Since their entry into the M64 galaxy and in particular, the "purchase" of false matter technology from the Ventu, many Coronado officers and Marines carry and use false matter swords.

When deactivated, the false matter sword appears to be a metallic cylinder approximately 220mm long and 30mm in diameter, and masses approximately 2.2 kilograms. The cylinder is normally wrapped in wire, cloth, or leather, solid and with a small programming port on one end, and with an emitter grid on the other. Two control studs are visible near the end with the emitter grid. Internally, the sword is made up of a standard saurium krellide power cell, a small deuterium matter store, a modified microreplicator cluster, and the emitter grid for the replicator. Overall, the device resembles nothing so much as the standardized replicator-based multitools common in engineering use and was originally based on that design. The programming for the replicator cluster has been modified such that the replicator will produce either false matter or duranium and most of the multitool programming has been deleted.

The primary control stud activates or deactivates the device. The second control stud has three settings. When activated with the second control stud at the first setting, the device uses the material from the matter store to generate a duranium sword blade approximately 700mm long. In this configuration, the device is 920mm total length. Pressing the first control stud again deactivates the sword, recycling the blade back into the matter store. The standard power cell is sufficient for approximately 80 cycles in this mode (turning the device on, then off being one cycle) before the cell must be replaced. The device can be left active in this mode indefinitely without requiring additional power.

When the second control stud is moved to the center position and the device is activated, the device uses energy from the power cell to generate a blade created entirely from false matter approximately 700mm long. In this configuration, the device is 920mm total length. Pressing the first control stud again deactivates the blade. In this configuration, the blade has all of the properties of false matter -- in particular, the ability to cut through nearly any purely physical matter. The false matter blade is useless against and will do no damage to energy shields or forcefields. The standard power cell is sufficient to power the sword in this mode for approximately 8 hours total use before the cell must be replaced. The device can only be left active in this mode until its power cell is exhausted. At that point, the blade collapses.

For modes one and two, blade and guard shape are set via replicator programming through the programming port. By default, the sword blade is a straight single edged blade with a diamond-shaped tip, the guard a simple cross-guard. However, by virtue of programming, virtually any blade shape or style within mass (2.2kg total mass) and size (no more than 700mm long and/or 10,000mm square in cross-section) can be generated. Guard style is also programmable, as well as whether the guard will be generated from duranium or false matter in each mode.

When the second control stud is moved to the third position and the device is activated, the device uses both energy and matter to generate a second metal cylinder 220mm long and 30mm in diameter. Connecting the two cylinders will be a wire of false matter with a maximum length of 250mm. In this configuration, the device is 690mm total length. Pressing the first control stud again deactivates the false matter wire and recycles the second cylinder back into the matter store. In this configuration, the weapon is useful for a variety of purposes, notably as a pair of nunchakus for a very skilled wielder, or as a cutting wire suspended between two counter-weights. The false matter wire will have all of the properties of false matter. The standard power cell is sufficient to power the device in this mode for approximately 6 hours total use before the cell must be replaced. The device can only be left active in this mode until the power cell is exhausted. At that point, the false matter wire will collapse but the second cylinder will NOT be recycled and will detach. If a replacement power cell is secured, the device will have insufficient matter to be activated in modes one or three until the matter store is replaced.

One of Colonel Jeremy Ironside's most prized possessions is his Stouker Arms CRM-71. Designed as a heavy concussion rifle, the CRM-71 is 1.52 meters long with a 2.8 centimter bore and masses 18 kilograms. It is, somewhat unusually, a breech loading weapon with and carries two rounds loaded: one in the chamber, one in the breech. It is capable of firing several types of 2.76cm jacketed rounds, in particular high-explosive rounds designed for penetration or demolition uses, or flechette rounds for anti-personnel use. It is a line of sight weapon with no computer guidance -- Andorian small arms manufacturers generally disdain personal tracking systems.

The Andorian weapons manufacturer Stouker Arms owes its claim to fame to its CR series of concussion rifles produced and distributed to only select customers throughout the Alpha quadrant, primarily Andorians. The CR series began its life as a crowd control weapon in heavily populated Andorian cities, where the aggressive and impulsive Andorian mindset tended to produce nearly weekly riots of some sort or another.

The first production of the weapon fired charges using a low-power, low-velocity subspace accelerator that when detonated, used a concussive force blast to incapacitate people over a large area (hence the designation as a concussion rifle). The weapon, through its various iterations, became so successful that it was also produced in a hunting rifle variation for experienced and prominent Andorian gamesmen. The rifle also caught the attention of the Andorian military, who contracted Stouker Arms to produce a limited run heavy military variation on the proven police design.

The result was the rare and powerful CR-Military-71 (or simply CRM-71). The larger rifle substituted the smaller and lighter Yoyodyne type-II accelerator for the heavier and more robust Whitestone Enterprises type-VI accelerator (used in their Spectre-class fighter's torpedo gatling weapon). The bore was increased significantly from 2.0 to 2.8 centimetres, and the weapon was lengthened 20 centimeters to accommodate the new accelerator and improve accuracy and range.

Because of the larger accelerator length, bore and weight, Stouker was forced to remove the autoloading six round magazine. After much debate, the decision was made to replace the autoloading mechanism with a more traditional and classic self-cleaning breach loader coupled with a sizeable chambering lever. This imparted a more "professional" image upon the weapon due to the skill required to operate the breech-mechanism. A skilled CRM-71 operator has a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. The weapon was produced in limited quantities for the Andorian Special Forces, with a few rare exports to outside interests.

The CRM-71 serves primarily as a heavy anti-armour, anti-structure weapon but due to the explosive characteristics of its ammunition, can easily be used as an area effect weapon against personnel. The CRM-71 can handle a wide variety of ammo types, all designed specifically to match the rifle's tolerance characteristics. Should the user require a different type of ammunition, the basic cartridge specifications are provided as well, with weight and dimension requirements. The seven ammo types supplied (with designs for reproduction by the purchaser) with the rifle are:

• Matter/Antimatter High Explosive (HE): This cartridge operates on the simple mutual annihilation M/A reaction. With an explosive yield greater than that of a microtorpedo, this round is the standard for the rifle. It is useful against vehicles, structures, and personnel.

 

• Matter/Antimatter High Explosive Anti-Tank: This round, dubbed the HEAT round, a carry over acronym from Andorian/Human history, is nearly identical to the standard HE round. The exception is an amount of M/A explosive has been removed to make room for a shaped conventional charge designed to weaken the shielding/armour of a vehicle to facilitate the penetration of the warhead inside the vehicle prior to detonation.

 

• Matter/Antimatter Penetrating: This warhead trades a small amount of explosive for a reinforced tip, and a time delay impact fuse to penetrate structures, particularly the plastacrete found on most colonial worlds and settlements.

 

• Tri-Cobalt High Explosive (HE) Demolition: M/AM-based ammunition releases its explosive energy very quickly. This can result in a decreased effectiveness against medium and soft targets, such as plastacrete. The tri-cobalt HE ammo addresses this problem. Where the M/AM ammo reacts quickly, the tri-cobalt explosive acts at a (relatively) slower rate. This results in a much higher damage potential against normal structures and vehicles. A plastacrete building hit by a tri-cobalt charge will often be completely blown apart, where a similar M/AM charge will generally only cause moderate structural damage. The tri-cobalt charge is generally thought to be the "heavy" ammunition for the CRM-71.

 

• Depleted Uranium Slug: In certain situations, a kinetic projectile will function better against certain shielding and armour than an energy charge (Borg in particular). In those cases, the depleted uranium slug is used. With its high penetrative properties, the large slug is able to pierce both reflective and ablative armour. Although such an impact is not as explosive as that of a charge, it is quite effective at causing enemy distress and destroying or damaging other systems (such as an anti-grav device or external weaponry).

 

• Depleted Uranium Flechette: Although not intended as a dedicated anti-personnel weapon, the above ammunition types can be used to some extent against infantry targets. However, there are two ammunition types supplied with the weapon for use against personnel. The depleted uranium flechette is one; upon firing, it separates into hundreds of small uranium dart-like flechettes designed to tear through both armoured and unarmoured targets, causing serious internal damage. At one kilometre, the spread of the weapon covers about three metres square.

 

• Matter/Antimatter Cluster Munition: When fired, this round separates into ten small matter/antimatter cluster charges that at one kilometre, blanket about three metres square with explosive detonations rather than kinetic projectiles. Some care must be taken to avoid friendly casualties when this round is used.

 

The Phased Automatic Rifle (or PAR for short), is a weapon that was developed in-house by U.S.S. Coronado Marines Peter Lightbody and Dieter Stampfer. The weapon is an attempt to merge the versatilty of the phaser rifle with the rapid fire and destructive power of the M2-43 Plasma Pulse Rifle.

Most of the components of the PAR are modified from the standard IIIc phaser rifle, however, the charge-capacitance bank has been increased in size, and the high-speed focusing coils have been altered to discharge their layered pulses more rapidly. The result is a weapon that is capable of firing phaser pulses at approximately 550 rounds per minute (with a semi-automatic and 3 round burst selective switch), with power level settings similar to those found on the PPP.

The pulses from the PAR are slightly thinner and more elongated than those of the standard IIIC rifle, but contain approximately 15% more charge. The increased charge coupled with the rapid fire action and the ease of manoeuverabilty of the weapon make it very formidable in combat, however, it does not perform on par with the SAW (because of the slower fire rate and lower charge capability). This, along with the difficulty and time required to produce the weapon, normally relegates the weapon to the hands of squad leaders and a few heavy weapon squads.

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