#caseless ammunition

[simon-roy]

Asking here because I get notified if you reply: why rockettes? Beside the obvious cool factor and the vague notion that euhumanists can't just do things normally and have to have an extra layer of complexity, is there like a... practical advantage to having a gun that shoots rockets vs one that shoots bullets? They don't seem guided or explosive, and without fins would they be more accurate or reach longer distances than a single-impulse munition?

My rationale for this is both aesthetic (retro-futurism) and internal world logic.

First, the internal logic of the world.

The Euhumanists have spent centuries, presumably, using beam weapons for small arms (like star trek). If they were stuck without reliable beam weapons (because of limited power sources, manufacturing capabilities, etc, like in "the grand tour"), and were developing their industrial capacities from a very limited base, circumstances would possibly force them to essentially re-invent the gun.

Given their own history as space-faring people, I was thinking that the rocket would probably be their most direct reference for a combustion-driven kinetic device - so having them develop an awkward micro-rocket, instead of first developing muskets or cartridge ammunition, felt suitably unique, clunky and weird for the world.

Also, in researching "caseless" ammunition of this type, like russian VOG launched grenades, the gyrojet, the italian 9mm AUPO round, and, the granddaddy of them all, the 1800s ROCKET BALL (see below image), it was interesting seeing all the other methods of containing projectile and gunpowder in one discrete unit.

The rocket ball came about in 1848 and was my biggest inspo for this, but the utterly magical and deranged GYROJET missile-bullet was up there too. If you search youtube for gyrojet firing footage, its completely fascinating!

This is all to say, though, that aesthetics and the idea of this colony fumbling their way into firearms came first. This style of ammo doesnt have much in the way of practical advantages over modern cartridges, but modern cartridges also just felt WAY too anachronistic to throw into this setting. But it has been a very fun research rabbit hole for me to clamber down!

[isleofdarkness]

Diego makes his own bullets, both cased bullets and caseless ones. He even makes his own gunpowder. Diego believes that everyone who owns a gun should make their own ammunition because it takes a lot of work, and that work encourages caution. Making his own bullets makes him really think about whether or not he wants to fire a gun, which he thinks is a good thing because that keeps him from shooting unnecessarily.

[tamasin]

Post D-3 H-22 335940-0 11.04.2834

ATTN: D-3 Requisitions Subject: Restock

Barndog - Restock isn't too intense this time, the newer dogs have better trigger discipline than the older ones. See notes below.

Barndog - Special note on line 10. Any product not adhering to the request will be rejected. If you can't find enough in your stock reach out to K899 in R&D, they have some earmarked for us.

Vanity - Gentle reminder that a K behind a number signifies thousands. Don't haze the new guy who messed that one up too badly. They packed up the box of 45 25mm shells very neatly and professionally.

Vanity - We've been getting reports of a high rate of dud caseless charges. We'll be overloading the feeds to compensate. Note increased order quantity on line item 5.

Hangar 22 is requesting the following:

Ammunition

25mm CL-HEI: 45k

25mm CL-AP-T: 10k

25mm CL-AP: 44,955 units.

25mm CL-SAPHEI: 20k

25mm CL-Charges: 150k

70 k-grain DI: 300

35 k-grain DI-F: 10k

10 k-grain DI: 204k

10 k-grain 6 charge sabots: 34k

Stims/Meds.

30k units: AD-V900, production date pre-00.02.2834

80k units: CI-E60, any production date.

3 tanks: P-803 sterile flush

450 units Spironolactone 100mg

300 units Estradiol Sublingual tablets 2mg

50 units Estradiol Transdermal Patches 0.1mg

90 units Testosterone Cypionate

10k units Vitamin D3 20,000 IU

90 units Synthroid 0.05mg

800 units Primary Vitamin Blend KVA

Misc

5 pcs: 008-6653: 30mm hose, 30 meters long, type G couplings.

1 pc: 183-9433: Welding whip, 5 meters. Type A connector

3 pcs: 183-9401: Welding gun. Type A connector.

Thanks, as usual. - Barndog.

Maintenance Crew, Dock 3, Hangar 22

First Maintenance Posting

Previous Maintenance Posting

Next Maintenance Posting

[senjuushi]

Ghost

“...loyalty’s a tricky thing, ain’t it.” 

I’m the G11... an assault rifle made in Germany. Caseless ammunition... basically, I’m made to be a ground-breaking gun that ain’t got the metal shell cases, and with a crazy high rate of fire too... Well, caseless ammunition still has its share of faults, and ended up disappearin’ into history, in the end... 

‘Cause of that and my lack of presence, I ended up gettin’ the name Ghost. Oh, and I’m a different guy than the one who was with the World Empire... obviously.

[casside-sionnach]

The M56 Smartgun was a man-portable heavy machine gun with automatic targeting capabilities chambered for 10×28mm Caseless ammunition. It was notably employed by the United States Colonial Marine Corps. The M56A2[2][3] model in particular saw regular use in engagements with the Xenomorph and Yautja species.

[inkwell-passion]

The Breaking Point

'Fires Erupt in Ithaca' the headline of the most recent issue of 'Golden Sun' News. That's what fills my eyes, everything else getting lost in my tunnel vision. I thought I won. They died, what do you mean the Fires started?

I failed her. The 108 vultures, wanting to obtain her company….her employees. I didn't keep them safe.

My eyes scan the article, trying to figure out how many casualties there were, when my eyes catch, '20 dead, another 21 injured'.

My mind flashes back to the operation, it was only a few weeks ago.

𓃦

Agent Maelstrom and Agent 'Barn Owl' would be sat in the car, checking their weapons, Agent Maelstrom would be carrying an SMG in his right hand, and a stun baton in his left, the SMG was of his own modification, utilizing Caseless ammunition, a suggestion from Agent 'Barn Owl'.

"Ready Little Wolf?" Agent 'Barn Owl' asks, chambering a round into her 'Spear of the Heavens', a unique Sniper Rifle commissioned by the Agent from Hephaestus' Hammer.

"I've always thought myself more of a Fox." Agent Maelstrom quips, a playful smile on his face that quickly hides itself away upon seeing Agent 'Barn Owl's unamused look.

"You rely on a pack, an Alpha, thus you are a Wolf. Show your independence and maybe you'll be a Fox." Barn Owl informs, before checking the window. "Open the door, this is our stop."

"What do you mean Open the door? we're still going 60!" Maelstrom whisper shouts.

"you got training for this." Barn Owl responds, before diving out of her side of the car, Maelstrom following suit due to having no alternative.

Maelstrom measures up the building, giving a confused look to Barn Owl. "Why are we striking a business on your home turf?" The Building itself was grand, as if compensating for something, windows liter every floor providing ample angles for a sharpshooter to make their mark.

"This Business is trying to annex your mother's Company, A Law Firm specializing in Domestic Affairs." Barn Owl explains, before continuing. "They plan to sell it for parts once they have it, destroying all the good she's down for her people, and her employees."

Maelstrom's anger flares as he chambers a round into his SMG. "Keep me covered." Maelstrom would stack up on the door, watching as Barn Owl moves to a nearby Parking Garage.

"IRIS Comms Link Online? Do you Read Me Maelstrom?"

"Five By Five Barn Owl."

"Reading 8 in the main lobby, can you take them out on your own?" Barn Owl requests.

Maelstrom would breach the main door, peppering the receptionists with rounds from his 'Wolf Bite' SMG. "DOWN ON THE GROUND" He barks sparking the shock baton to intimidate the Civilians, who comply easily.

The Receptionists, as they are bleeding out, manage to hit the silent alarm.

"Little Wolf, I'm hearing comms chatter, you've got incoming." Barn Owl informs Maelstrom, who quickly knocks a table on its side, before ducking behind the receptionist's desk.

"So why'd you knock the table on its side?" Barn Owl asks, a slight amused tone in her voice.

"Draw their attention, they're gonna think I'm over there, and not here." Maelstrom elaborates, getting rewarded with a soft chuckle from Athena. "I know I chose the right kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Maelstrom audibly pouts.

"Hey Little Wolf, You've got incoming, 5 of them, well armored carrying Shotguns." Barn Owl returns to the problem at hand.

Maelstrom waits for them to round the corner, smirking as they take the bait and start pumping rounds into the decoy table, allowing Maelstrom to leap the counter and choke one out using his shock baton to put pressure.

The other 4 turn to face him as they start firing at his direction, Maelstrom lifting the one he is choking out to take the majority of the abuse, dropping him when they're reloading. and taking the shotgun from the corpo's corpse, firing at the center of mass and dropping two of the armored juggernauts.

This leaves Maelstrom open for the other two to surround him, Maelstrom starts analyzing the environment for a possible solution. Right before the one behind him pulls the trigger, Maelstrom feels as if everything around him slows down, a Sniper shot ringing out as he watches the man behind him drop like a back of hammers.

"Need some help?" Barn Owl remarks with an audible smirk. "Hey, the guy in front of you, wrestle the shotgun from him and get it under his jaw."

"What the hell do you mean wrestle it from him?" Maelstrom barks. "He'll shoot me before I even get close."

"Not right now, your thoughts and movements are much quicker." Barn Owl informs

"How'd you manage that?! Did you drug me?" Maelstrom nearly whimpers.

"Don't worry about it, quick do it."

Maelstrom dives to close the distance, the Juggernaut seemingly moving in slow motion, as Maelstrom grabs the 'Uppercut' Shotgun, wrestling it from the juggernaut and putting it under his jaw, decorating the ceiling with grey matter.

Maelstrom's temporal perception returns to normal as a line of infantry start running down the hall from the elevator, a single file line. Maelstrom smirks, and links into Barn Owl's Scope Camera, waiting for her to line the shot up, and at the last second, he would dive back under the receptionist's desk.

The Sniper rings out once again as the line of Infantry fall, painting the halls red with specks of white.

"Hallway clear, get in that elevator, we need to wipe that server network." Barn Owl orders.

"Why not just wipe the entire building? We're doing pretty good" Maelstrom inquires

"That might bite us in the ass later, families will demand reparations, raids could start." Barn Owl responds.

"Bullshit, they'll never know we're connected." Maelstrom asserts, leaping out of the Receptionists desk and running down the hall, taking a handgun, ammo, and a plate carrier from the infantry, before sliding into the elevator.

While in the elevator, Maelstrom would discard his suit jacket if but for a moment to get the plate carrier on, before sliding his suit jacket back on, getting the helmet he also nabbed from the Infantry over his head.

"You didn't mention they would be this heavily armored" Maelstrom mentions.

"I didn't expect you to go in guns blazing." Barn Owl barks.

"It was the quickest way!" Maelstrom defends

"The quickest way is also often the least useful!" Barn Owl growls.

The elevator opens up to reveal an advanced firing line of six infantry, three on one knee, and three standing above them.

Maelstrom curses under his breath as he walks out of the elevator putting his hands up. "Alright, Alright you got me." He says calmly, a relaxed smile on his face.

"Maelstrom what are you doing?" Barn Owl Chastises.

Maelstrom doesn't respond.

"KNEES ON THE GROUND." The officer orders, and Maelstrom complies, a twinkling spark in his eyes that is hidden behind the helmet.

"Take his helmet off" the Officer orders one of the infantry, a Security guard that has the name tag 'Jenny R. S.' who complies with the order though not without Maelstrom shuffling a bit.

"Y'know you guys impress me" Maelstrom begins, smirking as his messy white hair frames his face.

"KEEP THAT TRAP SHUT" The Officer barks.

"if you say so" Maelstrom concedes, the glow in his emerald eyes at a full bright.

"Why do you have an Olympian Glow?" The Officer demands.

"Why do you watch the mouth and not the hands?" Maelstrom asks, before rolling his hand and revealing the hand grenade he snatched from the Security guard, pulling the pin with his teeth and tossing it, and diving into the elevator as it opens its doors once more, from reinforcements trying to intercept, Maelstrom uses the handgun he stole to pop them in the head as he hides behind the door of the elevator, feeling the rumble of the hand grenade detonating.

The rest of the rise up the building went smoothly, and Maelstrom cleared both the data and the building, before repelling down and meeting up with Barn Owl.

"You're a dumbass." Barn Owl reprimands, before smiling softly. "Good work today."

Maelstrom grins at her. "Thanks!"

𓃦

My fists tremble in rage, it swells inside me. I should have listened to her, we just needed that data, but I wanted to take the easy route. And what of Odysseus, where was he as I was defending Mom's Legacy from those vultures.

Something clicks.

"Why do I care what he thinks? He's an old man lost in the past." My voice flies free from my lips to open air.

"I'm done living in his shadow. Done trying to live up to his expectations, I'm my own person" I reassure to myself.

I'd message Athena, 'Hey, I'd like to ramp up my training. Make Me Bleed'

All she responds with is an Owl emoji.

I would walk out of my office and head to the sparring grounds, calling for Seraphim-076 to meet me there.

[jackson-stickman]

Just a thought...

I've been thinking, we at Aperture have the technology to make gels that repel and propel, we can make hyper advanced AI, we can build underground rooms the size of cities, we can figure out how to make caseless ammunition for turrets, and we can even make literal tractors beams. AND, we can put literal black holes in guns you can hold in your hands and use it to make portals, but we can't figure out how to put portals on non-moon walls.

[decafbat]

caseless ammunition sucks. no funny brass stuff flying out AND no laser beams?? why even bother? the only good caseless ammunition in sci fi is in portal where the turrets just fling entire normal rounds, case and all.

the way i read this ask was like .....................................................................................................................................................................................................portal? portal? hehhhhhehh i like portal

[tlaquetzqui]

Really love how Google returns bullet weight, when you search ‘cartridge weight’.

Look, Cave Johnson, the things that go in a firearm are cartridges, not bullets. They have bullets in them. There is a difference—the cartridge is also the propellant, casing, and primer. The casing on 5.56 NATO rounds weighs half again what the bullet alone does, 6 grams to 4, and then there’s 1.75 grams of propellant, and about 0.25 grams of primer (the primer is that little circle on the bottom of the casing, it’s basically the cap from a toy capgun). That means instead of lugging around thirty 4-gram bullets per magazine, a GI is carrying thirty 12-gram cartridges—three times the weight. (Add in the 180 grams for the magazine and each reload of your rifle is 1.2 pounds—hence the interest in caseless and polymer-cased ammunition.)

[cybersoldier82]

Decided to go a bit in depth into the UGH weapons in my universe to give yah an idea of whats going on.

First things first: a solid 97% of all standard issue UGH rifles, smgs, shotguns and snipers are bullpup, with a few exceptions here and there(like Mackenzie’s shotgun), on top of that all projectile based weapons use caseless ammunition, ammo that uses casing has been rendered obsolete since the 2160s.

There are a few types of weapons that while not used by the military are used by civilians, bounty hunters, mercs etc for various reasons. Weapons such as lever action rifles, revolvers, and pump action shotguns are all used by civilians for personal defense/collection, as well as various professions that involve firearms(like how Kyle uses a revolver).

All magazine fed guns, military issued or otherwise, use mags that can 3D print their own ammo, revolvers have something similar only it’s the cylinder that does the 3D printing. How many times a mag can print its own ammo depends on the firearm but one thing they all have in common is that they have a certain amount of times it can print its ammo before the mag/cylinder needs to be replaced all together(like say a 30 round mag and print ammo 10 times). Non-military combatants(mercs, assassins, bounty hunters etc)can purchase an upgrade that allows the mag/cylinder to have infinite prints thus allowing for literally infinite ammo, however this upgrade is extremely expensive especially on non-pistol/smg firearms.

And das abt it :3

[manfrommars2049]

"Khnum's luxury gun series. A caseless ammunition automatic pistol." by Shu-Stella (Stella-Hoshii) via ImaginaryFutureWar

[iheartvelma]

Heh. If you think that’s odd, look into the never-produced Heckler & Koch G11 rifle which used caseless ammunition.

The magazine runs the length of the barrel with the rounds pointing downwards, and they’re fed through a rotating cylinder to point out of the barrel for firing.

The advantage to the design was the ability to carry about 2x-3x more rounds than a standard rifle, without weighing significantly more. The rounds were encased in blocks of solid propellant, so there was no need for a heavy brass jacket, no ejection mechanism, and could optimally fire 2,100 rounds a minute.

The disadvantage was a more complex mechanism and without casings to carry heat out of the weapon, the rounds were prone to “cook off” - firing by themselves - due to residual heat buildup in the chamber.

It was a serious contender for adoption by NATO and there was a US version tested as well, but ultimately they passed on it. (Still turned up in our high school games club’s James Bond TTRPG manual though!)

Um, waiter? I’m bisexual today. Get me something bisexuals would eat.

[someonestole15]

There is no operation name.

Decoding messages

Difficult to sleep, the screen is an enemy, not that it is a requirement for me. More symbolic than anything, the operation system works better after being rebooted and at night is usually the best time for it, but I cannot stop it anymore. Programs blocking reboot, trying to close them down sends errors across my console and glitches across my HUD. All fixes end up being temporary, how long can I go like this?

Late evening, have not been at this section of the city yet, every street looks unfamiliar and everyone look leaves my systems burning up. Welcoming warmth for sure, the temperatures have reached well below freezing after the sunset, signs of a coming winter. Not a lot of traffic, the buildings here mostly formed from brick and wood, materials natural to Novis, cheap but time takes its toll on them. The colony serves as a home to about 3.6 million people at this time; the number does not include androids or clones, nor other humanoid species but it merely a remnant of what it used to be...

Highest amount settled around 12.6 million from reports, cities change and adapt to their needs... Nevertheless, that is enough about that for now. Job to do, the image coordinates pointed to this building nearby, the front looking as innocent as any small business, a greenish copper sign mounted to the window with fading orange neon lighting spelling out the name of the store.

The Boiler room, a business aimed at salvaging consumer tech to be recycled or sold forward to those who need it, a few robotic arms sitting quietly over a workstation, it is hard to see anything further past the smudged glass and fog floating between the shelves.

Something hiding beneath the humble exterior, I lowered the binoculars and placed them back inside my backpack. Low impact operation, light armor underneath my jacket and a pair of spare magazines on my belt, keeping to it, small caliber PDW, folding stock and the magazine nestled neatly in the grip, mirroring the layout of the weapon I carried when I was still on earth... Old habits die hard, the modernized model with an integral silencer, caseless ammunition and internals optimized for current generation tactical gear.

Gloves feeding data to the HUD, magazine capacity and sights, secured to my belt and underneath my jacket, plan B in case things go south inside. Plan A, get in and burn the data on the servers, a H4 charge and a Demon on a flash drive should do the job; I pulled the bag onto my shoulder and climbed down from the roof, placing my hands firmly into my pockets as I walked across the road.

Dim streetlights casting shadows everywhere, one moment you can walk on the street, the second, out of sight and out of mind. Alleys common, I located one that passed the target building, walking down it for a moment as I allowed my sensor suite to scan anything I could, deflected from the walls back to me without getting anywhere, an external layer of jammers preventing anyone curious from seeing inside, other than walking in themselves. No doubt, the front door is under surveillance 24/7 and just me walking by here, they will be trying to find me anywhere they can, or perhaps I am merely paranoid...

Lone security camera overlooking the back entrance and security company stickers plastered along the window, beware the dog, a pair of garage doors taking up a large section of the building, a few small cranes sitting near them, my sensors painted out a network of devices hidden beneath the loose surface, steadily pulsing against the chain-link fence.

Climbing the fence could work, but with the yard being that heavily monitored, they would probably have an armed response here within minutes. Roof it is, I located a dumpster sitting by the wall, climbing up it and onto the roof, quietly vaulting over the edge and landing on the roof itself.

Covered in ventilation equipment and an access door, I took a moment to recalibrate my systems before heading to the access door, my boots softly mixing against the sounds of the ventilation equipment and cars somewhere in the distance. Stronger on my own, likely but right now, exactly what is needed. Valkyrie is on stand-by for extraction once I have secured the android frame; it will not walk itself out of there, I lifted the scarf over my face and tried the door.

Locked, after a few good clicks, locked no more. Heavy on the hinges, the door opened to a small landing and leading to stairs deeper into the building, I shifted my optics to low light and allowed my sensors to adjust to the dark, quietly closing the door behind me. Scanning for signals, silent alarm triggered by the rooftop door, someone will have heard it, I scrambled the rest of the signal, they might think of it as a malfunction, here’s hoping.

Down to the ground floor, I looked through the back offices and lockers rooms, no servers nor android frame; I ended up in the garage near the back of the building. Empty as the rest of the place, a few workstations, a vehicle lift and a fuse box on the wall. Multiple toolboxes against the wall, the air heavy with coolant and diesel fumes, my scanners picked up a reinforced section of the floor beneath one of the toolboxes. Moving the chest to the side, a hatch embedded into the floor with faded markings, I pulled the handle up and heard the hydraulics lift the hatch from the floor, revealing a set of stairs. Dust scattered down them, the middle relatively clear, I moved the tool chest to the other side of the garage, jamming it against the door handle before heading down the stairs, closing the hatch behind me.

They will not believe me I happened to stumble down here by accident; I pulled the PDW from my belt and kept my scanners active as I reached the end of the stairs. Faced with a corridor, stark white walls and the low humming of the AC around me, my boots softly clanking on the catwalk like floor as I made my way further into the belly of the beast. Corridor was lined with several large windows and doors to access the rooms behind them, many of them seemed like they were used for storage, although my scans showed a large number of items marked as “missing” on official documents. Weapon crates, ammunition, launchers... shame I cannot take them with me.

The walls shifting from concrete to brick and mortar, this place must be older than it seems. Walk with confidence, the power signature kept getting larger as I reached another window overlooking what looked like a room full of servers. That is drawing a lot of power all right, now how do I get in there...

There is someone walking this way with their eyes on their datapad, my plan started coming together as I got to the side of the door, keeping myself stuck to the wall as the door slid open and the man stepped into the corridor, heading back towards the stairs. Got my way in, I took a knee and looked down at the servers; my sensors drawing data across my HUD before I spotted what looked like a control post in the far end of the room.

Bright lights above computers and in the middle, something that I cannot make out from here. Quietly across the catwalk and into a better spot, my optics quickly recognized the android frame sitting in the middle of the computers, cables running from it into the servers and terminals around the chassis as a pair of men worked on it and one looked like he overseeing them. Tuning out the humming of the fans, I could just about hear them.

“I was told it would be easy to break into the OS, we’re burning money every moment this thing is stuck down here.” The man dressed in a suit stated, annoyance heavy in his voice as he spoke to the researchers.

“We... we are through to the OS, Mr. Saint, sir... It is however refusing our attempts to operate the systems remotely.” Shiro "Saint" Tanaka, files on him frequent a mention of black market operations, the image matches what I am seeing, member of the Ashen Veil criminal group, their signatures included illicit data hosting and storage, encryption attacks and black market transfers between other groups. Hands in many pockets, I would not be surprised some of the tech we have bought had passed through their hands at some point.

“What he is saying is that we can give it commands but the motors can’t hold it standing by themselves.”

“What do you mean, can it walk or not?”

“Yes, but usually these things run with two operating systems in parallel to assist in operations, it can process input and act accordingly soon after, this thing came in without that second OS.”

“Let me guess, you can’t just bypass that requirement?”

“No, we would need a fresh software install.”

“Of course... and those are unicorns on the market right now...” Saint said, turning away from the android, tapping his leather shoe against the floor with his arms crossed, annoyance dripping from his voice. “Keep trying, I’ll try to get some contacts to look for the right OS. I need to head out, report any progress.”

“Yes sir.”

“This bucket of bolts better be worth the money...” He stated quietly, adjusting his suit jacket and heading up to the catwalk. Relocated to the lower floor myself, I watched as he headed to the door and out of the room. Should make things easier, I lowered the bag from my shoulder and connected the demon to the servers. Small screen on the side signaling the status, a black widow making its web between the server drives, wiping them all empty at once when it had contaminated everything on the network. Scorch the earth, salt to confirm nothing comes back; it makes a copy of itself on the drive infecting the whole system again if any old drive is used or missed.

Time to rebuild ranging from days to weeks, having to find new hardware and not even taking in the account of the exabytes of data being stored on there, digital bonfire just waiting for a spark, I retrieved the drive from the server and snapped it in half. The thing had been attempting to infect my own systems ever since I laid my hands on it, the quiet on my console signals it is no longer active on the snapped drive.

Now then, those two will likely try to stop me from taking the android body. As I braced the weapon against my arm, red lights lit up the server room as an alarm started blaring.

“What?”

“Great... I already had a headache...”

“Probably just a drill, it should be over soon... I hope...”

The door above slid open as a pair of armored guards walked in to the room, armed with assault rifles. Kits likely scavenged uniform with radios and magazine pouches for weapons neither of them were carrying, amateurs attempting to look tough, I kept my weapon braced with the sights lined up as the pair reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Let’s go, we got an intruder.” The lankier guard said, signaling for the two to follow him.

“What? Saint said...”

“Saints orders, he wants everyone in the security center so he can run the scan and see where our intruder is hiding.” The larger guard said, his voice hiding a hint of static, likely from augments or prosthetics.

 “Alright, let me just lock up...”

“Make it snappy, he was not exactly happy to be doing this... All done?”

“Yes, let’s get going.”

One guard leading with the two scientists following behind him and the large slab of muscle securing the rear, so they don’t know about me, but they do know someone has pierced their veil, scanning for electronics is pointless in a place full of them, it is like I was never here.

“Valkyrie, ETA on pick-up?”

“Ten minutes from request, are you compromised?”

“No, but I might be soon enough.”

“Roger, I’ll be there.”

“I know you will, out.”

Under the red emergency lights, I walked up to the chassis and looked it over. Fresh from the factory with an operating system set to monitor internals and providing something to install the main OS onto, without it, it is practically an intricate paperweight. Without armor, the chassis alone weighs around 200kg but with the frame, the weight is closer to 500kg, it is within my system limits but if I encounter anyone on the way, I will be an easy target.

Seek an alternative, not going back out the same way as I got here, under the spinning emergency lights, I spotted a rolling garage door, hidden in the dark before. Button panel on the wall, the door rattled up, revealing a long corridor along with a small robotic forklift. Battery at 43%, ready for orders, I connected my systems with the robot and looked around inside, disable the authority request and enable remote controls... there...

Soft beep under the alarms, the little headlights lit up and the fork raised from the ground, pulling up to the android chassis, exactly as requested. Out of nowhere, the alarms went silent as the emergency lights flicked off, the humming of the AC growing louder around me with the standard lighting coming back online, situation normal but the clocks ticking, I unplugged the cables connected to the chassis and guided the forklift beneath it, securing it to the fork frame. Back into the corridor, the walls coated in concrete pieces, the robots motors echoed against the rounded edges as I could hear sounds behind me. Closed the garage door, would not hold them back for long, I gave the robot the order to move faster, not that it would outrun anyone. Need a plan; they would know these tunnels like the backs of their hands, I am outnumbered as well, just like old times...

The tunnel is quite dark, very little lighting overall; shadows can hide many things, including me... Map on the forklift robot is unreadable by my systems but it would know where the exit is, stick to it, I pulled my scarf up and disabled the robots headlights, plunging the entire tunnel in darkness.

Adrenaline mixing in to the coolant, the sensory overload taking hold as I withdrew the knife from my belt, the hunter protocols slowly coming online after hibernating, the light in my eye flickered on to a deep red as I listened for the footsteps closing in, flashlights carving their way through the black.

Four guards, no sign of Saint, I unfolded the stock and foregrip on my PDW, bracing it against my shoulder as pair of guards closed in. Their rifles heavy with lights and lasers mounted to the front, they shouted their all clears as I remained out of sight. Armored vests but lesser headwear, I stepped out behind the pair, landing a burst on the upper neck of the first guard. Second guard turning around but not fast enough, I drove the knife into his jaw, landing one bullet into his forehead. Shouting, enough for them to draw attention, I allowed my scanners to bounce off the walls and locate the next pair.

Radio chatter from dead, asking for a status update, the signals traced as I found the other pair holding position near the forklift.

“Found the android.”

“Good and the intruder?”

“No sign of them yet, team 2 is not responding.”

“Dammit, keep the frame secure. I’ll try to get some backup...”

Systems still connected to the forklift, I gave it a command to move forward as I rounded the corner. Enough to catch their attention, the first guard fell to a shot at his upper chest, as the second guard turned his rifle to me. Burst striking the wall behind me as I took cover.

“Shit, Crash is down, the [Redacted] is here, send anyone!”

“Negative, hold your ground.”

“I am not just going to die alone out here...!”

Hands shaking, adrenaline beyond limits, the man stood himself up and walked closer as I ducked down and leaned around the corner, landing a few shots on his legs. Less armored, the man let out a pained yelp as I stood myself up and landed one more shot into his head.

“Max, come in... Dammit... if you are listening, intruder, whoever you are... we will find you. Mark my words...”

Progress bar on my HUD, nearing 100 as the virus made its way through the systems, only a matter of seconds now, I watched the confirmation message disappear, as the airwaves were flooded with chaos, I took control of the forklift again and followed it to the exit.

Opening up to a storm drain running through the city, a small dock was set up at the exit of the smaller tunnel, a lone dinghy moored to the side of it; I guided the forklift over to it and lowered the android frame to the front. Controls, no key, a few wires connected activated the ignition and the engine picked up revs as I released the ropes from the dock, pushing the boat away. Preparing for a speedy pick up, I folded up my PDW and secured it beneath my jacket again before reaching for my radio.

“Valkyrie.”

“On station and ready for pick up.”

“Sending you coordinates, heading there using enemy equipment, drop the rope.”

“Roger, ETA: 2 minutes.”

The drain leads to the lake on the edge of the city, far enough and the coastal security would be on us, I kept my eyes on the river behind me until I could see the gunship flying in behind me. Howl of the engines as the wind washed over me.

“Eyes on, dropping hook.” Overhead like a guardian angel, I transmitted her my current speed as the cable descended from the winch, swinging around wildly before, I clamped my hand on it. Boots barely touching the floor of the boat, I transmitted my speed to Valkyrie and allowed the cable to gain some slack as I hooked it onto the marked lift mount on the android chassis, attaching myself by the belt afterwards. Signal to her, I could just about hear her through the wind and engines.

 “Secure? Good, hold on.”

Wind dragging on my coat as my weight shifted to the cable, slowly I allowed the throttle lever to return to zero as I wrapped my hand around the cable, being dragged up with the android chassis in tow.  Through my jacket and my systems, I savored the feeling, knowing you are almost home...

Turning my attention to the boat, I spotted a few spotlights too far to catch up, likely patrol boats. Hard to not smile after that kind of performance, the ramp of the gunship lowered as we neared the top, the sound of the gunship engines deafening as I got myself onboard with the android chassis.

“Cargo secured, I trust that is mission accomplished?”

“Accomplished, the bonfire is burning bright with all the files they had...”

“Good work, plotting course for home, got a few waypoints to throw anyone following us off.”

“All yours, I need to breathe.”

“Take as long as you need, that thing is going to need your full attention once we get home.”

Taking a seat opposite the chassis, I stared into the deep black lenses and felt them looking back at me, how long before I look through them at my old self?

Need to iron out the bugs and glitches still haunting this old OS, but as the myth goes, Phoenix dies only to be reborn from ashes, I leaned back and allowed my eyes to close for a moment.

Rest easy, your body might be tired but the mind still yearns to breathe.

[fmp-yr2]

Research - Caseless ammo

The reason I am looking at caseless ammo is because I think it will look good in my game and it will cut down the amount of animations I have to do because in other games you have to animate the casings of ammo coming out of the weapon that is also including the slide of the gun going back, I am also fascinated by them as this is a experimental type of ammo.

the propellant is contained in metal casing with the bullet at its front end and the primer at its rear, hardened chemical propellant replaces the casing in caseless ammunition. History. An early type of internal propellant caseless ammunition was Walter Hunt's Rocket Ball cartridge. It was developed in the 1850s and the guns using it were sold primarily by Volcanic Repeating Arms.

[decafbat]

hm hearing your thoughts on your favorite directed energy weapon reminded me of smthin. whats your thoughts on caseless ammunition in scifi stuff

sorry thats one thing i dont have any idea about, youre basically speaking a different language to me. id rather have someone else infodump to me about caseless ammunition tbh

[tlaquetzqui]

The biggest issue with caseless ammunition is that the propellant, molded around the bullet where the casing would have gone, will leave crumbs with wear, and your ammunition’s performance will be inconsistent. The solution Hechler & Koch decided on for the G3 is to preload magazines at the factory, which is ludicrously unworkable in the field.

But I think I have the real one: a thin layer of graphene coating applied to each round. Graphene is highly wear resistant and, when nothing else is added to it, it burns well. It will also usually conduct electricity, so you can still use electronic firing to ignite the propellant.