Rainbow Beams
These multiphase weapons are the mainstay of law enforcement and personal military might in the federation. Though other weapons exist that have more specialized capacities, the typical sidearm of GF police and any ship’s crew on away missions is the Rainbow Beam, in the form of a pod or a pistol. The pod is a smaller, more discreet variety intended for last-ditch use, and as such has a limited number of charges rather than a reactor. The pistol is a main battle weapon which has an onboard reactor which provides its power.
Rainbow cannon are typically encountered in light and heavy varieties, with larger versions featured as vehicle weapons, on mobile suits, or other fighting platforms. The light variety puts a great deal more power into each shot, and returns to a limited number of charges, though an onboard reactor replenishes these shots. This actually manifests in armor penetration ability due to power, and the stability and sights of the rifle-like form factor increase the accuracy of the weapon. The heavy rainbow cannon is an over-shoulder stabilized weapon, or harness stabilized variety, both of equal characteristics and intended for fire support. These feature variable aperture settings and, along with the light cannon, can maintain automatic fire equivalencies.
In spite of the utility of the light and heavy rainbow cannon, the rainbow pistol is still the mainstay of fleet weaponry. It is favored for ship-board defenses specifically due to the lack of armor penetration (avoiding hull breaches), for its light weight and portability, and slow but sustained rate of fire.
The Rainbow Beam can be modulated to a number of settings that carry with them different abilities, increasing threat levels, and consequences for use.
[N.B.: If post-soak stun damage exceeds the target’s stamina, the target receives the Dazed condition. If it exceeds the target’s stamina x2, the target receives the Unconscious condition. Megastamina counts double for these purposes. Willpower may be spent to reduce stun damage. Stun damage reduces naturally in all life forms at a rate of 1 per round, and accelerated healing factors are twice as effective against Stun damage as they are against Bashing. Some organisms, notably Zorians and other similar “para-living” creatures, are immune to Stun damage.]
Rainbow beam settings and their effects:
Red – This lightest of the settings is used for training in many circumstances, and has uses in law enforcement and capture of prisoners. (+3 Accuracy, Stun)
Orange – This setting is the workhorse of non-lethal law enforcement, and is a hefty stun. (+2 Accuracy, 4 dice +2Auto, Stun)
Yellow – This setting is intended to provide law enforcement personnel with an appropriate retaliation to physical violence. In large amounts, or in moderate amounts against non-enhanced targets, it can be lethal. (+2 Accuracy, 8B +4Auto).
Green – This setting provides the law enforcement personnel of the galactic federation, and their military counterparts, with a weapon capable of subduing toughened opponents, and also of breaching obstacles and barriers if necessary. It is generally the upper limit of excusable force without specific authorization. Though green beams are capable of killing opponents outright, such a result would be relatively rare in circumstances justifying their use. Wound received from Green beams are generally not challenging for modern medical personnel to reverse. (+2 Accuracy, 12B, 6 Auto).
Blue – This setting is authorized specifically by command personnel to react to the expression of lethal force by an enemy, and for the use of military personnel with the goal of producing casualties. It’s unauthorized use by any GF personnel is considered a criminal act. At this power setting, the steadiness of lower settings begins to be outcompensated by the reaction of the internal components, and accuracy is reduced slightly. (+1 Accuracy, 16L, 8Auto).
Indigo – This setting is authorized specifically by senior command personnel to attempt to overwhelm a highly dangerous enemy, or one resistant to lower settings. In military applications, it is the setting usually authorized when engaging an enemy openly. Blue is preferred by military personnel for any situation in which accidental casualties can be produced, such as patrol and guard duty, while Indigo is permitted when intentionally engaging an enemy. At this setting, casualties produced are likely to not be recoverable, and medical personnel will have their skills challenged in their attempts to salvage personnel taken down by these weapons. (+1 Accuracy, 20L, 10 Auto.)
Violet – This setting is reserved for situations calling for “extreme prejudice” in the elimination of targets. Accidental casualites produced by Violet beam fire are likely to be indistinguishable from intended casualties. Military personnel typically refrain from using this setting in any circumstances in which accidental crossfire could happen, or if the surrender of an enemy can be expected due to any circumstances. Senior command personnel (captain and higher) can authorize this setting, but are liable to have such a decision cross examined. Unauthorized use of Violet beams is a crime equivalent to attempted murder. Enemies targeted by these beams are almost certain to escalate a conflict, as the use of Violet beams generally indicates a disregard for the value of the lives being targeted. Casualties produced by Violet beams are reduced a fine powder, and no known medical technology can reverse the process. At this setting, the forces taking place inside the weapon reduce accuracy further. (+0 Accuracy, 24 Aggravated, 12 Auto.)
Rainbow Beam Pods have 42 charges standard. A given blast from a pod removes a number of charges equal to a numeric index equivalent to the beam intensity used, Red removes 1, Orange removes 2, and so on, with a Violet blast removing 7. These devices can be charged by any constant source of power, including field armor or other powered equipment.
Rainbow Beam Pistols have an unlimited number of charges, and may be fired single fire only. The ranged weapon maneuvers are not generally applicable to them. Two weapons is an exception. If a character is specialized in the Rainbow Beam Pistol, he may use the Semi-auto fire maneuver.
Rainbow Beam Cannon include armor penetration and a wide variety of ranged weapon maneuvers. Rainbow cannon are powered by a reactor which fills a series of cells with enough energy to power a series of shots, with a similar reduction in charges to the table used for Pods. Light cannon have a capacity of 84 charges, and a “reloading action” causes the on-board reactor to replenish 20 charges. Heavy cannon have a capacity of 168 charges, and a reloading action causes the on-board reactor to replenish 84 charges. If a heavy cannon is mounted on a tripod, a pintle, braced against a surface, or otherwise set up to allow crew use, (over-shoulder stabilization can allow this, while harness stabilization cannot), another person can perform the reloading action. A heavy rainbow cannon can also be set up to draw from a larger reactor, allowing it to function as though it had an unlimited supply of charges. Light cannon may generally ignore the first 3 points of any armor type, while heavy cannon may ignore the first 5.
Safety
With the exception of Rainbow Beam Pods, Rainbow weapons rely on a reactor (and in the case of cannon, chargeable cells) which is itself potentially unsafe. While a trigger safety is present on all four models, additional layers of safety are practiced by all GF personnel trained in the use of Rainbow beams.
"Red weapons protocol."
This doctrine calls for all weapons currently in use by personnel NOT currently in combat, to be set to Red. This is intended to prevent the accidental discharge of weaponry that can produce casualties.
All weapons are stored and carried with the trigger safeties engaged. A setting may be toggled to allow the weapon to emit an audible beep when the safety is engaging or disengaging. When personnel standing by for combat deactivate their safeties, this is usually done in a supervised fashion, and at the conclusion of a sortie, safeties are re-engaged with the tone-function on, to assist with certainty of safe weapon practices.
Scram
The on-board reactors of Pistols and Cannon may be placed in a Scrammed position, stopping their reactions and containing their power output. While scrammed, a rainbow beam reactor is really quite safe, however, it does not produce any power. Pistols are kept scrammed until they are needed, though usually when preparing for combat or the possibility of it, weapons are made "hot". Scramming a reactor takes one turn, as does returning it to the Hot status, which is longer than most personnel can wait to fight. In common parlance, a squad commander may give the command "scram your weapons," or, if preparing his men for battle, after weapons are issued he may give the command "Heat up your weapons," to specifically give the command to engage the reactors. Alternative commands or terms may include "weapons hot" or "engage reactors."
Draining charges
Rainbow weapons that rely on charges, principally light and heavy cannon, are usually stored without any live charges, and are charged up after the reactors are engaged. After battle, cannon are drained of charges as part of the process of standing down. Pods are the exception to this rule, as they cannot replenish charges on their own. They are typically stored in belt pouches designed to prevent their accidental fire, and are not typically used as main battle weapons except in the most dire of circumstances.
So, in summary, a group of Federal Marines who have finished a sortie or incursion, and are awaiting bridge officers to enter the area, may have their commander give the signal "weapons are Red, Safe, Scram, and Drained," to indicate that there is little to no risk of accidental fire.
