HK-36
The Iron Lord Protector (Neutral Good)
Image Source: My own creation utilizing edited images of Rubric Marines from the Warhammer 40 k universe.
Intent: To create staple wardroids for Abregado-Rae and reinforce Iron Company ranks.
Development Thread: If required
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: Iron Legionnaire Abregado-Rae
Affiliation: Barony of Abregado-Rae, Omega Protectorate
Modularity: Components can be modified to suit different roles and scenarios by technicians with the knowledge of droid's design. Universal droid brain and programming system grants ability for different droid identities to be installed into these vessels.
Production: Mass
Material: Duranium Skeleton, Durasteel Body Plates and Components, Electrum Internal Components, Asbestos Insulation Layer, Inner Copper Farraday Cage, Internal Echani Graphite Protection Capsules.
Classification: Class 4 (War Droids)
Weight: Average around 150 kilograms
Height: Average around 2 meters
Movement: Bipedal
Armaments: Augmented strength and speed due to built-in rotors.
Misc. Equipment: Military grade Omega Pyre heat sensors and scanners based on latest Duelist droid systems (50 meters of range)
HUD with tracking and targeting systems based on latest Duelist droid systems (50 meters of range)
Sound dampening attachment
Build-In Communication Systems
Personal Deflector Shield based on the shielding used in Standard Variant of Defense Power Armor (Deflection on about 3 shots before penetration)
Density projector.
Internal coolant systems.
Redundant droid brain and programming systems.
Self-destruction systems.
Tracking unit.
Kill switch.
Description: HK's plans for creating standard droid unit to increase the numbers of soldiers available to him and the Protectorate in the Iron Company have been in works for quite some time. The foundation of this scheme could have been seen in the New Beginning program of his HRD-2 droids, as well as the recently produced Replicator 3D Printer.
The concept isn't either original nor too complex, just make a high quantity of droids not always at the greatest quality in order to produce expendable army for a cheaper price. However, what's different about this droid army is that large portion of it is made up of droid volunteers rather than units bound by obedience protocols, rather than come with their own programmings most of these droids are produced as empty vessels and have programming of other droids moved into them, and they are the first droid unit designed by ARGH to be specifically manufactured via their 3D Printer design, cutting down on production costs. As such it is not as much revolutionary to galaxy in its design but concept and ideology, it is a way of HK saying that when given a chance to have free will, not all droids will be evil, some will be willing to work alongside their organic counter-parts to protect their shared homes.
To begin, the droid's base skeleton is made from Duranium, a metal of higher grade than that of Durasteel, giving the machines increased protection against blunt damage like being crushed or experiencing shockwaves like that from explosions or sonic damage. Due to its greater density the droid's skeleton also offers protection against glancing lightsaber blows, however stronger hits like a good slash are still able to cut through it, although there is a chance of the lightsaber being lodged inside the droid through a stab. Its main body structure and armor plates are forged from Durasteel, corresponding to higher quality medium armor (Rating 7) and able to stop few standard blaster bolts or slugthrower bullets before being penetrated. The internal electronic components, like the droid brain or processor, are made from Electrum mined on Abregado-Rae, the components are encased in Echani Graphite capsule to protect the unit from internal damage during combat and to contain the black box unit. The Black Box and Self-Destruction units inside the droid are the same as those inside the Masterwork Duelist Vessel as the system is believed by the Gados to be optimal in protection against capture and memory confiscation while offering the black box logs to survive the destruction. The droid's body also contains a layer of Asbestos between its main metal plates and internal electronic components, a defense used in Duelist Vessel as well, a rather simple yet effective methods in containing electrical and thermal based damage like effects of flamethrowers, ionic guns, or electrical shocks as well as an internal Farraday Cage made from conductive Copper wires in order to minimize effects from electro-magnetic pulses and radiation.
To elaborate on the programming the droids' use, while a portion of these machines do end up with generic, simple programming the Gados have created, appropriately called the GaDOS (Generic anDroid Operating System), which was used previously with the Droid Mobile Weapon Platforms, which gives them enough intelligence to utilize weaponry used by the Barony as well as follow commands and simple plans, but little to no ability to think or plan for themselves, making droids with this programming one of the dumber units on the market. The Legionnaire vessels who utilize the GaDOS are called either Legionnaire Drones or just Drones. Otherwise the Legionnaire model relies on programming of other droids to provide higher intelligence and combat efficiency on battlefield.
This is done the same as the New Beginnings Program tied with the HRD 2.0 droid vessels, the Barony decided to call this program the Collective Imperative Recruitment Act- Directive, every manumissioned droid residing on Abregado-Rae is given a chance to sign-up for this program in order to receive their own Legionnaire vessel. While the initial delivery is free of charge, each droid has to take it up for themselves to maintain the combat vessel but in turn they can apply any upgrades they feel fit to it. However, due to these freedoms in vessel modification, each droid comes with a kill-switch and tracking chip, it is illegal for droids to remove any of those from the vessel, and they insure that the vessel would not be used in crime or rebellion against Abregado-Rae, should one infiltrate the Barony and gain possession of the droid. During emergency or preparation for battles the droids receive notification to report at their nearest Iron Company or Abregado Militia garrison in their Legionnaire vessels where they are equipped with the latest of armor and weaponry available to the Barony. Most of these droids decide to utilize the heavy variant of Omega Defense Power Armor, the preferred armor type among the Iron Company, making them rather indistinguishable from their organic brethren as the smaller size of their heads allows them to wear standard helmets that come along with the armor. Lately, however, new style of suits begun to be constructed for them, they differ from other Defense Power Armors in aesthetics only, instead of bronze and golden colors they utilize darker blues with golden highlights, most often Bronzium, and adorning head pieces in style of fabled lost droid planet Mechanus and the mechanoid beast soldiers HK and Siobhan encountered battling the Machine God on Gehenna.
The purpose behind the CIRA-Directive is to give the manumissioned droids of Abregado-Rae a chance to fight in defense of their planet without having to worry that their main body is destroyed in combat and they suffer total deactivation and disassemble. While these bodies can be destroyed in combat, the main body of the droid is kept safely back on Abregado and copy of their programming is kept in highly secured underground Abregado Memory Data Banks, fractured in connection with many similar smaller facilities all over the planet to minimize chances of slicing.
Due to their nature on relying for other droids to provide programming, combat efficiency is all over the place with these units. Sometimes they are quite efficient and show plenty of expertise in battles, other times it is a rather new environment to them. This has led to each droid being assigned squad specialization based on their programming origin and different roles in order to perform with other droids as a group rather than separate units, bringing up their efficiency as a whole. For example, droids with war droid programmings are placed as squad leaders or front-line soldiers, medical droid programmings are assigned to work as combat medic and most often support organic squads, astromech programmings prove highly efficient as combat engineers and technicians, working with weapon emplacements, vehicles, and supporting advancement of other droid units, assassin programmings are most often placed as commando or sniper units, working alone or in smaller squads, and protocol programmings are given the role of communication officers and translators, often proving vital to missions on alien soil where they prevent break-down of communication with the natives. Of course basic training and combat protocols are offered to droids who severely lack in combat knowledge or cannot find other role than a simple infantry soldier in order to allow them to support other soldiers of Iron Company in defense of their home, Abregado-Rae.
These droids also took some of the miscellaneous components that could be find in the much more expensive and unique Masterwork Duelist design. The rotor systems are similar for once, granting the machines above-human speed and strength, they lack the Duelist's repulsorlift units, preventing them from going crazy with it and just jumping all over the place, and bringing their cost down, they do have however the same sensor and tracking systems, extending up to 50 meters in range to keep track of multiple targets and trajectories, which ensures that some quality of combat efficiency would always be maintained and the droids would not be totally useless, no matter their programming. They also have Personal Deflector Shield systems found in Duelist body, still just a rip-off of the shield systems found in Power Armor utilized by the Protectorate, but it does provide additional layer of protection, even if their armor is badly damaged. Sound dampeners, whenever some degree of stealth is required, built-in communication systems, density projectors, to anchor themselves against kinetic threads like shock-wave or telekinetic assaults, chemical-based internal cooling systems, like those in Duelist body to prevent from damage to internal components due to over-heating, and redundant calculation and computing systems, once more like those found in Duelist body, to allow the droid to survive decapitation or other great damage to its head or torso unit, of course only one or the other can be damaged if both are destroyed then the droid suffers deactivation, can be found in this droid vessel. Speaking of the redundant systems, just like with the Duelist body it is the photorceptors that are the weakest point of the droid, guarded with layer of transparisteel instead of durasteel plate, but they are a smaller target in this case, which gives the droid lesser vision, although they do not need it as much as the Duelist, in exchange for greater protection. Their photoreceptor and sensor units are gathered in the middle of their face-plates in a small blue-glowing cluster, this group of smaller receptors provides the droids with vision comparable to that of an average human, they are still capable of seeing in multiple spectrum, but their vision in general, i.e. how much they can see and how far, is not as augmented as that of the Duelist vessel.
As mentioned before, these droids are the first model to rely on the use of Abregado-manufactured 3D printer for production. This is the biggest reason why Abregado is able to make a mass-produced droid body of not the crappiest quality, the Replicator saves on the resources and money as the Durasteel plating and components used in these droids are made from recycled synthetic material using the 3D printer system. Cutting down on the production cost, and slightly raising the taxes, allowed for the Guild of Hammers to pack more content into these automatons without having their production bankrupting them.
Of course the droids can pay for themselves as well, while the units will not be exactly sold to other nations or companions, they can be hired out as mercenaries along with their organic counter-parts to conduct missions and be appropriately paid for it.
In summary, this is a cheap droid model to be used as standard synthetic fighting unit for Abregado-Rae, the vessel itself can withstand some punishment while offering more advanced droid components developed by Abregado in their other products, however for higher combat efficiency it relies on programming the droids inhabiting Abregado provide when they volunteer for military service, which can be both its weakness and strength, as the GaDOS programming system is not yet developed to handle advanced fighting units. The production costs of these units was brought down by the edgy Replicator system to allow higher qualities of them mass-produced, and so they've been entered into Iron Company service, outfitted as other soldiers would be, to help defend their planet without worrying that their original body is destroyed.
