Hey all, there's going to be a minor time skip between the last mainline chapter and the next one. This is essentially simulating "playing the game", as it were. Our protagonists are running the game at x5 speed and waiting for their research to finish. This mini-chapter is the first of several little bites that will fill in the blanks and explain some of the tech we're going to be seeing next chapter. This one primarily focuses on the benefits of alien alloys. There will be more.
XENOPEDIA: Alien Material Manipulation
Lighter than aluminum, stronger than steel, and cheaper than iron. These are all descriptions that can fit just a few of the various alloys and constructs used by our enemies. While there is an incredible amount of variation in terms of properties and ingredients, all of the materials have one thing in common: They exist because of the Mass Effect. Without any examples, we can only speculate as to the manufacturing techniques behind these materials, but we don't have to guess at it's potential usefulness. Unfortunately, we've had no way of utilizing the pile of scrap we've been hoarding since the first UFO was shot down. Melting them down produces nothing but a pile of scientifically curious but practically useless slag, trying to roll or press it with heat treating has just produced charred hunks of brittle space pig iron, and every exotic cold-forging technique we could conjure up just produce very ugly constructs that crumple to pieces under a stiff breeze from the legions of microfissures the processes create.
Like most things relating to our foes, the solution was the Mass Effect. We had, of course, tried manipulating the materials' mass to produce some sort of reaction, but we were just throwing experiments at the wall to see if something would stick. The breakthrough came from, of all things, the functioning alien weapon we recovered. What is the weapon, if not a Mass Effect engine? It may seem strange, but consider our own technology: what is a gun if not a heat engine? What is a steel sword if not a work of chemical engineering? While it hasn't taught us much about the machines our foes would actually use to make their wondermaterials, it has given us a much more concrete baseline of knowledge about what can and cannot be done with the mass effect.
We've devised a method I have dubbed "Element Zero Forging", which my less intellectually gifted colleagues insist on calling "Eezo Forging". It is, essentially, a metal press that uses mass effect fields instead of hydraulics and sheer mass. Unlike conventional metalworking, there is virtually no heat involved in our forge. I can't speak for whether or not heat treating of some form is used in the initial fabrication of these materials, but when working with the scrap we have, we've found that heat is actively detrimental. With this press, we can bend and roll our material into any shape we may like. The various chemical and physical properties these materials exhibit open up more possibilities than we could ever hope to explore in the horrific time crunch we are forever trapped in, but I've put a few of the more achievable ones on your desk
XENOPEDIA: "KNIGHT" CLASS COMBAT ARMOR
With our new-found ability to shape and reuse alien materials, we suddenly find ourselves on the cusp of the greatest revolution in body armor since the invention of kevlar. There are numerous materials of wildly varying specifications that we can scavenge from our alien foes, which can provide many, many times the protective strength of steel or ceramic at a fraction of the weight. However, as surprising as it may seem, their technology will only take us so far on this front: After all, it's not as if they would have experience designing armor for the human body.
So, ironically enough, our greatest source of ideas has been our own past. As the name of this armor implies, our primary source of inspiration has been the Medieval European knight, arguably the most well-protected warriors of their time. While the materials and manufacturing process are completely different, overall the two combat suits are actually quite similar:
They're both custom-made for the wearer rather than being mass-produced, they both utilize a system of interlocking plates to maximize protection with minimal loss of mobility, and they even share essentially the same weak points: the groin, joints, and upper thighs.
There are obviously differences between the two armors. For starters, one is made of steel, and the other is made of alloys scavenged from an alien starship. There are also differences in design philosophy. The shoulders, neck, throat, and face in our armor are significantly less protected, and conversely the legs are more protected than a knight's might have been. Obviously, our troops are marksmen, not heavy cavalrymen, so they need freedom of movement in their neck and room to shoulder their rifles, and of course they also require their full range of vision to fight effectively. It is also unlikely that they'll need to mount a horse any time soon, so the rear of their legs is more substantially armored than many knight's might have been.
In tests, the armor leaves the wearer nigh-impervious to shrapnel hitting plated areas, and even the joints are still very resistant. When tested with our captured alien mass accelerator, the primary chest plate and helmet can take a direct hit, though a hit to the head will leave the wearer with a very severe concussion, and a hit to the body can still potentially rupture organs in the worst cases. It is still a dramatic improvement, and is just the first step in this new generation of protective combat equipment.
Obviously, this armor is not intended for mass production, as it is custom-built to the specifications of each Xenonauts body, requires materials we currently cannot manufacture ourselves, and is incredibly expensive in terms of money and man-hours. However, given that our troops are always outnumbered, outgunned, and up against technology millenia ahead of our own, I'd argue that any measures that keep them alive and in the fight for longer are worth every penny.