Location: Chiron

"Good morning, Doctor McMillan" was the first thing Hubert's assistant scientist said to him when he entered into the lab. He nodded at the man and returned the greeting.
"Morning." He walked to one of the tables and set his datapad onto it before looking up at the other man in the lab. A Colonial Marine holding an old UNSC Assault Rifle. The marine was stood at the far end of the lab, firing singular shots at different targets across from him.

"Surprised he's up at this time. Did you wake him up Miles?" Hubert asked, looking at the marine and then to his assistant scientist. Miles shook his head.
"He was here at the same time as me. He seemed very interested in what we're about to do today."
"Hm." Hubert walked over to the marine, who saw him approaching and lowered his weapon.
"Doctor." He greeted.
"Good morning Isaac. May I?" Huber held his hands out for the weapon to be placed in them.
"Of course." Isaac gave the weapon to him. Hubert then took aim with the weapon and fired the weapon at a few targets. He missed most but successfully grazed and hit a few.
"Not bad for a civilian." Isaac commented with a raised brow.
"Don't flatter me Isaac." Hubert joked as he then walked to an empty table with the weapon, the marine following close behind.

"So here we have it, the MA5B Assault Rifle. Semi-automatic, secondary shredder rounds, a flashlight, a screen to show the weapon's ammunition count and compatible with add-on equipment such as grenade launchers. Sophisticated technology... for the 21st century." Hubert commented.
"Still gets the job done though." Isaac said.
"Indeed, but for how long is the question?" Hubert slid the weapon off to the side, at which point Miles walked over with another rifle in his hand and set it on the table, where the Assault Rifle was. Isaac looked down at the weapon for a few seconds before furrowing his brow. The weapon was unlike anything he had seen in the UNSC's arsenal. Its design was much more smooth and somewhat simple, however with a few parts here and there which made the weapon look...odd.
"This isn't standard issue, is it?" He asked.
"It isn't any issue, Isaac. This is a prototype."
"Thought so, it doesn't look finished." Isaac remarked.
"Indeed."

Hubert picked up the weapon and handed it to the marine.
"Tell me, how does it feel?"

"Lighter than the MA5B, much lighter." Isaac said as he weighed the weapon in his hands. He shouldered the prototype rifle and aimed it at the targets.
"Hm, you may needa adjust the sights on this thing. They seem off, slightly." He lowered the weapon and ran one hand along it.

"Carbon fibre?"
"Not exactly." Hubert replied. "The material resembles carbon fibre in many ways in terms of strength and durability. However it is a lot less brittle and more ductile like steel. The material itself does not yet have a name and was only recently discovered in large quantities on Arbor, Chiron and Kiltorna. We are working to further synthesize it to eliminate any weaknesses as much as possible, however the material in its pure form is very impressive already."
"Sounds impressive. So... what should I know about this thing?" Isaac said as he nodded down to the prototype in his hands.

"In short, it's meant to replace the MA5B entirely. The prototype you're holding will use an entirely different type of ammunition and firing mechanism as well as support a higher number of attachments and upgrades." Hubert said.
"Sounds even more impressive."
"Indeed." Miles handed Doctor McMillan a magazine which he then handed to Isaac. "Within this magazine are metallic, sphere-shaped projectiles that will be used as ammunition for this weapon. The projectiles themselves are miniature in size." He said as Isaac loaded the magazine into the weapon. "There are a series of electro-magnets lining the barrel of the weapon as well. Once the magazine is inserted, the rounds are connected and transferred to the barrel. There, a coil of electro-magnets activate in a pattern to-"
"Accelerate the projectile at supersonic speeds, right?" Isaac interrupted. "It's the same technology we use for the Gauss Cannon on the M12 LRV."
"Correct. Go ahead and test the weapon's firing strength, we will be recording and assessing the speed at which the projectiles travel to see whether or not the test yielded the desired results."
"Alright, let's do this." Isaac said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"So what is it that makes this better than the MA5B exactly?" Miles asked. Doctor McMillan watched as Isaac walked over and began firing at the targets.
"The Assault Rifle only fired ballistic projectiles that damaged targets through kinetic energy. This prototype will more or less fire a slightly heavier projectile at a slower speed than traditional bullets. However the projectiles themselves are hollow and as such, designed to shatter upon impact. These spheres are only being used to test the hypothesized results, which from observation seem to be true. The actual projectiles will be shaped more like the traditional bullet and each will contain within it pressurized plasma that will explosively release once the projectile has impacted on its target."

"Ah, so it'll do more than just pierce armour." Miles inferred.
"Against flesh, the resultant damage to the body will be catastrophic. A shot or two to the shoulder joint would be enough to melt through the flesh and bone and completely drop your arm off. Against more armoured hostiles, if the round doesn't make it through, the plasma explosion will definitely inflict damage. Sustained fire from such a weapon should be enough to melt through the energy shielding and titanium plating on MJOLNIR armour." Doctor McMillan explained.

"Only problem with this is the material the projectiles will be made from. Do you think the GSU has enough metal resources to mass produce them?" Miles inquired.
"The new material that we have discovered will soon enough replace the titanium plating used on starships, armour and weaponry. As such, all old UNSC assets shall be recalled and melted down for re-use. I think we'll have more than enough, Miles."
"Ahhh."

"The prototype definitely penetrated those concrete targets a lot more efficiently than the MA5B" Isaac said as he walked back to the two, the weapon lowered. "Can't wait to see the sorta damage it does when the rounds are loaded with plasma." He said with a grin. "But yeah, adjust the sights definitely. I missed a few shots I'm sure I shouldn't have missed."
"Noted."

Miles took the weapon from Isaac and walked over to a workbench. The bench opened up automatically and unfolded a weapon holder on which Miles placed the rifle. The workbench then withdrew the holder and the prototype and closed up again. The flat surface of the workbench then came to life with a holographic touch-screen over it, upon which Miles began to type.

A few hours later, Isaac was recalled to the lab to further test the weapon. As he entered, he saw Miles removing the weapon from the workbench. Doctor McMillan was standing at another workbench, busily typing onto its touch-sceen holographic monitor.

Isaac walked into the middle of the room and waited. Miles finally turned and approached him with the weapon in hand.
"So, what changes have been made?"
"Quite a few." Miles replied. "For starters, I fixed the sights that you were talking about. Second, I have managed to develop a rudimentary computer chip that slots into the rifle. The programming is extremely basic and it basically handles the rate of activation of the magnetic coils lining the barrel of the weapon. The computer ensures that the coils activate at the right time to ensure that each round is fired properly. Prevents the weapon from jamming."
"Huh, sounds good. But wouldn't enemies be able to deactivate the weapon remotely by hacking the chip?"
"They would, and that was a problem that we've already addressed. The compartment in which the chip is inserted is protected by linings of rubber and aluminium which basically block any intrusive signals that may be trying to deactivate the weapon."

"Smart thinking." Isaac said as he took the weapon and examined the sights.
"The computer chip also ensures a 50% increase in rate of fire. So instead of 640 rounds per minute, you now have 960." Miles informed him.
"That's... gonna be a lot of reloading."
"For now? Yes. But we're planning for the projectiles to be at least half the size of the full metal jacket ones used for the Assault Rifle. The box magazine will also be larger than the current one. For now, the prototype you're holding has the same 32 rounds as the MA5B, but that's soon to change."
"So... just how many rounds per mag are we planning here?"
"At least seventy. We were at first unsure about this due to potential problems of overheating but surprisingly enough, the new material that we have discovered is a fantastic insulator. We could perhaps go beyond this number."
"God damn, that's impressive."

A few minutes later, another firing test was conducted. Isaac returned, having emptied out several magazines due to the incredibly fast rate of fire completely emptying out each magazine within two seconds. It was at that point that they were reminded that the new rifle should perhaps have two firing modes - one completely automatic and the other a burst-firing mode. Specifics of this would need to be worked out between the two scientists so Isaac was again sent away from the lab to resume his guard duty.

"Alright, I think I've managed to work something up here." Miles said. Doctor McMillan walked over to inspect his work. "Pressurised plasma within a metal casing was always going to be a problem. I recommend a complete overhaul."

Doctor McMillan thought about this for a moment before nodding. "Go on.."
"I say we forget ballistics completely. Abandon the use of metallic projectiles and abandon the need for box magazines to be carried around. I point you in the direction of the plasma rifles used by the Covenant."
"Hm, for that we'll need a power supply directly integrated into the weapon. We'll also need to remove the magnetic coils. We would also require a means of shaping the plasma into bolts..."
"The Covenant used magnetic fields to do so. I recommend we do the same. This will require a lot of research however."

"Fortunately Miles, the UNSC had been researching the Covenant's weaponry for a long time and significant break-throughs have been made. I will just need to retrieve the researched information and apply the technology to our prototype."
"Break-throughs? I've never heard of any such break-throughs happening at all." Miles said, clearly surprised.
"That is because that information was classified by ONI."
"And you know this... how?"
"I helped research those weapons."

Three Days Later

Doctor McMillan was just adding the finishing touches to the new prototype at the workbench when he heard the recognisable sound of boots against the floor enter the lab.
"Ah, Isaac. Do come in."
"What's up, Doc." Isaac said as he walked further in, giving a nod to Miles. "You guys sure took your time for this one."
"That is because we had to completely overhaul the original prototype." Miles said from across the room.
"Overhaul? So what's different?"

"Originally we had planned for the weapon to fire metallic projectiles containing pressurized. But we soon realised that this would not be possible due to the temperature of the ionized gases potentially melting through the projectile casing. Therefore we removed the magnetic coils, computer chips and magazine and replaced all of that with a larger barrel and a power supply. The weapon is now battery-operated which is instrumental in the creation of plasma in a designated chamber within the weapon. Plasma is basically super-heated, ionized gas. The chamber allows gas to flow in through vents on either side of the weapon." Doctor McMillan gestured to four small holes located on either side of the prototype.

"The power-supply delivers enough energy, through specially designed generators, to the gas in that chamber to create plasma, which is instantly channeled to the barrel and fired through it with the use of shaped magnetic fields which envelope and shape the plasma into a bolt even after it leaves the weapon. The magnetic fields are created by a specialized generator inside the weapon which is also powered by the power supply."
"So," Miles began. "What's the range on that thing? Plasma rifles were dangerous and all but they weren't the best when it came to longer distances."
"The longer barrel and substantially improved plasma generators ensure a medium distance with a faster rate of fire."
"That's neat."

Isaac took the weapon and walked over to the firing range section of the lab. He took aim with it and opened fire. Within seconds, the plasma bolts had rapidly left the weapon's muzzle and instantly impacted against the concrete targets, melting through them.
"Damn, that felt good." He said as he walked back over to the two scientists. "Liked what you saw?"
"Good." McMillan said. "But we can do better. I would still prefer to incorporate the explosive projectile idea into the weapon."
"Hmm," Miles pondered. "Ballistics use proximity fuse warheads to do that, but we're not dealing with ballistics here. What if we redesigned the gas chamber to develop a larger quantity of plasma and adjusted the magnetic field generators to compress the bolt a bit more so that it explodes upon impact?"
"That does seem feasible. However it wold also be more taxing on the power supply. We'll need to make it larger but I do not want it to add extra bulk to the weapon." McMillan said.

Miles looked at the prototype. "We could always re-implement the magazine slot for a detachable power supply. The battery as it is can supply the weapon with enough firepower to last a typical battlefield encounter. A larger power supply would add more length to that and if a soldier were to carry a few extras, he could go on for days and weeks with only a few mags."
"There will also be a larger build-up of heat as well, meaning we'll have to enlarge the vents. However a detachable power supply does seem like an adequate solution." McMillan agreed. "Coupled with the insulation provided by the new material our weapon is made out of,  it shouldn't tamper with the rifle's mechanisms"

Isaac looked between the two. "Yeah, listening to techno-stuff isn't exactly in my job description. I'll just... go guard stuff. Call me back when you need me."

The Next Day

"Ready? Open fire."
Isaac pulled the trigger on the latest prototype and immediately the weapon began to fire large plasma bolts at a high speed at the concrete targets before him. Each plasma bolt impacted against the concrete and generated an explosion with a radius 1 meter - enough to kill a human being within a single shot.

"If the weapon were to hit an unprotected human dead-on, the plasma bolt itself would completely melt through their entire body with no effort whatsoever." Miles assessed. "The explosion only increases the damage, it would essentially cause a human of average height to explode due to rapid heating of bodily fluids. I estimate a kill radius of 1.5 meters and a damage radius of 3-4 meters with the injuries mostly being third degree burns."
"So in other words, a successful development." McMillan stated. "This will be a suitable replacement for the MA5 series of weapons, they were long obsolete even before the war anyway."

"Very well, I will personally overlook additional features such as ammunition counter, a smart-link scope and sighs. I'll also finalise the design of the weapon."
"Make it look good." Isaac said with a grin.

One Week Later

"Grenades? In a pistol?" Isaac looked down at the small firearm in his hand. "It doesn't look like it shoots grenades, more like the normal rounds the M6 series uses. The barrel needs to be bigger for one or you'll be pulling the trigger to destroy the weapon instead."
"Well, not really grenades." Miles replied. "More like miniature warheads mounted on the normal rounds. They use the same chemical propellant to essentially 'shoot' out of the barrel. Once the warhead hits, that's when the explosion occurs."
"It's still capable of rapid-firing right?"
"The weapon had to be slightly upscale to make room for the slightly larger rounds." Doctor McMillan said as he walked over to the two. "The pistol isn't too much of a change form the standard M6s used by Colonial Troops, however the weapon you're holding is still a prototype. We have other potential ideas that may be implemented into it's design soon. Go ahead and test it out onthe targets."

Isaac walked over to the firing range and opened fire. The shots hit the targets dead-on and generated mini-explosions that blew chunks off concrete off the targets.
"Assessment, Doctor Miles?" McMillain said.
"Looks like a successful test." Miles replied. "What else would you suggest adding?"
"We integrated plasma explosions into the previous weapon, why not this one?" McMillain suggested.
"Well, that would require a complete rework of the entire design. I suggest we save that idea for another variant entirely."
"Hm, agreed. As for this variant, the results look promising. However we'll conduct a few more test-fires just to be sure."
"Understood."

A few minutes later, Isaac continued to test the weapon on the concrete targets while Doctor Miles and McMillan worked on a new prototype based on the same design.
"How about a laser targeter? We could have it so that it can be turned off to prevent compromise during stealth missions." Miles suggested.
"Excellent idea Doctor, add it in. We will also be needing to develop a means to fit more rounds into each magazine. Eight is not enough and reloading in the middle of battlefield situations can be inconvenient."
"May I suggest increasing the length of each clip? I'd say sixteen rounds per reload is enough. We will be needing to increase the size of the compartment into which it'll be inserted though, and along with it the overall size of the weapon by a small percentage."
"Do it, the sacrifice is worth the upgrade, especially when the sacrifice is negligible."

Isaac walked over to the two. "Uh, the gun's jammed." He said.
Both scientists looked over to him. "Jammed?" McMillan asked.
"Yeah, I fired a shot and it didn't come out at all. Pressed the trigger again and.. well, that happened." Isaac replied as he showed them the weapon. It looked like an explosion from the inside and completely deformed the shape of the weapon. "Lucky it didn't blow my hand off."
McMillan looked at Miles. "We'll definitely be needing to increase the size of the barrel then."
"Agreed." Miles began to type into the touchscreen monitor while the other two continued to talk.
McMillan took the weapon from Isaac and put it aside. "Any other improvements you'd like to recommend?"
"Yeah, add a proper grip onto the handle, the damn thing almost feels like it's gonna slide out of my hand whenever I fire it. Not worth the risk in the battlefield."
"Anything else?"
"That's all."
"Noted." Isaac walked off to take a seat while McMillan turned to work with Miles.

An Hour Later

"Alright, the new prototype has been constructed." Miles announced as he extracted the larger pistol out of the weapons workbench. Isaac got up and walked over to him.
"It's a bit bigger than the other one. Why's that?"
McMillan walked over. "We increased the size of the clip to increase the number of rounds that can be fired between reloads. It's double the amount now." He said.
"Sweet." Isaac grabbed the weapon and aimed it around, checking the sighs. "Checks out from the looks of it. Do I get to fire it now?"
"Indeed."

The three headed over to the firing range yet again and Isaac began to open fire. Within a few seconds he emptied out the 16-round clip and one of the conrete targets was completely obliterated.
"Well, shit." Isaac said. "That's a lot of firepower."
"Isaac, reload your weapon and activate the laser targetter." McMillan said.
"There's a laser targetter? Where?"
"The switch at the side, just push it down and the function will activate. Push it back up again to deactivate it."
Isaac followed McMillan's instructions. He then aimed the pistol at another target and pulled the trigger slightly. A laser beam appeared from an emitter situated beneath the barrel of the weapon.
"Now that's gonna be useful." He said, and then opened fire again and demolished the entire target - emptying the clip out in the process.
"Personal assessment, Isaac?" McMillan asked.
"Targetter's on point," Isaac said with a thumbs-up.
"Good." McMillan looked at Miles. "We'll approve this design for the final stages. I want you to finalise the overall appearance of the weapon " Miles nodded and walked off.

Two Days Later

The idea of testing out a new shotgun excited Isaac a lot. He was after all, more of a CQC person himself and now Doctor McMillan had called him back to the lab to test a new prototype. Needless to say, he couldn't wait. As he entered the lab, Miles was already extracting the new prototype from the work bench and walked towards Isaac. They met in the middle of the lab and Miles handed him the weapon. Isaac inspected the prototype. It was similar in build to the standard UNSC shotgun in current use by Colonial Marines, however this was most likely the placeholder design and subject to change.
"Sooo... what's different about this then?" Isaac asked curiously.

"Shotguns either use pellets or slabs as their ammunition. The M90 currently in service to the GSU uses pellets and we have decided to carry that on with this design." Miles explained. "However instead of using physical pellets, each shell contains within itself energised particles - not necessarily plasma however. Similar to what we use for energy shields but lethalised to the point where direct to an unshielded person can cause destabilisation on a cellular scale. Basically causes disintegration to flesh and still does a number on armour and shielding."
"Disintegration. Fancy." Isaac commented.

"The particles are fired at the target in a cone shape thanks to the design of the choke that we have implemented. You can not see it but on the inside, it is slightly curved outwards to allow for such a shape to occur. A way in which the energy field of particles is similar to energy shielding is that it has a knock-back effect. So if the shot itself doesn't kill your target, whiplash will or at the very least cause some type of injury or disorientation. The inside of the barrel is also lined with electrical conductors that keep the particles energised throughout their journey through the barrel. A magnetic field generator also helps maintain the cone shape when fired, for extra measure."
"Alright, I'm definitely testing this thing right now."
"Feel free."

After a few minutes at testing the new shotgun prototype at the firing range, Isaac returned to Miles with a slight frown on his face.
"Is something the matter Isaac?" Miles asked.
"Uh yeah, kinda. The weapon started acting all faulty and at some points I felt like it the energy field was smaller than the first time I fired it. Then I touched the top of it and it was hot as hell. Think the problem is with overheating. The shell ejection works fine for an automatic shotgun but I think something needs to be done about the overheating thing. I also feel like the thing could do with a bit more range."
Miles nodded. "Very well, we'll work on those things right now. You're free to take a break."
Isaac turned and left the lab. Miles walked over to the workbench and placed the weapon inside it and began to type on the touchscreen when McMillan walked over.

"What do we have here Miles?"
"Making a few changes to the automatic shotgun prototype. Apparently it overheats if fired continuously and the range isn't enough. Might I suggest a longer barrel?"
McMillan nodded. "Also a stronger magnetic field generator to ensure the energised particles travel further." He said.
"Wouldn't the particles lose more energy the further they travel out of the barrel? It may cause the damage to be less overall." Miles contradicted.
"Indeed, unless we add more electrical conductors into the barrel. The extended length of it should help with that anyway. It may be more taxing on the power supply however, which means a slightly larger power supply. Good thing it's self-renewing to a degree."
"Agreed Doctor. As for the overheating problem, I'll suggest we have vents that slide open from the sides and dump any waste heat out into the air. Similar to the Covenant Plasma Rifle. It seemed to work so well for them so it should do so for us as well."
"Excellent suggested Miles, add it in." Miles nodded and resumed typing at the workbench.

A few hours later, Isaac was back in the lab. He noticed that the shotgun prototype's size had been upscaled slightly. Not that it was a problem though, as it still comfortable fit in his hands.
"Give it a go now Isaac." Miles said. Isaac nodded and walked over to the firing range, aiming the shotgun at the nearest concrete target. He pulled the trigger and the barrel of the shotgun unleashed a lethal, cone-shaped wave of red energy out towards the target. The wave impacted hard against the concrete target and caused massive cracks to spread out from the point of impact. Multiple holes in the concrete wall denoted places where clusters of energised particles had hit at once. Isaac fired again, and then once more which caused the entire wall to shatter. He then aimed the shotgun at a wall further than the previous one and opened fire, this time shattering it in four shots. He then fired off another shot at another further than it, reloaded and fired again and shattered it in five shots. He smiled. The range on this thing was good, a lot better than the M90 it also seemed. He also noticed that two compartments at the sides of the weapon slid out to dump what felt like heat and then slid back in after a few seconds. That seemed to solve the overheating problem as well.

He walked back to the two scientists and the positive look on his face told them what they needed - and wanted to know.
"Everything looks fine here, Doctor." Miles said.
McMillan looked a the prototype for a few minutes and then nodded. "Indeed. A few more changes should make the weapon more adequate however." He said. "For starters, more shells per reload should make it more convenient for use in the battlefield. Furthermore we'll also optimize this for smart-scoping capabilities, same goes with the pistol. I also suggest we conduct research into making reloading a less time-consuming task. We'll implement the same technology used in the 'Blaze-of-glory' variant of the M90 into this shotgun to ensure that all shots are reloaded with one shell."
"That'll mean we'll have to find a way to minimise the size of each shell to fit into one large one. And then develop a mechanism that automatically retrieves and inserts a new shell into the barrel once the previous one has been fired. It shouldn't be too much of a problem however since that technology already exists within the GSU." Miles concurred.
"Yeah, in the meantime I'll be on my lunch break." Isaac said. "I'll see you guys later."

The Next Week

The finalised versions of the weapons were in and had just been approved by GSU officials. The weapons were now due to be mass produced and distributed to all Colonial Marine troops in the following weeks, which meant a successful weapons research endeavor. The three finished prototypes now lay in front of Miles and McMillan on a table in the science lab. Isaac also stood with them in awe at the appearances of the weapons. Minor changes to each weapon had been made as per GSU Council requests, such as the implementation of two barrels in the shotgun to maximise damage effects of the cone-shaped field as well as a blue energy field to be expelled from the barrel instead of red... for aesthetic purposes.
"Man, I can't wait till they field us with these." Isaac said.
"Neither can we, Isaac. The fruits of our labour paid off it seems." Miles agreed.
"Indeed." McMillan said. "Shipping will begin in a few days. All we have to do now is name these weapons. I am open to ideas."

"Nightingale for the Plasma Rifle?" Miles suggested.
"Approved." McMillan said.
"The Deliverer for the pistol." Miles added.
"Wait wait wait, no." Isaac interrupted. "The Executor."
"Approved." McMillan said. "And we'll name the shotgun the Inquisitor."
"Eh, no argument from me" Isaac said.
"Agreed" Miles added.