SS1130-R (Weapon)

The Soul Shot Model AC1130 Rifle is a single-shot, bolt action rifle fielded by Sterlina as their standard infantry rifle for over 25 years before being slowly replaced by the SS1155-R.

History
The SS1130-R was commissioned by Sterlina over the course of several years to replace the previous trapdoor rifles used by the Sterlinian military, and proved to be most effective in holding back the roiling mass of small khanates to their north.

Early prototypes were slight modifications of the previous rifles, with the only changes being a latch to hold the breech closed, increasing the lock strength of the weapon. These designs were not seen as sufficient, and were rejected in favor of an entirely new system.

This latch system was taken to Zeliph by its designer and it was accepted as a much needed update to the existing Kizae Type 95.

The internal magazine fed RA variant was their service rifle at the start of the first Sterlina-Zeliph war. While it functioned well enough against the ground infantry and far outclassed the trapdoor action rifles that Zeliph had been armed with, the secret weapon of Zeliph was the mage corp. They had been training their mages to manipulate charge bolts, utilizing them for the purposes of uncounterable offense and unbreakable defense.

As the SS1155-R started production, the SS1130-RA was upgraded and converted to the SS1130-RB pattern to have a removable box magazine that had no provisions for a stripper clip or charger, and a laminated stock for strength.

The rifle fell out of favor as more standard Zeliphese soldiers armed with Type 154 rifles received training in charge manipulation, the 1155 saw more use by the common soldier as the amount of energy fired by the rifle was more than double what the 1130 fired, overwhelming the mage's countermagic and causing their death.

The SS1130-RB would stay in service as reserve rifles and the arms of light scouts until the SS1181-R began development and testing. Eventually the rifle would find its way to the civilian market through militia programs, being sold off as surplus to civilian arms dealers.

Features
As one of the first modern bolt-action rifles, it had very little to go off of in terms of past experience. The first version of the bolt lacked any sort of tracks on the underside, and was easy to accidentally pull out of the rifle. By the time the rifle made it to production, the first track had been added.

The bolt's construction consists mainly of a hardened steel tube with a rubber plug at the front to serve as an extractor. When fired, the charge would push itself onto a gasket that was part of the plug. The two tracks on the underside serve different purposes.

The bolt stop track travels from near the back of the bolt to roughly 2/3rds of the way up. This catches on an extension of the trigger to retain the bolt while the rifle is being reloaded or, following the magazine conversion, cycling the bolt. The bolt is released for cleaning and repair by pulling the trigger while the rifle is unloaded and pulling the bolt rearward until it comes out of the rifle.

The second track was added as an unmarked revision of the original pattern to allow for an ejector pin to remove the depleted charge from the rifle, pushing it to the top-right and dislodging it from the gasket on the bolt so the operator was not required to remove it by hand.

The bolt system became a popular part to clone into other rifles wholesale or modify the system, like was found in the DAC-LM38, which used a rear screw cap to lock the bolt forwards instead of using a track to guide trigger extension, but it did copy the ejector track.

SS1130-R
The SS1130-R was the result of a seven year commission to improve the nation's arms. A single-shot rifle with a rotating bolt was the final result. it also pioneered the short rifle format in a time when the world's rifles were around nine inches/twenty-three centimeters longer on average. It simply used more aggressive rifling to twist the bolt into a tighter spin to compensate for the reduced length.

SS1130-RA
In the AC1140s, the rifle was modified to feed from an internal magazine. Other smaller changes were made to the stock, like the addition of a spur to the grip and a pair of finger grooves to aid in handling. This was the rifle that Sterlina was armed with when they entered into war with Zeliph. The weapon had to be loaded singly, as it had no provisions to guide a clip or charger.

SS1130-RB
The RB variant was made in the same year that the SS1155-R entered production. It was fed by removable box magazines, featured a stronger laminated stock that had been made from compressed wood and resin, and an upper handguard with a brass rear cover to protect it from splintering. This variant stayed in service as a light service rifle for scout units and reserve troops until AC1176, when all variants were made available for purchase by private ownership as military surplus.

Real Life Origins
The SS1130-R was based upon the carbine variant of the Mauser Infantry Rifle Model 1871.