Chapter 435: The D's of Development.
Afton is back in the forbidden dome laboratory after helping the injured in Novac for a couple days. He could've stayed longer to tend to people, but he felt getting this project completed sooner would be better for everyone in the long run.
He'd gotten news that one of the 'guests' had required a psych evaluation, but he ignored that for now and instead marched inside the lab.
It doesn't take long for him to locate Mobius and Klein who were already arguing about something while in front of what could only be the prototype chest plate. It looked very different from the T51b armour it was based on, instead of having large plates that'd limited agility for added protection, this armour was more akin to thick lamellar.
Thick plates intersected one another but were placed in a way to allow the utmost agility while not giving too much protection. The fact the scientists were able to use Saturnite probably gave them more options than the US Military had when designing their armour... Saturnite was simply just lighter and stronger, even with its few negatives.
Its chestpiece of course was one large piece of Saturenite that encompassed most of the upper body. You'd likely need a few thousand .50cal bullets shooting at one specific point to get through it, that's how thick and sturdy it was.
It traced down and had more lamellar-like metal plates on its abdomen to allow movement. Of course, at Afton's request, the armour also had significant crouch protection... Though, that part of the armour was covered by a synthetic cloth that had many tiny plates of Lamallar reinforcing it. It looked like any old plate skirt, it ended at the thigh and didn't go any longer to avoid potentially restricting movement.
After asking the scientists, the synthetic material's protection was better at absorbing energy weapon fire than actual bullets... The reason for this was obvious, one too many laser shots to the crotch would have his balls literally frying in the armour... Not fun.
The armour's arms were sturdy and plated in a way to protect the joints from lucky shots. Honestly, Afton thought that the scientists had taken massive inspiration from the medieval armours of old... Which wasn't a bad idea since move of their armours actually worked.
The hands were the same, riveted plates that'd protect the hands from a couple .50cal shots if needed, but still allowed you to grab, gesture, and interact with objects with acceptable dexterity. Of course, the knuckles had small serrated blade attached to them, Afton wasn't sure if they were more useful for combat or for intimidating folks...
The legs were more heavily armoured than the arms were, more metal over the joints, knee, and ankle. There were spiked bits of metal on the knee guards and feet, to allow Afton or anyone else wearing the armour to 'kick the shit and internal organs out of someone. Afton certainly wouldn't want to be on the opposite end of one of those attacks...
Back to the scientists, they were still arguing about what they should actually put inside the armour, as they had been last time when discussing the helmet. Apparently they couldn't decide on whether or not a jetpack would actually be useful to its user... It provided a massive target, and if the fuel compartment was breached it'd probably lead to instant death.
Plus, there wasn't really all that much the jetpack would be used for... The Mojave is essentially just a flat plain with a few canyon's here and there.
"Having air superiority would make the armour 400% more efficient in combat!" Mobius exclaims.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT AIR SUPERIORITY MEANS YOU IMBECILE! THE JETPACK YOU ARE PROPOSING WOULD ONLY ALLOW FOR MINUTES OF BARELY WALKING-SPEED FLIGHT! YOU ARE JUST IGNORING THE 300% INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF DEATH TO THE USER!"
"Guys, guys." Afton walks in between them with a dull expression, turning towards Mobius first, "I like the idea, but for the mission this armour is built for a jetpack would be a liability... Perhaps if you developed a more efficient fuel and propulsion system it might be viable, but for now keep it out of the designs... Until we want a battalion of flight-capable soldiers..." he says placatingly.
"Afton?.. Hmmm. Very well..." Mobius says as if he were pouting...
"LOBOTOMITE!... EX-LOBOTOMITE! WE WERE JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO ARRIVE SO WE COULD DISCUSS THE ARMOUR'S FEATURES!"
Afton crosses his arms, ignoring the 'Lobotomite' name Klein continues to use for him and just nods for him to continue.
"WE HAVE ALREADY INTEGRATED THE VARIOUS DEFENSIVE OPTION YOU WISHED FOR, HEAT RESISTANT MATERIAL, ENERGY WEAPON DEFENCES AND THE LIKE. WE HAVE ALSO ADDED A PORT THAT WILL ALLOW YOUR STEALTH SUIT'S AI TO INHABIT THE ARMOUR AND MANUALLY ACTIVATE CERTAIN FUNCTION SHOULD THAT BE REQUIRED." he explains and Mobius continues.
"Indeed. Unfortunately, as you are urging the progress to be completed as soon as possible,we were unable to add the forcefield additions that you wished for... The devices still need to be downscaled enough to properly fit in the armour... We were able to create the HUD you wanted however, it will assist in targeting, identifying, distance estimation, and mapping.
Using your Stealth Suits inbuilt proximity sensor, it should be able to map out a small amount of territory around you, though, there are many factors that could scramble this data, so try not to rely on it."
Afton nods, "I hope you remembered that I wanted two suits made, right?"
Both scientists nod their bodies, "We have, though, without the Stealth Suit and it's AI the other suits functions would be limited. No mapping, no AI, etc." Mobius explains.
Afton shrugs, "That doesn't really matter, we can look to upgrading them more in future. Think of the mission as a stress test for them." he says but begins thinking about the servos... "Hey, do you think I could try it on for now? I think we may need to calibrate the servos to my strength specifically... I'm not really normal in that regard."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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Chris Lindsey
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Chapter 436: Evaluating Worth
As Afton had suspected, the servos of the Power armour were designed for those with regular, or above-average strength... Afton certainly wasn't in either category, so when he tried to move in the armour, he felt slow and sluggish.
There was, of course, a good reason for this, if the strength was set too high the armour might tear someone's arm off, but that wasn't really a problem for Afton who had 11 Strength and potentially more depending on the circumstances.
To rectify this he explained his varying strength to the scientists and got them to recalibrate it, and add some leniency for when his strength increased in combat. Though, Afton didn't really think it was possible for him to take damage while in the suit, so his strength might well stay the same while he is wearing it.
After a few more hours of testing, Afton was finally happy with the armour... It still needed some touch-ups here and there, but he'd let the scientists handle that. Hopefully Tamia wouldn't take too long to find a doctor or he might just head to the Fort without her.
Elsewhere :
"Those fuckers took ma' gun!" Drake exclaims as he sits up, aggravating his injuries further.
"Will you just lay the fuck down and stop ruining the work I just put in? You tear the stitches one more time and I'll let you bleed out!" Madeleine growls out, resting a hand on her shoulder with a threatening look.
"W-well we can't just do nothin'! They stole my shit and stopped us from raking in the caps!"
"I don't know, I heard that this Parker guy is tougher than all of his group combined... I think you are lucky he wasn't in the base." Hunter adds from the side, placing pieces of shrapnel on the makeshift table as if he were doing a puzzle.
Madeleine nods, "Just looks at Stasus, I ain't seen him beat up this bad since fighting that Lanius fucker..."
Drake scowls, "Don't remind me, this is the second damn time we've had to run away with nothing to show for it!"
Madeleine just shakes her head, "Better than what most groups do... Most groups don't go waltzing into a heavily fortified town and come out alive."
Drake jus snorts, "Barely."
"Well too bad you lost your gun, but I had to use all of my decoy's to save your sorry butt!" Hunter states, wondering if trading his grenades for Drake's life was even worth it.
"Hunter, that gun isn't something you can get back like a grenade, it's a prototype the NCR had hidden away in a lab, I doubt there's another like it in the world!"
Madeleine scoffs, "Well you shoulda thought about that before getting cocky. Now, we're headed to the NCR Outpost to rest up, afterwards we can think on what we should do afterwards." she states, not giving Drake any opportunity to complain.
Elsewhere :
Tamia had just entered the Strip from Freeside, she'd been getting the stink-eye from every NCR soldier she walks past, but she ignores it. They had probably been told of her affiliation with Afton and his group, but didn't want to offend House by acting against her.
Still, it was getting pretty annoying... She'd gone from a courier with amnesia to Houses agent with a storied past. Who is also incredibly famous and known throughout the Mojave.... For some reason.
Shaking her head, she greets Victor and enters the Lucky 38, travelling up the elevator and eventually standing before Mr House, or at least the computer that claims to be him.
"You're back... And without having completed the task I've given you I might add." House states knowingly.
Tamia just shrugs at him, "To be honest, I haven't really had the chance... I've been pretty busy."
"Indeed you have, how's Novac coming along? Look to me like you have the start of an independent nation brewing."
Tamia shakes her head, "Nothing like that, we're just making sure the town and its people are safe. With both the NCR and Legion wanting the position and Afton, the place would have been destroyed without our intervention."
"Ah, now that I agree with. Both sides would fling faeces at each other until nothing remains of the town but a crater. But that is not what worries me, it is your relationship with this Afton Parker that I am finding difficult. The revelation of his origins that the Legion so helpfully shouted across the Mojave has tainted your reputation, and subsequently, mine." House explains.
Tamia squints at him, not liking where this is going, "And what would you have me do? Cut ties and find some other group willing to raid the Legion's headquarters?"
"No, no. Not at all. Even I could see Afton and his group's worth in causing utter mayhem and destruction. You will need something like that in order to get out alive. No, all I am saying is to be careful who you are seen collaborating with. As far as I'm concerned, the Legion can sit in their radioactive squaller and die out in agony... But the NCR is a useful ally to have, they provide the majority of New Vegas's income I'll have you know. The tourism, gambling, whoring, and luxuries the NCR civilians and soldiers imbibe, breathe life into this city. Without them, I'd be forced to deal with tribes and wanderers, which certainly wouldn't lead to the civilised society I am trying to foster."
Tamia nods, "Good, because I have no intentions of betraying them. Plus, if you need a persuasive reason to keep them around, know that Afton has access to technologies and scientists far above whatever the NCR and Legion have available. I'd want to keep on his good side if I were you, the shit I've already seen him doing is far beyond anything I've seen in New Vegas." she explains, not giving the man any specifics but letting him know just how valuable Afton could potentially be.
"Hm? Is that so? Perhaps I need to reevaluate his worth then..." House mutters before turning his attention back to Tamia. "Now, what is it you have come here for?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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Chris Lindsey
Kingsprovince
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