Phase pistol

The phase pistol was a type of phase-modulated energy weapon, a personnel sidearm characterized by a focused energy discharge in the form of a steady stream or a phase pulse. It was introduced in 2151 for use by Starfleet personnel as a replacement to the EM-33 pistol. The MACO utilized a different model of phase pistols.

Starfleet phase pistol
Unlike its predecessor, the EM-33, the phase pistol was equipped with an adjustable setting, allowing the user to choose from either "stun" or, in extreme cases, "kill." While these settings were most commonly used and more readily available, the weapon was capable of an even wider range of output and could be adjusted to a ten megajoule setting (albeit with some internal modification). Also unlike the EM-33, which required the user to compensate for particle drift, the phase pistols were a simple point-and-shoot weapon, making hitting a desired target faster and easier.

The effects of a phase pistol hit also differed from those experienced with other weapons of that era. 22nd century Suliban and Coridan weapons inflicted identifiable wounds, tearing through clothing and into the victim's flesh. The phase pistol, however, produced an injury more comparable to an electric shock, capable of causing severe injury without breaking the skin.

In addition to use as a weapon, the phase pistol could be utilized as a cutting tool, capable of slicing through solid rock, a tree trunk, or producing a heat ray. Phase pistols could also be used as explosives when set to overload; the subsequent explosion causing severe damage in a larger area.

Crewmembers from the Enterprise NX-01 first used phase pistols in April of 2151, when Captain Jonathan Archer infiltrated a Suliban helix. Aboard the helix, Archer was able to stun a Suliban soldier before having his own phase pistol turned against him by Silik. Due to the bizarre temporal effects within the helix's temporal communications chamber, however, Archer was able to literally dodge the phase pistol beam and escaped relatively unharmed.

Ensign Masaro committed suicide with a phase pistol in 2155. Stafleet phase pistols were used as late as 2161, when an away team from Enterprise fought against a group of aliens on the planet Rigel X.

MACO phase pistol
MACOs used their own model of phase pistols as their primary sidearm as well. The pistols similar in appearance to the EM-33 pistols and were designed to fire phase pulses instead of beams like their Starfleet counterparts. The pistols were also equipped with both "stun" and "kill" settings. In 2154, Talas was shot with a MACO phase pistol set to kill. Although she was only grazed, being an Andorian she was especially susceptible to phase pulse infections, and subsequently died of her injuries.