Rusty
Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create the next version of Olga, RCFC's tech demonstrator sniper rifle
- Image Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nRVHRT8C6eo/maxresdefault.jpg
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: Olga
- Manufacturer: Rusty's Custom Firearms and Cutlery
- Model: Olga MK2
- Affiliation: Rusty, friends thereof
- Modularity: Rail system allows for the use of interchangeable optics
- Production: Unique
- Material: Durasteel, alusteel, tungsten, phrik, plastoid
- Classification: Slugthrower
- Size: Man Portable
- Length: 3.2 meters
- Weight: 37kg
- Ammunition Type: Proprietary 15mm Longbow Round
Longbow next to 7.63x39 (AK-47) and 5.56x45 (M16) rounds for comparison
- Ammunition Capacity: 1
- Effective Range: 6,000 meters
- Rate of Fire: Single shot bolt action
- Uses 3 sequenced StabiliGat™ modules to reduce recoil to manageable levels
- Proprietary round has excellent ballistic coefficient, allowing it to be lethal and reasonably accurate at extreme ranges
- Phrik barrel
- Extreme Range: The proprietary 15mm Longbow round has an excellent ballistics coefficient, which allows it to be accurate at extreme ranges, not to mention lethal.
- What armor?: Due to the extreme stresses placed on the projectile, traditional copper/lead construction was not ideal. Instead, the projectile is tungsten swaged in copper. This allows it to maintain its shape, and also gives it excellent armor penetration. Has the potential to penetrate light personal armor at 3,000 meters, medium personal armor at 1,750 meters, and heavy personal armor (non RM, cut ranges in half for anything like that) at 1,000 meters. At ranges of less than 1,000 meters, Olga has the potential to penetrate light to moderate vehicle armor. Even if the armor stops the round, the kinetic load is devastating, with the ability to deliver the energy of a moderate speed car crash to the armored plate.
- StabiliGat™: Though the original Olga incorporated an inertial damper, it was crude compared to the StabiliGat™ module. The Mk2 variant uses three sequenced StabiliGat™ modules linked to a single microprocessor that coordinates to share the load. Though this doesn't completely mitigate recoil, it certainly makes it much less of a pain, reducing to levels that allow the Mk2 to be fired comfortably from the prone using the built in bipod.
- Went on a Diet: Use of a phrik barrel, along with a simplified firing system, drops the weight of the Mk2 in comparison to its predecessor, without sacrificing effectiveness.
- Big 'un: Olga was never exactly a little lady, but the Mk2 version stretches her out significantly, almost doubling the length. And though she did lose several kilograms, she's still fairly hefty. The end result is a rifle that simply cannot be maneuvered indoors. Or in ships. Or anywhere without plenty of clearance, really. And while she does lose some weight, no one can say the same for her ammo. Each Longbow shell weighs in at 300 grams. 100 rounds weigh 30 kilograms. This, needless to say, is a lot to hump across a battlefield.
- Power Hog: In order to feed the StabiliGat™ modules and the firing mechanism, Olga Mk2 requires an external power pack, usually mounted to a backpack or rucksack. While you'll probably be far enough away from the action that it won't be a target, if a stray mortar round hits it, it's gonna scoop out a crater about three meters across where it used to be. The phrik barrel might survive, but nothing else will.
- Flashy: Though the muzzle flash isn't as hellishly bright on the Mk2, it's still plenty bright enough to give away one's position. On top of that, the report is, if anything, louder. Loud enough, in fact, that firing indoors without proper protective equipment can actually be fatal, as the pressure wave is intense enough to pop organs if it doesn't get to disperse.
- Slow: Because of the unusual proportions of the Longbow cartridge, a magazine feeding system simply isn't practical. A round must be manually inserted into the weapon each time it's fired. Naturally, this means that engaging multiple targets at close quarters, already a difficult prospect thanks to its size, is impossible.
Olga was, for a long time, one of Rusty's pride and joy. But time marches on, and in the decade since her construction, RCFC has gained access to a variety of new technologies. Thus, the Mk2 was born.
A new weapon calls for a new round, and since Rusty had a lot more budget to play with this time, he designed something that would have been completely beyond his capacity the first go round: the 15mm Longbow cartridge. Though narrower than the original 17mm round, the Longbow is actually heavier, and has a much better ballistic coefficient. It also discards the clunky hybrid blaster firing system of the original. Instead, the primer contains a tiny dot of baradium, just enough to vaporize the explosive propellant and send the projectile screaming down the barrel at speeds best described in expletives. The copper jacket allows the projectile to grip the rifling, and off it goes.
Just to be on the safe side, the firing chamber is connected to several sensors, in order to detect defects and potential catastrophic failure. If the sensors detect that the probability of failure is above a preset value, they'll disable the weapon until repairs have been made.
To both withstand the tremendous firing pressures and reduce weight, the barrel was constructed from phrik. Though the metal is most famous for its ability to withstand lightsaber strikes, Olga will not be entertaining saber jockeys at close range. She is a lady, and prefers to keep such uncouth characters at arm's length. Well, many arms' lengths. About 3,000 of them, by preference.
In order to reduce recoil from please God make it stop levels to a much more manageable this makes me feel manly, the Mk2 uses three StabiliGat™ modules, controlled by a single microprocessor, to even things out a bit. By sharing the load, no one module is stressed too much.
The modules, sensors, and whatever powered optics are installed are provided energy via a power pack, usually mounted in a backpack or rucksack, along with the backbreaking 30 kilograms of the 100 round standard combat load. The pack is good for about three days of continuous operation. It should be noted, however, that if it gets hit by a stray round, the resulting explosion will be spectacular indeed. The phrik barrel might survive, but everything else will likely be reduced to stray atoms floating on the wind.
