Head-Canons about 6 Hand-Weapons
In Helldivers 2, armor sets and capes get some interesting official lore. But the descriptions for all the weapons is very utilitarian. So I'm going to make up some stuff up about the secondary weapons:
Everyone respects the humble peacemaker, but it's never a good sign to see someone carrying one. In the hands of a SEAF trooper, it typically means they lost their reliable Liberator due to clumsiness. In the hands of a Helldiver, it means they are a recruit fresh out of training. In the hands of a civilian in a non-warzone, it suggests that the local SEAF armory isn't as secured as the quartermaster claims it is.
Despite it's alarming nature, this pistol has been featured in many heroic murals depicting honorable last stands by patriotic citizens resisting the forces of tyranny.
During a hostage crisis, the P-92 is a reassuring sight. It's smart-targeting guided bullets are incapable of locking onto any human with a citizenship letter grade lower than D. Thus hostages can trust their rescuers to kill their captors in record time and with 90% accuracy guaranteed.
Every time the Warrant is fired in Guided mode, it automatically collects data on it's own usage. When the gun is plugged in for recharging, it will attempt to connect to the galactic wide web. Upon connection, it will submit the data to Morgunson Arms secure servers for use in improving algorithmic targeting.
Gold plated variants of this revolver-cannon are a traditional inaugural gift to politicians of the federation. The date they are sworn into office will be engraved onto the plate, but not the date they are supposed to leave their elected position. Given the possibility of assassination and re-election, it would be presumptive to have such a date listed.
It is said that the confidence a politician has in their security can be measured by how quickly they can draw their P-4. The warden of a dissident prison colony will have theirs in a quickdraw harness. Whereas the mayor of a highly compliant utopian metropolis will leave theirs on a mantel piece over a cozy fireplace.
Shooting this gun is like getting hit in the wrist with a mallet. Thus it's assumed it's owner is either some kind of masochist or they don't shoot it very often. Ministry of Unity reports that the most common legal usage of this weapon is to kill livestock humanely. The most common illegal usage of this weapon is waving it around during a robbery.
Non-military users tend to swap out the standard buckshot rounds for more situationally appropriate ordinance. The Bushwhacker has proven to be able fire solid slug, incendiary, and stun rounds without issue. But at the time of writing, the Ministry of Defense still doesn't have the logistical capacity to give Helldivers these different kinds of shells. Rest assured, a committee is working on it.
A more destructive variant on a much more common civilian multitool known as the LasKnife-1. The LK-1 has the following functions: long range spectrographic scanning, Infrared data transmission/reception/storage, range-finding, and close range organic x-ray scanning.
The LAS-7 can't do any of that but it does have other uses. According to survival guides, it can be used to start a fire, signal ones position to a search party, and of course kill and cook planetary fauna. In more civilized settings, it can be used for both spot welding, metal cutting, and killing space pirates.
A common side-arm/tool for officials of the Ministries of Humanity and Expansion. The P-11 is used by MoH workers to deliver medicine quickly and conveniently to those too busy to roll up a sleeve for an injection. MoE workers load theirs with sedatives for non-lethal capture of newly encountered alien specimens.
The Ministry of Science is working on upgrades for the Stim Pistol. Top priority is adding a smart targeting guided dart function. It was believed that this could be easily accomplished by reconfiguring the P-92's operating system. Instead, numerous unforeseen issues have been encountered such the gun only targeting subjects with a citizenship grade lower than D.
