Zarich Arms Expo (Open invitation!)

[empressavalia]

“Good evening Heiri!” Emilie Avalia, the president of the Zarich Administrative State, spoke with glee as she entered the professor’s lecture hall.

“Madam president!” Professor Heiri Ins responded with a smile, the plumage on the top of her head stuck straight up in excitement. “It’s an honor to see you.”

“The honor is mine, Heiri.” The president assured. “I wanted to check on the preparations for the weapons summit. Are we still on track for fall?”

The question clearly made Heiri happy. She drew out a three ring binder filled to the brim with papers. “We are! In fact, we’re way ahead of schedule.” She held out the Binder.


“How way is way?” She asked, taking the binder.

“I’d guess at least a month!”

“Wait, so are we ready to start petitioning arms developers?”

“I believe we are Madam President!”

“That is fantastic news Heiri! Extraordinary work. I don’t know how you got Doctor Körner to finish her portion before the deadline. I knew promoting you to head of the arms department was the right decision.” The President smiled and held the professor’s hand in hers for a moment.

I will begin sending out invitations immediately then.” Heiri spoke confidently and bade the president farewell.

---

To, (your arms company and or nation's head of arms manufacturing.)

If you are receiving this letter, it is because you have been invited to participate in the bi-yearly weapons expo in the Zarich Administrative State. As you may or may not be aware, every other year, the ZAS invites several arms producers to display and show off their arms and ammunition. Those deemed most technically advanced will be selected for purchase to arm the Zarich Self Defense Forces. The event will take place Esrellia 10th through the 21st in Zarich city. A dozen hotel rooms and relevant accommodations will be provided under your name should you choose to attend.

We hope to hear a response from you soon.
For Progress.
President Emilie Avalia.

[aimway921]

Ashinaran production capability was about to begin reaching it's limits. The war in South Touli was taking it's toll. The Zarich Arms Expo might be an opportunity they needed however. Ashinaran arms were likely not to be given much attention, being outdated by the Old World's standards, but sending someone meant a chance of meeting arms manufacturers from around the world, and hopefully getting a contract to produce arms, or at least ammunition, for the Ashinaran military.

5 Ashinaran officers were assigned to travel to the Zarich Arms Expo. 2 of them will be displaying Ashinaran arms - who knows, maybe they will interest someone after all - but they would be a diversion. The real mission will be behind the other 3 officers - find a capable, and more importantly, a willing producer to whom Ashinara may outsource it's production of military equipment.

---

To President Emilie Avalia,

On behalf of the Ashinaran Hetmanate, we accept your invitation to participate in the Zarich Arms Expo. 

Best regards,
Office of Ministry of War of Ashinara Hetmanate,
Zenovi te Khmelnitsky.

[Greywall]

All 3 of the UKUG weapon companies would attend the Expo, McCarron Arms, Ferris Combine and Lawarence Firearms. They brought with them their entire catalog of weapons, ammunition and vehicles produced under their IP.

A couple Royal Army officers would attend as well to display and demonstrate the weapons for the Zarich if they were curious in them in anyway.

[Artsy Astra]

While difficult to arrange all four companies' arrival, representatives from the most prominent Marrlan arms companies would arrive with a small entourage of officers and infantrymen who specialize in the use of the weapons. They would bring some of their flagship weaponry and a few other choice items for demonstration.

[Sophie]

Kumosenkan was happy to respond. Either they could win and get a bunch of money from the Zarichs, or they could gain some valuable criticism of their current arms and make adjustments. A team of four from the Ministry of War was sent along with two officers and six soldiers to demonstrate the handful of firearms that were brought along.

[Kira]

While there would be no official reservation made by the Mil'Noran government, arrangements would be made for one Mark Tunnelson of a Lightsource LLC to present at the expo. Along with him he would bring three assistants in tow for aid during their planned presentations.

Their avaliable catalog would be sparse in terms of offerings, but it would appear that the Mil'Nor believed that had something proper to offer.

[StaolDerg]

"It is a great honor to be invited by the Zarich,” Peng read. “The Luosen Workshop has been said to be one of Elenria’s best firearm manufacturers since the sixteenth century, a reputation that has been maintained since the attachment of students from the Kuyan Technical University. The government hopes that you would consider sending a delegation to the event to present your newest works to the international public. Transport and housing, as well as personnel to demonstrate your products will be paid for by the state should you accept.”

The gunsmith looked up at his colleagues and students listening at the table before him. “That’s awful far for us to go and show off a bunch of guns that are probably comparatively outdated to everyone else.”

“The learning opportunity is enticing, though,” another gunsmith pointed out. “We should attend, not because we are trying to win, but because we want to see what others have to offer, and what we can learn from them. I say we go with a bunch of graduates and bring the newer development proposals we’re trying to propose to the military for own proposals.”

Peng frowned. “Those are barely short of unserviceable. We’ve only just worked past issues of catastrophic gas seal failures and locking blowing open, and now we want to present a bunch of fouling and jamming guns to the Zarich? We’ll make fools of ourselves!”

“That’s the point. The other attendees will undoubtedly have far more experience in modern arms than us! We’ll come home with valuable insight on manufacture and design, and be able to improve from there!”

“I suppose that’s fair.” Peng looked at the letter again, shaking his head. “Well then, let’s pack our bags.”

---

A group of six Elenrians from the Luosen Firearms Workshop would be sent, with three members of the military within them to demonstrate and examine the arms, while most of them packed notebooks to take note of other companies present at the exposition.

[empressavalia]

On the actual day of the expo, every group that accepted the invitation was given a booth to set up in. The organizers made sure to set up the UKUG tent and the Kumosenkan tent on opposite corners of the booth coridor. There were to be live fire displays but not at living targets. President Avalia was surprised to see that Elenria had accepted the invitation to the expo, as they had assumed Kumosenkan wouldn't allow them to attend. The Elenrian booth was set up right next to the Kumo one. Next to the Elenrians were the Mil'Nor. On the opposite end, next to the Gaelians were the Ashinarans and then the Marllans. Each booth was given several weapon racks, and a work bench to show off the weapon in a disassembled state if they so chose to do so.

President Emilie and her Professor Heiri walked from each booth welcoming the attendees. "Thank you so much for attending." The Professor spoke for the president. "Please tell us about the weapons you've brought with you."

[Greywall]

UKUG booths were arranged next to one another, a large green stag banner hanging over them but otherwise the three major companies stood out with their own products and logos.


McCarron Arms

McCarron came with its usual color scheme of Red and White, the McCarron Clan crest and tartan on their company logo as well as a description in the Zarich language going over the history of the Clan and its role in Ulster-Gaelia as weapon smiths. They had on display most of their small arms, artillery and their Tommy helmet used by the UKUG military.

McCarron Arms Model 4 7.62mm bolt action rifle. Hold 10 rounds, user feeds it via top with two stripper clips, rifle is easy to use and reliable on the battlefield.




McCarron Arms revolver 78'. Uses .45 ACP rounds and is equipped with a 20 gauge shotgun barrel. 




McCarron Vickers 30 caliber machine gun. The famous UKUG machine gun that has seen action in the Royal Army since the Hawaiian war first implemented it, one of Ouhiri's best heavy machine guns.

Ferris Combine LLC

Ferris were set up right next to their rivals in McCarron, but they kept it professional knowing they were competing against other national arms companies. 

ZI.6 "ZIX" is a Ferris Combine Light machine gun made to help close the gap in the UKUG's smaller land based army, it uses 30 7.62mm rounds fed by magazines via the top. It can lay down suppressive fire on enemy positions and be carried by heavy infantry much easier than the Vickers to move and emplace.

Lawerance Firearms LLC

Finally was the bizarre Johnny Lawerance and his own company, he had personally chosen to be on the floor and demonstrate his weapons.

Cricket handgun, an odd semi automatic pistol that is fed 9mm stripper clips into the internal magazine. Despite the odd reload method it is very reliable and accurate.

Bata Borradh is an semi automatic shotgun that can fire 5 12-gauge rounds in rapid succession, is used by the UKUG navy and their marines. 

[aimway921]

Set up in a booth near their, arguably, one and only partner in the Old World, the Ashinaran National Arsenal was displaying their weapons. They were the sole weapons manufacturer in the nation, owned entirely by the government.

G-11 bolt action rifle. It is the oldest arm presented here by Ashinara, adopted into military use in 1911, although it's production is still too expensive for the Toulian nation, leading to only heavier troops being armed with it.
Unique features of this rifle serve to weatherproof it in moist jungle conditions, including a dust cover that moves with the bolt, groves in the stock to drain water and sludge, and a chromed barrel to protect from corrosion. 




SS-12 Machine Gun is a curious alternative to the Maxim design that is more commonly used around the world. Based off a Maxim with changes to make it cheap enough for Ashinara to produce,
this MG includes features like a heavy finned air-cooled barrel, a slightly slower rate of fire, making it more controllable and less taxing on the ammo supply, and a
feeding mechanism using 30 round strips instead of the standard Maxim belts. The interesting feature about these strips is that if the loader of the machine gun crew is skilled enough,
he can load a new strip instantly as the old one runs out, sometimes so fast, the gunner won't even need to rack the bolt again, and just keep shooting.





VP-15 is Ashinara's first domestic sidearm. An interesting design feature that makes it stand out among other revolvers is that it's hammer doesn't have anything to grab onto to cock it manually. This makes it 
a double-action only revolver, which achieves 3 things - make the gun cheaper, make it lighter, and ensure the officers who are issued it are doing their job instead of wasting time trying to snipe with a handgun.
This also reduces the gun's effective firing range blow the average of other handguns circulating in the world. Visually it seems to vaguely resemble a Webley revolver, with it's break action, but smaller in size.

[Artsy Astra]

At the Marrlan booth, the different companies brought out  popular 'civilian' arms and a few military issue weapons.

First up was Rolbeck Arms:

An older but popular civilian rifle, the MMR-21 (Mountaineers Militia Rifle 1921) is made to not only put down big game found in mountains, but be a reliable defensive rifle for militia men.
It has a internal tube magazine that can hold 7 rounds plus 1 in the chamber that loads from the left (or rigth depending on pattern) via a loading gate. The stock has a small compartment for a cleaning kit and other small tools. It fires .45-70 blunt nose FMJ at 2,100 ft/s. It has sights that can be adjusted for windage and range and has a maximum effective range of roughly 450 meters. They are placed at a CK of 2.



Next up is a historic rifle, the EAR-10  (Emergency Arms Rifle 1910). Originally produced during the Marrlan-Roskanan independence war, the 1910 standardization following the border war of '04 it stands strong amongst its more modern brethren for its ease of production and hardiness.
It has a detachable box magazine that holds 10 rounds of .30-06 and loads via 5 round chargers. It has a muzzle velocity of 2,600 ft/s. The magazine is more fragile and cannot be removed to many times lest the catch break. The iron sights on the EAR were the first in the Marrlan arsenal to feature a flip up leaf that is able to be adjusted for windage and allows effective fire up to 530 meters. However when cycling the bolt, the rear sight moves with it and results in the shooter needing to work more than other rifles to reaquire their target. They are placed at a CK of 2.



Finally they would bring out a case of grenades. The CG-10 (Concussion Grenade 1910).
It has a kill radius of 4 meters and produced no shrapnel, only using concussive explosive force to over pressure enemies in close proximity allowing friendly troops to immediately capitalize of the shrapnel free area near the stunned enemies.



Next would be Higgins Small Arms:

They would bring out a few strange looking shotguns. The NACW-14 (Naval Anti Crab Weapon 1914). A top loading, tube magazine fed, semi automatic, 8 gauge shotgun. Normally made to fire cup saboted flechette, it can effective fire other shell types still.
It has a magazine capacity of 5 shells plus one in the chamber. It has a small compartment under the barrel in the handguard for tools. It has a leaf sight that can allow it a shooter to fire slugs or flechette effectively to 100 meters. It has a maximum range of 140 meters. Owing to its naval nature, it is extremely resistant to corrosive aquatic conditions and will function flawlessly in water, even with alittle muddy sand in its workings. It however remains on the more expensive side because of these features however. They are placed at a CK of 3.



The final Higgins gun would be the SH-13 (Service Handgun 1913)
A odd design also with Marrlans naval proclivities in mind. It's about standard  in its anti corrosion measure by Marrlan standards, but it has larger controls for use in diving suits. It is a magazine fed handgun chambered in 10mm. It has a magazine capacity of 9 rounds plus 1 in the chamber. It's odd design takes some getting used to, but its stopping power is nothing to be frowned upon as its rated to kill Deep Frights. It has an maximum range of 65 meters They are placed at a CK of 2.



The Last company in the line up would be, surprisingly, Dylan Repeating Arms.

A strange handgun chambered in 10x40mm, the UCG-21 (Up-Sized Carry Gun 1921) is a robust handgun put on the market for those wanting stopping power overall. Mostly marketed to Rel and Festria. It has a magazine capacity of 10 +1 in the chamber. It has a maximum range of 70 meters. Due to the shortness of its barrel it loses accuracy greatly after 15 meters. They are place at a CK of 2.

[StaolDerg]

The Elenrians looked at one another. They knew they were about to be chewed out. Hopefully they wouldn’t embarrass themselves too severely. In comparison to the wide variety offered by the other manufacturers, they only had a handful of arms to present.

(I will draw the guns I swear aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

Peng knew full well that the handful of guns his delegation had brought were comparatively lackluster. Still, he picked up on the guns they’d brought and presented: honor after all demanded he do his best- even if it was not what he might consider ideal.

“This is the Luosen Type 1890/30, Eigth Model Carbine,” he introduced. “Chambered in standard 7.7x58mm Arisaka in a five-round internal box magazine with a stripper clip, and has an effective range of 380 meters with iron sights. It was based on the Murata Rifle that Elenrian troops orignally received, with some changes: the gun is designed for urban fighting, and thus has a significantly shorter barrel, as well as a turned-down bolt that places the shooter’s hand directly at the trigger to allow a faster follow-up shot. While not necessarily the most advanced design, it is nevertheless an accurate and dependable, if loud firearm.”

Next, he’d present a simple, blocky-looking pistol that was reminiscent of the Kumo Kenju Type 14 pistol, but had some notable changes- for one, it was built like a carbine, with a large stock and but short barrel. The elaborate workmanship of the Type 14 was replaced by simple machining, and the blowback system towards the back of the action was contained within a strange-looking slide instead, handled with a machined grip.

“This is the Luosen Type 1917/30 Semi-Automatic Carbine, also designed for urban combat. It is chambered in twelve standard 12.7x33mm pistol rounds from a detachable double-stacked box magazine and the stock can be used as a holster for it when not in use. The stock also contains a small cleaning kit, accessible from the exterior of the gun. In addition, the weapon can be modified to receive a longer 26 cm barrel if higher range is desired. The range is therefore 200 meters at maximum, but 320 meters with the extended barrel.”

[Kira]

The Mil'Nor Booth, while a little ramshackle compared to the others, held a large display of two different firearms. When any large group of passerby got near the booth, the leader of the Mil'Nor present started on yet another one of his 'little presentations'.

"Greetings folks, Mark Tunnelson here. Folks, have you've been dying to get some new, cheaply made firearms that get the job done with no questions asked? Then does Lightsource LLC have a deal for you!" The Mil'Nor took a rifle off the right display rack, twirling it around for a moment before continuing. "Introducing the new and improved G.T.S.G 42, or G42 for short. This baby is able to fire rounds that'll drop even a Taratect in a single well placed shot. While not built for those pesky long range shooting events, the G42 will hold up in rain, mud and snow just fine, with maintenance being a cinch for even the dumbest box of rocks to pick it up. The lab boys have test forty one of these beauty before this, and we can safely say that the forty second test has been a rousing success."

The Mil'Nor took the gun to one hand, rising a finger with the other as he gave a knowing look to whoever he may have caught the attention of
"But I know you, you're looking for style, grace, something that'll rip a man's head off at five hundred meters" He'd place the G42 back, picking up one of the rifle's that were on display on the left rack.
"Presenting the G.T.S.F. 11, or F11 as my wife likes to call them. Fitted with a simple iron sights and longer barrel, this baby with blow a hole in anybody who decides to mess around with you. Great for urban combat and anywhere you'll be least expected, the F11 will be a sure fire way to make sure your foes get brained before you do, ha ha"

He'd look around for a moment after finishing his speech.
"Any questions?"

---

Upper Gun: The G.T.S.F. 11

Max Effective Range: 500 Meters

Max Range Total: 800 Meters

Average Firerate:1 accurate round every six seconds

Ammo: 10mm

Built for long range, The G.T.S.F. 11 (or F11) is a recently new addition to the Mil'Nor arsenal. Built sturdy and due to how simple the design is, the F11 offers ease of production along with reliable use into one package. Having only a iron sights and single shot bolt action limits both the weapons fire rate and long range accuracy, leaving it up to the shooters skill over any true tools offered by the weapon when it comes to landing a blow. The rifle uses 10mm rounds, ensuring a heavy hit to any target in the gunners sights.

---

Lower Gun: G.T.S.G. 42

Max Effective Range: 109 Meters

Max Range Total: 150 Meters

Average Firerate: 1 accurate round every six seconds

Ammo: 8 Gauge Slug

Standard Issue for the Mil'Nor Infantry, the G42 is the bread and butter of Mil'Nor design doctrine. That being "strap the biggest barrel for the biggest round on it". Operating at general effective range of 109 meters in the average soldiers hands, the weapon encourages short to mid range operation, with it seeing it's greatest use during the civil war the Clans saw.