An IA handgun designed for Terran Military Officers and intended to be issued to exceptional officers. Frequently called the "Officer Special" by collectors.
After the runaway success of the Ibis 7, IA began developing a new series of handguns that were detailed and appeared almost sculpted, as opposed to the Ibis' more functional, industrial design. The Gladius 88 (so named as it was released on the market in 2588) was the successor to the wildly popular Legate series and was initailly crafted at the request of a Republic Navy Admiral, who wanted to award a new sidearm to an exceptional officer in their command. Several other Admirals and Generals followed suit, and the Gladius 88 ended up with the lable "Officers Special" applied to any model intended for a Republic Officer.
The decision to switch to a Cartridge Railgun system, as opposed to the energy systems used previously was more of a statement than anything else. Even though IA specifically tuned the gun to stay under the puncture threshold of modern ship hulls, the implication of the use of such a gun is either that the user is a very skilled marksman, or that the situation is so dire that an officer is involved in direct combat and puncturing the hull is the least of their concerns.