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Have Design, Will Build Part 2
Posted By: hipboyscott<hipboyscott@earthlink.net>
Date: 22 October 2002, 8:46 pm
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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.
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