Weapons

'''NOTE: Propelled explosives and bombs require advance permission from admins. (Grenades are fine, but be reasonable.)'''

''“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.”'' ― Robert A. Heinlein

Weapons in Helix City
Weapons are a part of everyday life in Helix City.

Almost everyone has some form of personal protection or pays some one else for the service. Those who are unarmed often invite unwanted attention from predatory elements within the city. Robberies, muggings, and shootings are commonplace, but rarely end in death due to the highly advanced and readily available medical technology provided by TraumaCo. as well as advances in body armor by companies like ThreatThread and Hammerlock Inc.

Firearms, blades, and other various weapons are easy to find in Helix City. Downtown offers a variety of options for the discerning customer seeking to arm themselves. For those looking for a standard gun shop, Blasters offers a multitude of firearms ranging from pistols to military style assault weapons at fair prices. Anyone looking for more sinister weapons might try contacting local black market dealers or gangs, either via the MetroNet, where one can maintain some modicum of anonymity, or directly by braving the depths of their territories and back-alley havens.

Combat in the city is often brutal and chaotic. With Cybernetic enhancements and various augments available for the right price, some combatants are able to perform with significantly increased levels of speed, accuracy, and pain tolerance.

Pistols are the standard self-defense choice, often accompanied by a blade of some sort. Swords are frequently seen, especially among the Yakuza and some higher-class Fixers and Mercs.

(Several prominent arms manufacturing companies are popular, with the largest and richest listed below.)

Armast Inc.
Armast Inc, is a Megacorp based out of New Munich, Germany, providing high grade rifles, military assault weapons, missiles, rockets, and turrets for ships.

With many wars still raging all over Earth, Armast Inc has proven itself on several battlefields as an affordable and reliable provider of weapons for any armed force in urban environments, though the weapons are prone to failure without proper maintenance or in cold conditions.

Despite a few drawbacks, Armast Inc is widely regarded as the best choice for general urban combat weaponry.

FragTek
FragTek International Firearms started as a small operation in Arizona but quickly grew exponentially due to popularity among villains in popular culture and media. FragTek didn't mind their appointed role as the 'bad guy guns', as billions of dollars poured in from criminal elements wanting the rip-roaring style of weapons that could literally blow an enemy in half, or take a door off it's hinges and bring part of the frame down with it.

While the firearms of FragTek are ugly and unreliable, they are cheap and plentiful.. what more could a street thug ask for?

Colt Galactic
Colt Galactic is a prime example of a Megacorp that did everything wrong. Premature expansion to Mars, a failed merger, and several bad aquisitions in a very short period of time cost the company trillions and forced it to liquidate it's assets and declare total bankruptcy. The company is still in legal limbo, with most of it's factories having been shuttered thirty or so years ago.

Despite this legal downfall, the company's firearms are still considered some of the most reliable 'classic' weapons on the market. Often seen as a 'cowboy' or 'hero' gun, their signature pearl handles, stainless steel frames, and intricate engravings have made Colt Galactic pistols worth quite a sum if found in good condition. Most models still fire powder-based ammunition, with only a few of the later models ever adapting to battery packs.

One of the most popular models is the Colt 2033, invented in response to the new popular sport of hunting mutated wildlife, the pistol which featured a fifteen round double-stack magazine of .45 caliber rounds and a single lower barrel that folded out to load a .410 shotgun shell, was meant to be carried as a last resort against a charging animal, though it quickly became popular among good guys and bad guys alike.

Stern & Abel
Stern and Abel is an American Megacorp operating from their own orbital station above Mars. One of the richest of the Megacorps, their technology has been stolen and replicated for the past hundred or so years by rivals. Nearly every breakthrough in military weapon technology was dreamed up by a techie in a Stern and Abel laboratory floating in orbit behind an ever-increasing number of automated turrets and defense patrols.

Due to their close connections to several American and European countries, Stern and Abel is protected by more than one country's military and it's central orbital station is more or less a city in space, completely off-limits to any but those the company deems worthy.

In recent years their development has taken a more defensive turn, likely in response to repeated successful thefts of their proprietary technologies.

Downpour Technologies
Of all the Megacorps developing weapons, Downpour Technologies chooses to make their mark in the simplest way.. by making it in the biggest way. The company's missiles, ship weapons, rail guns, and bombs have been the bane of hundreds-of-millions. If Stern and Abel makes a fancy bomb that blows up a mountain, Downpour Technologies makes a bomb that blows up two and costs only 50% more. Half of those may not blow up, but it's a bargain when you're glassing a hundred square miles at a time.

Most armed ships in service use Downpour Tech, with only the richest of the world's armies and Megacorps able to spring for the more reliable and expensive manufacturers. Because of this, local branches of the company can be found at most outposts and colonies, with replacement parts printed and installed on the spot for a nominal fee.