Look buddy, I'm an engineer...
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a stout blaster pistol with a distinctly star wars 'kit-bash' aesthetic
- Image Source: I am the original artist. It's an illustration of a Korth PRS kit-bashed with an AN/PVS-14 night vision monocular and a 1911-compatible bushing compensator.
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Graenge Armaments & Industries
- Affiliation: Ezekiel Graenge
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: Graenge Armaments Model 864 'Sidewinder'
- Modularity: To a minor degree. The weapon includes a lower-attachment rail for mounting lights and lasers.
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material:
- Trimantium frame
- Prismatic Crystals
- Diatium power cell
- Tibanna gas
- Ultrachrome-lined spin-barrel
- Classification: Blaster pistol
- Size: Average
- Weight: Heavy
- Ammunition Type: Power-cell, Gas-canister
- Ammunition Capacity: Small
- Effective Range: Personal
- Rate of Fire: High
- Damage Output: High
- Recoil: Low
- The GA M864 is advertised specifically to starfighter pilots as a sidearm capable of bringing blaster carbine firepower in a compact package.
- It operates similarly to most other blaster pistols, by using an Xciter unit to energize tibanna gas before allowing it to sift forwards into an actuator module and then being discharged. The M84 differs in that it utilizes miniaturized spin-barrel technology to result in a galven pattern that's much more energetic than than most other similarly framed pistols.
- Built Like a Tank: Part of this weapon's advertising 'schtick' is that if your power cell dies at least you can still use it as a bludgeon. That's not a joke. These pistols are built to survive the worst starfighter crashes, do you think it cares about how hard your skull is? Reinforced with a trimantium frame the pistol may be weighty for its size, but it's also incredibly stout.
- Carbine Firepower, Pistol Package: The M864 is compared to a blaster carbine in firepower for good reason. Not merely for its ability to discharge a violently energetic bolt, but for the rate at which it fires them and the remarkably low recoil it does so with. Part of what makes it such a mild blaster to fire is its heavy frame dampening recoil force with sheer inertia; heavy things don't like to be moved. The other half of the equation is the permanently affixed compensator at the end of the barrel. A hand-cannon with none of the recoil and all of the punch.
- Precision Sight: The M864 comes standard with a small lens diameter holographic red dot sight that's just as overbuilt as the rest of the pistol. As it runs off of the same diatium power cell as the rest of the pistol, it includes a power meter for judging remaining power cell life.
- Power Inefficient: One thing that the M864 cannot be said to be is efficient with its shots. Blaster weapons looking to be more powerful usually have much larger XCiter chambers and longer barrels for a more focused galven pattern. The M864 side-steps this by using a Diatium power cell -- something absolutely overkill for a blaster pistol -- and using a ton of power for diminishing returns to agitate the gas before forcing it through the spin barrel. It does produce a powerful and violent blaster bolt, but power cell life is not efficient at all. Most power cells last 20-30 shots only before having to be replaced. With the rate of fire that it's capable of, blowing through that many shots in a single engagement is exceedingly easy to do. The power meter built into the optic is a very conscious attempt at dissuading the operator from letting loose carelessly.
- Short-lived Barrels: As with other blaster technology utilizing augmented spin-barrel designs, these are particularly rough on the weapon. The barrel of the M864 is lined with the exotic material ultrachrome to attempt to minimize the stress to the barrel, and it's partially successful. While the trimantium frame and utilization of ultrachrome makes for a pistol that can feasibly survive spin-barrel stabilized bolts being fired through it, the barrel remains a particular weak-spot in the weapons lifespan. The owners manual included with the weapon recommends the barrel be replaced every 150-200 discharges, and includes a second barrel for this purpose, free from GA&I. Some may believe this to be a scam to keep owners buying barrels from GA&I long after they've purchased the pistol. Those people will pay from their stupidity when eventually their barrel fails during discharge catastrophically.
Ezekiel Graynge's first forray into small arms design, the M864 is a perfect encapsulation of his design philosophy. A pistol tailored around a specialized market with specific needs. It's a showing that even the smallest manufacturer is capable in this day and age of the galaxy of producing an exceptionally quality, hand-made weapon perfectly suited to a task and role that larger companies that have "one size fits all" methodology might miss. A heavy blaster pistol might do the same job, but it'll do it in a larger package with more recoil. Things that the average starfighter pilot will have difficulty working around with limited space in cockpits and limited training time with their personal defense weapon.
What pilots generally have more to spare of is the intelligence and mechanical understanding required to keep up with extra maintenance, and to find ingenious field expedient ways to recharge a power cell. This pistol is made for them.
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