HAST suit (ˈhæst)
Heavy Armoured Shock Trooper suit. Technically not a vehicle, as it's more a heavy suit of power armour.
A HAST suit is an extremely heavily armoured power armour suit, intended for very close-quarters combat and as a compact and mobile heavy weapons platform. While it deploys no Hardened plasma shields, it is still remarkably durable, especially against small arms. Nearly every section is heavily armoured, the suit weighs a massive amount, and the wedge shape of the chest helps to deflect even larger railguns.
Variants
There are many variants and patterns, depending on which manufacturer you get a suit from, but generally, there's two primary categories:Close range
The close range variant is really close range, intended for close-quarters combat inside cramped hallways and buildings or starships and stations, as rarely as those get boarded. These variants most often utilize melee weapons, often complex projected hardened plasma blades, which are very compact. Shotguns and occasionally flamethrowers are also common. Close range variants often work in groups of two, one going forward and the other checking the back.Heavy fire support
Heavy fire support variants employ ranged weapons of various kinds, and serve as mobile platforms that can flank an enemy or hold a tight spot, one where a tank would not fit. Their common weapons range from autocannons, large miniguns, missile launchers, railguns, grenade launchers, and, in inner core regions, even plasma cannons. They also often pack a few micromissiles in the suit.Power Generation
A central, decently large fusion reactor inside the backpack-looking structure on a suit's back. This reactor draws hydrogen from the air around the suit, and in cases where that is not possible, the suit can be mounted with an external air supply.
Armor and defense
These suits are most often composed of a comparatively small layer Carbon-Interlaced Aluminium Alloy, under which there is a larger layer carbon fibers. The suit itself is designed so that no section is uncovered by armour, and more prominent sections, like the helmet, chest, and shoulder pads, have larger layers of the alloys. Those sections are entirely impervious to effectively any infanty weapons, requiring railguns to even dent.
Sensors
The suit has several cameras on it, pointing in every direction. These cameras relay the view to the users mind via brain-computer interfaces. It is disorientating at first, but can be gotten used to with regular use. There is also a Predictive Analysis Interface system in place, which works like it does with regular people, allowing the user to align incoming shots to hit stronger parts of the suit's plating.
Height
Varies, though generally a suit adds 40cm or so to the user's height.
Weight
~200-250kg
Speed
top running speed is around 8 km/h
Combat drop capacity
A notable aspect of HAST suits is their capability to be deployed from high-up, even orbit. The term for this is generally DHAST, drop heavy armoured shock trooper, and it is as shocking as it sounds. A squad of HASTs, usually ten or so, drop from something above, be that a dropship a couple kilometers off the ground or a spaceship in low orbit. They descend very fast, and before impact turn around, slow down, discard the jetpack, and begin combat. They're often dropped right in the middle of combat, behind enemy lines or to reinforce a position, and their survivability and firepower allows them to turn the tide fast."No matter how many coilbolts ricochet off your chest, no matter how much you can endure, remember this. You are not invincible. In a combat drop, you can be shot down and hit the ground at terminal velocity, you will die. You could go against an Executor AB-FSP, and get vapourized in a single shot, you will die. Remember that. more that a few overconfident HASTs has been killed by a infantryman with a sword, due to neglecting their enviroment. You are not invincible, you can be destroyed. Remember that. And you will remember it, once the training is done. "
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