Chapter 21
Equipment Check
HIMS Ultor Sanguinis, Orbit of Erdi
Yasuko was standing in her undersuit looking at the equipment laid out on a table. Unlike usual, she was wearing the full undersuit which also included gloves, socks and a hood, leaving only her face exposed. There was a face flap as well, but it was usually only attached right before deploying.
Lowen was there with her, similarly outfitted. She had never seen him in just his undersuit before and she found her eyes periodically stray to him. She caught him doing the same, so she didn't exactly feel guilty about it.
On the other side of the table was Santiago, who was tasked with leading their training for the mission.
Shouting in his usual manner, Santiago began, "To-day! We will! Re-view! Your e-quipment! For! The mission!"
He held up what looked like a muscle suit and said, "First up is the X-370 Phys'cal En-hancement Activ'ty Suit—the PEAS! No carrots included. Ha!"
Yasuko cocked her head.
"What?"
"The joke doesn't work as well in this language," Lowen explained.
"That was supposed to be a joke?"
Ignoring the fact that his joke totally whiffed, Santiago continued, saying, "The X-370 offers Level 2 pro-tection 'gainst bladed weapons and Level 1 pro-tection 'gainst ki-netic an' energy weapons. It pro-vides four times enhancement to an unaugmented body an' is e-quipped with optic camouflage with heat signature maskin'. There's also an overdrive function that'll double the base enhancement for a-pproximately 180 seconds of con-tinuous use."
"You said four times enhancement for an unaugmented body," Yasuko noted. "What about with augments?"
"The PEAS cannot further enhance the per-formance of augments more'n 'bout fifty per-cent of the enhancement of an unaugmented body. Somethin' 'bout machine po-tential or somesuch. That applies to both reg'lar an' overdrive per-formance."
"Does that mean an unaugmented body could be stronger?"
"Possibly, Miss Ja-sooko, but accordin' to field data, augments pro-vide a more consistent output an' you want consistency in the damn field, let me tell ya."
Fair enough.
"What's the battery life on the optic camo?" Yasuko then asked.
"On av'rage 'tween 90 an' 99 minutes."
"So not that different than the suit I was given at Heigangcheng."
"I've heard the high foreheads hit the the-o-retical ceilin' with the damn batt'ries, but you can plug in a spare batt'ry in this slot here near the waist an' get 'bout 'nother hour. You'll have one in your u-tility pack."
"Good to know," Yasuko said. "What else is in the utility pack?"
"Firs' thin's firs', Miss Ja-sooko," Santiago replied. "Put on the suit. You too, Herr Leutnant."
The design of the suit wasn't so different from the muscle suits Yasuko was used to or the one she'd been issued for her training up until now. Once she was all zipped up, she tried moving around her arms and legs to get a feel for it. There was a distinct sense of tension that was greater than any suit she'd worn before now. She could only imagine what it'd feel like to really cut loose.
Santiago then held up what looked something like a thinly padded leotard and said, "This Alpha-293 re-active torso protector will supplement the defensive properties of your X-370, givin' you Level 3 protection 'gainst bladed weapons, blunt-force trauma, ki-netic an' energy weapons. The princ'ple's sim'lar to your Delta-135-Sigma. The protector is filled with armorgel that pro-vides a maximum of flexibility, but will harden to absorb impact."
There were several smaller pads laid out along with the torso protector. Santiago handed Yasuko the torso protector, then took one of the pads and slapped it onto the side of her upper arm.
"These modular pads work the same way. There're models with more cov'rage, but we pri-oritize our mobility. Be aware of the openin's, Miss Ja-sooko."
"Well, I've already got Sigma and this suit," Yasuko said. "Anything more jus' feels like a luxury."
"That's the spirit, Miss Ja-sooko!" Santiago boomed, clapping her on the back.
He then took the helmet and showed it to her, saying, "The H-503 here prides itself in bein' lightweight, low-profile, an' easy to augment, but you sacrifice some of the defensive properties in the exchange. A direct hit'll ring your bell a bit."
"I'd rather have my bell rung than blasted the hell off."
"Right, you are, Miss Ja-sooko. Right you are. Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm sure you guessed it, but once all this armor makes contact with your X-370, it links to the suit's optic camouflage function."
He pushed the button on her wrist to activate the optic camo and, sure enough, the armor pad on her arm disappeared as well. She noticed Lowen making a face. Probably the sight of her disembodied face floating about was a touch disconcerting.
Santiago deactivated the optic camo and told her, "Alright, Miss Ja-sooko. Get yourself 'quipped."
The torso protector opened from the side and once she had it on and closed up, she started putting on the additional armor pads. They covered the back of her hands, her forearm and upper arm, her thighs, shins, knees, and elbows. It seemed like there was something like magnets fixing the pads in the optimal position. The helmet extended from just above her eyebrows to the base of her skull and left her ears open. It wasn't anywhere near as all-encompassing as the helmets the Regulars wore. Less protection, yes, but a lot more comfortable.
She moved around some and was pleased to see there was hardly any impediment to her mobility. It was all so light, even without thinking about the enhancement it provided.
Next up was the web gear, which Santiago held up, and said, "Here's your LBE. We b'lieve in travellin' light, but you still gotta have the e-ssentials. You get two spare power packs, a pers'nal shield gen'rator—don't activate that shit 'less you're under fire or else the enemy'll pick up on the damn EMF signature—, u-tility pack, medkit, grenade pack... Scratch that last one, Miss Ja-sooko. It don't apply to you."
"I don't get to carry grenades?"
"That's a negative, Miss Ja-sooko."
"Don't trust me with explosives, huh?"
"You pack more'n 'nough whallop as it is, Miss Ja-sooko. Now let's talk 'bout the weapons you get."
He showed her the machete-looking vibroblade he'd used in the demonstration the other day.
"You've been trained in swords, so we've got you the K-S Seven-'Leven. Light, well-balanced, but it'll still chew through Level 1 armor like it's nothin'. The rest of us'll be usin' this baby."
From Lowen's pile of equipment, he drew a knife out of a sheath and brandished it.
"The KM687. Not designed for u-tility, jus' killin'. Good for sentry removal an' such. Nice an' quiet, jus' what we need for a job like this, but once shit gets hairy..."
He picked up what looked like the wrist-mounted weapons Yasuko had seen earlier, but it was a little different. Same concept, different model, she guessed.
"The AP777, or the Triple-Seven as we like to call it. Now, I 'magine you've seen the MAs 'round here with 782s an' you're prolly thinkin' 'The newer, the better, so why ain't we usin' that?' An' you'd be wrong. Diff'rent model, diff'rent function. The 782's designed for secur'ty an' really only meant to be used 'gainst sof' targets. It's got a lower base output than the Triple-Seven an' don't feature the Triple-Seven's overcharge function, which can be used to defeat Level 2 armor."
"Like that pistol Lowen used," Yasuko said.
"I'm guessin' you're talkin' 'bout the P752, Miss Ja-sooko. Right you are, right you are. Actually, the Triple-Seven's got 17% higher output."
"Then it can beat standard armor, but I don't know if it'll work on the Imperial Guards if they're all kitted out."
"The infil-tration teams'll have op'rators 'quipped for anythin' like that, Miss Ja-sooko. Don't you worry."
"Who's worried?"
"'Cause you favor your right hand for your sword, you'll be shootin' with your lef'. For-tu-nately. the TripleSeven's am-bi-dextrous. Hol' out your arm, Miss Ja-sooko."
She did and Santiago set the weapon on her wrist. There was a wedge on the underside that fit snugly in the space between the armor pads on the back of her hand and forearm. It seemed to bond to her suit the same way the armor pads did.
"Now, you don't hafta worry 'bout it goin' anywhere, but if you're not the trustin' sort, there's wris' strap here."
He pulled on a tab on the side of that ridge and drew out the wrist strap. He wound it around and locked the tab on the other side.
"If you got too much slack, you give the strap a lil' pull an' it'll reel back in. An' when you wanna take it off, you push down on the tab to release. Like a seatbelt."
"What's a seatbelt?" Yasuko asked.
"You're tellin' me you don't know what a seatbelt is, Miss Ja-sooko?"
"Given that the technology level on the surface is something like the turn of the 20th Century CE, I wouldn't be surprised," Lowen said.
"I ain't so well-versed in ancient hist'ry, Herr Leutnant, but I'm guessin' you mean to say they didn't have seatbelts back then."
"That's exactly what I mean, Hauptfeldwebel."
"Well, anyway," Santiago said, setting the topic of seatbelts aside and pointing to the back of the weapon, "your power pack loads here, the ejection button's here, and this display'll show your charge."
He then pulled a bar out of the front and rotated around so that Yasuko could grip it.
"That button where your index finger is, that's your safety. You gotta hol' it down when firin'. Jus' grip it when you're wantin' to fire. Press this button here with your thumb to fire. Hol' it down for overcharge. Your display'll flash yella when it's ready, but you can only hol' the full overcharge or 'bout eighteen secon's. The display'll flash orange when you've got ten secon's lef' an' it'll flash red when you've got five secon's 'fore it discharges auto-matic'ly. You be damn sure you've got your target picked or 'tleas' have it pointed 'way from anyone or anythin' you don't want shot."
"How many shots do I get?"
"A hunnerd shots at base output for the standard power pack. 'Bout twenny usin' full overcharge."
"There's gonna be more'n any twenny that need killin'," Yasuko replied. "More'n any hunnerd too."
"You got two to four spare power packs dependin' on your loadout. An' you're not the only on goin' out there anyway, Miss Ja-sooko. We 'spect you to leave some for the rest of us. Ha ha ha!"
At least he thought it was funny. However, his laughter was cut off abruptly when he clapped his hands.
"Alright, Miss Ja-sooko, Herr Leutnant! Gear up, gear up! Quick-like, quick-like now!"
Yasuko hastily strapped on the web gear and attached all the pouches and such in as sensible an arrangement as she could think of without really thinking about it. This was where her training for the infiltration of Heigangcheng came in handy. She got good at doing stuff like donning and doffing her gear quickly.
The last step was to secure her face mask. Covering the vent, she blew out the air to get a good seal, and she was good to go. In theory, at least.
Santiago looked her up and down, then bellowed, "I am! 'Bout! To place hands! On you! Miss Ja-sooko! It is to check your e-quipment only! Do not! Mistake! My in-tentions! Now hold! Your arms out! Like so!"
He spread his arms to demonstrate, so Yasuko did the same. He then proceeded to check her over from head to toe. There was no funny business. It was all professional. Yasuko appreciated that. He gave her a good thump on the head when he was done.
"Not bad, not bad, Miss Ja-sooko. Everythin' checks out an' you did pretty good on the time too. We expect op'rators to go from bare ass to fully 'quipped in unner a hunnerd secon's. Shouldn't take you long to get there."
He wasn't so complimentary to Lowen, though.
"What in the hell, sir? You're a full minute slow, you missed a damn strap on your protector, your dam u-tility pouch is upside-down, an' you forgot to resecure your damn knife."
"You have any other words than 'damn' in your vocabulary, Hauptfeldwebel?" Lowen asked annoyedly.
"None I'd use 'round an officer, Herr Leutnant," Santiago replied. "Don't you worry, sir. I'll see you get trained up right 'fore go time."
"The fun never stops, does it, Hauptfeldwebel?"
"It's a ne'er-endin' car-ni-val, Herr Leutnant," Santiago replied with a big grin. "Strap yourself in, sir. You're in for one helluva ride."