This is the original on-site photo of the recovered coilgun before it was transfered to Hightower's museum.
The Zebro 989 was designed and sold to colonies before the war as a budget armament for colonial security use. The 10x60mm ammunition slugs were sized to allow a versatile choice of loadings. All actual projectiles were encased in a compressed magnetic powder inside of a sealant layer. The powder would be dispersed at the muzzle, but unlike more advanced designs, the mechanism often caused a large spark or flash. The 989 had no recoil countering system. Some colonial forces added aftermarket recoil counters, but this example lacks one.
The optic originally came from a CLR-PV/6 disposable anti-armor launcher. It was common to salvage the optics, which were intended to be disposed of along with the launcher, for use on small arms.
In the polar swamp regions of Nasskugel, the guns' safety sensors for detecting clear bores often malfunctioned due to moisture. Against Zebro recommendations, it was common for forces to disable the clear bore sensors. While the chance of a slug not clearing the barrel was low, the repercussions could be catastrophic for the user if they fired a second round into an obstructed bore.
When the arweli invaded and the guns were used in war rather than against occasional hostile alien wildlife, they quickly earned reputations as being substandard. While the weapons were durable and needed little maintenance, none of their loadings were consistently effective against power armor clad arweli commandos. To shorten the guns to make them more maneuverable in the dense foliage, many had their stocks entirely removed and replaced with some sort of improvised sling attachment, as seen here. The 989s were sometimes called "Black Bess" in reference to ancient muskets of earth. The 989s were noted for their large, smooth bores and the feeling by those carrying them that they were as good as having antiques.
While they would be abandoned as soon as better small arms became available, some human forces on Nasskugel never got the chance to do so, and carried them through the end of the war.
