The Iron Legion
Simply put, The Subjects that run through this process have the Multiple of there epidermis replaced with a high tactile metal (Perhaps Titanium if possible, if not a specially alloyed steel) along with the additional modifications to their nervous system. The Recombination chemicals are used on Cryostatic induced individuals while the limbs of the subject are stripped of their skin, given a much thicker application of the Recombinators to cement in pre-placed metal plates on their arms and legs. The end result is that the arms are much, much more durable, In addition, the Peripheral Nervous System (Everything but the brain) is changed just as much as the Central Nervous system is.
The end result is a soldier whose entire nervous system has been developed, altered on an intrinsic level to hopefully be superior in every way. Their skin is steely and gray while holding the natural regenerative process of "normal" skin. (Incidentally, the subjects now require a specialized diet of ground metal nodules in addition to their normal diets.). The mind of the people who go through the process of becoming a legionary is slightly scrambled due to the intensive process of the ordeal, but resources are in place for them to adjust, requiring up to a year of adjustment (In optimal cases) after the process is done so that the soldier is used to their enhanced body. Only the skin and the mind is modified (Muscles are a secondary priority if possible.), but "ports" emplaced to allow easier (Syringe based) along with built-in reservoirs allows the soldiers to live up to two months without injections before going mad. For some reason, the subject's hair may come into existence with extremely odd coloration, usually in the neon blues, greens, or reds. other colors exist, and the scientists aren't really sure why this happens.
Revision: Iron legionHard: (1+1)-1 = 1: Utter Failure
Well, we estimate that this project would have been harder due to the "jumping right in". We were to attempt modifying subjects' peripheral nervous systems, their skin, and include ports/reservoirs for Spice-derived drugs. Even with the headstart on organic modification we got from our prior design project, this is a lot of work for its allotted time.
We've done this
in a way. We have subjects who have gone through the procedure. They have metal skin and haphazard-yet-functional "ports" for easy injection of drugs. The ports can be fitted by tubing to another source (say - if we wanted to "hook them up" to a larger tank) or a syringe can be injected into the ports.
The problem is a doozy. Every subject who has gone through the process is dead. Very dead. Not "we just lost him!" or "they can't survive long!" but rather
they very decisively die during the process. Luckily the loss of test subjects isn't particularly harmful to our efforts. But the loss to
science is another story.
The first problem is the method of application. We're unable to get the Metal Recombinators to properly "integrate" the metal plating to replace the skin. As far as the subject is concerned, they're simply skinned alive but now in a shape-conforming metal coffin. While this has to be addressed if we ever want to give our subjects
serious natural armor, we can always simply go with a simpler solution of "reinforcing" existing skin with the Metal Recombinators. The real problem hasn't manifested at this point.
Metal Recombinators are, ultimately, designed to strip an entire piece of ore down to the metal and the rest of the rock. The variant we use for the "reinforcement" procedure is practically the reverse - combining two materials seamlessly, in a way. But the "entire piece" part remains.
Our reinforcement variant "attempts" to modify the
entire body. While simple tissues such as skin can handle the reinforcement, more sensitive parts of the body - like the central and peripheral nervous system, among others -
can't handle this. Their functions are fundamentally disrupted by the reinforcement procedure, causing the entire body to simply
stop working. Some of our scientists believe that, based on recent external studies regarding DNA, this is due to wholescale modification of the subject's DNA. It's a slow and - if the subject were conscious - painful process. As the Metal Recombinator spreads through the body, parts of it just stop working. A grim fate. To our R&D efforts, that is.
So overall, the Iron Legion project is a bust.
For now. We have confidence that a revisit to it could give much more viable results now that we know more about what we're dealing with. We've learned a decent bit on how our techniques interact with the human body and its modification.
Import: Santos-Class Naval Aircraft Support VesselThe blueprints for the Santos-Class arrive on schedule, smelling heavily of rum. We have
just enough resources to make the entire thing
Very Expensive.Santos-Class Naval Aircraft Support Vessel: The Santos is a large aircraft carrier. It is about the size of the Khorne but not armored. It's powered by four oil-burning steam turbines, which are more powerful than coal ones. The hangar deck stores two dozen fighters, moved to the flight deck by a hydraulic lift. On deck is an Eagle Eye Radar system, con tower, a few Firecracker AA guns and a miscellaneous autocannons wherever there's spare room. It also has a decent sized flight deck, with an arrester cable for landing aircraft, and two overlapping runways with room for ready aircraft on deck. It also has a steam catapult, which allows it to launch some planes which could not normally take off from its short runway. [5 Ore, 4 Oil]
Transport Capacity: 0
Resources: 3 Ore,
1 Oil,
2 Rare ChemicalsWeapons- "Pursuit" Rifle: An automatic rifle with mediocre accuracy at Medium range (and useless accuracy further).
[Cheap] 1 Ore - "Machete" Pistol: A 6-round semiautomatic pistol semi-accurate up to Short range. Reliable.
[Cheap] 1 Ore
Land Vehicles- M3T1A1 Raider: The Raider is a Diesel-Electric tracked APC designed to serve as a base platform for many roles. It has light RHA armor with a sloped front, plus slats. It holds ten passengers and three crew, making it look like a large metal box. It has an interchangeable turret, which is very wide and flat with medium armor. Default armament is a Can shredder, plus 6 external Thumper barrels for smoke grenades and an RPG, these can only be reloaded from the outside. It's also chemical warfare protected, and last but not least, amphibious, with a trim vane and two electric powered propellers. Exits are on large rear hatch and one small top hatch, only latter can be used while afloat.
[Expensive] 3 Ore 2 Oil
Air Vehicles- M1938 A-3 'Parrot': The Parrot is a low-cost air superiority fighter, designed to counter the Yellowjacket. It looks very similar to the Falcon, but without the complicated prop system and reduced to a 10-cyclinder, normally aspirated power plant. It too is fully aluminum, and contains most of the little features like retractable gear, an oxygen system, and a reflex sight. It is actually quite heavily armed with two Muerte heavy machine guns and two Can Perforators, though the perforators don't have a lot of ammo.
[Expensive] 3 Ore, 2 Oil
Navy- Corsair Destroyer: The Corsair is a moderate sized ship with light (for a ship) steel hull armor. It has a light cannon armament of two hydraulic-equipped Nightwind cannons and four Can Shredders. However, its main armament is its Shark Torpedo launchers (it has a couple on each side) and newly-invented Seahorse mines, which use the same warheads as Shark torpedoes but rest on the sea surface, detonating on cpntact with ships. It is powered by steam turbines and easily outpaces battleships like the Kalmar, Kraken and Kurokami.
[Very Expensive] 4 Ore, 3 Oil - Santos-Class Naval Aircraft Support Vessel: The Santos is a large aircraft carrier. It is about the size of the Khorne but not armored. It's powered by four oil-burning steam turbines, which are more powerful than coal ones. The hangar deck stores two dozen fighters, moved to the flight deck by a hydraulic lift. On deck is an Eagle Eye Radar system, con tower, a few Firecracker AA guns and a miscellaneous autocannons wherever there's spare room. It also has a decent sized flight deck, with an arrester cable for landing aircraft, and two overlapping runways with room for ready aircraft on deck. It also has a steam catapult, which allows it to launch some planes which could not normally take off from its short runway. [5 Ore, 4 Oil]
[Very Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil
Chemicals & Drugs- Spice: An extremely potent manufactured drug resulting in extreme schizophrenia, delusions of power, frequent seizures, and eventually death. Extremely addictive. Those who undergo the week-long "Goldeneye" treatment in a CryoStat tank become accustomed (and permanently addicted) to low dosages of Spice, enabling very high awareness of surroundings and mildly increased reaction and thinking speeds when under the influence of the drug.
[Very Expensive] 5 Rare Chemicals, Complex. - Combat Drug 'Fury': A Spice-based drug that massively decreases reaction time, and lasts for ~2 hours. Also incites rage, decreasing soldier effectiveness at range and chances of occasional friendly fire. Mild hallucinations are common, preventing users from being effective at recon/espionage/etc. roles. Makes veins much more apparent and red. Addictive, and takes effect >5 minutes after injection.
[Expensive] 3 Rare Chemicals - Metal Recominators: A special mixture that separates pure metal from ore, obsoleting a large part of Aratam's refining industry. A variant can also be used to fuse metal with (likely) any other matter.
Provides 1 Ore.
Other- Standard Uniform: A plain red featureless uniform. The red's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.
- CryoStat Tank: A large three-meter tall "coffin" with a small glass vertical slit inside showing a tank. Dozens of tubes connect it to the other machinery required for operation, taking up ~36 square meters of space total. Trained technicians monitor and operate it and prepare subjects for submerging. Subjects are put into "stasis" via a numbing solution they're submersed in, and medical drugs are constantly pumped into their body via dozens of injection sites prepared pre-submerging. Once taken out, subjects are put into a machine to recover from the effects of the tank. A day stabilizes minor life-threatening wounds, and a week stabilizes near all wounds. A month starts completely healing scars and generally brings up health status to pristine, and a year can restore lost limbs. Also used for life-extending "rejuvenation" processes by important people.
[Very Expensive] 4 Rare Chemicals, Complex
Infrastructure- The Refinery: An extremely secretive facility hidden under the canopy in a remote part of the rainforest, identifiable only by its smoke. Contains large liquid storage tanks and refineries for the production of chemicals, well-equipped laboratories, cells for test subjects, a steady supply of test subjects from Aratam's prisoners, and more. Useful as a base for chemical research.
Provides 1 Rare Chemical - Division of Biological Manipulation: An abandoned set of rooms on top of the Refinery; originally intended for biological manipulation research but was never finished due to a sudden test subject escape.
Author
Topic: Mad Arms Race - Aratam Design Bureau (Fall 1965 - Final Design Phase) (Read 61462 times)