El-M2-1a “Hikael” Power Armour

The El-M2-1a, nicknamed “Hikael” for the noted swordmaster, was created by Elysia Novus Shipyards to build on the notable strengths of the Anthedon. However, after several months of research, the project was scaled to a different purpose for cost reasons. Where the Anthedon presented a solid weapon for most any engagement, the Hikael was intended to be a light-assault power armour with a focus on speed, sensory acuity, and extreme precision at as long a range as was practical. The Hikael suffered in regards to armour strength and shields in order to cut down production costs, but it was deemed sufficiently capable for its own purpose, and the sacrifice was taken in stride. The Hikael has somewhat more capacity for melee than the Anthedon, as much of its design was built with the threat of Nepleslia, rather than Yamatai, in mind. Many of the systems are quite similar to those of the Anthedon due to its initial desired purpose.

The Hikael can be piloted by either a Patrician or a Plebeian, however, very few Plebeians are likely to be accepted as armor pilots.

The Hikael is quite humanoid in appearance, with a gracefully swept-back look to it. There are no sharp corners or hard edges, everything curving gently into other curves. The head is less humanoid than that of the Anthedon, but still a relatively human-like appearance, if somewhat elongated. The wings are protected by long sheathes which also house countermeasure weapon systems. In coloration, the Hikael is glossy white or silver with bands of sky blue across the wings and chest. The forearms are oversized in appearance compared to the rest of the armour, this is due to the generator weapons housed there.

• Government: Elysian Celestial Empire
• Organization: Elysian Celestial Navy
• Type: Light Assault Spacy Power Armour
• Class: El-M2-1a
• Designer: Elysia Nova Shipyards
• Manufacturer: Elysia Nova Shipyards
• Production: Full Mass Production

• Crew: 1
• Maximum Capacity: 1

• Height: 2.5 metres
• Mass: 200 kg
• Speeds (Sublight): 0.355c (can boost to 0.71c for up to 60 seconds)
• Speeds (FTL): 1700c
• Speeds (Fold): N/A
• Speeds (Atmosphere): Mach 4 at sea level
• Speeds (Underwater): Not tested underwater.

• Range: 1 week's life support
• Mantainence: Once after every sortie. Additional refit cycles are yet to be determined.
• Lifespan: Potentially indefinite, with proper maintenance.

Standard Handheld: Transphased Plasmatic Pulse Rifle

The Hikael sports a pair of missile launchers, one mounted in each hip. The missiles use a small aetheric generator (simply referred to as 'the generator' by Elysians) to create rather massive destruction with a comparatively small charge. Each missile measures a mere 28cm end to end. Each charge contains basic computer systems, allowing them to correct their course and track an intended target within the limits of their range. Additionally, they contain a small shield modulation device, improving their ability to penetrate shielded targets.

• Location: One at each hip.
• Warhead: Aether charge
• Purpose: Mid-range dogfighting weapon; anti-armour/anti-starship
• Damage: MDR 5
• Range: 600,000 km
• Rate of Fire: Fires in volleys of 5
• Payload 40 per pod

Looking on the success of similar weapons used by Yamataian power armours, the Hikael was designed with short-ranged aetheric ('generator') projection weapons combined with a phasing system similar to that used in the plasma rifle. It fires in bursts of several pulses, similar to a machine gun, the energy being phased out of existence briefly to allow it to penetrate shields and armour with greater effect.

• Location: One on each forearm of the armour
• Purpose: Short-range kill-weapon. Anti-armour.
• Damage: MDR 4
• Range: 7 km. It is strongly reccomended that you do not fire this weapon in atmosphere.
• Payload Effectively unlimited so long as the armour provides power.

This weapon is positioned on the wing-sheathes of the Hikael, and fires a stream of high-powered, high-frequency, low-wavelength electromagnetic pulse, using X-ray and gamma-ray bands. This is, in essence, a lower-powered version of the same weapon used on the Anthedon; this is used primarily as a countermeasure to missiles and torpedoes. It is highly effective against shields (allowing it to remove even shielded missiles), and the penetrative nature of high-energy photons make it effective at passing through armour - meaning it can, technically, be used effectively as an anti-personnel device as well.

• Location: One on each wing of the armour
• Purpose: Missile countermeasure. Anti-armour.
• Damage: MDR 2
• Range: 60,000 km (Due to the low wavelength, this is not reduced much in atmosphere, though some reduction is seen)
• Payload Effectively unlimited so long as the armour provides power

The Hikael sports four of these - one at each elbow and one at each knee. They can be extended from the armor when needed, up to a length of 90cm. Mostly used as a last-resort weapon, these monomolecular blades are constructed of ADNR, making them both extremely hard, and highly efficient against unshielded opponents. Ultrasonic vibrations make it much more fantastic at slicing apart armour.

• Location: Elbows and knees
• Purpose: Stabbing.
• Damage: Melee
• Range: Melee - about 1 metre.
• Payload N/A

The Hikael is equipped with a large-scale radio projector, positioned on the chest of the armor, designed for disabling nearby unprotected electronics. There is nothing particularly special about it. it is just a normal radio burst projector.

• Location: Center of the chest.
• Purpose: Disabling vulnerable electronics.
• Damage: EMP
• Range: 200m radius burst
• Rate of Fire: Once per twelve seconds
• Payload Effectively unlimited so long as the armour provides power.

The hull of the Hikael consists of several layers. At the first, there is a damage-resistant smart-polymer which conforms around the interior of the armor. Over this, a layer of interlocking plates of Aggregated Diamond Nanorods, protected at the joints with additional fullerite mesh overlays. Over this, of course, is the standard of all Elysian defensive methods: the layer of tough, ablative, organic defense. The ablative properties take much of the bite out of energy weapons and help to nullify the force of attacks. Additionally, the organic layer is capable of rather rapid regeneration, and will close itself over to prevent breaches.

• Armor Type: Light
• Structural Points: 6

The interior of the Hikael is essentially identical to the Anthedon. Soft, organic, warm, like a womb. But certainly not a large synthetic vagina. The interior molds itself to the form of the pilot, providing shock absorption and - in tandem with the synthetic muscular structure of the armour - greatly enhanced strength. The organism also provides exceptional protection to heat and radiation, allowing the Hikael to survive the rigors of space and atmospheric re-entry even if the shields are disabled and the outer armour compromised.

Like the Anthedon, the Hikael is controlled using a SQUID (Superconductive Quantum Interface Device) which inobtrusively reacts to the thoughts of the pilot. It can detect any and all movements the brain wishes to make, and react on them significantly faster than standard nervous impulse. The SQUID uses an electromagnetic manipulator system to communicate with the pilot, allowing the armour to serve as an extension of the self. The armour telepathically inputs data in to the pilots brain, including the visual data from visual sensors, and creates the effect of a HUD in the pilots brain.

Another direct throwback to the Anthedon which preceeded it, the Hikael uses as a computer a semi-autonomous, sub-sentient organism. This organism is capable of very impressive processing speed and storage, and regulates every function and calculation of the armour, and helps with the aiming of the weapons. It functions on a system of trinary organic computing augmented by artificial quantum computing elements.

Vital for the Hikael's survival in melee and close-range combat, this system predicts the next move of an opponent based on stance, last moves seen, and fighting style. It “learns” an opponent's style very quickly, and uses this to help block and counterattack when engaged. Because it can most always react faster and more efficiently than the pilot in a melee engagement, it will most often control the Hikael's movements. The adaptive nature of the program, combined with the organic memory of the system, means that the more it is used, the better it becomes. Therefor a Hikael armour with a lot of experience in melee will almost always defeat a new one.

The Hikael is equipped with a Psionic Signal Controller to protect the pilot from psionic activity. The device, so as to allow the pilot to use his own telepathy for communication, can allow 'channels' of telepathy to function securely, even during a telepathic assault. The PSC can remain active indefinitely without detrimental side effects. It creates a field which envelopes the armour, extending to a distance of no more than two centimetres past the armour to avoid creating a detectable field.

The Hikael uses two main systems for propulsion - a Spatial Distortion Generator, which creates a small 'pocket universe' around the vessel using electrogravitic and electrostatic fields. The SDG can serve a number of purposes, including stealth and, of course, propulsion. It is usually on at least to some extent.

It is through use of the SDG that the Hikael can travel at very high FTL speeds. By generating continuum distortions and nesting them to create asymmetric peristaltic fields, the armour can travel at thousands of times the speed of light. This allows the armour to stop or move instantly, since it hasn't 'moved' in the traditional sense. Slower-than-light speeds use simpler gravitic drives, high speeds are accomplished by making the armour 'fall' at high speeds at the pilot's discretion.

The Hikael has an antigravity generator on the back, beneath the wing sheathes. This allows it to ignore the forces of inertia, reduce or negate its weight in atmosphere, and perform all manner of nifty maneuvers where gravity would otherwise prevent. Additionally, it protects against easy scalar kills.

The organic center of the Hikael is also the life-support system which recycles oxygen and feeds the pilot with water and high-nutrient liquid food (the designers opted against the pellets used by the prior model on the Anthedon, considering liquid to be more efficient). A pilot's “personal” armor will typically be fitted, as well, with a special organ that produces the pilot's stem cells, allowing it to heal the wounds of the pilot. The organism can recycle oxygen supplies for as long as 28 days. Additionally, urine is collected through a catheter, purified, and returned to the drinking water reservoir. This recycling system as well can support the pilot for up to 28 days. Oxygen, water, and food are all supplied through the mouth. Oxygen is also supplied through skin pores.

The Hikael uses generic, moderately-powered energy shields. These do well enough to stop low-to-medium powered energy weapons and mid-powered projectile weapons, but are not particularly effective against higher-powered weaponry. They are intended moreso to sap away the energy of an attack before it strikes the armour itself.

• Shield Points: 10 (Threshold 2)

The majority of visual sensors are located in the helmet of the Hikael, most notably a high-resolution optical sensor which monitors the entire electromagnetic band. The pilot is typically given a view of the visual spectrum overlapped with infrared data. The computer, however, monitors and records all other bands, notifying the pilot of anything important. The view is gyroscopically stabilizied, and capable of magnification up to 250x.

The faster-than-light tracking system allows for precise targeting of subjects that would normally be impossible to hit due to the range and limitations of standard sensory equipment. This is a vital component for the Transphased Plasma Rifle and the Graser countermeasures, allowing both to track their targets and be used to full effect. The range of this sensor is 475,000 kilometres.

This device allows the Hikael's organic computer to calculate shape, mass, and velocity of objects by noting the ripples the objects make in seas of energy. The QWD has a range of 250 kilometres.

The fire control sub-section of the organic computer, connected with the predictive system, can track up to 20,000 targets at one time. It monitors them for defensive and offensive purposes, using all of the armour's sensory systems to determine and target 'soft' points on enemy armours, starships, and to optimise weapon power, range, and frequency, and identify friendly targets. If necessary, one or more weapons can be assigned to Fire Control, which will automatically fire them without pilot input.

The Hikael uses three means of communication - radio, laser, and subspace. These are secured using quantum encryption. As the Hikael lacks any device to speak into, the SQUID instead reads the pilots brain and transmits the communications in a simulacrum of the pilots voice.

Full-spectrum dual-modulation, baby! The practical range of radio is quite short due to its limitation to travel at light speed. It is capable of frequency-hopping and operating on multiple channels. Transmissions are secured by a set of code variables and equations, loaded to the armour before launch, and changed at every sortie.

Text-only short-range communication. This can be very difficult for an enemy to intercept, as they must be in the proximity of the beam to do so. Like radio, limited to light speed. The effective range is 325,000 kilometres.

Subspace allows faster-than-light communication streams. A standard means of communication. Also used for video feed, when necessary, though this is mostly only done during tests. The Hikael's interior is not suitable for video feed, so the SQUID instead feeds video from the mind's eye of the pilot - most often idealized. The Hikael's CDD bubble is used as a tranciever for these communications.

Orion created this article on 2007/03/06 15:14; Wes approved it on 2007/03/06 18:23.