PR-188 Phaser Rifle

The PR (**P**haser **R**ifle) 188 was one of the first R944 variants designed by the Corps.

While the R944 is an excellent weapon it is not without its flaws, the largest of these was its size. At a meter long it was smaller than the phaser that preceded it, the R599, but many Marines still considered it too big, especially for CQB.

Its first variant, the R506, tried to fix this issue by shortening the emitter and while this did reduce the phasers size it also reduced its range. Despite its instant popularity with Marines, there were some in the Corps top brass who feared the R506's smaller emitter would leave it underpowered, as had happened with their last carbine, the R910. So ordered a new variant that would be as short as possible but kept the R944’s full length emitter.

To achieve this rather lofty goal, designers had to think outside the box and with the successful deployment of the R114 7mm rifle they had their answer, a Bullpup. While bullpups are not a new technology, first being invented on earth in the 1970’s, it had never been used in phaser design before. As a phaser does not have a traditional barrel it does not require the longer barrel length afforded by a bullpup.

Instead, designers used the larger stock to house most of the phasers internal components leaving the “upper” free for the PR-188's full length 50cm emitter. This revolutionary design drastically shortened the rifle, at 80cm long it is not only shorter than the R944 but the R506 as well, without losing any of its range or stopping power.

Despite this initial success once field trials began it was discovered the PR-188 was not without flaws of its own. While much shorter than the R944, its internal components were largely the same so at 2.4kg it was essentially the same weight. Also, while the new superior ammunition system of the R506 was used in the design, the PR-188’s unorthodox shape made reloads slower and meant that a new pistol grip and trigger system had to be created. While the trigger is better than that found on the R944, it is inferior to the R506, and the grip and trigger guard are less comfortable than that of the R944/R506.

Probably the biggest issue is with the stock. While the larger stock allows for the placement of the phaser’s internal components, it limits the stocks flexibility. The R506’s sock is not just collapsible but can be adjusted for length of pull. This allows a Marine to change the length of the stock to better suit their needs, and this can be done quickly, if for instance, they are waring body armour. Because the PR-188 stock is fixed it cannot be moved, reducing its flexibility and when taking into consideration the non-human members of the SFMC this issue only gets worse. Ironic that the feature that makes the phaser possible is also one of its biggest flaws.

Despite these issues the PR-188 was deployed in limited numbers during the Dominion war, primarily to Spec-Ops units, where they were quite popular. But buy the end of the war with more troops issued the R506 the fears of it being underpowered were found to be unwarranted. And its smaller size, for what turned out to be an acceptable loss in power, meant most marines preferred the R506. And so the PR-188 never saw wide spread adoption through the Corps.

Despite only seeing limited deployment as a service phaser, it did however see extensive use as a DMPR. Sharing the same emitter as the R944 gives the PR-118 its longer range. While the R506 proved this was unnecessary for a service rifle, it was perfect for a DMPR. And when equipped with an advanced optic, the PR-188 is an effective medium to long range phaser, and many STAR teams chose to adopt it for this role.

With the adoption of the MPR’s dedicated DMPR, the PR-188 has begun to fall out of favour. Despite the MPR’s longer length, its many components designed specifically for precision shooting, makes it the superior weapon. So most teams have replaced their PR-188, though some have chosen to retain the phaser, and it is still in STAR inventory.