Hello Space Cadets, it’s that time again!  Another entry in the Marine Monday Series where I introduce you to the world I get the privilege to write in.  Last time I gave you an overview of the term Marine, as it relates to the larger world, today we dive into the nitty-gritty.  This time I have even juicier information from my Legion Leaks informant, so pull up a chair!  The Sleeping Legion Series, which I kick into high gear with some badass gear, will carry on until I run out of stuff to say!  Since I’ve never been the quiet type, I doubt this will be an issue!  Eventually, after I’ve a few Sleeping Legion books under my belt, I’ll start adding some of my New Carthage Series world building.  Maybe shift the name a bit to ease confusion? 

Now let’s get to it!  The Human Legion Universe is a military science fiction world set in the distant future where humanity is enslaved to the White Knights, a race of aliens who rule through force and delegation.  We know little of this mysterious race of creatures, except that they value change and encourage mutation as a celebration of this change.  Basically, they’re Darwinism on crack.  When the Marines of the Human Legion abandoned the Tranquility System, my story takes off.  What happened to those left behind in the grueling war for freedom and independence?  Can the Marines left to fend for themselves survive on their own? 

A little about humanity, well at least those humans enslaved into service.  They’re the backbone of the Human Marine Corps and later the Human Legion Marine Corps.  In the absence of their Jotun officers, they must struggle to create a new Marine Corps, one capable of not just surviving but of thriving.  To do that, these Marines need weapons with which to wage this war.  The staple weapon of the Human Marine Corps (later Human Legion) is the SA-71(h) Assault Carbine.  For ease of use, I’ll simply refer to them as the Human Legion from here on out.

According to the official record, the SA-71 is designed to be the main assault weapon for space-borne humanoid troops. The (h) sub-variant has been adapted slightly to suit human physiology and responsibility level, but the ammunition and control systems are compatible with other weapons throughout the SA-70 range. 

The SA-71 is a versatile carbine, which has four features, and allows Marines to spread their lethal will across the galaxy.  My favorite part of the carbine is that it has an assault cutter for use in close quarters combat, which is a modern variant of the concept of a bayonet.  These cutters are a series of monofilament teeth which can be extended from the end of the gun barrel. They rotate at 1000 rpm for maximum penetration, eviscerating human and alien flesh.  Care should be taken if the cutters are employed in a lateral, raking motion as the blades may snap off.

Another feature of the carbine is the grenade launcher which sits under the main carbine barrel, and fires specialty munitions from the launch tube, providing each fire team with capabilities similar to that of mortar launchers of old.  While many Marine units were discontinuing the grenade launcher, replacing the capability by an improved supply of specialist munitions fired through the railgun, this changed when the Human Legion revived older tactics.  Instead, the Human Legion included both features and improved upon the existing grenades.

Some features of the carbine which are rarely used, due to their inefficiencies are the built-in beam weapon and x-ray weapon modes.  These features never really see the light of day in my series, or in Tim’s but maybe they’ll prove their worth in some unusual way in the future.  It’s a big, bad galaxy after all!

The best and most exciting feature of the SA-71 Assault Carbine is the railgun, the main functional mode of this powerful carbine.  Like all railguns, it operates by using electrical charges applied to superconductor rails that run along the gun barrel.  The rails are arranged in a helical pattern to impart spin to the round as it leaves the muzzle, improving accuracy.  The ammunition management system supplies the selected round and fits it to a sabot created on the fly through its sabot resin reservoir.  The sabot ensures optimum super-conductance and mechanically fits to the rails.  Sabots also permit the standard kinetic round to be much smaller than the railgun caliber thus allowing ammunition cartridges to hold many more rounds.  On full power, the railgun generates enormous heat and imparts a heavy recoil force at the breech of the weapon.  If the recoil dampening system is not overcome by sustained fully automatic fire, this energy is automatically absorbed at up to 80% efficiency, used to heat the reservoir of sabot resin, and recharge the weapon’s power pack.  In limited-gravity environments the motors in an ACE-series battlesuit can cancel most of the remaining recoil automatically.

Later, if I can sneak it past security I’ll post a more comprehensive list of weapons available to the Human Legion.  Gotta be careful, or I’ll end up as Snowden’s roomie in Siberia!

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

JR

 –> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are owned by JR Handley.  Any re-use of Legion imagery should be approved by JR Handley or Tim C. Taylor.