Modular Environment Suits

Suits


GUARDIAN MK IV

The Guardian MkIV Modular Environment Suit is the last word in ballistic protection. Designed and used in the last few conflicts on Earth, the suit is made to protect the user from bullets and shrapnel. The Guardian's focus on combat protection means it is generally lacking in actual environmental protection. It can only protect the user from extreme temperatures for a limited amount of time and its oxygen supply is minimal. Additionally, the suit does not feature Guardian's latest blast-protection technology, so the user is not immune from blast waves.


GUARDIAN MK V

The Guardian MkV MES is an updated version of the hugely popular MkIV. Its focus is less on ballistic protection and more on keeping the user isolated from environmental threats. That said the suit functions relatively well against firepower, but does not match the standard set by the Mk IV. The Mk V comes with Guardian's blast-protection technology as standard. The system works by expanding a series of airbags inside the suit to cushion the user from shockwaves and any impacts they might suffer as a result of a blast. Whilst the Mk V cannot match the standards of more specialist suits, it is certainly more capable than the MkIV when it comes to environmental protection. The MkV's specially designed materials insulate well against extreme heat and cold, but the suit features only a basic active temperature management system. When the suit is put in intense heat or cold for too long, the user will eventually suffer the effects.


INTREPID K SERIES

Intrepid's K series suit was a commercial failure at the time of its production. The company had attempted to compete with Guardian's MkIV series suit, but failed to produce a MES with anywhere near the same ballistic protection. Instead what was created was an exploration suit with disappointing ballistic protection but an exceptional ability to keep the user alive and comfortable in basically any environment. The suit failed to meet the demands of the time, but several years later the K series has become far more relevant. The K series features ceramic ballistic plates which tend to break and become useless once they are hit. Intrepid responded to criticisms over this cost-cutting design by stating that the plates do stop rounds and can be replaced easily between engagements. The company also stressed the suit's tear resistant qualities, and its ability to not only protect the user from extremes in temperature, but also the most dangerous chemical and radioactive threats. Needless to say the suit has an ample air supply and its patented Coolmaster technology keeps the user comfortable regardless of the ambient temperature.


INTREPID P SERIES

After the failure of the K series, Intrepid decided to take a new approach entirely. The P series was eventually produced (after several failed trial designs) as an answer to Intrepid's marketing problems. The P series made no attempts to disguise itself as a combat suit. Its kevlar weave wouldn't even stop rifle rounds. Instead Intrepid had designed the P series MES to be the be-all end-all of environmental protection. The flagship feature of the P series is a dedicated semi-aware intelligence tasked with ensuring the comfort and safety of the user. The intelligence gives the user advice and instructions in emergency situations and includes features such as a non-linguistic suit control system which uses coded finger movements to take orders from the user. Unlike any suit of its day, the P series features a recycling air supply, which uses an on-board miniature reactor to produce fresh air for the user. The P series even comes with a feature to induce hibernation in the user in the direst of situations. Unfortunately for Intrepid, their gamble did not pay off. The suit was considered needlessly complex, and once again Guardian thrashed the company in sales. Intrepid became bankrup a year after rolling the P series out. The designs for both Intrepid suits were bought by Guardian, who sold them in turn to EarthGov for use in the upcoming space exploration project.


YVERIN HAMMER

The Yverin Hammer suit is built with multiple layers of redundant systems. It is easily the most reliable suit available. The life support has three tiers of functioning which can all operate seperately if the other two are destroyed. The Hammer's ballistic protection is provided by simple hardened steel plates, which, whilst heavy, provide a similar level of protection to the Guardian Mk V MES. Where the Yverin MES falls down is extreme environmental stress. Whilst its systems are all but indestructible, their actual performance is low. In high or low heat environments the user will definitely become uncomfortable.


HAVOK LOKI

Havok's Loki suit is the MES of choice in training institutions across the planet. The suit's protective functions rival the Yverin Hammer's, and are less disappointing when it comes to environmental isolation. Havok's advertisement department struggled to find a selling point for what was essentially a middle-of-the-road jack-of-all-trades suit. They struck gold when Havok "found" an early version of Intrepid's P series intelligence. Havok's programmers applied their own style to the interface, resulting in one of the most striking suit interfaces available. The Loki comes equiped with a basic intelligence which operates in two modes. Combat mode provides useful information on the user's tactical situation, whilst training mode is designed to verbally berate the user regardless of how they perform in any task. Havok advertised this to EarthGov as "drill instructor mode." Havok fails to accept responsibility for the suit's intelligence's glitchy system. Often the suit will switch randomly from combat mode to training mode. When confronted about this issue, Havok's CEO merely stated, "We stole it from Intrepid, blame those fucking neckbeards." Havok has since been sued for libel, failure to comply with production legislation, and industrial espionage. All fifteen cases are still pending due to Havok's failure to attend any court sessions.


YVERIN PIONEER

The Pioneer is the only mass produced suit aside from the P series able to keep the user alive in space for a long period of time. It is not generally seen as viable for in-atmosphere operations due to its sheer bulk. The Pioneer features solid protection against cosmic rays, stray particles in space, and hard impacts. One of the most useful features of the Pioneer is the so called "maintenance tool", a high powered laser which critics claim is designed to tear open other EVA suits. YVERIN maintains that the tool is for repairs on starship hulls. Havok produces a version of the tool distinguishable only by its neon red design scheme and its name/slogan - "The Incinerator, the closest you'll ever get to a motherfucking flamethrower, in space."



Helmets


GUARDIAN WARRIOR MK I

The Warrior was designed as a matching item to be used with the Mk IV MES. Guardian spent trillions of dollars developing technology to prevent death by hemorrhage in the case of a shot to the head. The result was the CASE system. The workings of the CASE system are so closely guarded that the modular components are designed to self destruct if they are taken apart for analysis. The basics concept of the design seems to be a mix of ablative armour and intelligently controlled force dispersion pads. When an object nears the helmet at high speed, explosives are fired from the helmet, generating a shockwave which slows the projectile and causes it to slew out of its aerodynamic flightpath. As the object hits, the CASE system comes into full effect, and the force is effectively nullified by the inner workings of the helmet. This feature, while highly desirable, leaves little room for additional functionality in the Warrior helmet. The view screen system pioneered by the Warrior Mk I was an undisputed flop. Common complaints centered around the screen's low resolution and occasional lag. The bulky construction and poor visibility of the Mk I led to a nickname Guardian failed to dismiss: "The bucket".


GUARDIAN WARRIOR MK II

The Warrior MkII was a design created to be used with the Mk V MES. Whilst it contains Guardian's flagship CASE system, in the MkII this feature is downscaled. Impacts are felt clearly by the user and can be strong enough to cause major discomfort or even knock them out. They will generally not kill the user however. This down scaling allowed Guardian to improve the Warrior's comfort and usability. The MkII features superior communication systems to the MkI, and is significantly lighter. Additionally, the MkII features an inbuilt oxygen supply which can operate separately to any MES. Much to the relief of users, Guardian substantially improved their viewscreen technology for the Mk II.


GUARDIAN HEADHUNTER

The Headhunter was Guardian's attempt to market a product for Earth's private military corporations. The helmet did not feature the CASE system, but provided protection from bumps, knocks, and glancing hits. Instead of the superior protection of the Warrior series, the Headhunter was equipped with a signal booster to improve communications, and a chemical analysis module. Guardian's stance on the chemical analysis module was that it was for use in determining whether an environment was safe or not. In reality PMCs used the module to verify the DNA of eliminated targets. Unfortunately for Guardian, EarthGov disbanded all PMCs only two years after the release of the Headhunter.


GUARDIAN STALKER

The Stalker was the result of a Guardian/EarthGov contract for a specialist marksman helmet. The helmet, whilst bristling with features was soon beset by technical problems. The selling point of the helmet - it's x16 zoom, was found to be unreliable and blurry. When marksmen tried to dial down the zoom, they found it locked to x16 by Guardian's clunky operating systems. Technical faults aside, this helmet is unparalleled at long range recon tasks... when it works. The Stalker also features a microwave system designed to analyse the thickness and density of armour. The one feature of the Stalker which Guardian dared not cut corners with was comfort. The Stalker is an exceptionally light and comfortable helmet, with surprisingly effective heating and cooling system.


YVERIN SICKLE

The Sickle was made in conjunction with Yverin's Hammer suit. Both the suit and helmet were made on the principles of rugged design and backup systems. The Sickle does not excel in any particular field, but it can keep the wearer alive in extreme situations for a limited time. Yverin responded to critics by stating, "There are a lot of companies producing helmets and suits. Most perform better than our products in trial runs and tests, but a combat situation is not a trial run. Products made by companies like Intrepid and Havok won't function after being shot, exploded and dropped off a cliff. Our products will. Would you rather have a working Sickle or a broken Icarus?" Intrepid responded to the statement by producing a fact-sheet detailing the stress limits of their Icarus helmet. Havok sent a representative to star as the opening act in a rock concert, where he was shot multiple times in the crotch whilst wearing a Loki suit. The suit's intelligence, amplified and auto-tuned over the concert's speaker system, remarked "You call that a hit?" after every shot. The live recording of the concert became an instant hit.


YVERIN BARB

The Barb was created as an update on the Sickle helmet originally made for Yverin's Hammer suit.. It is generally considered to be a cheap and cheerful adaptation of the Headhunter series. Whilst the Barb was marketed at a value price, it is exceptionally reliable. It has no special features, and includes only basic life support, communication, and sensory modules, but is legendary for its robust nature. Fans of the Barb claim that Yverin's no frills approach led to the creation of the most usable helmet on the market. Needless to say, the Barb became the iconic helmet of civilian militias across the planet.


INTREPID/YVERIN AETHER

The Aether was the result of a collaboration between Yverin and Intrepid. Yverin needed to create a specialist EVA helmet to be sold with the Pioneer suit, however, Intrepid were the only company at the time to have produced a helmet with the technology required. Intrepid took technology from the Icarus and stripped it down to fit in the Aether. When the Yverin development team received Intrepid's first design, they threatened to cancel the project outright. From that point onwards, Yverin produced designs, and Intrepid developers were forced to try to fit their technology into them. After months of strained design and production, the Aether entered mass production alongside the Pioneer. Yverin's dominant development team are responsible for the distinctively rugged look of the Aether. The finished product combines reliability with extraordinary functionality, however, it is very heavy, and only really feasible for use with EVA.


INTREPID ICARUS

Intrepid's Icarus series helmet is an expensive and hugely complex piece of kit. It features some of the most advanced environmental protection of any helmet ever produced, and has the capacity to supply the user automatically with medication, such as muscle relaxants in the case of an asthma attack. Needless to say, the Icarus was brought out alongside the P series MES. Whilst the helmet is designed to work alongside the P series' intelligence and environmental systems, it also features the ability to optimize the environmental protection of any suit with any automatic management features. The helmet also includes its own separate air supply.


HAVOK THOR

The Thor was originally designed for EarthGov pilots, but its supremely reliable and advanced communication systems made it popular with logistics staff and officers. One of the Thor's principal features is its sensor detection alarm. Whenever a sensory suite is aimed at a Thor user it sounds an alarm and provides the wearer with a directional indicator regarding where the radar/sonar/lidar hit came from. The Thor also includes the ability to map out over time the surrounding area and provide the user with a top-down view of them in their environment. This view refreshes every time the user looks around. Havok's unique approach to customer service was highlighted when an EarthGov major complained about this feature, saying it made him feel dizzy. Havok responded to the criticism with the words "Then don't use it fucknuts." Havok later added a message which displayed when the user first enabled the feature. The message reads "Warning: Retards may be allergic to this feature," Havok has been sued several times for including the message, but claims it is unable to remove it. The Thor's tactical systems come at a cost - protection. The Thor is at most able to protect users from glancing blows and knocks. A direct hit from a rifle round will more than likely tear through the electronics which form most of the Thor's mass.


HAVOK ODIN

Havok's Odin helmet was the hugely successful follow-up to the Thor. By most it is considered a more upmarket Barb helmet, with upgraded features at the cost of the Barb's legendary reliability. Whilst the Odin is certainly not unreliable, it lacks the rugged construction of the Barb (Its main competator) and so failed to become the market leader. However, the Odin is favoured by EarthGov's military over even the Guardian helmets, for its jack-of-all-trades flexibility and ease of use. The Odin's advertising campaign consisted only of a picture of the helmet with the caption "Fuck off and buy this shit jackass." The slogan has since achieved world fame and has inspired a top-selling brand of shirts and a short lived series of graphic novels.