Light Musket

It kills quickly, re'oads even faster, an is easy to handle. If it didn't try an explode after every fifth shod, I'd say it twas perfect.

— Thomas Clay, Arcadian Officer

War in the modern age is dominated by two things: the airship and the light musket. Both revolutionized their respective fields of war and have become as integral a part of life in the broken world as the clouds that twirl around the land.

Thunder Stick

Light musket is a general term for a variety of weapons that utilize Henderson Reflection, a process by which light is turned into usable energy as a means of charge. They are typically smoothbore long guns and can vary between 1.3 and 1.6 metres in length. What makes them differ from a regular gunpowder musket is the small battery that sits between lock and trigger.
The former keeps a small tungsten needle that is tipped with lead locked in the battery. Tungsten is used to stop the battery from building energy while lead accelerates the reaction. When the lock is drawn back, the needle retreats until only the tip and a small slip of tungsten remain. Energy will steadily begin to rise yet be kept at reasonable levels by the tungsten.
Once the trigger is pulled, the last sliver of tungsten will be drawn back, and the lead will accelerate the energy build-up beyond stable levels. Seeking the path of least resistance, it will shoot through the barrel and exit the musket at over 600 metres per second. The result is a deadly bolt of light that will melt through steel, flesh and bone like nothing.
With the trigger moving back into position, the needle is again partially inserted into the battery. Recharge times can vary between 20 and 40 seconds, depending on the model. Newer versions of light muskets come with special release mechanisms that allow them to fire energy lances, which while slower, have a much greater impact. These variants often find use as sniper rifles.

Imagine those poor sods in the past. Standing and loading them muskets with their sweaty, grimy hands. Trying to fire with wet powder and fumbling with them bullets. What a shit way to fight.

— Seymore Gallahan, Infantry Instructor in Norwich

Related Technology:
Henderson Reflection

Item type

Weapon, Ranged

Weight

6-9 kg

Dimensions

1.3-1.6 metres

Battlefield Revolution

There are several reasons for the dominance that Light Muskets have enjoyed in the past two centuries. Most obvious is their sheer firepower, which is more on the level of very light artillery than a gunpowder musket. Reloading them is far easier as one only has to wait for the battery to recharge.
Variation is another one, as the energy used is malleable. The variety of projectile types seems endless and recent experiments raise the possibility of weapons where one can actively control the intensity of charge and projectile. Lastly, said battery can produce several thousand shots before the need for replacement arises. This means that they are overall cheaper to produce, even with the cost for specially reinforced barrels included.

by Gabriel Mezzadri