The DEF-M2 “Bee” is a rugged, utilitarian frame purpose-built for construction projects. Its built-in OHI multistruct and simple “reloading” system make it an attractive option for builders everywhere; its ease-of-use and on-site maintenance capabilities make it attractive for the people in the field.

First introduced to the market in YE 45.

As with most Default products, the Bee was developed for the guild's growing construction business. The ministruct was well-suited for small-scale jobs and the OHI Oxen was well-suited for larger ones, but there was an open space for something that could work in the in-between. Default's civil engineers began to use re-purposed power armors for this purpose at first, but maintenance quickly became a problem with so many dissimilar units on the jobsite.

The Bee was developed as the answer. The majority of its parts and pieces can either be bought off-the-shelf from any power armor or frame dealer - manufactured by the Bee itself. This keeps costs low and lets workers focus on what really matters - the job.

The Bee is meant to fill a role similar to familiar jobsite vehicles, such as tractors, backhoes, and other heavy machinery. Its multistruct can tear materials apart, store them, and reassemble them into something else at a later time. In this way, it can handle both demolition, jobsite setup, and construction all on its own. With other utility craft, jobs of all sizes become simple affairs.

The Bee focuses more on cost-effective, reliable components, instead of top-end components. This means that it is not always the fastest or most responsive machine, especially compared to military tech, but it requires little maintenance for more-than-adequate jobsite performance.

The DEF-M1 “Bee” Utility/Construction Frame is a durable frame that is somewhere between power armor and a full-sized frame in size. Much of it is made of tubes or dome shapes to improve resilience. A container is attached to the back of its hips that is shaped similar to a cement mixer that contains the resources it uses for its multistruct. It has a high-visibility yellow and black color scheme that, when combined with its overall design and the resource container on its hips, have earned it the name “Bee”.

Reliability, cost-efficiency, and utility are the areas that make the Bee valuable to those who use it. It operates in a wide variety of environments and can take a serious beating.

The Bee's movements may not be as perfectly fluid as competitors' offerings. It relies on tried-and-tested, simple technologies such as pneumatics, gear drives, and ion thrusters to get the job done. It is no less precise as a result, however, and its strength is undeniable. It is very unlikely to win any foot races and is not particularly fast in space.

Six ion thrusters provide the Bee with movement in low/zero G environments. The thrusters on each of its shoulders can rotate 360 degrees to provide thrust from a variety of angles, aiding in precision movements. These make the Bee surprisingly maneuverable in low/zero G for its bulk, but have minimal-to-no functionality within most gravity fields.

• Ground Speed (Running): 35 kph
• Ground Speed (Hovering): n/a (While the Bee has an array of thrusters, they are not strong enough to provide noticeable lift in 1g or above)
• Max. Atmospheric Speed: n/a (See above)
• Max. Sublight: 0.075c

DRv3 Tier: 6 Heavy Anti-armor, no combat shields

The Bee's head lifts up like a hatch, revealing a simple cockpit within that takes up most of the chest's vertical space. The pilot's head actually sits partially inside of the frame's head when in operation.

Construction workers are given a simple set of controls that are familiar to frame pilots, but considerably simpler than most. Forward/backward movement is handled by a “gas” pedal and stick combination. The stick is not truly necessary to change gears, but instead allows the operator to fine-tune the frame's speed in tandem with the pedal, as well as to switch to reverse.

A steering wheel sits in the center of the console with a convenient knob atop it to allow the operator to easily rotate the Bee's body. Minor rotations will move the Bee's upper body only, while larger rotations will cause the entire body to rotate. The cockpit is motion-stabilized such that the operator will rarely notice the operation of the frame's legs.

Next to the steering wheel on both sides are a set of touchscreen interfaces that allows the operator to select the construction project they are part of, as well as a collection of pre-loaded construction plans and other routines. These will feed into the multistruct system and allow the operator to easily join an existing construction project or start a new one.

Finer control of the Bee's arms are done with a set of arm harnesses on the sides of the cockpit. The operator pushes their arms against the harnesses, which lock into place around the hands and arms and translate movement to the Bee's arms directly. While controlling the Bee in this manner, the frame translates head and torse movements into frame controls, allowing the operator to continue moving around the jobsite without needing to put their hands onto the console controls.

The Bee's heads-up-display provides eye tracking functionality that can be used to interact with menus and digital overlays, such that the operator never needs their hands for any console work.

A simple onboard, non-sapient assist AI translates the pilot's inputs into smooth motion without getting in the way of skilled operators. It also keeps track of maintenance needs, fuel/resource supplies, nearby obstacles, and more. It prioritizes the safety of its operator first and, if necessary, will attempt to prevent an operator from harming themselves. Should the need arise, it can temporarily take control of the frame to protect its operator - such as from falling hazards.

Most of the Bee's sub-systems are simple mechanical components that have been designed to be easily switched out. The only exceptions to this are the Bee's control systems and the multistruct, which are both designed to be replaced entirely for safety purposes.

The Bee is a highly durable frame for its size, with thick durasteel outer plating with a Madite inner surface. Panels can be repaired or replaced easily enough, though they are more than able to hold up to normal jobsite wear-and-tear without needing to be replaced for the lifetime of the Bee.

While it is not designed for extended solo operation, the Bee can nonetheless support its operator in all but the most dangerous of conditions for up to two days. Its cockpit has redundant atmosphere systems, exceptional radiation protection, and more.

If not for inadequate water and food stores, the Bee could maintain its operator in hostile conditions for two or more weeks, though this would greatly tax its atmosphere scrubbing systems and, accordingly, is not recommended.

The Bee does not have combat shields, but it does have a basic electromagnetic shield system to protect its operator and frame systems while in space or hostile conditions.

A basic hyperspace tap system provides more than enough power for the Bee to operate near-indefinitely. Should the hyperspace tap fail for some reason, backup batteries exist that can provide sufficient power for the multistruct to cannibalize the suit's resource store in an energy-positive manner until repairs can be made.

The Bee has a basic long-range sensor and communication package. It has surprisingly good close-range sensor systems to support its multistruct, ensuring that fabrication is as error-free as possible.

An OHI MultiStruct Multitool provides much of the Bee's construction utility, though it could be equipped to use other tools.

The Multistruct can vaporize materials, collect them for later use, then project and print them as needed. It can also be fed a pre-existing store of vaporized materials. In the Bee's case, this is in the resource containers that it carries on the back of its hips. The Multistruct itself is mounted to the underside of the right arm and fed resources via internal and external tubes. A left arm mount variant is available by request.

Multistruct construction is largely a simple process for its operators - the device, via the Bee, “knows” how to build whatever it has been instructed to build. The skill of the operator is in carefully moving the device to improve its operation and, accordingly, the speed and resulting quality of the build, in a manner not too dissimilar from skilled welders. Even with the Bee/multistruct doing most of the work, it's not hard to tell who is and who is not a pro in its use.

On each shoulder, opposite of the shoulder thrusters, is a grapple/tether system. A tethered anchor can be fired off and remotely controlled to grab/latch onto a nearby surface. The “severity” of the grab is variable. On a metal surface, a magnetic clamp in the claw can engage to provide attachment. On rocky surfaces, the anchor can dig in to provide a secure hold.

The grapplers are designed to keep the Bee secure while working under conditions that might be less than stable. Together, they are sufficiently strong enough to lift/pull the Bee in gravities up to 2.5g at up to 15kph.

None. The multistruct has offensive potential, as do the Bee's fists, but neither are designed for this purpose.

The Bee has no military hardpoints.

It can wield small frame-scale weaponry, if necessary.

Whisper created this article on 2023/01/16 21:05.