As the war machine keeps turning...

[Julius Sedaire]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGPD0ZBiMs0

As he descended down through the entrance at the side of the beach, Ijaat realized he had been neglectful of his workshop. Parts of it were caked in dust and so silent one could hear their own breathing and heart beat, or so it felt like. However, now was just the perfect time to return home, as it were, and begin to do what he honestly did best. And that was the making of things that un-made other things. No matter how he tried to improve, it seemed he just couldn't quite quit war... So like any good junkie, he was off to look for the next biggest score.

Reports came in earlier that day that staff in the mining facility part of his workshop had extracted and purified just enough beskar for this project, if all went well. One of the perks, he supposed, of his workshop being based on a island with a fairly nice, if not so big as he would have liked, vein of beskar. Rather than wait for dispensation or pay the exorbitant prices of the various merchants or mining clans in Keldabe and elsewhere, he could just wait. Granted he was not a patient man, but he could still wait.

Sitting down at a massive command like chair as he brushed off dust and old files, Ijaat blinked as the lights in the room came to life. A few quick, heavy keystrokes, and so did the holo-console he had long been away from. Inserting the uplink cable, his datapad he had long been toying with while away on missions came to life, and he smiled as on the projector at the center of the console a three hundred sixty degree view of a positively massive suit of armor came into view.

"Sorcerer of death's construction" he hummed and half-sung under his breath as he began to type. The song was an older one, though not to him, and was very popular in the rowdier and seedier bars of keldabe back in his day... If anything, this design would be the crown jewel of the idea that had begun with his construction of the A-10 cannon and it's un-anticipated set backs.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Starting out with what was the first thing on the menu, Ijaat began with the exoskeleton... This would be the backbone of any system he made, and ideally if he could pull it off just right, he might not need the rest of it. There wasn't really need for a new set of armor, just need for a way compensate for recoil and weight. And to be honest, even repulsors and counter-weights weren't enough to level the A-10 from just absolutely destroying his shoulder. Not even close, if he were clean with himself. In fact, he still couldn't quite move it right after Ord Canfre, a glaring problem that manifested itself in random spasms of his back and shoulder while he lay awake at night trying to sleep despite the pain.

Humming again to himself, Ijaat began with servos, custom designed for moving the A-10 on his shoulder on his personal armor. First thing was first, he needed to worry less about speed of movement and more about durability. So he switched their material to beskar in the file and began to swap out internals on the design of it in the CAD like program. Increase of the generator size for each servo, and thickening of the servo motor walls to keep them less vulnerable. There was each one operating off a separate and individual power generator, all hooked up off a main terminal generator that would go on the chest, where his armor was thickest anyway.

He would leave some openings, cleverly concealed, for heat emission and venting. The whole thing would function rather like a car or speeder. Start the main reactor and it's juice would provide the initial jump to the miniaturized reactors in the servo, providing ample power to each one, and once they started, a theoretically infinite functionality time so long as he remembered to charge it. Sure, it would have some sort of actual shelf life, but with this system in place it would likely be days, if not weeks or more of constant full time use before the servos could no longer power themselves.

Of course, that was just with walking, running and general living. Use of the weapons systems and fighting and strain under load would drain them quicker, without a doubt. Just how quick and how much each activity would affect them he began to figure out, noting variables in the design file and frowning. There were really too many possibilities for just a mortal man to keep track of, and Ijaat was no mathematician anyhow, so such things as complex statistics and formulae confused him. With the servos done, he began placing them on a holo-projection of himself, first with one at each joint, and then spreading out from there. Next would be simulations to test the design before making it and examine the yield data there.

Shab... I need an apprentice or something at some point... Too much to do on my own some days...

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Two at the inside and outside of each elbow, each knee, each ankle, three on the shoulders, two at each side of the hip... Servo placement flew as he tapped the holographic image silhouette of his frame. For measure, he put miniaturized versions at the axial vertbrae and at the base of the neck to keep the neck from being fatigued from any heavy lifting or armor. The miniaturized ones were further employed at the wrist of each arm, and at the back of the knee and front of the knee with a repulsor attached to the top of the servo to help stabilize the joints from strain.

With that idea, Ijaat began to tweak the repulsors, making them weaker but running constantly. They wouldn't even let a part of his body hover, really, but what they would do is allow his joints to counteract any weight placed on them. It would provide just enough push to keep him limber and not experience any long or short term damage from extreme weight load and bearing. With those designed he smiled, tapping his chin with a long finger, the knuckles scarred, the cuticles cracked and grease stained from years of work just like the rest of his hands.

Let me just add some of those nice little things to each of the servos... It will cut down the life of the suit function wise by a slight bit, but it will really increase the life of it via extending how long the wearer can stand to be in it... Which is just as important as how long the suit can function... If I place some on the heel of the foot and even tinier ones right on the ball of the foot where the toes join the body of the appendage it should even make it easier to run and move in it, hopefully...

Leaning over, Ijaat pushed the simulation button and waited, the initial test load was just a paltry 30 kg, nothing much more than standard mandalorian armor made out of beskar. It would, this test, let him know just how much reaction time and strength increase he could expect from the 'exoskeleton' he was building, and just what the effects of it would be really. Sitting back, the man reached for a bottle of tihaar and had it to his lips before he grimaced and threw it at a wall, shaking his head as the bottle busted and the liquor ran down the walls. That was one demon he would NOT indulge right now... Nyr's face floated to him from the depths of his mind, and he wrenched his attention to the test schematics and back to the task at hand.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The reaction time boosts weren't a ton to speak of once load beyond typical armor weight was applied, and no matter what he did, it didn't seem to matter. Unless he wanted to drain the effective use time of the generators to hours at most, he'd move about half again as fast as most people, if that. And even then, he was still limited by how quickly his mind processed sensory data and neurons reacted, and he couldn't react any faster than those impulses. Resolved with a sigh, Ijaat left alone the idea of using a combination of the repulsors and servos to become super fast, and instead began to test just how far he could enhance the strength of the wearer of this system.

Now, when one began to increase strength via an exoskeleton, one often forgot things like joint load and endurance, which was what the repulsors were designed for. But when linked just so, and working in tandem, the repulsors actually could help the servos. Problem was, he couldn't fathom out exactly how one could handle both directing and running the system that closely and fighting, so for now he left that idea alone and focused primarily on increasing strength through the servos alone. With tweaking, he could fire bursts of power through the cabling and, as long as he was careful not to burn out the smaller servos or drain the power supply too quickly, the movement became much more smooth and natural than most exo systems, which was key to how he fought really. There would be hell to pay if he jerked and moved like a robot.

Nodding in satisfaction that his joints wouldn't be unduly crushed under weight or strain, Ijaat set about a problem he had identified. The initial set up called for just plain cabling sheathed in a rubber flex like material... Which was all fine and good. But if a weapon managed to penetrate armor or say a joint at just the right place, it could effectively cut an entire limb from the network of power distribution and wreak all sorts of havoc on his movement and capability to remain balanced, and even worse could cause servos to burn out and become non functional as they used their own generators over and over to requirements beyond their miniaturized size could handle.

Turning his considerable intellect to the task, the mandalorian weapons maker focused... Flexibility was the key limiting factor here. It needed to move, to flow and slide and not constrict. Just putting it in beskar piping with joint locks and motors would work, but he'd be fast approaching that nasty state of unnatural and cumbersome movement. And while there was no true way to eliminate that entirely with what he was trying to do, he wanted to move a little better and smoother than a junked up protocol droid that had been left in the depths of a tatooine dune overnight without an oiling before hand.

The idea to solve it came upon him suddenly, and he almost hooted in joy. Microionised beskar, just like the crushgauntlets he wore typically, would provide extreme flexibility and protection, even if it would drive the cost of the project up to a figure he didn't want to even think of. But, whether it did or not, it would be worth it. This suit would let him be able to do things on the battle field that his vode would envy and tell stories of. And most of all it would let him come back from said battlefield in one piece, able to tell the stories himself. And that, that right there, was worth more than any pile of credits.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Flexing the cabling along the legs, snaking it back and forth, Ijaat smiled as the simulation data came back with much improved results. He even thinned down the rubber like tubing a bit, just enough to keep it insulated and not spreading current where and how he didn't want it to, and nodded in satisfaction as he watched the holographic him move and go through various calisthenic exercises with relative ease and grace, fully jumping jacks, up-downs, push-ups, sit-ups and more. There was obviously some hindrance from just the suit, but it would work well enough for his intended purposes, and wouldn't hinder him enough that with some familiarity and training he'd be just fine.

The next problem wasn't really a problem. There was the design of the suit to consider and ponder over, and various questions related to it to think on and consider. What alloy, and within that what percentages of alloyed metals or materials and minerals, would he choose for the armor plating? What material would be best and achieve his results. Initially his thought was beskar, but phrik held it's own advantages. However, beskar was right here, a few rooms away in his mining facilities, being smelted and readied now for his use in this very project so he shook his head and focused.

There was an idea he wanted to try for the shoulders called auto-reactive, which was basically where one could attach smaller servos and pistons to thick layered pauldrons. The origins of it came from a group he had ran across once on a raid and always wanted to test it. Basically auto-reactive pauldrons would allow him to shrug off fire at a greater rate than thicker pauldrons would because of how the system in place reacted to the impact and push of a projectile or blaster bolt. It wasn't an exact science, but it took next to no power from the suit's system and would allow him to shoulder rush someone while taking incoming fire quite effectively. It was a convenience to fit his style of combat more than anything.

With that little feature added, Ijaat turned to the question next of the helmet, and began sculpting it with a holo-quill, careful to try and keep the aesthetics more mandalorian than his last product had been. The typical t-visor was present, the sunken curved cheeks and menacing swoop of the cheeks down to meet the visor 'nibs' was as well. On the cheeks he added a slight after thought, two bulky like respirators designed to scrub oxygen and filter it, so if the air became tainted he had a way to breathe without having to burn up any spare oxygen reservoirs his suit might have within it. Determined strokes added a large antenna for a powerful long-range comm able to handle encryptions and broadband and the like, and he continued on with the design of the helmet in earnest, clicking it with the holo-quill to bring it up in an expanded/exploded view to continue.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The helmet. The buc'ye... It was the lifeline of the mandalorian warrior, despite how little attention it got sometimes from those outside the Clans. For this suit, it needed all the typical amenities. Ijaat was spoiled by the use of a Hyperion Security helmet system, and had taken to porting that exact same system and usage to all his helmets thereafter, preferring the range of options and abilities it gave to him. Somehow, there was just nothing better than almost always being able to see, hear, track and find your opponent no matter the degree of light, or the degree of dark, or what he threw at you.

Finished with the oxygen scrubber and rebreather, Ijaat moved onto the next project. It was a beefed up broadband antenna that would need no help punching through regular interference to broadcast, and even comm to comm would have an unprecedented range. There was a chance it might even broadcast and reach ground before they even went planet side, he mused. Though, of course, he was not a communications expert. The next step was an encryption codec or two and an encryption unit itself, so he could hold secured comms pretty much whenever or wherever he needed to and be sure he was not being watch over or listened in on.

Next came the various image sourcing feeds, which he was adamant about. Thermal, infrared, low light, night vision, dark vision... Whatever it was coming at him, he would know it, and when, and where from, thanks to a motion tracker that bipped in last minute.. That thing was bloody useful in confined spaces during say, a boarding action or the like. It had saved him more than a few times, actually. More than a few times. With that also came a target tracker and long range target assistance, just to make sure he could tag and effectively keep track of what he was hitting with what. Further came a set of macro binoculars to even moreso aid in long range operations.

For extra aid, he added basic medical status monitors, stretching EKG like rhythm pads, and more minor monitoring devices throughout the suit. It would make sure the strain of being in such a heavy and hot suit in an environment as taxing as that of a war-torn battlefield would not destabilize the homeostasis of his body. As well, if he were to suffer injury, it would show him where, and basic information on severity and more on the HUD. Pausing, Ijaat began to consider what features he should maybe emit, and decided to include the standard suite of Hyperion upgrades and smiled. He would need to thank Anija and Larraq for letting him borrow their work so unceremoniously.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The gauntlets would come next in the designing of the suit, and perhaps were important. They didn't need just raw power and strength in their grip. Too many people forgot that they needed flexibility as well as strength and, for armor, the ever present need for protection and defense. Scalloped plates of beskar covered the digits, and microionised beskar webbing between the joints to form a crushgauntlet like glove to it, providing an increased grip power. However, due to the restraints of the material he was working with, the strength wouldn't be quite the same ratio... The servos output flowed into the glove, which further increased it to roughly six or seven times the strength of the wearer, whereas the servos alone only provided roughly five times the average strength.

Done with the gauntlets, Ijaat moved on to the knees, another often neglected area when designs for such powered armor were considered. Repulsors, miniaturized and weak, were the first order of business for the design and key to keeping stress off his joints. Such weight, even with servo increased power and strength, would not be any good if he ground his knees out and couldn't walk or move very well anymore. Those were added to the sides, and four positively tiny ones on the back of the knee at the top and bottoms of the joints, helping out and pressing his joints to their maximum capacity.

To carry over on that he came to the shins, adding hydraulics and adding to that also servos to power them, spending more of his precious beskar to keep the systems well and truly protected and empowered against all sorts of foul things that might try and wreck his new toy. Humming quietly, he twirled the holo-quill, adding two sets of long hydraulics and encasing them in beskar and adding one smaller setup to either side of the main system, adding clusters of servos to help assist and empower. Now, with this, he would be able to run without tiring for hours, and kick down blast doors, or nearly.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Resting his eyes a moment, Ijaat considered the bottle of tihaar he had thrown earlier and almost sincerely missed it, sighing and scrubbing at his face. There was stubble lining his face from several days of growth, and indeed the mandalorian looked haggard and weary, as if spread too thin over too much, or weighed down possibly by the awakening demons of a past he thought he had well and truly put down. Either way, he was tired, and this was a project he had to finish. There was his age to consider, and the frakkas at Ord Canfre with the Vong had shown him he needed to begin considering other ways to be on the front line.

That was where he began to consider arming this leviathan of a suit. The A-10 came to mind first, what with it's rate and power of fire and just absolutely devastating effect on the field of battle. The hard point to begin to facilitate the mount was not a problem, just a shaped bolt plate of beskar with similar pin to it, along with an internal locking device controlled by the HUD and/or the datapad he would mount to the left gauntlet. One would merely have to pull the pins and then cycle the lock with the right command to disengage.

Next came a fully articulated limb carriage to help mount the body of the cannon to the cradle along the back of the armor. For this, he reinforced it, adding more repulsors and inertial dampeners along both the cannon and the limb carriage to make it so the shock and recoil wouldn't be so fierce for him when he fired and he wouldn't need a medicae just for his shoulder from using the weapon for more than five or six shots. He also added an external link up for the cannon to connect and be slaved to the HUD and other weapons systems of his armor, knowing it would provide him with a more accurate way to control the beast of a cannon.

The next problem came the ammo. It was powered by ammo boxes of 300 rounds of tungsten bolts a piece. Which normally lasted him a whole battle because of the restrictions under which he had to operate the beastly weapon he was working on now. He added several extra boxes of ammo along the cradle on the back, and a loading track of beskar links to make it so the weapon would be fed from the back and have close to 1,200 rounds, needing to reload every 300 or so rounds fired. Overall, if he burned through that much ammo, he was quite honestly going to die anyway. Next up was something for those up close and personal moments.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

For the up close and personal moments, he chose one of his standard favorites: flamethrowers. They didn't require a lot of work or sophistication to be utterly devastating. And as tricky and flashy as fighting a Jedi or a Sith with some fancy lightsaber was, it was harder to find one that could parry a massive double gout of flame coming at them, it was very hard indeed. Plus flamethrowers provided great cover for retreat and an awesome tool for advancing and clearing into or out of confined spaces and many other glitchy situations similar to those. Plus, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was positively fun about lighting things on fire. Must be the small young boy still in his psyche.

Each flamethrower was underslung and just slightly behind the wrist of the hand, needing a slight lift up of the wrist to activate the device and the pilot light on it. But he also needed some sort of igniting sequence or command so that flexing alone wouldn't suddenly cause him to begin gouting flame up and all over the place. With that in mind, he made sure the suit commands were entered to be a very specific wrist flick and clench of his hands, as well as a slight delay in firing so he had a moment to cancel the command if need be, but not so long that he was stuck vulnerable and waiting if he activated the system.

The fuel tanks he sank into the forearm of the suit, layering extra thick plates in multiple stacks of beskar with flame retardant materials between them. Taking a note from the new A-10 harness he had just built, he also installed a pin and lock mechanism whereby with an alternate set of hand motions, the flamethrowers would eject. With microionised beskar housing serving as the fuel lines from the nozzle back to the tanks in the arm of the suit, the whole thing wasn't terribly apt to blow and light on fire, but it was still always better to be safer than sorry when it came to something hot enough to literally melt his flesh off.

The next part was trickier, and he would need to give over a few minutes to thinking of just what he wanted to do. He wanted to be able have some sort of melee capability. The hammer he had crafted sprang to mind, as it would be able to be wielded one handed quite easily in this suit. As well, he could see a chance to incorporate even more defense, and as the wheels began turning he took a long swallow from a canteen of water on his desk and smiled. Somehow, work always made him focus and think straight.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The hammer would need a cradle first and foremost. There would need to be a place for it to be carried. The best solution he could think of was a mag clamp cradle slaved to his heads up display. It would allow him to essentially blink and have the hammer drop from the cradle into his hands, ready to be swung in bloody harvest and death. Something would be very, very upset that there was now a fully fledged power hammer in the hands of an already strong warrior now being swung with enough force to dent starfighters and the like, or so he liked to imagine in his mind.

Next up was an extra layer of defense, themed off some ancient frescoes he had once seen on Adumar. He began sketching with the holoquill, drawing out the basic shape and form of a massive beskar tower shield almost as tall as he would be standing fully erect in the power armor. Squared off and gear like teeth shaped the bottom of it, and in between each of those cog like protusions sat a four veined stake or spike like shape that would pierce the earth and help hold the shield into the ground as cover. Adding to it, he added a few repulsors all over the shield, and mag locks and clamps to both it and the bottom of the massive boots for the armor, even making spikes that would eject from the bottom of the feet to help ground him against any sort of charge or impact.

The last steps were simple enough. Broad strokes adding things like massive plates and barriers as just general and ablative armor. As well, he attempted to design over-meshing and padding where common impact points were to further protect and shelter the wearer of the suit against such damage as they would commonly encounter and incur under the normal stressors of battle. He also added several hard points to the right shoulder, two to the back, some to the palms of the hands on the gloves and even some to the sole of the feet... He had little idea what he would add to it right now, but in the future he was sure he could find new toys to play with for the suit.