AMCO
I'm Sorry Dave
- Intent: Replace silly meatbags with unfeeling droid soldiers.
- Image Source: Synthetic Marine by Mathew Dariol
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: B2 Super Battle Droid | ARAC-6 "Irontide" Spiderbot
- Manufacturer: The Globex Corporation
- Affiliation: Open-Market
- Model: X13 Paladin-series Synthmarine
- Modularity: Significant; cosmetic alterations, inbuilt weapons can be swapped (e.g., exchanging wrist rockets with grenades or a flamethrower; wrist blasters with charrics), certain VIP models (X<1% of total production) have inbuilt personal shield generators, etc. The truly eccentric (hello
Cara Dorniarn
) could replace the droid brain in its entirety, say, with an organic alternative of some sort. - Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Laser-Reflective Duraplast, Glasteel, Droid Components.
- Classification: Class Four
- Weight: Heavy
- Height: Average | 196 cm
- Movement: Bipedal (Primary) | Thrusters (Auxiliary)
- Armaments:
- [2] Heavy Wrist Blasters (Standard & Stun; Single, Burst, & Automatic Fire)
- [1] Wrist Rocket Launcher (5 Rockets or 25 Micro-Rockets, Variable Payload)
- Can be replaced with a grenade launcher or a flame thrower.
- PDS-63 "Soteria" Class Active Protection System (Rectractable; "Head"-Mounted)
- [1] Wrist-Extendable Vibroblade
- Electrical Defence Grid
- NB! May carry handheld weaponry such as Heavy Blaster Rifles (Standard) or BR-3 Gatling Blasters.
- Misc. Equipment:
- Selective Life Preservation Programming w/ TDM-7-B "Verity" Morality Chip Failsafe.
- Forward-facing Photoreceptor Array (Long-Range Broad Spectrum.)
- 360-degree Sensor Suite (Thermal, Motion, & Metal Scanners.)
- Standard Vocabulator w/ Social Interaction Suite
- Advanced Slicing Countermeasures
- Encrypted Communications Suite
- All-Environment Navigation Suite
- Rocket Bosters & Spinal Jump Thruster; Capable of Low/Zero Gravity Flight or Enhanced Maneuvering in Standard Gravity. Certain models (notably the X13-RP) may be outfitted with a proper jetpack, a la B2-RPs, but this is not the norm.
- [2] Arm-Integrated Grappling Hooks
- Magno-grip All-Terrain Legs
- Standard Ionisation Buffer
- Self-Destruct Mechanism
- Computer Interface Arm
- Resistances:
- Energy Weapons: Very High
- Kinetic Weapons: High
- Lightsabers: Average
- Disruptors: None
- EMP/ION: High
- A Synthmarine's droid brain is located in its upper torso and its power core in its central torso; sensors, vocabulators, and comms are located in the sunken head section, while miscellanoeus components are kept in the lower torso. Arms and legs primarily hold servomotor, weaponry, and various utility functions. Synthmarines can remain sort of functional even without a head, but their sensors would be severely limited and comms/speech nullified entirely. Loss of limbs would result in spilled coolant fluid until contingencies kick in and a decrease in combat performance, with a potential for cascading effects leading to total incapacitation of the unit.
- The droid brain of a Synthmarine is reasonably advanced, being capable of lightning-fast reactions and in-depth evaluations; it is not, however, creative or independent, acting primarily on ironclad principles rather than machine-learning and creativity. Improvements come about through changes to its programming or more often periodical updates to engagement protocols, not in-the-field adaptations.
- Synthmarines have a small receptacle built into their backs that is able to hold and charge an Eyebot for recon purposes.
- Synthmarines often carry inbuilt medkits, though they lack the tactile finesse to provide anything beyond basic first aid.
- Cataphract: Synthmarines are nearly impervious to small arms fire (at least from standard blasters), have no exposed gaps or joints to speak of, and may be able to shoot down incoming projectiles thanks to the integrated Soteria. They can even survive glancing lightsaber strikes!
- Murderbot: Unfeeling and inexorable, with near-flawless accuracy unimpeded by the frailties of the flesh or self-doubt and a reaction time measured in the milliseconds, Synthmarines are killing machines, plain and simple.
- Iron Fists: While not the most agile or creative of combatants, the raw strength of heavy-duty servomotors is more than the overwhelming majority of unmodified organics could ever hope to face head-on.
- Scrupulous: Given the potential havoc a rogue unit could cause and their frequent use as security droids, Synthmarines are bound by restrictive rules of engagement and lack even the slightest hint of feeling or individuality; learn to fight one, learn to fight them all.
- More Dakka: While remarkably resistant to small arms fire, heavier weapons - especially explosives - will take down Synthmarines reliably. The same can be said for disruptors and direct lightsaber strikes, though these are not available to the average soldier.
Serving as the armoured fist of the Globex Security Division, X13 Paladin-series Synthmarines are the epitome of lethal efficiency, designed to match or exceed organic soldiers rather than serve as a cheap alternative. While the corporation itself, especially the Division that designed it, would argue that "each Synthmarine is worth ten men on the field", the truth is naturally more complicated; the droids are durable, deadly, and extremely meticulous, but also famously predictable, even by battle droid standards.
As an example of their scrupulous nature, 99.9% of Synthmarines are hardcoded to avoid harm to noncombatants - certain exceptions exist, most prominently when dealing with "human shields", though this is only when inaction would lead to more fatalities (e.g., about to activate a bomb while holding a hostage) or when a Formal Statement of Necessity is verbally issued, after which a ten second surrender period is mandated...
... once it expires, a Synthmarine will always take the shot. It is, in other words, a coldly calculating deterrent; not infrequently, a hostage taker will surrender at this point or move in a panic, giving the droid a clear shot.
Synthmarines are almost always programmed to shield allied organics, with their own bodies if necessary.
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