Itreans. However, at the halfway point of the war, an Aksren soldier would, in pure desperation, fire his laser pistol into an Emphra that was closing in on him. To his surprise, the Emphra substance crumbled to dust. It was revealed that while laser weapons were ineffective as before, a specifically tuned frequency that was given from the laser emitter could kill them. The recovered malfunctioning laser had proven to be the tipping point of the entire war. From that point on, the Itreans, with the combined alliance, had made unilateral laser weapons that everyone could use to combat the Emphra. While the battles were still horrific to some degree, the Itreans finally had a way to fight back. The Emphra War would introduce the beginning of standardized firearms that all Itreans could use. This even included the fact that Shal’rein hands were much bigger than the Aksren and Yutilian hands. Most of the time, the Shal’rein guns were simply enlarged ones to make up for the difference. The last fifty years to 2350 would see the usage of many common variants that all the clans used to various degrees. Much as the T’rintar government had tried to accomplish, it was the goal of the United Itrean Republic or United Itrean Empire to create a form of standardization. Even by the time of the Itrean Civil War in 2340, most of these guns had changed little, with only slight differences between each species parts and equipment. The most common current rifles of the Yutilian and Aksren soldiers are the Y-6 Assault Rifle, with the Aksren introducing the Y-7. The Y-6 carries a large underslung box magazine to carry and fire caseless rounds. It’s small and compact while carrying a typical punch and lightweight to them. They also have the ability to fire decoy grenades against the Itrean Seeker Grenades. The Shal’rein utilize the ZL rifles, a common and popular rifle design. Much like the Y series rifles, the gun has two barrels to fire the 50 caliber rounds and decoy grenades. It’s not uncommon that Shal’rein guns carry many interchangeable parts that can operate on much older guns in turn. It isn’t a surprise that the Shal’rein guns are far better and more powerful than the Yutilian and Aksren clan variants in the current spectrum. However, this doesn’t mean that Yutilian and Aksren firearms are to be scuffed at when compared to the Shal’rein. The smaller guns are still dangerous and at least provide some offensive capability to the Yutilian and Aksren clans alike. Regardless, only their anti-material rifles have any hope in trying to penetrate Shal’rein wrap armors. Impact of Firearms with the T’rintar Alliance While the smaller Itrean guns are almost on par with current UHN firearms, many of them make up for their light versatility. Upon the creation of the UWA/T’rintar alliance, firearms were made available from both sides to both sides’ markets. Yutilian guns, such as the Y-6 actually are just as easy for a physically weaker human to use. The typical pistol of the T’rintar, such as the AKT-1, has been looked at as another compact pistol that human women have been known to purchase. Most of the economic impact of the growing firearms trade has been mostly mute. It generally depends on the UWA world that allows it, such as Mars, Aphadus, Palora, and Oshun. At the same time, however, human-constructed guns have started to reach the T’rintar clan worlds but have been mainly on the mute side. Generally, it has been more of a gun enthusiast’s dream on both sides of the alliance that has had more of an interest in gathering the alien firearms. In reality, the information has been mostly too soon to fully evaluate the effects of the alliance and the firearms trade. Anti-gun activists have been on the fence with the newfound alien weaponry as just another system to give people more dangerous guns. However, there is a possible danger to this concept, as there is genuine concern that the new Itrean weapons are starting to find their way into the wrong hands. Dangerous criminal syndicates that operate in the ghettos of Oshun and the Nova Pirates in the Paloran system are starting to show hints that they are using Itrean firearms. Despite this, the overall impact is still expected to be partly minor. Generally, politicians have been unaffected, with only a select few that have brought the situation up to the public. However, the issue is mainly dropped for more critical topics and issues. Unless there are large shipments that are suddenly submitted to criminals and law breakers alike, then it will be brought into question in further debates.