O-Zero Trench-Sweeper Mark IV

Overview

The O-Zero is a mechanized armoured suit developed for the Spanish army. It is meant to protect a soldier while clearing out enemy trenches and due to its size and bullet resistant properties serves as mobile cover for the rest of its attached squad. The name is a reference to Olentzero, a mythical giant of basque origin.

The suit has a squat humanoid shape and receives a paint coating of the same colour as their compatriots uniforms, so an O-Zero assigned to a cadre of officers will likewise be coloured the same as the officers' uniforms so that he is able to provide cover more effectively.

An honour shared by all O-Zero pilots is the right to wear a parade uniform in the colours of the Spanish national flag or clad their armoured suits in a poncho of the same colour.

Protection

A steel exoskeletons covered in segmented armour plates allowing for full range of movement. With the face plate closed and the seals welded shut the suit is impervious to small arms, basic rifle fire and small explosives such as infantry grenades. The suit is molded to the user and for battlefield duty is usually welded shut after the user has entered it, which amongst other things prevents melee combatants from prying it open but this is not necessary for the suit to function. The main fuel tank is located on the outside under its own layer of armour and sports several small exhaust pipes.

Weaponry

For trench clearing the suit is armed with a set of 8 Type Hacha revolvers strapped to various parts of the suit for easy access in every situation. The revolvers have been adapted for this purpose with larger bayonets and an oversized grip and trigger. This armament leaves the suit flexible to allow him to adapt to any situation, especially the ability to use its free hands has been deemed especially important by user to allow gripping of the top of the trench/ the trench battlements ro prevent sinking and getting stuck in trench mud during wet weather conditions.

During open-field combat the suit is mounted with a shield to maximise the amount of cover it can provide to surrounding troops and a rifle brace meant for suppresive fire from behind the planted shield, due to the difficulty of aiming it and to prevent the recoil from destabilizing the suit.

Pilots

The O-zero IV does not provide a large amount of room for pilots, as such younger and smaller soldiers are selected for during suit evaluations. Likewise due to their on average smaller builds an overwhelming amount of O-Zero pilots are female.

Earlier models

• Mark I

An unarmored prototype exoskeleton covering the users legs and lower torso, meant to help transport supplies into combat situations. While capable of increasing the equipment load of a soldier its combat effectiveness remains a hotly debated issue. The fuel tank and engine overall proved to be too exposed, a trade-off originally introduced to prevent the user from cooking itself alive during operation, frequently enemy combatants would turn the wearer into an impromptu explosive device.

The Mark I eventually made its way onto the civilian market and can still be found in use today.

• Mark II

This model was discontinued before making it out of the testing phase. It was a lightly armoured, full body suit capable of increasing a soldier's physical abilities and came equipped with several attached squad support weapons, such as a machine gun and small mortar. Unfortunately suit could not be kept from dismantling itself under its weight and the added stress put on it by the attached weapons, leading to several iterations killing the wearer. When it was discovered that the designer had neglected to account for the added weight of the wearer and the weapons he was declared a traitor to his country. This led to one of Spains most publicised military trials and execution.

• Mark III

Many of the concepts that would eventually be perfected with the Mark IV were originally developed for the The Mark III. The basic exoskeleton, the limb acctuators and segmented armour plates can already be found in the Mark III, even if it itself was more box shaped than its more humanoid successor, and served the Spanish Army well for a number of years. Eventually improvements in material science and factory production techniques, fuel composition, actual combat data and engine design lead to it becoming obsolet.

Today a handful of O-Zero Mark III are still in use by the Army for training purposes, the rest was either dismantled or found its way onto the black market where they are eagerly sought after by mercenaries of all kinds. Any civilian who buys one would be smart to not wear it where members of the Spanish Army can see them, after all those soldiers would know best how to take care of a misplaced unit.

Significance

The O-Zero Mark IV is the unofficial symbol of the Spanish Military. Most military doctrines are infantry centric and built around the use of these suits.

Item type

Armor

Rarity

The Mark IV suits are in common use in the Spanish military but are very difficult to aquire for civilians.

Weight

~300 kg