Radium Sniper Rifle

The Radium Sniper Rifle is an unusual two-part Sniper Rifle first pioneered by the Taurian Concordat back during the Reunification War against the Star League. When fired, a particle accelerator first projects a small quantity of radium isotopes from a cartridge, then a laser system mounted directly behind the accelerator fires a beam straight through this canister. The laser arrives at the target shortly before the isotopes do, punching a miniscule hole through body armor and flesh to allow a deeper injection of the slower radium isotopes, which quickly administer a lethal dose of radiation into the target. Hazardous radioactive waste is created by firing the weapon and by expended radium cartridges, requiring the person firing it to wear protective clothing and carry the weapon and its ammunition in lead-lined cases.

A prototype of the Radium Sniper Rifle was first used by a Taurian agent to assassinate Amalthia Kincaid of the Star League Defense Force. While originally incapable of killing a healthy adult, the Radium Sniper Rifle proved deadly to Kincaid, who had been sickly her entire life. The Star League's conquest of the Concordat put a stop to any further development of the weapon, but they were unable to recover it or any technical details related to its development, and the Taurians mothballed the project shortly after its reactivation in 2607. The recovery of the Helm Memory Core, including molecular engineering research performed by the Star League after the Radium project was terminated, would allow the Taurians to finish their postponed development of the sniper rifle, though it wouldn't be until after the Clan Invasion that Radium Sniper Rifles began appearing in the hands of TMI agents.

Specification

 * Item: Radium Sniper Rifle
 * Equipment Rating: E/F-X-F/F
 * Armor Piercing/Base Damage: 4S/5C
 * Range: 95/350/750/1500 meters
 * Shots: 5; 10 Power Points per Shot
 * Cost/Reload: 9500/650
 * Affiliation: TC
 * Mass/Reload: 12kg/330g
 * Notes: On Successful Hit that Penetrates Armor, Injects Target with 1 Dose of Radium Poison