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[ECN] Sestina Infantry Combat Armour

Moon Doll's Twin

Inactive Member
Sestina Infantry Combat Armour
Designed, like many recent Elysian weapons, as a cheap and easily mass-producable defensive measure, the Sestina is the standard armament of a Plebeian infantryman. The Sestina is NOT an infantry power armour (the Cestus Infantry Power Armor, in development, is intended to manage the elite of Plebeian infantry) and should not be confused as one. It is, rather, an armoured suit which offers notable damage resilience and a number of enhancements and techniques to the infantryman so equipped.

In appearance, the Sestina appears something like full plate armor, interlocking over the entire body of the Plebeian. The forearms are rather wider than proportional on a Plebeian body, as they each house a high-yield rechargeable/replacable battery cell. The legs appear as a "skirt" of sorts. The wings are sheathed in arced sheafs, and the head is protected by a helmet which connects seamlessly with the rest of the armor. There are no sharp corners on the Sestina, everything is rounded, and has a swept-back appearance. In coloration, the Sestina is glossy white with bands of sky blue on the forearms, lower 'skirt', and wing sheafs. The armor adds a mere 8cm of height and girth to the wearer, and weighs about 16 kilogrammes.

Donning the Sestina armor is a process of three to four minutes. The armor latches at the back, and the smart-polymer will stretch to better fit the wearer. It is four pieces (greaves, torso, skirt, and helmet), all of which latch together seamlessly once the armor is activated.

The armor is composed of three basic layers. Against the skin is a 4cm layer of a smart-polymer which absorbs a high degree of the force of attacks. This layer is laced with electrical nodes which stimulate the muscles of the wearer, significantly increasing strength and reflexes. The combination of heightened physical strength (though results vary somewhat, one can typically exert an additional 50 to 65 kg of pressure while so stimulated; lifting capacities tend to increase by 100 to 130 kg) and the lessening of kinetic force make this an excellent complement to the highly reflective/refractory Aspis infantry shield. The enhanced strength and reflexes also allows for a slightly faster speed on foot (not dramatically so) and generally superior performance with xiphos and phaelaes. The electrical impulse is powered by the battery cells in the forearms. Each cell can power the armor for 12 hours, allowing for a total 24 hour maximum range before needing to be recharged. The batteries can also be replaced if they are exhausted in combat, this process takes about forty seconds for a soldier properly trained in the Sestina. A battery cell weighs 0.3 kilogrammes.

The second layer of the armor rests over the polymer base, a 3cm set of interlocking and overlapping plates of Aggregated Diamond Nanorods. Over the legs, the ADNR layer is twofold - one snugly against the polymer coating, and a second thinner 'skirt' over the rest. The refractive and protective properties of ADNR are immense - ADNR can withstand a pressure of 492 gigapascals (GPa). In comparison, kevlar can withstand 3, and IIa Diamond can withstand roughly 200. The refractory properties of ADNR allow it to withstand temperatures well in excess of 2,000 Celsius. Thusly physical blows against the Sestina need a huge amount of force to be effectively felt by the soldier, and it takes a lot of energy to break through...

The last layer is a superconductive grid protected by a very thin ( < 1mm ) layer of ultrahard fullerite. This allows elctrical energy and EMPs to disperse harmlessly over the perimeter of the armor. Ultrahard fullerite can withstand around 320 GPa, and has similar refractory qualities to ADNR.

The helmet of the Sestina is composed in the same way as the rest of the armor, however it contains a number of sensory systems directly interfaced with the brain of the infantryman. A combination of radar, sonar, heat, and magnetic resonance sensors work in a radius of ten kilometres. Additionally, the one actual weapon of the Sestina is controlled by neural impulse through the interfacing in the helmet. All told, the helmet is somewhat thicker and better protected than the rest of the armor, the ADNR layer being 4.5 centimetres thick.

The 'weapon' of the Sestina is mounted on top of the forearm, opposite the battery cell, on either arm. This is a small EMP generator, capable of creating a strong radio pulse in a 15m radius. This is powered directly by the battery cells, and each pulse reduces approximate operating time by about an hour. The hyperconductive layer of the Sestina renders it nicely immune to its own EMP, and to other EMPs which may go off.
 
This seems condradictory.

It says it isn't a power armor, but it increases strength of the wearer. It says it is "cheap and easily mass-producable" yet includes some cost intensive materials like smart polymers and diamond nanorods.
 
I think he means that while it is a powered armor, it isn't as heavier system as say, the Mindy or the Kylie and isn't within the settings' traditional definitions of power-armor.

Or something.
 
Wes said:
This seems condradictory.

It says it isn't a power armor, but it increases strength of the wearer. It says it is "cheap and easily mass-producable" yet includes some cost intensive materials like smart polymers and diamond nanorods.
I was of the belief there is a difference between a power armor and an armor system which happens to use power and simple electrical premises.

Smart polymers may be expensive, this I concede... but ADNR can be synthesized today with remarkably less effort than one would think [German researchers first accomplished this almost 2 years ago]; it was discovered initially through experimentation on ultrahard fullerite - another relatively cheap synthetic. And I mean that by standards of today. I just... don't see it being very expensive in a setting like this.

I can make edits as necessary, of course - but as I said. For the most part this uses nothing that won't be possible in the real world in a matter of a decade or less.
 
Actually the distinction would be more like between - 'power armour' and 'powered armour'. A power armour is effectively a walking suit of armour with complex integrated systems and - in this setting - usually the ability to fly etc. In addition in a Mindy and a PHALANX is one actually using your own supplemented strength, or simply the strength of the armour?

Now this is not so much 'power armour' as a advanced piece of infantry armour/uniform. It isn't particularly large, does not have many systems, does not hold itself upright once taken off (in that regard being far more like a normal suit of armour) and simply supplements the wearers strength. In all fairness the Dusk-b armour increased the users strength, but it wasn't called a power armour.

Perhaps the closest thing to what this is in Sci-Fi is a 'Skinsuit', although this is just slightly thicker than the usual.
 
In addition in a Mindy and a PHALANX is one actually using your own supplemented strength, or simply the strength of the armour?
Stop! Grammar time.

You can't use "in addition" to start a question; it's for statements, man. Plus, there should be a comma after it (unless it's "in addition to"). Also, "one" doesn't match with "your."

Anyway, when a Nekovalkyrja is in a Mindy, the Mindy has direct control over the pilot's muscular (and peripheral nervous) systems, so its muscles and the pilot's muscles function as a single unit.
 
Point taken. However I still think there is a significant difference between 'power armour', which is highly complicated and effectively either a walking tank or a small starship, and a powered armour - which is like armour which helps your movement with synthetic muscles.
 
Since armor can stand freely without a wearer (as seen in many museums) and a suit cannot (for example, a protection or HEV suit) perhaps the term might be...

PowerSuit/Powered Suit?
 
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