13 M1 - Term: 1, Round: 1 (2/2)
”The Medium exo mobility drops down to status quo. The increased strength and armour weight eat up all the gains. It has jump jets with a thirty-second burn time, whether used all at once or tiny spurts. Its strength multiplier is two, allowing the wearer to use the heaviest weapons. A forty kilogram minigun is possible even for a small cadet. A strong one will be able to run and carry it as if it were a twenty-kilo lightweight mod. And its damage reduction and absorption are double that of light. It can take quite a hit.”
”The heavy requires a strong person with adequate stamina to operate. Due to its armour and strength mods, it is the slowest exo by far. It will reduce the pilot's speed by a factor of zero point eight. About twenty percent. It has enough fuel to allow the jump jets to operate for thirty seconds. It can wield the largest weapons, and the strength multiplier is five. You can punch through concrete walls with this exo. Its armour's absorption and damage reduction are double that of the medium. It would be truly difficult to take down, and under direct fire, in a one on one it will always win assuming it can hit its target as often as it is getting hit.” Mace finished her description.
Exo Type Strength Armour Mobility JumpJet
Factor (X) Value Factor (X) (runtime s)
Standard Mesh 1.2 10 1.5 45
Standard Light 1.5 20 1.25 30
Standard Medium 2 40 1 30
Standard Heavy 5 80 0.8 30
”You really know your stuff,” Picard observed.
Daedo thought about the descriptions, in truth he only had a passing familiarity.
Daedo: have you found anything in addition to that information
Myrmidon: the lighter exos can be tweaked for gains in mobility whereas the heavy ones gain in armour are difficult with no advancement in the alloy material. I think we could get higher gains from lighter mechs. Loadouts will be a determining factor as well.
”I will take a light exo, I think I will be able to tweak it more than the other types, and it will support most weapons I would use,” Daedo said, ”but really everyone else needs to pick an exo which suits their strengths, style and weapon choice.”
”What about strategic group makeup?” Vannier asked.
”I don't think we are ready for that yet, we know too little about each other and the suits. For all, we know seven mesh suits would be the best strategy,” Daedo replied.
”I like fast suits and dual pistols,” Axelzero said, ”I think I would go mesh or light, what do you think Daedo?”
”If you choose light, then we can double down on any gains I can come up with,” he answered.
”What weapon are you thinking of using Picard?” Vannier asked her squadmate.
”Railgun, two-handed, it does the most damage at the range if you are accurate and I can use it with a light exo as well,” she answered.
”I am a good shot with a Railgun as well,” Vannier said, ”we will be a duo.”
That left Mace.
”Can you add enough strength to the light for the loadout to hold forty kilos of traps?” she asked.
Daedo thought about it.
”What weapons?” he asked.
”Launcher,” she replied.
”Ah, so you launch most of your traps?” Daedo asked.
”Some are off the shelf usable with the launcher, all the grenade types, EMP, Smoke. And we could try and modify a trip, mimic and cloggers for the launcher, otherwise they are thrown,” she answered.
”Do you know how much you can carry in combat?” Daedo asked Mace.
”Last time we played in the AR arena, with a bodysuit, I could carry a twenty-kilo loadout,” she answered.
He was genuinely impressed, for a girl of her size, fighting with twenty kilos, even if some was strapped to her body, was a feat.
”So I would need to get it from one point five to a strength factor of two?” he surmised, ”I really can't say until I spend a weekend on it. We are assuming that I can tweak it a little, but that is a massive increase,” he said.
”If you can it would be ideal, the mobility of the light will enhance the launchers hit and run style,” she said, ”I can assist you with the modifications as well. It is something I can do.”
Daedo nodded. He was not surprised, Mace was rank three behind Vannier and always spoke intelligently.
”It looks like we will be a light brigade,” Vannier stated.
”What about Gaumont?” Axelzero asked.
Daedo shrugged, ”he can do his own thing.”
”We should do something to bring him into the team,” Vannier suggested.
”That's your speciality,” Picard accused Vannier.
”I know, but, we have nothing in common,” Vannier said.
”Just praise him,” Picard said, ”he seems like the type who needs an ego boost.”
Vannier nodded in acceptance of her role of team binder.
”If we book out the lights, store them in our rooms, where do we work with them on the weekend if not here in the bay using the tools provided?” Daedo asked.
”Can we take them offsite?” Picard asked.
”We will have to check the rules,” Axelzero answered.
Daedo: Myrmidon can you check the rules regarding exo handling and if there are any limitations to modifying.
Myrmidon: we should work on them at home on the weekend. Your Fathers workshop has all these tools and more, and he has a high amount of experience.
Daedo: we would need permission, and we will need to purchase more tools and instruments.
Myrmidon: the rules preclude taking any mech or exo off campus. With two exceptions, repair bays in the Paris district, they must be logged in and out and in approved competitions.
Daedo: what are the restrictions that surround repair bays?
Myrmidon: there is a definition of a repair bay. It also needs to be registered, which is not in the rules, but in the procedure for shipping equipment to a repair bay. I will investigate further.
”We may have to tweak them here,” Daedo said.
”It's not a bad thing, it will just be crowded on the weekend,” Axelzero stated.
”I like the sound of our own workshop if we can make it work,” Mace said.
”I will ask Master Nader,” Vannier said, ”she may be able to help and let us know if there is a precedent.”
”If we do get an offsite workshop, a few of us are going to have to purchase tools, instruments and equipment,” Daedo informed them.
”It will not be a problem, my company, Vannier's and Barran's can supply most of the gear,” Axelzero said.
Master Nader: Daedo, Vannier, Axelzero, Mace and Picard report to my office immediately.