A SCALE (Shaped Containment Armor Layer Element) is a small device that looks like a scale-shaped piece of plastic. It is capable of creating a small energy containment field around itself, shaping that field to an extent, and projecting power into the field it has created. Multiple SCALEs together are able to replicate the effects of traditionally devoted systems, such as basic beam weaponry, boosters, and shield projectors.

With an endless amount of options, it is the user's creativity and proficiency, not raw technical specs, that has the greatest impact on the success of this highly flexible system.

Developed for use in Noval's power suit, armor, and weapon products beginning in YE 42.

From the start, Noval's researches realized that customization is a key component behind a power armor user's satisfaction. Given the wide array of mission parameters, job functions, and so forth, this seemed like a natural conclusion.

Moment-to-moment customization became a key pillar of Noval's military-oriented research. Early research into nanotechnology seemed promising, but the cost of production and feasibility as a technology platform proved prohibitive. The concept of nanotechnology, however, stuck with the researchers. An armor coating that could change shape and achieve a variety of purposes seemed ideal for their purposes.

Accordingly, the team began to scale up the concept. These larger 'centimachines' were unable to easily reproduce or rearrange themselves, but they could easily fit more powerful technology. Energy field manipulation devices, capacitors, energy projectors, and a smart, networked control unit were all put into this new form factor. The result of their work was the Shaped Containment Armor Layer Element or 'SCALE'.

As an individual device, the SCALE can generate a small shield around itself or emit bright light. As more SCALEs work together, they can achieve more impressive effects depending on their arrangement and available power.

The solution to the SCALE's inability to rearrange itself was a proprietary liquid metal blend called Rebinder. Rebinder is capable of rapidly changing its shape, which in turn changes the orientation of the SCALEs in the affected area. The material is also used to create structural reinforcement to protect its user against impacts and collisions, including those caused by the user.

Cumulatively, the effect of a surface covered in SCALEs is a look and feel akin to the skin of a reptile.

Each SCALE is a thin sandwich composed of an outer shell of Madite and an inner set of components that can release energy and manipulate local energy fields. These components are shielded against outside influence, but freely network with other SCALEs sharing the same encrypted key. When combined with other SCALEs, their ability to manipulate and shape energy fields extends and allows them to recreate other systems.

By default, each SCALE produces a small electromagnetic conformal shield in its local area. Combined with other SCALEs, a strong, uniform shield is formed that outmatches normal shield systems in redundancy and precision of coverage.

Groupings of SCALEs can be swiftly rearranged to create different effects. These groupings are known as 'SCALE Forms'. Creating a SCALE Form comes at the cost of reduced shield coverage in that area. It is possible to lose shield coverage entirely if too many SCALEs are dedicated to another purpose.

Some example SCALE Forms are:

• Buckler - This Form is typically generated on the forearm. It creates a non-conformal shield of variable size that is projected in front of the 'buckler' Form.
• Beam Cannon - A basic energy cannon Form, similar in output to a pistol or rifle, depending on how many SCALEs are used. In this Form, SCALEs are arranged to create a barrel and emitter structure. Energy is generated and fired out of a magnetic bottle created by the SCALEs that make up the barrel.
• Thrusters - This Form creates an energy priming chamber and thrust vectoring system. The propulsion generated by the Form depends on its scale, but it is ultimately restricted by available energy. As such, the top speed of all products capable of supporting SCALE Thruster Forms will be provided within that product's technical specifications.
• Energy Blade - A simple energy blade formed by arranging a number of SCALEs into a series approximately the size of a combat knife. The blade covers the SCALEs themselves and projects an equal distance forwards. In the standard forearm configuration, this means that the maximum length of the energy-only portion of the blade is equivalent to the user's forearm length.
• Light Emitter - A low-powered version of the other Forms. Essentially an overly diffuse laser, the light emitter can be used as a flashlight, to blind opponents, or to shed excess energy as harmless light.

Each example can be formed anywhere that sufficient SCALEs are present. The output of a given Form is determined by how many SCALEs are contributed to its creation. For example, many SCALEs could be combined into a single large thruster capable of rapidly achieving the top speed of a given host system. Those same SCALEs could, instead, be formed into many smaller thrusters that could be used for maneuverability purposes.

It is not possible to detach SCALEs from the host system (e.g., a power armor) and still utilize them as a weapon or shield. While each SCALE is able to maintain a small energy reserve, it is not able to provide sufficient energy to maintain weapon or shield configurations without an external power source.

Whisper created this article on 2020/01/04 16:03.

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