Chapter 25
I've held it off too long Technical File!
Deep strike Asymmetrical warfare Mech REAPER
Propulsion: DAEDELUS Continuous counter grav field suspension system with gravitic harpoons and booster rockets.
Actuation: Mass scale KBAR synthetic musculature
Power generation: PROMETHEUS Compact superconducting Plutonium/ sakuradite fission reactor.
Control system: Neuro helmet and nerve suit, mark VI hooked up to pilots subdermal cranial implants and nervous system. Force feedback simulator system in gauntlets. Fully integrated surround vision 3D screen in HUD of helmet. Uses combination holographic haptic interface and aerofighter control stick.
Prototype alternative control interface using direct neural uplink and aerogel suspension tank in development.
Armour: External radar absorbing stealth panelling.
Dual layer tritium armour plating above boron carbon lattice around torso. Single layer plating on rest of body. Fully integrated dual cooling system with specialised heat sinks to mask thermal signature. Armoured and leadlined inner cockpit. Heat absorbing smart cloth wrapped over mech. Smart cloth can shift camouflage colouration and pattern.
Sensors: 50 microcameras dispersed over entire body to enable 360 degree visual coverage along both axis. Night vision, infra-red, ultraviolet spectrum.
Subsonic sonar emitter to allow Echo location 3D mapping.
Atmospheric Chemical sensor system
Radiological sensor suite
10 dedicated telephoto cameras with high powered zoom function.
Deployable Seismic sensor spikes.
Short range Radar and Lidar system.
Microwave, laser and encrypted radio link to dispersed Crowborg and Raven recon drones.
Fixed armament: Left arm contains gravitic harpoon system built into hand and forearm. Monomolecular Sharpened heterodiamond talon blades at 4th (outer) wingtips.
Plasma cutters sheathed within sharpened talon blades on 3rd wingtips.
Anti personnel silenced repeater machine rifles sheathed within sharpened talon blades of 2nd inner wingtip
Sharpened clawtips at ends of fingers. Integrated anti -personnel grenade launcher system in right forearm along with connector ports to transfer power from reactor to Harvester cannon.
Optional armament: The reaper can use any light to medium scale hand held Nobuseri mech weaponry. Only heavy weapons without recoil can be carried by the mech such as a laser cannon, raiden weapon, or the Harvester cannon.
Dual silenced heavy rifles Night Stalker pattern are kept on braces. Rifles have targeting lasers and muzzlemounted camera's. Specialised ammunition can include armour piercing rounds, corrosive capsule heads, explosive heads with remote and timed detonation capacity and EMP overload rounds. Ammunition storage CASE units stowed below Mech's ribcage.
Six slot shoulder mounted missile racks. Can fire multiple payloads including Blizzard EM chaff missiles.
Fixed Defensive systems: The Shroud. Shoulder mounted smoke and flashbang grenade launchers. 1st Inner wingtips contain full spectrum EM jamming rods as well as manipulator claws for delicate handling.
High powered Anti Missile and Anti Kinetic Laser reflex point defence system. Point defence laser system consists of 14 short range lasers placed all around the body. Visually they resemble large green gems worked into the mechs body. It can also act as a very useful anti infantry weapon. However powering up the laser defence system will betray the reapers electromagnetic and thermal signature.
The reaper possesses a supercomputer capable of wireless decryption, intercept and hacking of enemy computer networks using the ravens and crowborgs as transmission relays.
SHROUD - Electromagnetic optical cloaking device.
The Shroud technology while it was installed on the reaper was never intended for Nobuseri. In fact it is used on the REDACTED whose hull design allows far more efficient use of the field. Utilising principles of electrothermic atmospheric distortion it renders the reaper invisible to normal sight. However the effect is not perfect. Observers looking directly at the reaper sometimes report a heat haze shimmer effect. In addition the power requirements take up so much of the reactors capacity that even with everything but basic propulsion and sensors shut down, the internal heat sinks would melt in 24 minutes. Causing the reaper to betray itself with its heat signature. However operating at standard combat power requirements it is more likely to be ten minutes and can become even less if the reaper is moving at speed. After which the heat must be vented or the mech risks critical meltdown.
HARVESTER – Variable GRASER gravitic lensing radiation cannon.
The operating principles of the GRASER are based on Luthur's own understanding of nuclear fission, gravitic field manipulation and certain theories on radioactive excitation forwarded by Rakshata Chawla. A series of unstable Radiaoactive isotopes (Including liquid and solid state atomic waste left over from black knight refining processes) are bombarded with focused microwaves and special charged subatomic particles. The radiological decay of the objects is accelerated, breaking down in minutes what would normally take years. This generates enormous amounts of heat, light, neutron and gamma radiation which is then concentrated into coherent beams by the gravitic lensing system.
Gravitic lensing creates a field of hyperconcentrated gravity that focuses the radiation unleashed from the HARVESTERS firing chamber. The two scythe blades at the end of the gun are actually grav plates that form part of the mechanism to create a gravitic lensing field. However the gravitic lensing can also tear apart anything near it. As such the harvester requires an extra long barrel to keep the gravitic field from damaging the reaper. While the end of the weapon must be held well away from the body. On the other hand when combined with the scythe blade it can form an extremely devastating close combat weapon.
The power of the discharge is determined by how rapidly the radioactive decay occurs and the degree to which the lensing concentrates it. The more powerful the weapon blast the faster it fires.
Due to the accelerated decay as well as the isotopes involved the radiation generated by the Harvester has an extremely short halflife measured in seconds. Even so it is recommended that you remain clear for at least 24 hours.
Luthur has remarked on the irony that a process he developed to safely decontaminate nuclear waste has become a weapon more dangerous than the waste itself.
Harvester firing modes
Anti material level 1 (Stealth) –Anti infantry wide beam mode.
The decay of the materials is only slightly accelerated. The weapon fires invisible bursts of hard radiation that kill any human as the concentrated neutrons ionise their nervous systems. Unconsciousness is almost instantaneous, death occurs shortly after.
Anti material Level 2 (visible) -Anti light armour Carbine mode.
The radiation builds up in the firing chamber and is released in short 0.3 second bursts that can penetrate the armour of light vehicles and knightmares.
Anti material Level 3 (Stealth) - Single shot Sniper mode.
The energy is concentrated into a micro thin needle beam which can penetrate almost any armour to selectively kill a pilot or single critical system. The beam duration is extremely short so there is time for the reaper to move positions before the enemy can determine where he is.
Anti material Level 4 (visible) -Anti armour beamer mode.
Instead of short blasts a continuous beam 10 cm in diameter is sustained for up to three seconds.
Anti material Level 5 (visible) - hardened structure Penetrator mode.
The energy release is accelerated and concentrated into finer beam capable of ripping through hardened concrete and metal structures.
Anti material Level 6 Desolator REDACTED
Anti material Level 7 REDACTED REDACTED BLACK VAULT LEVEL CLASSIFICATION
The Reapers GRASER cannon the harvester, is far more versatile than the mass produced GRASER cannons which have only two settings anti material 4 and 5. However it also has less external heavy shielding that could prevent the radiation affecting the surrounding area at its more powerful weapon levels. This is one of the reasons the REAPER is meant to operate alone, as under some circumstances it can be as dangerous to any friendly forces near it as to the enemy.
DAEDELUS COUNTERGRAV
Most mechs only use their countergrav fields for brief periods to make themselves lighter and assist in jumps, rocket boosted grav skating and glides. Even then they walk on legs. The Reaper is kept aloft by a continuous full strength countergrav field. The field is projected from grav plates on the inside of an armoured lower section that is concealed from view by the Reapers robes. Without the Robes it appears as a skirt of 8 sharpened swords orientated down and outwards. Individual projectors can also act as gravitic harpoons which can anchor the Reaper to a position while the rest of the system keeps it aloft or pull it along the ground even as it floats above it. The reaper can float thirty meters above the ground in gale force winds and not move more than thirty centimeters. It can even reverse the grav plates and float upside down or sideways. By altering the alignment of the projectors it is possible for the reaper to move at speeds of 160 kilometers an hour or by using booster rockets hit 260. Countergrav generates no sound, heat or disturbance of air making it perfect as a form of stealthy propulsion.
At least a quarter of the reactors total capacity is spent keeping the Reaper floating more if it wishes to move at speed.
Additionally the reaper hovers it does not really fly. If it goes above 75 meters in altitude it speed drops dramatically as its gravitic harpoons cannot find as much traction. In addition the reaper is rather unaerodynamic. Of course the countergrav still allows it to be dropped from transports at any altitude.
PROMETHEUS Hybrid Plutonium sakuradite fission reactor
The Prometheus reactor is the mechs power source, its primary cause of heat and in some ways the greatest danger to its pilot. The armour of the reaper is therefore heaviest around the core and cockpit area. This protects the reactor from enemy fire and the pilot from any radiation leak. The Prometheus is a hot reactor using enriched plutonium fuelrods. However it does not heat water to turn a turbine. Instead it uses a radioactive and more unstable variant of red mercury. The thermal and radioactive energy from the rods reacts with the Red mercury variant in the chamber generating enormous amounts of electromagnetic energy which powers the Reaper. The internal cooling system for the reactor makes use of molten lead which doubles as radiation shielding. The second section of the reactor cooling system involves a mixture of liquid nitrogen and special cooling agent dranxephanine. The entire reactor is then encased in 20 cm thick hyperdense radiation proof Trinium shell. The reactor is therefore the component of the mech most likely to survive intact in the event if the Reapers destruction.
REAPER overview
The reaper is a mech designed to operate alone. It is a deep strike mech intended to operate behind enemy lines. Finding key areas and personnel such as enemy command posts, senior officers, staging areas, etc., and destroying them with high powered weaponry and explosives before vanishing. Its advanced sensors and drones can allow it to quickly locate and track its targets in any environment. While it's jamming systems, point defence lasers and high agility allow it to dodge or deflect nearly any attack. This form of defence is essential as with the exception of its primary torso the reaper has far thinner armour than other Mechs.
Luthur often does his utmost to ensure that his mech remains concealed. He eliminates his targets with precision and efficiency before moving again. Luthur grasps the concept of a fair fight he just doesn't understand why anyone would want to have one.
The reaper can operate in enemy territory for weeks without resupply, its superconducting fission reactor maintaining a constant stream of energy. Inside the cockpit, a dedicated intravenous drip system and catheter can sustain the pilot's biological needs. There have been scenarios where Luthur has lain in wait for days even weeks while the ones it seeks to ambush approach his position.
Its advanced stealth systems protect it from every conventional technological form of detection. Counter grav fields allow it to move silently. While the cooling systems masks the heat signature of its reactor. It can even become invisible to the naked eye. However as more power is drawn from its reactor its thermal, radiological and electromagnetic signature increases. So the pilot and his moderator are engaged in a constant juggling act between power requirements, cooling the reactor and maintaining cover. The internal heat sinks can allow the reaper to remain concealed while using large amounts of power. But once a heat sink has absorbed its maximum capacity it cannot be used again until it is removed from the reaper. As such they represent a limited resource.
As an example in low power mode the reaper has all its energy weapons deactivated, Luthur gets into position on a rise and prepares to fire the harvester in sniper mode. Assuming Luthur doesn't divert power from the countergrav field and sensors, Increasing power to the harvester cannon for the shot will create a thirty second spike in the Reapers temperature. So he diverts the temperature spike to the heat sinks which burn off 5 percent of their capacity.
There is only one Reaper in existence. The designs for the compact fission reactor at its heart as well as numerous aspects of its primary systems, weapons and electronics are known only to Luthur and kept sealed in the BLACK VAULT. Given the expense of construction the high degree of skill to pilot it and the awful danger involved if it were ever destroyed it is highly unlikely that more will ever be produced in large numbers. Also Luthur is constantly tinkering and tweaking his machine. Swapping out secondary weapons experimenting with new grav configurations and often field testing any new technological toy he's constructed using the reaper to deploy it.
There is however a mass produced countergrav stealth infiltrator mech known as the Wraith which has seen deployment outside Japan. The Reaper can sometimes be accompanied by such a ghost squad who provide support even as he tops up their limited energy reserves on long missions using the PROMETHEUS.
Authors notes
With the sound of bagpipes Derain bursts in to the room wearing sparking electric powered goggles, a lab coat and a kilt.
Derain: That's right me laddies I'm back. At last I get to reveal all the tech nastiness of the REAPER. And remember kids there can be only one. The smaller scale versions are not going to be quite as formidable and won't be invisible.
Suzaku: Still this is going to be a problem.
Derain: Luthur's creation is a thing of genius and terrible power. Also of sheer batshit insanity. Luthur's flying around in a thing that could become a mini Chernobyl. You have to be a certifiable genius and have a second guy helping you just to move it around. I'm caught between admiration and the desire to be a least a hundred kilometres away from it.
Luthur: Man up author boy. All we need are some leadlined underpants and a bottle of iodine pills. Besides if you want more tech goodness wait until I fix up the strife. Somehow I don't think Lelouchs pride is taking his humiliating smackdown as well as he lets the troops think.
At the end of the room Lelouch is drawing up an intricate plan on a board.
Lelouch: And then we chain the Lancelot to the back of a bullet train and drag him down the tracks with flamethrowers along the sides... Oh sorry why is everyone looking at me?
Kami is also working on a massive plan although hers seems to involve chains a bed and a wedding dress.
Kami: Hmm oh yes well they are obviously enraptured by your brilliant plan. (talking to herself) Now how to get him to the altar without him suspecting?
Derain: Once again I can't decide which of you is scarier. Uhmm back to the subject. Any way don't think the Reaper is out of surprises. Luthur's constant tinkering aside there are still two settings to the harvester we haven't revealed. For those of you hoping for more than a tech file I can only say that I promised myself I'd write up the reaper tech file because I really wanted to do it earlier. I just didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story. Even as you read this I'm continuing work on the following chapter which I was writing on the way back from Scotland. This fic may be slowed but we cannot be stopped.
Luthur: Yes it is inevitable.