John Locke
V U L K A N
- Intent: To submit a material for use as a component in later submissions
- Image Source: Voith Infinity
- Canon Link: N/a
- Permissions: N/a
- Primary Source: Duramesh
- Manufacturer: Locke and Key Mechanics
- Affiliation: Company Name Locke and Key Mechanics
- Model: Neithweave
- Modularity: No
- Production: Semi-Unique
- Material: Songsteel, Hodharium, Nanobots, Shell Spider Silk, Nightshadow, Ultrachrome
- Classification: Textile
- Weight: Average
- Color: Black as standard, can be changed if nanobots are reprogrammed
- Resistances:
- Energy (And other Blaster type weapons): Very High
- Kinetic: (Piercing): Very High
- Kinetic: (Bludgeoning): Very Low
- Lightsabers: High
- Sonic: Very Low
- Acid: Very Low
- EMP: Very High
- Elemental: High
- Force: High
- Stealth
- Defences
- Liquid
- E-textile
- Strength boosting
- Blaster Resistance: The defensive ability of the Phrik and the Hodharium combine in a mesh providing the best of both materials, and giving the resultant material a very high resistance to blaster fire.
- Lightsaber Resistance: As a material, Neithweave has a significant resistance to lightsabers. While not a truly lightsaber proof material it is more than capable of taking hits from the signature weapon without being cut through.
- EMP/Ion Resistance: Current e-textiles threaded through with gold fibres provide an element of shielding from Electromagnetic Forces be constructing an effective Faraday cage which provides protection from electrical, Ion and EMP based attacks. The gold fibre running through the fabric also allows the transmission of power through the fabric, allowing it to be used as an etextile.
- Radiation: The density of the metal fibres woven into the Neithweave provide it with a significant level of Radiation shielding. While the weave doesn’t provide the same level of resistance as a wall of the metal, it does provide a significantly superior level of protection when compared to other materials of this type.
- Kinetic Resistance: The strands of Phrik and Hodharium which make up the weave retain the properties of the metal they were spun out from, allowing the Mesh to resist kinetic strikes, preventing most strikes from penetrating the material.
- E-textile: The material contains bundles of spun gold fibres running through it sandwiched into the weave. Gold Fibres are extremely electrically conductive (And are currently used in smart textiles) allowing the bundles to carry power through the textile itself as well as electrical commands, allowing the fabric to act as a connector to computer systems if necessary. The lattice of gold fibres can also be used to create a magnetic field if necessary.
- Liquid: A unique attribute available to the Neithweave thanks to the nanobots used in the construction of the fabric which remained spread through the textile. For a user capable of providing the right commands the nanobots are able to modify the textile in realtime, In effect, this allows the fabric to move, acting like a liquid or a directed piece of cloth.
- Stealth: The fabric is interwoven with strands of Nightshadow that makes it very hard to get a solid sensor lock/image of the fabric. It is able to shed sensors like a duck sheds water, appearing as little more than a ghost, if even that.
- Strength boosting: The nanobots spread through the fabric are designed to react to the user's movement, creating a lattice of fibres that have a similar effect to an exoskeleton, or artificial muscle. While the cloth may not have had the same capabilities as Locke and Key's Myomer Actuation System it was still able to provide a boost over the natural body.
- Kinetic Resistance: Although the weave is able to mostly prevent kinetic attacks from penetrating the mesh it is unable to mitigate the force of the impact which will still be passed through the fabric. Like any soft body armour it will spread the force over a small area, however, the stronger a strike the more likely it is to still impart enough force to cause trauma.
- Sonic Resistance: In the same way that the force of a kinetic strike cannot be truly mitigated by the armour, a sonic attack is all about the impact created. The Neithweave functions as a cloth, albeit an armoured one, meaning that an impact strike will deform the cloth, pressing it against its wearer and transferring the impact. The density of the metal strands might mitigate this somewhat, but the sonic attack is one of the most effective means of countering the weave.
- Chemical/Biological Resistance: The woven structure of the material provides a rough surface at the microscopic level, allowing any chemical agents to gain a hold on the surface of the material and work their way through.
Locke and Key mechanics had some experience constructing high-quality fabrics to be used in their creations, the Duramesh they'd created were still widely used both within the company and by other manufacturers. However, John had started to see the limitations in the material and wanted to create something more capable he could use in those projects that required something a little extra.
The Neithweave was a culmination of John's experience using Duramesh and his plans for the future, a very futuristic and versatile material the Neithweave was the next level of fabric, utilising the advances in nanotechnology and material science to create a tough yet flexible fabric with a myriad of uses.
The Materials
Neithweave is made up of a mix of several materials, both metal and fabric. The base used in the construction of the weave is shell spider silk, a sturdy and capable armour material in its own right, shell spider silk was specifically chosen because it looked so normal, nearly indistinguishable from normal cloth to the untrained eye it imparted the same property to the weave, while at the same time being more than capable of stopping a blaster bolt in it's own right. Additional fibres were woven into the Shell Spider Silk to provide additional benefits.
Thinly spun strands of Songsteel were then threaded through the fabric to provide additional protection. While the strands failed to provide the same level of protection as a solid plate of songsteel might, it still enhanced the shell spider silk's natural resistance to blasters while providing a strong level of protection against penetrative kinetic strikes and other attacks. John chose to use Songsteel over his go-to armour material of Phrik because of the metal's weight, songsteel was considerably lighter, making the Neithweave a fabric that could be worn much more easily than the heavier Duramesh. The Songsteel fibres were further reinforced with spun fibres of Hodharium, providing additional durability and a level of protection from the force.
The final material component of the weave was the ultrachrome fibres that were threaded through the fabric. Although Ultrachrome had significant defensive properties in its own right, John was more interested in an alternate ability of the metal. Ultrachrome was perhaps one of the best superconductors in the galaxy. The network of ultrachrome threads running through the fabric had three purposes.
1) To provide an effective Faraday cage, providing protection from emp, ion and electrical-based attacks
2) To provide a system to transfer power to armour components.
3) To allow the fabric to be used as a connector to computers and other circuits.
Nanobots
The largest difference between the Neithweave and Locke and Key's previous Duramesh came in the form of the nanobots infused throughout the fabric. Originally used as part of the construction, allowing for a better, tighter weave with the metallic fibres more evenly distributed. The original plan was for the nanobots to construct the fabric and leave it at that when John was struck by a brainwave. The nanobots could be used to enhance and adjust the fabric in real-time. By breaking down and reassembling it, they were able to give the fabric almost liquid-like qualities while at the same time maintaining the integrity and properties of the fabric.
The nanobots could also be used to recolour the fabric at will and to act as a basic exoskeleton, increasing the strength and agility of the wearer to some degree. It's not a match to powered armour or myomer, but its a significant improvement over a natural organic.
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