M-195 Squad Heavy Machine Gun

## Description

After the second Skyllian Blitz, the need to provide greater firepower to an infantry squad became obvious. Before the apparition of the Eezo-based weapons, the human infantry relied heavily on collective weapons such as mortars and machine guns to build up most of the firepower. However, that tradition disappeared because of the change of military doctrine that occurred with the appearance of Eezo-based technology, favoring smaller strike teams carrying personal armament only for short missions. The fact that the Confederacy relied heavily on attrition warfare showed the limitation of the previous military doctrine, particularly showed at Farrow Bridge on Elysium, where a small team of G.U.A.R.D.I.A.N. operatives had to hold a position for several days and against waves of enemy troops, including tanks, using only personal weapons.

The **M-195 Trebuchet** is a weapon made in two different main parts. The main frame holds all the various fire mechanisms, cooling systems, recoil dampeners and targeting computer, but doesn’t hold any ammunition. The frame alone weighs 44 lbs. That’s what it must be used in tandem with an ammunition generator, more commonly referred as a magazine, filled with thermal clips and a metal chunk from which the projectiles would be cut out before firing.

Each of those magazines weighs 10 lbs and has the ability to generate 600 rounds. Because of the overall weight and size of the weapon, only the strongest operatives would be able to operate it alone, carrying the weapon and the magazines all by himself while still being able to fire it in Carry-Mode, and lifting it up from Tripod-Mode without tiring too fast. However, a two-operatives team composed of smaller individuals would still be able to operate it at its full potential. Considered the overall weight and size of that weapon system, the operators using it would probably not be able to carry any more than a PDW and/or a few light extra-gear. The gun fires the same projectile than the M-97 Viper but at a slightly lower initial speed, focusing more on the rate of fire over brute firepower.

Switching between the two configurations of the weapon can be achieved by pressing two buttons simultaneously, each located on the different handles. The weapon doesn’t use a mechanical visor to aim at something so the auto-targeting system could affine the accuracy but instead uses a camera that projects in real time a stabilized video feed to the wielder’s HUD. That live feed can be abled and disabled through the wielder’s omni tool. In case of the camera being damaged, the weapon also sports three laser pointers as backup aiming systems. Considering the quantity of mechanism condensed in the mainframe of the weapon, it can’t be folded to safety mode with the magazine on it. Doing so would just lead the magazine to fall from the weapon.

### Tripod Mode

**Rate of Fire (ROF):** 1200 RPM

**Advantages:**

* High damage output
* High stability when set on the ground
* Helmet-connected camera visor, laser pointer backups

**Disadvantages:**

* Consumes ammunition extremely fast
* Near impossible to handle the recoil it if not set on the ground
* Requires several seconds to be switched to Carry Mode

The Tripod-Mode is the main purpose of that weapon. In that configuration, the handle is set in the continuity of the barrel and the tripod is deployed from beneath it. Most of the energy is allocated to the firing mechanism, making this gun near-impossible to wield if not set properly on the ground. The position of the handle makes it easier to manage the recoil.

### Carry-Mode

**Rate of Fire (ROF):** 600

**Advantages:**

* Allows to fire the gun while moving
* Low recoil
* Helmet-connected camera visor, laser pointer backups

**Disadvantages:**

* Extremely heavy (44 lbs empty, each magazine weighs 10 lbs)
* Requires several seconds to be switched to Tripod Mode
* Can’t be folded with a magazine installed on it (magazine just falls down)

The Carry-Mode is the secondary mode of the weapon, meant for the user to still be able to defend himself while bringing the gun to a new position. In that position, the firing handle is set above the weapon’s frame and requires both hands to be wielded properly. Unlike the Tripod Mode, this mode transfers way more energy to the recoil dampeners, reducing the fire rate but also decreasing the recoil, making it suitable for hip-firing.