A Bit Rusty

[Krenis Skirata]

@Rusty

Krenis paused, checking behind him out of habit. People had taken to following him around. Whether they were paparazzi, Republic or Sith intelligence, common thieves, or a bodyguard, he wasn't sure. Frankly, he didn't care. Nor did he want any of them knowing about this meeting. He'd already lost one on this trip and it didn't seem anyone was following him at this time. Not unless they were a clawdite, which was a possibility.

He had requisitioned a budget and recruits for a new program. A revival of an old one, to be specific, for the training and equippage of a new generation of advanced reconnaissance commandos, with better training and equipment than anything else in the Republic. So to find that, he had begun to look outside the Republic military, looking instead to those independent contractors and engineers, especially those on the fringes.

This was a unique war and one with unique requirements. He was looking for someone to look outside traditional Republic thoughts regarding armor and design something different. Something that could take a soldier and give them the edge to tackle a Sith. Maybe not one on one in most cases, but at least in small groups. Part of that was armor. Part of that was weapons. Hopefully this contract would give the groundwork for such capabilities.

He just had to meet Rusty, of Rusty's Custom Firearms. He had been seeking investors and Krenis had strong-armed himself a few million credits to invest. Not a lot in a galactic scale, but should be enough for what he was wanting. It wasn't enough for an army, but he wasn't trying to create an army. Not even close.

It was clear. He strode from his spot to the arranged meeting point. A shop, from his understanding, or something like that. He strode in, pausing just inside to adjust. Now who was this Rusty?

 

[Rusty]

The Shard had cleared the shop of customers a few minutes before the meeting. His shop was as secure as any building on Dressel, but customers had ears, and while most of his valued discretion, there was always a chance that one would risk his displeasure and sell any information that they might have gleaned to the highest bidder.

"Howdy," Rusty said to the fellow as he entered the shop.

He wasn't sure if the guy was supposed to be Republic or Sith or one of the million Imperial groups that had sprouted up as of late, but he didn't much care. The proposition had called for armor, and brought with it the prospects of investors. The Shard was quite happy with his business as it was, but it was clear that demand was straining the limits of what he could provide on his own. His only choices were either to drive up costs to cover the cost of expansion, or let someone else foot the bill in exchange for product.

If he could get a contract with one of the major powers that had carved out a chunk of the galaxy for themselves, even a small one, it would represent a massive vote of confidence on their part. That in turn would signal to other investors that maybe this pokey little gun shop in the Mid Rim was worth a look.

"What can I do for you today?"

[member="Krenis Skirata"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

[member="Rusty"]

Krenis paused through the door, letting his eyes adjust. It was empty, save for Rusty himself. Excellent. He strode forward again to get in a better conversation distance. Once last glance outside. It all seemed clear again. Excellent and now it was time for business. He pulled a datapad from his utility belt and slid it across to the other man.

"Howdy," Krenis responded and continued to answer the question. "I'm creating an... elite unit for the Galactic Republic," The words were chosen carefully and with great precision to not give out information that might otherwise be best kept secret. The man was known for his discretion, but it was always better to be careful. "And I need armor made for them, possibly weapons if the contract is enough to cover them all."

He activated the datapad, pulling up a draft of a contract between RCFC and the Galactic Republic Army for a certain Project Dandelion.

"I have been authorized to invest a few million credits. Is that reasonable?"

 

[Rusty]

If Rusty had lungs, he would have choked.

"Uh, yeah," he said in a somewhat pained manner, "I believe that's plenty reasonable."

Please, please let this guy be serious, he thought to himself.

He led the soldier over to the design terminal at the edge of the counter.

"Alright, so first things first: what exactly are you looking for in armor? I'm assuming you want something that outperforms the basic trooper plates, but that could mean a lot of things. Are you looking for something heavier that can take a beating, or do you want something light and stealthy? There are as many options as stars in the sky. Fair warning: I don't have access to exotics like phrik or cortosis. We can do a lot more with standard materials than you might think, but there aren't enough credits in the galaxy to outfit your boys in lightsaber proof armor, unless you've got a stash of the good stuff somewhere."

[member="Krenis Skirata"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

[member="Rusty"]

Krenis suppressed a smile at the man's surprise. Not many got the offer of an investment of several million credits, let alone a small custom shop like this one. It was most certainly a surprise and highly unusual, but it was exactly the type of direction he needed for an unusual unit such as this. He followed along behind to the design terminal, listening as the man spoke. He crossed his arms, considering. Special ores such as those were unimportant. A creative soldier could work around all those easily enough. Same went for lightsabers and the Force. His time with the Mandalorians had taught him that much.

"We don't need any of the exotics," He said after a moment, "Sith will expect that. Need something that combines mobility, durability, and in-built weapon capabilities." This time he did smile, although only a tiny smile. "Mandalorians have a long history of killing Sith and Jedi. It seems reasonable to utilize their tactics, along with new developmens."

Krenis began to pace, tapping his chin. "Lightweight enough to be able to nearly match Sith, fight faster than Sith soldiers and those Vong warriors, strong enough to handle blaster and Vong weaponry. Carrying enough weapons to give plenty of options in combat. Secured communications, capable of supporting the soldier through independent combat operations against numerically superior opponents."

 

[Rusty]

Rusty nodded and began absentmindedly manipulating the controls of the design console.

The starting point was the standard plastoid trooper armor that had been used for centuries. The reason the design had stuck around for so long was simple: it worked. Well, mostly. The plates were near impervious to handheld kinetic weapons, and had limited resistance to blasterfire. They were already about as light as you could get and still be considered armor. However, there was far too much of it. The armor encompassed more or less the entire body, and that reduced mobility.

With that in mind, the Shard began deleting unnecessary pieces. The shin guards, for instance, were largely unnecessary and could be removed altogether. The thigh plates were entirely too much. He reduced the size and coverage area so they still protected the vital femoral artery and would provide some coverage for the femur, but now the soldiers would be able to run unencumbered. Armored kneepads would protect the knees.

The codpiece might be comforting to male troopers, but in all honesty, it was more decorative than functional. If one got shot in the genitals, with or without the armor, surgical reconstruction was going to be required.

The chest, back, and stomach plates were also far too large. The chest and back plates were reduced so that, when facing the enemy, the vital organs were protected, but they still allowed the trooper to bend and twist more naturally. That would be vital for hand to hand combat.

The pauldrons were reshaped almost entirely. Since the chest and back plates no longer covered the clavicle, a segmented portion that would still allow for full range of motion was added. It extended up to the neck, and went down to the top of the bicep. The biceps themselves were left uncovered. Armor over them was not essential, and would slow down a fighter.

Armored elbow pads would protect the vulnerable joint while still allowing for a full range of motion.

The vambraces were left intact. While a shot to the biceps could be incapacitating, any damage at all to the forearms and wrist would render them useless. On top of that, it was the best place to sneak in weapons and a datapad.

The hands would be encased in armorweave gloves with hardened durasteel inserts covering the knuckles.

The rest of the bodysuit would also now be made from armorweave. It was a little more expensive than the original material, but would provide better protection overall. Armorweave, even the lower grade stuff that the project's budget would call for, was hell on wheels for stopping blasterfire. It could stand up to a lot of abuse, far more than the original plates.

What it wasn't so good at, however, was stopping kinetic energy, which is why the plates were still included in the design. The extra mass shed from the deleted items would go to the existing plates, as well as a thin layer of tungsten and ceramic ablative that would provide extremely limited protection from lightsabers. It wouldn't save them from death from a solid strike, but with the energy blades, even a glancing blow could be fatal. That, however, wasn't the main focus. The main focus for the plates was protection from things like blades or bullets. And for that, they would be well suited.

"Alright, so that's my basic idea so far," Rusty said. "The main expense in all of this will be the equipment to produce it. If you've got a millions with an "s" credits to spend, I can easily turn out a few hundred sets and still have plenty left over for weapons and comms gear. Is this going down the right path, or did you have something else in mind?"

[member="Krenis Skirata"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

[member="Rusty"]

Krenis followed him over to the design console, crossing his arms to watch the process. It was fascinating, really. Not something he had ever seen the process of before. Usually he'd just get armor issued to him, either from Kaminoan armorsmiths or some other mass-produced suit. Mandalorians were a little different, but they pulled on a great deal of tradition for that. He had never seen an entirely new suit of armor get designed, let alone one with an entirely different perspective than most of what he had been surrounded by.

"No..." He said after a moment of examining the design, "I think that will be perfect, especially with comms and weapon systems. And don't worry about if I have millions. I do. Should be plenty for an order of a few hundred, based on what you described."

He shifted along the console, looking at it from different angles, tapping his fingers along his forearm. "What were you thinking helmet-wise? Not something I'd want to be on a battlefield without, especially with integrated comm and weapons control system possibilities."

This appeared to be quite the impressive set of armor, especially given its minimalist philosophy. Speed and technique would be paramount in its use, evading fire more than absorbing it, especially when engaging Sith. They didn't have the resources to make even his small program armor made from phrik or cortosis. They would have to work with other things and use them the best they could. More effective that way and carried its own tactical surprises. Everyone prepared for phrik or cortosis now. It was unorthodox uses of orthodox materials that nobody ever considered.

 

[Rusty]

"Comms are easy enough. There are a number of private sector secure commlinks that will easily outperform the standard government issued models. As far as weapons integration goes..."

The Shard pulled up an image of a standard trooper helmet. The first thing to go was the visor. That was a weak point that, simply put, didn't have to be there. Instead, he placed a series of tiny high resolution cameras all around the helmet, in addition to two more powerful models fitted with zoom functionality where the visor had been. This would provide two advantages: powerful binocular vision in front, with the option for the troopers to see in a 360 degree panoramic arc as well.

Infrared functionality was built in, as well as a small millimeter wave radar that, while not excessively powerful, would allow the troopers to see in complete darkness. The radar had a limited range, only about 30 meters, but it would be a boon in close quarters. Kill the lights on a ship, and the troopers would be able to move in complete darkness, without having to rely on IR spotlights.

All of this was fed back to the trooper by a high resolution, full color viewscreen that would not only feed them real time images, but had a configurable HUD built in that could be tied into the weapons system. It would be able to display the number of rounds left, temperature readings, and if the weapon was equipped with the right attachments, could display the point of aim and the range to the target.

"Am I heading in the right direction?"

[member="Krenis Skirata"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

[member="Rusty"]

Krenis nodded as he listened, studying the changes and thinking how they would affect the user, including potential drawbacks. The technology involved certainly had its advantages, but it also had its drawbacks. That was obvious, as all things did. One was that they were all electronic. Technology was great, but it was more things that could break down and if the soldier depended on it, well, that would cause issues. He paced for a few moments, picturing himself in that armor and everything that could possibly go wrong.

"Certainly the right direction," He said after a few moments, tapping his chin with his finger. "The technology is vulnerable to EMP weapons. Can we harden against that?"

He wasn't entirely sure how commonly the One Sith used ion weapons but briefings from previous invasions had indicated that they used slicers quite commonly. That would be something else to take into consideration. Unfortunately, most of his slicing information was about eight hundred years out of date, so he wasn't entirely sure how well he could plan, predict, or design anything regarding that.

 

[Rusty]

Rusty nodded.

"We put the vulnerable components in a faraday cage. Wrap them in a conductive foil or something that'll keep 'em safe. Then we put a fuse on the antennas. Despite popular belief, EMPs are not the all powerful killer of circuits that people seem to thing. Most of the time, the energy needs a way in. If we have the vital stuff shielded, that means the only way in is through the antenna."

With a few tweaks to the design, the Shard worked in the fuse.

"Long story short, when the energy coming in exceeds safe levels, the fuse fries. It'll temporarily disable the comms, but a fuse is an easy fix, and it'll protect the rest of the system. It's not a perfect fix, but then again, there's no such thing as a perfect solution."

[member="Krenis Skirata"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

[member="Rusty"]

Krenis nodded as he listened. They were all doing a great deal of nodding by this point, which was good. Nodding meant things were being accomplished. That was a good point and he gave a half smile at the comment about EMPs not being all-powerful circuit killers.

"If army engineers remembered that, maybe they wouldn't spend so much on it. But no matter, this looks like a much more effective solution and not near as expensive, by all appearances."

He peered more closely at the design. "I like it and we can work with blown fuses easily enough."

Yes, they could certainly be a battlefield hazard, but a small fix like that was far superior to having to fix the entire system. With training, they'd all be good enough to replace them quickly and efficiently, with as little time spent vulnerable as they could get away with.

 

[Rusty]

"That sounds like a plan to me," Rusty said. He offered his hand to the commando.

"Come back in a week with the credits and a contract and we'll get this show on the road. In the meantime, I'll finalize the design and get the prepwork started on the facility. We should have the first units rolling off the line in under a month."

[member="Krenis Skirata"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

Krenis nodded and shook the other's hand, giving a genuinely friendly smile, which hardly happened that often. "I'll be there."