A Starfleet issue EM pistol
The EM pistol or EM-33 was a standard issue weapon used by Earth Starfleet and MACO officers, as well as civillian starship personnel alike during the 2150s and 60s.
While most Starfleet officers had only recieved training in the use of EM weapons, by 2151, the EM-33 fell out of use aboard Starfleet vessels in favor of the phase pistol (ENT: "Broken Bow").
One of the disadvantages of the EM-33 was the need to comphensate for particle drift, making the transition to the next generation, point-and-shoot phased pulse weapons difficult for some Starfleet personnel (ENT: "Sleeping Dogs").
Despite the relative advance in sidearm technology, United Earth military forces continued to use the the EM-33 years after the introduction of the phase pistol (ENT: "The Xindi", "These Are the Voyages...").
The model also remained in use aboard Earth Cargo Authority vessels like the ECS Fortunate (ENT: "Fortunate Son").
- The use of the EM-33 aboard the Fortunate may simply have been intended to show that the ship had been in space for so long that it had not yet taken on new equipment like the phase pistol.
Background Information
- In his joint "Broken Bow" episode commentary with Rick Berman, Brannon Braga stated that he preferred the EM-33 weapon to the phase pistol. There is, however, some confusion as to whether or not the weapon was introduced as a plot device or due to studio pressure to add more familiar elements to Star Trek: Enterprise.
- While the EM-33 pistols seen in "Broken Bow" were grey with black highlights, the pistols seen on the Fortunate were black with grey highlights. This configuration was later used by MACO officers stationed aboard Enterprise, but does not necessarily denote another model, despite it having been referred to in "United" as a "phase pistol".
- The EM-33 was used in the second season episode "Canamar" as an alien weapon. There is no reasonable explanation for the appearance of the weapon in alien hands and must be considered a production error.
- Some confusion exists as to the exact meaning of the initials "EM". The most natural answer would be "electromagnetic" (considering how often EM comes up in technobabble), however some fans have speculated that "EM" might actually refer to "Earth Military".
- Still more confusion lies in exactly how the EM weapon functions. Sound effects in "Broken Bow" seemed to include a metallic impact sound when the EM-33 was fired, perhaps indicating that the EM-33 fired a solid charged-projectile (similar to a photon torpedo). Fans have also speculated that the pistols fired small electromagnetic pockets of ionized gas.
- The EM-33 was roughly based on the Israeli "Desert Eagle" handgun.
- In addition to using a different color scheme, the MACO version fired blue bolts, whereas the "Broken Bow" and "Fortunate Son" versions fired orange.
- The phase rifle, while in name relating more to the phase pistol, seems to be more closely tied to the EM-33 in that its appearance incorporates a similar barrel and that it fires pulses rather than beams.