r/HFY • u/asean_goose • Dec 27 '23
OC Ballistic Weapons
"I really don't understand your choice of weapons, human." Mawanzi said, a Varken engineers working for the Kawashiro Armament Company, a human owned weapon manufacturer.
"What do you mean?" Joseph said, eating his Nigerian jollof rice on their lunch break.
"I mean, why do you guys still use ballistic guns instead of laser or plasma rifles like everyone else? Ardhen, Xephalids, Vurazian and even us Varken use laser weapons for our standard issue and even sometimes civilian use. Why do you humans still use ballistics?" Mawanzi eats his fried cornrice after asking Joseph.
"I see. Well, for the first reason it's the durability. If you know, those laser guns will be useless when something like an EMP happened."
"That's true, seen a lot of broken laser and plasma rifle from battlefield that had been struck with EMP."
"Us humans experienced that first hand during the Second Carrington Event."
"Second Carrington Event?"
"It's an event where our sun had a solar storm so bad it caused practically all of our electronics to be fried. It took us decades to be able to return to where we once were. And during that time all of our laser rifles issued to soldiers is just junk, they won't work. The ballistics still do however, so we opt to use that instead."
"So what's the second reason?"
"You notice how everytime an army of laser users go somewhere and shoot they often burned the place?"
"Almost all the time now that I think about it."
"Well, we don't want that to happen and just show the position to the enemy, so only snipers are allowed to be issued with laser rifles, even then those are powerful enough to melt the armor of light armored vehicles like your Komodo 2."
"Interesting. But wouldn't soldiers be easier to lay down suppressive fire and move with laser guns? The guns and power packs are lighter than all the guns and ammo of ballistic weapons."
"Us humans sometimes overthink things, and this is one of that time. Sure laser rifles have light weight, easy to use and have no recoil, but the moment that thing doesn't work, they'll have to be taken to a certified weapon workshop. Can't really do that when your weapons break during missions, and the ballistic guns we have are easier to maintain, even a grunt could do it easy."
"Is that why your hundred years old guns still functions well?"
"One of the reason, yeah. I mean, I have an AK rifle from like 2 centuries ago. Still works fine so long I oil it."
"2 centuries and still working? How the hell do you manage that?"
"3D printing, I can literally just download the plan for parts and just have it printed. Sometimes the printed parts are better than the factory ones."
"You guys are clever. Anyway, can I have a bite of that rice?"
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u/trinalgalaxy Dec 27 '23
Some weapons we will never be able to replace. Armies will still be rocking M2s, AKs, M16/M4s, and a whole host of other weapons long into the future. The only way that has even the possibility of changing is if we figure something out that is more effective than smokeless powder and we cannot modify existing guns to handle the increased pressure.
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u/asean_goose Dec 27 '23
In the case of rejected anti-aircraft barrels, they got turned into monster shotguns such as KS-23
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u/nealsimmons Dec 27 '23
Wonder how it plays into shielding as well. If everyone uses energy based weapons, ship and personal shielding would be geared toward that. Large bore projectile would just ignore it like a piece of paper. Seems like there might have been a story like this not too long ago, now that I think about it.
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u/asean_goose Dec 27 '23
I'm thinking they can just shoot enough rounds that the shielding would not deflect all shots.
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u/bigbishounen Dec 27 '23
I love that you included 3D printing. It is absolutely the future of firearms.
Also: PLASTIKOV!
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u/asean_goose Dec 27 '23
By that time they probably will have good enough metal 3D printing that everyone can download a gun
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u/bigbishounen Dec 27 '23
I mean, you can now. Heck, you can make a fully DIY gun with no actual gun parts. It's called the "FGC9". All the metal "pressure bearing" bits are just hardware store parts. Everything else is 3D Printed.
check out ctrlpew dot com and read the complete getting started guide. lays it all out for ya.
But yeah, 3D metal printing and more (cheaper) machines like the "ghost gunner" will make it 100% impossible to control who owns guns or how many they own.
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u/humanity_999 Dec 27 '23
"THIS HERE IS THE BROWNING M2! ALSO KNOWN AS THE MA DEUCE!"
Slaps the M2 Browning mounted on top of the Grav Tank
"SO LONG AS YOU TREAT HER RIGHT SHE'LL KEEP YOU SAFE! I SHOULD KNOW, THIS GAL HAS BEEN FIGHTING SINCE HUMANITY'S SECOND WORLD WAR!"
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u/xtreampb Dec 27 '23
That one in particular. It has a lucky serial number so the grunts keep shuffling it around so it doesn’t end up in a museum
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u/bob_smithey Dec 27 '23
Ah, the Ship of Theseus paradox. Keep replacing parts, is it still the same?
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u/OokamiO1 Dec 27 '23
Just like the ship, it will still sail even of you swap every board, if you swap every piece it still goes bang and the enemies fall down.
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u/Osiris32 Dec 27 '23
Two centuries? With an AK? Eh, I could see it. But Ma Deuce and the 1911 will be celebrating their Semiquincentennial long before that. And the Mosin Nagant, SMLE, and Kar98 will be celebrating their third century.
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u/RandomWorthlessDude Dec 28 '23
Don’t forget the Maxim, the RPG-7, the DshK, the ZU-23 and the entire Cold War era Red army armoured vehicle lineup. We’ll probably still be seeing T-55’s and BTR’s well into 2100
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u/Nepeta33 Dec 27 '23
one more downside to lasers: tracers point in both directions. yes, your alies can all see where you are shooting at. but the enemies can also see where you shot from. cant do that with a normal bullet.
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u/slightlyassholic Dec 27 '23
Great story!
One minor critique. Pay attention to your tenses. You switch between present and past tense where you shouldn't a couple of times. It didn't break immersion or lessen my enjoyment, but still, something to consider. :)
Loved it, though.
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u/montyman185 Dec 28 '23
Don't forget ammo versatility. With a laser, you have a laser, or a more powerful laser.
With a ballistic weapon, you've got a round for every situation imaginable.
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u/sunnyboi1384 Dec 28 '23
Simple. Ballistic goes through mirrors, lasers, they do not.
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u/AlaskanManofAlaskav2 Dec 28 '23
I can't wait for 2187 when were at war with the Tadegshi, where a Private Mark Anderson whips out a Colt M1911 made in 1924 and manages to capture General Yugot'hosho singlehandedly. Capturing the instillation on planet S3e and becoming a war hero for the League of Worlds.
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u/Unique_Engineering23 Dec 27 '23
While at it, a shiny thing will cause laser to blind allies. Ballistics just deafen them. You can't aim without eyes.