Notes: This chapter will introduce the "Hobbit". In case you are wondering, MSAC stands for Mobile Suspension and Carry. Hope you have enjoyed the story thus far and please feel free to comment.

Well, its not Mjolnir…

November 1st, 2552 2:43 PM

Sol System - Aboard the MAC Orbital platform Malta

Level 4 Aft - Mess Hall A

"Someone call for an oversized hunk of junk?" Justin and the team swung around in the direction of the voice coming from the service elevator at the opposite end of the room.

The broad figure and short pepper hair of the freight currier would seem to indicate he was military, an observation seemingly backed up by his ability to bark across an expanse of space.

"Yeah, just drop it any where." Justin really didn't figure the man would want to take it much further. Although it was on a come-along dolly, the 1250lb suit didn't make for the easiest of traveling buddies.

After signing for the unit, Justin began elevating it so it stood erect. The Hobbit was a menacing size, although oddly shaped. Its body was wide, approximately adding a foot onto each side of Justin's toned frame.

Justin wasn't much for the workout, eat right philosophy, but years of having to deal with heavy objects like support beams and tools necessary to connect them had enabled him to have quite a bit of strength.

Still, the MSAC seemed to dwarf his stature, standing almost a whole two feet taller than him. A clear multi-ply polymer similar to what the stations used running down the first foot and a half, giving its operator a nice one-hundred and twenty degree field of view thanks its flanking design.

Justin slid his ID card into a small slot in the back of the hobbit, and with a hiss of pressurized gas, the back shoulder blades and midsection parted, with the inside of the legs splitting and opening like a half-circular door.

Having a look inside the suit revealed a lining of hydrostatic fluid pockets that were meant to provide cushioning to the pilot in case of accidental fall or if struck by a falling object.

There was a chin stick that allowed the pilot to activate comm systems as well as open the suit up when they were ready to depart. There were also life support systems with a straw to re-hydrate from the MSAC's internal electrolyte-charged liquid.

Justin stepped into the suit and pressed the activation button on the chin console. The leg compartments closed around his and expanded the hydrostatic fluid in those areas to conform around his lower appendages.

He snaked each arm into the suit's massive hydraulic-actuated arms and gripped the bicycle-style handgrips in each arms as he brought them to bear. Upon pressing the last button, the rear panels closed and fluid molded itself around his body as the HUD was activated, displaying the various sensors and gauges, which told the Hobbit's story.

This particular MSAC unit was one of the first to be refitted with a basic shield generator which enveloped the torso and legs area of the body. This was requested of all new units after several serious accidents had occurred and left the operators either incapacitated or dead.

The MSAC's shielding was to be based off of early shield technology which preceded the Mark V's shielding. The shielding would never stand up in combat against the Covenant, but for civilian use such as the Hobbit's labor it had so far proven beneficial.

Augmenting the shield itself was 2 inch thick Titanium-A armor plating, with that extending an extra half-inch in the unshielded arm regions. Early testing with the shielding had proven that the arms could not function and hold objects well with its four opposing forks which made up its fingers, so the decision was made to instead make the armor thicker to compensate.

The last edition to the MSAC unit's toolkit, however, had been the most helpful upgrade to date. Current-carrying wire had been introduced at the base of the hands and the forks which could allow a sort of directed magnetism.

The relative position of the forks to each other could adjust the strength of the magnetic field, and a flick of a switch in either arm module could reverse the polarity of the field.

This could allow the MSAC to hoist and suspend heavy items into the air for several feet above its arm length, effectively allowing the unit to be a support column for a structure the crew might be working on.

It also made sure that anything the Hobbit had in its hands would not slip, or it could magnetically grab an object that had floated away from it in space.

This functionality had even saved Justin's life before when his tether line on the outside of the Cairo had snapped and he started free-floating away from the platform. He had managed to latch onto one of the Comm relay towers that jetted out from the station and pulled himself back to safety, so he was grateful to this seemingly minor upgrade.

November 1st, 2552 4:18 PM

Justin used the Hobbit to hold the massive section of latticework in place as the team finished cutting the weakening support beam loose with their Harning Torches, then slipped the small incendiary guns along with their hoses back onto each of their respective backpacks.

The support beam made a loud but muffled thud as it hit the carpeted floor below, and Bob, Tom and Davis all jointly hefted one end of the new support beam up to the proper connection point. They then used their torches at a lower setting to begin to weld the new piece in place.

Once they had completed that end, they each descended their respective scaffolding and got to work on welding it to the mount points on the floor.

"You know, you guys could hurry it a little." Justin's arms were becoming fatigued from the repetitive activity of keeping them held up.

"He almost made it all the way through without complaining." Tom quipped

"I don't see any of you volunteering to wear this trash can."

Justin slowly lowered his arms back down after the last weld had been made, the hydraulic cylinders commanding each arm slowly gliding down to a soft thump as the shaft reconnected with the sleeve.

"Good job guys. Now let's knock off and get some rest for the festivities tomorrow." Justin pressed the release button with his chin, and the compartments of the MSAC opened again showing Justin's sweat-stained clothes.

"Jesus Justin, I think you need some coolant in that thing.. Or maybe just a shower." Justin gave Bob a one-fingered salute as they all started heading back to the elevator.

Bob gave a wink and making a kissing motion toward Brittany as they started to walk by, as the young redheaded server tried not to let her face and hair match colors.

November 1st, 2552 9:28 PM

Having finished their dinner and continuing to unwind, Justin flipped through the channels looking for anything not related to the fall of Reach to hopefully put his mind at ease and avoid another nightmare.

"Baby, is something bothering you?" Audrey's query broke his channel surfing as he looked over at her. She was sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, her head resting on her folded arms atop her knees.

Justin paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, and let out a sigh. He then began telling her about the dreams he had been having. How he would see her falling away from him, and not be able to save her.

"I just don't understand it. Everyone else seems to be preoccupied with the Covenant and the destruction they have been causing, but I cannot get the image of you falling out of my head, and I hate it."

Audrey smiled a sleepy smile and put her head on Justin's shoulder. She began to rub her hand softly across his chest, almost relieved it hadn't been something more serious.

"You know I'm not going anywhere. As long as I don't go venturing around outside, then I will be fine." Audrey's attempt at lightening up the thoughts seemed to fall on deaf ears with Justin.

She couldn't understand why this would bother him so much, but it was reassuring to her that he was troubled at the thought. She leaned her head around to give him a kiss. "I love you." Her eyes peering into his as she slowly drew back.

Justin then wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss, as the two felt a passion igniting within them. Maybe Bob was right about his restless nights.