A holy relic. A fractal blade of near-infinite subtlety and polish, which, down to a molecular level, coheres to planes and geometries found nowhere in nature.
Yeah, it makes a pretty cool crowbar.
Between the efforts of the two marines, the first 'Orlan' box is opened. Within is something that is to power armour as the skeleton is to the human body. Horribly ungainly, it is more a mass of struts and welded support assemblies than 'armour', although its dorsal tangle bears a bulky structure resembling an enormous, squat meltagun, its muzzle flattened out much more than any similar weaponised equivalent. Tiny runic devices adorning key joins project, even in their dormant state, a thin film that reflects the light around it, as if the suit was viewed through an enormous bubble of heat shimmer. The binder accompanying the suit has come apart, and pages litter the bottom. The one page remaining is its contents page:
Calixis Enterprises 'Orlan' Type Manned Maneuvering Vehicle
1. Welcome to Calixis - making your crusade functional! p6.
2. Calibration, p7.
3. Training (this section should be copied onto a secondary dataslate for all users of this technology, and kept at all times, to avoid risk of accidental death) p 21.
4. Use in the field, p35.
5. Maintenance, p55.
6. Repair p59.
7. Edicts of use, p67.
Appendix 1 - alternative proscribed/unproscribed applications.
i. Unfeasibility of use as a weapon, p277.
ii. Underwater use; hazards of compressed steam, p280.
iii. Atmospheric use; praxic implications of plasma torch usage with regard to reentry. p284.
A heavy flamer drifts past.
Re: 'We live, as we dream — alone ...' [In Character]
Reply With Quote