Developed by private companies like Lexington-Steele and state-sponsored programs alike, consumers can purchase a vast array of color and module customizable equipment to prevent injury in combat, facilitate increased productivity among laborers, and enable explorers to go where no man has gone before (while also looking as stylish as they desire). Most Assembly species have their own variant of each armor set with only slight differences to accommodate the species' various biological needs.
Most equipment sets are reinforced with sheets of ceramic plating on non-flexible parts of the body to promote durability and safety planet-side. Most hardsuits, have a kinetic barrier generator, life support systems to support the wearer in a variety of environments, and an onboard computer that can provide valuable information about the environment, liaise with terminals to download data, and interface with a wide variety of networks like the Extranet. Some models even allow wearers with AI companions to interface their VI with the hardsuit's onboard computer to access and interpret data faster.
Armor[]
Civilian[]
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Technology[]
Adaptive Reformation[]
When all else fails, adaptive reformers come into play. The last level of protection is provided by the suit's microframe computers, whose input detectors are woven throughout the fabric. These manage the self-healing system, which finds rents in the fabric and, assuming any such tear would wound the flesh underneath, seals the area off with sterile, non-conductive MedAide. This stanches minor wounds and plugs holes in the suit that could prove fatal in a vacuum or toxic environment. The seal is far from comfortable with its slimy and irregular texture, but its advantages far outweigh the minor discomfort a soldier may experience.
Frame Plate[]
If a bullet or other incoming object gets past a hardsuit's barrier, it contends with the suit's more traditional Frame Plate armor. A sealed suit of non-porous ballistic cloth provides kinetic and environmental protection, reinforced by lightweight composite ceramic plates in areas that either don't need to flex or require additional coverage, such as the chest and head. When the armor is hit by directed energy weapons, the plates boil away or ablate rather than burning the wearer: similarly to the TV19 Corvette's experimental Triturative Armor.
Jet Propulsion Pack[]
Jet Propulsion Packs (JPPs, or jump-jets) allow a user to make extremely high jumps or hover for several seconds. The JPP consists of a helium-3 microthruster confined in a tungsten-hafnium carbide casing. A gyroscopic kinetic emitter functions to keep both the user orientated in flight and upright while hovering. Hard-coded safety features prevent continuous operation of jump-jets to avoid injuring the user or melting their equipment.
Kinetic Barriers[]
Kinetic Barriers, commonly called shields, provide protection against most small arms weapons via projections from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair.
The shielding afforded by kinetic barriers does not protect against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation. Such hazards left to the hardsuit's life support systems.
Kinetic Fortifiers[]
Kinetic Fortifiers use high-energy batteries and superconductive devices within the armor to create a Foucault-current effect, essentially a magnetic field that can immobilize metals. The field is triggered by sensors similar to those in a kinetic barrier. It is powerful enough to protect against most modern weapons, but there are drawbacks. The currents cause metallic objects to hold their position relative to one another, and although the field only lasts for a split second, it creates resistance that can slow or fatigue the wearer. Without specialized training, a soldier can quickly become exhausted or stumble at the wrong time.
MedAide Applier[]
MedAide Appliers are wrist-mounted dispensers designed to quickly and efficiently apply MedAide. MedAide-enabled hardsuits are equipped with at least three small reservoirs, one on the user's right hip, another on the left, and the final at the rear, that fuel the dispensers. They may be refueled by any other source of MedAide provided it has not been touched by ultrasound frequencies.
Trailblazer Kit[]
Trailblazer Kits are assortments of equipment designed specifically by Trailblazer Labs to aid and enable Trailblazers to go where no man has gone before. While some opt to carry the entire kit with them, most Trailblazers pick and choose the equipment that best suit their strengths in an effort to lighten up their packs.
The list of available gear is as follows:
- Atmospheric Analyzer: Deployable machine that samples a planet's atmosphere and outputs readings with 98.6% accuracy.
- Biological Sampler: Small back-mounted kit that allows on-the-spot biological sampling.
- Communications Array: Deployable Quantum Entangled communicator that makes up for its significant size by allowing its user to establish instant communication with its paired receiver.
- Linguistic Scrutinizer: Handheld device designed to analyze alien literature and speech to help develop associative meaning and eventually basic translations.
- Maintenance Box: Toolkit for performing maintenance on industrial equipment and vehicles.
- Sample Stash: Waist-mounted container capable of preserving up to thirty small biological samples or ten larger ones.