Chapter 36: Black Scaled Menace
He first sketched out rough measurements. Humans were most comfortable with mechs that followed the same 'human measurements' and look. He first sketched the human measurements inside the top part of the mech. Then proceeded to apply the same metric to the whole size of the mech.
Pilots were usually not tall people. Taller pilots required bigger mechs, which led to higher expenses. With DNA-engineering being a very common thing, most families that frequently birthed pilots would have kept this as a rule when optimizing their children's genes.
The mech stood more than twice as tall. Its total length was around 3,85m. Its upper body accounted for half of its length. Same as the Black raptor he wished to have the Indominus lean forward, to allow for greater and quicker acceleration forward. He already started sweating at the amount of simulation he would have to go through to balance out his mech.
The Black Raptor had scales and a menacing head that alluded to the dinosaur DNA that was imprinted during its design process. Theodore took this up a notch and allowed for a tail in his design as a counterweight for the hunched-over form of his mech. He didn't care for convention. This tail would do its 'natural' duty of balancing the heavy body.
'Like a kangaroo of sorts.' He sniggered. 'Best not get hung up on the idea of a kangaroo. I'm designing a dominant, scary apex predator.' He shook his head and resumed with his original focus.
'That said, it should also have a deadly function. The Indominus was meant to replace the Tyrannosaurus rex as the most deadly animal ever to live on earth. Everything should be a weapon or at least make it deadlier.'
He added a spiked ball to the end of the tail. He realised the challenge of creating enough mechanical strength to make it actually a dangerous weapon, but he liked it too much to depart from his idea. He was already attached to this feature.
'At the very least it conforms to the visual of a deadly apex predator.' He thought.
As the skeleton was quickly nearing its completion he started to work on the muscalatory system. Mechanical strength didn't come for free. The stronger the push, the less finesse the movement would ultimately have. He didn't quite care for its finesse in the upper body and quickly arranged for all parts to be mechanically connected. Finesse was only needed in the arms and legs of the mech, he reasoned.
Due to distance, and quick movements of opponents, it was very important to quickly and accurately lock on to assailants. The weapons system and the 'muscles' in its arm needed to be calibrated to perfection to allow this apex predator to quickly deal with its opponents.
In order to make sure he didn't block out vital space in the mech, he installed a cockpit, his chosen engine and battery pack. He chose to install the heavy engine below the cockpit, the cockpit, therefore, sat high up in the torso, near the head up top. On the broad back of the mech, he installed the battery packs. He quickly connected them and started to work on the legs.
He fleshed out a rather standard leg configuration and simulated movements countless times. In the end, he settled for a natural bend knee, and thick, tri-toed feet with a shorter heel. The mechs centre of gravity was naturally low and more forward. It's would mostly balance on its forefeet. He needed tons of mechanical strength, and more than average feet length to counter this imbalance.
He then started to search for additional components. His first buy was a high-end tail that matched his preferences. Because of the incredible amount of difficulty to animate this part he decided to go with a ready to go component and tweak it to his needs.
He also chose a rather expensive medium armour system that was light yet durable. Its properties were great, but it came at a huge cost. He decided it was worth it in the end. His Indominus could not be a paper tiger! He would dish out damage but also be capable of receiving!
He was very fond of the laser system on the Black Raptor and therefore decided to buy a more powerful variant by the same manufacturer. He also swept up a few good grade sensors and decided to load it up with the default software that also came with the Black Raptor. The software was still way beyond him anyways. He would simply input his own preferences later.
His eyes turned red after adding up the total of his spending! If he were to manufacture it, it would be extremely pricy! In turn, this meant his design would compete with 'true beasts' on the market. For a second he was disparaged, the actual performance of his mech would probably not meet the standards of the market.
He regained his footing after thinking through it for a while. He was only a U1 cadet! He wasn't competing against these old monsters! He only had to beat the expectations os miss Green and show her he was capable of seeing through a concept to the end!
Several days of testing and tweaking led to a result he was truly proud of.
'I'm finished.' He smiled proudly at the design in front of him.
A black, scaled, aggressive predator had taken form in the process. It was bulkier than its source of inspiration. His broad shoulders and higher build immediately set it apart. His choice for a scaled armour had been one of his more inspired choices. Though it cost him a lot of time to reform the standard armour-modules to scales, it was all worth it as he inspected it now. The red sensor lights, the added lights and overall design gave the impression of a true dominant apex predator!
His red eyes, black pockets under his eyes, pale skin and dishevelled hairs wouldn't quite show it, but the moment he was finished, he was immensely proud. He felt like a father looking at his firstborn, or at least so he imagined.
Now it was up to Miss Greene to evaluate his baby.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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