Weapons - STF Academy Textbook / Marine Course

If it beams, bangs, booms, or bashes, chances are a Marine can use it. An extraordinary amount of a marine’s downtime is dedicated to weapons and weapons proficiency. To put it another way: In order to qualify on the standard phaser rifle in Starfleet, a service member must hit a total of seventy percent of their shots (higher, of course, for Security personnel who must average eighty percent). All Marines must hit a minimum of eighty percent, and must do so twice every standard year. Failure means remedial range time, and more than a few jokes at their expense. If they fail after their remedial training, they are removed from service.

There are a number of weapons in use in Starfleet, some that have been almost fully explained down to full technical specifications and some that have been given only passing reference.

Always bear in mind that the standard equipment issued to any Marine is armor, a blade (almost always a K-Bar knife), sidearm, primary weapon platform (typically a rifle), and role-specific weapon (sniper rifle, heavy weapons, etc.). Combat oriented vessels will obviously carry larger and more varied stocks, but the chances of you being issued with Armour and photon mortars are standard to say the least.

It’s also worth mentioning that while your Character might have a lovely collection of antique weaponry from dozens of cultures including Bat’Leth, Mek’Leth and dozens of other nifty little trinkets; you will never get to wear them or use them except in extreme situations. It makes a good character backstory for a Marine to have such a collection, but the rule is “If the Corps wanted you to have it, they’d issue you one.”

Knives / Sidearms
K-Bar	Standard issue to all Marines, the K-Bar Marine Corps Warfighting knife has changed little over the centuries, the only true change being the material used in its creation. A basic fixed blade of baakonite with a single edge and a curved point, the K-Bar is one of the trademark weapons of the Marines.
Ballistic Pistols	Unlike Star Fleet, Marines still have and train regularly with projectile-firing ballistic pistols. A ballistic pistol is a type of single-handed weapon from which a physical object, often a bullet, is shot at a target and propelled by chemical reaction or other means. Projectile weapons are generally considered primitive in comparison to other energy-based weaponry, though can be highly effective; particularly in situations where modern medical aid is not immediately available or in areas where energy-based weapons are not viable (Radiation heavy areas, inside dampening fields, etc.).
Type 1f Personal Phaser	This weapon has 4 settings. The Type If, due to its extra power availability provided by a slightly larger Sarium Krellide power cell, is the standard 'backup' sidearm for Marines and StarFleet Security personnel. This weapon has an additional Sarium Krellide power cell embedded into the centre section giving it the ability to function for longer periods than the older type 1e. As with any sidearm, the main four beam types are Stun, Heat, Heavy Stun and Disrupt. This weapon is often treated as a covert weapon.
Type II Personal Phaser	This weapon has 16 Individual settings, each controlling the amount of damage capable of being inflicted to a greater degree than the type 1f.
Rifles
Type IIIa Phaser Rifle	The Type-III is significantly more powerful than the Type II Phaser, in fact being little more than a power booster, though incorporating one or two extras. The Type III includes an effective targeting system and is equipped with a gyro-stabilized targeting unit. This targeting unit incorporates sensors capable of detecting and tracking life forms. The Type III has been phased out in recent years and has been relegated to an Academy and Boot Camp training aid. Academy Starships carry a small supply of these aboard, usually stored aboard small auxiliary craft and in auxiliary weapon lockers. They are mentioned because all Marines have at least a passing familiarity with them. Power: Enlarged Sarium Krellide power cell Power consumption: 325 watts per shot Casing: Tritanium Outer Shell Effective Range: 400 m Settings: 16 Variable Power
Type IIIb Phaser Rifle	Following first contact with the Borg a Starfleet Borg Tactical Analysis Unit was established at Starbase 324 and one of its first creations was the Type IIIb rifle. Utilising an advanced computer control matrix it was the first weapon specifically designed to rotate its power frequencies to combat the Borg. Since the advent of pulse compression and isometric technology this weapon has been phased out of active service and is rarely seen outside of a museum. Power: Enlarged Sarium Krellide power cell. Power consumption: 350 watts per shot Casing: Tritanium Outer Shell Effective Range: 500 m Settings: 16
Type IIIc Pulse Compression Phaser Rifle	The current primary weapon in active Marine service, the Type IIIc uses pulse compression technology in conjunction with plasma accelerator systems to project toroidal plasma bursts at a significantly faster muzzle velocity than previous weapons. This allows significant increases in power level, facilitating greater frequency modulation capabilities. Pulse Compression rifles utilise biometric control systems and advanced targeting sensor systems capable of tracking and firing through solid objects. This rifle is a perfect multi purpose weapon that presents the first sustained fire pulse weapon in the Marine Corps arsenal since the Plasma rifles of the early 22nd Century.
TR-116 Projectile Rifle	An experimental weapon developed by Starfleet Security, it fires tritanium projectiles propelled by expanding gases from a chemical detonation. This rifle was designed for use in areas of high electromagnetic (EM) interference (whether artificial or natural) that would render phasers useless, and as a potential alternative to energy weapons whilst engaging in combat with the Borg. The Weapon was never mass produced and became little more than a collector's item with no practical purpose that could be justified sufficiently for large scale production. One unique aspect of this weapon is its Exographic Targeting System, a separate sighting device which communicates with the weapon via a subspace transceiver link. The operator wears a wire frame helmet with a monocle attached over one eye, and moves a trackball (mounted on both sides of the weapon, making it ambidextrous) located on the rifle to zoom in to the target. The magazine is contained in the forward handgrip under the barrel, being removed by releasing a catch aft of the trigger guard and sliding it forward. In 2375, one of these rifles was modified on Deep Space Nine with a micro-transporter connected near the barrel exit. The rifle dematerialized the bullet after firing and rematerialized it just in front of the target, and could possibly have done it inside the victim. The person responsible, a traumatized Vulcan officer, murdered several Starfleet personnel before being wounded by another modified TR-116 and taken into custody. NOTE: The chances of this weapon being carried as standard issue on any vessel are NONEXISTENT. It was never mass produced. It is possible that highly competent Marine Snipers *may* have one, but the odds are ridiculously low you use it on a mission; so restrict it to the same place as Worf's Bat'leth, on the wall of your quarters.
Plasma Rifle	A plasma rifle was the rifle version of a hand-held plasma weapon used by many species. These weapons were used by Humans during the mid-22nd century, but have maintained a presence in the Marine arsenal due to their effectiveness. They were carried on Earth starships even after the advent of phase weapons. While not particularly high-yield, they are more than capable of killing a target. Plasma rifles, also known as pulse rifles, were the standard-issue carbine weapons on Starfleet starships for decades. The pulse rifles have the capability of firing both plasma bullets, essentially bolt or pulses of energy and a beam with an adjustable level from stun to kill. The rifle is powered by a rechargeable sarium microcell.
Heavy Weapons
Mark I Photon Mortar	Primarily a large scale infantry weapon not carried on non combat oriented vessels, this launcher is designed to fire high powered photon grenades up to 40,000 metres. Mass: 3.2 kg (fully loaded) Length: 40 cm Capacity: Standard Clip holds 10 grenades. Note: This weapon is limited in availability and use to wartime conditions or extreme combat zones and will be stocked only as mission conditions require. Mortar platoons are common in all Marine units, and its members are specifically trained for the use of the Mark I.
Isomagnetic Disintegrator	This shoulder mounted weapon is issued to the Armouries of combat and deep exploratory vessels only. Utilising mammoth capacity power cells and larger pulse compression technology this weapon is capable of projecting a toroidal plasma charge powerful enough to destroy several cubic metres of rock instantly. The advantage inherent in this weapon is its ability to adjust the power setting, something missing in the larger Tetryon Pulse Launcher.
Tetryon Pulse Launcher	A newly designed weapon for the use by Marine ground forces and specialized security personnel, the Tetryon Pulse Launcher is perhaps the most powerful handheld weapon in Starfleet's arsenal. The device was designed as a single-person plasma cannon for use against small craft and heavily fortified emplacements. Building on the success of the Starfleet Avalon R&D facility to grow nearly flawless emitter crystals in a ground-based microgravity environment, the pulse launcher is effectively a miniaturized version of the pulse phaser used on newer Starships. Whilst much of this theoretical research has been applied to the Type-IIIb Pulse Compression rifle making it the first true transitional-phase accelerator, the Tetryon pulse launcher takes this a step further. As such, this weapon lacks the variety of power settings typical of a type-II or type-III phaser. When the trigger is depressed, the weapon fires a collimated beam of Tetryon particles which rebound from the target to the unit, providing range and vector information to the acquisition sub-systems. A rapid-discharge Sarium Krellide power cell, coupled with high-speed plasma accelerator coils and a ten-stage cascading pre-fire chamber allow for longer periods of sustained pulse fire than previous models of phasers, making it a truly automatic weapon. The discharge emerges as a focused pulse of superheated, rarefied plasma. The pulse launcher emits energy comparable to a Type IV phaser emitter and incorporates the biometric control systems now common to modern weapons systems. The weapon is capable of firing continuous or wide beam settings.
Photon Grenade Launcher	Grenades are most often thrown, but a grenade launcher could be used when greater range and accuracy were required than could be achieved by a throw, or when a rocket-propelled grenade is launched. Advanced optics allow for precision deployment via an arching trajectory or even deflecting the shot off of surfaces to get around corners. The Photon grenade launcher actually fires small photon bombs, and it should not be inferred that the ammunition is interchangeable with thrown grenades.
Grenades
Photon Grenades	Photon grenades are one of the most devastating personnel weapons developed by the Federation. Their use is strictly controlled, usually limited strictly to wartime conditions. They are effectively a more adjustable version of the micro-torpedo used in modern fighter craft. Photon grenades may be set to explode upon impact, at some altitude above the ground, or at some preset time, up to ten hours after impact. Both the power level and blast radius of these weapons may also be carefully controlled. They have five distinct blast settings and a variable blast radius ranging from 3 to 10 meters. Mass: 0.2 kg
Flash	All humanoids inside the blast radius without special eye protection are blinded for approximately five minutes.
Heavy stun	Stun in blast radius, effective for up to one hour.
Heavy Thermal	Melts most metals in blast radius.
Light Disrupt	Vaporize all organic and softer materials within the blast radius.
Heavy Disrupt/Explode	Any non-shielded object is obliterated on contact. Shielded objects are severely damaged depending upon size and power of shielding.