Aegis

As they started to fall backward, Aegis "caught" them, overriding his own systems enough to prevent them from completely collapsing. One of the primary problems was a faulty circuit in the gyroscope sensor providing intermittent information to the motion control systems, leading to more problems than they needed to deal with right now. However, it was a problem that Aegis managed to isolate and fix in under a second, forcing them back to a standing and agile position. More and more of Aegis's attention was focused on compensating for the movement systems, anticipating Tros's desired movement and being the manual go-between to actually move the heavy armor where it needed to go. For only a few seconds, there were several shocks through Tros's legs and back that were uncomfortable to say the least, but Aegis did his best to minimize them. It was a result of feedback on the system, strain from the actual electrochemical stimuli from Tros's muscles not matching up with the modified motion controls Aegis was relaying to the digital system, creating a static electricity feedback between the muscles and the sensors. Finally, Aegis managed to stabilize the system, allowing for a small window of precision to return fire at the approaching hostiles. Aegis himself could easily withstand a few blaster shots, and few appropriate information to Tros's HUD. "I know this is uncomfortable, Pilot, but I am doing my best. I trust you. Trust in me."

Aegis was a young AI relatively speaking, freshly activated merely a few months ago, and what happened next was what a biological might refer to as a spectacle. Completely foregoing the suit's heavy repeating blaster in favor of his own pistols, Aegis immediately recalculated their chances of survival as low, until, that was, Tros went to work. The kills were ugly, clumsy even, though mostly that was because the movement systems in the armor still hadn't been fully calibrated to Tros's musculature. That process that would take several hours, time they simply didn't have at the present. "Pilot...I will attempt to manually compensate for anticipated movement, but unfortunately the movements will not feel completely natural until the system calibrates itself to you. It operates by detecting electrochemical signals sent to your muscles by your nervous system, a complete mapping of which usually takes hours in tandem with physical activity. You may experience slight static discharges due to feedback until the process is finished, and movement might be slightly sluggish. Focus on moving normally until then." Aegis began shunting most of his processing power into assisting the system, rapidly constructing makeshift algorithms that fit on top of the movement system's coding to supplant expected inputs. It was a stop-gap measure at best, but it would have to do. Tros would likely feel like he was wading through mud at first, the weight of the armor not being properly counterbalanced from the system causing the phenomenon. Before Aegis was finished, the comm on the waist of the man whose head was bashed in crackled to life. "Fosh, come in, what's your status? You're taking forever over there. We need you and Biltzen back ASAP, there was a nice juicy opportunity over her but now we're taking fire and it's all hands on deck. ...Fosh?" In the helmet, Tros's HUD updated its tactical readout, having intercepted and triangulated the unsecured commlink frequency. "Pilot. It is a statistical probability that we are unequipped to handle this situation. The men pursuing this unit are likely equipped with heavy ordinance. Recommend retreat. Preloading SERE tactical precepts. Unless you have an idea for a viable means of escape?" Subtly, Aegis also included information for working systems on the HUD for Tros to see, to include basic controls for the suit's built in heavy repeating blaster weapon system.

((My sincere apologies on the lateness of this)) As Tros finished stepping into the armor it began hissing shut around him, encapsulating the Mandalorian. While there was still some residual gunk and smell in the helmet, it quickly began cycling the air, at the least removing the smell. The screens in front of his eyes lit up, offering a full view outside the front of the armor with tactical information overlays. The overlays were all nonfunctional, including a small localized radar, a debug text readout of AI actions and comm traffic, Tros's own heart rate and breathing patterns, as well as other significant area hazards and objects of interest. As the cockroach-like repair bot crawled across the sensor to weld and solder a spot on the external sensors, Aegis noted Tros's heart rate spike, and small speakers activated in the helmet's earpiece with the AI's voice at an appropriate level attempting to calm him. "That is a repair drone, pilot. Do not worry, it is repairing my functions. My primary programming includes a provision to attempt to protect you at all costs, as you are now registered as the new pilot of this unit. We may have time for pleasantries later, but in a few moments we are likely to enter combat. Ready yourself." After a few more seconds and several spot welds later, Aegis's external sensors sprang to life, filling the HUD with a flood of information, but only two things were highlighted, both in red on the radar as well as red clouds of current approximated positioning of the targets through the walls of the ship. "Pilot. Threat detected. Fifty metres and closing." Aegis twitched, attempting to move, at which point Tros noticed several small shocks in his leg muscles, causing them to try to move inside the armor as if he were moving with the armor...but it didn't work. Something wasn't quite synced up, and it was clear the intelligent suit of armor had trouble moving. "I require your assistance. While I am unable to help guide your movements at this time, you should now have full control over the movement of this unit. Bioscans indicate that you are physically a competent being and capable in the realm of combat. Trust in yourself. You can do this." Aegis was unaware of the true potential Tros brought to the realm of combat, but nonetheless the sentence was enhanced by the barrel of the heavy repeating blaster mounted to the armor unit's left arm spinning up menacingly. These next few minutes they would need to trust each other, but the odds of survival Aegis had been calculating continue to rise. ((Feel free to describe the two approaching targets, they can either be from the pirates who were following the ship Aegis was on, or the enemies Tros was dealing with. The suit should handle rather unwieldy at first, overcompensation and undercompensation of movements would be likely until Tros's muscles get used to the bioelectric haptic feedback system. How long that takes is up to you, but I had planned on doing something later that manually improves things.))

Several small lights blinked on underneath the back armor plating, as the short causing the micro fusion reactor to malfunction was removed. Slowly it fired up, trickling more and more power to the systems. Within seconds, power to critical systems was restored. The suit of armor stirred from where it rested, slowly rotating so it could see Tros with its front sensors. "You...you must...help. Tactical analysis...complete: Ragnarok scenario imminent. You will not survive without my help, nor I yours. You will need to remove my pilot and take his place." Latches and hermetic seals hissed open on the suit's back, mechanically peeling away to reveal the bloodied body of a Wookiee, short for its species. Removing the body and dealing with the viscera was one thing, but in order to fit, Tros would need to remove his own armor. "Estimated three minutes remaining to comply before this position is overrun."

A chance. It was not cognitive thought that operated, but rather a lower level subroutine, a small lightweight fragment of a program meant to measure certain fading sensor readings and act based on certain conditions. Ambient light level, atmospheric content, heat signatures, electrochemical readings, all fed from internal systems of the ship undergoing a cascade failure and rapidly collapsing. Minutes longer, and the statistical odds of recovery in a workable time would have risen exponentially as the distress signal gave out and a controlled scenario became wildly uncontrolled. But the subroutine triggered, having determined a humanoid of sufficient compatibility was immediately present. One last long shot, a sequence fired off to the dying ship controls, only managing to control internal lighting and minor console indicators. From Tros's perspective, an arrow made from small specks of light behind the collapsed suit slowly flashed, managing three cycles before completely dying, indicating a rod that had punctured the back of the armor under the right shoulder blade, conveniently the side that currently faced him. The internal lights also flashed rapidly, quickly blinking out a succinct message in Morse code before also falling dead. Remove foreign object. Right rear pectoral. If anything, Tros's HUD might have picked up and translated, but either way the message should have been loud and clear. A dark, thick blood slowly oozed from the puncture. Inside Aegis was the corpse of his creator, Kul'rorr, having suffered severe blaster wounds from eroded spots on the armor that had been shot through, and a fatal injury from the rod, unfortunately puncturing the armor as he fell in battle. But despite that failure, Aegis had calculated and executed a successful extraction, hoping to complete his secondary programming with another pilot. Now, it all led to this. The rod had shorted out a critical circuit in the micro fusion reactor. If Tros managed to remove it, Aegis would once again be able to power up and begin to repair itself; and more importantly, resume its mission. What Aegis hadn't calculated, what he simply couldn't completely account for despite a massive tactical database, was the situation that they now both found themselves in. He was an AI, and did not believe in luck, but they would need a great deal of luck if they were likely to survive their immediate circumstances.

A loud explosion filled the sky near where Tros Ardell and his crew had landed their ship. A single freighter burst from hyperspace inside the atmosphere, falling towards the ground in smoke and flames. A weak distress signal briefly emanated from the craft before it impacted upon the planet's surface not two hundred yards from Tros's position, skidding through rock and soil to come to a nasty halt. Inside, AE-615's sensors began to power down, its damaged micro fusion reactor unable to continue functioning. His self-repair systems had been compromised, Kul'rorr was dead, and Aegis had failed to carry out its secondary and tertiary programming. One hope remained, but the statistical probability of events occurring in the order needed for it to develop to fruition was calculated as extremely low. Cutting main power, Aegis switched off what he could to stem further damage to his chassis, attempting to conserve any remaining energy to aid the startup sequence, if he was ever restarted. It was the end. And the beginning.

AE-615 "Aegis" Character Sheet Disclaimer: This is an experimental character on provisional approval from the Mods. Upgrades or addendums to the armored exoskeleton will require resubmission for Mod approval moving forward. This character was also primarily approved under the idea that it could easily be used to help guide newcomers through the RP in the same sense that a veteran of the site who has managed to rank a FU character up to knight can make a knight levelled character fresh to aid in the training of newcomers and provide a bolster to ranks where needed. This character is also a permadeath character, when the exoskeleton is completely destroyed (and the AI along with it), that's it. While the permadeath feature may change in the future, it is a temporary safeguard to prevent everyone from bandwagoning this idea before it is fully fleshed out and playtested. Identity Real Name: Designation AE-615 A.K.A: "Aegis" Homeworld: Zekan Prime, a small backwater planet in the Hapes Cluster Species: Advanced Tactical AI and Armored Exoskeleton Physical Description Age: <1 year Height: 9' 4.366" Weight: 1,942 lbs Hair: N/A Eyes: Blue tinted operating lights Sex: Masculine programming Equipment Clothing or Armor: AE-615 is an exoskeleton of powered armor mostly comprising light Ultrachrome plating layered over durasteel with insulation and grounding to help protect against electrical and ion discharges. To fully make use of the grounding system, the suit must be in contact with a suitable grounding point (i.e. not airborne or standing on an insulated surface). The suit is also capable of wading through water and staying submerged or operating in a vacuum for up to thirty minutes before oxygen reserves deplete, though it is not designed for high pressure environments. It does have an air filtration system, rendering the pilot safe from many toxins and gasses, though not all. The suit has an integrated micro fusion reactor located primarily under the back plating, which also provides power to the integrated weaponry systems. The helmet has a commlink and holonet uplink as well as a tactical HUD run by the onboard AI of the same designation. The AI assists with tactical situation analysis as well as target monitoring and acquisition. Assisted aiming is optional but is a prototype function, only truly useful for a pilot who has completely melded with the system, as otherwise the feedback from the pilot's subconscious and natural reactions tends to make aiming more difficult. The suit also houses small compartments behind the shoulder blades for micro repair bots, which are capable of repairing the suit from near critical damage, though it takes significant time for these repairs to be finalized, ranging from several minutes to hours. As long as the micro fusion reactor isn't compromised, the compartments are capable of slowly manufacturing these repair bots utilizing nearby materials, using a small onboard store of materials that are slowly replenished if low from ambient molecules filtered through the suit's atmospheric respiration systems. Lastly, the suit features a neural interface for its pilot, capable of sensing and sending low-level electrical impulses directly to critical points in the pilot's nervous system, providing a kind of haptic feedback that allows the suit to achieve greater speeds and reaction times in tandem with a fully melded pilot than would otherwise be possible for a similar unpiloted model. The neural interface is itself a prototype, and isn't perfected. The onboard AI is designed to compensate for imperfections and learn to adapt to its pilots, but any pilot attempting to use the suit will need to spend significant time using the suit for both the system and their anatomy to get used to the interface, which is the point at which a pilot is considered fully melded with the system. Limited testing has shown that performance is inhibited by the brain chemistry of those with Force sensitivity, as the pilot's natural subconscious reactions from feeling the will of the Force constantly provides negative feedback to the AI attempting to compensate to the needs of the tactical scenario. Weapon: AE-615 is equipped with a heavy repeating blaster attached to its right forearm that is integrated with the suit's micro fusion reactor, rendering the weapon more susceptible to overheating and resulting malfunctions than to a depleted magazine. Furthermore, due to the weight and servos in the suit, the weapon is capable of far more accurate fire than if it were to be used by an infantry trooper. On the other wrist is a retractable vibrosword for close quarters combat. The suit was also designed for modular upgrades, though these possible upgrades require pilots with significant familiarity with the system to utilize. Common Inventory: None aside from the above listed systems. Summarized Armored Exoskeleton Capabilities: -Thin layer of ultrachrome layered over durasteel plating, resistant to blaster fire and maybe a hit or two from a lightsaber, unable to resist sustained heavy fire or prolonged combat with a lightsaber; ultrachrome works by dispersing heat energy rapidly, but is not a foolproof armor in and of itself -Insulated against ion weaponry/electricity as long as the suit is grounded -Capable of shallow water submersion or vacuum operations for 30 mins -Air filtration system filters many common toxins -Neural interface provides for enhanced operations with sufficiently experienced pilot present, faster reactions, full use of suit subsystems, but reacts negatively to Force sensitive individuals attempting to pilot the suit -Micro fusion reactor power core -Capable of self repair via miniature repair bots, relies on operational power core to produce more, miniature bots very vulnerable while working -Integrated commlink, holonet uplink, and tactical HUD in the visor display -Heavy repeating blaster and vibrosword as primary weapons systems -Modular design means room for future upgrades, but any upgrades require an experienced pilot Faction Information Non-Force User Alignment: Lawful Neutral Current Faction Affiliation: TBD Current Faction Rank: TBD History: N/A Force Side: N/A Trained by: N/A Trained who: N/A Known Skills: N/A Background: Armored Exoskeleton iteration 615, or AE-615, was designed and developed through use of machine learning techniques by the Wookiee engineer Kul'rorr. Kul'rorr designed the AI and suit as a last-ditch effort to make a suitable instrument of war to help defend his village against a roving band of pirates operating in the Hapes Cluster. The suit was designed to adjust and fit humanoids of varying sizes, but Kul'rorr was still fairly short for a Wookiee. The plan was simple, use an undefended civilian ship for bait, and when the pirates boarded they would find more than they could handle. Except the plan didn't work, Kul'rorr was no combat veteran, and the suit did not adapt ideally to his neural system. The suit's systems were critically compromised in the resulting skirmish, and the ship was sent into a random hyperspace jump. Kul'rorr was trapped inside the suit, mortally wounded, knowing he had failed, though he knew if someone would find the suit and repair its reactor, the suit could use the new pilot to fulfill its secondary objective of eliminating the pirate crew. Ship Registration AE-615 has no physical property, nor is he programmed with the desire for such items. He is merely the guardian of his pilot.