Ki-M20-1 Series "EUNA" Armor

The Empire of Uesureya Nekovalkyrja Armor “Euna”¹⁾ is an advanced personal armor system used by the Star Army of Uesureya. Introduced in YE 45.2 after seven years in development, the Euna was created to become Uesureya's next generation infantry warfighting platform taking lessons learned from a decade and a half of exploration in Mishhuvurthyar infested territories south of the Kikyo Sector.

When Uesu's Fleet departed Yamatai in YE 30 to chase Sfrarabla Mishhuvurthyar Xhrafuklurp forces out of the sector and end the First Mishhuvurthyar War, his Nekovalkyrja soldiers were armed with the Star Army of Yamatai's contemporaneous "Mindy II" Ke-M2-2A revision. Only released in YE 29, a year prior to Kitsurugi Uesu's charge, the Mindy 2A served his fleet and forces well as they exterminated any Mishhuvurthyar resistance and drove the SMX far away from Yamatai and its neighbors in the Kikyo Sector.

For approximately eight years, Emperor Uesu plowed a fiery path deep into the unknown stellar regions south of Yamatai in pursuit of the Star Empire's greatest foe. Initial successes allowed him to carve out another Empire and begin the colonization of several worlds. One of the first planets the new Uesureyan Star Empire claimed in YE 33 was a resource rich world called Kessica, and lay nearest in distance to Uesu's former home in the Kikyo Sector (though was still substantially far, requiring several weeks travel at best hyperspace speed).

By YE 38, however, Uesu's Mishhuvurthyar enemies began to strike back with renewed urgency against the Emperor's new home. Having festered and rebuilt even beyond where Uesu had chased them, the Mishhuvurthyar soon captured several of the Empire's colonies including Kessica. The attrition losses suffered during Uesu Fleet's grand crusade combined with the enemy's resurgence quickly put his armada — now reorganized as the Star Army of Uesureya — on a defensive footing.

This situation prompted Kitsurugi Fleet yards, formed from the cadre of Ketsurui Fleet Yards scientists and engineers, to immediately begin development of a next generation power armor. Thus the Ki-M20 Empire of Uesureya Nekovalkyrja Armor, or simply “Euna,” was born. Kitsurugi Fleet Yards' work thus far had been mainly confined to continuously updating and refitting the Star Army of Uesureya's inventory of starships and power armors to compete with ever-evolving Mishhuvurthyar technologies and new biological constructs. Such refit service would continue throughout the EUNA's development cycle, often serving as a testbed for the future power armor as much as they were stopgap measures to compete with the Mishhuvurthyar.

Using the lessons learned from nearly 15 years of war against the Mishhuvurthyar outside of the Kikyo Sector, as well as a few from other minor conflicts and encounters with new alien factions,²⁾ the Euna was ready for production in mid-late YE 44. However, resource constraints would not allow for mass manufacture or deployment until after YE 45.1 following the reconquest of Kessica with assistance from the Star Army of Yamatai's Task Force 282. The recapture of that old colony world — including intact Nekovalkyrja production facilities and the system's vast resources — allowed the first combat ready Euna armors to roll off the production lines in YE 45.2 for deployment soon thereafter.

Until such time that units of the Ki-M20-1A are delivered in sufficient number, Uesu Fleet refit models of the Mindy 2A continue to be the mainstay of Uesureyan Star Army soldiers.

At its core, the Euna can trace its lineage to the Ke-M2 "Mindy" Series of Power Armor, and beneath its enhanced armor plating remains largely familiar to its Star Army of Yamatai cousin despite divergent iterative evolutions resulting from the experiences of soldiers, scientists, and weapons engineers serving with the Star Army of Uesureya. Where Ketsurui Fleet Yards continued to prioritize lightweight utility for Yamataian power armors, their Kitsurugi counterparts developed a heavier approach that emphasized staying power and combat endurance in the face of Uesureya's continuous war against the Mishhuvurthyar.

The Euna was designed primarily to operate in space for extra-atmospheric engagements and for service aboard starships, including both shipboard defense and boarding. Still, it is fully capable of atmospheric operations with specific engineering considerations taken for fighting against planetary Mishhuvurthyar infestations.

It requires one Nekovalkyrja soldier — typically Uesureyan developments of the NH-29 — to operate. Other species with digital brains such as Yamatai's Minkan people can utilize the Euna, but organics would find it absolutely impossible to interface with or control the armor due to their lack of processing bandwidth and storage space. This obstacle cannot be safely overcome with cybernetic implants or technological means because of specific requirements associated with the “black box” that is the Nekovalkyrja Operating System.

The Ki-M20-1A Uesureyan Empire Nekovalkyrja Armor is a highly advanced, cutting-edge battle armor intended to combine resiliency, speed, and firepower into a single infantry weapons platform.

Tall and imposing, the Ki-M20-1A Empire of Uesureya Nekovalkyrja Armor is an impressive sight to behold. Imbued with the artistry and grandeur that was once Kitsurugi Uesu's widely recognized trademark, the Euna is as much suited for bloody war as it is guarding spectacular starbase palaces. Standing at a height of six-foot-five-inches tall, this suit nonetheless strikes an underlying figure of femininity and recognizable flair brought over from past generations of Yamataian power armors.

Decorated with dark Uesureyan teal and bold ice white livery accented with gold, the Euna takes visual cues from earlier "Mindy" Series Power Armos, most clearly seen in the helmet's two-pronged cat ear antenna structure and its thin waistline fit-to-Nekovalkyrja-form. But that delicate look of Yamatai's yesterday has been built up by the warforged experiences of Uesureyan Nekovalkyrja as seen in its thick composite armor blocks that pad its chest and limbs alongside biosynthetic musculature that give the Euna an air of mighty strength that does nothing to diminish its grace.

The majesty of the Euna's photonically generated semi-transparent cape, loincloth, and tasset skirts combine with its elegantly heeled³⁾ greaves to enhance the image of mystery and Uesureyan mettle shrouded behind its mirrored turquoise face plate.

• The Euna possesses an advanced electronics suite that includes a robust sensors package and EWAR protocols capable of disrupting the communications of enemy power armor.
• It is more resilient than “light” power armors like the Mindy 4 due to extra armor considerations without sacrificing much in the way of combat agility. The Euna was designed to tangle directly with Mishhuvurthyar monstrosities and heavy armors in a way that earlier Ke-M2 armors cannot.
• Provides its Nekovalkyrja wearer with immersive 360 degree vision directly to their digital brain.
• Utilizes phasing technology adapted from Ghost-Type Mishhuvurthyar and Yamataian technologies in development before the Uesu Fleet's YE 30 departure.
• Load bearing requirements necessitated by the Euna's equipment and protective packages enhance its wearer's strength even beyond the typical expectations for a unit of its size.

• Because of its greater mass, the Euna cannot reach faster atmospheric top speeds comparable with light power armors.
• A Nekovalkyrja wearing the Euna power armor has limited physical traverse angles at the neck at as a result of the built-up soft armor muscle structures present there.⁴⁾ Some minor mobility is additionally lost through the waist compared to the Mindy series as a result of the armor's thick protective plating across its torso.
• The Euna is not very stealthy because of its heavy duty aether generator.
• While it can technically mount a standard Mindy 2 teleportation pack on its dorsal hardpoint, that system is strictly incompatible with its Phase Module and photonic matrix. Further, a teleportation module's power consumption make it an impractical and cumbersome addition to the Euna.
• It is a complex machine that is time consuming to repair. Although the Euna's maintenance intervals provide ample operational leeway, the armor suit's artful construction requires exactingly precise fittings and its many of its components are made up of advanced engineered materials.

Similar to the Mindy 2 it was developed from, the Euna utilizes a Combined Field System to manipulate gravitational fields around them as a form of propulsion and defense. The wearer's movement is generally unimpeded save for slightly limited articulation ranges in the armor's waist and neck as a result of the extra armor reinforcement in those places. A Euna's user can walk, run, or float as if they were not wearing the armor, and are afforded enhanced strength and agility thanks to the armor's powered systems.

Because of its CFS, a Euna armor is able to ignore gravitational and inertial forces. The armor can hover, instantly stop or shift direction, and can increase or decrease its apparent weight — soldiers wearing a Euna can walk up walls, on ceilings, and hover midair. The Euna can also operate underwater to a depth of at least 125 meters.

• Ground Speed (Running): Up to 85 kph (53 mph) on flat, hard ground in a straight line
• Ground Speed (Hovering): 130 kph (81 mph)
• Max. Atmospheric Flight Speed (For earth-like worlds): 1605 kph (997 mph), Mach 1.3 at sea level
• Max. Sublight Speed: .375c
• Max. FTL Speed (Combined Field): 10c

The Euna is a relatively large power armor that still falls within standard humanoid dimensions at 6'5“ tall; like the Mindy II before it, the Euna can generally fit wherever a human can such as through ship corridors and aboard shuttlecraft. Its base layer is a suit of fleshy biosynthetic muscle that form fits to the physical dimensions of its user, comfortably accommodating the full range of Nekovalkyrja height within the Star Army of Uesureya's ranks while providing some leeway for taller soldiers.

See Damage Rating (Version 3) for a guide to damage ratings to include.

• Tier 5: Medium Anti-Armor (suit and conformal shielding)
  • Continuously Augmented Photonics Energizer Cloak resists solid ammunition weapons fire up to Tier 3 and absorbs energy weapons fire up to Tier 4
  • Zesuaium armor resists electricity, kinetics, heat, and radiation.

The Euna is not for sale and has no cost associated with its manufacture. Based on materials alone, the armor has an estimated price tag equivalent to 85,000 KS. Every Ki-M20-1A is owned by Emperor Kitsurugi Uesu and registered to the service of his soldiers in the Star Army of Uesureya or other subjects such as the Kitsurugi Samurai.

Unauthorized possession of a Euna power armor does not break any law or regulation in the Empire of Uesureya. However, any user not recognized by a Euna's AIES will be denied control access and locked within until such time as an Uesureyan authority can release them or they are reconstituted into hemosynth and absorbed into the armor's hemosynthetic systems, whichever comes first.

Euna armors are stored standing in their power armor rack and magnetically fastened to it with a connection point between the armor's shoulder blades. A series of hinged chassis runners keep the unused Euna open for entry or exit, with the armor's helmet and breastplate lifting up and away from its shoulders, arms, and torso so that its interior cavity is exposed. Inside, the Euna is warm and smooth to the touch, and made of a semi-transparent jet black flesh material like its Mindy predecessors.

To don the armor, a Nekovalkyrja soldier will insert her legs as far as they can reach into the Euna's biosynthetic interior, at which point the suit's fleshy base layer will adjust itself until she feels secure and “standing” on her own two feet within the armor. With a proper fit, the wearer's torso should now be covered to just above the waist in the front. She should then proceed to place each of her two arms into the Euna's armholes and then lay into the armor's back piece, which should be pushing into her back and neck. Once in this position, the user can command the Euna to close with her SPINE connection so that the breastplate and helmet hinge down and then descend around her before locking into place.

When the Euna is fully donned, its helmet can be separated from the muscular biosynthetic undersuit and removed after toggling a series of five mag-locked connection points.

To doff the Euna, its wearer should attach the armor into its rack so it is standing upright and send a SPINE command for the armor to open and release her. After the helmet and chest lift upward, the Euna's Nekovalkyrja user can slide her arms out and then climb free with the assistance of the armor's leg inserts gently squeezing to provide increasing elevation beneath her feet until she steps out. In emergency situations where proper doffing at an armor rack is not possible, it can be manually opened from the outside by activating a series of recessed levers that will motivate redundant hydraulic systems to safely pull the armor apart. This function can also be used via a SPINE command.

The armor can be worn atop any skintight clothes such as a bodysuit, swimsuit, or undergarments. No rigid or sharp objects including belts, shoes, and rank insignia pins can be worn inside the Euna. Typically, a Star Army of Uesureya soldier will dress in an Uesureyan Skinsuit, Type 32 underneath her Euna or, as a common alternative, wear the armor completely nude as has been Nekovalkyrja tradition for the history of their lineage.

A Nekovalkyrja soldier wearing the Euna operates it through their SPINE interface, allowing them to control the armor as if it were their own body. Euna users are able to perceive visual stimuli in a 360 degree field around the armor's head. Flight is controlled by the wearer's intuition; because all Nekovalkyrja can fly themselves, motivating a Euna armor through the air and void of space is second nature to its intended user.

The Euna cannot be controlled remotely in the absence of an operator. One person using a Ningyo Heiki-series artificial body is always required to operate the armor.

The sub-components that make up the Ki-M20-1A include the following:

• 2 Ki-M2-W2910 Forearm Pulse Cannons
• Ki-M20-E4500 Armor Integrated Electronics System
• Ki-M20-E4501 Continuously Augmented Photonics Energizer
• Ki-M20-E4502 Psionic Signal & Anti-Magic Control Device
• Ki-M20-E4503 Sensors and Electronic Systems Suite
• Ki-M20-F4500 Titanium Alloy EUNA Chassis
• Ki-M20-F4501 Conformal Hemosynthetic Undersuit
• Ki-M20-F4502 Composite Armor Assembly, Zesuaium Enhanced Unified System
• Ki-M20-G4500 Aetheric Generator and Capacitor System, Shielded
• Ki-M20-G4501 Shield System, Gravity Manipulating, Conformal
• Ki-M20-P4500 Combined Field System
• Ki-M20-P4501 Phase Module
• Ki-M20-P4502 Integrated Thrust Assembly, Supercharged Aether Plasma

All of the Euna's protective capability is built on top of the Ki-M20-F4501 Conformal Hemosynthetic Undersuit. More than a simple insert made to comfort and seal the soldier within light armor plating, the Conformal Hemosynthetic Undersuit is a bioengineered suit made of strong synthetic musculature that both enhances its wearer's strength and protects them within a sturdy, shock absorbent layer that mimics a body's natural biological mechanisms to wrap around the soldier at the heart of every Euna and seamlessly extend their Nekovalkyrja body to fill out the armor. The outside of the undersuit is jet black, just as its interior is, and highly resistant to any cut or puncture. Its curves follow those of an extremely burly Nekovalkyrja, and help to give the armor its visual form.

Atop that muscled base layer is where the Euna's titanium alloy chassis is affixed, which itself is overlaid with Zesuaium chainmail and a Yarvex micromesh layer. Where Mindy 2 and Mindy 4 armors are then plated with thin strips of Zesuaium or Yama-Dura, the Euna's armor is made of successive layers of both. Closest to the wearer's body is a millimeter-thick Zesuaium baseplate that sits underneath 2.55 centimeters of regenerative Yama-Dura. Above that, another 1.5 centimeters of Zesuaium sandwiches the Yama-Dura and is itself sandwiched by a final centimeter of Yama-Dura coating it to give the Euna a durable finish. Because each armor panel is made of this layered composite, replacements must be prepared well in advance and make up a significant production requirement for each Euna that comes off the production line.

Despite lacking the advanced Photonics Array used on the Mindy 4, the Euna can make use of older style Active Camouflage similar to that which is found on the Mindy 2. Imaging data is collected from around the Euna and then displayed opposite any given viewer's perspective using volumetric projections to create an illusion of invisibility. Unlike either the Mindy 2 or the Mindy 4, this ability is limited to within a few inches of the Euna's structure rather than two meters away, and cannot be used to create an effective disguise beyond mimicking the armor's surroundings.

The “fabric” created by the Euna's Continuously Augmented Photonics Energizer can be used to make camouflage coverings of any design, color, or opacity that function strictly in the same manner that cloth does.

With a longer continuous war record fighting against the Mishhuvurthyar than any other military force in the known universe, the Star Army of Uesureya is intimately familiar with the most terrifying tricks and tactics in their enemy's arsenal. Among those heinous tools, the Mishhuvurthyar ability to “phase” — a power that renders their personnel and equipment simultaneously invisible and untouchable — is one of the most sought after by every faction who has stared them down.

Now the scientists and engineers at Kitsurugi Fleet Yards have mastered it, too.

Decades of being followed by spectral Mishhvurthyar scout ships cloaked out of phase, battling horrifying Ghost-Type Mishhuvurthyar who make easy work out of lone gunship crews, and being ruined by the designs of Nightmare-type witches gave the Uesureyans a unique perspective and constant opportunity to investigate, study, and eventually harness the same technology for themselves. Along with old knowledge brought along with them from their days serving Ketsurui Fleet Yards in Yamatai, Uesu's brain trust by YE 45 harnessed and perfected personal systems to render their Nekovalkyrja soldiers out-of-phase with normal spacetime.

As long as the Euna is powered and its Phase Module undamaged, the armor can enter a different phase state from regular reality. It cannot interact with regular spacetime in any way — including inflicting damage or communicating between phase states — and can pass through solid objects at will with no ill effects inflicted upon the Euna's wearer. When the Phase Module is active, the Euna is additionally entirely invisible and undetectable.

Objects within the same variance can be interacted with; although it can be adjusted, the default phase variance used by the Star Army of Uesureya matches that of their Mishhuvurthyar foe. The Euna was designed in large part to combat Mishhuvurthyar advancements and tactics faced by the Uesureyans. A primary function of the Phase Module is to grant soldiers equipped with the Euna an ability to hunt phased Mishhuvurthyar for termination.

Due to the great power expenditures required to stably switch the Euna's phase signature, a cooldown period of 10 minutes is required between each activation of the Phase Module; the Euna cannot repeatedly phase in and out of the Kagami Galaxy's base spacetime reality without filling its power reserves.

Military application of hard light and photonics technologies within the Uesureyan Star Empire have differed from the course of those in Yamatai and the Kikyo Sector. Where Ketsurui Fleet Yards has focused on using hard light to make rigid objects and tools through massive expenditures of energy from photonics arrays, scientists with Kitsurugi Fleet Yards found a way to stabilize power throughputs and recycle light particles in a way that permits the maintenance of objects without needing to reintroduce new energy events.

Enter the Continuously Augmented Photonics Energizer. Emitted from glowing bits situated across the armor,⁸⁾ the Euna's gossamer phonotics can manifest in a variety of configurations. Most often, this technology provides the Euna with its Uesureyan teal cape, tassets, and other clothlike constructs that adorn the armor and are emblazoned with the Star Army of Uesureya's distinctive black-and-white triangle symbol. But flowing, translucent fabrics of light can be created between the Euna's shining emitters to create surcoats, cloaks, ponchos, or any other photonic garment its wearer can dream up.

Beyond simple decorative form, the Photonics Energizer's creations have a multitude of functions. They can be used to shield the Euna from elemental hazards such as heat or cold or small arms fire, with energy-based weaponry being fully absorbed by the stable light matrices and stored in the Euna's auxiliary power capacitors. Thrust vectoring, too, is possible by these “soft light” drapes, which are able to adjust in real time concert with the Euna's AIES to most efficiently control the direct maneuvering power provided its Supercharged Aether Plasma engines. Each tiny adjustment makes the Euna's cape and photonic skirts appear as if they're fluttering violently in the wind, even in the still depths of space.

Unlike Yamataian photonics, however, the Uesureyan technology cannot be used to create useful items or project illusions in the Euna's vicinity. All practical use of the Photonics Energizer is contained within preprogrammed parameters that limit (and make possible) its power-stable, sustainable properties.

The Euna's Photonics Energizer remains operable even when its CFS or Phase Module are active.

Hemosynthetics in the Uesureyan Star Empire developed generally in parallel with their Yamataian equivalents. Thus, the Euna armor's Ki-M20-F4501 Conformal Hemosynthetic Undersuit has similar life support functions to the Ke-M2-F4300 Hemosynthetic Interior Insert. In addition to providing a strong and sturdy base of soft armor atop which heavier metals and alloy plates are affixed, the Euna's muscled core provides waste recycling, temperature regulation, breathable air processing, enriched potable water generation, and hemosynthetic medical first response to the armor's wearer. Like its Mindy predecessors, the Euna maintains the same life support standard for its user of 15 days or 10 years if the wearer enters stasis mode.

The Euna is powered by compact, heavy duty aether generator located between the armor's shoulder blades. Much like the Yamataian Mindy 4, the Euna's power systems housing is protected by energized Xiulurium to shield it from interference. When stored in an armor rack, the Euna is connected through this generator to auxiliary power via the magnetic connection point located there. A beefy capacitor network allows the Euna to continue running without its aether generator for anywhere between several hours up to a week depending on the unpowered armor's energy expenditures. Additionally, energy dissipated and collected by the Continuously Augmented Photonics Energizer is fed into the Euna's capacitors.⁹⁾

Using the latest Kitsurugi Fleet Yards version of the Armor Integrated Electronics System, the Euna possesses a state-of-the-art sesnors, communications, and computing suite. These systems are compatible with Yamatai's PANTHEON network in addition to the Star Army of Uesureya's internal PANTHEON offshoot, allowing for an ease of joint operations that may not necessarily have been intentional but is owed to the shared history of the two branching militaries.

The Euna's sensors include:

• 360 degree imaging array with night vision, expanded spectrum, and thermal viewing
• Ultra Wide Band RADAR
• Touch based Ground-Penetrating RADAR
• Active and Passive Sonar
• Networked battlespace data sharing with friendly assets
• Optical tracking systems in the armor's “skin.”

The Euna can communicate through:

• Voice, via microphone and loudspeaker
• Conventional Radio
• Subspace Radio (FTL)
• Laser Beam

The Euna can disrupt enemy electronic systems in its vicinity via:

• Electromagnetic jamming
• Communications disruption
• IFF scrambling
• Blip enhancement

The Euna can mount any weapon compatible with the Mindy Series of power armors owing to the fact that it was developed from the Ke-M2-2A. However, a significant part of the Yamataian Mindy's equipment catalogue was developed after the departure of Uesu's Fleet in YE 30, so only weapons equipment classified “29” or “30” in their nomenclature are natively available to the Star Army of Uesureya.¹⁰⁾

All Euna power armors are integrally equipped with the same Ki-M2-W2910 Forearm Pulse Cannons that are used for the Mindy 2A, Mindy 2H, and later Yamataian Mindy 4.

Soldiers utilizing the Euna power armor are furnished with the following weapons¹¹⁾ as their standard issue:

• One ranged weapon:
  • Ki-M2-W2901 Aether Beam Saber-Rifle
  • Ki-M2-W2913 Aether/Scalar Submachine Gun (without bayonet attachment)
• Plus one:
  • Ki-W2-3 Type 38 Empire of Uesureya Nekovalkyrja Service Pistol
• Plus one melee weapon (optional):
  • Ki-M20-W4500 Aether Pike (Tier 6: Heavy Anti-Armor)
  • Ki-M20-W4501 “Sohei” Aether Naginata (Tier 6: Heavy Anti-Armor)
  • Zesuaium Katana (Tier 3: Heavy Anti-Personnel; Kitsurugi Samurai use only)

As is the case with its weaponry, the Euna is capable of mounting any Mindy Accessory. Only items identified with “29” or “30” in their nomenclature are assured to exist in Star Army of Uesureya's inventory.

• Left Hand
• Right Hand
• Left Shoulder
• Right Shoulder
• Upper Dorsal (between shoulder blades, direct connection to aether generator)
• Left Dorsal
• Right Dorsal
• Mid-Lower Dorsal
• Left Waist
• Right Waist
• Left Thigh
• Right Thigh
• Left Calf
• Right Calf
• Left Forearm (always equipped with a Ki-M2-W2910 Forearm Pulse Cannon)
• Right Forearm (always equipped with a Ki-M2-W2910 Forearm Pulse Cannon)

raz created this article on 2023/10/02 18:30.

Approved by Wes on 2023/10/05 20:27. Approval thread

Art by Wes.