Entry #12: On Armor (Extra Document) · 3:01pm Aug 1st, 2012
The following is an audio recording made during a Trade Order Marine training session, in the TOM Training facility in Karak.
Initializing audio file...
A loud, rough male voice is heard.
"Allright you swarm of bleeding snagworms(1)! Today's lesson in uplifting you from the pile of shit from which you came involves the one piece of equipment that'll be saving your sorry ass more times than anyone in their right minds would think neccesary: The Mark two Integrated Combat Suit!"
"Recuit Blue Rose! What is the purpose of the Mark two ICS!?"
Another voice is heard. Female, young and very nervous.
"Sir! To protect us from enemy fire, Sir!"
"And what other functions does the Mark two ICS posses, recuit Blue Rose!?"
There is a pause.
"Recuit Blue Rose! I asked you a fracking question!"
"Sir! I don't know, Sir!"
"Damn right you don't! That's why I'm instructing you and not the other way around, you little thief(2)! Now give Recuit Valdaya her wallet back!"
There is silence, only broken by faint swearing. It ceases immediately.
"To continue our lesson, the ICS is made up of three layers, each designed to be used in conjunction with the other two! The first layer is a full-body enviromental suit, which I'm sure you ladies will come to appreciate, as you will be sent abso-fracking-lutely everywhere, by it a goddamn paradise, or the deepest, most poisonous, radioactive shithole in the galaxy!
"The next layer is the armor component itself. It is composed of plates of multi-layer ceramic armor interweaved with a special home-made mix of the toughest shit we could afford! Note that the armor weighs one hundred and twenty eight kilograms, which is why it comes with a built-in exoskeleton with servomotor assistance!
"Do not attempt to use the armor without the servomotor assist on! You will hurt youselves, and if I hear that any of you maggots got landed in a hospital by your own damn armor, I will drop a Kodiak on your ass! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?"
The entire class responds at once.
"SIR! YES, SIR!"
"Good. The servomotor assist is operated by sensors on the first layer, which connects to the computer on the back of the armor! Miss pony here will need a weapons arm integrated into the armor, unless she plans on not shooting anything!
"The suit runs on three L-sized power cells, which are good for three months of operation!
"The third and final layer is a full-body suit of high-strength Xzylar ballistic armor, designed to soak up shrapnel, provide camuflage, lower thermal signature and keep all the shit you'll end up rolling in from fracking up the servos!
"The last piece of the ICS is the helmet! It is made of the same stuff as the armor, and interfaces with both the first and second layer through the neck ring! As you can see, it fully encloses the head, is completely hermetic, and the connection between it and the armor layer prevents something from twisting your head off! The helmet will provide you with broadcast comunications, PPS (3), general health readout, IFF, and ammunition count!
"That will be all! Now you'll be heading outside, where I have some nice, relaxing obstacle courses for you frackers to do!"
There are barely contained groans of mild despair, along with one cry of "My wallet! Fracking horse has my wallet"
Audiofile ends.
(1): Snagworms, a particularly loathsome pest native to Karak, it is a worm about a foot long, and very thick. They give a pungent smell when dead.
(2): Recuit Blue Rose's cutie mark is a hoof picking a pocket. Combined with her almost compulsive need to steal everything not nailed down and/or on fire, this has earned her some notoirety.
(3): Planetary Positioning System.
I predict that this is not the last time we see Ms. Blue Rose.
Well... I hope not. It would be interesting to see a kleptomaniac pony loot Twilight of a few books
... or Captain Rarity's Wallet 
.
But, if it's a cupcake...
>Combined with her almost compulsive need to steal everything not nailed down and/or on fire
This is me in every Bethesda game I've ever played.
GET OUT OF MY HEAD, CHARLES.
*or the deepest, poisonous, radioactive shithole in the galaxy!* most poisonous
Think Blue Rose spent a bit too much time playing RPGs as a filly.
So the ponies get servo arms, wonder how many they can fit? Given that unlike the Elcor they have a neck worth mentioning I would guess their ‘side-arm’ would be built into or onto the helmet. Probably a laser pistol to remove potential recoil issues.
I've never understood the compulsion to steal everything not nailed down or on fire...
I mean, that's why prybars and fire extinguishers were invented, am I right?
263469
Nope! She'll be appearing in the next chapter, when I get around to writing it.
263575
Blue Rose never could afford a videogame console. Amongst other things.
One or two, no more. If you need a reason, go to your friendly neighbourhood paintball range and try keeping track of two separate weapons while everyone is shooting you.
It should be noted that lasers have spectacularly short range compared to kinetic weaponry. The main advantage is that you can hook them up to an ICS's power supply, that their damage is done over time, and that they are extremely precise.
263665
But then it's no longer nailed down or on fire.
263524
Bethesda does that to everyone who plays their games.
I read the instructor's lines in the voice of Sergeant Dornan from "Fallout 2".
You MO-ROOOONN!! Where is your power armor?!?