Called the "Juicer Assassin Rifle" by many, the weapon is reputably a German design, although how a specialized German weapon came to be found on the North American continent when there had been no real trade between Germany and the North American continent until 62 PA. Video footage of the Cataclysm has shown this rifle in the hands of NEMA soldiers in fairly decent numbers.
In 2075 it became apparent that more and more nations were attempting to replicate the chromium armor used in the famed Chromium Guardsman AKA "Glitter Boy", as well as develop countermeasures for its famed laser resistant armor. In 2075 Congolese soldiers, armed with JA-9 rifles and having gone through the Juicer Process, attacked a UN Peacekeeping force, in hopes of drawing out the NEMA GB's attached for heavy support.
At the end of the long battle, the Congolese forces, which were part of the Congo Democratic People's Army, had been completely routed and devastated, but the damage to the GB's reputation of invulnerability was done. Five hundred Juicers and three hundred "Crazies" had attacked twelve hundred UN peacekeepers, fifty Chromium Guardsmen, and 25 Silver Eagles. When the rubble finally settled, most of the city of Bunia was leveled, 85,000 civilians had been killed, the UN Peacekeepers had only two hundred thirty-seven men left, 11 Chromium Guardsmen had been destroyed and the rest damaged, 17 Silver Eagles were destroyed and the rest heavily damaged. Then, to add insult to injury, a force of "Republic of Congo" insurgents, armed with Ugandan Hyena power armor, moved across the border and attacked what was left of the UN Peacekeeping force. Despite being outnumbered 3 to one, the UN/NEMA force managed to destroy the Ugandan power armor, mostly thanks to massed boom gun fire. Uganda itself saved the day by attacking the "Republic of Congo" insurgents from behind with a larger force of Hyena and Rhino power armor and robot vehicles.
In the end, UN investigators went over the scene, tracking exactly how the battle had gone, and examining the equipment and corpses left behind. The first discovery is that the Juicers and Crazies were all recent subjects, despite the UN Mandate #5463 that outlawed those man-amplication process. In addition, the armor worn by the terrorists were manufactured in Poland, and the weapons they were carrying had been spefically designed to overcome laser resistant armor and act as sniping weapons. Luckily, the terrorists had charged the UN lines rather than disable the power armor at long range. The Hyena armor in the hands of the "insurgents" turned out to actually be of Romanian manufacture.
Of particular interest to NEMA forces was the weapon identified as the J-9, which had been used to great effect against the Chromium Guardsmen. Rather than having superior energy qualities, the weapon cycled through the exact frequencies that the armors could be vulnerable to. As two of the frequencies had not been used, that meant that the weapon wasn't designed based on battlefield salvage and observation, but instead had been designed based on leaked specifications. As the NAA kept the Chromium Guardsmen frequencies a matter of National Security for all three countries, this meant that spies had been at work.
To the UN and NEMA, this meant that someone out there was producing rifles to deliberately strike at NEMA itself, and the UN forces that NEMA often joined. To quote one investigator: "This bodes ill." The captured JA-9's showed no manufacturer's markings, and the electronics inside the weapon had been bought from a multitude of corporations, usually shipped to fake address or hijacked in transit.
In 2086 the biotech firm of "Extendalife", which focused on increasing lifespans and genetically modified crops, came under attack by terrorists, which quickly seized one of the facilities and began executing the scientists working there. When police intervention went to retake the compound, SWAT remote camera footage showed the officers being slaughtered by Juicers, and NEMA was called in.
The local NEMA commander believed that the "Congo Incident" had been overblown by the media and brought in Chromium Guardsmen and Silver Eagles to cow the terrorists. As soon as the armors arrived, they came under highly accurate fire at extended range, and all three of the Silver Eagles were disabled before they could close on the factory complex, four of the five Chromium Guardsmen were disabled, and one severely damaged. The local NEMA commander called in cyborgs for the assault, and when it was over, 12 NEMA combat cyborgs and 7 Juicers were dead. Once again, the JA-9 was found in possession of the juicers.
The JA-9 is a sleek weapon, well balanced, made out of advanced polymers and polyceramics. The weapon contains no metallic components outside the scope, which is easily removed. In addition the weapon can be easily broken down and put back together. (A trained operator can break the weapon down into the size of suitcase compartment in less than a minute, and can reassemble it in under 30 seconds, a Juicer can reassemble the weapon in less than ten seconds with practice) The weapon has a built in bipod, as well as laser targeting, allowing the user to sight in on targets as far as three thousand meters away with the ability to engage them.
The scope itself contains no metallic parts, entirely built out of polymers and polyceramics, and is connected to the weapons innovative fire control computer. The weilder of the weapon can adjust the frequency of the laser beam through ten preset frequencies in order to overcome chromium armor.
The laser emitter is somewhat larger than normal, allowing the frequency shift via small lenses inside the housing. It is well built, and has one of the most comprehensive shock dampening housings built. In addition it can be quickly and easily replaced by a trained user. (15 seconds for a trained user, 3 seconds for a trained Juicer)
The crystal lasing matrix contains multiple ruby crystals. These crystals can shift to replicate frequencies, becoming ion bonded once the shifting has occurred and the electrically induced ion bonding being released when the weapon goes to shift frequencies.
The frame itself is lightweight, sleek, and bears no manufacturer's marks. (Rifts "data" says it is from Germany, but that was never proven) It can be broken down into several parts (forward barrel, lasing matrix, laser emitter, lower reciever, upper reciever, stock, recoil padding, bipod, pistol grip) for ease of storage.
The scope contains passive and laser assisted nightvision, UV, IR, VIR, thermographic, and 1X/3X/5X/10X/15X/20X magnification. When used with conjunction with the laser targeter, the weapon actually analyzes what frequency will have the best air penetration, allowing for amazing distances.
The targeting laser serves three purposes:
During the Cataclysm, many of these weapons were removed from evidence rooms and contraband lockers, as well as seemingly to pop up everywhere in the hands of people on the NEMA watchlists. However, this weapon helped carry the day more than once against creatures that seemed to be resistant to energy.
In 67 PA a group of explorers checking out the Dallas/Fort Worth ruins, paying particular attention to the basements, discovered a micro-fabrication unit to produce the JA-9. How it got there, along with two as of yet unidentified power armors is a mystery.
Weight: 6 lbs
Length: 38"
Caliber: 3cm
Maximum Range: 4000m (12,000 ft)
Maximum Effective Range: 3500m (10,500 ft), normally used at 1200m (3600 ft) as most users don't know how to use the "atmospheric attenuation compensation" system
Typical Combat Range: 1000m (3000 ft)
Magazine Capacity: 10 shots with a standard eclip, 30 shots with a long eclip, 105 shots with a belt pack.
Manufacturer's Cost: 3,500 Cr
Wholesale Cost: 11,000 Cr
Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 20,000 Cr
Black Market Price: 25,000 Cr
Wilderness Price: 10,000 Cr
© 2004-2009 all authors as specified. Duplication of contents with permission only! This means you can't sell it, but feel free to print, modify, or use in anyway for your personal campaign use.
All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity to characters or persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Disclaimer.
