Longarm Spiker

The Longarm Spiker, classified by the UNSC as the Type-52 anti-material rifle, is a Jiralhanae rifle used during and after the Human-Covenant War.

Design details
Essentially a Type-25 Spiker upscaled into a full-fledged rifle, the longarm spiker is the Jiralhanae's answer to the more ubiquitous Type-50 beam rifle. Its ammunition comes in blocks of segmented metal, which are sheared off, swaged down and lengthened to reduce the shard's cross-sectional area, and then shot out the barrel using a combination of electromagnetic and electrothermal action. As this produces a lot of recoil, the longarm spiker mitigates this by using recoil compensators in the fore-end, a stock on the other, and sheer mass. For Jiralhanae sharpshooters, it means that fast, accurate firing can be maintained, while smaller species such as the Kig-Yar can use it without injury. While not as technologically advanced as other Covenant arms, its reliability and firepower are without equal in the realm of precision firearms.

Taken as a package, the longarm spiker is a powerful anti-personnel and functions well in an anti-material role. A single shot is enough to kill almost any infantry target, while the projectiles have enough energy to punch through barriers and the armor found on singleships and medium vehicles.

As it is a Jiralhanae-designed weapon, the longarm spiker also makes for an excellent close-combat weapon. A long bayonet is mounted on the fore-end, and is suitable for stabbing or slashing motions. Its weight is such that it can deal a lot of brute trauma even if the knife has missed its target; to make swinging it more natural, the stock features a grip the user can wrap their hand around. The spiker's construction is so durable that it can undergo the abuse of beating multiple opponents with few, if any malfunctions.

History
During the Fall of High Charity, Tennbau Quatch and the surviving crew of the Libation managed to kill Marsangtus and steal his longarm spiker. While rescuing P'thon 'Umtalla, Quatch later used it to kill Atroposus, though it was wedged so securely into the brute that he was forced to abandon it.

List of appearances

 * Not All Who Wander