Tina Murdoch resumed prototyping in the workshop of her room. One advantage of Mars was space, and it always showed in big, open-concept crew quarters with elaborate desks, automated kitchens, VR spaces, and room for a variety of personal project space. Her workshop was arrayed with a 3d printer and a round table aligned with eight mechanical arms, along with an array of tools for the less precise, more hands-on portions of her plans.
Her latest model seemed relatively complete. Stripped of friend or foe or advanced targeting, the backpack unit's straps can be pulled out and set as bipod legs, with the gun coming out the back. It was sleek and white, and the straps could press into alcoves for the unit to be mounted on a space suit.
She knew the design wasn't pefect. She'd only been able to fit in two magazines without ruining the balance. But, out on the planetside, it seemed to work. Tina pulled the straps into the bipod and set it up, then, sheltering behind security glass, she threw a rock past it. The backpack unit sprayed bullets randomly. Throwing another, it repeated the action.
Akras examined the device. It wasn't going to be particularly useful in most conflict zones, they decided, since most of the tech involved had been around for over a hundred years without being used this way. But, they agreed that it may have uses for gate teams. Tina was offered a price point, 10kc and a 500 credit bonus any time someone (other than her) takes one on a gate mission. It more than doubled her investment in this model, though it didn't fully dig her out of the hole from repeated failures, she also realizes that it might have been worth more if she'd been able to overcome certain design flaws. [Tina Engineering 66]
What does Tina name her new creation?