Acknowledging that NEMA officers might find themselves in serious trouble when engaging crime cartels or weapons smuggling groups, NEMA officials decided that the agents would need a heavier pistol even before the equipment tables were decided upon.
The US Army was fielding primarily laser weapons, with the same base damage capability as most laser weapons, as was the Canadian and Mexican militaries. However, the United States Marine Corps seemed to distain lasers, and had moved to ion weaponry, as had US SOCOM.
The MIP-21 had been in use with US SOCOM since 2071, and was the "preferred" pistol of operators within the covert community. NEMA planners looked over hundreds of after action reports and found only three cases where the MIP-21 had failed under combat conditions, and all three could not have been reasonably expected to hold up under such grueling punishment as being run over by tank, struck by a rail gun round, and in one freak case, holed by a micro-meteorite.
Produced by Shayden Energy LLC, the MIP-21 fired a packet of positively charged ions by stripping electrons from air molecules injected into the chamber and using a magnetic directional pulse to "fire" the packet of ions toward a target. The impact of this ion "bolt" would cause the electrons in the outer shells of the targeted materials to violently strip away as the ions within the charge tried to balance their electron valence bands. This caused the struck material to slough off with a loud, explosive noise as the molecular stabilization failed. This proved particularly useful against molecularly bonded armor as the molecular bonds failed when the atomic structure became unstable.
Shayden Energy LLC built a total of eight factories for these weapons, each factory producing certian parts, with the primary assembly plant being in southern Mexico. This prevented shipment hijackings from making off with several thousand of these pistols.
Used against a soft target, this ion "bolt" had devestating effects as the energy transfer from the target to the ions in the bolt resulted in superheating of cells, causing them to explode. This effect was often called "disruption" when used on soft targets, and the damage profile was easily recognizable.
The pistol's chamber is fed by two small air injectors, which pressurize the chamber with air in order to give the ionization circuitry something to ionize without resulting in a 2-magazine system. At first a combination energy/ammunition clip was discussed, with copper molecules suspended in a plastic matrix being suggested, as copper easily gave up its electrons in the outer valence bands, but this was discarded as requiring the weapon to utilize special ammunition, something the NEMA equipment planners and Marine Corps wanted to avoid.
The grip is hard plastic overlaid with soft plastic handsgrips that deform slightly to allow use by personnel wearing body armor, or when the naked hand is slick due to blood, water, oil, or other environmental hazards.
The body itself is made up of synthetic plastics and neo-tungsten, and flash-colored a dark gray color. The handgrip is a light gray, and the sighting rail has a white dot on the rear.
The trigger assembly was modified from a micro-switch to a pressure sensitive switch assembly, allowing an agent used to mechanical trigger assemblies to put pressure on the trigger without accidentally triggering the firearm. The trigger guard can be removed completely so the pistol can be used by troops in power armor as well as cyborgs, and is often bored out by NEMA armorers to allow personnel wearing body armor to have an easier time getting their finger into the trigger guard.
The weapon was weighted under the grips in order to make it more balanced and improved accuracy, in addition the weapon contains recoil compensators as the weapon's magnetic compression/firing system causes a noticeable recoil. In low noise environments the hiss of the chamber injectors can be heard, as can the charging of the magnetic system's capacitors.
This weapon can be used underwater, but the damage capacity of the weapon is highly variable, as water often contains more than just hydrogen and oxygen atoms. In addition, there have been reports of this weapon exploding as the electron stripping action encounters an unstable atom suspended in the water. Often, during underwater use, the weapon is fitted with a compressed air cylinder on the left side to provide air to the weapon without the worry of water getting into the injectors.
The weapon was modified for burst fire for both the US Marine Corps, NEMA, and the Mexican Army. The burst setting does suffer from reduced accuracy due to the recoil inherent in the magnetic system
During the Cataclysm, there was some concern that the weapon would misfire or jam due to the microfine ash, however the pistol operated just fine, with the slight exception of requiring cleaning more often. No increase in wear on the injectors was noticed.
During Rifts these weapons are often found in a hand me down state, often well care for. The injectors are simple to remanufacture/clean, and late model combustion engine fuel injectors can be used to replace damaged or old injectors. The Coalition States considers this pistol to be a "legacy weapon" of those families who never sunk so low as to lose their heritage, and so the possession of this firearm, while technically a Class A Felony, is often ignored as long as the weapon has not been used in a crime.
The common illustration used for this weapon was misprinted, showing a weapon using a laser sight.
Weight: 3 lbs
Length: 7.9 inches
Caliber: 2.5 cm
Maximum Range: 1500m (4500 ft)
Maximum Effective Range: 250m (750 ft)
Typical Combat Range: <50m (<150 ft)
Magazine Capacity: 21 shots/7 bursts per magazine, 45 shots/15 bursts from an extended magazine, 147 shots/29 bursts from a power pack
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