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Have Design, Will Build by hipboyscott
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Have Design, Will Build
Date: 17 October 2002, 11:52 pm
0950 Hours, May 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Eridani System, ONI Weapons Research
Facility, Planet Reach
It was cold in his office, goose bumps ran up his arm as he scribbled the stylus across the tablet. Displayed on the screen was a sketch of James McFadden's new design. A new rifle designed for multiple roles, that utilized everything the UNSC had asked Provov-Trell to produce. McFadden had just been transferred to the ONI weapons research to take care of the adoption of his project, but it was bloody cold in there. He scratched his head. There seemed to be no snags, and for being a youthful man of 25, already serving four years in the Army, and getting a degree just to go work at Provov-Trell, he was doing very well. He had a brand new outfit he had just ordered from the Jennifer Melody's site, and although it was a bit pricey for most folks at 550 credits, his hefty salary from Provov-Trell could leave him rich within a few years if he played his cards right. He pulled back on his brown hair, and stretched. He stood to look out of the window, he could see a personnel shuttle appear from behind the second tower of the ONI facility, escorted by a privately hired Raptor Escort Fighter. He closed his eyes, for a moment, and cleared his mind, then thought about where the sling attachment points should be positioned. He sat down and started to scan for the best possible points.
He turned from his head from his tablet when he heard a noise from down the hall. A familiar face emerged from behind the door frame
'McFadden, how's it going my man?'
McFadden turned to look at his tablet and save the document, then he closed it.
'Chuck, I'm having a tough time with the temperature, deadlines, and work in general, but besides that, Everything's going fine, how about you?'
'not much to say, I suppose, I got this gut feeling though, like these Covenant fellows are going to be the end of us. I try not to dwell on that fact, but sometimes its all I can think about. Anyway, that stupid machine isn't working, again.'
'again? I though they fixed it yesterday?'
'they did, but Its stopped this morning, maybe the covenant got a virus or something in here.' he laughed a little, looked around and stepped inside the office further. He shut the door behind him.
'Now, James. I know something else. I caught some careless talk about a covenant spy ship in the area, straight from ONI officers, not big brass or anything, but they had official memos. It really DOES scare me when I think about covenant coming here, this is my home, I know you lived on Earth and with the Cole, you have little to fear, but this place is MY home, I cant stand to hear this talk and not believe it, especially from such official places.'
'Chuck,' James started, 'I hope nothing does happen to Reach, or Earth, I know how you feel, but you should feel somewhat safe here, Reach is so heavily defended. I think that dwelling on speculation is futile, if we do our jobs, and well, we may be able to help. Whatever tiny bit, if we help, than we have done more than asked.'
'Well, I'm trying, and Im getting by, that's all anyone can ask, right?' Chuck stood, and pressed the pad on the door, it slid open.
'See ya Chuck' James said, as Chuck started into the hallway.
James opened up the sketch on the new rifle, and looked it over. he examined every aspect. It was his totally new design, an idea that stemmed into a ONI project. A new rifle that contained everything and more, it was perfect in every aspect, but the prototypes were not yet finished, and although computers could test the action, test the accuracy, report, cyclic rate of fire, only the actual product could tell how it would feel. If something had to be changed, there was little time to fix it, the final product was due in two months, and Provov-Trell still wanted to conduct their own evaluations first. James tapped the corner box on the tablet's screen with the stylus, and tapped in the number of the shop. It connected.
'Shop A-7, what's up, uh, Mr. McFadden?'
'I want to know how my project is coming, model number CR-21M-527.'
The man in the shop's control room turned and verified the numbers the voice-recognition system had entered. A small window opened displaying the objects position in the system.
'um, Mr. Mc Fadden, um It appears that your CR-21M is in final fabrication stages now, the estimates put it at about 10 minutes till completion, I'll make sure to notify you as soon as it's done, as requested in the subject information, is that all sir?'
James smiled, the rifle was going to be ready BEFORE the schedule, HE would have enough time to give it a good look before taking it to the testing facility.
'Yes, that's all for now thank you.' James sat back, and just closed his eyes. It had been five months since the word came to start designs, and after countless hours of fine tuning the schematics, charts, drawings and documents, he would have time to feel the real deal in his hands, get a feel of how this marvel would be like operating the action.
But Field testing was his concern, he didn't like the idea of actually putting a work in progress into the hands of soldiers who's life depended on it. If it was finalized it would be no problem, but what if it were to fail, what if the effects of real combat were greater than those of the simulated ones? James wasn't comfortable about making soldiers entrust their lives on something that might not function properly. So he was going to personally make sure that his new bolt would function perfectly, every single time, before giving approval.
It had been fourteen minutes, maybe more, but James' daydreaming had surpassed his sense of time, and he wondered why the shop hadn't contacted him yet. He looked over and peered out the window. Outside he could see a flight of Pelicans incoming from the nearby airbase, dropping off the new security shift. He got up. He hadn't been out of his office in four hours, and the shop was quite warmer. He saved his file, and deactivated the tablet computer.
He approached the entrance to the shop. It was in an odd section of the facility, and had to be accessed through tight security it sometimes made him wonder why shop A-7 had a security checkpoint, the shops in the basement, B-1 through B-10 were for secret projects. But no one could be too careful, a total scan was required that accessed all files, looking for foreign viruses, or bugs, and even his CNI transponder, left from his four years in the Army, was scanned. As he got closer to the large door he was stopped by an MP
'Please state any known, non clothing, objects on your person for electronics scan.'
James produced his tablet, pen, and 10Gb disk. The MP took them, placed them in a tray, and it was sent into a large tube, reminiscent of a CAT scan machine of old. He stepped between the two thin towers, and no alarm sounded. The MP had an MA5B slung over his shoulder, James wondered if within the next year even this guard would be armed with the soon to be MA12C.
; I will continue this story within a short time. During the interim period, you can e-mail me any private suggestions, or criticisms.
Have Design, Will Build Part 2
Date: 22 October 2002, 8:46 pm
It was only the second time that James had ventured into the shop. It was one large room, machinery filled the floor, robot arms moved equipment, and worked on projects. A yellow path, elevated 5 inches above the factory floor moved forward, and snaked through the machines, hidden by a large anodizing vat. To the left was a red lined path, that led up a ramp into a room elevated almost 6 meters above the floor. James turned, and quietly walked up the ramp, and then faced the door. He pressed his hand to the scanner, and the door lock disengaged, and the two halves slid into the wall. A man greeted him with a nod, and continued to a console. He stepped inside, looking for the foreman. There he found him sitting in a chair, with a cup of coffee.
'Are you the foreman?' James asked
'oh, of course, and you are?'
James stiffened 'I am McFadden, I am the one with the rifle.'
'Rifle? we have so many things going through these machines, I cant keep track. What's the number? I'll look it up for you.'
James realized that this was not the man from before, perhaps the shifts had changed, or possibly he was not talking to THIS foreman. 'the uh, number? yes, well its, CR-21M-527.'
'Right, ok. Well lets see.' He pressed the verify button on the screen, and the screen then showed a map with the location of the object on the factory floor. It was moving towards the packing machines, and the completion bar was marked 100% 'There she is, almost ready, there was a short delay a minute ago, and the machines stopped that's why Its a few minutes behind, OK? just go to the warehouse next door for pickup.'
James decided to head over to the warehouse like the Foreman said. He had an hour before the rest of the team were to come and begin initial tests. He wanted to make sure that he could look over it before the others could scrutinize him. He proceeded along the Blue pathway, along the perimeter of the factory, until he found the warehouse. He pressed the scanner and the door slip open like the others. He proceeded into the large space. Giant racks towered two stories high loaded with boxes and materials Robotic cranes ran along tracks suspended below the ceiling, running along at high speed handling all sorts of objects. To the left of his position, he could se the control room, like the Shop's control room it was suspended about 6 meters off the ground, however a platform was outside the door and a catwalk surrounded the room, and another led across the warehouse to the other wall.
An MP stood outside the Control room, and asked for an ID. James promptly produced the ID badge from his breast pocket and gave it to the MP. He examined the card, adjusted his helmet, then gave the card back to James.
'Put your eye to the scanner, as I activate it please' proclaimed the MP. James did so, leaning up to the scanner as the MP pressed a button. The door opened and James stepped inside. the door slid shut and the lock clicked in place. There were only three workers in here, one was behind a 180 degree control board, checking displays and overseeing the floor, whilst the other two processed orders and verified new arrivals and departures. The one overseeing material orders from the shop was closest to James, and was stretching as James approached.
'Excuse me sir, I was told to come here for a pick-up. Is this the correct place?'
The officer pressed a button on his screen then turned. ' Yea, what ya want?'
'Yea, well, I have a rifle, just off the line, Its code number CR-21M-527.'
'All right let's see now.' He confirmed the number and pressed the Îdrop-off' button. the screen opened a window and showed the red dot leave a shelf and move along what James guesses were rails, to a room labeled Îpick-up', 'Yes, just take the Green path along this wall and at the other side you'll find the pick up. Tell my buddy over there your code, sign the release and your all set.'
James thanked the officer, turned and left the control room. He took the Green path, and found the Pick-up room. Inside there were large fenced off containment areas, and a corridor though the middle to a desk at the other end. James proceeded along and finally reached the pick up counter.
'are you in charge here?' James asked
'yea, I am, what do you need?'
'well I've been all over this shop but I finally found you, well I need to get my rifle, it's code number is CR-21M-527.' The man turned to face his computer and quickly found the rifle in the database.
'Just a moment, I'll be right back.' Said the man as he walked through a door. A moment later he came back out from the room, and had with him a large case. 'OK, you just need to sign this, And you can be on your way.' He handed James the tablet. James signed his name then turned it back over to the man. He took his rifle and proceed back out the way he came.
Back in his office, he cleared his working table of modeling equipment, he had no need to make little models of his rifle, the first prototype was about to be unveiled. He set the black case down on the table and carefully unlatched it. He slowly lifted the lid and held his breath as the CR-21M rifle was exposed. It was almost two and a quarter feet long, average for rifles of the day, and had rubberized gel grips, that could form to a combatant's hand for maximum comfort and grip. The Ergonomics were perfect, and tests should reveal the instinctive aim factor that McFadden had tried for so long to prefect.
Four clips lay in the gel lined case, Each magazine was actually two clips, each clip held 40 rounds and they locked in place to each other. The magazines were mounted horizontally, lined on top of the rifle. The rifle would automatically switch over to the next clip as one it's ammunition is exhausted, and one can switch one clip while firing the other, or remove both a s one, like a traditional magazine. The rifle contained an integrated silencer and flash suppressor, and had a fully electronic interface. The trigger was electronic, but had a mechanical backup that would drop into place as soon as anything happened to the electronics. If there were any flaws with the design it was that the rounds were smaller, thus less powerful to accommodate a higher magazine capacity. All in all this was every bit better than the Assault Rifles or Battle Rifles currently employed by UNSC forces, and would be just as easy to fabricate.
James picked up the rifle and rose it up to his cheek, and aimed out the window. It felt like an extension of his body, and flowed with him as he moved. Whatever he aimed at he would have hit, and compared to the MA5B, it was a featherweight, yet felt solid. He pulled back on the Bolt, and felt locks and sears engage as it neared the end of its rearward cycle. He finished the pull, and felt a little pressure release as the semi-sear engaged. He lifted the Bolt into its empty position, where it locked. He stuck a dummy round into the clip and slid it down the length of the top, and felt it lock in place. The round dropped into place and a yellow LED lit up signaling that a round was in the ready position. He grasped the bolt handle and dropped it down and let go, it jolted forward, and a green LED lit up meaning a round was in the chamber. These were safety precautions as well as status indicators, many a time, soldier's rifles would jam because the first round was only half way down, when the bolt moved forward. The bullet would get stuck, and the Bolt would need to be re-cocked. By that time it was usually too late. James felt overjoyed about the advances of this design. He thought that his features may save lives. He remembered the praise John Garand received hundreds of years ago, when he introduced his robust semi-automatic M1 Garand rifle. By today's standards it was as powerful as a Pistol, and as heavy a Sniper Rifle, but 500 years ago, it was a marvel of technology.
For an hour he toted and examined his rifle. He dismantled it, rebuilt it, used heavy and fast motions and hard trigger pulls. He pulled the trigger lightly and tested the pull. He estimated it at 1lb for burst, and 3 for fully-automatic, just as the computer models had shown. Now he couldn't wait to take it to the accuracy range and combat range, and compare it to the MA5B. He attached a Standard Scope, and peered though it. He felt so comfortable, it was so much better than the MA5B he used in the Navy three years ago. If the accuracy was anywhere as good as it the computer simulations, it would be comparable to a Battle Rifle or Pistol. Suddenly James heard the elevator stop, and he was the only one around. He put down the CR-21M and restored the clips to their slots in the case. The elevator doors opened, and he heard chatter outside. He sat down behind his desk and activated his Tablet, opening the Rifle Charts document. The walking outside stopped. The door unlocked and slid open.
OK, thats the end of the second part, I'll have part three soon, and It will have some good battles, so sit tight.
Have Design, Will Build Part 3
Date: 31 October 2002, 9:59 pm
Four men and two women entered James' office. There were three in front. They were dressed in uniforms and held tablet computers. The woman at the front approached James. She was about 5 foot 3 inches, and had brown hair, at 16 inches, per the dress code. She had an authoritive look to her, she did not look stern, nor beautiful, but a professional balance of the two.
'Hello Mr. McFadden. How do you do? I am Dr. Sinclair. I am the head of ONI Weapons Development. I will be overseeing the testing of your rifle at our complex.'
'Yes Dr. Sinclair, I received the memo. And my team from Provov-Trell?'
The figures in back waved. 'Hi James, we're here, finally.' Said David, James' associate.
'Yes, the team has finally arrived, there were some complications because of a virus that infected their ship's nav computers, luckily they found the error before they entered slip space.' The woman turned and walked over to the black case. 'Is this the rifle?' she asked. The others approached. James stood up and approached the case as well. He unlatched it, and flipped open the lid. There lay the rifle as if it had just come off the production line.
'Oh, man. This rifle looks just awesome, James. I feel real good about this thing now' Proclaimed Dave
'Yes, McFadden, this is exactly how I envisioned it. Its great that the project has come to fruition. I'm anxious to start!' added Martha, a rather, stiff, associate of James'
'This is certainly interesting McFadden. I will give you and your team an hour to look it over before we start the testing, The timetable is very tight around now, we have a team already selected for field trials, however we first must affirm the extents of the rifle's capabilities.' Said Dr. Sinclair, before she turned and left. The two officers followed her out.
'So, Lets have a look see. Shall we?' said Dave, anxious to get a hold of it.
'Yes, we shall' as James lifted the rifle from its position in the case. He lifted it up and held it with his right hand. He grabbed a clip and slid in into the slot. It clicked, and the yellow LED lit up. 'See, this means the rifle has a round ready to be loaded.' He pulled back the cocking knob and then let it go. It jolted forward, and then the green LED illuminated. 'OK, this means it's loaded' He finished, and attached the scope.
'Right, yes we know. Now, lets disassemble it, and make sure everything's all set.' said Martha, as she took the rifle and searched for quick release pin.
They examined and handled the rifle for an hour. James sat back, and let his team look at it, he already had his share.
After the hour was over, the Dr. Sinclair called. It was time to take the rifle for trial runs. If the rifle functioned as planned, more prototypes would begin production.
'OK guys, its finally time, we finally find out how well our rifle actually works. The testing facilities at range 5-C are free for our use, and we should take advantage of this.' James announced to his crew. 'If we hurry, we will have all afternoon until our session ends for a training class of Jr. Cadets at 1600 hours.'
The rifle and magazines were slipped into the case, and then McFadden took it. They proceeded out from the office block and took a tram to the other end of the facility, after ten minutes they were at the entrance. James stepped from the tram car, and looked around. They were on a ten foot by thirty foot platform, twelve floors above the main floor of the complex. Another MP stood guard, and asked identification of all personnel. He also had the case placed on an X-ray, and electronics scan. James showed the MP his credentials, and his wired appointment document. The MP apologized, and let them in quickly. They retrieved the black rifle case and continued down a short hall. They came upon a glass railing and proceeded down a short flight of steps. James peered around five technicians worked on various testing machines. at the far end of the room Dr. Sinclair and her two associates were sitting overlooking something on her tablet. James approached and called their attention. She stood up, and walked forward. 'Lets have a look-see' she said, motioning towards a table in the middle of the room. A machine was suspended two feet above the table, bright lights shown on the while table.
'We are going to run a diagnostic. A computer will ascertain weather it seems fit for further testing, and make sure it meets the specifications of your drawings. Please place the CR-21M on the table.'
James lifted it from the case, and set it on the table. It turns out that it is made of a form-fitting gel. The rifle sank in and then the gel around it hardened. Then, like a metal cast, the machine above lowered down onto the top. Dr. Sinclair stood next to the console next to the table. She tapped the screen a few times and then a light on the machine lit up. then a blue light, and then a green one. Then a slight noise, like a door unlocking and then the top lifted off the table.
'Lets see here. OK, the rifle IS in GOOD order, and is deemed suitable for further testing.'
'What shall we start with?' James asked. He lifted the rifle and followed Dr. Sinclair to a firing range. She fitted small electronic sound mufflers over her ears, and gave a pair to James. He put the on, and then set the rifle down on the bench. Ammunition was in a box on the bench as well. The rest of James' team walked up and stood behind the red line. 'Clips, guys.' James instructed. Jon handed James a magazine. James proceeded to load a full 40 rounds of 4.5x40mm caseless, with depleted uranium core Armor Piercing rounds. then he took the second clip, and loaded it with 40 rounds of Shredders. He snapped the two clips together and slid them into the rifle. 'Ready?' he asked.
'Proceed, McFadden' Dr. Sinclair stated.
He lifted the rifle to his cheek and aimed downrange into a large target, modeled after a Covenant Elite. He recalled the time, when the Covenant were still a mysterious Alien Race. They had Glassed a planet, something that could only be speculated, nothing they had could be so powerful. And he remembered the briefings that had been given, orientations to whatever the UNSC thought a soldier needed to know about the new threat. He remembered seeing holographic pictures of the various classes, and remembered the first time he saw an, Elite. They were said to be more powerful than any human, had shielding that could protect them against all but continuous fire, or a well placed sniper round. He Hated these creatures. They were so sleek, Intelligent, they weren't beasts, but were like sleek killing machines. He steadied his aim further and pulled lightly on the trigger. a shot spit out, but, except for the head of the manikin getting a hole torn through it, he would never have known. Even with the usually high recoil round used, the recoil shocks, and moving barrel, reduced the recoil to that of an air powered rifle.
He removed the ear muffler, and readied for another shot. he pulled a little harder than last time. the gun coughed three times, and the manikin was pierced three times. He glanced at the screen beside him, 1/2 inch group from 30 yards, not bad. He aimed again, and pulled harder for full-automatic. He fired until the clip was exhausted, and then without missing a beat, it clicked. James released the trigger before a Shredder round could be discharged. He took another glance at the monitor. 1' grouping from 35 rounds in 12 rounds per second full-automatic. This was superb. An MA5B could get that from only most steady and strongest of hands, from about 3/4 the range. He was not the best shot himself, and still managed such a score. Only the best rifles could perform this, James was overflowing.
He engaged the safety, and placed it down. 'Martha, your an excellent shot, see how you perform with our new rifle.'
She fired off the shredders, and came out with half-inch groups at full-automatic. 'Lets see this on a bench rest, no?' Martha asked the Dr.
'of course,' she turned, and tapped on the console. A tech with a bench rest came forward, and attached it to the bench. Dr. Sinclair mounted the rifle, slid in a clip of AP rounds, and she herself bent down and grasped it. She fitted a scope onto the sight rail, and peered through. She pulled the trigger lightly in semi-automatic in rapid succession. round after round seemed to impact the same spot on the manikin. after ten rounds a hole had passed straight through the dummy, and the computer displayed, Î1/4' Grouping, at 30 Yards'
'unbelievable' James said, mainly to himself, 'I didn't even expect this level of accuracy.'
Over the course of the afternoon, they ran all sorts of tests. The rifle never skipped a beat, except for once, during the Deformed Ammunition test, in which a round jammed between the bolt and feed port. The problem was correctly identified by the new diagnostic system designed for the rifle, so the fault was actually that of the ammunition. However, a slight modification would prove to solve the problem, and a James quickly modified the drawings to accommodate the change. Everything was working smoothly. Tomorrow would prove very exiting, for forty more prototypes were to be made, and, the squad assigned for field testing would arrive.
0430 Hours, May 16, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Eridani System, ONI Weapons Research Facility, Planet Reach
In the Weapons Research Facility, it was cold. But in the dormitories things were colder. Dave came from a cold climate, and so the room temperature was very low. James thought he was going to need to visit the Med office all night, but he was too tired to bother. He had spent all night with his team, talking things up, and generally celebrating. He still could taste the Vodka that David had smuggled along. It was a relief, and funny as well, Martha always had a low tolerance for alcohol, and after one swig was out for two hours. James glanced over at the clock, 4:30. He gazed out the window across the room, suddenly a bright light poured through the window, illuminating the room and casting long shadows on the walls. It moved across the window and McFadden realized that it was a Patrol ship. They would scan the buildings and surrounding area, patrolling like drones. James should know, for two months he was reassigned to temporary Air Patrol, nights were long, and strictly monitored. The light passed. He glanced up at the ceiling, and dozed off again.
1025 Hours, May 16, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Eridani System, ONI Weapons Research Facility, Planet Reach
'Long night, huh?' David asked.
'Yes, yes it was, how about you?' James replied
David leaned up from his seat, and stretched. 'Oh, yea, this place is crazily busy with air traffic, lights all night man, what's up with that?' He paused. James shrugged, and stared at the leg of the table. David leaned his head back and yawned. 'Oh man. Well lets see what the schedule is today, huh?' David handed the Tablet to McFadden. James picked it up and withdrew the stylus. He began to probe around the general schedules, there was a Board of Directors meeting at 1230 hours, and at the Weapons facility there was an early morning annual refresher for agents and then it was reserved for Îmiscellaneous military testing (code 40-2C)' It seems that the project was a little more hush-hush than they were told, but James also didn't talk to anyone he wasn't told to by default, as did all other Provov-Trell employees, so that wasn't of worry. After looking over general notices, James learned that the central vending machine/ATM AI had crashed, and would need to be replaced, that meant that he'd have to walk farther for a Cheeseburger today. After finishing his general overview, he scanned his memo inbox. Sinclair had sent a message, as well as Chuck.
Hey, were is my 50 credits?
Order 0937694B-3
Encryption Code: Blue
Public Key: file/personal/
From: Charles Adam Hammond ONI
To: James Robert McFadden
Subject: Monetary Concern
Classification: Public Domain (BGX Directive)
/start file/
Hey man, remember that bet from the other day, where I said, 'I bet its a virus screwing with the machines', and you said 'no, its mechanical failure, again' and we bet for 50 credits about the stem of the problem? Well, it WAS a bug, so you better wire me my 50. I need lunch today, and the vendors are having a picnic over the vending machines being down, so prices are 20% higher than they should be. Anyway, I am feeling better about these covenant, I just heard a release today, they said that we just had another victory. I guess they are finding weaknesses in these guys, just like the movies!
/end file/
James closed the file, moved some windows around, and quickly wired the credits. He disclosed them under a file titled ÎI still think they're' full of it' and let it go. He opened the second memo, from the Dr.
Change of Schedule
Order 0937780B-3
Encryption Code: Yellow
Public Key: file/WeapR&D/
From: Dr. Karen Cynthia Sinclair
To: James Robert McFadden
Subject: Schedule change
Classification: Secret (BGX Directive)
/start file/
McFadden, we have had a few schedule changes. Due to a Covenant assault on the station our team was prepping to depart from, they were forced to drop everything and depart immediately, and they will be arriving ahead of schedule. And to prepare for this, we have rearranged some things on the assembly line, to provide the Rifles in time for immediate orientation and training. In three months (give or take) they shall depart, make sure they are ready when that happens.
I hope you will be able to orient these soldiers successfully, its hard to find soldiers fit for the 105th.
/end file/
Attachment.
Press ENTER to proceed.
'The 105th!?' James gasped. Those were the ÎHelljumpers', the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. They were renowned for brutality and for success. They would certainly put the rifle through it's paces, but would they put James through his first?
'Helljumpers?' David asked, 'what about them?'
'I don't know how, Dr. Sinclair must have some friends in high places or something, because she has arranged a squad from the 105th for the initial field testing of the CR-21!' James replied. He checked the schedule that was attached to the memo. They only had 20 minutes to get to the range, the squad from the 105th was supposed to arrive in ten, and would be in the prep hall ten minutes later.
'Dave, we HAVE to go, we have 20 minutes before we greet these helljumpers!' James exclaimed. Dave quickly threw away the rest of his breakfast, and brushed himself off.
'Lets do it then'
'First, where's the rifle?'
Dave looked around, then he shrugged, 'Still in the weapons range, I believe.'
'That's right, Lets go' James exclaimed while grabbing his suit, slinging it over his shoulder.
James, Dave, Jon, and Martha, entered the weapons range. Inside, four techs, Dr. Sinclair, and her two associates were inside. They entered, proceeded down the steps, and greeted the Dr.
'Hello Dr. we are here, as directed. So, from what I gather, we are giving these rifles to Helljumpers?
'Yes,' she replied. 'And we have something to show you.' She picked up a small controller, and pointed it at a wall. She depressed a button and suddenly a large, box, lowered from the ceiling. In came into contact with the floor, and then unfolded. Before them 40, brand new CR-21M's were neatly held on racks. Below each rifle, were 8 magazines, which were two clips attached as one. Each magazine could hold 100 rounds.
'Beautiful,' said James, 'This is exactly how I envisioned it'
'Yes, we followed all of your sketches, and drawings. This is a Standard Deployment Rack. It will come with each set of 40 rifles, and will be able to fold into small spaces. We are also developing a rack for fitting on a Pelican, to act as weapons for those without them. Each rack holds 64,000 rounds of ammunition. A normal load, using eight 100 round magazines, will support a person with, of course, 800 rounds of ammunition. If this is given to each rifle, that equals an impressive 32,000 rounds of ammunition. We provide an extra 32,000 rounds. This is to aid situations when extra ammo is needed. You should remember this from your sketches.' After her speech, she received a message. She read it over, quickly, and closed it. 'The 105th has landed, and are to arrive in five minutes. Are you prepared, McFadden?'
'Of course, I am. I can teach them what they need. If I may, however, where are these 105th headed?'
'That, is still undecided. We have multiple contingency plans, while we have no real initial plan. Wherever they go, whatever they perform, they MUST be ready.' she exclaimed. Suddenly, she turned, one could hear a lock disengage, and at the door were 40 soldiers. 'Sergeant Williams, come in, we are ready.'
'Of course ma'am,. Men, form up, prepare for orientation.' The sergeant barked. He walked up to McFadden, and Dr. Sinclair. 'I hope this is good, we got pulled out of combat, and I hope it's for a damn good reason.'
'Right Sergeant, we have something VERY special for you. If you will direct your men this way please.' James paused, through out his words, and continued, 'Yes, come with me and my associates to the weapon demonstration area.' The procession made way through a tech lab, and to the other side of the weapons complex. They arrived in a room, that featured 50 seats, each with their own video screen. In the middle of the room there was a highly placed pedestal encased in bullet-proof glass. From his position in the raised platform, James could communicate, and his height gave him confidence over these large men. 'Everyone please sit down, we must begin our orientation quickly.' James cleared his throat. Then he continued, 'You have been recalled from combat to take place in a testing program. To be precise, you are being given experimental weapons.' He tapped his tablet PC, and the monitors displayed 3-dimentional models and specifications of the MA5B assault rifle. 'You all should be familiar with the MA5B, 7.62mm Assault Rifle. This has been the mainstay of the UNSC since it's inception. However, today I present to you the possible replacement to the MA5B. Currently labeled the Concept Rifle-model 21M this is the latest prototype we have.' He tapped his PC again, the monitors in the room displayed 3-D models and specifications of the CR-21M. Then James lifted the first prototype from a case on the bench behind him. 'This is the CR-21M. This will take the place of the MA5B on your next engagement. Before this happens however, you must become accustomed to the features, and differences of this rifle from the MA5B.'
Again he pressed his PC. This time there were cameras right next to McFadden. It showed him lift the rifle to his cheek, and then he fired. Almost no noise emitted from the weapon, but the target that appeared on-screen displayed a re-play of the firing. At 20 yards, there was a 1/2 inch grouping.
'Amazing' commented Willliams.
'Yes, Sergeant Williams, the accuracy IS amazing. The rifles have been honed to high standards. The rifles, however, take longer to produce than an MA5B, so the rifle will take a long time to replace the MA5B for the average soldier.' As McFadden finished, he lifted the rifle again, and turned to a Covenant Elite manikin. He fired ten rounds, and the head was impaled 10 times. Through the video screen, on could see that pieces were missing, and orange ooze flowed out. 'As you can see, the round it fires is very effective. And, it uses caseless ammunition, so as not to inadvertantly give away your position. All right, you know what it can do in my hands, let's see what it can do in yours.'
Author's note: Ok, This took longer than It should have, we had a thunderstorm roll through the area very quickly while I was out, unfortunately, half the story was erased (along with a lot of other files) It took me a while to replace what was lost
Have Design, Will Build Part 4
Date: 13 December 2002, 1:06 am
Four men and two women entered James' office. There were three in front. They were dressed in uniforms and held tablet computers. The woman at the front approached James. She was about 5 foot 3 inches, and had brown hair, at 16 inches, per the dress code. She had an authoritive look to her, she did not look stern, nor beautiful, but a professional balance of the two.
'Hello Mr. McFadden. How do you do? I am Dr. Sinclair. I am the head of ONI Weapons Development. I will be overseeing the testing of your rifle at our complex.'
'Yes Dr. Sinclair, I received the memo. And my team from Provov-Trell?'
The figures in back waved. 'Hi James, we're here, finally.' Said David, James' associate.
'Yes, the team has finally arrived, there were some complications because of a virus that infected their ship's nav computers, luckily they found the error before they entered slip space.' The woman turned and walked over to the black case. 'Is this the rifle?' she asked. The others approached. James stood up and approached the case as well. He unlatched it, and flipped open the lid. There lay the rifle as if it had just come off the production line.
'Oh, man. This rifle looks just awesome, James. I feel real good about this thing now' Proclaimed Dave
'Yes, McFadden, this is exactly how I envisioned it. Its great that the project has come to fruition. I'm anxious to start!' added Martha, a rather, stiff, associate of James'
'This is certainly interesting McFadden. I will give you and your team an hour to look it over before we start the testing, The timetable is very tight around now, we have a team already selected for field trials, however we first must affirm the extents of the rifle's capabilities.' Said Dr. Sinclair, before she turned and left. The two officers followed her out.
'So, Lets have a look see. Shall we?' said Dave, anxious to get a hold of it.
'Yes, we shall' as James lifted the rifle from its position in the case. He lifted it up and held it with his right hand. He grabbed a clip and slid in into the slot. It clicked, and the yellow LED lit up. 'See, this means the rifle has a round ready to be loaded.' He pulled back the cocking knob and then let it go. It jolted forward, and then the green LED illuminated. 'OK, this means it's loaded' He finished, and attached the scope.
'Right, yes we know. Now, lets disassemble it, and make sure everything's all set.' said Martha, as she took the rifle and searched for quick release pin.
They examined and handled the rifle for an hour. James sat back, and let his team look at it, he already had his share.
After the hour was over, the Dr. Sinclair called. It was time to take the rifle for trial runs. If the rifle functioned as planned, more prototypes would begin production.
'OK guys, its finally time, we finally find out how well our rifle actually works. The testing facilities at range 5-C are free for our use, and we should take advantage of this.' James announced to his crew. 'If we hurry, we will have all afternoon until our session ends for a training class of Jr. Cadets at 1600 hours.'
The rifle and magazines were slipped into the case, and then McFadden took it. They proceeded out from the office block and took a tram to the other end of the facility, after ten minutes they were at the entrance. James stepped from the tram car, and looked around. They were on a ten foot by thirty foot platform, twelve floors above the main floor of the complex. Another MP stood guard, and asked identification of all personnel. He also had the case placed on an X-ray, and electronics scan. James showed the MP his credentials, and his wired appointment document. The MP apologized, and let them in quickly. They retrieved the black rifle case and continued down a short hall. They came upon a glass railing and proceeded down a short flight of steps. James peered around five technicians worked on various testing machines. at the far end of the room Dr. Sinclair and her two associates were sitting overlooking something on her tablet. James approached and called their attention. She stood up, and walked forward. 'Lets have a look-see' she said, motioning towards a table in the middle of the room. A machine was suspended two feet above the table, bright lights shown on the while table.
'We are going to run a diagnostic. A computer will ascertain weather it seems fit for further testing, and make sure it meets the specifications of your drawings. Please place the CR-21M on the table.'
James lifted it from the case, and set it on the table. It turns out that it is made of a form-fitting gel. The rifle sank in and then the gel around it hardened. Then, like a metal cast, the machine above lowered down onto the top. Dr. Sinclair stood next to the console next to the table. She tapped the screen a few times and then a light on the machine lit up. then a blue light, and then a green one. Then a slight noise, like a door unlocking and then the top lifted off the table.
'Lets see here. OK, the rifle IS in GOOD order, and is deemed suitable for further testing.'
'What shall we start with?' James asked. He lifted the rifle and followed Dr. Sinclair to a firing range. She fitted small electronic sound mufflers over her ears, and gave a pair to James. He put the on, and then set the rifle down on the bench. Ammunition was in a box on the bench as well. The rest of James' team walked up and stood behind the red line. 'Clips, guys.' James instructed. Jon handed James a magazine. James proceeded to load a full 40 rounds of 4.5x40mm caseless, with depleted uranium core Armor Piercing rounds. then he took the second clip, and loaded it with 40 rounds of Shredders. He snapped the two clips together and slid them into the rifle. 'Ready?' he asked.
'Proceed, McFadden' Dr. Sinclair stated.
He lifted the rifle to his cheek and aimed downrange into a large target, modeled after a Covenant Elite. He recalled the time, when the Covenant were still a mysterious Alien Race. They had Glassed a planet, something that could only be speculated, nothing they had could be so powerful. And he remembered the briefings that had been given, orientations to whatever the UNSC thought a soldier needed to know about the new threat. He remembered seeing holographic pictures of the various classes, and remembered the first time he saw an, Elite. They were said to be more powerful than any human, had shielding that could protect them against all but continuous fire, or a well placed sniper round. He Hated these creatures. They were so sleek, Intelligent, they weren't beasts, but were like sleek killing machines. He steadied his aim further and pulled lightly on the trigger. a shot spit out, but, except for the head of the manikin getting a hole torn through it, he would never have known. Even with the usually high recoil round used, the recoil shocks, and moving barrel, reduced the recoil to that of an air powered rifle.
He removed the ear muffler, and readied for another shot. he pulled a little harder than last time. the gun coughed three times, and the manikin was pierced three times. He glanced at the screen beside him, 1/2 inch group from 30 yards, not bad. He aimed again, and pulled harder for full-automatic. He fired until the clip was exhausted, and then without missing a beat, it clicked. James released the trigger before a Shredder round could be discharged. He took another glance at the monitor. 1' grouping from 35 rounds in 12 rounds per second full-automatic. This was superb. An MA5B could get that from only most steady and strongest of hands, from about 3/4 the range. He was not the best shot himself, and still managed such a score. Only the best rifles could perform this, James was overflowing.
He engaged the safety, and placed it down. 'Martha, your an excellent shot, see how you perform with our new rifle.'
She fired off the shredders, and came out with half-inch groups at full-automatic. 'Lets see this on a bench rest, no?' Martha asked the Dr.
'of course,' she turned, and tapped on the console. A tech with a bench rest came forward, and attached it to the bench. Dr. Sinclair mounted the rifle, slid in a clip of AP rounds, and she herself bent down and grasped it. She fitted a scope onto the sight rail, and peered through. She pulled the trigger lightly in semi-automatic in rapid succession. round after round seemed to impact the same spot on the manikin. after ten rounds a hole had passed straight through the dummy, and the computer displayed, ë1/4' Grouping, at 30 Yards'
'unbelievable' James said, mainly to himself, 'I didn't even expect this level of accuracy.'
Over the course of the afternoon, they ran all sorts of tests. The rifle never skipped a beat, except for once, during the Deformed Ammunition test, in which a round jammed between the bolt and feed port. The problem was correctly identified by the new diagnostic system designed for the rifle, so the fault was actually that of the ammunition. However, a slight modification would prove to solve the problem, and a James quickly modified the drawings to accommodate the change. Everything was working smoothly. Tomorrow would prove very exiting, for forty more prototypes were to be made, and, the squad assigned for field testing would arrive.
0430 Hours, May 16, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Epsilon Eridani System, ONI Weapons Research Facility, Planet Reach
In the Weapons Research Facility, it was cold. But in the dormitories things were colder. Dave came from a cold climate, and so the room temperature was very low. James thought he was going to need to visit the Med office all night, but he was too tired to bother. He had spent all night with his team, talking things up, and generally celebrating. He still could taste the Vodka that David had smuggled along. It was a relief, and funny as well, Martha always had a low tolerance for alcohol, and after one swig was out for two hours. James glanced over at the clock, 4:30. He gazed out the window across the room, suddenly a bright light poured through the window, illuminating the room and casting long shadows on the walls. It moved across the window and McFadden realized that it was a Patrol ship. They would scan the buildings and surrounding area, patrolling like drones. James should know, for two months he was reassigned to temporary Air Patrol, nights were long, and strictly monitored. The light passed. He glanced up at the ceiling, and dozed off again.
1025 Hours, May 16, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Epsilon Eridani System, ONI Weapons Research Facility, Planet Reach
'Long night, huh?' David asked.
'Yes, yes it was, how about you?' James replied
David leaned up from his seat, and stretched. 'Oh, yea, this place is crazily busy with air traffic, lights all night man, what's up with that?' He paused. James shrugged, and stared at the leg of the table. David leaned his head back and yawned. 'Oh man. Well lets see what the schedule is today, huh?' David handed the Tablet to McFadden. James picked it up and withdrew the stylus. He began to probe around the general schedules, there was a Board of Directors meeting at 1230 hours, and at the Weapons facility there was an early morning annual refresher for agents and then it was reserved for ëmiscellaneous military testing (code 40-2C)' It seems that the project was a little more hush-hush than they were told, but James also didn't talk to anyone he wasn't told to by default, as did all other Provov-Trell employees, so that wasn't of worry. After looking over general notices, James learned that the central vending machine/ATM AI had crashed, and would need to be replaced, that meant that he'd have to walk farther for a Cheeseburger today. After finishing his general overview, he scanned his memo inbox. Sinclair had sent a message, as well as Chuck.
Hey, were is my 50 credits? Order 0937694B-3 Encryption Code: Blue Public Key: file/personal/ From: Charles Adam Hammond ONI To: James Robert McFadden Subject: Monetary Concern Classification: Public Domain (BGX Directive)
/start file/ Hey man, remember that bet from the other day, where I said, 'I bet its a virus screwing with the machines', and you said 'no, its mechanical failure, again' and we bet for 50 credits about the stem of the problem? Well, it WAS a bug, so you better wire me my 50. I need lunch today, and the vendors are having a picnic over the vending machines being down, so prices are 20% higher than they should be. Anyway, I am feeling better about these covenant, I just heard a release today, they said that we just had another victory. I guess they are finding weaknesses in these guys, just like the movies!
/end file/
James closed the file, moved some windows around, and quickly wired the credits. He disclosed them under a file titled ëI still think they're' full of it' and let it go. He opened the second memo, from the Dr.
Change of Schedule Order 0937780B-3 Encryption Code: Yellow Public Key: file/WeapR&D/ From: Dr. Karen Cynthia Sinclair To: James Robert McFadden Subject: Schedule change Classification: Secret (BGX Directive)
/start file/ McFadden, we have had a few schedule changes. Due to a Covenant assault on the station our team was prepping to depart from, they were forced to drop everything and depart immediately, and they will be arriving ahead of schedule. And to prepare for this, we have rearranged some things on the assembly line, to provide the Rifles in time for immediate orientation and training. In three months (give or take) they shall depart, make sure they are ready when that happens.
I hope you will be able to orient these soldiers successfully, its hard to find soldiers fit for the 105th.
/end file/
Attachment.
Press ENTER to proceed.
'The 105th!?' James gasped. Those were the ëHelljumpers', the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. They were renowned for brutality and for success. They would certainly put the rifle through it's paces, but would they put James through his first?
'Helljumpers?' David asked, 'what about them?'
'I don't know how, Dr. Sinclair must have some friends in high places or something, because she has arranged a squad from the 105th for the initial field testing of the CR-21!' James replied. He checked the schedule that was attached to the memo. They only had 20 minutes to get to the range, the squad from the 105th was supposed to arrive in ten, and would be in the prep hall ten minutes later.
'Dave, we HAVE to go, we have 20 minutes before we greet these helljumpers!' James exclaimed. Dave quickly threw away the rest of his breakfast, and brushed himself off.
'Lets do it then'
'First, where's the rifle?'
Dave looked around, then he shrugged, 'Still in the weapons range, I believe.'
'That's right, Lets go' James exclaimed while grabbing his suit, slinging it over his shoulder.
James, Dave, Jon, and Martha, entered the weapons range. Inside, four techs, Dr. Sinclair, and her two associates were inside. They entered, proceeded down the steps, and greeted the Dr.
'Hello Dr. we are here, as directed. So, from what I gather, we are giving these rifles to Helljumpers?
'Yes,' she replied. 'And we have something to show you.' She picked up a small controller, and pointed it at a wall. She depressed a button and suddenly a large, box, lowered from the ceiling. In came into contact with the floor, and then unfolded. Before them 40, brand new CR-21M's were neatly held on racks. Below each rifle, were 8 magazines, which were two clips attached as one. Each magazine could hold 100 rounds.
'Beautiful,' said James, 'This is exactly how I envisioned it'
'Yes, we followed all of your sketches, and drawings. This is a Standard Deployment Rack. It will come with each set of 40 rifles, and will be able to fold into small spaces. We are also developing a rack for fitting on a Pelican, to act as weapons for those without them. Each rack holds 64,000 rounds of ammunition. A normal load, using eight 100 round magazines, will support a person with, of course, 800 rounds of ammunition. If this is given to each rifle, that equals an impressive 32,000 rounds of ammunition. We provide an extra 32,000 rounds. This is to aid situations when extra ammo is needed. You should remember this from your sketches.' After her speech, she received a message. She read it over, quickly, and closed it. 'The 105th has landed, and are to arrive in five minutes. Are you prepared, McFadden?'
'Of course, I am. I can teach them what they need. If I may, however, where are these 105th headed?'
'That, is still undecided. We have multiple contingency plans, while we have no real initial plan. Wherever they go, whatever they perform, they MUST be ready.' she exclaimed. Suddenly, she turned, one could hear a lock disengage, and at the door were 40 soldiers. 'Sergeant Williams, come in, we are ready.'
'Of course ma'am,. Men, form up, prepare for orientation.' The sergeant barked. He walked up to McFadden, and Dr. Sinclair. 'I hope this is good, we got pulled out of combat, and I hope it's for a damn good reason.'
'Right Sergeant, we have something VERY special for you. If you will direct your men this way please.' James paused, through out his words, and continued, 'Yes, come with me and my associates to the weapon demonstration area.'
The procession made way through a tech lab, and to the other side of the weapons complex. They arrived in a room, that featured 50 seats, each with their own video screen. In the middle of the room there was a highly placed pedestal encased in bullet-proof glass. From his position in the raised platform, James could communicate, and his height gave him confidence over these large men. 'Everyone please sit down, we must begin our orientation quickly.' James cleared his throat. Then he continued, 'You have been recalled from combat to take place in a testing program. To be precise, you are being given experimental weapons.' He tapped his tablet PC, and the monitors displayed 3-dimentional models and specifications of the MA5B assault rifle. 'You all should be familiar with the MA5B, 7.62mm Assault Rifle. This has been the mainstay of the UNSC since it's inception. However, today I present to you the possible replacement to the MA5B. Currently labeled the Concept Rifle-model 21M this is the latest prototype we have.' He tapped his PC again, the monitors in the room displayed 3-D models and specifications of the CR-21M. Then James lifted the first prototype from a case on the bench behind him. 'This is the CR-21M. This will take the place of the MA5B on your next engagement. Before this happens however, you must become accustomed to the features, and differences of this rifle from the MA5B.' Again he pressed his PC. This time there were cameras right next to McFadden. It showed him lift the rifle to his cheek, and then he fired. Almost no noise emitted from the weapon, but the target that appeared on-screen displayed a re-play of the firing. At 20 yards, there was a 1/2 inch grouping.
'Amazing' commented Williams.
'Yes, Sergeant Williams, the accuracy IS amazing. The rifles have been honed to high standards. The rifles, however, take longer to produce than an MA5B, so the rifle will take a long time to replace the MA5B for the average soldier.' As McFadden finished, he lifted the rifle again, and turned to a Covenant Elite manikin. He fired ten rounds, and the head was impaled 10 times. Through the video screen, on could see that pieces were missing, and orange ooze flowed out. 'As you can see, the round it fires is very effective. And, it uses caseless ammunition, so as not to inadvertently give away your position. All right, you know what it can do in my hands, let's see what it can do in yours.'
Part 4
James stepped down from the platform. The men of the 105th stood. They formed into two lines, and followed James, along with the sergeant, back to the main firing range. The rifles were placed in the rack. Dr. Sinclair stepped forward. She spoke to the men, 'Gentlemen. As you know, we have a new rifle for you. Now come forward, as I call your names , to receive your new rifles.' She called their names, and they stepped forward and received the rifles, as ordered. 'Now, read off your serial numbers, for verification. They are located between the rifle's fore grip, and trigger guard.' Each soldier relayed the numbers to the Dr. 'Now, receive your ammunition for your first trials.' she paused, and walked over to the rack. 'Here's the ammunition, it's caseless, as I'm sure you know.' The men received their ammunition, before being allocated a firing booth.
'Men, get your asses in gear' barked Sgt. Williams.
'Now, gentlemen, to operate the rifle is simple. When first readying your weapon, activate the electronic trigger, by pressing the black button on the bottom of the grip. Now, you will pull the cocking knob rearward, until you hear it lock. The lock sounds as it does on an MA5B. NOW, make sure you have two clips, that are both locked together, good. Fourth step, insert the clip by pushing the front end into the locks in the front of the weapon, above the barrel. Proceed by sliding the clip down the length of your weapon, until it locks securely into place. You will see a yellow light, above your thumb. Do you see it?' The men confirmed in unison, no one voiced negative, so James continued, 'The rifle has a round ready to chamber. Drop the cocking knob, and release. Do you see the Green light? Good.' Williams was walking up and down the row of men. He looked at James, and nodded. 'Now, that green light means your ready to fire. Now, your rifles have standard, electronic precision sights, so, take aim at the targets and prepare to fire. The firing selector is automatic, pull lightly for semi-automatic fire, and a hard pull for fully automatic. Now, on my mark fire three semi-automatic rounds, with one second intervals. Mark!'
Three distinct simultaneous coughs echoed off. The targets pulled back and were replaced.
'You will be evaluated on accuracy, to compare between now and when you finish. Now, get ready to fire automatic, keep in mind you must pull harder than previously. Fire at will!'
All at once a barrage of fire immersed the room. Smoke drifted up from the muzzles. Although one could hear the constant rattle, the sound was ghostly and sent shivers up Jamesë spine. Targets cycled, clips fell, and all the while James stood, watching the proceedings. There were no casings, and the absence of the hollow, bouncing brass was uneasy to James, used to firing the MA5B. The ordeal was overwhelming, and McFadden was bursting with pride.
'Sir, my gun's acting up!' announced a ODST, waving his hand.
'McFadden get your ass over here and sort this out!' barked Williams. James happily obliged. 'OK men, hold up, and listen up!'
'The bolt, Its moving slow. What's the deal?' James took the rifle, removed the clip, and pulled the bolt back. Black gunk was smeared on the bolt, and brown grains were encrusted on the bolt, hot from use.
'Fouling. The round must have been bad, any powder is usually vaporized.' James thought. 'OK!' James commanded, 'Everyone, drop clips, hit safeties and get over here!' James led everyone to a table in the middle of the room. and placed the rifle down on it. 'OK, Strip down drill, Sergeant Williams, you will be responsible for drill activities on the rifle, so listen too.' The men leaned forward and examined as James lifted the fouled CR-21. 'Listen, the step pin is a cross bolt type, and is swivel locking. It is located near the rear of the rifle, on the butt stock. Push the lever foreword 90 degrees and pull it out like so. After this, pull out the butt plate, and remove the bolt . Remove it by drawing the cocking rod back until the bolt has rotated 90 degrees. Then depress the knob on the cocking rod. this disengages the bolt from the cocking knob, and the piston. Draw it out, and make sure it is cleansed, and free of all foreign debris.'
McFadden took the bolt and wiped it with a cloth, and the debris was removed. The Bolt, good as new was re-inserted. 'If the gun is still acting up, you may have also gotten junk in the gas piston. That shouldn't happen, the powder is all disintegrated by the time the bullet passes the gas trap. In this case however, the powder wasn't good. It refused to burn, and got Private Perkins' bolt fouled. lets see if the rod is gunned too.' James loaded a few rounds into a clip, and rammed it down the slot. ëclick'. He pulled back the bolt handle, it clicked into engagement, as all do when the knob connects with the bolt after a field strip. He stepped up to a firing booth, and pushed the safety aside. ëPoof, poof, poof' three rounds went off. the fourth cycle was impeded however. McFadden slid the clip forward and pulled the knob back. No gunk was on the bolt, but smoke rose from the chamber. James swiped it away and chucked the clip. Back at the table, he pulled the pin and drew the bolt
'OK, the bot isn't the problem. Its something else I see. Ahh, Look here' James pointed into the clip slot, a bulge was visible at the base of the void. 'there, heat from the rounds caused this misformation. We'll have to replace the par...'
Dr. Sinclair came up to James. 'you have a message, very important, you need to take it immidiately.'
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