The C-14 Impaler gauss rifle is a terran standard issue marine weapon of the Confederate and Dominion Marine Corps. It is very common in the Koprulu Sector.^[1]

Overview

In use by 2478,^[2] the C-14 fires hypersonic 8 mm armor-piercing metal "spikes"^[3][1] which can penetrate up to two inches of steel plating.^[4]

The Impaler is fully automatic with a fire rate of 30 rounds per second,^[5] although fully automatic fire is discouraged under most circumstances. A capacitor system is used to fire the weapon in short bursts, conserving ammunition and minimizing power requirements.^[1] Due to this, the C-14 rifle has high recoil; CMC armor is designed to suppress this.^[2] The armor can also supplement the rifle's power supply.^[5]

The C-14 has been used as automatic base defense weapon, mounted on a tower.^[6]

The C-14 should not be confused with the AGR-14 rifle. Both are referred to as "assault rifles"^[5] but the latter may be a scaled down version of the former.^[7]

Ammunition

The C-14 is capable of firing a wide variety of ammunition;

• Armor piercing: Used against heavily armored targets.^[8]

• Depleted uranium: Encompass U-238 shells/spikes. The most popular variant among marines given that they extend the rifle's range up to 25%.^[9][3]

• Hollow point spread: Flatten and expand on impact for maximum wounding efficiency. Custom made by Ardo Melnikov.^[5]

• Incendiary: Used against structures.^[8]

• Steel tipped: Used to maim rather than kill an enemy.^[5]

Variants

1st Variant

This variant was as used as far back as 2495^[10] and remains the core variant.^[9] It features a torch function,^[11] a retractable bayonet^[12][13] and can be used in conjunction with a M98 ballistic alloy combat shield.^[9] It carries at least 200 rounds per magazine.^[12]

2nd Variant

This variant of the C-14 was in use in the Great War. Although bulky, it features a far more streamlined design than later versions and CMC armor is not required to operate it.^[5][14] The rifle features two grips; a smaller one, used by unarmored shooters, requires the user to use both hands to keep the barrel steady.^[8] The other, larger grip is used by CMC armored soldiers, who are able to operate it with just one hand,^[8] at the expense of accuracy.^[15]

The rifle has an LED (light-emitting diode) magazine capacity indicator, showing how much ammunition remains in its magazine (hundreds of rounds).^[16]

In addition, the rifle can launch fragmentation grenades^[15] and can accept a laser designator^[5] and RPG components.^[16] Grapples may also be fired from the muzzle.^[5]

Known Rifles

• Mayumi

Notes

• The ammunition counter on the second variant is similar to the counter on the pulse rifle from Aliens.

• It appears that the original C-14 was originally intended to remain in use for StarCraft: Ghost, as early screenshots depict.

• As promotion for the midnight launch of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Fantastic Arts created real-world C-14 rifles for cosplay, along with CMC armor for the wielders.^[17]

References