Aser Pistols are the standard issue ranged side arm for Etherian Knights and most other Order personnel. All are capable of two firing modes. A short ranged non lethal stun shot, and a readily lethal longer range Aser beam shot. Another common model is one that features only the stun shot. Whilst short range, losing power at about 20 meters, the stun shot is special in how it ignores all intervening matter in it's path, impacting only living organic beings. Clothes, armour, walls, solid earth, and energy fields (excluding AT fields), are all passed through without effecting the shot. The stun shot drains little energy to fire.
The Aser beam firing mode, is entirely different. Firing a straight unerring beam of inverted aether out to ranges a little beyond one hundred meters. Beyond this range the beam rapidly fades out and disperses. The effect of the highly concentrated Inverted Aether upon virtually all forms of matter, is to cleanly negate and remove it from normal space. The special properties and resiliences of most materials are bypassed by this type of damage, with the greatest effect on an Aser weapons performance being the density of the matter struck, and the overall energy level of any energy field struck. When striking a living organic target, Aser weapons are specially designed not to over penetrate, instead dispersing their extraneous energy through the victims body, causing a broader immediate wound area, and commonly resulting in a stunning effect, different than but not too dissimilar to the shock of being shot by a more conventional weapon. The Aser beam shot mode is highly energy draining meaning that the number of shots any one pistol can make are relatively limited. The power and energy level of an Aser beam can be adjusted however.
All personal Aser (and etheric stun) weapons carry a small energy reservoir to fuel their shots. A conventional Aser pistol at full capacity can make roughly 30 full powered Aser shots, or 300 stun shots before requiring recharging. Switching to a lower power rating for the Aser beam can extend the number of shots possible. Aser pistols recharge themselves constantly by drawing ambient energy from their surroundings. This process however is incredibly slow in most locations, and not something that can be relied on to make a difference during a combat. Appropriately skilled users or technicians can also actively recharge the weapons using their own energies.
One particular variant of the Aser Pistol, is the type carried by Etherian Knights. Lacking the energy reservoir for more compact transportation within a Knights personal subspace inventory. Knight grade pistols instead draw their energy entirely from the Knights own considerably greater energy reserves. The weapons still operate at the same power levels due to limitations in the weapons size, but effectively allow for an unlimited number of shots, provided the Knight can spare the energy.
Personal Aser weapons do exist in other sizes and roles, but are rarer. Extended fire-fights involving regular infantry squads are not a thing common to Etherian military history or tactics.
