Tasnican Battlesuits
Republic Marine Corps Battlesuits
- Phalanx Powered Combat Armor
The Phalanx is still the ‘standard’ battlesuit of the RMC; typically the overwhelming majority of Marines will wear these.
This is a full-body suit of body armor with a domelike faceplate to allow the Marine to see out. The glass faceplate includes a heads-up display that shows the Marine important tactical information, most notably overlaying a crosshairs for his gun onto his field of vision. The gauntlets of the battlesuit can be removed and stored on the back of the suit, for when the Marine needs to use his hands for delicate work.
The Phalanx gives the Marine enhanced strength, and his built in gyrostabilization to allow the Marine to handle heavy weapons, most notably the N6 HVLMG.
The Phalanx is resistant to most small arms fire and fragmentation weapons. Like all RMC battlesuits, the Phalanx is vacuum sealed and carries its own air supply, to allow it to operate underwater, under poison gas attack, or in space.
The Phalanx has no built-in weapons or jump-jet capability, but is well-armoured and rugged.
- Peltast Scout Battlesuit
The Peltast is designed for recon duty, but sometimes used for raids. It is much lighter than the Phalanx, but lacks the Phalanx’s armor and ability to handle heavy weapons. The Peltast does, however, have a jetback allowing it to jump long distances and jump over cliffs. It also has an enhanced sensor suite to aid in scouting. It’s also slightly more comfortable, consisting of flexible material instead of the heavy plate of some of the other RMC battlesuits.
Because it cannot handle the recoil of the N6 HVLMG, units using the Peltast will probably instead use an N4A Alpha Assault Rifle. However, Marine snipers also favor the Peltast; they would, instead, use an N9 Sniper Rifle. Some Peltasts have started using dual pistols, "because it looks bad-ass". Peltasts are used for quick strikes and raids in addition to scouting.
- Ursus Fire Support Battlesuit
This Kuat battlesuit is also available on the open market, and the RMC’s Ursus differs little from the publicly available one. The Ursus is well-armored for a battlesuit because of its well-sloped armor, which gives the suit its distinctive angular appearance. Each arm ends in a minigun rather than hands. The backpack has four wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Usually there is one Ursus per five-man Marine squad to provide suppressing fire and light anti-armor support. This is the most bulky, cumbersome and ‘vehicle-like’ of the suits used by the RMC.
- Thud Armorslayer Battlesuit
Ten years ago, it was deemed adequate to rely on Marines’ firepower and aerospace support to challenge enemy armoured forces. Since then it has been deemed a stroke of good luck that the Marines have not found themselves pitted against armored troops. Web militaries have increasingly focused on tanks and especially mecha, and the Thud is a response to that. Most Marine battalions expecting to encounter armor will have at least one Armorslayer company in reserve, ready to deploy to the hot spot. Although developed with mecha in mind, the Armorslayer is also effective against tanks and other armored assault vehicles.
The premise of the Thud is to engage the enemy vehicle at melee range. It is too well-armorued for most anti-infantry weapons yet nimble enough to avoid most anti-vehicle weapons. Its feet and hands can be magnetized to cling closely to the target, and in the right arm there is a thirty-foot cable with a magnetic suction cup to allow the Thud to scale mecha. The Thud’s main weapons for doing damage once it gets close are its diamond-tooth chainsaw (carried) and limpet mine dispenser (in wrist; can be timed or remotely detonated); most also carry an assault rifle as a backup ranged weapon. Standard procedure is to open a gap in the armor with the saw and then blast the vehicle wide open with a mine. They will also attack a mecha’s vulnerable joints or its legs. Thud units almost as always attack as a ‘swarming’ team.
- Morty Mortar Battlesuit
The right arm of the Morty battlesuit ends in a 95 mm mortar, and fulfills the Corps’ need for indirect fire support. The mortar barrel runs the length of the arm; the Marine in a Morty usually gets a cramp in his right arm because he cannot bend it for long periods. The battlesuit’s arms, however, can fold over the suit’s back to allow the Marine to use his hands. It has less armor than the Phalanx, as more weight is devoted to mortar shells. Often a 5-man squad in a platoon wears these to provide light artillery support.
