Originally made by Ketsurui Zaibatsu as an M2-4 Mindy, this suit has been modified by Star Army Intelligence's Hera Group in YE 44 as a testbed for the ever cursed 'Shadow Mindy' project, this M2-4 has traded a degree of it's original payload capacity and armor for enhanced stealth and 'soft' teleporting abilities. Stealth is the name of the game, and this PA is a mere ghost among power armor.
Throughout the history of the Star Army Intelligence corp Hera Group has been pursuing the bleeding edge of stealth technology. Though many attempts have been made to enhance to stealth capabilities of the Ke-M2 "Mindy" Series of Power Armor. These attempts have yielded wildly different results, some useful and others completely impractical. Many stock M2's have met their demise in a RISE project gone wrong or outright cancelled. In YE 44 yet another project was presented, only this time it showed intriguing promise, a Mindy capable 'soft' atmospheric teleportations and an integrated emissions baffle that eliminate the blast of teleporting while arresting the EM and heat signatures of such an action. From that point to YE 45 the project was completed with the additional inclusion of advanced electronic warfare equipment. Testing proved the suit so incredibly stealthy that it's test pilot was not only able to sneak out of the laboratory but also sneak back in though the front doors of the Black Sands Test Range main office and record day in the life of the base commander, Healfdene Hallvardson, stalking him for entire day before teleporting silently back to it's laboratory. When presenting the design this footage was shared as proof of just how effective the design could be.
Explain the power armor more fully with an explanation as to why the power armor is used.
General stats and performance for the M2-4ix
| General Statistics for the M2-4ix | |
|---|---|
| Year Introduced | YE 46 |
| Class/Nomenclature | ke-m2-4ix |
| Alternative Nomenclature | Shadow Mindy Prototype |
| Designers | Many engineers have contributed. |
| Manufacturer | Ketsurui Zaibatsu |
| Fielded By | Star Army Intelligence |
| Range | 15 days nutrient supply |
| Maintenance Cycle | Yearly |
| Pricing | 80,000KS + years of tinkering. |
Each suit is tailored to the wearer and strongly resembles the M2-4 with a slightly reworked chest plates to ensure flexibility and protection despite the loss of Zesuaium. It carries masculine or feminine panel lines1) mimicking the wearers natural contours. The helmet retains the ear antennae and domed face and the wings are generally not equipped unless needed.
The Mindy M2-4ix gains some advantages over the standard M2-4:
The Mindy can also use most of the hardpoint accessories from earlier generation Mindy armors.
The advantages of the M2-4ix comes with noticeable drawbacks when compared to the M2-4:
Mindy armors use a Combined Field System that serves as propulsion and defense by distorting and compressing gravitational fields. The equipped Turbo Aether Plasma engines in the “wings” are now removable for increased stealth and the built-in teleporation module has an optional 'soft' teleport mode that enables whisper quiet teleportation. The armor does not impede movement. Users can walk, run, or float as fast or faster than they can without the armor.
Mindy armors are able to ignore gravity and inertial forces. They can hover, instantly stop or shift direction, and can increase and decrease their apparent weight; they can walk up walls, on ceilings, and hover in midair. The Mindy can also operate underwater to a depth of at least 100 meters.
| Height | 183cm (6') |
|---|---|
| Width | 41cm (20“) |
| Weight | 230kg (507lbs) |
For Damage Rating (Version 3):
Armors are normally hung on a rack by the back “collar” piece.
To don the armor, the center plates at the front of the armor's chest and abdomen angle forwards and downward and the user enters feet-first through the armor's chest area. Then the user can close up the suit and put on the helmet. The interior of the suit is a smooth, jet black synthetic material that helps control temperature and control moisture. Beneath this layer, the suit has a warm, fleshy musculature.
The armor can be worn over any tight-fitting garment such as a bodysuit (such as the Type 22 Bodysuit), but any footwear and all sharp or hard objects such as rank badges and belts should be removed first. Many pilots prefer to operate the armor wearing only underwear beneath it, or fully nude, as has been the standard for past Mindy armors. The blue T-shirt or a swimsuit is also fine to wear. The Star Army of Yamatai allows all of the above.
To doff the armor, first the helmet is removed, then the chest is opened and the pilot should lean as far forward as possible and free her arms from the armor's arms. Next the pilot can pull herself up and out of the armor. Typically an armor rack is used but if one is not available, the armor can be entered and exited more easily by having it in a reclined position seated on its butt.
The Mindy 4's legs are detachable around the mid-thigh but are commonly left attached while the armor is in storage. If they are not, they are donned on the same way as a pair of thigh-high boots are.
Controlling the Mindy 4 is done through SPINE. All Nekovalkyrja, Type 33 can instinctively operate the Mindy armor; it is natural to them. Mindy operation is also part of standard Star Army Training for Nekovalkyrja. Basic operation of the Mindy armor is simple, and is augmented by the armor's on-board computer, which will help out when (and only when) it is needed or requested.
Other (non-neko) users will require the helmet for proper operations; in either case, most sensor and long-range communication devices will be unavailable without the helmet on, although if the helmet is nearby (within 10 meters), these features can be used remotely; for example, a soldier could still transmit with the helmet's antenna while holding it in her hands.
Note: As a suit of armor, a Mindy only operates normally when it is being worn. It cannot be remotely operated as a drone while empty.
The sub-components in this armor include:
The Mindy 4's Zesuaium plate armor has been replaced with a Yama-Dura equivalent, which are layered over a mesh of Yarvex chain mail and a titanium alloy chassis layer that have all been impregnated and coated in hardened Xiulurium. The Mindy's armor is not entirely immune to small arms fire anymore but provides extreme stealth properties that would be considered unnecessary if not for the nature of certain SAINT missions. This armor still shields the interior from heat and radiation, protecting the pilot from the rigors of space travel and atmospheric reentry though damage to the plates will reduce stealth capabilities greatly.
The Mindy 4 has an outer armor composed of Zesuaium plates, which are layered over a mesh of Yarvex chain mail and a titanium alloy chassis layer. The Mindy's armor is essentially immune to small arms fire, provides excellent resistance to power armor and vehicle weapons, and fair resistance to light starship weaponry. This armor also shields the interior from heat and radiation, protecting the pilot from the rigors of space travel and atmospheric reentry. As with all armors, it protectiveness can be somewhat bypassed through the use of raw kinetic force due to being a suit of armor. The hardened Xiulurium topcoat is another matter, as it can be damaged by small arms fire and lose stealth capabilities quickly. The Yarvex chainmail is thoroughly impregnated with xiulurium to maintain as much of it's stealth capability as possible, but it can only do so much.
It is common for ships to carry a set of Zesuaium replacement armor for each of their armor users, but if one is not available, a Standard Star Army Fabrication Area can be used to create Yama-Dura replacements, which are less effective but better than nothing.
The Xiulurium coating of the suit and onboard holographic camouflage system integrated perfectly together with the built in Yu-M1-E4400 offering the user unparalleled stealth. In layman's terms, when the M2-4ix engages it's stealth systems it ceases to exist. In practice, the user must use this system skillfully. Inexperienced soldiers might be helpless to find a hiding 'Shadow Mindy' but stealth systems are hardly new. An astute and capable soldier will not be so easily fooled and thus any emission must be kept at an absolute minimum as even the slightest heatwave, footstep, or EM signature could be the needle in a haystack that betrays its presence. This is where the emissions baffles go to work. So long as the armor is not using any propulsion or shielding system and the reactor is reduced to a mere idle3) the emissions baffles will store the trace heat and electromagnetic emissions of the armor, reducing the PA's signature to absolute zero. During this time any movement greater than bipedal movement will be greatly reduced but potentially detectable by a well equipped and trained operator who is searching for an opponent this stealthy.
As of YE 43, the life support system was improved and is now handled in the Ke-M2-F4300 Hemosynthetic Interior Insert. There is also no longer a catheter organ, which previous versions required, due to this improvement. The soft, warm, hemosynthetic flesh helps protect and a life-sustaining environment for the pilot. The hemosynthetic musculature is still responsible for the armor's additional strength. The flesh still continues to function with massage and stimulation to increase pilot comfort and health during deployment.
The Mindy can support a pilot for up to 15 days before replenishment is needed, or up to 10 years in stasis. If needed, the Mindy can filter outside air to replenish its supply (not usually done until absolutely necessary, though).
The Mindy 4 features a compact aether generator system built into the “backpack” area of the armor. It is shielded with an energized Xiulurium to shield against harmful interference which might otherwise interfere with the normal operation of aether power generation. The generator is coupled with a powerful battery capacitor system that can keep the Mindy armor running for anywhere from an hour to several days depending on how heavily the stored energy is expended.
The Mindy 4 has a built-in Combined Field System that moves the armor through space by distorting and compressing gravitational fields. The anti-gravity system is kept running at all times when the power armor is online, in order to provide protection against scalar electro-gravity weapons.
Mindy armors are are also equipped with Turbo Aether Plasma engines in the detatchable “wings” and a teleporation module, but this one is modified.
Mindy 4 armors include a Ke-M2-P3802 teleportation module. It has a range of 100 kilometers, which is artificially limited by software for safety purposes. It can activate every 15 seconds and can be used continuously several (7-10) times in a row before requiring a cooldown period of ten minutes or less (for heat dissipation). The teleportation module contains anti-tampering mechanisms and can self-destruct if someone attempts to use it or extract it without the proper authorization codes generated by a PANTHEON computer. Due to the modifications made to this suit the teleporter alters its usual approach and 'phases' the user into the new location in a manner similar to how the Ke-M2-W4000 Aether Beam Suppression Device works. The result is a gentle experience where the suit disappears in a haze that lasts all of a second while reappearing in the new location just as slowly, allowing a moment for the air to be displaced at subsonic speed. Shooting the hazy apparition of where the suit was is pointless as gunfire will pass right through. Hitting the location it is appearing will cause the same damage as usual though.
The Mindy 4 uses the Armor Integrated Electronics System (AIES), which includes sensors, communications, and computing systems rolled into a standardized package. The system runs a special power-armor-oriented flavor of the Kessaku Military Operating System created by Kessaku Systems for use within the PANTHEON network. Through networking, the Mindy's sensor input is augmented by that of nearby friendly forces.
Its sensors include:
The armor can communicate via:
This power armor possesses no integral weapons to further reduce it's EM and heat signatures.
The accessories of the power armor and where they are located on the power armor are not as diverse as the standard M2-4 due to the heavily augmented nature of the suits chassis. If weapon systems are installed in more than 2 marked hardpoints the stealth systems will be compromised and the suit will be only slightly more stealthy than an average Mindy 4. Otherwise hardpoints are compatible with Mindy Accessories.
Rizzo created this article on 2024/02/08 15:39. Art made by MidJourney.
🚧 This article is a work-in-progress. Is it not currently approved.
| Star Army Logistics | |
|---|---|
| Supply Classification | Class M - EQUIPMENT PERSONAL NONESSENTIAL COMFORT |
| First Used | YE 46 |
